I encountered a dozen more crystal lizards and three more sapphire snakes on my way to the hole. The lizards were easy and I quickly figured out how to fight the snakes and anticipate their… sapphirification hiss.

Unfortunately, even when I reacted quickly and jumped out of the way, my hand or leg or something would often still get caught anyway since the area of effect was so big.

Worst of all, when I was surrounded by the spires and didn’t have enough room to dodge at all, I got hit by the brunt of it again, which was a pain. Although, since I knew what I needed to do to overcome the sapphired state now, I shook it off much quicker than the first time.

I huffed to myself as I eyed the hole from a fair distance.

“I feel like I’m too slow, chat. Like yeah, I guess I’m focusing on defense with my build right now, but since I’m alone, I feel like I need to be a jack of all trades to survive. If there’s ever an attack I can’t tank, I need to be able to get out of the way.”

Eclipsoon: or you can focus on long range attacks

JamieWasTaken3: cant skip leg day

“That’s one option, I guess… Just snipe all my problems away…” I mused. “Uh huh. I mean… I guess you’re not wrong, Jamie. Staying in shape is the simple way. I was just hoping for some magical way.”

Eclipsoon: hydrokinesis plus aquaport

Eclipsoon: you can carry teleport spots with you

I blinked.

“Hmm. You know, that’s true… if I get better with hydrokinesis I can just cover myself with water and teleport around.” I grunted. “Eventually possible. But right now, my control sucks.”

It was a neat idea and I wondered if I could somehow upgrade the innate skills just to get stronger hydrokinesis for that trick. Although even if I could, it wouldn’t help me much right now.

I still felt a bit iffy about it, but approached the hole nonetheless. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be impossible to scale down… or back up if I accidentally fell. I really hoped this dungeon didn’t require flight to navigate. That would be really annoying.

Unfortunately, I didn’t even get close enough to peek into the hole when the ground beneath began to rumble.

I tensed up, tightened my grip on the pan and shield, and backed off, expecting another tier of crystal enemy to emerge from the ground.

But instead of that, something emerged from the hole itself. A giant winged lizard – dragon?! – with scales made out of the same cyan crystal that covered the ground, clambered up with its massive claws as its wings spread out wide. The dragon also wore some sapphire-blue armor on its head, its limbs, and its torso, making it look even more menacing.

“Oh, shit,” I automatically said as the dragon breathed in and let out a deafening roar at the sky. “It’s the boss, chat!”

Naturally, because I was a proper gamer – and because some chatters were suggesting it – I didn’t wait for the boss to finish its spawning animation. I immediately shoved the buckler into my backpack and instead pulled out my gun. Just as it came down from its roar to glare at me, I fired off an ink shot straight at its head.

The burst of black ink covered the dragon as it staggered back and let out another roar, this time a pained one.

Naturally, that was when everything went wrong. The dragon let out an aggravated cry and stomped into the crystal, sending out a subtle shockwave through the ground that briefly lifted me off the ground and made me lose my footing.

“Ow, what the–”

And then, something unexpected happened.

All around me, all over the crater, crystal crabs and lizards began emerging from the ground. Dozens of them. Everywhere.

I completely froze for a brief instant at the thought of being so utterly surrounded while facing an unknown enemy, but chat quickly knocked it out of me and then I moved.

Just in time to dodge out of the way of the dragon smashing its claw down where I’d just stood.

My main mind already raced to figure out the best way to tackle this while my forks began consulting with everyone in the fighting group chat.

I backed off even more out of the way of the thrashing dragon blinded by the ink, and smashed my pan in the face of the crystal crab that had been trying to sneak up on me.

But that was just one of many and I needed to do something before I got completely overrun.

I began charging the plasma ball with my gun and just as a crab jumped at me, I spun around, punting the crab with my pan while aligning myself in a way to shoot at the dragon.

I fired the liquid plasma straight into its face just as it managed to claw away some of the ink from its eyes.

I missed and hit its wing instead.

The thing roared again and stumbled back just as one of the crystal lizards flanked me and bit down on my right arm. The one I was holding the pan with.

“Shi–”

Replace [Appraisal] with [Flameguard]?

Note: [Appraisal] will not be re-equipable for 24 hours.

Y/N

I burst into flames, pushing the lizard back just enough for me to smack it over the head with the pan. But as soon as I got it off me, two more lizards jumped at me from both sides.

I aimed the gun into the open mouth of one and quickly gathered fire on my pan using both Flameguard and the pan’s innate skill.

