CHAPTER 63.

Amber’s world blurred as she was thrown across the desert. She felt her organs be torn apart and things come out of her as she landed with an explosion of sand.

Her world spun as she rolled on the ground, and for a moment all she could hear was her own breathing. Amber wanted to say she had lost concentration, that she hadn’t been able to sense that attack, but no⁠— she just couldn’t do anything against it. The monster seemed to be able to enhance its physical prowess, much like her, but the level difference was too high.

And this was the result⁠—

Amber broke out into a coughing fit, her blood oozing out of her. Her skills were trying to heal her, but to no avail. Normally, an injury like this could be healed, but not with so much venom inside of her. Luckily, she hadn’t landed on one of the many pits of venom, but her condition was still as bad as it could get.

Amber suppressed a scream as she felt her veins threaten to pop. Her muscles were numbing and her heart was racing like never before. At the same time, her blood felt as if it was made out of sand as her entire body throbbed in pain. And then, there was the heat of the desert. It felt unbearable. It was as if her body was burning, and it hurt so damn much.

Then, Amber sensed the ground rumble with an explosion, but she could sense the rumbling approaching.

The monster was coming for her, and the necromancer was hard at work to try to prevent that. But if Amber didn’t hurry in recovering, it was clear she was going to die⁠—

And she vomited.

Amber grabbed the golden sand with her fist and gritted her teeth from the pain. All while she used the second rank of Recovery of Curses, then she also used all of the accumulated rage into the skill⁠— speeding her recovery even more. Amber felt her bones begin to snap back into place, all while she tightly held onto the Cursewelder.

All of the curses worked to help her heal, but Amber was still in an awful fucking condition, and a moment later the monster screeched. A gray miasma exploded. It engulfed everything in the radius of a small town in a mere instant. And yet it did nothing, or that was what she assumed was nothing.

Amber tried to use her ring only to find out it suddenly didn’t work, the flames surrounding the Cursewelder also began to extinguish, and Amber was left to⁠— dodge.

She managed to use the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash to get out of the way, and that’s when she heard the necromancer call out.

“This miasma disables external mana output, be careful! I’ll figure something out!”

What the fuck is external mana output? Amber dodged incoming tentacles with the use of Quick Dash.

Her skill worked just like normal, but she couldn’t use her ring and from the looks of it she couldn’t use her flames either. And when she looked over the necromancer wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Figure what out?

And Amber gritted her teeth as she dashed out of the way. She wished that at least he had told her some kind of plan of action, but he pretty much had vanished in a blink. So it seemed that she would have to be on her own for some time.

The question was: how much time?

With a frown of determination, she sent a Cursed Cleave the monster’s way, but it didn’t seem t do much given the sheer size of the monster. The skill worked due to the fact that it didn’t use mana, so Amber used it as a tool to distract the tentacles, all while she dodged.

At first, it was manageable but she quickly found herself dodging for her life, even if she wasn’t hit, every second she was stepping closer to death’s door because⁠—

She wiped her eye only to see a tear of blood.

She was still envenomed or poisoned or whatever the fuck it was. But even then, Amber did her best to survive, and a minute quickly ticked by as her condition worsened. And Amber made her decision.

She had stalled the monster long enough, but the necromancer was nowhere to be seen, so⁠— considering she was fucked anyway.

She was going to do her damn best to kill the monster, even if it meant going into it and eating its flesh with her bare teeth. She was going to use its blood to heal herself and consume it all if she had to.

If she died, she would take it down with her.

She turned towards the monster and rushed, cutting through the tendrils that came her way.

* * *

Ian blinked, as he watched the warrior rush at the monster in the distance. She tore through its tentacles with a warcry, and quickly reached and stabbed the center of the monster before a crimson burst of flames engulfed everything.

For a moment he was taken aback, but then he decided that this was the best way to get rid of the miasma, and save Amber at the same time.

So, he began to cast his spell.

* * *

Compared to her experiences with toxins this venom was the most lethal thing that had ever hit her, and from the looks of it, it would spell her end⁠— or not. Amber jammed her hand into the monster and burned⁠— using its blood to heal herself as she grinned.

