Alice shuddered upon reading her enhanced stats and backed away, covering her eyes. Redact what she said about how the cool-down made Lily’s Skill not that effective. The sheer growth it caused could not be understated if she tried.

“A-are you okay?” Lily stammered. Alice blinked, lowering her hand and looking up. Lily’s friend stood in front of Lily; one hand held a spear aimed for Alice’s jugular while the other arm was protectively around Lily, who was trying to poke her head out from behind her friend.

“Yeah…I think.” Alice closed the stat screen and reflexively opened and closed her palm. “I feel…more alive.”

“That’s good and all, but can you kill the monster already!?” Lily’s friend snapped. A rebuke formed in Alice’s mouth but she shoved it down. Now wasn’t the time to be petty.

“Where’s the—?” Alice began to ask.

A sudden huge gust of wind rippled over the clearing. Alice staggered as she fought to keep her feet attached to the ground, and as she struggled against the wind, she had a horrifyingly clear view of the oak trees—which had stood for thousands of years—be torn from their perch in the ground and hurled miles away like they were tiny toys.

It was a chilling sight; the display of sheer power was enough to make Alice’s knees knock into each other and her heartbeat palpitated. Her hands were clammy all of a sudden and the hair on the back of her neck was standing upright. She could faintly hear screaming around her over the dulling throbbing in her head.

Yet, despite it all, Alice didn’t back down. Seeing how strong she was right now, seeing her Ranks and Levels, it filled her to the brim with a peculiar brand of confidence.

A shadow was cast over the clearing as the enormous body of the snake rested up, completely eclipsing the sun. Alice gulped, her fingers twitching, aching to fight. The serpent turned its head to either side before angling downward; a shiver ran down Alice’s spin as the glowing green eyes locked onto her tiny frame.

What was going through its mind? Did it recognize her as the same girl it had fought not so long ago? Did it discard her as a threat? Alice clenched her jaw. Whatever it was, she was determined to leave a mark on it this time.

“[Abyssal Black Arrow!]” Alice fell back onto a tried and true Skill.

The air behind her rippled as dozens—no, hundreds of black arrows shimmered into reality. Tendrils of smoke steamed from the corrupting black fire, which thrashed wildly, barely constrained into the shape of an arrow. Alice grit her teeth as she realized her mistake; she’d figured that since her Skill had grown stronger, her control over it had increased with it as well.

That wasn’t the case. Already, she could feel her control over the arrows slipping. It was just a matter of time before they fell out of her grasp and shot haphazardly all over the place, burning down the forest. It was like bringing a lasso to restrain a horse, only to realize that it was a bull instead.

Alice forced the arrows to shift their aim upwards, centered onto the serpent’s long body. The monster swayed back and forth, an almost lazy air to it. Alice smirked despite the gravity of the situation. It was going to regret not taking her seriously.

“FIRE!”

Like they were launched out of a catapult, the dozens of arrows streamed through the sky, leaving burning marks in the air. The serpent flicked its tongue out carelessly but then its eyes widened. It flung itself to the side, effortlessly crushing a swath of trees with its incredible build. Her arrows soared harmlessly over the serpent, beginning their descent into the trees behind.

“Oh fuck!” Alice pulled on her connection with the arrows and shut it down; the arrows spluttered out of existence shortly after, seconds before torching the forest. Alice panted heavily, a wave of nausea crashing into her. That fire did not want to get out. Even so, Alice pushed past the churning in her stomach and forced a smug smile.

The serpent began rising up, its gaze completely centered on Alice. Alice waited for its entire body to be lifted from the ground, until the serpent monster was stretched high into the sky. Even with the ominous shadow that it cast, the monster didn’t make a move. That only confirmed Alice’s theory:

The snake was scared.

“Well, well, well, isn’t this interesting?” Alice made sure to keep her eyes on the snake, but in her peripheral vision, she could make out blurry figures approaching the monster’s side. Alice nodded slightly to herself; all she needed to do was keep the monster’s attention and weaken it enough for the others to do the job.

