I’ve never really been nervous about going into battle before. Even now, I’m still not. Perhaps I’ve become completely desensitized to this kind of stuff or maybe I just don’t care. No, I do care. Maybe back then, I didn’t.

My programmed sense of duty was all I knew. But I know more and understand better now than I ever did.

But right now, I feel a small amount of trepidation. I’ve faced worse odds that would have seen me six feet under on multiple occasions, but I always persevered. We always persevered.

Even if the mission didn’t go as planned, there was always something to fall back to in case of failure. A defensive position, air support, and even orbital bombardment could turn the tide of an impossible battle—something to rely on when things seemed bleak.

I was also fighting people. People, regardless of race or species, are mostly predictable. Sure they can surprise you at times, but you can even account for the surprises given enough time or information and even experience. And even in the worst situations, a bolter to the torso or a well-placed explosive to a vehicle is always enough.

But what happens when that isn’t enough? When you are fighting something so impossibly strong, you can’t kill or disable it regardless of your tools. Something capable of killing you before you can even scream. It must be what it's like to be on the other end of a nuclear strike.

I have no armor. No augments. No firearms. No regular explosives. No air support. No ships in orbit. No defensive line to fall back to. No nukes.

I looked over at the fourteen-year-old girl standing next to me. She was the only support I had. And she was about to do something she had never done before. And both our lives are forfeit if she fails.

Not to mention that I’m about to go toe-to-toe with a monster that can probably kill me by breathing on me hard enough. If it even so much as grazes me, I’m as good as dead. And doing so all while protecting her. If I fail, we both die since if the Wyrm just ignores me and goes straight for Sylvia, none of this even matters.

Even saying all of this to myself, I’m still not afraid. I truly believe we can do this.

“One minute?” I asked.

“One minute,” Sylvia confirmed while staring straight ahead.

I glanced at Sylvia one more time, and our eyes met. I didn’t need to ask her how she was feeling to see that she was nervous as all hell. I’m surprised the last few minutes of preparation haven’t broken her completely. I guess she didn’t get this far by being weak-minded. Or maybe she finally came to terms with things? Who knows?

"I believe in you,” I said seriously.

“Thanks…” Sylvia said with a small smile. However, her hands were still shaking.

No point in waiting any longer. The drug has kicked in all the way. Time to go be tasty Elf bait for the giant snake dragon.

I started off at a light jog, and Sylvia followed a few paces behind me. We were still a few minutes away from where the Wyrm was resting since we didn’t want to alert it too soon. But once we got close enough, it was all or nothing.

The path we were running through was vast and tall. You could drive three or four carriages through it with plenty of space to spare. Perhaps calling it a path wasn’t right and more like an enormous ravine.

The cave we were in currently looked similar to all the ones we have been in so far. The same gray Dull Stone was everywhere. The only oddity was that there were far more of the blue light crystals present than usual. Perhaps they were more concentrated on this floor because of the dungeon core. Either way, we wouldn’t need to worry about light for this battle.

The path began to widen even more as it opened up into a giant dome cave. The dome was completely covered in blue light crystals all the way up to the ceiling, where a massive chunk of crystal hung directly in the center. The usually gloomy light was gone with the presence of so many crystals, and it was the most light I’ve seen in months. It looked like it was nearly daytime in the cave.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness, and against the furthest wall was a break in the natural gray cave. A set of pale yellow stone double doors so massive I wasn’t even sure how somebody was supposed to open them loomed there.

Standing at attention next to the doors as if guarding them were two stone statues made of a similar rock to the doors. Even from a distance, I could see the detail of the two statues. One looked like a hooded knight wielding a massive sword that was unsheathed and pointed towards the ground. The other stone giant was a figure clad in flowing robes made of stone, holding some odd-looking staff that appeared to have been broken at some point. The staff had a large circle at the end but it looked like there should have been more.

And resting in front of all this was the guardian of this dungeon. Its white scales speckled with gold gleamed and sparkled in the ambient blue light. Its thick serpent body was coiled around itself, and I had to bring my eyes upwards just to see the creature’s head resting on itself.

