The giant vines climbed into the air, reaching for the unseen sun as they curled and twisted around each other. Their pale green skin began to peel off in sections, sprouting into gigantic platforms supported by vein-like roots that protruded the surface. The platforms continued to rise with the vines, slowly rotating around the gargantuan structure along the growth of the tower.

Rana wondered if the platforms would bring her and Alpheia to the guardian monster, but it seemed as if no matter how much they rose, they never got closer to the skies above. That was when she realized they were already in the arena. Dungeons were their own localized realities, so too meant that their rooms were the same. They were within a spatial distortion, and until they defeated the guardian monster, they were trapped.

That was when a loud crash, something blasting out of the walls, could be heard under the clouds below. It shook the platform they stood on despite the distance. Something large was coming. They didn’t have to wait long. The smashing of walls was soon followed by loud ticking noises, hundreds of them stabbing in the air as they layered upon each other. It was as if an army was marching upwards.

Then, it appeared. It was a formation of shields, a marching fortress, a river of blades and spears. Its black shell was tinted in a shade of fiery red, the heat blurring its visage as steam leaked out between the joints connecting its plated armor. Its legs stabbed and sliced at the wall it climbed, and each time it tore itself from the surface it latched onto it pulled off large chunks of fleshly green. The monster wrapped itself around the tower of vines, its sheer size and length dwarfing the structure it guarded.

The King Centipede howled and raced towards the two intruders.

Rana and Alpheia scattered in opposite directions. They were of the same mind. Without knowing what the monster did, there was no point in formulating a plan. They needed information, and had to survive until they gathered enough.

The monster circled around the tower, hiding its trajectory behind the giant structure. She could not see it, but she could tell where it was going and when it would appear. The platform rumbled and the monster appeared out of the corner. Its eyes were burning red as it opened its mouth, revealing saws lining along its jaws as it lunged to swallow her into the abyss. She hopped down the platform, landing on another that was not destroyed by the monster’s rampaging climb.

Rana looked to where Alpheia was. The moon-kin took to the skies instead, but she was not safe from the monster’s wrath. Flames erupted from its joints underneath its shells, a stream of raging fire shot towards her companion in the sky. The moon-kin strafed away, but something appeared around her, surrounding her as it formed.

“Get away,” Rana yelled. She didn’t know if her warning reached Alpheia, but the moon-kin managed to dodged away from the center of crystallizing red smoke. It was a cinder bomb. Of course, now that they were within the area where the bombs were created, they needed to be aware of the explosives forming around them. They needed to stay grounded. “Get to a platform.”

Rana and Alpheia had no time to relax. The monster continued to rise, but it did not forget about the intruders beneath it. Its shells rattled before small gaps slid open and sharp tips rose from within. Spears of fire lanced forward. Rana dodged away while Alpheia strafed to the side as the moon-kin headed towards a platform. She had no time to confirm whether or not her companion made a safe landing as the floor beneath her began to pulse like simmering water. Whatever was within the platforms reacted to the monster’s attack and was about to burst. She hurried to the ledge, gauging the motion of the tower and leaped to another platform as the one she was on exploded.

“Status?” Rana yelled, hoping for a response. The moon-kin replied that she was fine. She looked to the sky to find the monster’s tail end began to disappear into the clouds. She knew it would soon return and she prepared herself mentally. She had to observe its attack pattern properly. Even though the King Centipede had overwhelming size and power, and she saw no means for victory at the moment, she knew that no monster was unbeatable. If she could not see a path towards their win condition, she would work backwards.

The dance continued, with the King Centipede rampaging up and down, destroying platforms while launching an onslaught of fire and spears. Rana and Alpheia stuck to the platforms, standing their ground when they could, poking the beast with Spells and attacks. However, they had to be aware of its bladed legs and projectile attacks to make sure they did not fall with the platform they stood on.

