"It's been so long, Avatar. The last time I saw you, it was a whole other era." The voice screeched metallically as Monica lunged inside the room.
The moment she'd stepped through, the darkness disappeared both for her and for Ted and Heidi, who were standing still before the threshold. On the other side, Monica saw three figures. There was a giant Crystal Wolf, probably ten feet tall, covered with crystal three inches thick, all silver with claws the size of Monica's head. The crystal over the monster's body caught the light of giant lantern-like gems in the walls, which shone light in the Boss's room. The room was circular and unadorned, but even if it had contained all the treasure in the world, Monica would have still been focused on the tall woman, as tall as the Boss, who gripped Dotty by her throat.
Machina.
Monica felt the hatred for this creature coming deep from within her.
"Avatar?" Machina said in her metallic voice. She was a beautiful woman made of gleaming metal that looked like liquid mercury.
"Let her go," Monica thundered, already feeling her body swelling with fury. She activated Phoenix Feathers and was ready to make a run for Dotty. However, she knew that the woman she was facing was none other than an Old God. And if Dotty was still alive, there had to be a reason.
"Let her go?" asked Machina. "Avatar, you must have forgotten all of my ways. You forget how my kind operates." The voice came deranged from the woman. "I am sad. My full power is so far from this place, and I cannot have a real fight with you. I have only enough for a small projection of this." She showed Monica her body.
"What do you want?" Monica asked through gritted teeth.
"Magic, of course," Machina said with a large smile. "I have a very simple proposition, Avatar. It must be simple since you're such a feeble-minded, uncomplicated creature."
"That's rude," Ted commented from behind Monica.
Monica shot him a withering stare before looking at Machina once again. "State your terms."
"Defeat the Boss, Avatar," Machina said with a sick smile on her face, craning her beautiful face to the side so unnaturally that her ear reached all the way to her shoulder. "Defeat the Boss, and she survives. Lose, and she dies."
Monica frowned. "What would you have to gain from that? Why wouldn't you just kill her anyway?"
"Your crude magic took all your memories, didn't it?" Machina sounded like screeching metal but also like a surprised, overjoyed child. "It took everything you had, Avatar. It took you. How unschooled, but how fortunate. We must get acquainted once again." There was something sick, something twisted about the sweetness that dripped from the goddess's words.
"Explain yourself," Monica said, trying not to listen to the insults and to what the goddess was implying, but she couldn't help but wonder if the goddess knew more about her past, about her children.
"Real magic is not a number, Avatar," the goddess said, licking her metallic teeth with her silvery tongue. "If I killed her like this, it wouldn't give me anything. Of course, it would be weak. Barely anything. But if you sacrifice her life, if you lost her life," the goddess emphasized the word 'lost,' "you would be making such a gift for me. It would create so much magic because her life, which is already tied to yours, would burn because of you, and that would create so much power for me."
Monica now understood. Lucas had mentioned that the Old Gods' magic worked in very mysterious and esoteric ways. Now that Machina had explained why she wasn't killing Dotty on the spot, Monica believed her every word. The incentives were aligned.
Monica briefly looked at the Boss and cracked her neck. "Since you're so sophisticated, I wouldn't want you to trick me, so let me state this very clearly: the Boss dies, and I win?"
"Yes!" Machina said excitedly. "If the Boss dies before you do, this girl survives. If you die before the Boss, even if this simple creature cannot kill you forever and restart the crude cycle of your existence, the girl dies. And her very existence, all her magic, all the threads that connect her to you, they will belong to me."
“What are we waiting for, then?” Monica said, looking at the giant Crystal Wolf.
“You are so eager, Avatar. Always so eager. So, yes, please, let’s start this fight.” Machina held Dotty’s body under her arm, releasing the teenage girl’s throat. Monica saw the red prints on the girl’s skin and felt furious. However, she had more immediate concerns since the giant Crystal Wolf now looked at her as if she was its next snack.
Her fury got colder until it was just a throbbing in the back of her head. She needed her focus to kill the creature without dying even once. When the Boss jumped at her, she looked at the explosive movement and rolled between its legs, shooting two Fireballs point-blank at the joints. The same explosive power that would have torn the legs off a normal Crystal Wolf left not even a scratch on the Boss.
Monica kept crawling away and looked at the tag above the creature’s head.
[Crystal Wolf Boss – Level 30]
“How familiar,” Machina said in her sick voice. “You have dived in a Dungeon without thinking over the consequences. As always, you’re a little selfish thing. And now this girl will die because of you, Avatar.”