Although the body was that of a snake, the head was what I imagined a dragon to look like. Long snout with razor-sharp teeth as large as a man. A set of golden horns protruding from the top of its head, pointing towards me like an arrow. I wonder if there is a reason its horns are so small compared to the rest of its body?

Sylvia had stayed back at the entrance, and I was now running full speed towards this death machine. Our very lives hinged on my ability to be an effective distraction. The Wyrm made a guttural clicking noise and stirred slightly. I launched an Earth Spear directly at the creature and watched as it impacted its large body, reducing my spell to dust. The monster remained sleeping and unbothered.

I had to get its attention. Sylvia was convinced that once her ritual started going into full effect, the Wyrm would notice and come straight for her.

Slightly annoyed at the lack of concern the monster was showing I sent a barrage of Fireballs at its face. My spell casting has taken a noticeable dip from taking my combat drug. I’m sure if I took a Berserker Cap by itself, I would reduce myself to nothing more than well…a mindless berserker.

Guess it’s in the name, after all. So much for that Dark Elf immunity.

The Fireballs scored a direct hit directly on the monster’s sleeping face. Once the smoke cleared, two giant swirling green eyes were trying to pierce through me. The Wyrm stirred and rose while making a guttural rumbling noise. It was looking down its nose at me as if I wasn’t even worth its time.

Too bad you're about to get turned into a blood paste by some little vampire girl.

I sent another round of Fireballs, and the Wyrm just took all of them straight on as it slithered towards me lethargically. Its body was so big it kicked up a dust trail. Even with its slow pace, it was still faster than a person could run with mana enhancement.

Still not taking me seriously? Maybe a White Fire Lance will wake you up?

This was the biggest spell I was willing to use against this thing. I highly doubted even my Plasma Round would be able to injure this thing severely, let alone kill it. And I needed all my mana for what I was planning.

The jagged white lance of fire scorched the air it passed through as it thundered off towards the Wyrm. I could only blink in slight surprise at what I witnessed next. The monster contorted its massive body at an impossible angle and turned a direct hit into a glancing blow. The spell exploded, and white flames dripped from the impact and rolled across the monster’s white scales.

The Wyrm stopped its slithering and blasted me with its blood lust. Most people probably would have fainted, but I stood my ground and glared right back at those green eyes. Its blood lust barely even made me sweat. The creature blinked from the side as a reptile would and let out a roar that made the hair on the back of my neck tingle.

It seems I finally got its attention. Oh, shit—

I put extra mana into my legs and launched myself like a spring towards the side. A gale of wind buffeted me like a train in a tunnel as I narrowly dodged the Wyrm’s open jaw. This thing’s speed was off the charts.

The Wyrm had launched itself forward, so it took a few precious seconds to gather itself once more for the chase. I ran with all my might towards the sidewall and fired off Fireballs indiscriminately at the creature. The Wyrm was tanking most of my spells, but a few of them flew upwards and exploded against the cave’s ceiling.

I lept to the side with a roll as I narrowly dodged the Wyrm’s snapping maw once again. This time it was already on top of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the blur of its tail speeding towards me like a bullet. Even if I jumped, I wouldn’t have enough time or strength to clear the incoming freight train of an attack.

I was hoping to hold onto this a little longer but getting turned into a pink mist isn’t on my agenda for today.

My stomach lurched as my body violently reorientated itself. Up became down as I began falling towards the ceiling. Another shock wave slapped me and sent me somersaulting through the air as I desperately tried to get myself under control.

Controlling the speed of this, so I don’t get whiplash is going to be put a lot higher on the list when I get out of here.

While in my spiral, I could see a white blur rapidly approaching me. I couldn't release my spell, not yet, at least. I needed more time. But I can’t get any more time if I’m in this thing’s stomach.

I extended my sword and formed a raw blast of fire magic. An explosion went off, making my ears ring, but the smoke was cleared away instantly as the head of Wyrm cut straight through it. The Wyrm had extended itself and smashed into the ceiling just inches away from where I was going to be.

I was still spinning around in a freefall, unable to control myself, and I was fast approaching the ceiling. I lowered my gravity just a little, which made regaining control more manageable, but I was too late.