What would a standard raid party do? They would stand their ground on platforms, with the vanguard defending their footing from destruction while the backline pummelled the monster with attacks. The issue was that its shell was just too tough. It would require a very powerful Spell or Skill to penetrate its armor, and the amount of mana needed to be generated would be outpaced by the onslaught from the monster.

It had to be a high level and ascended raiding party to be able to win against the King Centipede. Not only would the vanguard needed to be powerful enough to hold a platform against the monster’s attack, they need to hold onto it long enough for the other members to prepare their own attacks. If a footing was lost, the spellcaster could not concentrate on channeling mana, slowing down their offense, and a melee attacker would be rendered useless.

How could Rana and Alpheia win?

A rain of flaming spears expelled from the monster, the amount and speed of the attack increased. Rana dove to the side and felt burns chill her feet. She quickly pushed herself up and rushed to the edge and jumped, but she was too slow and didn’t make it far enough. The force behind the bursting platform pushed her away, but she was fortunate enough to land on a platform instead of dirt.

That was when she felt it. She felt the beating heart of the Dungeon. It was alive, just like others, and its energy coursed through the vein-like roots. There was magic within. The King Centipede was powerful, but it did not have enough energy to sustain its size. There was a reason its attack became fiercer as time went on. Monsters did not generate mana, but they could be fed the energy. The longer it ran rampant on the tower, the more energy the Dungeon was able to feed its guardian.

Rana wondered what good would that knowledge do. She knew and now confirmed that the longer the fight dragged on, the more they would be at a disadvantage. It was also not like they could use the energy within, or what if they could? What did Rana have that other raid party did not? Weaker Spells, fewer levels, but also a moon-kin companion.

“Alpheia, come!” Rana called and the moon-kin soon swooped down to her side.

“Do you have a plan?”

“We’re standing on platforms filled with volatile energy,” Rana said. She stabbed the ground with her staff and the floor pulsated due to the trauma. The moon-kin only took a second, but the mischievous grin behind her mask told Rana she was understood. “It would be a waste not to make use of such a gift.”

The King Centipede began its ascend once again, but Rana was ready. She stood on the ledge, peering down and anticipating its path. She directed the moon-kin to carry her towards a platform she knew would be in the centipedes path, and waited. The monster roared and opened its mouth, wanting to swallow the tiny pest whole. She leaped to the side as the jaws of death raged forward. The moment the maw of the monster connected with the platform so did a plume filled with sparks. If the monster were to consume the energy it would be empowered, but not when the energy exploded.

The monster cried in pain and its head wailed and bashed at the tower, shaking other platforms with the impact. The monster then fired off streams of fire and lances of flames blindly, doing all it could to smite the fools that dared hurt it. It was not down, but the win condition was clear.

Rana and Alpheia continued the same tactic and managed to hurt it two more times. However, that was it. The King Centipede learned. It now curled up at the top, just beneath the clouds. It looked down with burning eyes and its mangled jaws rained blood. It screeched and launched giant fireballs downwards with a rain of fire lances. It seemed like they have to fight it head-on now.

“Keep its attention,” Alpheia said before flying away. Rana did not know what was the moon-kin thinking, but she did not have time to think about it. She ran to the side, using the platforms as cover but also making sure their explosion did not hinder her evasion. That was when she saw what her companion was doing.

A ball of smoke and cinders was flying straight to the King Centipede. She felt the surge of mana behind the cinder bomb and the familiarity of the Dynamic Enhancement boost. Alpheia was about to ram the bomb into the monster, using all its mana to boost her strength and fire resistance. Foolish! There was a limit to how confident the moon-kin could be at her own capabilities.

Rana began to climb the tower. It was slow, but she needed to be as close as possible. It was the only way.

It was moments before impact, the King Centipede now realized the annoying cockroach it was hunting was nothing but a distraction.

The block of smoke launched forward.

The monster screamed. Rana jumped and reached for the skies.

There was a crack, rays of light sliced out of the cinder block.

Then, the skies were engulfed in raging waves of flames.