Hard Mode Awakening Challenge

There was a long line of adventurers outside of the Fang's Den dungeon checkpoint when Ian showed up the next morning. The previous day, he had only seen two other groups, and they had been leaving when he was arriving at four in the morning. Today, he hadn't been able to get there until right around eight, and the difference was pronounced.

"Hey there," came a voice behind him.

Ian turned to find himself in front of a party decked out in gear that made what he was used to seeing at the AO look like scraps. They had the symbol of a clan known as the Spartans on their chest armor and cloaks.

"Good morning," Ian replied with a smile.

"Are you holding a spot in line for your party?" asked the man in a friendly voice.

"Ah, nope. I'm solo," Ian replied, smiling sheepishly.

The man blinked at him for a second before one of the women in the party smacked him on his metal pauldron.

"Hey," he yelped. "Whatcha do that for?"

"That's the new kid everyone's been talking about," she said, giving the man an eye roll. Turning to Ian, she gave him a small nod, "I'm not surprised to see you after catching the highlights of yesterday's stream. Though I must say I'm surprised to see you back out here so soon. Adventurers need some downtime every once and a while or they get burned out."

Ian nodded, "I'll be taking a break from the dungeon tomorrow, but I wanted to see how far I could get."

"Wait a minute," the man said, jumping into the conversation. "He's only level 918. How is he even allowed in this dungeon? He doesn't even meet the minimum level requirement." The man held his arms out for a second to stop his friend from cutting him off as he looked Ian over. "And this little goober takes them on solo? Dude, you must be either crazy or good?"

The woman with him began laughing before Ian could get a word in, which was good, because he wasn't sure how to respond.

Smacking the man on the pauldron again, she said, "Crazy good. I'm telling you, Deon, you need to start watching the highlight clips I sent you. If he was willing to join a clan, the boss would have already grabbed him."

"But you have to be at least in the mid-tier to qualify. There is no way the boss would break that rule."

"Pshh," said the woman, looking at the man like he was crazy. "He's killing monsters hundreds of levels ahead of himself and has been a ranker for less than a month. I'm sure he'll surpass us by the time the tournament hits." She shook her head at the man before turning to face Ian again, "I'm looking forward to seeing how you do. You better keep up the leveling pace, because you're going to need every bit of extra power against some of the parties that are going to be competing."

Ian smiled at her. "I'm not sure if I'll be competing yet, but I'll do my best if I end up giving it a shot."

"Hell yeah! I'm looking forward to it," she said, making a couple of punching motions.

"Like this little shit stain will even be able to stand up to a real adventuring party," came a whiney voice from behind him.

Ian turned to see a team with the emblem of a blue sun with an 'S' imprinted in the middle of their armor.

"Then he shouldn't have anything to fear from the likes of your little ragtag group, Chet," the woman shot from behind him.

"Shut the fuck up, Vex," Chet replied with disdain. "The Spartans are trash, and you all know it. When that tournament rolls around, everyone will know how strong the Wolf's Bite really is. My party is going to show all of you scrubs how far ahead Serenity is compared to you."

Ian had expected Vex and her party to start lobbing insults back, but her party, along with the other six groups waiting in line, all started laughing.

"Hurry the hell up, Chet," called someone in the back in a mocking tone. "You're holding up the line. Or is your giant level seventeen hundred ass too big to fit into this level eleven hundred dungeon?"

"Wolf's Bite," came the call of the AO representative before Chet could reply. "You have been cleared to enter. Please move out of the way so we can process the other parties."

The man's face turned red, but with a single look at the representative, he wisely decided that it wasn't worth the trouble. He gave Ian one last look before snorting and leading his group into the dungeon.

"Adventurer Zero," Ian said, holding his hand over the crystal. "Solo."

"You are cleared, Adventurer Zero," said the man on the other side of the desk. "Please do be careful in there. I know you did well yesterday, but things can quickly go bad if you lose focus."

"Thank you, I will," Ian replied, moving out of the way of Vex's party.

"Rising Tide," he heard her say, as he walked through the portal. He committed the name to memory so he could look them up later.

The morning sun completely disappeared as the landscape changed as he crossed the threshold. Unlike his previous dungeons, this one was comprised of a dark forest that seemed like it was ripped straight out of a horror movie. Trees with bare branches outlined the clearing the portal sat in, appearing almost black against the night sky. Even with the huge full moon, much larger than the one on Earth, lighting up the area, Ian felt off when he realized he could see hundreds of feet in each direction.

