Solo Cultivating in Superhero Academy
Chapter 143: Boss Dungeon

Chapter 143: Boss Dungeon

Inside the boss room, the air was thick with the scent of molten stone and blood-soaked metal.

The last roar of the dungeon boss echoed like thunder through the massive stone chamber before it finally collapsed to the floor with a tremendous crash, kicking up debris and dust in all directions.

Its armor cracked like old bark, its enormous axe tumbling to the side with a metallic groan.

Elius stood in the center, shoulders rising and falling with steady, practiced breath, his expression calm.

He hadn’t even broken a sweat.

This was deliberate.

He had held back.

There was no need to exhaust himself. Not when the reward was guaranteed.

Not when he knew the real prize of the dungeon wasn’t just safety, or loot, or treasure—it was the Martial Skill hidden at the end.

Each of his current companions—Keith, Zhark, Fraven, and Shania—had the system created a Martial Skill for them.

Although, he took them, but it’s not for him. And now, it was finally his turn. The Martial Skill that is for him.

With the boss slain and the dungeon’s core exposed, Elius could already feel it—an ancient script, a divine law, burned into the mana threads around him, pulling toward his soul.

Lines of silver fire etched themselves in the air before his eyes. His spiritual sea shimmered.

You have acquired the Martial Skill: Lion Roar.

His gaze sharpened. "Lion Roar...?"

A transparent window unfolded before him, displaying the Martial Skill’s description in glowing characters:

A roar of the feral sovereign. Upon activation, projects destructive soundwaves that ignite the air itself.

Causes fear, burning pain, and temporary paralysis. An absolute domination technique. Scaling with Qi.

Elius blinked, then grinned faintly. "That’s not bad. Loud. Aggressive. Wide range. Crowd control and suppression..."

His fingers curled slightly as he let the information settle into his bones, the skill syncing with the pathways of his meridians, reshaping them subtly to handle the pressure of such a violent release.

He looked around.

The boss room was crumbling slightly now, as dungeons often did after the core guardian was killed.

Rocks fell like thunderclaps from the distant ceiling, echoes bouncing through the cold stone. But something was wrong. Something... off.

A strange scent.

Burning.

And not from the boss.

Elius’s smile faded.

From the edges of the chamber, smoke began to crawl—not like mist or battle debris, but thick, oily smoke, the kind that came before a firestorm. The walls turned a hue of dark crimson, as if the room were being dragged into the belly of a volcano.

The air thickened. Heat rose.

The dungeon—shook.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOOOOOM!

The floor cracked underfoot. Giant slabs of stone quaked, lifted by unseen forces. The temperature spiked until even Elius’s Qi shields were beginning to sizzle. His skin prickled with alarm.

Then—flames burst from the core chamber itself.

Not red.

Not orange.

Gold.

White.

Celestial Fire.

Elius’s eyes widened. That wasn’t normal fire. That wasn’t even dungeon-level magic. That was divine-level combustion.

The flames twisted together. They built something. A shape.

Humanoid. Ten feet tall. Shoulders made of moving magma and ash. Its face burned with sockets of eternal cinder. Its ribs glowed like a forge. Its limbs hissed with every motion. It didn’t walk—it floated, slightly above the ground, as if gravity feared it.

Then it spoke.

Its voice was made of eruption and avalanche, the sound of a god’s yawn. It wasn’t a sound—it was a quaking event.

"Now... now... now... here we are."

Elius didn’t move. He didn’t blink.

The being’s eyes—twin suns of wrath—gazed down on him as if he were less than a beetle.

"The one who defiles our flame. The enemy of our God. The parasite of fate. The one who walks outside of Law. You... the mortal who steals from ascended realms... you... who carry the scent of the one who ruined all the plans of our Pantheon."

The room grew brighter. Hotter. Every inch of air screamed.

Elius remained still, his heart beating once... then twice... then suddenly faster.

"The Pantheon of Flame and Earth knows your scent now," the creature rumbled, its flames flaring with every word. "You who trespass in dungeons not meant for your kind. You who steal what we have buried. You who take the Martial Skills as if they were your birthright!"

Its voice bellowed with apocalyptic might. The dungeon itself cried out beneath them. Walls cracked. The ceiling wept fire. Mana turned volatile.

Elius didn’t respond right away.

He couldn’t.

The pressure.

It was like trying to breathe beneath a collapsed mountain, like staring into the sun and hearing it scream your name.

But even under that pressure—he didn’t tremble.

Instead, he whispered:

"...So you’re one of them."

The creature paused. Just a fraction.

Elius stepped forward.

"So the Pantheon... you’re real," he said. "I thought you were just residual code. Leftover divinities of the old dungeon systems. But you’re more. You’re aware."

"You dare speak of us so casually?" the flaming giant growled. "You defile our tombs. Break our bindings. Eat the power meant only for the Worthy. You are not of this world. Your path was never written. Yet you walk it!"

Elius shrugged. "It’s not my fault your world was unprepared for someone like me."

The creature growled. Lava dripped from its jaws like spittle.

"Enough!"

Elius raised his hand slowly. "I’ll leave now. I know elemental shits like you would always appear before me. "

"NO!" the creature roared. "You will not. You are prey. You are to be cooked—cleansed—and delivered unto the altar of our gods. I will char your flesh. Crack your bones. Burn your soul. And when nothing remains but ash, I will scatter your dust to the flames of the Pantheon."

Its form ignited even brighter—unbearably so. The walls were melting. The ground bubbled like boiling metal. Runes cracked. Qi turned to liquid.

The dungeon wept.

"This is your curse," the creature said. "To be hunted forever. To never sleep. To never escape. The curse-born who defies the scripts. The walking virus."

But Elius...

He wasn’t scared.

Not anymore.

Once, he would’ve broken. Once, this pressure would’ve shattered him.

But now?

He had his Martial Skills.

He had his system.

He had clarity.

He stared at the burning god-being and murmured, "This is a new ability. I haven’t tested it yet."

He smiled faintly.

"But it seems I have to now."

The creature laughed. The sound was like a collapsing city set ablaze by meteors.

"You? Attack me? Then do it! Go on, boy! Show me your defiance!"

Elius didn’t move.

The fire stormed around them. Lightning cracked from above. Time itself seemed to tremble.

The creature raised both arms, laughing harder—

"Go ahead! ATTACK ME!"

But Elius...

Vanished.

Not teleported.

Not shifted.

Not jumped.

He simply disappeared.