<>(Zack)<>

The Spook Slime wiggles again, and I look at Bryce.

"Can you walk about a hundred yards back?" I ask him.

"Why?" He asks.

"I don't think it likes you."

"The feeling's mutual," he says. "Why not kill it?"

"Please?"

He wants to kill it, but does as I ask. I turn to face the Spook Slime, and once my teammate is thirty yards back, the Spook Slime changes how it jumps and wiggles. Just slight differences, but enough for me to notice.

It finishes after about thirty seconds, then bounces away, and I wave for Bryce to return.

"What was that about?" He asks when he returns.

"I'm… not entirely sure, actually," I answer. "Let's go talk with the pervert."

He nods, and we finish making our way back to town and into the Trading Post. Jesse's sharpening a dagger when we walk in, but stops to beam at us when he notices us.

Well, he probably noticed us before that, considering how high his Perception is, so it's when he appears to notice us.

"How can I help you boys?" He asks in his annoyingly high voice.

By losing your larynx.

"Are there other types of Special Monsters?" I ask. "Other than just the seasonal and holiday ones? Well, sort of like them, but less-common?"

"Why, yes!" He says, and I roll my eyes as Bryce and I approach his counter. "There are a few of them! The one showing up soon will be the Spook Master! It's a Special-Type Monster that can change its form between various Spook Monster forms! Only one shows up in an area, and there's a huge bonus for killing it! They're very tough, though, so be careful, if you run into the special kind of Special-Type Monsters! They're called the Holiday Bosses! I'd recommend running if you sense it nearby!

"After this one!" Ugh. Stop with that voice, Jesse. "We'll have to wait until next month's Turkey Patriarch arrives!"

"Spook Master?" I ask, before he can keep going.

"Yep!" He responds. "It only shows up at night, and its appearance means that no more Spook Monsters will spawn! Once morning comes, it'll fade away as well! It's a limited-time Monster, but the bonus for kill it is huge! And it changes every year, and is different between each one in the Boundary! No one ever knows when or where the Special Monster Bosses will appear, just that there's one per area! With the state of things around here, it's doubtful the Spook Master in this area will be killed!"

"Thanks, Pervert," I say. "See you later."

I turn on my heel and leave, Bryce following quickly behind me.

"What was that about?" He asks when we reach our home.

"That?" I turn and smile at him. "I know where it's going to spawn."

"How?" He asks.

"The Spook Slime told me."

He gives me a disbelieving look, and I sigh, deciding to reveal something to him that I haven't revealed to anyone. I do think Nik suspects, though.

"Think about something – anything – really, really hard," I say.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

He does, thinking about whatever it is hard.

"Think about it harder," I say. "Like, really, really hard, as if it's absolutely the only thing you're allowed to think about."

He gets an intense look of focus on his face, which is my cue. After several seconds of trying, it clicks.

"You've seriously been wondering that about me?" I ask, and he gives me a confused look. "The answer to that is 'yes', but please, don't share it with others."

"What?"

"I can read minds, Bryce," I tell him. "It takes a lot of effort to do it on people, so the more they're thinking about it, the harder they're focusing on something, the easier it is. That thing you were wondering about me? The answer is 'yes', but again – please don't share it with others. The fact that I dream in the Boundary is already odd enough, if others knew that, it could be problematic. And the reason I'm not saying what it is out loud is because someone could overhear it."

My telepathy doesn't quite work like that, but I don't feel the need to share the rest, as this gives the general idea.

"Wait," he says. "Are you saying that you could mind-speak with the Slime?"

"More like," I try to think of how to word it. "It's more like I can get impressions from them. Based on that and their actions, I can get a general sense of what they're wanting to convey. The Slime was impressing upon me the Spook Master, along with a general location and time."

Bryce stares at me.

"I'm going to eat dinner," I tell him. "Then get some sleep and be ready in time to head to the woods. I want to see just how strong it is. If I can't take it, I'll flee."

I know Jesse said to flee if we encounter it, but a stab to the eye is a stab to the eye. If I'm fast enough, we'll be able to manage it.

"I probably won't be much use," he says. "But can I come, too?"

"Of course," I give him a cheeky grin. "I'll be using you as bait so I can escape!"

