CHAPTER 69.

Amber dashed away, pulling Asil from the explosion and she frowned as the room was filled with a miasma. A familiar miasma. She readied herself as the elf backed off, and from the smoke, she saw its figure and the glittering particles. It was a monster with ghastly legs, one whose head seemed to be a skull of an elongated snout. The smoke cleared as Amber frowned, knowing what it already was.

[Cursed Artkil. Lvl. 157]

It was the same Cursed Artkil from a few days ago, except it was now stronger.

“We have to leave, you cannot face it,” Asil said warily. “That thing is immune to curses.”

“I know that,” Amber replied simply as she raised her now burning hand.

And at that, the Cursed Artkil tilted its head at her curiously. Its white eyes were locked on her hand, Perhaps she was doing something ridiculous and should’ve listened to Asil, but she felt like she had to do it. Even if the monster had its level 150 advancement⁠— and her only experience against something like that was the source of the plague.

“What are you doing?” Asil asked in a hiss seeing what she was about to do.

Amber replied, “Pushing my limits.”

And she used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash before slashing at its side. The flash of orange hit the Cursed Artkil square on the side, catching it by surprise and causing it to screech in pain. The hit had been less powerful than the one she had used against the mantis-monster just moments earlier, but it was good enough, for her needs now anyway.

Asil clicked his tongue. “I won’t be dragged into this⁠— cloak.”

And this time, his spell worked⁠— perhaps it was because the monster was injured, or a different factor⁠, but that didn’t matter⁠— he disappeared from sight in a mere second.

The monster reeled back as the flames slowly extinguished. Unfortunately, even now she couldn’t replicate the Curse of consuming Flames, and that was because Essence wasn’t a replacement to the System⁠— neither of them replaced each other. Instead, they were meant to be used together.

She stared at the monster who shook its head before letting out an angry roar. It was a strong being, and it was the same monster she had initially run away from and was wary of.

Which is why she took out the Cursewelder and⁠—

“No.”

She stowed it away.

She had to do this with minimal use of anything other than Essence, that was the only way she would truly push her limits⁠— and that was the only way she was going to learn anything. So, she gathered flames at her hand, all while the monster began to circle around her with slow and careful steps. Its white and pupilless eyes bore into her and Amber⁠— cleaved.

A flash of orange passed, and the monster dodged it, letting it hit the wall behind. Then, it charged towards her at ridiculous speeds. Amber used cleave again, this time without fire and the monster⁠— ducked over it and rammed.

Amber used Quick Dash⁠— and if the elf had taught her how to physically enhance herself instead of refusing when she asked, she wouldn’t have even done that.

The monster hit the wall with a loud boom, and then it turned towards her. In response, Amber sent another flash of light that hit the monster square across its shoulder joint, once more burning and cutting into it, but it wasn’t enough. And that was in spite of the attack being somewhat close to the one she had used against the mantis in terms of strength.

She met gazes with the monster, and a moment later it let out a huff.

The glitter around the Cursed Artkil began to shine and the crystals in the room flickered in response to its command and⁠ they broke out of the wall before shooting⁠— Amber craned her head and her cheek was slashed open by one. Then, another one came that she was forced to dodge with Quick Dash⁠—

“What⁠—”

And a gigantic chunk of crystal hit her stomach as soon as she landed on the other location, breaking some ribs and sending her against the wall. The attack was powerful enough to make her throw up blood. Amber looked up only to see the Cursed Artkil now had a third eye in its forehead that was also looking at her⁠— a thing that didn’t exist before, and one that added a layer of creepiness to it. Then, it charged.

Amber prepared herself and the monster⁠— teleported. Ramming her into the wall and breaking further bones.

Amber spat blood before grabbing onto the monster and pushing Essence into the palm of her hands. They immediately lit ablaze and began to burn the monster, searing well into its flesh. However, the Cursed Artkil did nothing but let out a low growl before more crystals were sent her way. Forcing her to Quick Dash away only for⁠—

Her to be smacked by a crystal before she could even react. Amber felt her bones further break and tried to get away with two uses of Quick Dash only to suffer the same fate. And while she sent slashes the monster’s way, none of them struck true. In fact, it would effortlessly dodge the attacks.

She could see remnants of Essence all around the room, and while there was quite a lot on the monster, a large majority of it was scattered from her missed attacks. However, the monster had dodged everything without fail.

“Just what is going on⁠—”

Amber hit the wall with heavy breaths, and saw the monster looking at her. Its third eye seemed to be shaking as if it was straining itself, and Amber didn’t know what to do. She stared at the monster, and the monster stared back, seemingly waiting for her to do something. She thought about sending a cleave, and at that the monster seemingly readied itself to dodge.

She frowned and then followed up on her thought, sending a cleave, followed by a Cursed Cleave placed differently, and at that⁠— the monster skillfully dodged. Amber didn’t stop there, she continued spamming weak cleaves and Cursed Cleaves only to get the same result and that’s when it clicked for her.

