CHAPTER 75.

In the Great Desert, a figure observed from his seat. He was surrounded by palm trees, by grass, by water, and by the golden sands in the distance. The heat of the sun distorted the distant dunes, and yet within the oasis, it was a pleasant warmth. All because it wasn’t any oasis, but rather, it was the second home of a Primordial Spirit. It was the Oasis of Death.

Sid'fril looked at the screen in front of him with narrowed eyes, and within it he could see a group of adventurers fighting their way back within his tower to reach the city. But he didn't focus too much on that, instead he focused on a single figure, and one alone.

He had elongated ears and long hair, and he looked like he was suffering from starvation. He was the foolish elf that had once challenged him. And he was now leaving his imprisonment.

“You taught Amber, just like I planned⁠— you didn’t wrong her, you didn’t mistreat her, and while you didn’t stick till the end, you’re forgiven for your transgressions,” Sid'fril mused. “But I wonder if I’m done with you? I don’t know.”

He tilted his head in thought for a few moments, the elf had befriended Amber, and it wasn’t in any superficial kind of way, he had also imparted upon her his techniques. In the end, everything had gone just fine, and while there were a bunch of problems happening on the politics side of things, Sid'fril didn’t concern himself with those.

Instead, he dismissed the screen and turned to a different one. There, he saw his newly made friend, Amber. The only mortal since ever to stand up to him in such a way. Sadly, such a thing didn’t really count towards her Class Advancement, nor other unique things she had done⁠— such as taming a monster without a Tamer-adjacent class, but that didn’t necessarily matter right now.

Because…

Sid'fril’s focused on the screen as Amber looked at a gigantic monster. One of the bosses inside of the Great Dungeon, and an abyssal monster⁠— a being that was created to tear into demons by him.

“Unfortunately, he won’t be an easy opponent, there is a lot more to him than meets the eye,” Sid'fril commented before focusing on Amber. “Now, will you spread your wings and soar? Or will you come crashing down and burn away like a fading star?”

She was someone that by all metrics was deemed to be extraordinary, having befriended three Primordial Spirits, someone who knew the secret of Ill’hine, and a mortal in the process of learning Essence.

His eyes narrowed.

“Do not disappoint me, Amber.”

* * *

Even now, at level 150, I cannot see its level…

Amber looked up at the lumbering monster with bone armor and silver flames coming in-between the cracks. It almost looked like a dinosaur from hell, and perhaps it was given it was over level 180. But Amber didn’t focus on that, instead she focused on dodging a barrage of flames.

And with the use of Quick Dash she barely got out of the way.

[In the presence of an abyssal monster any skill below the 4th Rank is weakened.]

Unfortunately, she couldn’t use the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash, all due to it being an abyssal monster.

“You know, I was hoping to face you on my own terms but…”

She faced up at the Abyssal Briroar only for it to unleash an angry roar, one that made her hair streak back,and Amber just smiled.

“I’m not going to run anymore, so bring it on.”

The monster raised a claw that was enveloped in silver flames, and Amber raised the Cursewelder and slashed. A Fulminating Slash and a weaker Cursed Cleave went off, hitting the arm of the monster and⁠— doing nothing⁠—

The monster slammed its claw down as Amber barely dodged, almost getting hit by disintegrating and burning rocks. And she made use of this gap to attack, she dashed to the side of the monster and coated her sword in blood before using all her physical enhancements and swinging with Cursed Cleave.

In an instant, the sword went about half of its width deep into the monster as purple blood exploded, but all the monster in response did was⁠— burn.

Amber was singed in a single moment forcing her to back off and also inject mana into her armor to prevent it from fully melting off.

Dangerous⁠—

[Elemental Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 8 to 3rd Rank level 9.]

[Magical Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 8 to 3rd Rank level 9.]

Way too dangerous.

She frowned and the lumbering monster whipped its tail. Amber barely managed to jump over it, while not every part of the Abyssal Briroar was burning⁠— a large majority of it was, and the main issue was the armor covering it. She had to devise a plan to take down the behemoth that was the Abyssal Briroar.

The question was, what⁠—

And the Abyssal Briroar stomped the ground, Amber went flying and a notification of supernatural nullification went off. However, no longer having the 3rd Rank of Quick Dash available meant⁠—

And the monster whipped her with its tail.

She was sent flying across the chamber and made to hit a wall, her bones cracked and with a groan she regenerated them. Amber quickly recovered, and stowed away the Cursewelder before clapping her hands together and pulling. She weaved a bone of flames at a faster speed than ever before, and then she pulled on the string as flames gathered from the surroundings, creating an incandescent arrow.

This situation put more pressure on her to do this than ever before, her heart was racing and yet her mind was sharp. She pushed her Essence as the arrow’s glow became stronger, and the Abyssal Briroar, charged.

Amber watched it as it became enveloped in flames, and perhaps fighting fire with fire was a terrible idea, but these weren’t normal flames.

