Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

Kamiya pulled his hand on his forehead as he leaned back into his throne. The atmosphere around the courtyard was decreasing moment by moment.

Hitori pulled himself back, away from the screen, and glanced at Kamiya, in the hope of hearing something from him. Reon rubbed her hands together and covered her face once again, her previously gained confidence vanished quickly.

The audience had expected this from the start as a level eight dungeon would not be able to hold onto for too long. The audience was eagerly waiting for the next move.

When Hitori thought Kamiya could do something, he kept staring at him in the hope of seeing Kamiya make his next move, but disturbance from the Kori dungeon caught Hitori's eyes again.

The four players stood blindly staring at the dead Wendigo and their pixilated leader's dead body. Kuzu's second wave caught up with them.

The four players stood unmoved while the rest of the group charged forward without waiting for the four players to come along.

"Kamiya…" Hitori called, "they are on a move," he said. Kamiya removed his hand and glanced at Hitori.

"It is hard to let go." Kamiya moved his eyes away from Hitori and focused back on the magic screen, "Although we will get it back anyway," Kamiya said.

Reon was trembling in disbelief, "T- they took our dungeon… they took the first dungeon…" No one bothered consoling her.

Only if I had the control panel. Hitori thought but he did not know much about strategic dungeon fights.

All he was good at and knew well about were hand-to-hand battles, army battles, guild versus guild battles. The concept of Dungeon Vs. Guilds were new to him and hence, inexperienced.

Hitori thought that this battle against Kuzu was not the perfect time for experimenting or learning Dungeon Vs. Guild battle strategy, it was better to let the experienced ones handle it– Kamiya Jigoku.

Kamiya leaned forward and placed his hands on the control panel. Twenty-nine men and five monsters, from which, four were standing back and the rest twenty had already reached a snow wall, created by Kamiya.

"Snow wall…" Hitori looked at Kamiya in disbelief, "it would not hold them for long." Hitori shook his head but Kamiya replied to him with a smile.

"I know… what I am doing and what I have done. Just watch." Kamiya's smile grew wider.

Reon still did not dare to open her eyes while Hitori remembered what Kamiya had told them, 'We will have to defeat their first wave in the Kori dungeon.'

But then what was he doing? There were still four people and one monster left from the first wave, the first wave was not over yet.

The snipers and archers took their positions and attacked the snow wall, the barbarians and samurais tried to cut down the wall, and assassins tried to pass through the wall but everything failed.

Hitori was indeed surprised, 'Just what is that wall made up of?' he thought. Suddenly, Hitori saw the men clear the coast for someone.

A guy raised his sword and called, "Bring the dungeon troll!"

Hitori's eyes widened. Kamiya gulped but did not panic like the audience. They all gasped at once and held their breath with wide eyes.

"The shield would not last even a second in front of a dungeon troll!"

"Their defense is nothing but glass now."

Yaban pulled his lips back and Kuchiki watched in suspense, "What do you think?" Yaban asked.

Kuchiki glanced at his partner as if he asked a stupid question, "It is a troll…" he shook his head, "tch. The wall would not stand it," Kuchiki stated.

The four players came back to their senses when the crumbles of mud and stones lying on the ground started bouncing vigorously.

Every player shrunk into the white corners and watched from shadows as it emerged from the dark floor, throwing the piled-up snow everywhere.

Hitori had never seen a troll before so he curiously leaned into the screen. Reon opened her eyes when she noticed the shouts had calmed down.

The audience was curious about Kamiya's next move, "What do you think they will do?"

"They can do nothing, it is a fucking troll!"

But Hitori believed in Kamiya, "He will do something." Hitori gulped, focusing back on the hideous, horrible sight.

Kamiya cupped his hands together and held them tightly, preventing himself from banging the panel by mistake and messing everything up.

The players hiding in the corners would barely reach their chest. The troll's dull, granite gray skin came into view under the pure white floor.

The troll pulled its lumpy body forward with great struggle. Whenever its thick legs and horny feet landed on the ground, snow jumped up.

When the troll got close to the snow wall, its bald head scratched against the roof but it still used its long arms to raise its wooden club.

Kamiya opened his hands and placed his index finger on the panel lightly. Hitori noticed the moment.

Everyone watched in suspense, that included Yaban, Kuchiki, and Kuzu and his men. Kuzu was sure his troll would break the wall but not sure about Kamiya's next move.

The wooden club's head crashed against the wall and before it could penetrate through the wall, Kamiya tapped the control panel and the wall was lifted up.

Kuzu's mouth opened first then followed by the rest of the audience. Even Hitori's mouth dropped open in surprise.

Due to its hard swing, when the wall was lifted up, the troll rolled forward and then ice skated on the shiny cold floor of Yuki's lair before it crashed against a rock, and hit its bald head against an ice spike hanging from the roof.

The troll tried to maintain its balance but could not keep up with the icy ground. Its club crashed through the frozen ice before the troll itself fell on the ice.

The ice shattered like glass and took the troll down into the river of cold half-frozen water. Its club floated above the surface before washing away.

"What the…"

"Fuck just happened?"

Bang!

The audience and players snapped back to reality with the landing of the snow wall, back at its position, the players trembled in shock.

After a second of the wall falling back, the leader of the second wave stepped forward, "Break that wall!" and shouted.

