In a yellow Monster Gate, Elevated Threat Level, the boss monster emerged.

Glowing red lava surged around a crumbling castle where a massive, blue-scaled, two-headed lizard faced off against Anointed in shining armor and flowing robes. The ground trembled with the lizard’s steps. Magenta-colored spikes running down the reptile’s back began to glow yellow. Both heads opened their maws, spewing lightning upon their foes.

Below it, heroes of the modern age were against it—Wardens. From the famous Crowned Kings’ Guild, these Anointed moved in practiced formation to block the attack. Pained were grunts emitted from the defense type Wardens as they defended against the bright electric volts.

With their presence holding back the giant lizard’s onslaught, those with ranged weapons began the counter attack. Among them stood a most exquisite robed young woman with a curvy form, raven locks and bright blue eyes. The attention of others gravitated to her naturally, the most beautiful among them, Elina Tiller.

[Dual Casting]

Elina used both hands to conjure two spells at once.

“She’s using it,” someone said with excitement as he pulled on the collar of one of the newer members, “Check this out, it’s Elina’s special Skill!”

“Stop pulling,” the greenhorn responded, frantic. “I’m trying to block the lightning!”

[Night Laser]

[Moon Beam]

A black and white light shot from both Elina’s hands bringing with them devastating force. When all attacks had landed, the lizard roared but it was clear it had felt Elina’s attack more as both heads looked directly at her with vindictive fury.

“Just try and touch her, bitch,” a Warden threatened the monster, his armor with eccentric feathers and designs, “I’ll fuck you up.” It was Elina’s boyfriend, Marcus. He hated when anyone looked at Elina, even creatures of the gates.

Marcus hoisted up a fourteen foot lance and pointed it at the giant reptile’s head.

“Marcus, don’t get out of formation!” screamed the man in charge of the operation, the Squad Leader.

The ground cracked underneath Marcus’ feet as he launched himself with the same speed as if being launched from a catapult, the lava’s glow reflecting off his metallic armor.

[Forceful Lance] – Marcus’ Skill that used Aura to propel him forward and wrapped Aura around his weapon to allow it to hit with immense impact.

The reptile grunted in pain as Marcus hit one of its head into the other. Its heavy feet stamped about as it lost its balance.

When Marcus returned to position, he looked to Elina for approval which he got in the form of her blowing him a kiss. He felt invigorated by the gesture. He also could feel a stirring in his groin.

“Yuck,” a disdainful voice disrupted his mood.

He looked back to see Amelia sitting on one of the crumbling castle walls, staring at him with disgust. He chose to ignore her. Anger would be the only outcome he’d get in dealing with her, embarrassment on top of that.

Amelia felt extremely frustrated. Earlier in the day, she had attempted to create a rift between Elina and Marcus by repeatedly highlighting the attention Elina received from other men. However, the couple had somehow reconciled since then. Amelia's plans to break them up were consistently foiled, no matter what she tried. In a strategic move, she even wore tight pants today, anticipating Marcus's ogling. Although Elina did get angry with him, they managed to overcome that hurdle as well.

She sensed the necessity for a far more impactful approach to ultimately rid herself of Marcus.

“Hey, is your friend ever going to pitch in?” someone yelled over the sounds of battle in frustration to Elina.

Elina stared back at Amelia cross-armed, sitting on stone and shook her head.

As Elina shot up more light beams up at the gargantuan monster, she retorted, “Amelia is contracted to not have to do anything. Leave her alone and focus on your role, Jeremy.”

Jeremy looked to their Squad Leader with utter disbelief.

The Squad Leader agreed with Elina, “She’s right. Amelia Brite doesn’t have to do anything. So, get back to work!”

“Why would the Guild Master agree to sign such a contract?!” Jeremy said right before one of lizard’s two heads knocked into him and sent him flying.

“I told him to stay focused,” Elina grumbled irritably then shouted over the chaotic sounds of battle, “We need a healer over here!”

The squad emerged victoriously from the Monster Gate, clearing the way for MHS workers who swiftly entered the gate equipped with their Gatetech tools. Beyond the gate, the megacity of New DC awaited, and an audience stood behind police blockades to witness the closing. Marcus proudly displayed the Boss Key, prompting a raucous cheer the moment the crystal-like sphere came into view.