“Easy enough.” Alice said. Casting [Abyssal Black Arrows] once more, Alice made altercations. Instead of the standard wide-range attack that appeared from behind her, she materialized the arrows directly above the serpent’s head in a compact bundle. Without a second to waste, Alice let go.

Alice was confident at least some of the arrows would make an impact but the serpent was obscenely fast for its size. Before Alice could even register what happened, the snake was gone. Cursing, Alice dissipated the arrows again, nearly staggering at the second wave of nausea.

This isn’t good, Alice thought while clinging to a nearby tree for support. She scoured the forest for any sign of scales but there was none to be found. She bit her lips; how can something so big just disappear like that? It definitely can’t fly, so what is it?

There was something here Alice wasn’t getting. She pushed her mind back, further than ever before. The first time she’d encountered the serpent, how had it snuck up on her and Blanche?

Alice absentmindedly swung her foot out and hit a pebble. She watched it roll across the mossy ground before falling into a small gouge made in the earth. It was like a lightbulb went off in her head just then.

She couldn’t see the monster above the ground because it was digging underneath her! Alice scanned the ground around her with her forehead furrowed. Still, there should be a giant hole here. Maybe I’m wrong—!

Fuck! The ground started shaking uproariously, the trees that miraculously survived the serpent’s initial attack falling down. Alice heard her temporary allies screaming and dashing to safety, but the majority of her concentration was on the earth. Alice shifted her stance into a wider one, preparing the right Skill for this job.

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A few meters in front of her, the ground bulged upward, like a volcano was about to erupt. Alice instantly turned on her heels and ran the opposite away, forcing herself to look straight even as an earth-shattering noise filled the air. The ground gave one last violent tremor, the strongest of them yet, and Alice struggled to maintain her balance. For a few seconds, she was wobbling on her toes, arms flailing wildly in an attempt to regain her balance.

The moment both her feet touched the ground again, Alice whirled around to find the serpent emerging from the newly erupted hole, just like she expected.

“Come on, you bastard,” she murmured under her breath. Calling upon [Anarchy Flare], Alice ignited both her hands with the vicious black flame she was getting accustomed to. Waving her hands back and forth, she hollered at the top of her lungs. “Over here! Come get me, you slimy little monster!” Inside, a little part of her died calling the serpent ‘tiny.’

The serpent’s jagged tongue slipped out, tasting the air. It dragged its head on the ground, creating large gashes on the landscape but refused to emerge from the hole in its entirety. Alice bit back a curse; did it know her plan?

Movement behind the serpent caught her attention and Alice squinted; a little ways from the monster was Blanche and the rest of the team who had gone to fight the monster. A serving of warm relief coursed through her body at the sight of the dwarf. He was especially unkempt and his sword was bent inward, but he was alive.

Blood trickled from a wound on his forehead but his gaze was as focused as ever. He began motioning with his hands, pointing at the serpent, then to himself and the attack team, and finally, to Alice.

Alice deduced what he meant; if she couldn’t weaken the serpent now, then Blanche and the attack team would have no chance but to engage before the serpent noticed them. Alice discreetly motioned for the group to get further back. Time to end this.

Alice approached the serpent, despite every instinct in her body shouting at her to stay away; despite the increasing weariness that she experienced, dragging her steps down. Alice poured more power into [Anarchy Flare] and the fire tripled in size and intensity, resembling bonfires attached to her hands.

Sweat poured down her face and her back in bucketloads, and the tingling sensation was stronger than ever. A part of Alice wanted to drop the fireballs and flee. She was terrified that any second now, she would lose control and the black fire would engulf her.

Alice shook her head, trying to get the negative thoughts out of her head. No! Alice focused wholly onto the serpent. I have to do this. I can’t let everybody else die because I’m afraid. Alice had a part to play, and damn it, she’d fulfill her role even at the cost of her life if need be!

A familiar warmth coursed through her veins, filling up every ounce of her being. On top of the enhancement, Alice felt another power within her awaken; an ancient power that even surpassed Lily’s Skill.

//Conditions met. ICHOR Trans-Shift initiated—ERROR. Outside interference detected, unable to begin procedure. ICHOR Trans-Shift deactivated.

