BOOOOOOOOM!
The ice projectile slammed into the wall—just microseconds after Daisuke leaped clear. Jagged shards of ice and stone flew in all directions from the explosion. He barely had time to register the crater where he had stood before the next attack came.
The fiend reared back, a massive sphere of water forming above its snout. It swirled violently before condensing into a pressurized orb. Then the creature's eyes flashed with malice as its neck jerked forward like a machine.
A high-pressured jet of water fired with terrifying velocity, whipping across the chamber like a searing blade. The attack carved through stone and crystalline trees like a guillotine, cleaving them as if they were made of wet sand.
Daisuke ducked, time slowing to a crawl as silver strands of his own hair floated in the air, severed by the near miss.
This is bad. His heart pounded wildly as he brandished his daggers. I can't afford to let this thing use its ranged attacks. Just one hit and it's game over. And I definitely can't drag this out like with the Treant—I don't have the stamina for that.
The beast lunged.
Daisuke darted toward it, closing the distance before it could unleash another devastating attack. Ice shards rained from its mouth in rapid succession. He dodged what he could, deflected others, and used Impeccable Parry to neutralize the rest.
But then—
A towering pillar of ice erupted from the ground, aiming to skewer him on the spot. Daisuke twisted, shards of ice scattering like pixie dust as his Impeccable Parry barrier scraped against the jagged surface.
Then—
SNAP!
The Slitherus plant imprisoning Tiphanna suddenly snapped its translucent jaws shut, sealing her inside. The air around her shifted. The unconscious elf stirred as a noxious fume began seeping in, the gas growing thicker by the second.
Daisuke's eyes flicked toward her just as she jolted awake. Disoriented, she blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of her surroundings.
Then the horrific realization struck.
She thrashed violently, palms slamming against the see-through walls of her prison. "WH-WHERE AM I?! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Her muffled screams barely reached his ears.
Daisuke's stomach dropped, his blood running cold. Didn't the Monster Guide say these plants fed their captives to the Field Boss? Then why—
His eyes snapped to another Slitherus. A skeletal corpse lay inside, its bones half-melted. His pulse thundered at the sight.
They don't always hand their prey over, he noted in alarm. Sometimes they just… digest them alive.
Time was against him. Rescuing Tiphanna was now a race, one he wasn't sure he could win. The odds of success were slim. The odds of both of them making it out alive? Even slimmer.
Still, he clenched his daggers and shouted, "I swear, I'm getting you out of there!"
Cryosirentis roared as if to challenge the bold claim, the sound rattling the cavern walls. Its scales gleamed as it lunged once more, its maw snapping just inches from his face.
SCREEEEEECH!
Daisuke spun, his daggers raking against its ice-laden hide as they passed one another.
[85 damage dealt.]
[78 damage dealt.]
"Dammit!" He landed hard, hands still trembling from the jagging impact. That barely did anything! Do all Field Bosses come packaged with invincible armor now or what?
The Eye of Verity locked onto the creature, feeding him its stats.
DING!
[Defense: 2138
Weaknesses/Detrimental Status Ailments: Fire | Lightning | Burn
Resistances: Physical Attack | Earth | Poison
Immunities: Ice | Water
Absorbed Elements: Water]
2138 DEFENSE?! Daisuke's stomach twisted, his mind reeling. That's even worse than the Treant! I don't have time for this!
He stole another glance at Tiphanna—another mistake.
In that split-second of distraction, Cryosirentis augmented its tail with a razor-sharp sheet of ice. It spun like a living sickle, the frozen blade shrieking through the air.
Daisuke ducked. The wind screamed past his ears as the deadly appendage barely missed. But the creature wasn't finished. It twisted its massive body, spinning in a full circle.
Daisuke moved to evade—but his foot sank.
Mud?!
Too late. His balance faltered.
The beast's wing-claws raked across his torso.
SHRIIIIIIP!
DING!
[You were inflicted by «Frostbite».]
[You were inflicted by «Bleed».]
DING!
[You were subjected to several debilitating attacks. Αφινίτη's Blessing has countered the threats and preserved the integrity of your physical state.]
Agony burned through his body as armor and flesh peeled away in jagged streaks.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!" Daisuke's scream echoed through the cavern.
"HAXKS!!"
Tiphanna's voice—desperate, terrified—reached him. "Please, RUN! Save yourself! There's no need to—"
She didn't get to finish. Cryosirentis spun again, aiming to carve him in half.
Daisuke forced his aching limbs to move, pushing off the ground with everything he had. He barely cleared the first swipe, but the tail came back around next, an icy blade hurtling toward his neck.
He didn't think.
DING!
[Activating the skill «Time Dilation».]
Instinctively, he turned to the skill he acquired for clearing Tiphanna's first quest.
[Time Dilation]
[Rank: Epic
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
A surge of mana floods the prefrontal cortex of the brain, creating the illusion of time slowing down. In reality, it accelerates the mind's processing speed, enhancing decision-making, reasoning, and tactical awareness to superhuman levels for a short time.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Significantly boosts cognitive abilities
Mana Cost: 95
Skill Duration: 4 Seconds
Skill Cooldown: 7 Minutes]
Everything slowed to a crawl.
Just inches from his eyeball, the ice-coated tail paused, as if caught in a state of suspension in animation.
Daisuke didn't have much time.
Four seconds.
That was all he had.
Though barely recognizable, the tail was still moving, inching dangerously close to completing its purpose. He needed a surefire way to stop it.
His mind raced, processing countless possibilities in the span of mere microseconds. Sifting through a torrent of simulations, he finally settled upon a single timeline—one that offered a possible escape from this nightmarish predicament.
Four seconds passed.
The tail inched closer.