Monica ignored the taunt and ducked under a giant claw, trying to grab the foreleg of the creature and throw it off balance. However, the Crystal Wolf Boss was so powerful that as it shook Monica off its leg, she flew all the way to the wall that lined the room, feeling the metal of the Nightshade Battle Wear groan under the hit.
This thing is too strong, Monica thought. She had six Free Attributes to spend, but even if she put them all into Strength or Dexterity, it would have made barely any difference. She looked at the Phoenix Feathers on her forearms and gritted her teeth. Not even the heaps of Attributes that her Skill gave her made a real difference against this monster.
Could I keep dodging until it’s exhausted? Monica thought, whirling around a terrifying blow, passing below the creature’s belly and to its side. She didn’t even try to cover it in Obsidian Flame. She knew they would do nothing. If not even her Fireball had scratched the crystal coating, then she had no chance of actually delivering any damage like this.
No. This thing clearly has too many Attributes, Monica thought as she dodged its attacks. It was strong, but she was fast. And most importantly, her fighting instincts were much superior to the beast. She used the Twin Phoenix Bracers to parry a claw attack and jump backward to dampen the impact. She still felt her shoulder sockets crack and had to activate the Golden Flame to heal the damage.
She dumped the Free Attributes into Vitality, knowing she might have to use Phoenix Feathers to kill it.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
I cannot exchange hits with this creature, she thought. There is no way I would survive. One small error and it would tear me apart. She had thought of testing how much damage her Nightshade Battle Wear could take from the Boss, hoping perhaps to get closer and to douse the creature in Obsidian Flame for a prolonged amount of time. But given how dangerous the Boss was, she decided not to take the risk.
She briefly looked at Ted and Heidi, who were before the threshold of the Boss’s room. Perhaps if Ted had figured out his Class, he could have helped, but Monica didn’t have time to test her theories. If Ted crossed the threshold, he would die instantly to the creature. And the Boss was too strong for her to be worried about protecting someone else. No. I’ll have to do this alone.
Monica activated Mana Sense, sharpening her perception. Now, instead of rolling or jumping around, she sidestepped the hits, the terrifying jaw that threatened to tear her body into pieces. She summoned a Fireball in her fist and clenched it with her fingers. As soon as she saw an opening because the Boss had overextended itself, she punched the side of the Boss, compressing the Fireball in her palm. For a second, the Obsidian Flame from the Fireball enveloped her fist. But it exploded half a second too early, and her fist bounced uselessly against the creature’s side. But Monica was as cold as ice and repeated the same maneuver half a dozen times before getting a feeling for it.
Monica felt the Fireball dissolving in her palm too early yet again, but this time, she noticed something. The crystal wasn't completely impervious - it vibrated ever so slightly. She was close—very close.
"Still playing with your crude magic?" Machina's metallic voice grated across the chamber. "How disappointing. The Avatar I knew would have—"
She suddenly activated Phoenix Step, coating her steps in Obsidian Flame as she blurred across the room, closing the distance between herself and the giant Crystal Wolf. The Boss's massive jaws snapped shut a few inches from her face as she reached right by his side.
This time, as she reached the Crystal Wolf's side, Monica compressed the Fireball in her fist and felt the exact moment when it was about to explode. Instead of letting it dissipate too early, she channeled all her strength into the punch, focusing the explosion right as her knuckles made contact with the crystal.
The impact was devastating. The combination of her momentum from Phoenix Step's Obsidian Trail effect, multiplying her strike's power, and the perfectly timed Fireball explosion sent shockwaves through the crystal armor. A spiderweb of cracks appeared where she struck.
*Ding*
Would you like to convert Fireball into Obsidian Impact?
YES|NO
Monica accepted without hesitation.
*Ding*
You learned the Class Skill - Obsidian Impact
Obsidian Impact (Class Skill, Offensive Skill, Phoenix Healer)
Channel the destructive power of the Obsidian Flame into explosive strikes.
#1 Base Effect: Compress your Obsidian Flame into your strikes, causing them to explode on impact, dealing 500% damage. Damage increases by 20% for each Level.
Current Damage: 520%
#2 Base Effect: Every third successful strike in an unbroken chain of hits has a 5% chance to create an amplified explosion that would double the damage from Obsidian Impact.
Special Effect - Shatterpoint: If you strike the same spot three times within 5 seconds, the third hit deals 300% additional damage.
Cost: Equivalent to Fireball
Without wasting a moment, Monica first backed off and then activated Phoenix Step again, leaving another trail of Obsidian Flame as she barreled toward the Boss at supernatural speed. She struck the same spot, her fist detonating with dark flames. The cracks in the crystal deepened, spreading further across the Boss's side.