She breathed as the arrow reached a new high and she loosed it.

Her core felt like it was hit by a as the arrow streaked before hitting the monster and⁠— exploding. A yellow inferno blasted throughout the room and Amber grinned. Her core cooled for a moment and the Abyssal Briroar burst through the flames, and it was⁠—

Uninjured.

No cracks on its armor, no nothing, and now⁠— she was left to face its wrath. It arrived with agility rivaling hers, and then it swiped. Amber in response slashed, and the two attacks collided for a moment before she felt her wrist nearly snap from the strength⁠—

Fulminating Slash.

The slash blasted her away, barely saving her in the nick of time. Amber landed, her armored boots skidding across the ground and she⁠— dashed back.

A white pillar of flames exploded, consuming the immediate vicinity of the Abyssal Briroar and burning anything and everything. The crystals of the cave disintegrated under the white flames, the stone of the walls and floor melted and the ceiling⁠— it was carved out, making a hole that seemed to go up by two floors.

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And Amber⁠— she was left to stare for a moment. The white flames cleared and when she spotted the Abyssal Briroar she noticed something. Red flames, small embers, they were still burning.

It was the Curse of Consuming Flames, and it was still active.

Meaning… It’s affected by curses.

And yet, the information made her feel conflicted. This was her ticket to defeating the monster, but she wasn’t quite here for that⁠— she was here to ignite her core. She was here to learn Essence, and yet⁠—

The gigantic monster charged at her⁠.

And yet⁠— she knew that at this rate she would long die, before discovering her Essence, not only that but if she focused solely on Essence, she would need to run⁠— hide⁠— fight on for multiple days trying different things. And at that point was it truly pushing her limits? Would she really ignite her core from a hit and run tactic.

There was only one answer to that.

No. She wouldn’t.

For her to ignite her core she had to push her limits⁠— this time, she had to use all of the tools in her arsenal to do so. She had to fight to the limit of her abilities and overcome it. The fire arrow earlier was an example. For a moment, Amber had felt as if it was struck by a hammer, as if it had been in the hearth of a forge, but now⁠— it lay dormant.

And now, it was time to stimulate it again, and again, all during the battle, all while she took advantage of the fact that the titanic boss monster was affected by curses. And she knew the right thing to do in her mind.

Which was to⁠— charge.

Amber immediately met the Abyssal Briroar head on and dashed past a clawing attack, then as it gurgled its fire she reached⁠—

“Battery.”

An explosion of flames enveloped the monster, blood seeped out of some of the gaps of its armor as it the monster let out a growl while gurgling, and she did it again⁠—

“Battery!”

And again⁠—

“Battery.”

⁠— And again.

Amber drowned the monster with all the uses of her battery, just like in the past. But this time, she didn’t follow up with Abyssal Blast. No, instead she backed off from the mass of crimson flames before they were broken by a burst of silver. She noticed as the crimson didn’t completely die out, and this was her plan. To overloard the monster with as many curses as possible.

And to do this, she had to do a very specific thing⁠— something she didn’t particularly like for many reasons, but right now⁠— it was her calling.

Amber raised the Cursewelder and⁠— stabbed herself. The gigantic sword pierced through her stomach and out of her back, taking numerous ribs as she threw up blood. In an instant, Curse Battery was charged considerably.

It was the same thing she had done with the Server of Chaos, and now she was replicating it. She chuckled to herself as she took out the dagger from her waist and drove it into her side.

“Thank god no one is seeing this, otherwise they’ll think I am⁠—” And she coughed a ton of blood as she backed off from the silver flames of the Abyssal Briroar. ⁠”— crazy.”

Amber immediately took out the Cursewelder from her body, if she was honest, she was most definitely a little bit crazy, but she didn’t care. She stabbed herself⁠— blood splattering all over with a chunk of her intestine⁠, or whatever it was. Now, it was only a matter of time before the⁠—

And the Abyssal Briroar charged, it wasn’t a normal charge⁠— no, the monster flashed from one moment to the other and the next thing Amber knew was⁠— pain.

She hit the wall, the Cursewelder within her tore a new part of her body as she screamed, a multitude of bones were broken in a single moment, and she forced her Essence to heal. She used the accumulated rage into Recovery of Curses, only to find it didn’t work as well as she hoped. But even then, Amber pushed herself to heal as she dislodged the sword, and that’s when a system notification came, one that told screamed at her a single thing.

[Momentum within the space shifts.]

Danger.

In a fraction of a second, the Cursewelder was stored and the 2nd Rank of Recovery of Curses was activated and then⁠— she was slammed into the wall a second time. The wall gave in, she was blasted into a second dark chamber and for a moment, the world blurred. Her Essence remained hard at work to restore her body, but her mind was elsewhere.

