Glephnir
The elemental spirit took shape in the centre of the cavern, a storm given body. Fire surged, then froze to ice, then shattered into stone, then cracked apart into lightning. Its body was unstable, cycling faster and faster with each turn, as though existence itself was struggling to contain it.
The first pulse came without warning.
A gout of fire, roaring from its chest, turned half the cavern into a furnace.
I met it head-on.
Dragonfang flared to life, fire and lightning racing across the blade like twin serpents. The collision detonated with a roar, the blast hurling me back several steps and throwing the others into cover. The cavern shook. Ice split beneath my boots, shards skittering across the floor.
But Glephnir wasn't just fire.
The ground erupted as stone spikes speared upward, sharp enough to punch through steel. I vaulted over one, rolled under another. Cold air rushed in, and jagged spears of ice rained down from the ceiling. One caught my shoulder, tearing flesh, the cold-burning sensation worse than fire. Then lightning cracked from its arms in arcs of violet, snapping through the puddles at my feet.
Every step forward was a gauntlet.
My HP bled away in steady ticks. Cuts, burns, bruises, death by a thousand grazes.
I grit my teeth and pressed on, weaving between chaos. Dragonfang's edge met each surge, fire against frost, lightning against stone. But every strike only rippled through its form. Smoke. Steam. No real damage.
This thing isn't physical, I knew that much.
There had to be a core. And then I saw it.
For just a moment, Glephnir's chest flared with colour, orange to blue, brown to white. A pulsing glow buried deep inside. The centre of its cycle.
Found you.
I lunged, forcing my battered body to move faster. The storm howled around me, flaying skin, rattling bone, but I didn't stop. Glephnir reacted walls of ice shot up, slabs of stone crashed down.
Dragonfang burned hotter than it ever had, slicing clean through the ice wall, melting it into steam. I burst through the cloud, blade raised high. Glephnir twisted its whole body, trying to scatter, but I was already on it.
I drove my sword into its chest.
The strike plunged straight into its pulsing core.
The world detonated.
A shockwave of fire, ice, earth, and lightning tore outward all at once. The cavern floor split beneath us, fissures spiderwebbing across the ice. I was thrown like a ragdoll, slammed shoulder-first into a jagged boulder. White-hot pain lanced down my arm.
I staggered to my feet, coughing blood. My vision blurred, ears ringing. Dragonfang trembled in my grip.
Glephnir spasmed at the centre of the cavern. Fractures raced across its form, raw energy leaking like blood from open wounds. Lightning snapped uncontrollably. Fire belched from its chest, melting its own body into rivers of glowing magma.
It wasn't dead, not yet.
"Tom!" Liane cried, voice shaking. She was pale, her hands glowing faint, mana almost gone. The remnants of the blast had reached them, Liane using what little magic she had to heal the speedster, ice had fractured through his shoulder, the others didn't even try to move. They knew this fight wasn't theirs to enter.
I rolled Dragonfang in my grip, ignoring the ache in my fingers. "Stay back."
I ran, Glephnir roared, a sound of forces colliding, and unleashed everything it had left. Ice spears rained. Stone fists hammered. Firestorms twisted with lightning, blinding in their fury, some attacks reached the other party members, causing burns and frost to eat into their skin, but with their more distant retreat they were safer.
I ducked. Rolled. Took a strike across my ribs ripping ribbons into my body, my life was being risked, a lightning bolt caught me mid-step, locking up every muscle.
Move.
MOVE.
I tore my body free of the paralysis with raw will, forcing Dragonfang to blaze with both flame and raw mana. I chugged a mana potion held in my mouth as I moved, I jolted at the elemental and swung. Once. Twice. Each blow cracked further into the glowing heart.
The final strike came from above.
I leapt, body screaming in protest, and brought my blade down in a two-handed arc, it pierced the core, energy convulsed, the cavern became a sun.
Glephnir's form collapsed inward, folding like a dying star, until nothing remained but a swirl of dissolving light.
The atmosphere stilled, the cavern fell quiet.
Only the hiss of cooling stone remained.
I dropped to one knee, blade buried in the ice beside me, breath ragged, chest burning, hands raw and bleeding, the skin cracked from heat and cold alike.