Looking around, Ian saw Chet leading his party off to the right, so he decided to go straight in the hopes of avoiding them altogether. He only had to walk for a few minutes before a familiar growl caused him to turn and ready his spear.

Unlike the day prior, Ian was ready for the first creature that jumped out from behind a tree and began advancing on him. He activated analyze to make sure it was the same type he had been fighting the previous day.

Analyze Results - Fang Runt

LVL: 1141

Smiling, he took in the wolfman standing in front of him. It reminded him of the werewolves he had seen in movies, except that the creature didn't have claws on its feet. They were just normal, if extremely hairy, human feet. The hands were human hands with long one-inch claws, which Ian had found out were extremely sharp the first time he ran into one. While it didn't use any weapons, it used its claws to cut and its wolf-like muzzle to bite.

While the bite wasn't nearly as bad as a real wolf's would be, the monster could still rip out flesh if it got a chance to shake its head while pushing its victim with its arms. However, Ian found that he could just use his additional strength to push back these smaller runts if they bit him. It had only happened once yesterday, but being bitten hurt, and he was in no hurry to repeat the experience anytime soon.

The weird thing about wolfmen who were alone was that they would stare down their prey before charging. He hadn't remembered reading about this, but Claire had mentioned it might just be a thing that they do when they encounter a single target. Her guess was quickly followed by her pointing out that soloing mid-tier dungeons was, in fact, a stupid decision for the vast majority of the adventuring population. Ian also noted that she distinctly hadn't mentioned that he was an exception.

As the creature finally broke the stare down and howled, Ian charged. He found the wolfmen were extremely agile and were more than capable of dodging his attacks if he treated them like he would the bumbling horkers of the previous dungeon. They were fast but could still react quickly enough to dodge just far enough out of the way to sidestep a lunge while they were charging. However, if he was also charging, they weren't quite fast enough to completely evade his attacks.

His spearhead bit deep into the creature's chest on the left side, which also made a sickening crunch as the two-inch wings caught against the creature's ribs and sternum. Ian felt the impact jar his shoulders, and he thanked the dungeon curator that he nearly doubled the creature's strength. They were fast and agile, but not nearly as strong as most frontline fighters.

Ian pushed his spear to the right, knocking the yipping beast off balance as the blade slipped free. Quickly stepping forward, he drove the spear into the creature's neck, twisted, and pulled it out, causing a spray of blood. Before he could attack again, the creature perished.

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Congratulations! You have defeated an enemy more than 100 levels higher than yourself. Experience rewards are quadrupled. You have earned 1 level. You have achieved level 919. You have been awarded 20 skill points!

Sighing, Ian flicked the blood off the blade. "Only eighty-one more levels to go."

*~*~*

Nearly three hours later, Ian was using the corpses of four wolfmen to barricade half the entrance to one of the dens, which acted as a spawn point for the groups. Unlike the runts in the area around the dungeon portal, full-grown wolfmen called fang raiders spawned in groups of four approximately every ten minutes inside the dens.

Yesterday, Ian was able to move between a couple of different spawns, but today there were far more people here. Though, he was still making great time due to the level of monsters averaging between twelve and thirteen hundred. Another four or five hours, and he was sure he would reach his goal.

Less than a hundred yards away, he could hear the whooping and hollering of Chet's group. They had moved in on that den nearly an hour ago, taking it after another group had left. When they came by, Chet had tried to heckle Ian again, but he had been dragged away by his healer before he really got started. Even with the overwhelming scent of blood and unwashed dog, Ian had been able to detect the smell of hard liquor on the man.

Ian shook his head as he grimaced at the thought of drinking while in a dungeon. It had to be some sort of death wish, or maybe he was going for a Darwin award. It was hard to say, and fortunately, not his problem.

A growl from the den broke him out of his thoughts as the next wave of wolfmen ran towards the position he had taken up at the tunnel's entrance. He had wedged his spear between a few of the rocks to help brace the bodies he was using. It was a requirement as the second wolfman tried to push the grotesque barricade over while Ian used his gladius to quickly dispatch the one trying to get through the narrow opening.

