Fuck. This was because of me. If I hadn't been so eager to farm my Hand of Thanatos, maybe we wouldn't have had to wait out such a long time to clear the dungeon. That, and the fact that the fucking boss copied my level.

The Grudge of the Fallen fixed its glowing red eyes on us, and a chilling wind whipped up. All of us stared in shock as the behemoth began to charge up a blood-red sphere in the gaping hole in its body.

[System alert: 'Untouchable.' Achievement triggered.]

[Level difference: N/A]

[Number of opponents: 1]

[Speed: 4205 (+1) -> 4206]

[System alert: Soultaker's Restrictive trait unable to dominate all Undead within range. Auto Reap disabled.]

[LUQUIER, MOVE!!!]

Apparently, 4206 points into Speed also meant my mental processes were quicker, because as soon as I saw Sephera's message, my body immediately moved, dodging the red laser beam that shot from the monster.

The beam crackled past with a high-pitched whine, striking the bottom of the mountain and exploding in a shower of rocks and dirt. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Bryant?"

I recovered quickly, seeing Cassie stagger over to him.

[System alert: Player Bryant Viney has died.]

With a choked gurgle, Bryant fell face-forward, a massive gaping hole in his chest. His body twitched once and lay still. Blood poured out of the wound and stained the ground beneath him. The shocked silence was interrupted only by the inhuman growl of the Grudge of the Fallen.

"The attacks can one-shot us!" I yelled out, moving into action. "Quest says we need to survive the remaining time, but I think I can kill it!"

"Wait, Luquier! What can you do?!" Tessa cried out, her voice wavering with fear.

Before I could reply, the Grudge of the Fallen began to charge up another attack. I swore, opening up my Status Window.

[You have added 20000 points into Risk.]

[Current Risk: 22075]

[Remaining Points: 1263311]

Even though I reacted fast, it was still too late as the behemoth fired its beam at us, this time directly at Celine. Without thinking, my body moved as blue screens flickered around me.

[You have sacrificed 20000 Risk points.]

[Soultaker damage: 22413]

As soon as I stood in front of Celine, I raised the Soultaker to block the beam. With a grating screech, the boss monster's attack struck my blade, creating a massive explosion of red energy.

[Divinity passive triggered. Evil attribute damage has been halved.]

[Soultaker has nullified 10000 points of damage.]

[Soultaker damage: 12413]

I didn't get to register the messages as a white hot pain enveloped my body. Sure, the Soultaker completely absorbed the damage, but the mental pain was a whole other story. My head swam as I staggered back, barely able to keep my feet under me.

"Reckless Immortal!" I barely heard Celine's panicked voice over the screaming of someone else's. Wait. It was me screaming.

I quickly took the pain in stride, my 40% mental fortitude helping me push through the agony. I forced my numb legs to move, refusing to let the Grudge of the Fallen claim another victim. "Celine, get behind me!" I shouted, my voice hoarse from the attack. "Tessa, Cassie, you two get to the side! Krion and Yulton, go in the opposite direction! We need to keep moving and spread out!"

"Wait, Immortal!" Celine placed a supporting palm on my back. Within seconds, I felt the pain begin to recede as her healing magic took effect.

"Oh, thanks–" Celine had already ran off to where Bryant's body was, kneeling down and emitting a pale red light. "Wait, what are you doing?! We need to move!"

"Look at my Title, Immortal!" Celine shouted back. I focused, quickly seeing a blue text box pop up near her.

[Saint of the Phoenix (S)]

[Acquired by saving 5000 lives, reaching 1 Health x1000, healing 1000 different lives, healing over 10000 Health, & obtaining the Final Survivor Achievement.]

[Effect: Grants user the abilities of the Phoenix. Passively allows user to see through all things, revive once per day, restore the vitality of others, & emit a soothing and healing aura. Permanent.]

Damn. So that's how she was able to see my true stats. It also seemed like her Title was a counterpart of sorts to mine.

[Wtf?? Her Title seems just as broken as yours??]

"Wait," I shook my head. That wasn't important right now. "Are you trying to revive Bryant?"

"Yes, I'm going to bring him back." Celine said, her voice strained with effort. "However, my Revival Skill only works once per Player, and they cannot have more than one death."

"Well, how long does it take?" I glanced back to see the Grudge of the Fallen charging up again. "I'm not looking forward to blocking another attack."

