As Alex stood before the towering Warden of Shadows, he felt the oppressive weight of its presence pressing down on him.
The four-meter-tall monstrosity loomed like a nightmare given form, jagged obsidian armor fused with liquid shadow, glowing crimson runes pulsating across its body.
Its hollow, glowing eyes stared him down, and elongated claws dripped with an inky, corrosive mist that hissed as it hit the ground.
And as for the others, they were doing the same thing as always.
Alice remained perched on a nearby tree, her bow drawn, while Aurelia crouched behind a crumbled rock formation.
Her hands trembled as she peeked out at the battle-ready Alex, her inferiority weighing heavily on her mind.
Compared to the strength and confidence of Alex and Alice, she felt like a burden.
The Warden’s deep, guttural growl shattered the silence.
Alex gripped his dagger and staff tightly. “Let’s see if you’re as tough as you look.”
The Warden was the first to move, lunging forward with astonishing speed for a creature of its size.
Its claws cleaved the ground as Alex rolled to the side, barely avoiding a devastating blow.
A [Void Chain] shot out from its body, narrowly missing his torso but shattering the boulder where Aurelia was hiding behind him.
“AAAAH-” he heard her scream, and though he wouldn’t tell her, he actually found it quite funny.
Alice fired a glowing blood arrow, aiming for one of the Warden’s hollow eyes.
The arrow struck, but the shadowy shield surrounding the boss absorbed the impact, leaving the Warden unscathed.
“Nothing’s getting through that defense!” she shouted.
Alex clicked his tongue.
“Then we’ll just have to keep hitting until it breaks.”
He activated [Fire Meteor], summoning a blazing projectile that descended from the sky.
The meteor collided with the Warden, only for the shadowy armor to absorb the impact with barely a scratch.
-5,000!
The damage was negligible.
“Damn it,” Alex muttered, his frustration mounting.
He unleashed [Crimson Cataclysm], summoning a volley of crimson spikes that erupted from the ground.
Each spike shattered upon contact with the Warden’s armor, leaving no visible effect.
“Looks like brute force won’t work either,” Alex growled, stepping back to reassess.
Alex’s mind raced.
His earlier use of the [Fire Fox Summons] had proven effective, but wasn’t there a 12 hours cooldown between each use? (remember that his cooldown is reduced by half because of his staff)
And then a thought struck him.
“What if…” Alex said, raising his staff, “Alright, let’s see if this works.”
Two blazing ethereal foxes materialized at his side, their fiery forms crackling with intense energy.
The foxes growled in unison, their eyes locked onto the Warden.
“Knew it,” he smiled.
The summons only disappeared if they were killed. If they’d merely dissipated earlier, he could bring them back.
The Warden roared in response, firing [Shadow Barrage], a series of dark projectiles that streaked toward Alex.
One of the foxes leapt into action, intercepting the attacks and exploding into bursts of flame that forced the Warden to stagger back.
[Barrier broken.]
The explosion of that fox broke the shield around the warden.
The other one on the other hand hit the warden straight on.
-5,000,000!
The momentary distraction was all Alex needed.
He dashed forward, aiming for the glowing runes on the Warden’s chest.
His dagger found its target, carving a shallow wound.
[Weakness hit, dealing 500% of damage!]
-1,023,450!
A satisfying number flashed before his eyes, and though it wasn’t much, he now knew the weakness of that thing.
From another hiding spot she found, Aurelia watched in awe.
Alex fought with such determination, his skills chaining seamlessly into one another.
Demonic Spear! Arc of Divinity! Chains of Destiny!
Even Alice, perched high above, rained down precision strikes to support him.
And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to join the fray.
“What’s the point?” she whispered, clenching her fists. “I’m useless against something like that…”
She bit her lip, ashamed as Alex and Alice risked their lives while she cowered in the shadows.
The battle raged on.
Alex called forth his undead summons, but even their combined might couldn’t pierce the Warden’s defenses.
The shadowy behemoth retaliated with [Phantom Clones], creating illusory duplicates that swarmed the battlefield.
Alex fought valiantly, weaving through attacks, but the clones proved relentless.
The warden managed to catch him off guard, slashing across his side.
-164,842!
He stumbled, blood dripping from the wound.