SYSTEM: YOU HAVE DEFEATED GLEPHNIR, THE QUADELEMENTAL SPIRIT
EXP GAINED: 118,000
LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 37
New Ability Gained: Elemental Absorption (Passive)
Elemental Resistance +10%
You have gained a Low-Rank Elemental Core
The screen glowed faintly, casting light across my scarred fingers. My mana channels ached, stretched wider than before, humming with the echoes of four elements.
Sparks of lightning, fire, ice, and earth flickered all at once before sinking within my body.
This sensation, I could feel the ability sink into my being. It had carved something new into my body, traces of all base elements.
Footsteps echoed behind me.
The others caught up, slower, hesitant, their eyes darting from the shattered ice pillars to the gouges torn through the cavern floor. The air was still thick with dust and smoke, faint sparks crackling where Glephnir's storm had ended.
The tank froze mid-step. His jaw hung loose as he looked around at the destruction, then at me.
"What… what was that?" His voice was hoarse, barely more than a breath.
The speedster rubbed his shoulder, trying to massage away the pain and to shake off the chill. "You weren't fighting a monster," he muttered, disbelief in his tone. "It was more like a spirit, something nearly angelic."
The healer moved forward, her hands trembling faintly at her sides, eyes wide but locked on me. Her voice broke halfway through her words.
"We couldn't even help. Not once. You… you stood there and fought that creature alone. Fire, ice, lightning, any one of those could've killed us. But you didn't fall. How?"
I let the silence hang for a moment, the sound of dripping water filling the cavern. Their stares pressed against me, desperate for an answer, for a reason that made sense.
Finally, I exhaled and let a tired grin crack my face.
"Guess I'm just built for this kind of thing." Giving them a thumbs up.
I mean it's not a lie, with my stats, and a unique skill.
They looked at me the way people look at something they don't fully understand.
A soft hum broke the stillness.
A chest shimmered into existence where Glephnir had fallen. Its glow spilled across the icy floor, cutting long shadows. The others tensed instinctively, but I walked forward and opened it without hesitation.
Inside, a single orb rested on a velvet bed of light. Glowing, dense with condensed magic.
[Skill Proficiency Orb: +150 to any magical skill.]
I picked it up, feeling the heat of raw mana in my palm. It was invaluable for those at a lower level. Priceless really.
Without a second thought, I turned and held it out and crushed it, my proficiency with lightning increased, but I still needed to practice. Nothing is given for free in this system, there is usually a catch, so I knew I would work on developing this myself.
The tank let out a low whistle, shaking his head slowly. "If that's what level forty plus bosses look like… I don't ever want to be dead weight again. I swear, I'll push harder. I'll catch up."
The speedster nodded, a strange fire in his eyes now where fear had been. "Yeah, same. If I don't get faster and stronger… I won't even be able to stand on the same field as you. And I want to. I don't want to just watch."
The healer swallowed hard, finally whispering, "I thought I understood what strong meant. But after this… I realise I don't. Not yet. But I want to."
I studied their faces. Fear, awe, determination, they were shaken but not broken. If anything, Glephnir hadn't just tested me. It had lit something inside them too.
We were going to need it.
Every moment they survived here — every monster they outplayed, every floor they conquered, it forged them into powerful players.
They wouldn't just be survivors. They'd be the blueprint.
The first to climb this far. The first to learn what awaits ahead.
Soon, others would follow, but it would be this party who stood tallest. The most sought-after team in Europe.
I turned toward the gate ahead. Its glow pulsed faintly, beckoning us forward, the cold already fading from the cavern. Whatever waited on the sixth floor, it would be worse.
But this time, I wasn't the only one hungry for it. And together, we stepped forward as the light engulfed us.
I knew the enemies on the sixth floor could be up to ten levels higher than me. Even with everything I'd gained like lightning, the elemental mastery, and the scars, I doubted I could handle a coordinated group of level 49 monsters alone.
The portal shimmered behind us as we stepped forward into the unknown.
The landscape had changed again.
A wide, glassy snowfield stretched out beneath us. Trees rose like frozen statues; their branches laced with ice so pure it sparkled like crystal. Wind howled across the land, biting and sharp, whispering through the frost.
It was beautiful, silent, deadly.
"Rest while you can," I said quietly. "The next challenge won't wait." And sure enough, it didn't.