Kamiya's hand trembled over the control panel but he did not move it from the panel. He instead closed the current tab and opened the 'Special Elemental Defenses'.

Twenty-nine men and five monsters, all charged at the wall all at once. Only seventeen men and three monsters damaged the wall, while the rest 'tried' to attack.

"Kamiya," Hitori said, he jerked his head to Kamiya, "what now?" Kamiya did not answer.

"They did it…" Yaban grinned, "hey, t- they defeated the troll…!" Kuchiki did not participate in the celebration of the troll's defeat.

He was more interested in watching how long the wall would hold the current attack. The constant hammer continued for thirty seconds and a crack appeared in the wall.

Snow fell down like a block of the wall fell to the other side. The players from the second wave cheered loudly. Kamiya looked tense when another block fell.

"K– Ka– Kamiya!" Reon snapped in panic, "t– they– they will get our—" He still did not respond.

"It would not hold any longer," Kuchiki said. Yaban turned, "the wall might break anytime." Kuchiki focused his eyes on his screen.

More men gathered in front of the wall and attacked it vigorously. Uragi and Gigi were smiling like fools on watching the scene.

"Their defense is done for." Gigi giggled, "right, Kuzu-san?"

Kuzu nodded his head, "Yeah…" he sounded unsure.

Bang!

From a martial artist's punch, a big hole was created in the middle of the wall. And yet, Kamiya did nothing. Even Hitori stopped caring at this point.

"...why are not they doing anything?" Kuzu muttered.

"Hahaha!" Uragi laughed, "what can they do now?" he continued.

Suddenly, Kuzu's eyebrows pulled back and his creased forehead turned plan, "Fuck." He shook his head.

Kuzu turned around with a quick jerk. Gigi followed in confusion, "sir?" he asked but sir did not reply.

Kuzu walked past Uragi, "get your fucking unit," Kuzu pulled his lips tight, "quick."

The third unit was led by Uragi– they were his men. Uragi looked at Kuzu in anger and confusion.

Uragi raised his greatsword, "Third-wave!" he shouted, "smash those heads!"

"W- what is he doing?" a player shouted.

"Sending more reinforcements,"

"But why risk it when they have already conquered the dungeon?"

Kuchiki frowned at his friend's question, "he seems terrified, does not he?" Yaban asked Kuchiki.

Then Kuzu quickly turned on his mic, "retreat! Order the second wave to retreat, run away from the wall! Now!"

The twenty-nine men gathered close to the door, at the sight, Kamiya grinned.

"But sir, they have already broken the wall—"

"Fucking. Now!!" Kuzu shouted.

Hitori did not move his eyes from Kamiya as he did something with the panel. Hitori had to move his eyes when he heard a loud banging sound.

The twenty-nine players panicked. They turned around to find another snow wall behind them.

"Oh my…" Yaban opened his mouth, Kuchiki opened his eyes wide but did not say anything.

"Get them out—" Kuzu stopped midway.

"Fourth wave, get ready! Fourth unit—" Gigi's voice faded too.

They both turned towards the screen that displayed the battle going inside. Their hands and weapons lowered down.

Bang, bang.

Two smaller versions fell on the side and covered the twenty-nine players and three monsters inside a snow-packed compartment.

"It is an order from Kuzu-san, retreat! The enemy has set up a trap, second unit– retreat as soon as possible."

The second wave's leader dropped his Team-Speak mic and stared at the walls behind and ahead of them with a wide-open set of eyes.

He hesitated but turned, "h– hey… break the wall." he raised his hammer, "BREAK THE FUCKING WALL!" His men hurried back to break the wall.

Kamiya moved his trembling hand– in a robotic motion– and clicked on the 'Inject Magic Spell' option.

Tik.

"Kori–" he pulled back. Kamiya took a deep breath and moved forward again. The duo watched him, "Kori no Mahou: Freeze-Dry."

[success]

Sparks of ice erupted from the roof. The men stuck in the compartment looked above their heads as they saw numerous bolts of ice creeping out of the roof.

"H– hey!!"

"Fuck…"

"We are dead!"

"Fuck this!"

They broke into chaos. Things turned upside down in the compartment. As for the audience, they could not speak a word, their surprised expressions explained everything.

It did not take the ice more than ten seconds to spread in the compartment and freeze every single player stuck inside.

Hitori chuckled, "oh crap…" he shook his head.

Reon's mouth dropped open, her hands fell on her lap as she held a strange expression on her face.

But Kamiya was not done yet.

"Fucking bastard!" Kuzu shouted, "motherfuckers, get the fourth wave to advance!" Kuzu ordered Gigi.

Kamiya hesitantly pressed on an option that read: Collide. As soon as he did, his hands reached his forehead robotically and he dropped into his throne.

Hitori frowned at him before he got his answer in the form of a big collision.

White snow jumped everywhere; guns, swords, arms, legs, heads, and equipment popped out from the side and above the two walls.

"Monster," Kuchiki hesitated, "they are monsters."

The two walls collided with each other crushed the frozen players in between them like sandwich stuffing and took them down into the cold water of the Yuki Lair's frozen river.

As the two walls collapsed on the other side, the entrance to the Yuki lair was open but there was one problem… cold sizzling river awaited the players from the third unit to suck them and then freeze to death.