Duel Duet

You have used the second active effect of Duel Duet. For gaining complete control over your Dancer’s body, the leftover duration of Duel Duet will be cut in half.

You now have 6 minutes 14 seconds until Duel Duet’s duration runs out.

“How about you recover these wounds?” Kara said, glancing around her. That worked much better than she expected. With the trouble he brought upon himself, she doubted he’ll be able to voice any complaints about her instructions for the next few days.

As the outside light began to dwindle, glow vines crawling along sides the tunnel lit her way. A Game prop to make things feasible, surely, as it made no sense for the Undead Giant Ent boss to lay down a visible pathway for those trying to kill it.

Can you stop movi--

Song Bar

Current: 46%

Max: 50%

Duration left: 1:56

Walking keeps it going?

“Slows its loss, and not walking, but walking with style.” It was more difficult than it seemed. Nilbog’s STM nearly struck 0. She had to wait for it to regenerate before she could breathe easily.

Can you not move my butt like that? Nilbog grumbled, but still got to work on mending her flesh.

The cuts might have been closed but the pain remained. She felt like her entire body was on fire, the half-hundred cuts brought upon by those pesky thorns throbbing relentlessly. Nilbog used another Soul to recover 50 HP, leaving them with a single Soul in storage. If he finds another corpse to Soul Siphon, that would leave them with a total of 2 Shifter’s uses before it ran out of charges.

Meanwhile, Kara kept humming for the Song. She was accustomed to multi-tasking. Flesh wounds did little to distract her from her skills.

Getting up without a single point of damage would have been child’s play for her, but the issue was Duel Duet’s time restriction as well as Nilbog himself.

It was worth the price. It’s better to teach the kid now rather than later, where she might not have control over the situation. That, and he was strangely fearless. There was something he wasn’t telling her—did he have a respawn token? She wouldn’t be surprised if he received a permanent respawn token for the work that she did to those Ash Goblins back there. It was probably just for this Dungeon, otherwise, Nilbog surely wouldn’t just throw one of the most valuable things in existence away.

Still, she should praise him for his deceitfulness. It was good for him to this overly cautious. It would serve him well in the future.

His senses were not too bad, if truth be told. His true constraints were his mindset. There is little glory for those that simply try to get by instead of attempting to excel. Hopefully, that will change, now that he has a clear goal. No one but him will drive the stake through his enemy’s hearts.

The path forward began to branch off, the glow vines separating for each of the three different tunnels. A maze to delay the hunters who have not invested in any Scouting skills, no doubt. The wrong paths likely held traps or monsters.

She neared the wall, letting her hand graze over the glow vines as she walked. Using both Siren’s Web and Siren’s song was impossible. Without her Notes the Song can not continue.

Kara resorted to more primitive methods. Closing her eyes, she let a small portion of her Life Force drop into the vines. 1st Rank Life Sonar. The Life Force streaked through the vein she had touched, separating at each junction. It allowed her to sense any other Life Force that was within 10 meters of the veins.

Being blind had its advantages. You learn to do without. Many 1st Life Force skills were just as useful as higher tiered ones.

It was a technique learned from how bats use their own Life Force to see. For humans, it was an excellent way to map out the foreign territory, though for it to travel long distances a conduit was required, such as closely tied tree roots or even a rope. Any long object worked though the organic ones were the best.

The boss monster was up, in the center of the head, it seemed. The glow vines were ultimately connected to his core. Seeing that, Kara took the shortest path.

“Second lesson,” Kara began. “There is always a way. Some are easier, some are harder, but if you’re bright enough, The Game will reward you for it.“

She did a quick stat check. Just like in her body, she inherently knew all her current numbers without having to physically look at them. Regardless, sometimes seeing it helped out her thoughts.

HP

175/200 (+20.2/Hour)

STM

16/140 (+1.4/Second)

Overall STM

182/700 (+336/Day)

Life Force

143/230 (+2.3/Minute)

Mana

179/230 (+2.3/Minute)

Equilibrium

3/5 (+1/Minute)

Flow

39%

Duel Duet

6 minutes 54 seconds

Speaking of which. A couple of mobs trundled towards Kara. They were a mixture of human and tree, each having a large hunch of wood growing on their backs. It encroached into their flesh, guiding their movement. With widebodies and large claws, their weak spots seemed to be the spots where the wood did not fully cover the flesh and very close combat, where they wouldn’t be able to move their cumbersome body around.