He shoves me, and I race him to the kitchen.

We go about our evening routine, even if earlier than normal, then get to sleep. I tune my internal clock so I'll wake when I plan, then allow myself to fall asleep.

At the appointed time, I wake, wiggle out of my cocoon, then wake Bryce up. We quickly change, then head into the forest, my Crimson Guide our only source of light… for when I can actually sustain it. Every few minutes, we have to wait for me to recover my Mana, as I don't regenerate enough to make up for its cost.

As we're walking, we come across a lone, Level 3 Goblin.

Spook Goblin Level 3 Health: 872 Mana: 943

Damn. They scale just as heavily as the Special Slimes. Special Monsters are powerful as fuck.

The Spook Goblin is chunky, like most Goblins, and wields a club. Unlike other Goblins, though, this one's club is a very dark blue, making it hard to track in the darkness, and its loin cloth is pitch-black. Without my Crimson Guide, the Goblin wouldn't even be visible, I'm sure.

The oddest part of this is that the Spook Goblin has on a masquerade mask, a black item with glittering red stones set around its edges. I don't see a ribbon or anything holding it in place, which means it must be magically-fixed in place.

The Spook Goblin watches us carefully, and when I shift, it lunges forward, swinging its club back, then forward. I block the strike with my sword, finding myself pushed back heavily from the raw force of that.

I actually dug a pair of shallow trenches in the ground from that.

Fuck, this thing is strong.

But I don't doubt for a moment that Bryce and I can't kill it, especially since it's focused on me, having determined I'm the real threat to it.

The Spook Goblin swings another strike at me, this one faster and stronger than the previous, and I block it again, losing a point of Health from the impact alone.

I continue to take the brunt of its attacks, though Bryce makes stabs at it from behind. He never actually damages it, though. Its Endurance is definitely higher than 10 by far, and even the added momentum from a swing won't change its resistance to his blade. It's nowhere near sharp enough to cut through on its own, either.

Thankfully, mine doesn't need to be that sharp, but I can't get a good hit in. Whenever it changes its focus to the nuisance behind it, I hit it with a taunt of some sort, eventually even gaining a Skill for it, increasing the power of my taunting.

The Spook Goblin continues to attack me, taking its time dealing damage to me. I manage to keep it from hitting Bryce at all, aided by my speed. There are a couple of close calls.

However, it never hits him, only me, and I'm the only one taking damage. It takes a while for it to start hitting me harder, with more of its might. My Health regeneration finally can't keep up with it, and I start to see my Health steadily go down.

When I near 50 Health remaining, I order Bryce to get back, and he does, my Crimson Guide fading as I release the spell after a quick warning.

My eyes adjust quickly, picking out the faint glimmer of the Spook Goblin's jewels in its mask, the sound of it moving across the ground, barely-discernible to my ears, the swishing of its club in the darkness.

Then, the club crashes into me, taking out 42 Health in a hit, leaving me at 11 Health remaining.

"Hey, you stupid fuck," I taunt it. "Did you really think you'd kill me like this? Huh? You're just a stupid fuck who doesn't realize he's hopelessly outmatched."

The Goblin snickers, unaware of the death about to face it.

I allow myself to fill with my rage, the combined effects of that and my Blood Frenzy – both Passive Skills that use no Mana – mixing together to increase my Strength massively.

With a foot firmly planted on the ground, I pivot, swinging my sword at a high speed, the raw force behind the blow combined with the sheer speed from my double-Skill-powered spin and swing driving the sword into the club, which the Spook Goblin likely moved to block the strike.

The moment they connect, the sword cuts through the club, slicing through like a hot knife through butter. That barely affected my speed at all, and a moment later, the Spook Goblin cries out as my blade cuts into its neck, burying itself halfway in before I look all momentum, the Monster taking it all.

And then flying into a tree, my sword wrenching out of my hand as the Monster is thrown.

Dark Warrior is Now Level 6! +2 Strength +2 Endurance +4 Vitality +2 Wisdom Original Ruffian is Now Level 9! +3 Agility +2 Perception

Dark Warrior is almost Level 7 now, too. Judging by my teammate's gasp, he gained a fair few Levels. Probably more than the two, nearly-three, mine did. I summon a Crimson Guide, and am definitely jealous.