With the Boss Key in sight, the people could feel safe that no Monster Gate break would occur.

Elina stood beside Marcus, radiating pride. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, and together they appeared as if they belonged on Warden Posters for kids to adorn their walls. Witnessing this scene, Amelia felt a surge of frustration. Unable to contain her annoyance, she reached for her phone to make a call.

“Hello? Lucian?” Amelia’s voice could barely be heard over the cheers, but Elina still managed to catch it.

The mention of her ex-best friend's name, “Lucian,” demanded her attention. Elina turned her head to listen more carefully. Marcus felt her pulling away and attempted to reel her back in, but she suddenly shoved him aside.

“What’s with his phone?” Amelia complained, hearing Lucian’s voicemail, “Is he in a Monster Gate? He’s not even a part of a guild yet.” Lucian was the key to breaking up Marcus and Elina, though she presently never mentioned Lucian openly.

“Why would Lucian be a part of a guild?” asked a voice with suspicion.

“Whoa,” Amelia sputtered, not expecting Elina to suddenly appear next to her. Amelia’s green eyes traveled to where Marcus was still standing with the Boss Key and flashes of cameras were still going off. Forlorn had taken hold of his expression and his posture had visibly deflated. She turned back to Elina with a raised brow.

Amelia remarked, “You know that the press is still taking pictures, right? You’re kind of leaving your man hanging.”

Elina ignored the comment and reiterated, “Why would Lucian become part of a guild? He’s an MHS worker.”

Amelia could see Elina’s dark side emerging. Never before in their relationship had it shown itself until recently. It seemed like she became a whole other person when Lucian was mentioned. This drastic change in her persona was why Amelia refrained from using Lucian’s name in her schemes to break up Elina and Marcus.

“Oh, right,” Amelia explained honestly, having no reason to hide anything, “Lucian became an Anointed.”

“And you’re telling me now?!”

“Calm down. He just recently became an Anointed, a Base Anointed with Growth-type potential and a weird class. He’s got really bad luck.”

“Amelia, you have to tell me these things,” Elina insisted, her usually playful blue eyes now solemn with a hint of threat behind them, “When you hide things like this, it makes me feel like you’re going against me.”

“Jesus, Elina. It’s not that serious—”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Stop fucking with me, Amelia!” Elina shouted.

Amelia took a step back, her expression reflecting surprise and hurt at Elina's tone, as Elina's breathing became ragged.

“Why are you being like this to me?” Amelia asked, genuinely shocked and wounded.

Elina, realizing the impact of her words, took a deep breath to regain composure. She massaged her head with one hand as she responded, “Amelia, you know I have a past with that guy and you keep pressing my buttons.”

“But you’re being so…”

“Amelia, you found my line, and you crossed it. Can we at least agree on that?”

“Fine…”

“Leave Lucian alone.”

“What the fuck?” a voice interrupted. They both turned to see Marcus had approached and was gawking at them with disbelief. “Again with this Lucian loser?” he scoffed and began leaving before Elina could stop him. “I’m going to smoke this Lucian fuck!” His motorcycle roared to life, and he soon sped away under the bright flashes of cameras still rolling.

“Marcus!” Elina yelled, attempting to bring him back. She grumbled and stomped her feet before turning to Amelia with her arms crossed. “Hurry and let’s go.”

“What?” Amelia replied with confusion.

“You got me into this mess, help me get out,” Elina demanded, hopping into Amelia’s firebird.

“Marcus is not worth chasing…” Amelia muttered beneath her breath before climbing into her car and driving off.

As the car and motorcycle dramatically pulled away, tires screeching down the street, the Squad Leader was distraught. He said with worry, “Marcus left with the Boss Key…”

“Can I get a contract similar to Amelia’s?” Jeremy asked with hope, half his face bruised from being hit square by the boss monster.

“It’s just one of those days…” the Squad Leader sighed.

***

Under the rays of a rising sun, a group of monsters gathered—goblins, the dominant force in this Monster Gate. Leading these goblins was a green figure larger than the rest, a Hobgoblin.