I crashed onto the ceiling and managed an absolute failure of a parachute landing. Even though I couldn’t feel the pain, the numbing sensation made my joints and bones vibrate. My body rolled across the ceiling, and I gasped for air after getting the wind knocked out of me.

The sound of my heart beating in my ears was deafening. I got to my feet and started running again. I pushed my tiny legs to the absolute brink while trying to breathe in as much air as I possibly could. I launched spell after spell off in front of me as I ran for the center of the room.

I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to hear the crack of a whip. I dodged to the side once more, and the portion of the ceiling I was just running on got pulverized as the tip of the Wyrm’s tail slapped it. The Wyrm let out another roar of frustration, and I craned my neck upwards only to see the creature slithering around on the floor, trying to cut me off with its superior speed.

The Wyrm stopped abruptly and coiled itself into a spiral as it prepared to strike out at me once more. Its bright green eyes glared at me with pure hatred as it exploded violently at me.

Enjoy.

I pulled the last two flashbangs out of my storage ring and set them off with a bit of fire magic. The earth casing fell towards the encroaching Wyrm. I looked away, but the bright flash was enough to darken my vision momentarily. The Wyrm let out another roar of frustration, but it gave me enough time to reach my goal.

I thrust my sword into the gigantic blue crystal hanging from the ceiling and formed a core for gravity magic. Mana left my body in droves, and the spell core took shape. The crystal began making twinkling and crackling noises until, eventually, long fissures started breaking out across its surface.

The loud sound of glass shattering made me instinctively attempt to cover my ears, but the Wyrm was nearly upon me again, so I had little time. I dropped my gravity spell and started plummeting to the ground as the crystal began crumbling. The blue crystal began falling with a great rumble, and my vision was filled with a brilliant shower of broken crystal raining down on me as I fell back to earth.

I managed to look down to see the once confident charging Wyrm now attempting to squirm out of the way, but the creature was far too big to dodge this. All the unnatural speed in the world couldn’t save it from a giant crystal falling from the ceiling, especially since it was already in a bad position from trying to take a bite out of me.

While falling next to the Wyrm, I tried stabbing my sword into it just for good measures, but it clinked off the white and gold speckled scales as if I attempted to penetrate a wall of metal. So I pointed my sword behind me and used another blast of fire magic to give me some space. As the ground was fast approaching, I was in a much better position this time around to land, beside the giant crystal and Wyrm falling behind me.

I lowered my gravity with another spell and bent my knees slightly right before hitting the ground. My legs shook from the impact, and I rolled to the side and landed on my hip and butt to disperse the shock. This one was much better than my first landing, but I was still rolling across the floor, and once the drugs wore off, I was definitely going to be feeling the pain.

But I didn’t have much time to think about the future if I didn’t survive the present. Giant shards of crystals were raining down along with a deadly monster. My body groaned, but I pushed myself back up to my feet and started running. However, it was a futile attempt to get out of the way.

The shockwave from the Wyrm’s massive body impacting the ground sent me tumbling in a haze of debris made up of gray rock and blue crystals. The shards of stone and crystal sliced up my exposed skin, and I could feel a warm liquid running across my body in various places. I was sprawled out on my back, breathing hard and bleeding. The dust had settled, and I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the sight before me.

The Wyrm’s body lay thrown about on the cave floor, and the ceiling crystal had landed on top of it, pinning it to the ground. The Wyrm was also unmoving. It seems we didn’t need Sylvia’s ritual after all.

Then the dust cloud kicked up once more as the Wyrm’s body started moving with far more speed than it had before.

It can never be that simple, I suppose.

The Wyrm began thrashing around, scattering the fallen crystals with ease. A large section of the crystal that was intact exploded as the Wyrm smashed it to pieces with a headbutt. The Wyrm extended itself high into the air and with bloodshot eyes let out a roar far louder than it had before. There was even enough power behind it to make its own small shock wave.

Its hatred wasn’t being directed towards me, however. I followed its line of sight and found something that made me nod my head in surprise and admiration. An enormous spherical orb of dark red blood was swirling around in the air and below the orb was a lone girl.

The whites of her eyes had turned a bloody red that matched her eyes while blood was leaking out from them like tears. Her face was gaunt and multiple tones whiter than usual. Her entire body was shaking as she tried to remain standing.