He gained four Levels to Dark Squire from that, despite how little he actually managed. Then, because of reaching Total Level 5, he gained his boosts from that…

He gains twelve fucking Vitality every fifth Level.

Twelve.

I want to fucking stab him.

I collapse onto the ground, the Crimson Guide hovering close to my head as Bryce approaches. He looks down at me, concern on his face.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "Damn, that thing hits hard."

"How did you do that?" He asks. "I was so sure you wouldn't be able to kill it, not with how little damage you were managing against it and how much it was doing to you."

"That?" I ask. "I let my rage flow through me."

"Triggering the Dark Knight Skill?" He asks, and I nod. "The power boost from it is that strong?"

"No," I lean against the tree, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Mine's at Level 9 right now, so it gives me a fair boost. However, I also have a Skill called Blood Frenzy. It's correctly labeled in the Passives, unlike Rage, likely because you don't trigger it by doing something, unlike Rage, where you have to get enraged.

"Instead," I continue. "Blood Frenzy passively increases your Strength based on how low your Health is. As a result, the two of them gave me a massive boost to my Strength, which helps slightly when pushing off of things, as well as with swinging your sword with extra might."

"Ah," he says. "So those two, combined, allowed you to kill it."

"Not quite," I answer. "I focused Dash into a single foot, using it when I pushed off for added momentum. I'm going to need time to recover, and not just my Health. That's the toughest fight I've been in in a long while."

The damn Stone Slime fight came close, I guess, but this was definitely the closest. Had I any doubt of victory, even for a moment, I would've high-tailed it out of here with Bryce, making sure he got away.

But I had complete confidence in victory.

However…

I'm not so sure I can take on the Spook Master, even with Bryce's aid. That thing will be a lot more dangerous than a Level 3 Spook Goblin.

Far more dangerous.

Closing my eyes, I will my Crimson Guide to shrink, to conserve Mana as I recover.

Once I feel ready to go, I walk over to the slain Spook Goblin and examine the mask, taking my sword from Bryce, who removed and cleaned it. I sheathe the sword, then draw my knife, slipping it under the mask and sliding it around.

When I pull the mask off, I determine that it truly was fixed to the Goblin's face – and I had to remove part of the face to obtain it.

That determined, I send the mask into my storage area, then think on what to do next.

"If you're doubting we can kill it," Bryce tells me. "I'm confident we can, even if I won't be able to."

"I doubt I'd be doing more damage than you," I tell him. "Without triggering Rage or being low on Health. Combining the two like what I did here won't work on a Special Boss, I'm sure. The way Jesse talked about it made it sound like it'll be a hell of a lot more difficult to fight than regular power Monsters like Elites and Chieftains. Hitting it in a weak spot like the eye would likely be difficult, too. If it even has an eye. Jesse didn't actually describe what it looks like."

What does it look like?

Bryce thinks for a few moments, and his face lights up as an idea clicks in his head. At least, I'm sure one did, otherwise, why the hell does he look like he feels like a genius?

"Do you know," he asks. "If there's a way you can return damage dealt to you?"

"Theoretically," I nod. "I've never asked Nik, nor have I attempted to confirm it. The thing I'm concerned about is if we'll actually manage to escape, if we can't kill it. I'm rash and reckless in my fighting style, but I don't like getting into a situation I'm not sure if I can get out of. It's one thing to be self-sacrificing – it's an entirely different one to be pure stupid."

"Oh," he says.

"Not that it matters," I stretch a little.

"How come?"

"Because the floating lantern heading our way is probably being carried by the Spook Master."

He turns, spotting the glowing orange light ten yards away. It only became visible when it was fifteen yards away. It's unmistakably a lantern made with a metal frame and glass panels, the light glowing from within, though not with a discernible source. It bobs with every step of the its wielder.

I sheathe my knife and draw my sword.

"If I say run," I say. "You run. Remember: run in the direction of our home. It's still able to be sensed without focusing, so just take off as fast as you can."

"Got it," he draws his sword.

I allow my Crimson Guide to fade, and the Spook Master draws close enough for us to make out its form.