One of the lizards got a water bomb down its throat while the other one exploded in flames. Both lizards hit the ground and soon vanished in a puff of smoke.

But there were still many many more left and I was already feeling the drain on my Ether after three consecutive gun shots.

This wasn’t going to work. I needed to get out.

I slipped between a pair of crabs and broke into a run. Quickly slipping the gun back into my backpack, I pulled out my mace instead, intending to smash my way through if I had to.

As I ran, my forks cussed out all the people who’d had the bright idea to shoot the dragon before it finished spawning after someone else suggested that this was some kind of enrage mode.

My mace smashed a crab to the side just as another lizard tripped me by biting into my leg. My face slammed into the crystal with a grunt.

I was about to cuss the lizard out when I lifted my gaze and saw one of the freaking sapphire snakes right in front of my face.

“Oh, come on!” I yelled before I lit my whole body on fire, causing the lizard to let go, and then swiped the pan in front of me, hoping to shoo off the snake.

I was successful. But not before it let out its hiss and made my body go rigid again. Luckily, whether it was because I was already pumped with adrenaline or because I’d lit myself on fire, I managed to break through the sapphirication of my muscles in record time.

Just in time to hear another roar behind me followed by a terrifying orchestra of thousands of tiny crystal clinking sounds that quickly got closer and closer–

My head instinctively whirled around to look at what was happening and I had a split second to guard my face with my arms before the tsunami of tiny crystal needles showered me.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaah?!?!!”

I let out an absolutely horrifying pained screech that reverbated through my entire body, but it was all completely drowned out by the sound of thousands of crystals tearing into me. I automatically huddled into a ball and for those few seconds, the only thing on my mind was ‘PLEASE MAKE IT STOP’.

It stopped.

My whole body was trembling. Somehow though, I hadn’t been completely torn to shreds like I’d thought it would have been.

I wanted nothing more than to keep huddling and pass out, but I couldn’t. I was still surrounded, and the dragon – who’d breathed shards of crystal at me – was still around as well. If it weren’t for chat shouting at me to get the hell out, I might have just accepted my fate right then and there.

With great effort, I draped myself up on my shaky legs, fearfully looked at the ink-covered dragon with a missing wing now marching in my direction, and froze for a moment.

KaiEbikoOfficial: Nana run!

JamieWasTaken3: get ouuuut

SpoOo0oOon: oh my god please run!

I turned around and ran as fast as I could.

Luckily, all the random monsters that had swarmed around me were long gone, probably killed by the crystal shower, so at least I had a clear path.

Unfortunately, I was too slow with my injuries and the dragon was pissed.

As if some greater power was helping me survive, I threw myself out of the way moments before its claw came smashing down at me. Miraculously, I managed to keep my footing as I recovered and when I turned around, I was suddenly staring the beast down.

Both of us were heavily injured and I still had a long way to go if I wanted to get out of this dungeon and into safety. And with how relentless the robot had been in the spaceship dungeon, I didn’t expect anything less from this monster.

So… I had to fight it to death, right here, right now.

Several people suggested ways to do just that and I complied.

I’d dropped both my weapons when the breath had hit me, but I still had backups.

The dragon lunged, its claw ready to swipe at me again, but I, instead of running, I decided to fight.

I activated Bullet Time – because someone in chat reminded me – to buy myself some time. Then I quickly summoned my key sword, covered it in flames with Flameguard, and tossed it in the same way I’d done against the shark. I used the rest of the slowed time to shakily reach into my backpack and retrieve my gun again.

When time resumed to normal speed again, the key sword managed to hit the dragon’s shoulder – my aim was terrible right now – making the dragon flinch and abort its swiping motion.

I didn’t hesitate and shot the dragon point blank. The dragon staggered back from the resulting blast as the sizzling sound of steam filled my ears.

But I didn’t stop there. I couldn’t. It was now or never.

I fired again.

This time though, my shot was blocked by a wall of sapphire that suddenly materialized between us.

“Wha–”

JamieWasTaken3: oh shit the dragon is the gorgon

KaiEbikoOfficial: run now!!

But I could see through the sapphire. Erecting the wall must have taken a lot out of the dragon because he was now hunched down on the crystal ground, his body trembling. He was so damn close to death.

I began charging my plasma shot and broke into a run… in the opposite direction of the dungeon’s border. I ran around the sapphire barrier just far enough to get a clear shot on the dragon.

By the time I did, my enemy had somewhat recovered and was glaring at me hatefully.

