As the last of the crystal dust faded away, Tom found himself staring down the Abyssal Lurker’s battered form.

To say he was horrified was perhaps, an understatement; especially since he didn’t quite know what he was supposed to be more intimidated by— the fact that Aleph’s [Shardlock Execution] had punctured two dozen holes into the Lurker’s chest, abdomen, upper arms and legs or the eerie realization that the Boss Monster of Sector 6 still doggedly stood on its feet.

Its breath was raspy and blood all but poured down the three to four inch deep perforations but… the Abyssal Lurker was most definitely standing.

Tom shot forward without hesitation, letting his instinct tamp down on his hesitation. The opportunity that lay before him was one born out of both his and Aleph’s collective efforts. If he hadn’t dominated the Lurker’s attention, then Aleph never would have gotten a chance to encase the creature in her [Shardlock Execution]. Conversely, without her he never really had a chance at actually killing the creature— it was a boss monster, which already put it leagues above any other creature he had fought up until now and it was probably ten levels above him.

That wasn’t a difference that could be made up by resolve alone.

He could feel the strain his own movements exerted on his muscle fibers, his Physical Stat straining to keep pace with the agility and reaction time his Proprioception Stat demanded.

Already committed to follow through with the strike, Tom noticed that the Abyssal Lurker’s reaction time was noticeably slower.

That was precisely the kind of opening he had been waiting for.

Tracing the arc of his own blade, Tom observed as his blade slipped under the Lurker’s right blade arm.

Tom immediately winced as his Nether Blade’s rend made contact with the Lurker’s flesh— the resistance so strong that he felt as if he was trying to scratch across a large boulder with the tip of his sword.

Even then, he refused to let up.

The Abyssal Lurker didn’t even utter so much as wince in pain as a long, but ultimately shallow rent was carved across its abdomen.

Tom had been expecting and indeed, was even used to this magnitude of resistance from the Lurker’s incredibly durable body.

But now…

Where there was one strike, a second followed.

Each strike he carved into the Abyssal Lurker only made it difficult for it to react to the next.

He was so focused on avoiding the threat from the blood poison upon it’s blade arms that Tom didn’t see the quick leg kick aimed for his abdomen.

The air was knocked out of his lungs as he was sent reeling back. It was all Tom could do to make sure that his gaze didn’t waver, silently watching as the Abyssal Lurker jogged to cover the distance between them.

Instinctively, Tom raised his Revenant Claw and let a gout of flame explode outwards. Initially, it seemed like the Abyssal Lurker was about to dodge, but at the last movement it seemed to willingly slow down and walk through the continuous stream of flames he was outputting.

Tom knew that something was wrong, but at the same time he couldn’t stop his [The Flame] card until he caught his breath.

The impasse ended a few long moments later, confronting Tom with the realization that he had been played.

As steam rose off the Lurker’s stony skin, blood had largely stopped leaking out of the puncture wounds focused near the chest and abdomen. His own flames had been used by the sly creature to cauterize its wounds, infuriatingly enough.

But…

It also gave him an avenue of approach he had missed in the heat of the battle.

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As both parties re-engaged, Tom noticed that the Abyssal Lurker was a little faster now that it wasn’t leaking lifeblood as severely.

Thankfully, it was still a far cry from its original dexterity.

Tom wasn’t slipping past it’s guard as frequently as before, but his slices were made with a precision, a purpose that they had been lacking before.

With every successful laceration, Tom aggravated the puncture wounds Aleph’s attack had left behind.

Once again, blood began to flow from the cauterized wounds and this time, it showed no signs of stemming.

It was a brutal method of fighting, one that required exacting precision from him. He took no satisfaction in it, but it gave Tom the opening he had been seeking.

Instead of slashing, he committed himself to a risky, upward thrust that slipped in the narrow gap created between the Lurker’s crossed blade arms. Tom couldn’t be sure if it was luck, skill or a bit of both as he managed to actually reach the small target he had been aiming for as the tip of his blade drove into the creature’s right eye.

It let out a shriek in pain before flailing its blade arms wildly.

But…

Tom had taken full advantage of the Lurker’s compromised sight and had disappeared from his line of sight.

With it’s remaining eye, the boss monster turned around warily, but once again, Tom wasn’t behind him either.

Instead, he was sticking to the Theatre of Stone’s roof, his expression hard as he angled his blade to point at the Lurker’s nape before kicking off it’s surface.

This time, his blade struck true; propelled by both his weight and downward momentum along with the Nether Blade’s Rend. Blood sprayed all over Tom’s visage as his sword was buried within the Lurker’s body, down to it’s hilt.

It had been both risky and audacious, but Tom was sure of it.

A second later, his vision was flooded with notifications that he chose to allow.

[The Boss Monster, Level 18 Abyssal Lurker of Sector 6, Zelez Dungeon has successfully been slain in a two-man dungeon crawl.

Calculating contribution….

Thomas Lowe: 51%

Aleph Longstradia: 49%

Distributing rewards….

[Congratulations, your Soul Card [The Fool] has reached Level 6….]

[Congratulations, your Soul Card [The Fool] has reached Level 7….]

[Congratulations, your Soul Card [The Fool] has reached Level 8….]

[Congratulations, your Soul Card [The Fool] has reached Level 9….]

[Congratulations, your Soul Card [The Fool] has reached Level 9 [984,224/2,750,000). You have received 40 attribute points. You have received four Skill upgrade points. Your soul power has been increased by 20. ]

[For killing a Dungeon Boss ten levels above you, you have unlocked Feat: Invictus. Upon facing enemies that are at least five levels above you, Physical, Mental and Proprioception stats are increased by five for the next sixty minutes.

This Feat’s buff refreshes every twenty four hours.]

[Name: Synrak Veralis Thomas Lowe.

Age: 18

Soul Card: The Flame [Level 6] The Fool [Level 9] [984,224/2,750,000)

Feats: Nether Slayer I, Invictus.

Statistics:

Physical: 14 (+1)

Mental: 16 (+1)

Proprioception: 30 (+1)

Soul Power: 87/87 [95]

Free Points: 40

Skill Upgrade Point: 6]

[You have received the Uncommon Ranked Card, Level 1 Lifeblood. Would you like to add [Lifeblood] to your Deck Cards? Doing so will temporarily deduct 5 Soul Power for the duration you have it added to your deck.]

“Yes,” Tom hurriedly replied as his hands trembled with exhilaration.

An Uncommon Card.

A card that the denizens of the Nameless District would kill for. A Card that even lesser Nobles would find themselves vying for.

The first powerful card that he had truly, undoubtedly earned with his own ability.

Aleph had intervened, yes.

But it was Tom that had created the opportunity.

It was him who had staked his life to fight the Abyssal Lurker even though he was far from its match.

And ultimately, he was the one who landed the finishing blow.

And the Divine System agreed.

For once, Tom felt like he had been rewarded for his efforts.

And then he shot forward without reading his new card’s description, before Aleph was overrun by Abyss Demons.