Tian Long, whom Sora had thought specialized in elemental mastery, chose a drastically different combat method.
'She's going to fight in close combat? Isn't she wasting her absurd ice affinity that way?' Sora wondered as he moved through the air, barely dodging the headbutt from his stunning opponent.
Following the missed headbutt, she turned her head and managed to track Sora's movements. Still airborne, she instantly spun in place, her leg rising before snapping like a whip.
Sora was impressed by her technique and combat experience, but had no trouble staying out of the dragon woman's reach.
Once the attack was dodged, he appeared above his opponent and landed a violent elbow strike to the back of her neck.
Tian Long was sent hurtling like a meteor toward the ground, crashing through an entire mountainside in her path.
Focusing on the woman's vitality, he noticed something strange.
'That should've been enough to take her down… And yet, she only lost half her health. The energy I left in her body isn't causing any more damage… As if she's protected. Could it be a specific rule for World Bosses in this update?'
He raised his vigilance and observed her from above. At the bottom of a crater, Tian Long lay, slowly regaining consciousness.
Her neck was broken, and her entire spine was shattered.
Sora watched her as she manipulated the elements, trying to begin the process of healing her body.
The energy he had left in her during the attack was expelled, and before Sora could understand how or decide what to do next, he suddenly sensed a threat behind him.
As he turned around, he saw a beam of light shoot from the throne and lock onto the Mother of Dragons.
Though it wasn't aimed at him, the beam still gave Sora chills.
'What is that? Is the throne about to finish off the queen?' he wondered.
However, when he looked in Tian Long's direction, she wasn't fleeing or even afraid.
She was simply waiting for the moment of impact.
Expecting her to at least be injured, Sora was stunned to see that the Celestial Dragoness seemed to be absorbing the beam of light.
'It feels like her power level is exploding… Her physical strength, mental strength, but most of all her soul level… Could this be the third phase?'
Sensing that his opponent was now dangerously close to his own power level in his [White Dwarf] form, Sora began to feel uneasy.
'What if there's a fourth phase… or a fifth? Can a level 220 boss really be this strong?'
Sora started accumulating energy and focused on his sword mastery for the next stage of the fight. He had nothing more lethal, and he sensed it was the best way to battle now.
Tian Long, on her end, rose slowly and lifted her gaze toward the sky. Her appearance had changed once more. Her body, which had previously stood at three meters tall, had now doubled in height. Her horns hadn't changed in length, and now seemed less imposing.
Yet that wasn't what caught Sora's attention. The enormous claws that appeared at the tips of her fingers jumped out at him. Her eyes had also transformed, losing all resemblance to human ones. Two vertical slits gleamed in the center of Tian Long's green irises, reminding him of her true nature.
When she saw Sora take on a serious expression, she smiled and brought her palms together.
Sora didn't understand her action at first, but when he sensed changes in the surrounding environment, he was stunned.
The temperature at the mountain's summit, which had risen after all traces of cold, snow, and ice had vanished, began to drop sharply.
'But the ice element was completely gone just moments ago! How is she doing this without consuming energy?'
Sora understood the use of elements and mana better than anyone. And the phenomenon unfolding before him wasn't born from the transformation of mana into ice. This was something else entirely. Something new.
He observed the icy elements and traced their flow to determine their source.
Though they passed through the queen, he was certain they originated elsewhere.
Tian Long's control over ice and its energy was so refined that Sora could no longer follow the elements using his own mastery.
'She's affecting the entire environment, and her range is insane… Thousands of kilometers at least.'
The strange phenomenon was spreading underground and even high above the mountain.
'What the hell is this? How is she affecting the world outside the combat zone?'
Seeking answers, he addressed the Mother of Dragons.
"How are you doing this? Is that a supreme skill?"
At the bottom of the ravine, the Celestial Dragoness pretended not to hear him, her gaze distant, as if observing the changes she was causing.
She then raised her hand, brought it to her lips, and blew into it — in Sora's direction.
Sora sensed the danger and moved instantly, but he quickly realized the surrounding environment was preventing him from reaching his top speed.
He immediately tried to create [Void Tunnels], but they collapsed under the overwhelming pressure of the omnipresent ice elements.
'Her [Ice] is stronger than my [Space] element…' he understood.
Abandoning that method, he tried to teleport — but once again, he failed.
'The elements no longer respond to me…'
Meanwhile, Tian Long had appeared behind him, claws aimed straight at the back of his neck.
He turned just in time to counter, his sword charged with [Sword Intent]. Realizing his opponent's physical strength was close to his own, he used the impact between her claws and his blade to propel himself in another direction.
And just as he'd intended, it was enough to avoid the path of her icy breath.
Watching the dragon woman absorb her own attack, he sighed, thinking, 'It's not like she was going to hurt herself… But hey, I had to try.'
Not intending to let her control the rhythm, Sora launched his counterattack.
Having perfectly absorbed One Hundred-One's memories, he began using his techniques.
"I don't have the [Sword Immortal] mythic class like he did, and I haven't managed to recreate [Loved by the Sword] or [Sword Immunity]... But that doesn't matter for now. I've got more than enough energy stored to generate Sword Energy, and I'm not fighting a swordswoman, so I don't need to nullify sword damage. What I do still have are [Sword Intent (Superior)], [Sword Domain],and [Faith in the Sword]."
He tapped into his crystallized mana reserves to create an absurd quantity of [Sword Energy] that quickly flooded the space around him.
Tian Long seemed surprised by his move. The omnipresence of [Ice] in the area significantly weakened the [Sword Energy], a lesser form of power compared to what she wielded.
But before she could annihilate the scattered energy, she was stunned to find all of it rapidly transforming into [Sword Intent].
'Didn't see that coming, did you?' Sora rejoiced inwardly. He had used half of his mental energy to create a [Sword Domain] that converted all his Sword Energy into high-quality Sword Intent.
Aware that the effect of [Faith in the Sword] was the key to the potential of One Hundred-One's class, Sora had already experimented with it in the past and understood how the skill worked.
He had realized there were two ways to increase mastery of this ability.
'The first is the gentle method — to gradually deepen one's faith in the sword… Doing so would slowly make me forget all my other skills and affinities.'
'The second is brutal, but faster. I can just… sacrifice those skills and affinities myself.
Recalling the scene where Shade had forgotten his skills one by one and sacrificed his affinities, Sora activated [Peerless Mind Forging] and began replicating the same effects.
His Supreme Skill surged into overdrive, manipulating his mind and deliberately locking away parts of his memory, making him slowly forget the acquisition and use of most of his techniques.
He started with insignificant spells, abilities he had "borrowed" from other players and never actually used. But noticing that the effects on [Faith in the Sword] were minimal, he decided to take things to the next level.
'The greater my mastery of a spell, the stronger the effect. The more powerful the skill, the better.'
He sealed away tens of thousands of skills and memories, abandoned his elemental mastery, even his affinities.
His connection to the world was deteriorating — but he had no regrets.
'I can get it all back anyway.'
Instead, he focused on the sword. He focused on the images of Kara teaching him her art and felt his mastery of [Faith in the Sword] skyrocket.
Lost in the euphoria of his rapidly growing power, and the memory of his loved one, he didn't notice the expression on the Mother of Dragons' face.
She watched him with a slight smile. Her opponent had been frozen mid-air for several seconds, and the two birds standing in front of him, shielding him, seemed fully aware of the power gap between them and her. Yet she showed no sign of urgency to attack.