Wait, hold on. His eyes were glowing–

I pulled the trigger just as the dragon let out a bark-like growl in my direction. Several things then happened in rapid succession. The plasma shot – covered in sapphire?! – hit the dragon head on and engulfed him, I staggered because I’d run out of Ether, and then it hit me.

All muscles in my body went completely rigid and my vision filled with blue. I couldn’t move at all. Not even my eyes. Not even the tiniest of twitches. Even my mind began to feel sluggish.

A chill went down my spine as I realized what had just happened and I immediately began to struggle to break through the sapphirication despite the sudden tiredness trying to overcome me.

This was much stronger than the snake version though. Not to mention, I was critically low on Ether and utterly exhausted from this whole fight. My attempts to break through it were too feeble. I couldn’t do it.

Then I realized that I couldn’t breathe. My lungs were sapphired too and there was a chunk of sapphire blocking my mouth as well.

I was going to die die die.

I rapidly began to descend into complete panic, which transferred over to my forks as well. They began barraging me with information with no filter just like the first time and it did wonders to distract me from the fact that I was suffocating to death, all while my consciousness began feeling more and more fleeting.

But it wasn’t all pointless. The chatters were coming with all sorts of weird ideas on how to get out of this situation.

JamieWasTaken3: FLAMEGUARD

Encased in sapphire. Couldn’t use it.

mountchestnut: use appraisal

Swapped it out. Wouldn’t help anyway.

faifofaifelefel: just break it duh

Fuck you. Banned.

brocode420: phoenix fire would have worked

Not enough points.

GonguuH: use fusion on the sapphire

I did so.

And miracle of all miracles, it actually somehow fucking worked.

I felt the tension in my muscles recede and the sapphire encasing me dropping away as it all congregated in my hands.

I unceremoniously dropped to the ground on my face as the sapphire released me, a ball of smoky energy clutched in my shaky hands.

That cost me a fair bit of Ether… and I wasn’t even done with it. I needed to put it into something.

I pooled the energy in my right hand and used the other one to fish out something random out of my backpack. The black knife. That would do.

I shoved the blob of energy into the knife, barely even looked at the result, and shoved it back into the backpack before closing my eyes and letting out a shuddering breath. It took a good moment to calm down again while chat shouted all sorts of things at me.

When I did, I was assaulted with messages.

‘Wow, rude’ achievement unlocked!

+1 Skill point

‘Fire off a duck’s back’ achievement unlocked!

+3 Skill points

‘It’s just a rock’ achievement unlocked!

+8 Skill points

I tensed for a moment before realizing what it was and then relaxing again. I completely ignored the achievements for the time being.

“Goddammit, chat…” I quietly rasped. “This was supposed to be easy. What the hell…?”

Naturally, the nosy nerds in chat immediately began explaining that this was likely a group dungeon; or that it was the enrage mode; or that technically, I tanked all of the boss’s big attacks and still won; or that I wasn’t supposed to fight it, similarly to the locker room monsters…

KaiEbikoOfficial: it’s gonna be okay nana

KaiEbikoOfficial: *sends internet hugz*

JamieWasTaken3: you gotta gtfo

JamieWasTaken3: before they respawn

GonguuH: are you gonna be okay?

GonguuH: any leftover sapphire?

But at least some people cared about my wellbeing instead of trying to be the smart ones in the room.

“I… I think I’m okay. Ugh… Don’t know if there’s any left in my… my lungs or whatever. Can’t feel anything though.” I groaned and tried to push myself off the ground, but failed. “I can’t… move. I’m almost completely out of Ether… Shit…”

Weirdly enough though, I wasn’t bleeding all over like I’d thought I was. Hadn’t I gotten hit by a storm of crystal needles? Had my clothing self protected even the squishy parts of me it didn’t cover?

Ugh, whatever. Not important. I really needed to get up before anything sneaks up on me again!

lovingh8ter: he proly killed them all tho

That was true. After that crystal shower, I hadn’t seen any more monsters. But according to my quest, they could probably respawn in here unlike the water park dungeon, and I had no idea how long it took for them to do that.

But then again, if the quest’s side objective was to beat a dungeon before anything respawned, it probably took a while.

But I couldn’t be sure.

“Ugh…”

GonguuH: send out camera while you recover

GonguuH: we’ll alert you if we see anything

Oh my god. Gong was a genius.

“Gong… I’m modding you. Thanks…”

I did as he suggested. Summoned John and set him to slowly spin in a circle above my prone body while using the last of my energy to navigate to the menu and give Gong mod privileges.

Then I slumped back down, closed my eyes, and told my forks to only inform me if anyone spotted a monster.

With that, I relaxed and waited to get some of my energy back.