Without looking back, Kael kept walking toward the outskirts of Lindenburgh until he passed an old mine, once the largest coal mine in the continent where he lived.
This mine had been abandoned due to depleted resources and increasingly dangerous working conditions. However, after the apocalyptic event that destroyed the world in a matter of weeks, it had become a breeding ground for monsters.
Kael stopped for a moment, staring at the entrance of the cave. He could now feel the intense energy coming from inside, his mana core fully formed, and he knew that at least one of the monsters from the three gates that had opened recently must have mutated.
Every monster that emerged from the gates possessed incredible adaptability to life on Earth after the apocalypse, and they evolved continuously.
Kael let out a deep breath, then grabbed all the mana shards he had collected and crushed them one by one. The blue mana energy flowed into his body, increasing his own energy reserves.
He glanced back at the mine's entrance. It was pitch black inside, and nothing was visible beyond the tunnel. Still, he was sure that this mine was one of the very first dungeons to appear on Earth after Azathoth descended upon it.
Feeling the weight of Titan Slayer on his back, he took his first step forward into the mine. He was confident that this new sword had the necessary quality to cut through any monster, especially those with impenetrable shells that ordinary weapons could not pierce.
Kael lit the simple torch he had prepared beforehand, illuminating the winding tunnels of the mine. The air inside was cold and damp, carrying the scent of rusted iron mixed with traces of blood lingering in the narrow passageways.
As soon as he reached a fork in the tunnel, he heard a low growl from one of the paths ahead.
A few first-type monsters emerged from the darkness, their bodies larger than before, their movements sharper and quicker than when he last fought their kind.
Kael smirked and muttered, "Good, I needed a warm-up."
He drew Titan Slayer from his back, swinging the massive sword without hesitation. In an instant, one monster was cleaved in half. The others roared and lunged at him, their elongated limbs and razor-sharp claws reaching for Kael.
But he was already moving, dodging at an inhuman speed, repositioning himself before countering with precise, deadly efficiency.
Moments later, thick green blood flooded the ground of the cave, releasing an overpowering stench. The monsters' mutilated bodies were scattered all over the mine's floor.
Kael exhaled sharply. "That was too easy."
He continued deeper, but as expected, more monsters appeared from different tunnels, emerging in waves.
Kael lifted Titan Slayer and smirked. "I'm tired of you all. Let's make this quick," he said with a mocking tone.
One monster leaped toward him at high speed, but Kael shifted his body to the side, then with a single powerful swing, he split the creature in half.
The others did not hesitate, adjusting their attack patterns and launching a coordinated assault.
Kael spun gracefully, dodging an incoming strike before stabbing his sword straight into another monster's skull. "You're too slow," he taunted, grinning.
He kept moving, slicing, stabbing, and breaking down every monster that dared to approach. The fight was fast and brutal. In the end, all of them lay dead.
Kael stretched his shoulders and neck, rolling them lightly. "They should have known there's no point fighting someone like me," he muttered before pressing forward.
As he ventured deeper, stronger and more intelligent monsters appeared. They seemed to follow a hierarchy, the deeper he went, the more evolved they were.
Kael relished the battles, knowing that he had to sharpen his skills and reflexes in this still-weak body of his. The only thing that disappointed him was that none of these monsters left behind mana shards.
Eventually, he arrived at the entrance of the deepest tunnel in the mine, and he felt something different, an aura far greater than any monster he had faced before.
He stepped forward without hestitation.
Inside, he found a vast chamber, much larger than the other sections of the mine.
The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixing with the rot of decayed flesh. Pools of dark green liquid were spread across the floor, remnants of slain monsters.
At the center of the chamber stood a creature. It resembled the first-type monsters, but its body was significantly larger, towering over everything else in the dungeon.
Its height reached nearly three meters, its humanoid form twisted with grotesque mutations. Its arms were long, reaching past its knees, but now they were packed with thick muscles and covered in sharp, jagged spikes extending from its shoulders down to its wrists.
Its legs now closely resembled those of a four-legged predator, and its claws had grown longer and sharper.
Its head, which was once a weak spot for its kind, had completely changed. Long tentacles sprouted from its skull, some shaped like small spears. Its eyes, once two, had become six, glowing red and scanning everything around it.
And worst of all, its mouth. It was no longer just a collection of sharp teeth. Now, it had an extra set of secondary jaws hidden within its throat, ready to tear apart anything that came close.
Kael narrowed his eyes, observing the creature's transformation.
"So you mutated into something even uglier, huh?" he muttered coldly.
The monster snarled, lowering itself slightly and ready to lunge at him.
Kael exhaled. "Fine, let's see how tough you are now."
With a deep growl, the monster lunged at him.
Kael immediately jumped to the side, dodging the first attack, but the creature's tentacles whipped toward him, striking from multiple directions.
He slashed one of the tentacles with Titan Slayer, making the monster roar in pain. But just as he was about to attack again, the severed tentacle regenerated within seconds, growing back as if nothing had happened.