CHAPTER 43: JAILER AND THE HOUND PART 2

Jack staggered, feeling his strength severely weakened as the Jailer’s magic took hold. But even weakened, he could see his opportunity.

The Hell Hound was trapped, and the Jailer was positioning itself to protect its companion. For the first time since the fight began, they weren’t perfectly coordinated.

’Branded!’

Jack sent a bolt of pure lightning streaking toward the Jailer. The electricity struck the creature center mass, leaving a glowing mark that pulsed with electric energy.

[Target branded.]

Now Jack had a choice. Focus fire on the pinned Hell Hound, or continue wearing down the more dangerous Jailer. The decision was made for him when the trapped creature began breathing fire at the fallen pillar, slowly melting its way free.

’Thunder Stomp on the hound!’

Lightning erupted from the ground beneath the pinned creature, and this time Jack could see real damage. The Hell Hound’s struggles grew weaker, one of its heads going limp.

[-471 damage dealt]

[Two-Headed Hell Hound: 2,941/12,000 HP]

But the Jailer wasn’t going to let Jack finish off its companion so easily. The creature gestured sharply, and every broken chain in the chamber suddenly reformed, their links glowing red-hot as they whipped through the air.

Jack found himself in a deadly dance, using Lightning Steps to avoid the animated chains while trying to maintain pressure on both enemies. His mana was dropping rapidly, down to just 69 points and the debuff from the soul drain was making every movement feel sluggish and wrong.

’One more Lightning Steps, then I need to end this quickly.’

Jack teleported directly above the struggling Hell Hound and brought both hands down in a devastating strike.

[-824 HP.]

[-824 HP.]

[Two-Headed Hell Hound: 1,293/12,000 HP]

It wasn’t enough. The creature was still alive, still dangerous, and it had almost melted through enough of the pillar to break free. Meanwhile, the Jailer was preparing another soul drain attack that Jack knew he couldn’t survive.

That’s when Jack remembered the one stat point he’d earned from killing his first wretch. In desperation, he allocated it to Magic, pushing his damage just slightly higher.

[Magic increased to 74]

[New damage calculations: Thundershock 1,040, Thunder Stomp 594]

’Thundershock!’

"Thundershock!"

By the time Jack had attacked the enormous hell hound, his stats returned to normal.

[Two-Headed Hell Hound slain]

[Reward: 1,750 EXP]

[Reward: 350 Death Tokens]

The Jailer’s roar of grief and rage was inhuman in its intensity. The creature abandoned all pretense of tactical fighting, launching itself directly at Jack with chains whipping around it like a tornado of metal and fury.

"You killed my only friend! My only companion in this endless existence! I will make you suffer for eternity!"

Jack made it seem like he was out of mana, but he was slowly getting more mana back. Jack evaded him for a full two minutes.

As the Jailer bore down on him, Jack grabbed two of the creature’s own chains and used its momentum against himself. He pivoted and threw his entire strength into redirecting the Jailer’s charge directly into another weakened support pillar.

The impact was tremendous. The Jailer struck the stone with bone-crushing force, and this time it was the undead creature that found itself pinned beneath falling masonry.

[Environmental damage: 6,000 HP]

[The Jailer: 6,942/15,000 HP]

But Jack’s mana had recovered just enough for one final attack. He approached the trapped Jailer, lightning crackling around his fist.

’Thundershock!’

’Thundershock!’

[-3120 HP.]

[-3120 HP.]

[The Jailer: 702/15,000 HP]

"You... you don’t understand..." the Jailer wheezed, its voice distorted by the metal mask. "We were... the only ones... who remembered them. The prisoners. Their names. Their stories. When we die... they are truly forgotten..."

For just a moment, Jack hesitated. But then he thought of his family, of his freedom, of everything he was fighting for.

’I’m sorry.’

The lightning struck the Jailer’s head directly, and the ancient creature’s red eyes flickered once before going dark forever.

[-1,782 HP.]

[The Jailer slain]

[Reward: 2,500 EXP]

[Reward: 500 Death Tokens]

[Hidden Quest Complete: Defeat the Field Bosses of Floor 1]

[Reward: 2,500 Death Tokens]

[Reward: 10 Stat Points]

Jack collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily as the adrenaline finally began to fade. The silence in the chamber was deafening after the chaos of battle. Around him, the animated chains fell lifeless to the ground, and the oppressive atmosphere that had permeated the prison began to lift.

BANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

But his work wasn’t finished. There were still anchor points to destroy, still hundreds of enemies spawning throughout the floor.

And Jack could feel something different in the air. with the Jailer dead, the remaining creatures were no longer coordinated. They were just monsters, dangerous but leaderless.

Time to finish what he’d started.

---

The clearing of Floor 1 took Jack another six hours of methodical combat. Without the field bosses coordinating the defense, the remaining enemies fell into predictable patterns that Jack learned to exploit with ruthless efficiency.

He worked his way through each wing of the prison complex. The anchor points fell one by one. Each destruction brought a satisfying surge of experience and the blessed silence of ceased spawning.

Man, this is awesome. I thought it would take a lot longer but soon I’ll be level 8!

Each enemy type required different tactics, but Jack found himself adapting with increasing confidence.

More importantly, the constant combat was teaching him to think tactically, to use his environment, and to manage his resources with the precision of a veteran warrior.

By the time he destroyed the final anchor point. A massive necrotic altar in what had once been the prison’s central courtyard.

Jack had methodically cleared every wing, every cell, and every corridor of the complex. The silence that followed was not just the absence of sound, but the complete cessation of the malevolent energy that had suffused the floor.

[Floor 1 of Tartarus Spire: Complete]

[Final Statistics:]

[Enemies Slain: 302]

[Anchor Points Destroyed: 7]

[Hidden Areas Discovered: 3]

[Environmental Kills: 2]

[Reward: 49,250 EXP]

[Reward: 23,350 Death Tokens]

[Class Advancement Available!]

[Lightning Mage Rank 7 → Rank 8]

[Total Death Tokens: 27,200]

[299 Wretch Cores obtained.]

[1 Vile Core obtained.]

[1 Terror Core obtained.]

[1 Dread Core Obtained.]

Jack stood in the center of the now-silent prison, his body aching but his spirit soaring. The transformation was immediate and profound.

Jack could feel the lightning coursing through his body.

[Status Update]

[Jack Kaiser: Level 18 (19,630/27,500)]

[Class: Lightning Mage Rank 8 (10,790/100,000)]

[Strength: 30 (+35)]

[Stamina: 40 (+25)]

[Agility: 30 (+25)]

[Vitality: 40 (+25)]

[Endurance: 20 (+35)]

[Magic: 74 (+25)]

[Mana: 300]

[HP: 630]

[Skill Points: 200]

[Stat Points: 10]

[Death Tokens: 27,200]

Jack smiled as he felt the power flowing through him.

His current skill set was complete until he could advance to an entirely new class. He had survived his first floor of Tartarus Spire, proved himself against impossible odds, and emerged stronger than ever.

But as he looked toward the staircase leading to Floor 2, he knew this was just the beginning. The God of Death had warned him that the first floor was supposed to be the easy one.

Suddenly the eerie quiet of the dungeon stopped as Jack heard whistling throughout the chamber.