[Volume 4: The Ash Wastes]
The massive iron gates of Genesis City groaned open, revealing the true nature of the First Floor. It wasn't a green paradise. It was a sprawling, desolate expanse of grey desert known as the Ash Wastes.
The sky above was perpetually overcast, raining a fine, powdery ash that tasted like bitter iron.
Kael stepped past the threshold of the safe zone, his boots crunching loudly on the dry ground. Elara walked closely behind him, clutching the Azure Blade. She had traded her ruined high school uniform for basic leather armor purchased from the City Merchant using Kael's remaining coins.
Behind her followed a dozen of the bravest (or most desperate) survivors from the high school group. They were Shadowfall's first recruits.
"The Ash Wastes," Kael muttered, inhaling the dry air. "The Lich King's territory starts exactly one mile from the gates."
"Kael," Elara asked nervously, looking at the seemingly endless grey desert. "Why did you only bring us? Marcus Thorne has hundreds of men. Wouldn't it make more sense to use the Iron Claws as frontline troops against an undead army?"
Kael shot her a sideways glance. "Marcus is a rat. If I put him behind me, he'll stab me in the back the moment I'm fighting the boss. Besides, I don't need human troops."
As they crossed the one-mile mark, the ground beneath them suddenly began to tremble.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sound of bone grinding against bone echoed across the wastes. From the grey sand, skeletal hands burst forth, dragging themselves onto the surface. Within seconds, Kael's group was surrounded by a vanguard of fifty Skeletal Warriors wielding rusted scimitars.
[Skeletal Warrior - Level 10]
The high schoolers behind Elara panicked, raising their weapons in shaking hands. Fifty Level 10 monsters were enough to wipe out an entire platoon of average players.
"Form a circle!" Elara yelled, stepping to the front and activating her Ice attribute.
"Stand down," Kael ordered calmly.
He didn't draw his Monarch's Dagger. He simply snapped his fingers.
The shadows stretching from the feet of the terrified high schoolers elongated and detached. Arthur emerged, his blue eyes glowing in the ash-filled air, followed by the towering Shadow Warlord.
But Kael wasn't done. He reached into his pocket and crushed three low-level mana crystals he had bought in the city.
"Arise."
The black mist swirling around Kael expanded, taking the shape of three massive Bloodhound Wolves he had slain back in the Tutorial. They howled, a terrifying, silent sound that chilled the air.
"I don't need the Iron Claws," Kael said, looking at the approaching skeletal horde. "I brought my own army. Eradicate them."
Arthur dashed forward, his ghostly Azure Blade slicing a Skeleton Warrior in half before it could even swing its rusted sword. The Warlord leaped into the thickest part of the horde, crushing bones to dust with every swing of its guillotine blade. The Shadow Wolves tore through the undead ranks like dark torpedoes.
It wasn't a battle. It was a one-sided massacre.
[You have slain a Skeletal Warrior.]
[You have slain a Skeletal Warrior.]
[Experience Gained.]
Elara watched in pure awe. Kael was standing perfectly still, his hands in his pockets, while his immortal shadows systematically dismantled an enemy force that should have been impossible to beat on Day One.
"He's not a player," Elara whispered to herself. "He's a cheat code."