This was the second time the term ‘ICHOR Trans-Shift’ had popped up during a fight. Was Lily’s Skill counteracting whatever it was? Alice gnashed her teeth together. It didn’t matter, all she needed was Lily’s enhancement!

“DIE!” Alice roared until her lungs burned, lifting her blazing arms higher and waving back and forth like a mad person. The serpent hissed, its upper body mimicking her movements. However, its lower body was still frustratingly underground.

Fine. Have it your way.

Alice channeled more power into the black flames, forcing the fire to shift into a churning orb of fire. The heat was overwhelming now, threatening to burn Alice out of her flesh. She felt like she was trapped in a sauna filled to the brim with boiling hot water. “TAKE THIS!”

Alice pulled her hands back and hurled them over her head. Two enormous balls of fire pulled apart from her fingers, taking all the black fire with it. Alice collapsed to her knees, panting heavily and feeling her arms tingle to an unbearable degree. Regardless, she watched her attack soar across the air.

The snake shrieked and practically jumped from the hole, just like she’d hoped. For a split second, Alice was paralyzed with nerve wracking terror; what if she’d miscaulcated. Maybe the snake was too fast, and it would clear over the fireballs.

Her fireballs slammed into the serpent’s tail and imploded; a wave of heat and fire rippled from the impact point. First, everything was blown away by the sheer force of the attack. Second, the intense heat wave ignited all the nearby trees and shrubbery on fire. Finally, tendrils of black fire were sent careening across the entire forest, cutting trees in half and turning the ground into lava.

The serpent screeched, falling back to the ground with huge plumes of smoke obscuring its figure. Alice caught a glimpse of the blackened skin underneath its scales, before a gust of wind blew the smoke for her face.

Coughing, Alice bagged the smoke away from her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw the serpent making a beeline for the hole.

“OH NO YOU DON’T!” Alice shouted. Her whole body was numb and there was a pressure on her chest. Every breath was like a dagger being pushed into her heart, and the world was tilting. But Alice pushed past that all.

She didn’t know if Blanche and the others were still alive, but she needed to have faith in them. She needed to catch a snake.

[Abyssal Black Rope!]

As tempting as it was to conjure the ropes directly around the serpent’s body, Alice knew it wouldn’t work. The body structure of the serpent along with the speeds at which it was moving were too great an obstacle for Alice to confidently use her last chance on.

Instead, she generated the thickest strands of black fire rope she could manage over the gaping hole in the ground, shifting them into a mesh pattern. Alice gnashed her teeth together, giving them every ounce of power she had available, sparing nothing.

The snake dove into the jaw and was intercepted by the strings. The strings went taut and Alice lurched forward, her connection to them having a tangible effect on her body. Immediately, Alice forced the strings to wrap around the serpent’s jaw, trying to shut it close. Holding her arm out and clutching it with the other, Alice forced her rampant heartbeat to calm down. Sure, if I lose focus the snake escapes and kills us all but’s that not going to happen!

Alice focused on those words, turning it into her resolve. Her arms ached a throbbing pain, like Alice was feeling what the strings were going through; holding back a monster weighing thousands of pounds with the force of an artillery shell pushing it forward.

“YOU’RE MINE!” Alice shouted. She didn’t know if it was possible to use the same Skill simultaneously but why the hell not?

[Abyssal Black Rope!]

Thick strands of black fire shot out from the ground, going over the writhing length of the serpent. Alice groaned as she felt her body beginning to shut down. She couldn’t handle more than this. Alice was barely able to see the serpent, but she was so close! She needed to triumph!

“More. More! MORE!”

Around and around, Alice must have summoned hundreds, thousands of black fire ropes. Up until the majority of the serpent’s body was dyed black by the ropes that entangled it. Alice latched the ropes to the earth and finally, finally, she let herself drop to the ground.

She was exhausted. Dead inside. Oh. I’m about to fall unconscious. Alice had the mind to think before she fell onto her side.

As the world faded away, she saw tiny figures approaching the trapped serpent with glowing weapons. However, her entire attention was focused on a single warrior who broke away from the group to sprint towards her.

Alice closed her eyes just as Blanche reached her.