Reincarnation of the magicless Pinoy
From Zero to Hero " No Magic?,No Problem!"
Encounter 34: price of survival
The cavern rattled with the heavy thud of the Chainbreaker's steps. Its grotesque body loomed in the glow of torches—skin like dark steel, veins of red light pulsing through its frame. Its massive chains dragged across the stone, rattling like the laughter of death itself. Every swing gouged the floor, sparks flying.
Rolien's Jawbreaker Arm pulsed with spirit energy, streams of light racing across the seams like living veins. His whole body trembled, not from fear, but from the raw force surging through the prosthetic.
Ren's bowstring drew tight. Pete's staff thrummed with mana, ready to explode.
"Damn it, Rolien," Tessa's voice still rang in his head. We can't beat that thing. It's twelve levels higher than us.
And she was right. But Rolien wasn't backing down now. Not when his team still fought. Not when his blood screamed at him to resist.
The Chainbreaker let out a guttural roar and charged, the cavern trembling as its massive claw swung wide.
"Gerbera Mod—Blast Dodge!" Rolien's gauntlet ignited, blasting him sideways just as the claw smashed into the floor, leaving a crater where he'd stood. He slid across the rock, boots sparking, and shot forward with a surge of spirit flames.
"Punchline!"
The Jawbreaker rocketed off his arm, slamming into the monster's jaw. The spirit-charged fist dented its armored hide, snapping its head back with a bone-shaking crack. The gauntlet reeled back into place, steam hissing as the beast staggered.
"Now!" Rolien shouted.
Ren was already moving. His arrow whistled through the air, glowing faint gold with Pete's enchantment, and buried itself into the Chainbreaker's shoulder joint. The monster snarled, lashing out.
Pete raised his staff, runes blazing. "Arcane Burst!"
A wave of violet force slammed into the Chainbreaker's side, staggering its advance. Sparks of lightning rippled across its body, slowing it for only a heartbeat. But that was enough.
Rolien lunged in, the Jawbreaker glowing brighter with each pulse. "Crowd Control!"
Blue-white lightning arced out from the gauntlet, dancing across the monster's chains and body. The Chainbreaker seized up, its body jerking violently as the spirit-charged current locked it down.
"Ren, now!"
Three arrows sang through the cavern, each one punching into the creature's chest. Pete followed with a blazing firebolt, exploding against the wounds. Smoke and blood filled the air, but the monster roared through it, tearing free of the paralysis, its glowing eyes locking on them.
It ripped one of its chains free, the weapon snapping forward like a whip.
"DOWN!" Rolien shouted, diving aside. Ren rolled to cover, arrows clattering in his quiver, while Pete barely raised a barrier in time. The chain smashed against it, shattering the shield and hurling him back.
Rolien planted his feet, Jawbreaker thrumming with energy. His breathing was ragged, sweat burning his eyes, but his spirit flared hotter than ever.
The Chainbreaker loomed over them, life bar still massive, glowing crimson in Rolien's window.
Level 62.
And yet, with the Jawbreaker roaring in his arm, and Ren and Pete at his back—
for the first time, Rolien felt like they actually stood a chance.
The Chainbreaker's roar shook dust loose from the cavern ceiling. Its glowing eyes swept across them like twin beacons of malice.
"Circle it!" Rolien barked, his voice cutting through the chaos.
Ren peeled off to the left, bow already nocked. Pete staggered up, wiped the blood from his lip, and followed Rolien to the right, his staff humming with mana.
The monster swung its chain down like a meteor. Rolien shot his Jawbreaker Arm forward, firing Gerbera's blast at the ground to rocket himself upward. He cleared the swing by inches, then came down with his katana blazing in spirit energy.
Steel bit against steel-like hide, sparks flying. His blade carved a glowing mark across the monster's shoulder, spirit energy searing the flesh beneath.
"Punchline!"
His gauntlet detached again, slamming into the same wound with brutal force. The Chainbreaker staggered, black ichor spraying the floor.
Ren seized the moment. His arrow glowed with pale light. "Piercer shot!" He loosed, and the arrow streaked into the open wound Rolien created, digging deeper into the beast's flesh. The Chainbreaker's roar cracked stone.
