Two days later, "Caw… caw," "Plak… plak… plak," the crows perched on the fence of a graveyard immediately flew off as Axel stood in front of the gate.
"Turns out the real thing is spooky, even during the day. In the game, it was just a static background with some sound effects," Axel thought to himself, looking at the foggy graveyard in front of him, despite it being daytime.
"Um… Ray… I mean, Axel, why are we here?" Bella asked.
"This is where Desmond disappeared when he went in with the protagonist's group. When they finished defeating the boss, the protagonist returned to the entrance, but Desmond didn't. In the game, we were given a choice: wait for Desmond to come out, or leave him behind. If you chose to wait, Desmond became a powerful ally, but if you left him, he'd become the strongest hidden boss that shows up after you beat the final boss, which is basically the end of the game," Axel answered.
"Yeah, but why are we here? Didn't you say the character named Desmond is already dead?" Hailey asked.
"Because I'm going to replace Desmond and become the hidden boss. If I have to, I'll become a force all my own, outside of the main story. The reason is simple: this time, I want to live life on my own terms," Axel answered. "It'd be better if you guys weren't here," Axel muttered to himself.
"Then what happened to Desmond once he was inside here?" Valerie asked.
"Don't know. It's never explained," Axel replied.
"Oh… I see," Valerie responded.
"Let's go in. No more wasting time," Axel said.
"Okay," the five of them replied.
"Kreek," Axel opened the iron gate. He walked slowly into the fog-filled graveyard toward the crypt entrance, his destination. "Graaaah," a few ghouls crawled out of the ground, attacking Axel. "Sriiing," "blam," Axel swung his sword and fired his pistol, then sprinted deeper into the cemetery. While running, he pulled up his status.
=========================================
Name : Axelirius Von Aldrich (Axel).
Age : 15.
Race : Half vampire / Dhampir.
Level : 1 > 5 / 9999 (100 / 2500).
Health : 200 / 200 > 300.
Spirit : 100 / 100 > 150.
STR : 20 > 100. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
AGI : 20 > 100. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
STA : 20 > 100. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
LUC : 20 > 100.
=========================================
"Hmm… that leveled up fast, even though I only killed two ghouls. But that's probably because I'm entering this crypt, which is supposed to be almost mid-game content. Whatever," Axel said as he ran and closed his status screen.
"Gaaaah,"
More ghouls kept emerging every time Axel ran past the headstones. He reached the end of the path where it split in front of him. He took the right path because there was only one enemy at the end: the mid-boss, a Giant Skeleton Knight. Axel stopped running; he walked casually because he knew there was only one enemy on that path.
"Quick question, you said the game's protagonist comes here, right? When is he actually supposed to show up?" Sharon asked.
"Hmm… probably next year. According to the story, they only start their journey when they're 17, because the academy gets attacked by an army of angels," Axel answered.
"Hmm, interesting. It sounds like a good game," Avery murmured.
"Yeah, I like it because it has a horror vibe, but the game was a flop for my company," Axel replied. "She's pretending to be interested. Did she forget she called me an adult who likes to play games to her coworkers?" Axel thought to himself.
"I should have looked at the games your company made back then, instead of insulting you… I apologize," Avery muttered.
"It's over, don't worry about it," Axel replied curtly. "Wait, she can read my mind, can't she?" Axel thought to himself.
"Axel… look ahead," Valerie said.
Axel looked forward. He saw an enormous skeleton, carrying a sword in both hands, wearing full iron armor with a horned helmet, getting ready to attack.
"Klak… klak… klak."
The Skeleton Knight sounded like it was laughing as Axel stood in front of it.
"Giant Skeleton Knight," Axel muttered, looking up.
"Kraaaaah,"
"Blum,"
The Giant Skeleton Knight swung its massive sword down at Axel. Axel immediately jumped backward, making the sword slam into the ground. "Blam… blam," "klang… klang," Axel's shots, using red, blood-like bullets, ricocheted off the Skeleton's armor. "Bum… swish… bum," the Skeleton attacked aggressively. Axel could only dodge while occasionally shooting, but his bullets weren't doing anything to the Skeleton. "Bum," Axel leaped forward, then rolled past the sword through the gap between the Skeleton's legs, putting him behind the enemy. He immediately raised his palm.
"Blood bind,"
A magic circle appeared in front of Axel's palm, shooting out two bright, glowing blood tendrils that wrapped around the Skeleton's legs. "Kraaaaaa," "bum," the Skeleton, in the middle of turning, lost its balance and fell, propping itself up on its hands on the ground. Axel immediately raised his hand, and a magic circle appeared above his palm.
"Blood scythe slash,"
A large, bright scythe made of blood appeared above Axel's palm, and "swiiiish," "craaak," the massive scythe swung down on the struggling Skeleton Knight's body, shattering it into pieces. Axel then jumped forward, plunging his sword into the gem in the Skeleton's skull.
"Kraaaaaaaakh,"
When the gem shattered, the skeleton stopped moving. Axel landed and checked his status.
=========================================
Name : Axelirius Von Aldrich (Axel).
Age : 15.
Race : Half vampire / Dhampir.
Level : 5 > 30 / 9999 (500 / 15.500).
Health : 300 / 300 > 800.
Spirit : 90 / 150 > 400.
STR : 100 > 600. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
AGI : 100 > 600. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
STA : 100 > 600. (Blood moon relic set + 1.000)
LUC : 100 > 600.
=========================================
"Wow… straight to level 30. Awesome," Axel muttered to himself.
After the Giant Skeleton was defeated, the fog began to clear. Axel looked ahead. He saw a massive mausoleum with stone stairs leading down and a closed stone gate. Without another word, Axel walked straight toward the tomb, which looked like a terrifying, mystical mini-mansion with two gargoyle statues flanking the stairs. He walked down the steps, where two torches illuminated the walls on either side of the stone gate. Axel examined the stone gate.
"The vibe is totally different from the game. Inside is a maze with tons of enemies… Alright, let's go in," Axel said.
He immediately placed his palm on the stone gate. "Greeeeek," the stone door split apart, sliding right and left, opening the way inside. Axel entered slowly, and "greeeek," the stone door closed again behind him.