I was lying to myself. Was it then that I understood it was doomed?

No. I knew from the moment I suspected there was mind control at a greatest scale. From the moment I could see that Lebil knew this wasn't a FF-rank.

But I chose to play along. And now I—we—were doomed.

I could hear the screams on my back. It was not going well. They were being shredded by the wolves. The tanks were dying or becoming to injured to defend. The healers were nearing exhaustion. The backline was in complete disarray.

And I was realizing that, at best, I could only stall the skeletons.

I had jumped back already, not stopping even when my attack had failed. If anything, I wouldn't die out of stupidity.

I checked my buff, 6 minutes 24 seconds left.

Keeping constant movement was doable, for the moment. My energy was hovering at 400/515, a maximum that had been increased with the buff. I didn't know what would happen when the extra stats would go away, and I didn't want to find out.

Three undead were still trying to hit me with their green balls of wind, while the other three-

Right then I saw. They were not catching up. Their mouth was moving. Their fingers were clacking. They were brewing something. A spell probably.

One more thing I didn't want to find out about.

My options were limited. Dodging would probably come to an end once the other three finished their incantations. I had to do something, even if that meant putting my life on the line.

“Let's see what you can do,” I said while looking at Yasmin's ring.

I childishly thought that maybe saying it aloud would somehow make Yasmin help me. Silly, but for all I knew the system could make it happen.

I had a plan—an idea, really. One I was not confident about, at all. That could potentially backfire and spell my death.

But wouldn't I die anyway?

I waited until the skeletons fired their new round of spells. I had lost count of how many there had been.

And then, I activated the ring. A thought was enough to kick its spell into action.

I knew it was working. A strong pull developed on my stomach, as if something was trying to force all the energy out of me.

I channeled it into my chest. I compressed it into a ball. I packed everything that came out within the exact same small sphere.

Compressing, and compressing, and pushing more and more, the sphere stopped being still.

It spun. It tried to spill out energy. It moved the wind around itself. It creates currents of energy as it displaced the naturally existent one.

It's like their attacks, I realized. But mine is better. It's pure, it's contained, efficient.

White. Radiant white was accumulating on my chest’s hole. A ball of pure bloodless energy.

One that wouldn't lose momentum as it travelled, that wouldn't fade into nothing before finishing its purpose.

I packed in my biggest punch. As much energy as I could reasonably add. I didn't stop until I felt I would fall into my knees, until the pull was trying to look for the next best thing.

My vital energy. My life.

I jumped as high into the air as I could, and when I was right below the ceiling, I recalled all of my arms.

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And I shot the sphere.

I felt as some part of me was torn apart when the energy separated from me. I watched as the sphere passed above the heads of the six spectating skeletons, darting thought the air with a cutting sound.

I had placed my bets on the seventh undead. The would I assumed, or wanted to believe, was doing the mind magic.

If I hit it. If the energy I compressed was enough to break open its rib cage, and it it hit its core…

I was still flying when the energy contacted the rib cage.

It stopped.

For one tense second I watched in horror as my 350 points of energy began spreading in what seemed like buffeting winds.

I was grasping for air. I could hear my own accelerated heartbeat. All of it fades the moment I heard bone snapping. And then I saw it.

Reduced, not anymore the mighty overdrive attack I had cast, but it pierced through its chest nonetheless.

Splinters of bone were sent flying all around. All protections were gone, and my attack impacted the core.

There was no resistance. Only confirmation.

['Acolyte Undead' has been defeated -- 476xp] [Error #46 has leveled up] [Error #46 has leveled up] [Error #46 has leveled up]

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, its bones clattered to the ground. Magic was not bounding them anymore.

As soon as that particular bony jaw stopped moving, the screeches of wolves overlapped one with another. That was enough confirmation for me that the mastermind was dead.

However, the battle was far from over; 2 minutes 11 seconds left, 28 energy left. It still spelled disaster.

The other skeletons weren’t happy, either. Their fingers raised in what I now recognized as compressing magic. The ball formed.

I was in the air still, my energy barely enough to consider me alive. Taking a hit was not an option. I gathered what I had left into a single extremity, and took my chances.

I did not have time to jump around on the walls, so I aimed for the next best thing. An undead skeleton itself. They were solid. I couldn’t even crack them. So they had to hold my weight.

I pushed with all my will, my energy impacting its bones the very same moment all three fired their attacks.

I immediately felt the pushback. Its dead eyes locked on me as if to say, you won’t move me from here. Not that I wanted. That was, however, not the only thing I felt.

[You lost 13 energy]

A stray spell, one of the three, had hit my solid energy. The pain registered, and I saw the counter go down to 15.

“Lebil!” I yelled.

I reduced my area of identification to the bare minimum, even below its defaults. Whatever was left of the arm, I also recalled.

“I killed the mind controller!”

I didn't know if he was there or if he could hear me. I didn't care.

“We have to retreat outside! Three of the skeletons are casting something!”

I hadn't forgotten. The mind controller was out. Three used the concentrated energy attacks. The other three, the last time I had checked they were still moving their mouths.

“Out!”

I crashed into the floor and immediately started running towards the direction of the battle.

“The wolves are in shock!” Or so I supposed. “Move!”

I was repeating my message at every opportunity. I passed by people who were frozen in place. Not dead. Not even injured. The situation had just surpassed them.

“On me!” I finally heard Lebil’s voice from a bit ahead. “They are evolved! It's now or never!”

FF-rank my ass. I had no clue what an evolved monster was—if that was the right term. But it sure sounded like something that shouldn't happen in a low risk dungeon.

“Spellcasters. At once—now!” I heard the sound of whistling missiles, burning flames, of ice breaking in pieces and of lightning cracking. “Rush for it!”

I had caught up to the vanguard by that time, and for once I completely agreed with Lebil's judgement.

Rush. Sprint. Fly if you can. Just get the hell out of there.

All kinds of weapons were drawn the second we stepped outside. It didn't matter if the beats looked alive or not, thy would still get some love in the form of stabs and slashes.

Clearly some wolves were still alive. I could hear cries of confusion and agony as they slowly settled to their new reality. One where they weren't being mins controlled.

And we took the opportunity. We massacred them, leaving absolutely no time for them to think.

I was already dreaming of magic drinks and tasty food when it happened.

A flash. Harmless energy going through me. Gasps of horror from my fellow humans.

I took a huge risk. I sent a strong pulse, expanding beyond my normal range and using energy I could not afford to lose. But I had to know what had made everyone go silent.

And I found out.

In the blink of an eye, the summoning facility and its surroundings—including us—had been englobed by a thick layer of energy.

A dome that didn't let anything from outside in—not even leaves from nearby trees.

One that, I was sure, wouldn't let us go outside either.