"Not long," Celine replied, her voice strained. "Just... a few more seconds."

Fuck. Celine wasn't going to revive Bryant in time. I gritted my teeth, readying the Soultaker as I dashed forward. Multiple stupid plans began to form in my head.

"Immortal!" Celine cried out, her hands outstretched to stop me. "Don't! You can't-"

The Grudge of the Fallen fired its attack, but I was prepared, timing my slash to cut straight through the laser beam. I wasn't actually certain if I could cut through the attack without the blade taking damage, but to my surprise, no such recoil occurred as the beam split apart at the moment of impact. The stray blasts whizzed past the other Players, harmlessly exploding in the ground below.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Celine released a quick sigh, one that was filled with relief. A blue screen popped up in front of me.

[Player Bryant Viney has been revived.]

"Thank god," Celine breathed out, her hands shaking from the effort. She stood up, brushing herself off and quickly helped Bryant to his feet. The massive hole in his chest had been completely healed.

"Wh-what? What's... going on?" Bryant seemed extremely disoriented, his eyes darting around as if he was seeing everything for the first time. "Celine? Am I dead? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

"You were, but I brought you back to life," Celine responded gently, but firmly. "And we need to move. Just hold on to me."

"But... how?" Bryant asked, his voice still filled with confusion. "I felt... nothing. I just... couldn't see anything..."

Celine nodded her thanks to me, dragging Bryant away. As I turned my attention to the boss monster, I realized that it had already charged up an attack.

I barely had time to raise my sword to block the beam as another round of excruciating pain assaulted my senses.

[Divinity passive triggered. Evil attribute damage has been halved.]

[Soultaker has nullified 10000 points of damage.]

[Soultaker damage: 2413]

Uh oh. Just like that, 20000 points went down the drain. Ignoring the pain, I added 200000 to my Risk, promptly transferring them over to Soultaker.

[Remaining Points: 1063311]

[Soultaker damage: 202413]

I immediately rushed forward, distributing a portion of the points to the rest of my stats.

[Health: 10000 -> 15000 | Strength: 4305 -> 5000]

[Speed: 4205 -> 5000 | Magic: 4310 -> 5000]

[Risk: 2075 -> 10000 | Stat Points: 1048206]

I still had plenty of Stat Points leftover, but I figured it'd be better to save some for now in case I needed them to block more damage. With an overwhelmingly strong boss like this, I had a feeling there was a good chance it had a second phase of some sort.

The Grudge of the Fallen seemed to sense my hesitation, and it immediately took the opportunity to launch another attack. This time, it fired a volley of small, fast projectiles at me, accompanied by a piercing shriek. I had to dodge quickly, weaving between the deadly shots as they whizzed past.

The sky suddenly darkened, and multiple bolts of lightning rained down from the sky, striking the Grudge of the Fallen.

[System alert: Party Leader Tessa Iskra's Tempered Disaster Title has created a storm.]

Oh shit, her Title allowed her to create thunderstorms? Wait, but a disaster could mean more than just that. I'd have to ask Tessa after this. If there was an after.

[Name: Grudge of the Fallen | Level: 628]

[Health: 49890 (???)]

[...]

[Health: 50000 (???)]

Holy fuck. With a Strength of 50000, the boss was recovering that much in an hour, which also meant nearly 833 Health per second. That was insane. I had to do something about it, but what? I could spam my Skills, but I'd need to get close enough to use them, since my ranged Reap couldn't be used without my Soultaker. And getting close wasn't an option, with all the projectiles that were raining down.

Damn it, what the hell? There wasn’t anything like dungeon breaks in the game. I had no idea what to do in this situation.

The sky continued to darken, and the thunderstorm grew more intense. I could barely see through the rain that was now pouring down on me. The projectiles from the Grudge of the Fallen had stopped, but that didn't mean I was safe. Every so often, a stray red laser would emit from it, missing us, but I knew that it would eventually hit a target.

[Time Remaining: 00:01:00]

Shit. There was still an hour left, but I suspected that we wouldn't last very long. I decided to execute one of my bad ideas. I pushed off, speeding up the mountain towards the behemoth.

[Luquier, please don't tell me you're going in headfirst. I know I've been calling you a masochist, but–]

"Sephera... this is the playstyle I pretty much developed ever since I woke up in Last Stand," I explained, my voice straining as the wind howled around us. "It's too late to change it, so might as well embrace it."