And⁠— she jolted awake as she hit the ground rolling. She immediately broke into a coughing fit, as her bones rearranged. Or rather⁠— every single bone in her body did, except for her skull which cracked instead.

She almost died.

[Physical Resistance has leveled up from 3rd Rank level 8 to 3rd Rank level 9.]

“Fuck…”

Amber groaned and lifted her head only to see the Abyssal Briroar looking at her, and she felt danger⁠. No⁠— she saw danger. She lifted her hand and screamed⁠—

“Battery.”

The Abyssal Briroar arrived and in an instant it was engulfed with a deluge of red flames. All while Amber was nearly crushed to death⁠— she grunted nearly losing her arm instead and continued to unleash the newly charged Curse Battery on the monster.

Her voice blurred and the crimson flames around the monster proliferated like never before, yet the monster clawed. She barely rolled out of the way, nearly being beheaded, then with a follow up it tore apart the ground and sent her reeling back.

Amber barely managed to land on her legs, as she looked up at the monster only to see the danger once more. She dashed to the side and the spot where she had been exploded⁠— disintegrated with a burst of silver-white flames. Lava streaked across the room, and Amber still stabbed herself.

This time, she only used her dagger and transferred all the available curses into it, driving it into her side. It was lethal enough to charge Curse Battery in a quick way, but not lethal enough to seriously impede her movement.

Amber quickly found herself dodging for her life, charging Curse Battery as much as she could, all while the Abyssal Briroar chased after her with a teleportation-like ability. The pillars around her exploded, and Amber pushed all her Essence into God’s Physique to heal her injuries, she also pushed it to work harder, and enhance further.

Sometimes, during the chase, she felt warmth in her core, but it receded as soon as it came, evidently she wasn’t doing enough, but how was she meant to do anything⁠—

Amber jumped and used Fulminating Slash, the blast of flames did nothing to the monster but create a screen of smoke. But one that brought opportunity along with it.

She dashed and immediately, with a physically enhanced jump, she landed on top of the monster. Her veins hurt from burning her blood⁠— her muscles ached from pushing herself, but she didn’t care. Instead she stabbed with the Cursewelder inbetween the cracks of the monster’s armor. Nearly melting her arms with the silver flames and then she used her skill again.

Curse Battery⁠—

Crimson flames exploded.

Curse Battery⁠—

Blood splattered.

Curse Battery⁠—

The flames on the monster burned like never before, and Amber used⁠—

Flamethrower.

The room was lit in a crimson glow as all she heard was a deep roar, but Amber wasn’t done. No⁠— she couldn’t be done. She stabbed herself with her dagger calling out once more.

“Battery⁠—”

And it came.

[Curse Battery has ranked up. Curse Battery is now 4th Rank level 1.]

4th Rank ⁠— Curse Battery can forego refunding curses, dealing three times the damage.

The rank up immediately filled the skill once more, and Amber called out.

“BATTERY!”

In a single moment, an explosion engulfed the cave, one that caused the entire floor of the Grand Dungeon to tremor, but she didn’t stop there. No, she couldn’t stop there.

Amber raised her hand ⁠— her burning hand ⁠— and focused. She focused her Essence all into it as it glowed in an incandescent light.

She took a very deep breath, and for a moment she saw a flying arrow amidst the storm, for a moment she saw a different scene, for a moment she saw a dragon. And all of that culminated, into something else.

Like the explosion of an arrow—

And she struck. Her core burned and an explosion of flames rocked the entire cave, but she couldn’t stop there, no she had to do more⁠—

Abyssal Blast.

The explosion engulfed everything, and she went flying while holding her sword. All at once, the Abyssal Briroar was hit by all the curses she had stacked on it. Every single one, all the uses of Curse Battery⁠— it was all exacerbated at once. And Amber’s wounds, closed.

She landed with all her burns healed, and then she looked up.

She looked up at the mass of gold and crimson flames behind the curtain of smoke. The flames writhing as if consuming the being within and she was proud. That was the strongest attack she had ever done, and now, the fight was even. Now, she had made great strides to win. Now—

And an angry roar echoed all across the cave, reverberating in the walls themselves, one that sent a shiver across Amber’s heart.

[The Abyssal Briroar enters a rampage.]

The bone armor exploded, its pieces broke through the curtain of smoke as the fires seemingly slowed down. And then Amber saw white⁠— a pure white that almost seemed to glitter into a blinding shade that shouldn’t exist in this world. And then it moved⁠—

Amber dodged as a laser broke through the floor, walls and ceiling before the white-scorched surface⁠—

Exploded.

She was sent flying at tremendous speeds and then she hit the wall for a loud thud, her bones breaking.

And another notification came.

[In the presence of a rampaging abyssal monster any skill below the 5th Rank is weakened. Skills below the 4th Rank are considerably suppressed.]

You can’t be serious.

And she threw up blood as the 2nd Rank of Recovery of Curses⁠— gave out.