RISE OF THE SWARM

Horizon headed deeper into the cave, his full attention now drawn by the dungeon. What he discovered could be world-changing.

Soon the cave opened up into a large cavern. Webs covered the cavern fully. Ahead of them, a pile of metal lay on the ground—the remains of the previous drones. Parts of it were covered in a green corrosive liquid. Acid, Horizon recognized.

<Multiple hostile entities discovered.>

His sensors rang out. Above him in the webs on the cave ceiling, multiple eyes began opening. Their red pupils shone in the darkness. The sound of mandibles clicking followed their appearance.

The giant arachnids that had destroyed his previous drone, he recognized. A nuisance.

"Eradicate them," he ordered.

The sentinels responded with a mechanical whir. Mini turrets unfurled from their shoulders. The sound of gunfire mixed with the shrieks of the dying spiders soon filled the cavern.

The spider bodies began to rain down, falling to the ground in puddles of slimy green blood, dead. Some detached themselves prematurely, avoiding the first round of gunshots.

They landed on the ground and immediately began charging at Horizon, their mandibles outstretched, ready to attack. But they didn't make it far. A bullet soon pierced their head, reaping their life.

It seems I had overestimated the combat power of this dungeon, Horizon thought, looking at the carnage surrounding him. It seemed that ten sentinels had indeed been overkill for such a low-level dungeon.

The gunshots soon stopped after every arachnid had been eradicated from the cavern. Soon after, their bodies dissolved back into piles of goo that were absorbed into the ground. What was left behind were spider mandibles and a bunch of green cores.

Horizon and his sentinels continued forward. But the deeper they went, the more the dungeon began to change. The mana became denser, and the enemies started to become stronger, more… dense.

Soon the group arrived at a large wooden door with a large brass handle. Horizon fired his sensors at the door.

<Large energy signature detected.>

It seems they had stumbled upon the boss room.

"Open it," Horizon commanded once again.

One of the sentinels stepped forward. Its hands shifted into a plasma blaster. It pointed directly at the door. Red energy traveled from its core to its arm, giving the blaster a red hue. With a click, it fired. The power behind the attack caused the entire room to quake, dust particles flying everywhere.

The door didn't stand a chance. It was instantly incinerated at the point of contact, blown into smithereens. The path ahead was clear.

Horizon and his sentinels walked in. The room inside was much larger than any Horizon had ever come across in this dungeon.

The room was circular in shape, lined with stone bricks. On the sides, unlit torches hung. As soon as they walked in, the torches instantly lit ablaze, shining light into the chamber.

In the middle, a large green-skinned figure sat. Its eyes were closed, but steam steadily poured from its mouth. It sat on a large stone, its four hands resting on its legs lazily. Behind it, a large broadsword rested. Runes covered its stony surface, a soft blue light pulsating from them.

The creature resembled an orc but was much larger in stature and had four hands instead of the usual two. Two tusks elongated from its mouth; one of them had been broken by something.

Horizon stared at it. His mana sensors firing. This creature's mana signature was way too high for a creature that should be in this dungeon. An anomaly. The adventurers had some information on this.

It rarely occurred in dungeons, where a dungeon hosted an enemy much stronger than its level. These enemies were termed named monsters. No wonder the other enemies were weak. The dungeon had sacrificed most of its strength to cultivate this monster.

Fascinating.

The anomaly twitched. Its eyes slowly opened and gazed at Horizon.

"Quite an entrance," it spoke.

Horizon stared at it, briefly shocked. It could converse. It truly was an anomaly. It spoke the language of the orcs, Horizon recognized. He didn't say anything in response, merely continued to gaze at it.

"Your name, demon. Tell me your name," it said, rising up to a staggering 10 feet.

Horizon remained quiet.

"No name? Doesn't matter. My name is Khurzak The Brave, and I will end you, Demon," it said, dislodging its large stone broadsword.

Khurzak, so that's its name. No matter; named beast or not, it shall fall all the same.

Khurzak swung his sword, sending a gust of wind towards his enemies. A cloud of dust rose up into the air.

"Come," he bellowed as his eyes turned fully green, his muscles tensing.

The sentinels attacked. Their energy blades crackled with raw energy. Two pincer attacked, their blades raised, aiming for the legs.

Khurzak grunted. Raising his foot and bringing it down. A large green wave pulsed from the foot, interrupting the attempted pincer attack. The attackers were knocked back but barely suffered any damage as they landed gracefully back on the ground.

Two mini missile racks unfolded from the sentinels. With a click, a barrage of missiles was launched. They screeched through the air. Their target didn't bother with dodging.

Khurzak scoffed. A large blue gem attached to a necklace hanging on his neck began to glow. An illusory blue shield appeared, covering him. The missiles struck the shield, exploding on contact.

Smoke covered the area, reducing Khurzak's visibility. He raised his lower hands, clapping them together; a green wave radiated outward, clearing the smoke.

He looked towards his enemies, but it was too late. One of the sentinels had finished charging up its attack.

A large plasma cannon hitched on its back had finished powering up. Its barrel crackled with raw power. It fired.

The plasma round streaked through the air, superheating it.

Khurzak tried dodging it, sensing the danger coming from it. But it was too late. The shot struck true on his face. Half of his face was instantly obliterated. He was knocked back, landing on the nearby wall.

It took a few seconds, but he stood back up. His face a picture of gore. But a smile was on his face.

"GOOD," he said.