It’s been a minute, right? Surely it’s been over a minute?

I tried standing back up, but I was stopped short as my body froze. It refused to move, and my mind went numb as an unexplainable feeling of nothing gripped my very soul.

The world seemed to come to a halt, and I had the overwhelming feeling that somehow something yet nothing was suddenly watching me. This feeling was familiar, but I had only experienced it once, and it was nothing more than a fever dream in my memories.

This feeling of nothingness was the same feeling I got when I died. When my eyes opened for the first in the vast empty void, that was death. This was what it felt like. Like something was there, waiting. Then the feeling stopped.

Everything was silent besides the beating of my own heart. The world turned red and it felt like a thick crimson fog had surrounded me. My frozen soul thawed only for this fog to take its place as it burdened my body, making my limbs as heavy as lead. It too vaguely reminded me of the void but not nearly as overpowering or ominous. Then a calm, beautiful voice pierced the silence.

“Blood Grounds.”

The bloody fog seemed to get even heavier, and a deafening roar of pain rang out, followed by the thrashing of an enormous dying monster. It sounded like the Wyrm was struggling against whatever Sylvia was doing as it continued to writhe about. At one point, either its tail or a portion of its body whipped over my head, but I just couldn’t move. I didn’t want to move. This Wyrm wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the presence this fog was emanating.

Blood Magic isn’t what people think it is. It’s something more. Is that what you meant, Sylvia? Is this the truth your family was hiding from you and every vampire?

Eventually, the sounds of the Wyrm petered out, and the blood fog began to settle. Before I knew it I was on my knees, trying to take in as much air as my tiny lungs could hold. I hadn’t realized I wasn’t breathing for that entire time. I wasn’t even sure how long that fog was weighing down on me.

Finally, I regained control of myself and started moving towards Sylvia’s last known location. I was thankful that the drug was still in effect as I scurried around trying to find her. The cave was a mess of shattered crystals and the corpse of a now silent Wyrm.

The creature had flailed around, and its long serpent body was haphazardly thrown about. I jumped from one portion of Wyrm to another, trying to listen for anything to help me find her. Once I got closer to where I last saw Sylvia, I heard an odd sound. The sound of water rapidly moving.

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I came upon a much smaller dark red orb that was suspended just above the ground. It looked like a small localized torrent had been squished into a floating sphere and dyed with blood. I couldn’t help but feel a little off as I realized most of this orb was most likely made of blood, my blood.

I got closer and put my hand on the orb, expecting some resistance, but it moved right through it as if it was nothing more than an illusion. Finally, my hand hit something warm, so I grabbed it and pulled it towards me. Sylvia’s arm was the first to break the bloody veil, and the rest of her body followed.

The bloody orb disappeared into a fine mist and vanished. Sylvia was weightless within the sphere, but I had to grab ahold of her as soon as her body left it. Damn, she is kind of heavy. But I guess most living things are. Speaking of living…

My hands instinctively moved to her neck, and a sigh of relief left me the second I felt a steady heartbeat. I took a step back and looked her over, but I couldn’t see anything wrong with her.

If anything, she looked better now than she did a few minutes ago. The only thing I noticed was the dried blood underneath her eyes, but other than that, she just appeared to be unconscious.

I noticed that the Wyrm’s head was just a few feet away from her. It had been separated somewhere along the main body. I investigated the wound and found it to be a clean-cut, surgical even. Not even a single drop of blood was coming out from the Wyrm’s fatal injury.

I knew you could do it.

Placing my hand on the smaller section of the two pieces, I dipped my mind into my storage ring and tried putting the Wyrm into it, but nothing happened. Figures, not enough space with this massive green crystal inside. Even then, it would be way too big. But I wonder…

I moved over to Sylvia and fumbled around with her hand until I got her ring off. I was absolutely positive that she was going to be angry with me since this was a gift from her family and all, but it needed to be done.

I inspected the silver band, and its craftsmanship seemed to be even higher than the one I was wearing. The silver was void of any damage and had a sort of unnatural shine to it despite being through hell and back. I also caught myself looking at the gem embedded in the ring. It was a milky white color, and I had to admit it was pretty beautiful. But beauty aside, I needed its function right now.

