Chapter 171

  It didn’t take Jake long to reach the building where the mana able was located. Upon nding on the rooftop, he quickly assessed the situation. A massive whipper stood at the ter of the roof. After appraising it with a thought, he realized it was ae whipper, not just a regur ohe enormous creature shed out at him with its arm-tentacle, but Jake easily dodged the blow, darting to the side.

  Almost immediately, the whip-like tentacle zipped through the air toward him again. While Jake had no iion of fighting the elite mutant to serve the little mana he had left, he knew he o deprive the whipper of its main on. Wheentacle reached him, he shed out with his sword, severing it in half. With a roar of frustration and ahe whipper retracted the remnants of its arm-tentacle.

  Not far from the monster, a dead body y sprawled on the ground—the remains of a survivor who had clearly lost a battle against the elite whipper. He must have been engaged in a tower mission, tasked with clearing all the floors of mutants and eliminating the elite monster on the roof. Or perhaps he might just have stumbled upon the elite whipper by ce.

  Not that it really mattered to Jake. He was solely ied in the mana able he had e for, which should be stashed away in the dead survivor’s rucksack, as there was no other spot on the roof for it to be. Without b to close his eyes and activate Mana Vision to firm his theory, Jake darted around the whipper, giving the massive mutant a wide berth, and dropped to a knee beside the dead survivor, who y face down.

  He ripped open the fp, and immediately a bluish glow burst forth from within, firming the presence of a mana able inside. Jake reached into the rucksad retrieved a fairly rge mana item with a familiar shape. At first gnce, he reized it as a mana crystal, taining 5,000 MP. Some time ago, Jake would have been thrilled to e across so much mana, but given his current level, it wasn’t all that muymore.

  A thunderous roar and the sound of heavy, rapid footfalls prompted him to look up. The elite monster came barreling toward him, moving with incredible speed for its size. Jake jumped to his feet, waited just a moment to let the whipper get a little closer, and then suddenly darted to the side. The mutant charged past him, trying to slow down but struggling to do so immediately due to the momentum it had gained. Jake pivoted in the dire he had e from and burst into a sprint. Once he reached the edge of the roof, he performed a mana-infused jump to the building.

  Upon nding on the roof, he slowed down, then stopped pletely and looked at the mana able in his hand. He gripped it tightly, clutg the crystal in his fist. The magical energy surged through the newly formed cracks in the crystal, heading toward his skin to be absorbed by his body.

  Ohe crushed crystal was depleted and all the mana it tained had been ed, he dropped the item. Five thousand mana points wasn’t much for his current level. He could easily use it up in just a few hours. However, he now had enough mana in his body to use Cloak again, and if he took it easy, the amount of mana he now had within him would st him until nightfall, with some to spare.

  Jake returo the building t over the bandit base. Activating Cloak, he approached the parapet and peered over the edge at the pouories below. He noticed that the battle was nearly finished. By that point, all the void spiders and fiends were dead. Only the death knight remained, but it was on its st breath. One of its arms was missing, clearly having been severed by Miller, and numerous wounds and gashes were visible on its body.

  The gang leader wasn’t unscathed either. The power suit he wore bore mas and ragged holes. Armor ptes had been torn from the suit in several pces. The energy gun was missing as well, but after a quick s, Jake spotted it lying on the ground nearby. The death knight must have ripped it from where it had been mounted on one of the power suit’s arms.

  Miller and the death knight kept fighting while the remaining bandits watched. The massive monster suddenly swung its colossal fist at Miller, who caught it with his right hand enhanced by the power suit’s glove. Using the saw attached to the wrist of his suit’s left arm, Miller sliced through the death knight’s arm, severing it ly in half.

  The now armless monster roared in rage and frustration, a chilling sound that echoed through the pound. The death knight leaned in toward Miller, opening its jaws wide as if preparing to take a bite out of him. The base leader thrust his saw into the monster’s open mouth and held it there firmly. The death knight’s body thrashed wildly for a moment, the meical whirring of the saw blending with its anguished roar. Then, with a final, vulsive shudder, the creature suddenly colpsed to the ground, dead.

  After that, everything fell silent for a moment. Then, as if ohe bandits surrounding their leader erupted in victorious shouts, cheering for their brave ander. Miller pumped his right fist in the air, clearly sav the victory and relishing the attention from his grateful subordinates.

  The power suit then opened, and Miller stepped out. He walked toward the falleh knight, crouched down, and snatched the Skeleton Key from where it was attached to the creature’s hip. Now that the monster was dead, the bony loop secured around the key had bee fragile. As Miller pulled on the key, the loop shattered effortlessly, crumbling into thousands of tiny fragments that scattered across the ground.

  Miller stood up, examining the Skeleton Key he held in his hand. The excitement on his face was unmistakable, raising a flurry of questions in Jake’s mind. Where was Miller pnning to use the key? Did he know about the Maze of Torment located in the sewers? That particur dungeon was designed for levels 15-20, while Miller’s own level was a staggering 195. Or perhaps Miller had information on other dungeons suited fher levels?

  However, there was no time to search for answers. Jake hat key. He had failed to snatch it on his first attempt, but he was willing tain. The trick was to stay ued by the base’s octs. He wasn’t sure how he would aplish that, so he was going to have to e up with a pn on the fly.

  With that in mind, he stepped over the edge of the roof and dropped to the street below.