Power surged through his veins as he unleashed a desperate counterattack—banking on a skill he acquired from another stolen spellbook.
DING!
[Activating the skill «Helix Bullet».]
[Helix Bullet]
[Rank: Normal
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
Generates a high-velocity projectile infused with intense rotational force. The spiraling bullet drills through armor and flesh, combining piercing and magical energy to maximize damage.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Deals damage equal to 35% of max mana, with 50% bypassing enemy defenses.
▪︎ Casting Speed +28%
▪︎ Magic Penetration +47%
▪︎ 26% chance of inflicting «Stagger»
Mana Cost: 25
Skill Cooldown: 4 Seconds]
A vortex of silver energy spiraled in his palm, its violent rotation howling like a jet engine.
In a split-second decision, he disregarded the skill's 25-mana requirement and funneled every ounce of his power into the swirling mass, causing it to expand and condense with overwhelming intensity.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM!
The Helix Bullet met the creature's tail in a powerful collision. Its centrifugal force didn't just slow the oncoming strike—it nudged its trajectory ever so slightly off course.
But this wasn't a full counter. It was a tactical retreat.
The force sent Daisuke hurtling backward like a shooting star. He crashed into the cavern ceiling, shattering rock and crystal. Then, gravity took him.
His body plummeted.
Stone. Shards. Blood.
A jagged outcrop jutting from the wall broke his fall.
Agony.
His HP blinked dangerously low to zero, warning bells tolling in his mind. Blood pooled beneath him. His cracked shield lay to the side—the only reason he was still breathing.
Cough. Cough.
A weak, sputtering sound.
Tiphanna.
His blurred vision locked onto the Slitherus plant.
She was clawing at the glassy walls, her skin turning red as the fumes ate away at her. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, her body losing strength.
Daisuke's fingers twitched.
Move.
Pain screamed through his limbs, but he gritted his teeth.
Move, damn it.
No matter how battered, no matter how hopeless—
He was not letting her die.
CRASHHHHH!
A massive pillar of ice slammed into the outcrop, obliterating everything within a fifteen-foot radius. Fragments of rock and frost scattered like shrapnel, cascading in all directions.
Cryosirentis grunted in satisfaction, its thoughts now shifting to the appetizing prey that was now being tenderized by its plant-based attendant.
But just as the creature turned away, something flickered at the edge of its vision. A shadow—
Daisuke hung from the cavern ceiling, suspended by a single dagger embedded deep into the rock. His free arm trembled as he brought it to his mouth.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped down multiple vials of HP and MP potions, the sweet liquid irritating his throat. His wounds began closing, his magical energy replenishing—yet his stamina bar remained frustratingly low.
28%.
DING!
[The proficiency of the active skill «Dash» has advanced to level 5!]
DING!
[The rank of the active skill «Dash» has transcended from rare to epic and the option effects have been adjusted accordingly.]
DING!
[«Dash» has evolved into «Accelerate»!]
[Accelerate]
[Rank: Epic
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
Channels a burst of mana to heighten agility and movement, pushing the body's limits beyond natural constraints.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Increases Movement Speed by 45%
▪︎ Unlocks the «Void Stride» ability
Mana Cost: 20 ⅌ Minute
Skill Cooldown: None]
[Void Stride]
[Condenses mana into a thin, translucent platform that serves as a fleeting foothold. Each step vanishes instantly upon use. After six consecutive uses, the skill enters a 15-second cooldown.]
Daisuke hung from his vantage point, his breathing slowed, his expression calculating, unamused, loathing. Below, Cryosirentis returned his contemptuous gaze, surprised that all the damage it had inflicted upon its adversary—no, the pathetic vermin, had all but disappeared.
The beast's whiskers swayed, an icy sneer forming in its reptilian gaze. A pitiful magic missile spiraled toward it, a weak attempt at offense. The projectile splashed against its magnificent scales, as harmless as a raindrop against steel.
But the creature failed to realize one thing.
That attack wasn't meant to hurt it.
It was a gambit.
Meant to achieve something else.
DING!
[The effect of the title «Lone Striker» has been activated.]
[Lone Striker]
[Rank: Legendary
A title forged from an unbreakable will to endure against insurmountable odds. It signifies the relentless drive to stand alone, whether facing an entire army or an unyielding mountain, and to carve through anything that dares to stand in the way.
Title Effect:
▪︎ When facing a single opponent, normal melee attack damage increases by 20%.
▪︎ When facing four or more opponents, normal melee attack damage increases by 45%.
▪︎ Damage dealt doubles when HP falls below 50%.
▪︎ Critical Hits restore 60% of Attack Power as HP. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.
▪︎ After landing a skill-based attack, there is a 15% chance to reset the cooldown of a chosen skill. Can only occur once every 5 minutes.]
DING!
[You are now able to reset the cooldown of a desired skill.]
Cryosirentis didn't wait to see what would happen next. It condensed several swirling spheres of water, jagged with spikes of ice, and hurled them toward the interloper.
Daisuke twisted, yanked his dagger free, and dropped from the ceiling. At the last second, a translucent foothold materialized beneath his foot. He kicked off it, using Void Stride to shift directions midair—once, twice, three times—dodging the incoming barrage like a leaf caught in a storm.
His golden eyes burned with urgency as they flicked to Tiphanna, barely conscious, slumped inside the Slitherus's prison.
I'm running out of time.
Following the simulated sequence he had mapped out using Time Dilation, he equipped a newly acquired accessory and cashed in his metaphorical coupon to refresh Meteor Smash. By sheer luck, this also lifted the six-hour lock on Skill Reset—which he activated immediately.
His vision sharpened as he funneled all his remaining Stat Points into Intelligence.
If you're resistant to Physical Attacks… then I'll just have to take another approach.