I put the ring on my right hand, and the same odd feeling tickled my brain. If I took off my ring, I suddenly forgot how to use it for whatever reason. I wouldn’t forget the contents of the ring though. Sylvia’s ring was much the same. However, there was something very different about her ring.

How is there so much space in here? It’s the size of a small warehouse … and it’s pretty much all empty.

Dipping my mind into the ring allowed me to get a sort of list of what was in here, and the stuff would barely fill up a section of my ring. Now let us see what’s in here…her sword… some of the food I had her keep for me, torches… lots of torches… they even have the oil applied. Gold— oh my, that’s a lot of gold. We are going to have a conversation about that later. Then there were extra clothes and a pair of black—

I shouldn’t be doing this… It’s one thing to use her ring but an entirely different something to go rummaging around in it. I wouldn’t want somebody taking inventory of my undergarments.

I immediately placed my hand on the same section of the Wyrm and willed it into her ring. The portion of the Wyrm vanished into thin air without a trace, almost like it was nothing more than a bad dream. I checked the contents of the ring and found that the corpse had taken up somewhere around 75% of the ring’s space. A shame that we wouldn’t be able to fit more… unless Sylvia can cut the body up some more… maybe…

I was about to slide the ring off, but I had an idea before I did I tried putting one spatial storage ring into another, but it didn’t work for either of them. Worth the try. But what if that was some kind of catastrophe waiting to happen? Magic is one thing. Magic items are another.

I was about to put the ring back on Sylvia’s finger, but I decided to hold onto it just in case. I started letting myself onto the ground while waiting for Sylvia to wake up, but I heard a new troubling noise. I climbed onto the dead Wyrm again and looked over at the giant doors that the Wyrm had been guarding. It sounded like rocks were falling, and even though there was a dust cloud, I could still see what was happening.

Of course, those things can move. Why wouldn’t they? I barely have a quarter of my mana left, so fighting those things would be a mistake. Retreat to the entrance of the floor and recover. The Wyrm is dead, and it won’t be coming back ever again.

With the giant stone structures that were suddenly coming alive, I jumped down from the Wyrm and snatched up Sylvia. I bumped her head pretty hard against the ground and mentally apologized for it. It was difficult carrying somebody who was bigger than you. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind…

But what she doesn’t know won’t kill her.

I was running awkwardly because I was constantly trying to reposition Sylvia. Finally, I opted just to throw her over my shoulder and ignore her bouncing head and legs. She can’t be mad at me if she is dead after all.

I wasn’t all too stressed, surprisingly. Those giants didn’t seem to be moving very fast, judging by the sounds of their thundering footsteps, and I had nothing but vast open space to run. My little legs pumped to their maximum for the umpteenth time today as I began to cover the distance in a short amount of time.

That was when I heard a much larger boom from a footstep, and it sounded like a massive helicopter blade had suddenly started up high above me. I snapped my neck back, and my eyes went wide as a pale yellow stone staff was tumbling end over end through the air. The oversized stone staff sliced through the cave entrance like a hot knife through butter.

Rocks began falling off the sides in a landslide and in a blink of the eye the staff was twirling back out from a completely different entrance than it had come in. I could only watch wide-eyed as the passage to our safety started to collapse as rocks filled the space. I gently lay Sylvia down on the ground.

Guess I have a promise to keep.

Retreat was no longer an option. I was at less than half mana. My body was hurting, but the drug coursing through my veins removed any pain, so I couldn’t tell the extent of my injuries. Oddly enough, I’ve been in worse situations. At least I have all my limbs.

The stone guardians were slowly making their way toward me. I wasn’t sure if they were so confident in defeating me that running was a waste of time for them or if it was just their natural speed. For my sake, I hope it’s the latter.

Without being able to use some of my most powerful magic, I was at a loss for what to do. If I was going to take these things out, I needed to aim for a vital point. But what is the vital point of a giant stone construct? The head, maybe? Its neck is technically the smallest part. But how am I going to get up there…

I watched as the hooded knight swept its sword in an arc and then brought it down for an overhead strike right at me. I let out an involuntary chuckle and dodged the blade without too much effort. Finally, a monster that is ridiculously big and has the speed that matches. Maybe that means this isn’t a monster?

