Huh. This hunt has been far less entertaining than I was expecting… it’s a dungeon, after all. For some reason I thought I’d find more challenges here.

(Again, low-level dungeon. It’s designed so noobs don’t die here, at least not as easily,) Nyx answers.

That’s true, but I’m low-level, and hunting on my own.

(Yes, but noob adventurers don’t typically have balance-breaking Skills like your aura.)

Eh, fair enough. I – what, ow!

There’s suddenly a dagger in my back. That definitely wasn’t there before…

And then, four humans quickly approach. The big one and the shiny one are running toward me first, and the two small skinny ones are staying back.

(Standard party formation,) my Assistant says.

“Definitely undead! Formation three, go go!” the skinny one in dark robes shouts as energy starts gathering at the tip of its staff. The skinny one in white robes has had their hands clasped since they first approached, and looks like they have a circle of golden light projecting around them. It’s just large enough to surround all of them, but as the two vanguards reach me, it reaches me as well. Doesn’t seem to be having any effect though…

“Take this! [Primal Strike]!” the large human shouts as they drive their oversized sword through my left shoulder from above, severing my arm. As it separates, my limb explodes into a cloud of dust and ash.

“Hey, that freaking hurts!” I shout as I take a backwards leap, trying to make some space to work with.

“Strong undead learn to mimic the sounds of the living, don’t let it trick you!” the shiny human howls as they rapidly dart from side to side, closing the distance much faster than I can move.

But, not faster than I can phase through their incoming sword, which passes painlessly through me.

“Specter! Use radiant! [Control Monster]!” the dark robed one bellows, and I immediately feel a pressure buffet my mind… but… isn’t it awfully weak?

“Is that really all you’ve got?” I challenge, pointing my immaterial hand at the caster. “[Dominate].”

I feel their will wrench against mine, struggling to break through my grasp and failing. I force them to drop their staff, followed by walking them directly into the white robed human, causing them both to stumble and fall. The golden aura vanishes.

A sharp pain in my stomach snatches my attention, most likely caused by the shiny human’s sword through my torso. “Don’t forget about me, demon!” they shout, as the jerk the blade free, angling it for a follow-up swing.

“Oh don’t you worry. You look delicious,” I reply as I hit them with Consume as hard as I can. The large human meanwhile attempts to stagger me with the flat of their blade, which again passes harmlessly through me.

“Physical Skills have no effect!” they shout as they continue fruitlessly trying to swat me like a fly.

I feel the dark robed human finally slip free from my grasp, and they stand up, supporting themselves on both their staff and the white robed human. “Regroup!”, they shout. The two vanguards warily back away from me until they’re standing in front of their backliners again. I let them since this is so much more fun than those stupid goblins and slimes that couldn’t even fight back.

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“Hey, you, the shiny one. How does it feel to have your vitality fed on? Nothing I’ve Consumed before has lived long enough to answer, but you’re different, aren’t you?” I ask, giving in to my curiosity.

“Hey Abaris? Are you sure this thing is just mimicking us?” the big one asks.

The dark one – Abaris, apparently – looks mildly terrified as they answer, “it might be sentient, gods have mercy on us all...”

“Abaris, is it? You’re absolutely right to be terrified of me, I’m absolutely terrifying, aren’t I?” I reply. “You’re the first decent fight I’ve found in this crappy dungeon. Is everything here supposed to be so weak?”

The white-robed human clasps their hands again and starts muttering, and the golden circle snaps into being again.

“Also, I’m pretty sure your aura isn’t strong enough to affect me. Speaking of, it looks like my aura isn’t affecting you either,” I say with a shrug. I cross my arms and ask, “Are you going to keep attacking or just stand there? Most of my prey admittedly just stands there.”

I feel a dagger jab at my back again, so I turn and sweep an arm behind me, catching another small skinny human by surprise. I grip them by the collar, holding them toward the other humans and say, “Were you missing this one?” I toss them at their friends, the large human catching them in flight. It seems like their strike actually managed to sever something, since moving seems more difficult now. I release Verum Corpus, exploding into a cloud of ash before reforming my body again.

“Its true form isn’t solid,” Abaris observes.

“Well, that’s both true and not true. This both is and is not my true form,” I answer with a grin.

The two vanguards tighten their grips, their weapons remaining pointed at me. “What are you?” the shiny one asks, their brow furrowed.

“I am one who devours life. You’re strong, and interesting, so I’ll give you the privilege of knowing my name. I had a different one in the past, but it’s long since left my memory. You may call me Nemesis.”

“A named monster!? It’s a unique wandering boss!” the stabby human I’d thrown shouts in dismay.

The shiny one wastes no time charging me while howling, “All of you, run! I’ll keep it busy! In the name of Themis, I smite you! [Luminous Purge]!”

Their blade grows to double its size, glowing blindingly bright as it lances forward too quickly for me to dodge. I manage to partially phase, but I still feel the blade cut into me.

“AAAHHHHHHHHwait, that didn’t hurt very much... Wasn’t that supposed to, I don’t know, kill me or something?” I ask the shiny one, who immediately winds up for another slash.

The white robed one’s eyes jerk open. “WAIT! It’s not a monster! It’s an Ascendant!” they shout. The shiny one looks dumbfounded for a split-second before taking a leap away from me, blade still tracking my position.

“Explain,” they say.

“Lady Epione spoke to me. This one, it’s not a monster –“

“Technically, I am a monster, though.”

“You’re not a dungeon monster,” they correct. I shrug.

“Then what the hells is it?” the large one asks.

I sigh. “I already told you. Nemesis. Devours life, so on and so forth, blah blah blah. Are we done fighting already? Because if so, I’m going to find something else to Consume.”

Abaris blinks. “You won’t find more here. At least, not until the boss respawns.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“It’s the truth,” they insist.

(He. The mage is a he,) Nyx interjects. Fine.

The white robed human holds up their hand. “Hold, fellow Ascendant. May my party and I discuss for a moment?”

I sigh again. “Fine, sure, whatever. If there’s nothing left here to kill I guess I’m not in a hurry.”

The shiny human seems reluctant to pull their eyes from me for a moment but eventually relents, joining the close huddle the rest of them are currently standing in. They whisper for a few minutes, occasionally one or more of them shouting something in surprise, but after a while they turn back to me. The white robed one takes a deep breath and then approaches.

“We offer our sincerest apologies, Nemesis. It’s not often that monsters ascend, so we mistook you for a dungeon monster. Will you forgive us?”

I look them in the eyes and snort. “Nope, not a chance, but the mood’s ruined now… eh, I don’t even care. I’ve been attacked under dumber circumstances before.”

They look concerned at first but relax when I finish speaking. “I… see. Thank you. If I may ask… what god do you serve?”

“Eh?”

“Who are you a priest of?”

“What? I’m not a priest,” I rebuff them.

“But… your identify result. It says you’re a priest,” she answers confusedly.

I immediately use Identify on myself.

[Dust Elemental – Nemesis (Priest) – Level 0]

“I’M A PRIEST!?”

Meanwhile, Nyx is too busy rolling on the ground in a fit of tearfully hysterical laughter to respond.