The forest was quiet again.
Or maybe I'd just gone deaf from all the screeching.
I reclined on a stout tree root, robe torn in a dozen places, boots barely attached to my feet, and covered in dry bunny blood. The air smelled of burnt fur and ice. My energy core was rattling like a worn-out gear.
I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. Channel Flow, the magical energy flow art every magus uses.
I let the magical energy pass through my arms. Slowly with no force and pressure.
A soft, pale form burst into existence in front of my chest thin lines of white-blue light, such as flowing water would take if it were shaped into a spiral.
[Minor Heal]
Warmth flowed down my arms and through me like honey. The pain backed off. My skin repaired itself. Bruises melted away.
Not all of the damage vanished. That was to be expected. Initiate-level healing was only good for cuts and bruises. Anything worse, and I'd have needed a potion or a priest.
But it was enough.
I stood up slowly and rolled my shoulders. The soreness remained, but the limp was gone.
"Alright," I grunted. "Round two."
The Green Leaf Dungeon didn't waste much time welcoming me back.
Within minutes, I was attacked on all sides by magical-beasts: dog-sized, heavy-shouldered squirrels, horned frogs that leapt faster than I could track, and a strange bird with spell-reflecting feathers like a mirror.
I handled them.
A quick Gust Burst to blast the frogs from the air, Stone Fist to defend myself against the hawk's dive-bombing, Frost Touch to paralyze the ground beneath the squirrel-beasts. Then a cunningly used Shadow Coil to drag one into a bush and finish it with Flame Spark.
No extraneous spells and overcharging. Just discipline.
I wasn't that fast and elegant. But I was getting better. And that's when I heard it.
A low growl. Like something massive hauling its bulk through the trees. The forest fell silent unnaturally. Even the wind held its breath.
I crouched beside a luminescent mushroom and focused.
Magical Sense.
There was no glyph for the spell. It was an internal reflex. A sixth sense. A vibration through my soul.
And I sensed it. Ahead, not far; a massive energy signature. And smaller ones dancing around it.
"Boss," I breathed. "Dungeon boss."
---
The path broke into a natural clearing, and it was filled with busted grass and scratch marks. Old bones were partially buried in the earth. Mushrooms glowed a little dimmer here, as though they did not want to be noticed.And there it was.
The King of the Green Leaf. It was a rabbit.
But not like the others.
This one was almost as tall as me, with black horns curving behind its ears, red fur striped with violet light, and a scar over one glowing eye. A twisted thing. A dungeon-bred aberration. Its magical energy pounded like a heartbeat deafening, rhythmic, crushing.
Seven smaller rabbits waited behind it; all augmented, sleeker, faster. I knew that look. They'd watched their siblings die. They'd learned.
"Alright," I whispered, magical energy sparking in my hand. "Let's dance."
---
The fight began in a haze.
The first two rabbits came at me. I didn't even cast. I jumped, rolling to the side as they skidded where I had been.
[Frost Touch]
A sigil appeared in front of my hand. Ice crawled along the grass, catching one rabbit in mid-turn. It slid, hit a tree, and didn't get up.
Another one came at me from behind.
[Shadow Coil]
Dark tentacles lashed out and dragged it back. I struck it with a Flame Spark while it struggled. It screamed and fell limp.
The King snarled. It didn't charge, it watched.
Very Intelligent.
I threw a Light Mark into the air, and the room filled with floating orbs of light. They'd detonate if touched.
Easy, but useful for zoning. Then the others charged.
A whirlwind of motion. I hurled Stone Fist, exploding the ground under one and slamming it down. Static Shock electrocuted two that came too close. One actually bit my leg before I slammed it down with a desperate Gust Burst. But I was slowing down.
Magical receding.
And the King hadn't stirred yet.
Until now. It sprang. Fast. Faster than anything I'd ever seen.
I barely had time to cast the Earthen Wall between us. It shattered through it. Not cracked but shattered like glass. I was flung backward, rolling in the dirt, blood gushing from my mouth.
Pain seared along my ribs. It stood over me, horn gleaming.
A red-black glyph coalesced before my palm; unstable and throbbing.
[Overcharge–Flame Spark]
The bolt exploded point-blank. Fire and smoke tore through the clearing. The King screamed, blinded.
I stumbled to my feet, shaking. One chance only.
I fed it all, all into a final spell.
A whirling sigil of light burst to life. Light flared outward, forming a burst of shining threads.
[Lumen Net]
The threads wrapped around the King in mid-lunge, paralyzing it in midair.
It screamed, thrashing as light seared its body.
I didn't hesitate.
I raised my hand a final time.
A cold-blue pattern blazed.
[Frost Touch]
The ice lanced upward from beneath and speared through the thrashing King's underbelly.
Everything stood in silence after it crashed very hard.
---
I didn't cheer, I didn't cry. I just fell to my knees, gasping for air.I'd done it. I'd killed my first dungeon boss. With no help and backup.
Me, my magic, and ten years of grinding.
---
A glowing portal stood waiting nearby. The dungeon exit gate. I staggered towards it, still trembling.
As I stepped into the light, I growled to no one in particular:
"Next time, I'm bringing a sword."