She didn’t know how long she had been fighting, but it didn’t matter. Amber dug her sword well into the monster as it failed to strike her, and just when she was about to dig into its flesh, she heard the necromancer⁠—

“Acceleration of Death.”

And a purple explosion engulfed everything. The miasma was wiped in an instant, and the monster was blasted and part of its body was dissolved by the purple light. Meanwhile, Amber was blasted away, all while the powerful curse regenerated her. She landed dozens of meters back, rolling numerous times, and she blinked.

Amber stood up only to see the necromancer offering her a potion.

“I thought you were going to die,” he said. “Glad that you are not, this is a Superb Quality Regeneration potion. It will continuously heal you throughout the battle.”

“I wasn’t going to die,” she replied simply.

The necromancer gave her a weird glance, but she grabbed the potion before he could say anything. She used Identify, considering she had never heard of the potion of Regeneration, considering it was Superb quality, it was most definitely incredibly rare.

And so, she chugged it.

The cold liquid entered her and relief washed over her, the venom was now a minimum in her body⁠, and while it wasn’t completely cleansed it was enough for her to fight seriously once more.

“If you don’t have the 3rd Rank of Toxin Resistance, you should run,” he said seriously before continuing. “This venom continuously multiples through the body and the only way to get it out is to have a blood transfusion, that or with Toxin Resistance. No matter how healed you get, it will never go away.”

Amber frowned hearing that, if that wasn’t a literal menace, she didn’t know what it was.

“Luckily, I have the 3rd Rank.”

“Alright.”

The necromancer nodded.

“Do you have any plan in particular?” he asked.

And in response she nodded.

She stared at the monster that was frantically fighting. It had terrorized her this entire fight, and now, she wanted to terrorize the monster back. Given the fact that the venom would never be cleansed, it emboldened her to take more risks. After all, she had already hit rock bottom, and there was also the fact that…

Her eyes narrowed seeing how small the monster looked.

It’s quite weak now.

All they had to do was finish it off, and Amber had an idea of how to do that. While she didn’t dare to stab herself to increase Curse Battery given the circumstances, there was another way to do so. And also⁠— curses healed her, keeping the venom at bay, all while she took risks. Also, she had a potion that was actively healing her now.

It was an insane plan, but it was what she wanted to do, and more than anything, she wanted to be the one that finished off the monster.

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“I will go all in in the monster,” Amber finally said. “And you will hit the both of us with as many curses as possible.”

The necromancer looked at her and then, nodded. “Very well, then let’s finish this.”

With his words, he teleported away and the skeletons around the monster died. Causing it to shriek in anger before turning to her.

Even though it had already been quite hurt, the source of the plague still remained an imposing abomination, causing sand dunes to shift with its mass and making clouds of sand whenever it passed. And now, sand dunes were falling apart because of its mass, as it charged while rolling.

Amber pointed her sword at it.

“Flamethrower.”

A crimson conical blast engulfed everything in front of her, but it was quickly charged through. The monster caught on fire as it used its tendrils to whip at her, and Amber pulled back and looked to the necromancer in the distance who nodded, he was aiming at her.

Everything was ready.

She then turned to look at the chasing abomination and source of the plague. While Amber wanted to seriously fuck up the monster, she couldn’t exactly go toe to toe with it, but what she could do was torture it.

The monster arrived in front of her and it whipped forward with its tentacles. And Amber immediately used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash, essentially landing on top of the black mass. And spinning the dagger at her waist, she stabbed⁠. She used all her strength as she dug her whole arm along with the dagger into the monster, drawing an uncomfortable shriek from it. Then, she used Crimson Fuel and⁠ burned.

The monster screeched like never before as it thrashed from having its blood consumed. But things didn’t end there⁠— no. A purple pillar of light engulfed the both of them, causing some of the tentacles of the monster to be disintegrated and for Amber to be healed. It was a similar attack to the one the necromancer had just used, but weaker.

And Amber welcomed it.

She used the fire of the Flamecursed sword, shooting it right inside of the monster as she grinned. She didn’t care that her mana was drawing low, no⁠— all she cared about was damage.

