I can feel how my senses open in all possible directions. This place is immense, the ceiling must be a little over 100 meters high, I can’t know the total area because my Personal World cannot fully cover it.
“It’s a bit eerie.” Glia speaks to me.
“Yes, that’s not the only strange thing about this place.” I can feel how the death mana has become more intense and active. It is trying to break or devour everything around me, if I hadn’t improved my mana control during all this training, this place would be a real nuisance.
I barely need to focus to repel the death mana around me, my control over the affinity has improved a lot. I can feel a certain acceptance from the ambient mana, little by little it becomes less aggressive.
Glia also doesn’t have many problems, she can handle it more naturally. A great advantage of being a beast descended from such a powerful clan. I am increasingly certain of something, she comes from a mythological group just like dragons or similar beings.
“This is a bit unexpected.” Glia starts activating abilities at the same time she speaks.
“Yes, this surpasses everything we thought.” I do the same, I need to be at maximum power if I want to leave this place alive. It is impossible to come out unscathed.
There is a huge monster in the middle, it must be more than two and a half meters tall. It wears armor made of worn black leather, its weapon is something similar to a sword, but where the end of the handle should be there is a large black gem.
It reminds me a lot of a Lich from fantasy stories of my past life. I am sure this monster must be something similar. I can feel how the death mana around it is tremendously abundant, that monster feels like the center of a vortex, it is actively absorbing everything.
The biggest problem is its power. It is still grade 4, I should be grateful for that. I can feel it is one step away from grade 5—no, less than half a step, maybe it is already capable of advancing, it just hasn’t done it yet.
I can feel something similar to a jurisdiction around me, it is like a pseudo jurisdiction. It doesn’t matter if it hasn’t ranked up, it must already be as strong as a monster one grade above, this is a real challenge.
“Will you be the last unfortunate one?” The monster speaks.
I almost fall backward from the surprise when I hear it, its voice is very deep and disgusting. It was very foolish of me to think a monster this strong wouldn’t be able to communicate.
“The last? What are you talking about?” I ask calmly, my mental ability keeps me focused at all times.
“There’s nothing wrong with telling you, you’ll be dead soon.” The giant skeleton shrugs as if it doesn’t matter. “I joined this stupid experiment to gain control over death mana, at the same time several unlucky people have been sent as sacrifices.” A chilling smile appears on its face.
“I get rid of his trash while I grow stronger, it’s a win-win.” A hollow laugh echoes throughout the place.
“Experiment? Who is he?” I ask, changing my tone to a fearful and distrustful one, I want to see if I can get information for free.
“This dungeon is technically an experiment, boy, I don’t know many details. I only assume it is to strengthen monsters and people, or so I think.” Its gaze becomes serious. “You don’t deserve to know his name, dead trash is not allowed to know his name.” I can feel its Imra spreading around.
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Dangerous, that is one of the perfect words to describe it. I must use my Dominion to expel its pseudo jurisdiction from around me. If I let it trap me, I will be a dead man, I have already felt that sensation firsthand.
“The little cat at least knows how to scratch.” That hollow and macabre laugh echoes again.
Glia and I move quickly to avoid being hit by rays of death mana. Dozens of rays strike where we were standing a moment ago, that attack was very fast, if we hadn’t prepared beforehand we wouldn’t have dodged it.
Huge spears appear beside the massive Lich, all condensed with a huge amount of mana, Imra, Laws, and everything possible. I respond in the same way, I won’t stay behind, I construct the same number of Joyeuse at the same time, also using a huge amount of mana thanks to my large pool.
Our constructions shoot forward at the same time. They collide halfway, producing a loud crash.
I widen my eyes a bit when I see five of the Lich’s constructions coming directly toward me. Most of them were destroyed, only a few survived in a weakened state. I don’t need to use anything to defend myself, gravity slows them down and the electric serpents finish destroying them.
A smile of satisfaction forms on my face when I see its laughter disappear, its gaze becomes much more serious. We are no longer seen as simple trash, now we are a challenge, a very difficult one.
Its death spears come again. This time I am helped by Glia, her constructions are a bit weaker than mine, but enough to force it to defend, it cannot ignore her.
We all begin to move around the place. Glia and I have very good coordination, it is perfect. We have been practicing this for years, and our recent fights are still fresh, the coordination is ideal.
The Lich is not making it easy, not only is it using more mana in its constructions, forcing us to spend more mana, but it is also quite fast, fast enough to dodge any weak attack we make.
Our exchange lasts for several minutes, at times it intensifies, at others we are just measuring each other, deciding whether it is worth attacking or not.
“Not bad, at least you’re making it entertaining.” The Lich’s words make us more cautious.
When it finishes speaking, something happens. The calm corrupted life mana suddenly becomes agitated, I can feel it constructing something very different.
I launch all the ice swords I can toward it, Glia does the same. We cannot let it finish whatever it is doing. Obviously the Lich was prepared, several defensive constructs appear blocking our offensive.
We didn’t manage to stop it completely, but now it must focus on defending against our attacks to avoid being injured or interrupted. The constructs reduce quickly to only four, I can feel abundant life and death mana coming from the black gem of its weapon, it seems to be a catalyst.
A minute later I realize its plan. Was this monster the root of everything? Four skeletons identical to the ones we faced before appear, it can also create “other monsters.” It reminds me a lot of Brendu’s ability to create plant-type monsters.
“Glia, I can’t let this continue like this. We will be overwhelmed if it starts creating more of those skeletons.” I speak through telepathy.
“I know, we have to do something. Do you have something in mind?” She replies.
“Yes, I will go all-out against it, that way it will have to focus completely on me. Can you keep those four busy?” It is the only decent plan I have right now and the most reasonable in this situation.
“Be careful.” She accepts my plan, she knows we have no other option, I can feel her concern. “We have too much waiting for us, we can’t lose.” Her words make me think of my family, loved ones, and friends.
“You’re right, we can’t afford to lose.” I show my confidence to her. “I will get us out of this place.” For the first time since I ranked up I am facing a worthy opponent, this time I cannot hold back at all.
The gravity around my body becomes turbulent, waiting for my command to unleash itself. I give in to the pressure of my mana, all my abilities are activated, ready to fight.
“The little cat is showing its fangs.” A grim smile appears on its skeletal face. “Let’s see if they have any edge.”
My body shoots forward at a speed I have never reached before. My new body, along with my Dominion and the combination of my affinities that enhance my speed, are at their limit, I still cannot reveal my hidden card.
My sword moves at extreme speed, aimed at the Lich’s body. My strike is intercepted by its large sword-staff. I can feel slight surprise in its Imra, I am also surprised, its death mana is even more suffocating at close range.
“The last unfortunate one? I think I’m the first fortunate one.” I wink at it as it blocks my second strike. “This time, you’re the unlucky one.”