[I pray your mind doesn't break.]

"Me too."

I wish I hadn't been too hasty in using some of my Stat Points, because I could've executed another plan using the 'Pick On Someone Your Own Strength.' Achievement for a power boost. Oh well, this was the next best thing.

Easily zipping around another red laser, I finally came face to face with the gigantic Grudge of the Fallen. The stench was overpowering, like rotting flesh and acid mixed together. Its crimson eyes glared at me, seeming to bore into my very soul. Its razor-sharp claws glistened with a sinister light as they flexed, anticipating my attack.

As it sent out tendrils of flesh out from its body at me, I took a deep breath, raising my hand at the boss. Several spears of darkness fired from my palm, shredding through the tendrils as I continuously casted Reap.

[Name: Grudge of the Fallen | Level: 628]

[Health: 44990 (???)] [40813 (???)] [36636 (???)]

The monster roared in pain as my shadows relentlessly pierced its body, overtaking its regenerative factor. Even though it was recovering 833 Health per second, I was still doing around 4177 damage at the same time. I hacked away another red laser as I finished shredding its health.

[Reap: 616/628]

[Name: Grudge of the Fallen | Level: 628]

[Health: 0 (???)]

For some reason, the boss didn't seem like it was dying. In fact, it seemed as if it was growing angrier. That didn't make sense.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled out, dashing around more tendrils and a laser as I fired off more Reaps. "Why isn't it dying?"

[System alert: Grudge of the Fallen's special ability has triggered.]

[Name: Grudge of the Fallen | Level: 628]

[Health: 0 (Linked)]

[Linked: Unforgiving, synchronizes life with the Player who contributed most kills/damage. Cannot be slain while Linked Player is active.]

[Linked Health: 15000]

You're kidding me. It was my fault again?

"Immortal!" I whirled around to see Celine rushing towards me. "I'll support you, so take out the boss–"

She froze upon seeing the system messages. Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "It- it can't be..." she stammered.

I kept the behemoth's attack at bay with another volley of Reap as another bad idea came to me. Survival was out of the question at this point as long as I was alive.

"Hey, Celine," I began, not taking my eyes off the Grudge, "I've got an idea."

"No!" she yelled, shaking her head. "No more ideas!"

[Whatever you're planning, I really hope you thought it out. :((( ]

"Celine, go back and regroup with everyone. I'm going to end this." I continued, opening up my Status Window. I added all of my Stat Points to Risk, transferring most of them over to Soultaker.

[Soultaker damage: 1250619]

[You have no remaining points left.]

"Immortal! What are you thinking?!" Celine shouted, panic lacing her voice. "We need you to live, damn it!"

"Technically," I muttered to myself, smiling bitterly. "You need me to die."

[Luquier!]

I put away the Soultaker in my Inventory, hoping that my gamble would pay off. I ignored the screams of protest from Celine as I leapt forward, taking a red laser head on.

[Divinity passive triggered. Evil attribute damage has been halved.]

[Health: 5000]

Oh, cool. Looks like my plan worked. The Soultaker could only negate the damage if I had it equipped.

I wasn't sure if I fully registered the pain that coursed through my body, dimly aware of a gaping hole in my chest. I was in a trance, the only thought in my mind was to keep pushing forward. I saw another flash of red.

"You can't do this!" I heard Celine shout. "You can't just give up!"

"I'm not..." I didn't know if I said that aloud or not before the red laser hit me again.

[Health: 0]

[System alert: You have died.]

[...]

[System alert: Conditions for 'Death Match' have been met. Would you like to use 'Death Match'?]

[Yes | No]

[You have used 'Death Match'.]

[Time Remaining: 00:00:50]

****

[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 628]

[Title: Reckless Immortal (A)]

[Health: 0 | Strength: 5000]

[Speed: 5000 | Magic: 5000]

[Risk: 10000 | Stat Points: 0]

[Experience: 6%]

[Skills]

[Divinity (Passive)]

[Holy Element 628/628]

[Death’s Shadow 628/628]

[Reap 604/628]

[Final Gambit 628/628]

[Death Match 1/?]

[Achievements]

[Even Death Can't Stop Me!]

[Pick On Someone Your Own Strength.]

[Untouchable.]

[New Beginnings.]

[Bullying the Weak!]

[Items]

[Silver Serpent]

[Soultaker (1250619)]

[Warp Cube (x1)]