Ten minutes in three figures emerged from the mist, tall, lithe and cold as the air itself.
Ice elves.
They stood at least six feet tall, each one as graceful as they were deadly. Skin like pale sapphire. Hair of silver and snow. Their movements were fluid, disciplined.
Their levels: 47 to 48.
Not monsters. Warriors.
They didn't hesitate. Their blades came out in a synchronised draw.
I met the first one halfway, our swords sparking as they collided. His form was sharp, clean, aggressive. But mine had weight. Fire and lightning clashed with ice and grace.
We were equals for a few moments.
Then I heard a cry out.
The stronger elf had broken formation, darting toward Liane our healer.
I didn't think, I could only react.
Slamming my sword into the dagger mid-swing, I deflected the blow inches from her throat. The force sent the weapon spinning away.
"Stay behind me," I muttered. The fear I felt wasn't for me, but these people I dragged into this, I can't have them die due to my lack of forethought.
She nodded, breath misting in shallow gasps, her hands shaking too hard to speak.
The elves regrouped instantly. Fluid. Relentless. Their eyes glinted with cold fury, as if insulted I had dared to interrupt.
"Fine."
I raised my blade and called everything I had left. A twitch of euphoria hit as all my senses shivered as my eyes closed.
Flames roared up my arm, licking my shoulder. Lightning surged with it, sparking violently down the blade. Power built up with all the mana possible, I had never released a blow with all my mana before.
I let it go.
As my eyes opened with focus, a burst of elemental force exploded outward, ripping heat and fire into the frozen air. The ground cracked. The elves staggered back, wounded but not beyond recovery, their eyes narrowing, blades still raised.
The tank shouted, voice ragged: "We can't fight them! Not like this, we don't stand a chance!"
The speedster swore under his breath. "The energy they give off, they're stronger than the boss was, this is suicide."
He was right. Not every battle was meant to be won.
"Run, move!" I barked.
The elves didn't follow but their eyes lingered. Watching. Measuring. The fight wasn't worth the risk. Not for any of us.
By the time we reached the gate, everyone was drained, our mana gone. Muscles aching. Breaths short and sharp in the freezing air. My body still hummed with the clash, but it wasn't adrenaline anymore, it was fatigue.
But we were alive.
As the gate released us, the world shifted, and we found ourselves back at the fifth-floor entrance.
The healer sank to the ground, knees drawn up, her breath spilling in shaky streams of white. Her hands trembled as they laced around her legs, the aftershocks of an unfinished spell still clinging to her fingers.
"You saved me," she said softly. Her voice was thin, fragile. "You didn't have to."
I didn't answer at first. Just met her eyes and let the silence stretch. Then, steady and low, I said, "I owed you that much. I told you, I'll handle the rest as long as you keep yourselves alive."
Her lips parted as if to argue, but no words came. She only gave a small nod, clutching her staff tighter. A faint rose bloomed across her cheeks as her gaze lingered, soft and unguarded, looking upon the one who had put his life between hers and death.
The tank let out a long breath, shoulders sagging as he slumped his body down to the floor. His face was pale, sweat frozen at his temple, eyes still flicking toward the gate as if the elves might walk through at any second.
"I've fought goblins, trolls, oversized creatures, even that lizard boss. But that… they weren't your standard monsters, they were clearly intelligent."
"Worse," the speedster muttered. His usual cocky tone was long gone, stripped raw. "They didn't even look tired or worried. Like we were practice. Just practice."
No one disagreed. For a while, none of us said much.
The events of what had almost happened still pressed on our shoulders — the silence between us thick with adrenaline, fatigue, and something unspoken.
One by one, they stepped through the gate.
I lingered, just for a moment. The static from the fight still clung to my skin — faint, residual sparks whispering through my veins like a warning… or a promise.
"They were good," I muttered.
But that floor — that place — it wasn't the end for me, it was the beginning.
The real challenge was still waiting, and if I was going to survive what came next…I'd need to be more than good.
I exhaled once, then stepped through.
We emerged at the entrance of the labyrinth.
The outside world blinked back into focus. A crowd had already gathered — hunters, officials, spectators. All of them had assumed we were dead. We'd been gone ten times longer than anyone who'd entered before.
They stared as we returned. Survivors.
Levels far higher than what any of them had expected.
And mine?