The sword got stuck in the ground, and the giant attempted to heave it back but seemed to be having some trouble. The robe-wearing guardian appeared to have taken a defensive position behind the knight. I wonder if these things are actually capable of tactics? I mean, the robed one did block our escape.

But why did it block our escape and not just outright kill me?

Either way, I saw a path, and I took it. I created a few sections of stairs using earth magic to try to conserve as much mana as possible. Using body enhancement to jump that high would have cost more anyways. And here I was, running across the edge of a giant statue’s blade.

The edge of the blade was to scale, so I had plenty of room to run across. By the time the giant dislodged its sword, I had already made it to the arm. The knight reacted slowly and tried shaking me off, but its cumbersome movements were telegraphed, and I had no problems dodging the stone hand that tried grabbing me.

Once I was at its shoulder, things became a little more complicated since I had to vertically scale portions of the armor. But there were plenty of cracks in the stone body, so finding footholds was a cinch. I could see the massive hand trying again to grab me, but I scurried towards the monster’s backside. The knight clumsily smacked itself and even took a shaky step backward, which nearly flung me off.

This thing is doing more damage to itself than I am.

I reached the summit and found an excellent platform on the shoulder pauldrons to stand on. I summoned my gladius from my ring once more and took a deep breath before focusing on the spell core for Plasma Sword. I had two or three more Plasma Swords left in me, and that was if I was frugal on using mana enhancement. Every second was precious, so as soon as the blue plasma engulfed my blade, I immediately swung at the giant’s neck.

A feeling of satisfaction washed over me as my blade cut straight into the stone without a hitch. Plasma periodically dripped from my sword as I severed a large portion of the neck. The neck was so thick I could hardly cut all of it off, but the chunk I had ripped out was enough to topple the head. Stone cracked and crumbled, and like a tree being cut, the head began falling off the giant.

Now… how do I get down from here?

I honestly did not expect this to go so well and had completely neglected to think about what to do after I chopped this thing’s head off. The stone knight was already taking shaky steps like it was trying to balance itself, but it eventually began falling over in earnest.

Not having any real choice, I used its arm as a slide and rode all the way down the toppling giant. Once I got a bit closer to the ground, I lept off in a much more graceful and controlled landing just as the stone knight hit the ground.

A plume of dust kicked up, but I watched the other stone giant now. It had managed to move out of the way of its falling counterpart but it didn’t seem to be doing much else.

Now then, one down, one to go.

I casually started jogging over to the robed guardian trying to piece together what it would do. I had a feeling that this thing was the real danger and the knight was just a meatshield. And this one was giving off an odd aura that I couldn’t quite place. I felt like it was trying less to kill me and more like it was observing me.

Maybe these things do have some amount of intelligence? I was thinking about these things when I heard something moving through the air. The downed stone knight was moving again, and its hand was fast approaching me. It let me get close, didn’t it?

It was playing dead the whole time.

I had no space to dodge the massive hand as it slapped me, accompanied by the sound of my bones breaking. I was sent flying deeper into the cave, bouncing across the stone ground. If it wasn’t for my drug, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be unconscious from the pain right now. My ribs were destroyed along with some of my internal organs and slamming into the dead body of the Wyrm didn’t help me either.

My breathing had been reduced to a strained wheezing, and I watched as the stone knight sat up while the robed guardian casually walked over and put the knight’s head back on. The robed guardian tapped the knight on the head with its staff, and I watched in dread as the scorched stone around its neck began recovering until there wasn’t even a single mark left. The Wyrm wasn’t the guardian of this dungeon, was it?

These things are the true guardians, and they are much stronger and more intelligent than that Wyrm. These aren’t just some simple stone statues or monsters. They are something completely different.

Change of plans. I can’t fight these things in my current state, and I’m not even sure if I can destroy them. Not good.

Ignoring my body's lack of oxygen, I wiped the blood off my face and mouth and started running towards where I had left Sylvia. We had to escape this place somehow. Fighting was not an option. And since our exit was blocked, there was only one way left to go.