Pete thrust his staff forward. "Flare Bomb!"
A sphere of fire streaked past Rolien's shoulder, exploding in the monster's chest with a deafening blast. Flames licked its body, but the Chainbreaker retaliated, swinging a claw the size of a wagon.
Rolien crossed his katana and Jawbreaker Arm in front of him, but the impact hurled him across the cavern. He smashed against the wall, pain exploding through his body, ribs protesting every breath.
"ROLIEEEN!" Pete screamed.
But the young master forced himself to his feet, coughing blood. His arm glowed brighter, spirit energy surging like wildfire. His vision blurred, but his resolve was unshaken.
"I'm not going down… not here!"
The Chainbreaker whipped its chain toward Ren. The archer slid across the rock, loosing three arrows in quick succession. Two clanged harmlessly off its armored chest, but the third pierced its leg joint, slowing its lunge.
"Good shot!" Rolien yelled, dashing in again. His katana trailed white flames of spirit energy. He slashed once, twice, three times, each strike carving deeper.
"Crowd Control!"
The Jawbreaker erupted in arcs of lightning, paralyzing the monster mid-swing. It twitched, its claws halted in the air.
Pete raised his staff, pouring every ounce of mana he had left into it. "Rolien, MOVE!"
Rolien dove aside just as Pete unleashed his spell. A colossal bolt of ice crashed down from above, spearing through the monster's shoulder and pinning it for a heartbeat.
The Chainbreaker tore free with a furious roar, but Rolien was already moving. He used Gerbera's blast to propel himself forward like a cannonball.
"PUNCHLINE!!"
The Jawbreaker rocketed into the monster's jaw again, snapping its head back and sending it reeling into the cavern wall. The entire cave shook from the impact.
Ren fired another volley, arrows embedding in its torso. Pete collapsed to one knee, gasping, his mana nearly gone.
The Chainbreaker's health bar finally dipped. A sliver shaved away, glowing red.
Rolien's eyes widened at the sight of it. "It's working…" he muttered, sweat dripping down his face. His spirit energy burned hotter than ever.
The monster slammed its chains down again, the floor cracking beneath its fury.
Rolien tightened his grip on his katana. He looked at Ren and Pete, their faces strained but determined.
This wasn't just a fight anymore. It was survival. It was pride. And for him—
it was proof that spirit energy could defy the impossible.
"Stay with me," Rolien growled, eyes blazing. "We're bringing this bastard down!"
The Chainbreaker roared, its chains slamming down like falling towers, the cavern echoing with every strike. Ren's arrows clattered harmlessly against its armored hide, Pete's spells flickering uselessly as the beast absorbed the mana into its cursed body.
"Damn it!" Ren shouted, loosing another arrow. "We can't pierce it!"
Rolien's jaw clenched. His katana trembled in his grip as spirit energy burned through his veins. "Then we don't pierce it," he growled. "We break it!"
He launched forward, his Jawbreaker Arm sparking with spirit light. Punchline! The rocket fist shot forward, slamming into the monster's jaw with an explosive crack that staggered it back. Pete seized the opening, chanting a flame burst spell to blind it while Ren's arrow pinned through its eye.
But the Chainbreaker howled and swung its massive chain. It slammed into Rolien's ribs with a sound like breaking stone, throwing him hard against the cavern wall. Blood gushed from his mouth as his katana clattered to the floor.
"ROLIEEEN!" Pete's scream cracked.
The beast raised its chain to crush him.
Rolien's fingers twitched. His eyes blurred. In his mind, he saw Marcus. Rachel. His old unit. Then Tessa. Brag. Solis. Faces that had given everything so he could keep standing.
His hand closed around his katana. Spirit energy surged, flooding into the blade until it shook, unable to contain the pressure. He stood, blood running down his chin, every breath agony.
"Not yet… I'm not done yet!"
The Chainbreaker roared, charging its final blow.
Rolien raised his blade, spirit energy spiraling into the steel until it blazed like a fragment of the sun. His voice thundered through the collapsing cavern:
"Equinox… APEX!!"
He brought the sword down in a single, heaven-splitting arc.