The Crystal Wolf roared in pain and fury, but Monica was already moving for her third strike. One more Phoenix Step, one more trail of Obsidian Flame empowering her blow, and her fist crashed into the weakened crystal with devastating force. The Shatterpoint effect triggered, and a significant portion of the Boss's crystal armor exploded inward, revealing vulnerable flesh beneath.
By then, however, the Boss had regained its footing, and Monica wasn’t able to deliver another strike.
She panted and felt the Cooldown of Phoenix Step kicking in. She wouldn’t be able to use the Skill for a hundred seconds. That meant she had to keep her distance—which wouldn’t be too hard since she had been doing it all along.
Machina's laughter echoed through the chamber.
"Now, this is more like the Avatar! But do you really think this would have been so easy, Monica Monroe?”
For the first time, Machina called her by name, sending a shiver down Monica’s spine.
Then, particles of liquid metal detached from the projection of the Old Goddess and reached the wounded Crystal Wolf.
“It is such a pity I cannot have one of my beautiful children fight you, but this will have to do it.”
Monica watched coldly as liquid metal flowed across the Crystal Wolf's body, filling in the shattered crystal and flowing into the wound she had created. The silvery substance didn't just patch the damage—it began to transform the entire creature. The metal spread like a living thing, consuming and replacing the crystalline armor piece by piece. But also entering its bloodstream and shining as it filled its vein.
The Boss howled in pain as the corrupted essence of Machina entered him, but it could do nothing other than accept the cursed gift.
The metal flowed like quicksilver across the wolf's body, creating overlapping plates that shifted and realigned with each movement. The beast's muscles bulged and reformed beneath the metallic skin, taking on a gray shade, growing denser and more powerful. Its legs lengthened and reshaped themselves.
Its tail split into three separate appendages, each one tipped with a blade-like protrusion that whipped ominously through the air. With each step, the creature's claws extended and reformed into twice-as-long talons that left gouges on the stone floor. Corruption seeped from every joint and seam in its armor, creating a dark mist that writhed around its form like a living shadow.
The wolf's head underwent the most dramatic transformation. The crystal muzzle melted away as liquid metal flowed upward, forming a more elongated skull with additional rows of serrated teeth. Multiple pairs of blank eyes emerged atop the muzzle, and bull-like horns of metal sprouted from its head, curving upward.
Monica watched as something fundamental changed in the wolf's multiple eyes. The black pupils suddenly froze before shattering into fragmented patterns. The beast's original consciousness—whatever primitive will had driven it before—visibly crumbled as each eye transformed. The fragments turned gray and suddenly matched the color of the rest of its eyes, disappearing into it. When all the eyeballs became metallic and fully gray, it held none of the bestial nature that had been there before. Instead, they reflected Machina's own gaze—ancient. Each eye now moved independently.
The last traces of the Crystal Wolf's original nature disappeared as Machina's will settled fully into her new vessel, and Monica could have sworn she saw the goddess smile through every single one of those mercurial eyes.
The transformation culminated in a shockwave of power that made the very air vibrate. The boss had become something entirely new—a nightmarish fusion of crystal, metal, and corruption that stood even taller than before. Its new form radiated an aura of ancient malevolence that made Monica's skin crawl despite her divine nature.
[Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss – Level 60]
Before Monica could react, the creature moved. Even with her enhanced reflexes and Mana Sense active, she barely registered the attack coming. One moment, the boss was across the room, the next it was on her.
The only thing that allowed her not to die on the spot were her battle senses which allowed her to move the Twin Phoenix Bracers in the way of the claws that were now as long as her torso.
The impact, however, broke bones on impact, and more as she struck the chamber wall so hard that her armor bent out of shape and the stone behind cracked in the form of a spiderweb.
She felt ribs shatter, her left arm breaks in two places, and her shoulder dislocated from the force of the blow.
She immediately doused herself in Golden Flame, but she had to dive while in excruciating pain because of the Corrupted Metallic Wolf Boss.
The Golden Flame immediately began working to repair the damage, but the boss was already charging again. Monica rolled desperately to the side, feeling the rush of air as those metallic claws missed her by inches. She tried to regain her footing, but the pain slowed her down. The wolf's new form moved too fast for her.
She barely managed to avoid another strike, but the beast's tail caught her leg, tearing apart the shadow substance generated by the Nightshade Battle Wear and opening a deep gash on her thigh.
The wolf circled her as its body smoked with clouds of corruption coming from all its joints.
"Now," Machina's voice rang out with metallic glee, "the real fight begins."