Forward. The dungeon core is probably behind those doors. I need to break in and destroy the core and hope we teleport out of here.

I scooped Sylvia up and threw her over my shoulder, and started running. She was still asleep and showed no signs of waking up anytime soon. However, she did say the odds of her passing out and staying out were high. I can only hope she wakes up in time to heal me because I am not destined to live long with this collapsed lung and broken ribs.

Taking the shortest path was my only option as there was no telling when my body was going to give out. The stone guardians were just standing there watching me approach them. I’m confident that these things are intelligent. They are looking down at me like the little ant I am. Maybe their hubris will be their downfall.

Or perhaps that giant sword coming at me is going to squish me like an ant.

The stone sword impacted the ground with a boom, but it was still moving slow enough to dodge just by running. I have to wonder if these things were created with the intention of fighting a large group of people. If there was an army down here, that sword swing would have flattened dozens of men. Maybe the dungeon didn’t expect to get killed by two furious children.

I ran under the legs of the knight, and it raised its foot to stomp me, but I just kept running straight with all my might. Sylvia’s limp body was bouncing around and making this just that much harder. In reality, I should just drop and abandon her. It would be the correct choice, and I doubt anyone would think less of me for doing it.

But I would think less of myself. I would never be able to live with myself if I abandoned her here; I’ve got a promise to keep. I can’t fail her and myself.

The giant stone doors were closer than ever, and I could make out more detail. Some of it looked weathered, but I could vaguely make out a bunch of circles surrounding a much larger circle. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t be sure due to the extensive damage.

Any exact detail that would help identify something was weathered away or damaged, leaving only vague outlines. Let’s hope it’s just made out of stone because I only see one way past those doors, and that’s through them.

Before reaching the doors completely, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I looked over my shoulder to see the robed guardian staring at me intensely. It wasn’t radiating bloodlust or malice; it was just watching me.

When I reached the doors, I summoned my sword and wound up another Plasma Sword. This would be the last bit of my mana that I could spare. Any mana I used after this was putting me in danger and I wouldn’t be able to use any magic.

I slashed at the stone door wildly as the stone warped and blackened. My Plasma Sword had no trouble biting into the door. I fell to my knees, trying to recuperate all the oxygen I was sorely missing out on. I looked up in despair at the door. I had done damage to it but that was it, just insignificant damage.

So that’s why those things are acting so nonchalantly. They know I can’t break through these doors.

I wracked my oxygen-deprived brain for something. For anything that could get me through these doors. But I had nothing—no mana to cast a spell or continue swinging my sword with body enhancement. So I was at a loss. And Sylvia was still out cold.

Sylvia…

I dipped my mind into Sylvia’s storage ring once more and pulled out her Estoc. I realized straight away that something was off about this sword. I had thought it was steel, but that didn’t make sense.

It was incredibly light. Far lighter than any sword should ever be in this world. But it’s still metal. Could this sword be made out of… no, that’s impossible. Aerospace aluminum alloy is far too advanced for this world, regardless of the presence of magic. But—

No time to think about the possibilities. I made one last attempt as I stabbed the Estoc into the door. While thrusting the sword, I felt an odd sensation on the palm of my hand, like something had poked me. The silvery-white Estoc with red streaks didn’t pierce the stone nor did it bounce off it. Instead, it sank into the door. Like it was made of liquid.

Immediately upon sinking the blade into the door, I could hear the stone guardians moving behind me. The thundering of their steps told me they were moving much faster than previously. Both of them were in a full sprint. I spared them a quick glance, and my eyes went wide with horror.

Dark cyan-colored fissures began breaking out over the stone guardians’ skin. They pulsed with power as a faint cyan mist rolled out of wounds. Finally, the faces of guardians morphed and began cracking into a horrible visage of what could only be described as demons.

I turned my attention to the task at hand, and while still holding onto the blade, the red lines running along the blade began spreading out like a wave, consuming the blade and turning it a bloody red. Next, the stone started to warp and ripple like water as the blade sank further into it. Eventually, it felt like there was no resistance at all.