There was little reason for fighting them. Each second she delayed could be the difference between ranking first or second in this Dungeon.

Sprinting would cut into the still-recovering STM bar, so she jogged. When they swiped, she ducked low enough that her knees skid across the ground, and then jumped forward when they swung vertically. If the attack came from the corner, then she dashed right under it.

She maneuvered in between them, dodging their clumsy attempts, and ran past, increasing her Song Bar by a few extra percentages.

Their attacks were fast when they began it, but they signaled it beforehand with a predictable attack pattern. This was basically the tutorial for the low levels. It required tactical skill and planning instead of pure reaction speed, a vital skill for fighting efficiently. Unfortunately, she could not spare the time or resources to let Nilbog experience this first-hand.

Another mistake could ruin their Dungeon, and they didn’t have that luxury anymore.

They were already behind the crowd. There was a lot of catching up to do, and the EXP boost from this Dungeon was too good to pass on. 1000% experience boost wasn’t something to shrug off. Nilbog gaining a total of 6 levels from killing two people was ridiculous.

Kara increased her pace. She skipped by a few more mobs until her jog became a full-on sprint when her substandard STM allowed her to.

Finally, Kara arrived at the entrance to the boss’s lair.

Flames blocked her way. They crawled up the walls and onto the ceiling, dropping ash above them. She could hear sounds of fighting ahead.

If you can use 1st Life Force skills, why not use Life Shield?

“It’s not worth the cost when we have such little HP,” Kara said, studying the mana that’s causing all this fire. These were no typical flames. “Let’s see here, the fire has extended duration, extended spread, and 40% more burning power. Considering the general level, this must be a skill belonging to an epic class, or a skill gained from a title. We have decent talent in there.”

How do you know this?

Nilbog was a curious child. That was good. He had much to learn. “Magic is a science,” she replied. “Study enough and you won’t need the Game to tell you how it works. Know enough skills, skill synergies, items, and archetypes, and you’ll be able to map out your opponent just by using your head.”

Now that she was mostly sure he got a token, she could be even more brazen with her fighting. The healing was also extremely convenient. At this rate, their only limiter to doing Dungeons will be their Overall STM.

Watch this, Kara said, excitement budding.

She breathed in the scent of burnt wood, letting it fill her lungs. It felt good, to feel the wind molecules part before her as she sprinted head-on into the flames. She fully understood the need for Nilbog to break into a sprint

Him having 1st Mana Source allowed Kara to use any 1st Mana skill she knew. That was the only true requirement to use any mana type. Specific mana types like Kinetic Mana or Fire Mana could be unlocked later for increased bonuses. For now, she’ll have to deal with the steep costs.

1st Black Hole.

40 of her mana went up her spine and crawled down her arm, becoming a miniature black hole at the tip of her sword. It was just enough to hold a ball of flames together, but not nearly enough for what she wanted. Moments before she crashed into the inferno, Kara leapt into the air, swinging her sword from the bottom right to the top corner. She kept spinning straight through the flames, using a 1st Kinetic Burst and an Amplification to give her more speed. She used a Deviation to cause the flames to follow her Back Hole.

In total, Kara used 2 Equalbriams and 73 mana to became a tornado of fire. The flames followed the tip of her sword as she soared through the air, but she was far too quick for them to catch up. They trailed her as she dove back into the ground as 1st Kinetic Burst guided her course.

Her sword struck hard flesh, her speed pushing down the metal to the hilt. The impact nearly shattered her bones.

The boss was a large humanoid at least four times Nilbog’s height. It was a combination of flesh and wood. Vines spread throughout its muscular body, their bulge masquerading as human veins. There was nothing but depthless darkness in its eye sockets. It had no hair or any indication of a mouth, ears, or nose.

The sword pierced through its neck, right above the collarbone. Kara did not stop moving. The Ent Core standing on the solid ground meant touching it would reset the charge on her class skills. She released her hold on the sword and used her final Equalbriam point on a Deviation to spin herself out of the way.