Despite not being the ultimate ruler, the Hobgoblin was satisfied with its place in the forest. All the goblins under its command had to obey every order, even if it meant facing death to satisfy its hunger with their very own flesh. The true ruler of the goblin forest was always absent, searching for ways to open up the world they occupied to break through to the human world. This absence gave all Hobgoblins more space to assert their rule over their respective territories.

A wet, purple tongue wagged out to lick the Hobgoblin’s green lips in hunger. It had heard good news lately. The word from the goblins was that humans were in the forest. It had only ever heard of the delicacy that was human flesh; it had yet to try it.

Its head perked up at the sound of rustling leaves. The monster had thought it was the scouts sent to find clues about the human invaders. What emerged from the thicket was a creature that resembled a human, almost as large as the Hobgoblin itself. Next to the bulky figure stood a shorter female that glowed gold.

The Hobgoblin grinned with pleasure. It would soon get to taste human flesh. It would feed its underlings with the tough-looking human male meat. It alone would partake in the female flesh and enjoy every bite.

Its wide head tilted backward before it let out a haunting howl. What it expected was for the groups of goblins it had sent out to return, yet nothing in the forest stirred. The goblins below it looked around in confusion seeing no others show up. The Hobgoblin noticed the blood on the humans’ hands and knew that they must’ve been the ones who had killed them.

Lucian and Penelope fixed their gaze upon the Hobgoblin and its underlings, each creature clad in rusted metal armor and wielding corroded weapons. Seven goblins and a single sub-boss Hobgoblin comprised the group. Filmy yellow eyes stared back at them with hunger. Lucian and Penelope would have confronted a larger number, but with the assistance of Lucian's Monster Guide, they learned to eliminate the nearby patrols. This strategic move allowed them to face a less formidable sub-boss.

“You will taste the might of my Kung Fu,” Penelope declared, pointing at the Hobgoblin.

“You’re going to take that thing on alone?” Lucian probed with curiosity, his voice rasped in his [Angry Gremlin] form.

“Um, I actually wasn’t…”

“Alright. I like your moxy. I’ll kill the little ones, and you take on the big bad one.”

“Actually, Lucian…” Penelope tried to reject the plan, but Lucian suddenly burst forth like a locomotive. “Oh, no, wait…!”

The Hobgoblin seemed to have the same thoughts as Lucian since the monster went directly for Penelope with a twisted look on its dark green face. A thick club in its hands swung forward with the force of a moving car. Penelope put her arms up to block and was soon sent flying upon impact. Pained groans escaped her lips as her back crushed against a tree.

The Hobgoblin was on its way with a follow-up attack, one Penelope was in no position to avoid. A flying goblin’s body hit the Hobgoblin on its forehead before it could strike again. The monster stumbled backward and noticed Lucian had thrown one of its own underlings at it. A menacing growl rumbled in its throat at the bulky human.

Lucian ignored the furious creature’s glare and shouted to Penelope, “Remember what I said, Penny. We’re attack-type Anointed, not defense types. Sub-bosses hurt like hell when they hit us. You gotta dodge.”

[Goblin Bash]

A goblin’s mid-section exploded on impact from Lucian’s Aura-powered attack. The other five remaining goblins immediately used their own [Goblin Bash] in a counter-move, hitting him in his abdomen. Spittle dripped out of his mouth as pain shot through his stomach.

“Maybe I should dodge more too…” he groaned and was forced to roll on the ground to get away from more glowing punches.

On her feet again, Penelope contended against the Hobgoblin’s next club strike by avoiding it altogether and ending up at the monster’s exposed ribs. Her golden Ki moved like shiny streamers around her as she hit with a palm strike, bringing about a heavy grunt from her foe. The Hobgoblin’s club was on its way for another attack. She hurriedly squatted as if she had to use the restroom and managed to avoid it. More club strikes appeared yet none landed as she took Lucian’s advice to heart and focused on evasion.

A deeper shade of green colored the Hobgoblin’s face as frustration took hold seeing as he could not hit her. Its lips parted for a series of grunts to be let out. The sound caught the attention of one of the goblins fighting Lucian.

A smirk had grown on Penelope’s face feeling as if she were made of wind since she could not be hit. Her Combat Art, [Basic Unarmed], was enhanced by her Ki usage. She felt grateful in that moment for Lucian completing the puzzle of how her class [Fist Fighter] needed constant Ki use to work properly. A blow from behind her sent Penelope sprawling forward. Snickering could be heard from a goblin that had snuck up and sucker-punched her.