Activating Magic Soul, the magical projection of the blade doubled its normal size and lobbed off the creature's forearm before continuing through to bisect the monster at the waist. Ian sidestepped as the second one tried to snap its jaws forward to bite him. Bringing his sword directly up, the magical blade blasted through the creature's neck, launching its head out past him as the body fell on the first one.

The other two were jostling each other to reach him, which gave him a second to get his bearings and reset himself. Just as he was dealing the killing blow to the third, he heard a bunch of people running past him as a deep, earsplitting howl came from the next den over.

He turned to see Chet give him a dark smile before flipping him off as he ran past on the heels of his party. Ian didn't even have time to swear as he turned back and barely got his sword up in time to catch the last of the four from his den as it slashed across the visor on his metal helmet.

The notification let him know the creature had died, but the impact had rung his bell. He took two steps back and shook his head to clear the ringing.

"Mother f—"

Ian didn't get the words out before something hit him from the side, launching him nearly a dozen yards. Quickly popping back up, Ian turned to see a seven-foot-tall wolfman with pure silver fur staring at him.

Analyze Results - Fang Patriarch

LVL: 1731

Ian's breath caught within his throat, and he was thankful that the creature was just staring him down like the other single wolfmen had done earlier. There was no way that he was faster than this creature, and he was going to need every second he could get to center himself.

He had read about the Fang Patriarch in the dungeon guides, and it was considered to be the rarest spawns in the dungeon. It only showed up a couple of times a year but had reportedly been killed less than a week ago. The extremely low likelihood of it spawning again so soon was the only reason Claire had suggested this dungeon in the first place.

Ian slowly moved his sword to the ready, as the creature's right ear twitched. Gripping the hilt so hard his hand hurt, Ian refused to take his eyes off the creature. He knew his spear was still lodged in the ground next to the entrance of the den 15 yards away, but it might as well have been a thousand miles for all the good it did him.

The instinct to bring his sword up was the only thing that saved Ian from being swatted across the clearing again. The jarring impact ripped the sword free as the creature howled and jumped back in pain. Ian stumbled to the side before reorienting himself as he watched the creature cut up its good paw as it struggled to push the blade out of its forearm.

Seeing the blade had gotten lodged into a bone, Ian swore. He hadn't had time to activate Magic Soul, or the arm would have probably come clean off. Unfortunately, he was now completely weaponless.

"Should we help him?" came a voice from the forest.

"Fuck him," Chet said with a slur. "The little bastard deserves it. Besides, if he dies, then he doesn't have any right to the loot, and daddy wants a new cloak or helmet."

"But—"

"Keep your trap closed. The little bastard shouldn't even be here. This is his own damn fault and serves him right for thinking he was ready to take on a real challenge."

Ian growled as the creature finally managed to pry the blade out of its arm, which was now freely bleeding. He also noted the creature's fingers on that arm didn't seem to be able to move. Its other hand was also bleeding heavily and had gotten pretty cut up from grabbing the blade directly.

When it turned its attention back on Ian, he could almost feel the killing intent in its gaze. Ian leaned forward slightly and found himself growing back. He was beyond pissed and would be damned if he let some mob training assholes get him killed now. He'd kill the creature in front of him with his bare hands if he had to.

The creature pointed its head up and let out another ear-piercing howl. Ian didn't wait and charged at the monster before it could do so to him. As he closed, the creature raised its good arm to bring its claws down on him. Ian took a chance and attempted to activate Magic Soul on his leather gloves. He wasn't able to look at the effect as he brought up his fist into the creature's torso, as it brought its claws down across his side.

Pain flared across Ian's fists and forearms, but he ignored it as he repeatedly drove his fists into the creature's ribcage and abdomen. An audible pop of ribs breaking could be heard on his fourth punch, as well as the popping of two of his knuckles giving out. Ian didn't get another chance to hit the creature as a leg caught him in the stomach and knocked him back a few steps.

The creature growled, grabbed its chest, and let out a few barks, as Ian managed to steady himself. His back and shoulder had been raked by the creature's claws, and he could feel the wounds bleeding heavily. Wishing for a second to heal, the creature refused to give him the time he needed as it howled again before it charged him.

"This is it. Get ready to kill it after he's dead," Chet said, hooting in delight.

"Get bent!" Ian screamed, lunging forward.