It can see the damn future.

She didn’t even know that was a possible thing, but now it was happening before her very eyes. However, now that she knew this, perhaps she could overwhelm the monster. Amber took a deep breath, manipulating her Essence and then cleaved⁠—

At the same time a crystal struck her, but she brushed it off as she focused on sending cleave after cleave at the Cursed Artkil⁠— it seemed to her that it couldn’t manipulate crystals while it was dodging, so she focused on that. She sent as many cleaves as she could in order to disrupt the monster, and for a moment it was a standstill, but it didn’t last long as the monster just⁠—

Took the attack and screeched.

In a single moment, Amber was assaulted by a myriad of crystals, and while she cleaved at the monster all it did was take the attacks given they weren’t all that strong. And that was because Amber couldn’t focus⁠— so she was thrown around the room, being battered by the different crystals.

And for a moment, as she hit the wall she felt lost.

“Amber, listen,” a whisper reached her⁠— one belonging to Asil. “I know you don’t want to run, so how about I advise you instead?”

“Advise me?” Amber grunted, spitting some blood. “Sure.”

She felt like telling him to not intervene, but she knew better than that. She looked at the monster and a shard of glass was flung her way, one she barely dodged. Then, more came.

“I’m not going to tell you how to deal with this fight, instead, I will tell you how to develop your Essence.”

“And that is?”

She struggled to dodge the multitude of crystals and finally⁠— she was hit. Amber went flying before landing rolling on the ground. All while she was annoyed. The fact that it could see the future was bullshit, but she had an idea of how to deal with the monster. Amber rose from her spot and a crystal came her way, and she⁠— cleaved.

Stolen story; please report.

It exploded into thousands of pieces as it did nothing but graze her. The monster let out a small snort at that before sending two pieces after her, causing the light in the room to flicker for a moment and Amber this time pushed her Essence before swinging.

Once more, the two crystals exploded, doing nothing but graze her with a glittering shower of dust. Then, she looked at the monster who was static looking at her. And that’s when Asil took the chance to explain.

“It’s straightforward, you just have to change your existing skill. It shouldn’t be too difficult. First, figure out how you want to change it, and then, follow my teachings but more importantly follow your instincts. Remember, gather your Essence, and then breathe. I will try to keep my help to a minimal.”

She nodded at that, and then observed the Cursed Artkil⁠— it was a monster that any person would have run from, but they weren’t Amber and they most certainly didn’t understand what was at stake here. She was trying to form her inert core⁠— she was trying to take the next step up the ladder in this arduous journey, and she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.

I’m going to form my inert core.

The monster continued sending crystals only for her to continue destroying them relentlessly. At some point, it seemed resigned as it stared at her. Its third eye closed and at that, Amber sent a slash the monster’s way⁠— which it dodged before charging forward.

“Behind you,” Asil called.

And Amber turned slashing as the monster appeared. Being hit by a blast of flames and a cleave. The monster reeled back with a screech, and for a moment Amber didn’t know how she felt about the elf calling out to save her. But she decided that it didn’t matter for now.

Instead she cleaved at the monster once more. Hitting it with a heated slash that caused it to stumble back slightly, and the monster⁠— screeched. It was an ear-piercing shriek that caused the magic in the room to shift. The broken crystals inside the room immediately sparkled and then⁠—

Condensed.

They all crashed against each other creating a gigantic cluster of broken crystals⁠— an amalgamation that split apart into dozens of newly restored crystals.

Shit⁠—

She dashed away as they blasted after her, the monster kept its third eye closed while doing so but even then⁠—

“Jump!” the elf called.

But unfortunately, it was too late⁠—. She was thrown across the room before landing with broken bones. Sure, they were snapping into place, but this couldn’t go on⁠—

Amber barely dodged two more blasts of crystals before the monster opened its third eye again. She cleaved at it only for it to dodge effortlessly.

It was back to seeing the future, and the fight was back to square one.

She tried to dodge only to get hit after doing so⁠— again. And that was because Asil’s advice no longer worked.

For a moment, all she did was stare at the monster, and that’s when a simple but calm whisper reached her. One that allowed her to gather herself.

“Focus on it,” Asil said.

Amber stared at the monster, and then⁠— she couldn’t help but notice all the Essence that was gathered on its body in comparison to the remnants around the room. It was the accumulation of all the attacks she had hit, and looking at it, she couldn’t help but frown.

She wanted to use it, but at the same time the idea of using it seemed to be impossible to her, and perhaps it was. Unless she were to touch the Essence directly, she couldn’t exactly affect it⁠. But there had to be something she could do⁠. After all, this was almost a test for her⁠— no, it was a test.

She had no way to hit the monster and no way to approach it, all she had was the leftover Essence on the monster, and for that she had to come into contact. It was an impossible scenario that she had no way to come out of⁠—

And she blinked.