Flames erupted from all around the monster all while its dying sounds played like a melody in her ears, but she still continued on attacking even after that. Stabbing the Cursewelder repeatedly and burning the monster’s blood without stopping. It also had the added bonus of keeping the venom within her body fully at bay with the help of the potion she had taken.

And of course, the necromancer attacked as well, engulfing the both of them with a mutltide of curses that exacerbated the condition of the monster. She was fighting with all her capabilities, and she wanted to end it now.

Amber raised her sword and stabbed.

“Flamethrower⁠—”

And before the flames went off, the monster exploded.

Amber was thrown away and landed with confusion as tentacles rained. There had been no notification to confirm it had died, there had been no nothing. She turned to look at the necromancer only to see him chanting under his breath, evidently he was preparing another big spell.

The monster was still alive, the question was⁠—

And a pillar of darkness erupted in front of her. Amber turned only to see danger⁠—

She blocked with her sword as a scintillating whip hit, and she was pushed back. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the monster, it was much smaller and its tentacles had a metallic sheen to it, but that wasn’t what made Amber surprised. No, that was its speed.

The monster blurred and attacked again, and Amber was forced to block, and then with another strike her cheek was cut and more venom went into her body. Then, she used Curse Stomp but it was completely ineffective, which just earned her a shoulder-wide scratch. It took just a few seconds for her to be overwhelmed, and even though she used Cursed Supreme Momentum to the fullest it just wasn’t enough.

Amber knew the necromancer was preparing something, and while she wanted to fight the monster while it happened, she still wasn’t stupid. Even if she had pride, she knew she would long be in a terrible state by the time the necromancer unleashed his curse, so instead she had a change of plans.

She would wait until the monster was about to get hit to counter⁠-attack.

So, she turned tails and ran. The monster screeched in anger as it chased after her, while it wasn’t what she initially wanted to do, Amber wasn’t stupid. And pride most certainly wasn’t going to get her killed.

The monster was fast and strong, so Amber couldn’t leave it behind but she could most certainly make sure she survived until then. She Quick Dashed away from the monster, and it chased, then when it arrived Amber blocked and Quick Dashed again. It was a repeated process that quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse.

Naturally, she got a few more scratches and the venom got to the point in which she began to struggle even with the potion of Regeneration, the more she was injected with, the faster it would spread again it seemed, but Amber committed to her goal. Even as the monster couldn’t take it anymore and used its magic, engulfing the surroundings with an aura of death and manipulating its tentacles to attack as if they were salvos of projectiles. Choosing to keep its distance while it assailed her with them.

And of course, Amber panicked, in fact she had a few near escapes, but every time she looked towards the necromancer, his staff was shining brighter and brighter, and she knew the end was nearing.

She dodged for another minute, and just as she spat a mouthful of blood and almost tripped, and that’s when the monster⁠— screeched.

Amber turned only to see the necromancer pointing his staff, and the monster began to be wrapped by a purple light. One that pressed on it and began to make it screech in agony, all while its attacks became much more aggressive, and Amber took that as her signal.

She turned around and with a cleave-laced twirl she cut through dozens of tentacles, and then, she dashed through the rain of attacks and headed towards the monster.

Its shrieks were laced with pain and anger, as it attacked her.

Perhaps it could sense the end was coming, or perhaps it was something else, but it sent all of its tentacles in an attempt to stop her.

And Amber tore through them all, she took out the Flamecursed Sword out of the Cursewelder, and with the use of her strength she used the two massive blades at once to tear through all the attacks that came her way.

The closer she got, the harder it got to advance, but Amber dashed forward even if she started to get hit and scratched. And as it progressed, she began to receive cuts and broken bones, but she pushed forward.

And then⁠— the monster screeched as the force upon it worsened, heralding the start of the attack. Hundreds of spikes were shot her way and Amber used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash to dodge them all.

Any other person in her position would have long died, but Amber knew what she was capable of, and this was finally beginning to push her limits to the max.

Amber tore through the tentacles that she could get, but it wasn’t enough. So, she burned.

An explosion of fire engulfed all of the tentacles in front of her and with a final charge, she heard the necromancer scream his attack.

“End of it all!”