The monster's claws hit Ian hard in the side, digging straight through his armor. Clenching his teeth, he grabbed hold of the fur at the base of the creature's neck as he was launched to the side. Going with the motion, Ian pulled, as he kicked at the monster's knee as hard as he could. A sharp cracking noise was followed by a yip as the creature's leg buckled. Launching himself around the creature, he jumped on its back before it could recover. His arm was still firmly latched to the fur as he wrapped his legs around its waist from behind and grabbed his arm that was now hooked under its jaw.

Firmly in position, Ian pulled as hard as he could. The creature began raking his claws across Ian's arms, trying to dislodge him. Ian could feel his side bleeding, and the pain from it was nearly so overwhelming that he barely felt the claws ripping up his arms. He screamed as he pulled his arm tighter, causing the fight to slowly leave the creature as it began to teeter. Ian rode the creature down as it collapsed, falling unconscious.

Holding the creature's throat for a few more moments, Ian realized that he might not be strong enough to kill it like this before he passed out from blood loss. Letting go, he sat up looking for a weapon. The creature began to stir almost instantly.

Panicking, Ian unbuckled his helmet and grabbed it with both hands before bringing it down hard on the back of the creature's skull. He hit it over and over as the pain bloomed all over his side, back, chest, and arms. Activating Magic Soul, he brought it down a final time. As the head gave in with a loud squelching sound, he was immediately bombarded with messages from the dungeon system.

Ignoring them, he quickly began to channel Soothing Touch as he fell off the monster onto his back. He pulled out a small red vial from his inventory and popped the cork before pouring it directly into his mouth. He fought his gag reflex to keep down the horrible sewage-tasting liquid and sighed as the pain began to fade.

"—Just wait a moment, the respawns are gonna finish him off," Chet laughed as Ian realized he could hear growls coming from the den he had been fighting in.

Ian sat up as the first of the wolfmen came charging out of the den less than thirty feet away. Ian watched in horror as they ran at him, only to blink in confusion when an arrow embedded itself into the lead creature's neck, causing it to stumble as the other members of its pack vaulted over it.

"Don't worry," said a man in a dark cloak and leather armor who walked past Ian. "Rest for a moment. We've got your back."

Ian's eyes got wide as two long daggers appeared in the man's hands as he deftly dodged the first wolf and rammed one up into the underside of its muzzle, causing the point to erupt from the top of the creature's skull. He pulled it out and sidestepped as an arrow flew through the spot he had just been standing and took another of the creatures in the eye—killing it instantly. He finally dodged under the last, sliding his dagger across the creature's stomach before stepping past and ramming the second into the back of its skull as he stood back up.

As the man turned, Ian caught the image of a single blue line with small white dots above it embossed onto the back of his cloak. It wasn't a clan he was familiar with, though he knew he had seen it before.

Green light suddenly enveloped him, pulling his attention from the man as the remaining pain in his body began to ebb. It was at that moment that he realized he had been clenching his jaw and relaxed it before laying his head down and closing his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Chet, we need to go—"

"Why are you in such a rush?" asked the deep voice of another man who was now standing above Ian. "You sure weren't in a hurry to help a fellow adventurer who was one move away from death a few moments ago, so why would you be in a hurry now?"

"Fuuuck you!" Chet belligerently screamed at the man voice completely slurred. "We've done nothing legally wrong, so don't even try to pull that shit with me."

Ian opened his eyes to see a large, bearded man covered in vines standing next to a petite woman in tight, black leather who held a bow.

"Chet," came her innocent, cheerful tone, "Please, do everyone a favor and go play in traffic." She stopped, and Ian saw her move her head side to side, looking at something. "And take your poor excuse for an adventuring party with you."

"I don't—"

"Leave," she cut him off, the frost in her voice silencing everyone in the clearing. "I'm just a moment away from saying 'fuck it' and killing you myself. This young man has the potential to accomplish more that I will ever be able to, so you should understand that I would be more than willing to make that sacrifice."

"You wouldn't dare," Chet snarled.

"Oh, I would, but then again, the millions of people watching right now just saw you fail to contain the mobs that spawned near you, and then watched you try to weaponize it to kill another adventurer. I wonder what your brother and dad are going to say when they realize you just permanently damaged your clan's reputation?"

"Let's go, Chet," his party's healer hissed. "This has gotten out of hand, and we need to get out of here to minimize the damage."

Chet growled and spat on the ground in front of him before letting himself be pulled away by his party.