“Not done yet,” Alex growled, stabbing his dagger into his palm.
Using the blood that poured from his hand, he summoned a [Giant Blood Blade], the crimson weapons floated beside him.
The Warden roared as Alex hurled the blade at its chest.
The crimson weapon shattered upon impact but left a visible crack in the armor.
-6,326,905!
“That’s more like it!” Alex grinned, gripping another [Giant Blood Blade] he created from the wound at his side.
This time, instead of throwing it, he wielded it directly, slashing at the Warden with all his might.
The Warden retaliated with [Void Chains], ensnaring Alex’s limbs.
And before he could react, it activated [Corruption Pulse], a shockwave of dark energy that tore through his body.
Alex collapsed to the ground, unable to move as his health plummeted.
Ding!
[You have died!]
For a brief moment, everything went dark but…
[Blessing of the Fox Spirit activated, thus saving your life!]
Alex gasped as life surged back into him.
Blood poured from his wounds, but he forced himself to stand.
“Damn it…” he muttered, his vision swimming. “I’m not giving up.”
Using the increasing amount of blood he had, Alex activated [Blood Mist] and [Blood Clones].
A thick, crimson fog enveloped the battlefield, obscuring everything from view.
Inside the mist, Alex’s vision sharpened, allowing him to see the Warden’s movements clearly.
Slash! Slash!
The Warden would try to attack whatever it saw, but every time it only met the [Blood Clones], each of them disappearing upon impact.
With the [Giant Blood Blade] in hand, he charged once more, slashing through the Warden’s armor with renewed vigor.
Alice, unable to see through the mist, relied on Alex’s shouts for guidance.
“Keep firing at the cracks!” he yelled.
She did as instructed, her arrows striking the weakened spots and dealing significant damage.
A shrill scream broke through the fog as another one of Aurelia’s hiding spots was obliterated by one of the Warden’s attacks.
She tumbled to the ground, defenseless as the real Warden loomed over her.
“Aurelia!” Alex shouted, but he was too far to reach her in time.
Slash!
He slashed at the warden he had been seeing these past few seconds, and as expected, it was but a clone the monster created.
“SHIT!”
A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield as a massive shadow descended, summoned from Alex’s back.
Alphox, the primordial dragon, crashed onto the scene, shielding Aurelia with his massive body.
-7,837,271!
He received damage, but it didn’t matter.
Because of the [Dragon Trio] kills, as well as [Nivran] and the [Dragonheart Essence], Alphox was able to reach level 650 as well.
He was strong enough to take care of that boss now.
“T-Thanks,” Aurelia stammered, her voice trembling.
“Don’t get carried away,” Alphox growled, his voice dripping with disdain. “I’m only here because the human willed it.”
Without another word, Alphox turned his attention to the Warden.
He unleashed [Eclipsing Roar], stunning the boss and reducing its attack and defense.
“Finally, some backup!” Alex said, smirking.
Alphox activated [Umbral Shield], protecting the group from an incoming [Black Nova], before soaring into the air.
He gathered shadow energy and executed [Abyssal Dive], slamming into the Warden with devastating force.
-16,371,959!
With the Warden weakened, Alex saw his chance.
He combined all his remaining strength, channeling it into his final skill: [Demonic Spear].
The dark energy swirled into a massive weapon, which he hurled directly at the Warden’s core.
The spear pierced through the weakened armor, shattering the glowing runes and causing the Warden to let out a final, ear-splitting shriek.
Its massive body crumbled into a heap of shadow and ash.
Ding!
[You have slain “Warden of Shadow – Floor 6 Boss” and gained 350,000,000 experience points!]
Alex collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.
“Phew…” he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
Alice climbed down from her perch, inspecting the battlefield. “That was insane.”
Aurelia approached hesitantly, avoiding Alex’s gaze. “I’m sorry… I couldn’t-“
“You stayed out of trouble, and that’s enough,” Alex interrupted, giving her a weak smile.
Alphox snorted, folding his wings as he disappeared back into his space.
“If this is the best you humans can manage, it’s a miracle you’ve survived this long.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Despite the exhaustion, he couldn’t help but smile: with this group of his, level 700 monsters weren’t a problem anymore either.