Penelope couldn’t afford to address the issue, seeing as the Hobgoblin was swinging its club again, this time it was using Aura. She had no choice but to block the attack.

Lucian grappled with the goblins as they climbed over him like a tree, perking up at the sound of Penelope's squeals as she was sent flying through the air after being struck. He gleamed what had happened to her seeing as one of his adversaries had snuck up on Penelope.

“Oh, sorry,” he shouted to Penelope while in the midst of combat, “Sub-bosses sometimes call for their underlings when they want backup!”

“Now you tell me…” Penelope grumbled while wiping blood from her mouth. Dirt clung to her martial arts gi as she rolled across the ground to avoid being hit. She then continued combat with the sub-boss for a moment, still focused on dodging. After a few moments, she suddenly turned around and threw out a punch. The goblin from before had tried to sneak up on her again only to be caught. Stiff like a board, the goblin fell backward unconscious.

“You’ve unlocked [Denting Strike]!”

Penelope’s doe eyes gravitated toward the window to see the Master System bearing good news. She turned back to the Hobgoblin who was swinging its club like a baseball bat. Maneuvering under the attack, she came forward with her new Skill, infused with Ki.

[Denting Strike]

The Hobgoblin emitted a deep grunt as its eyes widened, sensing the increased potency of Penelope's power. It swung its club once more, only to be struck again by Penelope's Skill for a second time.

[Denting Strike]

Bruises appeared in the shape of Penelope’s fists around the monster’s abdomen. They exchanged a few more blows with the Hobgoblin having to back away, its body trembling after feeling so many devastating hits from Penelope’s Skill.

In that moment, Penelope remembered what Lucian had said to her beforehand.

“Penny, use your Skills wisely. It’s not about overpowering them, it’s about knowing when to hit and how hard to hit.”

She looked to see worry was etched across the Hobgoblin's face. Penelope nodded with comprehension seeing as this was the time to go all in.

[Power Up]

Penelope’s Ki transformed from emanating smoky trails off her body, like steam, into resembling a bonfire that had engulfed her. The creature, unaccustomed to witnessing such agility from Penelope thus far, failed to fully defend itself before she swiftly gained an advantageous attack position from behind.

[Denting Strike]

Penelope struck with a booming punch shrouded in golden flames and hit with a resounding thud against the Hobgoblin. A loud crack could be heard as the Hobgoblin’s spine was broken. Blood and saliva erupted from its mouth, its eyes rolling back. The monster soon fell paralyzed. Penelope didn’t let up and was immediately above its head with her fist raised.

“Never let up,” Lucian had said to her before the fight. “When your foes give you the opportunity to finish them, you take it!”

[Denting Strike]

Her hand fell with power and crushed the back of the Hobgoblin’s skull, killing it. Her heart was beating fast and her eyes were unblinking. Penelope backed away in surprise. She had done it. She had won.

“I won!” She screamed, “I did it! I beat the sub-boss!”

“Help!” Lucian called out, disrupting her revelry.

Penelope turned around to see Lucian had reverted to his normal form, and three goblins still alive were chasing him around a tree in a circle.

“I used too much mana!” Lucian cried out. Having fought in the Monster Gate since his arrival, he never considered the amount of Mana he had spent. Unlike a video game with a visible MP bar, he had no clear indication of his energy levels. [Angry Gremlin] was intoxicating, making him feel unbeatable, but it provided no warning when he was about to lose steam.

“I’m coming!” Penelope called out hastily. However, when she attempted to make her way toward him, she suddenly fell forward onto her face.

Her [Power Up] deactivated.

Then, her Ki dissolved into nothing. She had used all of her energy. From fighting the goblin patrols to the Hobgoblin, she'd been utilizing Ki the entire time.

“Why is this happening?” Lucian grumbled, observing Penelope lying in the dirt, her golden glow now gone. He managed to muster up some Aura to incapacitate two of the pursuing goblins with [Goblin Bash], but he was forced to fist fight the remaining one. Lucian resorted to picking up a stick to use [Basic Polearm], gaining an edge over the monster and finally defeating it.

He then fell to the ground next to Penelope. Both were exhausted, yet they had won.