Chapter 3:
The faint hum of magic filled the air as the notification faded.
Adam lifted his gaze to the sight in front of him.
Before him stretched a massive underground hall, dimly illuminated by hundreds of floating blue crystals embedded into the ceiling like stars. The ground was made of polished obsidian, cracked and webbed with glowing lines of silver that pulsed softly, as if the entire temple breathed and countless bones flooded the place.
At the far end stood a colossal door engraved with constellations and symbols that seemed to shift every few seconds. In the center of the door glowed a radiant sigil shaped like an eye.
"...So this is the Starlight Temple," Adam muttered, stepping closer. His footsteps echoed across the hall, each sound swallowed by the silence that followed.
He arrived in front of the doors and tried opening it but a message popped up.
...…
Need a special item to unlock this area.
...…
'Curse you Black Plastic for not giving us detailed information. You stupid fu*k' Adam inwardly cursed at the player who discovered the class.
Out of frustration he kicked the giant doors
The sound echoed throughout the massive hall. Dust fell from the ceiling. The constellations on the door flickered then pulsed, once.
Adam froze. "...Wait. That can't be good."
A low rumble echoed beneath his feet as the glowing lines on the floor brightened, flowing like liquid light toward the massive door. The sigil at its center spun rapidly before splitting into several smaller orbs that hovered in midair.
Then came the notification.
---
[System Alert]
You have triggered the Starlight Temple's defense mechanism.
Warning: Guardian awakening in progress...
—
A deep rumble shook the ground.
Then came the sound, a sharp dry crack-crack-crack echoing from every direction.
Adam's eyes darted around. The piles of bones scattered across the hall began to twitch. Skulls rolled. Ribs clattered. Tibias scraped against the obsidian floor as if pulled by invisible threads.
One by one, the bones rose.
Within seconds, dozens of skeletons stood upright — their hollow sockets burning with cold blue flames. Some wielded rusted swords and shields, others held spears or fragments of shattered armor.
"...Oh, come on," Adam groaned after seeing the skeletons. "All I did was kick the damn door!"
Lv1 Skeleton Soldier (Normal)
HP: 50/50
A single skeleton was a problem to Adam, but right there were over fifty skeletons advancing towards him. Their blue flames burned brighter with every second with only one goal in mind. Kill!
Adam unsheathed his sword and observed the incoming skeletons. Taking them all head on was him simply asking for death. His plan was to weave them and judging by their speed, he should be able to pull it off.
The Weaving or Hit-and-Run method was a popular tactic created by a player just weeks after Last Haven launched.
After the player uploaded a video showcasing how he could grind monsters efficiently with minimal risk, the strategy spread like wildfire. Almost every player adopted it soon after, and Adam was no exception.
He sprinted forward to the skeleton soldiers and slashed his sword diagonally at the closest skeleton, - 60 appeared above its head, immediately turning it into a pile of bones and he also gained fifty experience points.
Adam then swiftly retreated before the rest could close in on him. He shifted direction and rushed in again, this time from the left flank slicing through another skeleton's neck cleanly, achieving a critical hit that dealt over - 100 damage.
He continued the process for some minutes and after his eighteenth kill, he leveled up, replenishing his nearly exhausted stamina.
He continued weaving through the horde, methodically cutting them down one by one, the number of skeletons shrinking with every one or two strikes and his experience bar steadily filling with every kill.
Some minutes had passed and the final skeleton collapsed into a heap of bones, its blue flame flickering out as silence reclaimed the vast hall.
Adam stood in the middle of the massive chamber, breathing heavily, his arms trembling from fatigue and the countless swings he'd made. His grip on the sword loosened slightly.
'Any longer and it would have been dire.' Adam said looking at his stamina bar which was hanging around less forty percent.
He wiped the sweat from his face still trying to catch his breath but his moment of relief didn't last.
The faint sound of rustling bones echoed through the hall, followed by sharp cracks and the grinding of armor fragments. The piles of bones scattered across the floor began trembling again but this time, they weren't forming dozens of small skeletons.
They were converging.
Adam's tired eyes widened as the remains of the fallen skeletons started sliding across the floor, drawn toward the center of the hall by an unseen force. Dozens of skulls and ribs collided and merged, forming a humanoid frame in front of him.
Lv. 5 Skeleton General (Elite)
HP: 1500 / 1500
Adam's face immediately went dark when he saw the monster standing in front of him.
The Skeleton General was clad in black damaged armor, its eye sockets burning with twin infernos of blue flame. It tightened its grip on the fiery blue sword it wielded.
'I hope you die a painful death for not telling us about the Elite rank monster here, Black Plastic.' Adam cursed.
Cold sweat dripped down his neck, as he watched the Skeleton General closely, not daring to take his eyes off it for even a second.
In his past life, the player Black Plastic never made mention of an Elite rank monster being associated with the quest. Which was why he rushed over to the quest NPC. If he was aware, he would have increased his level and properly prepared himself. The player only mentioned him dying a few times while trying to complete the quest. And this could have been the reason.
Adam knew that he wasn't a match for the Skeleton General, in fact he was no more than a mere insect that could be easily squashed.
The Skeleton General wasted no time and lunged at Adam.