Mine didn't show at all.
We regrouped near the gate's edge, the gate still humming faintly behind us.
There wasn't much left to say.
"I'm sure we'll see each other around," I told them, resting a hand on each shoulder in turn. "Just… take what you've learned and stay careful. The next steps are yours, stick together, you will make an impressive party."
A few nodded and some smiled, but they all understood.
I left them there and returned to the hotel alone.
The silence greeted me like an old friend, steady, familiar, and suffocating all at once. Lamplight stretched long shadows across the floor as I peeled off my ruined clothes: tattered reminders of fire, ice, and too many close calls.
Every muscle throbbed with a low, steady ache. My mana pathways still hummed with overuse, a resonance that ran bone deep. I stepped into the shower and let the water crash against my skin until the mirror fogged over, steam thick enough to form mist. Each drop loosened a knot within me, drained a little of the strain but never enough.
When I stepped out, towel slung around my waist, the mirror caught me.
There was no pride in the reflection. No triumph. Just tired eyes staring back, and injuries I had no right to walk away from so easily.
They all had nearly died today, and I barely knew their names.
I'd pushed us all deeper into the labyrinth, chasing levels, hunting challenges, testing my limits… like this was a game. Like the risk was worth it, just because I believed I could carry us through.
And maybe that belief wasn't wrong, but it had nearly cost lives.
People trusted me. Not because they knew me, but because I acted like I knew what I was doing, when in reality, we were all new to this world we were thrusted into, and that scared me.
It wasn't just about strength anymore. Not just levels or power. If I kept moving like this, using strangers as stepping stones to grow stronger... how long before someone actually died.
I ran a hand through my damp hair, jaw clenched, quiet sinking deeper in my chest.
This world, this system, it was exactly the kind of madness I used to dream about. Monsters. Magic. Meaning. For the first time, life didn't feel empty. But now I knew the cost.
And the question wasn't could I keep going, it was could I live with the consequences if I did.
I didn't have the answer, but I knew I'd go back, because if I didn't get stronger, faster, next time it might not be a close call.
It might be a grave.
The faint shimmer of lightning flickered beneath the surface of my skin, subtle, fleeting but there. I've changed, more than I care to admit.
I dressed in silence. Clean clothes. Loose, comfortable. Each motion was slow, deliberate, not habit but a ritual of unwinding, of forcing myself to remember there was still life beyond the fight. I lay down in the dark, and before I knew it, I drifted off, sleep may not come easy most of the time, but tonight it was needed.
The next morning, I dragged myself up early, sun broke over the city. The world was quiet, sharpened, as though it too knew what was coming.
Another shower, not to recover, but to feel the heat soak over and relax me, to wash away the softness of rest and replace it with the perk up I need to return to the dangers awaiting.
By the time the sun raised above the buildings I was already dressed, battle-ready. Dragonfang at my hip. Mana potions strapped and secured in a bag. I stepped into the cold morning air. The streets were half-asleep, but my pulse was wide awake.
This time, I wasn't bringing a team. This time, it was just me. Back at the first floor, I moved like a shadow through familiar floor. The enemies barely registered, burned away in streaks of lightning-laced fire before they even struck. I didn't pause. Didn't slow.
By the time I reached the fourth floor, the Minotaur boss loomed again.
Same strength. Same roar. Same end.
I cleaved it down with ease, my blade igniting the moment it hit flesh, lightning surging through the blow. It collapsed in moments, no match for the power I'd refined since our last encounter.
EXP Gained: 527,000
Level Up: 39
Now sitting at 118,000 out of nearly a million EXP, I pushed deeper, through the elemental-infested fifth floor.
The battles were methodical.
One by one, I shattered them, fire meeting fire, lightning duelling lightning. Somewhere in the blur, I absorbed Ice Magic. It surged cold and sharp beneath my skin, unfamiliar and raw. The system confirmed it:
Ice Magic: Level 2 (Proficiency: 1/200)
Another skill, every skill was cause for excitement, it was something I could use, another element for the arsenal, but while in the labyrinth I didn't have the luxury of displaying my joy, today was serious.
After slaying twenty more elementals, I pocketed another 330,000 EXP.
When we reached the fifth-floor boss, I didn't hesitate.
I dismantled it.
EXP Gained: 96,000