Not understanding what was going on, I immediately put the sword back into the ring, grabbed Sylva by the legs, and dragged her behind me. I’m not sure how I knew that would work, but this gut feeling was all I had to work with.

I yanked hard on her legs, and my vision momentarily turned dark. The sudden feeling of moving through a liquid tickled my skin and mind, but when I blinked, I was staring at the stone wall from the other side now.

The stone doors shuddered as the stone guardians on the other side rammed into it. I didn’t have the time, nor did I care what the door on this side looked like. Those things were serious now, and I only had as much time it took for them to bust those doors down.

I continued dragging Sylvia across the floor until my foot hit something, and I stumbled backward and onto my butt. I flicked around to see a flight of stairs made out of the same pale yellow stone the guardians were made of. But unlike the weathered and worn guardians, these stairs were in pristine condition.

I didn’t even have time or the strength to carry Sylvia, so I opted to drag her up the stairs. Sylvia’s head bounced on the stone with every step climbed as I gave another mental apology.

A fist made of cyan-colored stone broke through the door and sent rocks flying. There weren’t many steps to go as a thunderous kick sent a section of the door into the room. Once I reached the landing, I pulled Sylvia up and turned around to find something that could only be described as a temple fit for a god.

Pale yellow stone pillars rose high into the air holding up an arched ceiling. The designs carved into the stone were intricate, and I need only spare a passing glance to notice that it was leagues above anything I have seen since being reborn. The finest Dwarven craftsmen could sacrifice generations in attempts to recreate the fountain at the center of this temple but still come up short.

But the fountain was devoid of any liquid and instead was piled high with golden coins and sparkling gems. Gem encrusted swords and various trinkets lay sunken in the sea of treasure. It was the stuff of dreams.

Too bad I don’t have the time.

But floating above the empty pool was a crystal about the size of a man. It was a bright yellow, radiating a visible hazy white aura around it. I continued dragging Sylvia and made my way towards the crystal as one of the doors was finally beat down by the guardians. The knight tried to shimmy its way through, but it was too large to fit through a single open door.

Once I got closer to the crystal, the air around it became hot as my ragged breathing inhaled it. My skin tingled with odd sensations, and it felt like my lungs were drinking whatever this aura was, and it felt amazing. My overall health felt marginally better, and that was when I noticed my mana seemed to be recovering at a rapid rate.

This aura, its mana so thick that it has become both visible and physical, isn’t it? How is this even possible? I’ve never heard of a dungeon core being like this. If all dungeon cores were like this, entire nations would be sending their armies into dungeons to gain access to these cores. Maybe only larger dungeons had cores like this? Or ancient ones?

Either way, I placed my hand on the crystal, and to my immediate surprise, it instantly shattered. I didn’t put any amount of force or cast any spell to do it either. The instant my bare hand touched the crystal, it broke into a thousand pieces while another new feeling washed over me like a warm blanket. I felt good. Really good.

Not in a pleasure kind of way, but like I did something righteous. This was odd because I don’t think this feeling was my own but something else's.

Once the crystal shattered completely, it mostly evaporated into a fine white powder and dissipated. But a smaller crystal of the same yellow color fell and rolled down the treasure pile with a tink.

I fell to my knees and fumbled for the crystal. My hands were shaking, and the pleasant feelings I had moments ago were washed away as the sounds of the stone giants approaching filled my ears. I snatched the small crystal, went over to Sylvia, and wrapped myself around her. I wasn’t sure what would happen or how it worked, but I had to try. I blinked, and I saw a massive blur spinning towards me. I watched the whole thing in slow motion as the stone staff was about to pulverize the two of us.

Get me the hell out of here.

Then it happened. My vision darkened, and my stomach churned. It felt like somebody was shoving their hand into my guts and giving them a spin cycle. It’s just like a warp jump.

No, it’s precisely like a warp jump.

When my stomach finally stopped being assaulted, I opened my eyes and started laughing, which immediately caused me to start coughing. And since I was coughing, I couldn’t breathe.

I fell into the soft wet grass in a coughing fit as the cold wind whipped against my face. I stared up at the clear blue sky. My eyes burned from the sudden light but I didn’t care.

The discomfort didn’t even last a few seconds as my mind and body shut down.