The slash tore through the monster from crown to core. A blazing line of light seared through the cavern, the ground itself splitting apart as the Chainbreaker froze mid-roar.
Then, with a shuddering crack, the beast split in two. Its health bar shattered into fragments of red glass before dissolving into nothingness.
Silence followed, broken only by the sound of falling rubble and the party's ragged breathing.
Rolien fell to one knee, his katana still buried in the stone, the Jawbreaker Arm smoking with faint sparks. His chest heaved, but he was alive.
The system window blinked in front of them:
Quest Complete: Subjugate the Chainbreaker
Reward Obtained: Phoenix Ash (Cure for Vermorth's son)
Rolien exhaled, forcing a bloody grin. "It's over."
Pete knelt down and carefully lifted the glowing crimson shard from the Chainbreaker's remains. The pulsing core throbbed with raw vitality, but as Rolien's system window flickered open before his eyes, new notifications appeared one after another.
[Quest Complete: Defeat Dungeon Boss "Chainbreaker"]
Reward: Cure-All Potion Blueprint (Unique)
Bonus Rewards: Chainbreaker Chains x2, Chainbreaker Scales x12, Fangs x4, Core Fragment (Special Ingredient).
Rolien's heart skipped. He opened his Item Box and saw the earlier drops he'd overlooked in the chaos—rare herbs hardened by mana, crystalized ichor, fragments of beast marrow. Now, together with the Chainbreaker's core, the final set was complete.
A faint golden glow outlined one of the blueprint icons in his system menu. He pulled it open, and a 3D projection of a glass vial floated before him, instructions written in fine script:
Blueprint: Cure-All Potion
(Requires: Chainbreaker Core x1, Aethern Root x3, Mana-Infused Marrow x2, Verdant Dewdrops x5, Crimson Scales Powder x1)
(Intelligence scaling: 1 potion per 20 INT)
Rolien's breath hitched. He checked his own stats.
Intelligence: 86 (Lv. 44)
That meant—four potions. Four doses of salvation. Enough to save Vermorth's son, and still leave spares.
"Rolien?" Pete asked, noticing how his young master's expression had changed.
Rolien snapped his menu shut and grinned faintly. "We have everything. All of it. I can make the potion now."
Ren blinked. "Here? In this place?"
Rolien nodded, already pulling out a portable crafting circle from his inventory. "It'll take time… but I'll work as we walk. Two hours should be enough."
The path out of the dungeon stretched long, jagged stone giving way to mist-draped woods. As they trekked through, Rolien worked furiously. His jawbreaker arm glowed faintly, channeling his spirit energy into the miniature alchemy station he'd summoned. The ingredients broke down into fine powders, glowing fluids, and concentrated essences, all feeding into the transparent vial at the center of the circle.
The process wasn't simple. The Chainbreaker's core resisted being refined, pulsing with unstable mana, threatening to crack the glass each time he tried to infuse it. But Rolien's intelligence stat wasn't just numbers on a screen—it guided his hands, sharpened his instincts, made the impossible flow like second nature. He rotated the vial, adjusted the infusion ratio, and channeled his spirit energy until the core melted into a crimson liquid that shimmered like starlight.
Ren watched from a few steps away, bow slung across his shoulder. "Never thought I'd see a noble kid brewing potions while bleeding from half a dozen wounds."
Pete chuckled wearily, holding his staff for balance. "That's our young master. Stubborn as hell, but when he says he'll do something… he does it."
Rolien didn't look up. His face was pale, sweat dripping down his temple, but his jaw was set in determination. "If this works… Vermorth's son will live. And no one will call us failures."
Slowly, vial by vial, the Cure-All Potions came to life. Four of them. Each glowing with a pure, golden-red hue, radiating warmth like sunlight trapped in liquid.
By the time the fourth vial was finished, the trees parted. The towers of Dukedom Vermorth rose ahead, shrouded in the pale glow of dawn. Exactly two hours had passed. Rolien corked the last potion and tucked them into his pouch. His hands trembled, but his eyes burned with pride.
"Let's go," he said, voice steady despite the exhaustion. "It's time to deliver this."
To be continued..