A blast of purple engulfed Amber and the monster, and Amber felt reinvigorated in a single moment as all her injuries were immediately wiped; the broken bones, the scratches⁠— they all went away. The venom came to a screeching halt and began to be reversed back within her body, and Amber rushed.

Inside of the purple light she saw the monster screeching, and it tried to send tentacles her way that disintegrated before they could reach her. It was fruitless. She stared at the burning monster and she dashed up to it and kicked. Then, with a follow up swing she tore apart a multitude of its tentacles.

“You really did almost kill me!” she laughed.

She could almost see the monster staring at her in fear, even though it was a burning mass of tentacles, but it didn’t matter.

Amber stabbed and pushed all of the accumulated rage from the attacks she sustained forward and called⁠—

“Battery, battery, battery!”

Her words blurred together from how fast she spoke them, and a another purple blast engulfed the monster. One that sent it flying with a loud boom. Chunks of tentacles streaked through the air as the mass of flesh landed dozens of meters away. And Amber didn’t stop there, she teleported with the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash and raised her sword at the now person-sized mass of tentacles.

It was wiggling on the sand, rotting it away and Amber grinned.

“Die!”

And she brought it down, stabbing deep into the carcass as the necromancer closed his eyes.

“It has been done.”

With his words, a notification came and Amber picked up her dagger from the core of the monster, as well as put the Firecursed Sword in its place. And that’s when she noticed that the potion of regeneration ran out.

[You have defeated a [Mage. Lvl. 164].]

For defeating an enemy 35 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

Less experience for defeating an enemy as a group.

And the notifications didn’t stop there.

[Cursed Cleave has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 8 to 3rd Rank level 9.]

[Quick Dash has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 8 to 3rd Rank level 9.]

[General Weapon Mastery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 9 to 3rd Rank level 10.]

[Cursed Supreme Momentum has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 7 to 3rd Rank level 8.]

[Cursed Supreme Berserker’s Body has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 7 to 3rd Rank level 8.]

[Recovery of Curses has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 7.]

[Curse Battery has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 6 to 3rd Rank level 7.]

[Cursed Rage Synergy has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 6 to 3rd Rank level 8.]

[Curse Manipulation has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 5 to 3rd Rank level 7.]

[Crimson Fervor has leveled up from level 8 to 9.]

[Crimson Fuel has leveled up from level 8 to 9.]

[Crimson Venom has leveled up from level 7 to 8.]

[Toxin Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 2 to 3rd Rank level 5.]

[Sharp Instincts has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 6 to 3rd Rank level 7.]

[Quick Recovery has leveled up from 2nd Rank level 1 to 2nd Rank level 2.]

And finally her level ups.

[You have reached level 127. 5 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

…

[You have reached level 131. 5 stat points awarded.]

+5 Vitality +5 Strength +5 Dexterity.]

But in spite of everything that she had leveled, Amber frowned. Her Toxin Resistance had leveled up three whole times, and while she had recovering from her injuries already, the same couldn’t be said from the venom⁠—

Amber vomited blood as she hurriedly took out a Rare Quality health potion that she quickly chugged. The effect was immediate, keeping the venom at bay but she had been injected with so much of it that the venom was more aggressive than ever. Or rather, she had been injected with it so many times that it would spread like a virus as soon as she stopped healing it. Even though the battle had ended, she remained in an in-battle state due to it.

This is bad… she looked at her trembling hand and then, turned noticing the necromancer.

“You should rush back to Torl to get the venom extracted, otherwise you will die,” he said as he stood next to her. “If I’m being honest, I’m surprised you are still alive after receiving so much of it.”

She frowned at his words, but given she was wobbling on her spot, it was quite accurate. She had thought that the curse attack from the necromancer would be enough to heal her⁠— and while that was the case. She didn’t contemplate that the venom would just spread once more, this time at an increased rate.

“Before I leave, what will you do?”

The necromancer seemingly ignored her question as he raised his staff. Then, with a twirl all of the tentacles across the desert flew to the dead monster, creating a pile of rot and death.

“We just killed my wife.” he finally said.

Then he turned to Amber, a tear coming out of his eye.

“And now that she won’t rampage, I shall revive her.”