Essence followed her will, or rather, it did what it was intended to do. And while the one in the monster was inert, that didn’t necessarily matter. Nothing of the sort mattered. Couldn’t she create an attack that would detonate after instead of before? Explode into flames.

“Now that sounds fun,” she whispered to herself as she was attacked.

Her cleaves so far were already flaming, but what if she went the other way around⁠— what if she made it use Essence as a fuel? Like a crackling fire⁠— like a delayed explosion.

And for a moment, the concept seemed impossible, but after looking at the Cursed Artkil once more, she knew that this was the way.

Now all there was left was to create the attack. And thanks to Asil’s teachings, it didn’t seem like an impossible task.

“Looks like you’ve figured something out,” Asil said from not too far away, still hidden by his spell. “Remember, gather your Essence and breathe, trust in yourself.”

“I know that,” she replied simply but couldn’t suppress a smile.

She cleaved at an incoming crystal, causing the monster to sent more clusters her way, but she didn’t mind. She used the minimal amount to shatter each one, and while they were fast she could sense them through Sharp Instincts⁠.

So, she settled into doing that, and then thought. She thought about what changes she had to do to her skill, and what she was going to do with it.

How it was going to play out.

For a moment, she saw all of the steps but they were muddled. In fact, she couldn’t make any of them out, and when she concentrated⁠— she was hit.

Multiple bones were broken as she was sent flying across the room, all while the monster growled. But she paid it no mind, instead she focused on making out the steps⁠— the things she had to do to empower the attack. The first step, was obvious, and so was the second⁠— they were the steps that Asil had given her.

As for the third⁠—

She was charged into a wall, causing her to spit blood. While people watching the fight would have thought she was stupid given she had stopped attacking, Amber focused. While at first she was lost after the first two steps, she realized what she had to do⁠— what she wanted to do.

I just have to change the order of events. That’s all I need to do.

Amber raised her hand pouring Essence into it, and the monster unleashed a powerful roar.

The mana inside the room shifted and the crystals flickered out. For a moment, there was only darkness, and Amber knew the monster was trying to put an end to whatever she was doing. Perhaps it was due to the same sixth sense that allowed it to sense Essence to some extent, or something else.

But it decided that it had to kill her now.

Amber managed to grab onto some of the dust in the ground before there was a purple flash. She moved to the side and it⁠— took a large part of her shoulder. Then, came a blue burst of light that tore apart her entire bicep, then a green one that took one whole rib out. Asil was silent during this, but still, his voice rang in her mind.

Focus.

And immediately, Amber used the 2nd Rank of Recovery of Curses, quickly mending her wounds, and she got to work. So with a deep breath and barely dodging a fatal injury, she raised her hand.

First⁠—

She ducked.

Essence, lots of it⁠— all to fuel my attack.

Amber filled her hand to the brim with Essence, to the point it began shining. The light in the room flickered back to existence for a moment as the attacks from the monster slowed down, before it shut off once more⁠, and the attacks⁠— got their speed back.

She was being sent into the wall with broken bones, and even as her shoulder was torn once more, her mind remained elsewhere.

The second step is breathing.

A piece of crystal struck, blowing the wall apart.

She took in a deep breath and for the first time, she felt a small spike on her Essence. At first, it wasn’t noticeable, but after she got thrown across the room by an explosion— she truly felt it. Just like Asil had strongly said⁠— it did help a lot.

Her body was all bloodied, and in fact, she would die at this rate, but she paid no attention to that. None of that mattered, all that mattered was the third step.

She closed her eyes. Place the spark and unleash the strike.

And while, she had to carefully balance the second and third step ⁠— the Essence and her breathing ⁠— something that she would have normally struggled with, but now it was just as easy as existing to her. Even as she was stabbed by the rocks, she paid it no mind.

Finally, Amber used cleave with her left hand⁠ and the monster just took it. So, Amber used the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash to arrive before the monster. It struck with a crystal and Amber threw the dust in her hand into its eye.

The monster screeched and reeled back as her hand shone with a bright white, then she⁠—

“It’s over.”

Swung.

An iridescent slash hit at point blank at the monster, cutting through its back before it⁠— exploded. Crimson flames burst in all directions and Amber was made to take a few steps back. She heard the dying screeches of the monster and then she rushed, and she⁠— replicated the same attack from before.

“Cleave.”

The monster was made to be consumed by fire and she⁠—

“Sever.”

Did it again⁠—

“Split.”

⁠— and again.

It took about five more slashes before the monster finally went down.

[You have defeated a [Cursed Artkil. Lvl. 157].]

For defeating an enemy 20 levels above your own, you have received bonus experience!

And when it did, Amber felt something inside of her shatter⁠—

[All your attributes have increased by 10.]

She had attained her inert core. And⁠—

And she knew she had attained something more.

She had learned an Essence skill:

Fulminating Slash

And then, the visions explaining the skill came.