The torrent of flames finally caught up. A blinding amount of flames smashed into the monster with an explosion that tossed Kara further away. The ground shook as a vicious sound of wood breaking reverberated through the entire liar.

It was a wonderful scream.

Critical Penetration!

You have dealt 87 damage!

You have dealt 313 Fire damage!

You have dealt 50 Fire damage!

You have dealt 34 Fire damage!

You have dealt 53 Fire damage!

You have dealt 23 Fire damage!

You have dealt a deadly blow to a Dungeon boss!

You have dealt 32 Fire damage!

You have dealt 20 Fire damage!

Kara did not land on her feet, unfortunately, though she did roll a couple of times as she landed on her shoulder, reducing the damage taken to only a few points. She stood up, flexing her shoulders as she stared at the flaming pyre. Flames covered the boss as it thrashed around.

Eight other people were hunting the boss. A fast glance showed three archers, two warriors, one girl duel-wielding daggers, and one spell-sword responsible for the inferno enveloping the lair, most obvious by his flaming sword.

Seven stared at Kara in disbelief, frozen still. The only one not frozen was aflame from being caught in the blast radius.

It felt good, damn good. The sensation of having the sword sink in, of flesh parting tenderly, and the movement-the rhythm-the explosion! It felt exhilarating to have the beast roar and falter, and the audience certainly did not hurt. It's been a while since anyone looked at Kara like that.

Life Siren’s Song Steadfast Sprint has finished

Another explosion resounded. A wave of Life Force blew from the center of the circular room, ruffling her hair. Only a few flames were left on its now scorched black skin.

1st Grasping Eyes, Kara muttered. Grasping Eyes was one of the more useful Epic skills she'd learned, courtesy of her old profession, Grimoire Keeper. Even though it was an Epic, it only cost her a few Life Force points.

level 50 Incomplete Undead Ent Core

Incomplete Undead Ent Core is the true boss created by the 4-star Dungeon.

After siphoning enough Life Force from the forest life, the Giant Undead Ent began to catalyze it within its heart. After devouring the Life Force of humans, its evolution into a Sentient Monster began. The more organic life perishes around it, the stronger it becomes.

Ent Core poses a powerful body capable of limited morphing. Its intellect is low, causing it to have predictable behavior, and remains an instinctual being. It has high defense and a high HP pool. It’s resistant to slash attacks and has a thick layer of Life Force Armor.

It possesses strong single target attacks but has reduced AOE effectiveness.

Its HP pool is linked with the rest of its body. Each percentage lost will travel both ways. The more time passes the stronger the Core will become. Taking damage accelerates this process.

Failure to kill Incomplete Ascended Undead Ent Core before the Dungeon finishes will allow it to finish its evolution, transforming it into a 5 Star Raid. It will have reduced rewards and high penalties on the surrounding land if it is not cleared within a designated timeline.

Shield: 0/600

HP: 1430/2340

Monster Rank: D

"Not bad.” Worth the price to deal a quarter of the boss’s HP with a single strike. It was a shame there was no bleeding damage--the flames cauterized the wound.

After a pause, the shock waned. Arrows began flying again and the warriors moved. The Ent Core swung its fists around, causing a gale of wind to follow each powerful movement, but the warriors were adept; they either stayed out of his range or struck from behind. Sometimes it feinted a charge forward and instead spun around, but that only worked a few times, evidenced by the crumbled bodies at the edge of the room. Everyone left standing was too experienced to fall for obvious tricks.

Finding no hold, the Ent Core sprinted towards the archers. Its muscles bulged abnormally as the wood flexed, each step causing the entire lair to shake. The frontline was supposed to step in at that point and at the very least hinder its movement, but none of them wanted to risk anything for their rivals.

One archer began to sprint to the side, though when he realized he wasn’t fast enough, he shifted towards the wall, barely slowing down as he neared it. Before he ran straight into it, he leaped and kicked off the wall. At the same time, he fired an arrow directly below him. A wave of Kinetic Mana was released from the arrow, sending him above the Ent Core as it crashed into the wall.

He fired three arrows as he fell, all enchanted with enough Kinetic Mana to pierce through the Core’s skin. Each arrow threw him back further into safety.

When the Ent Core pulled its right arm back and raised its left leg high into the air, as if to throw something, the archer instantly knocked an arrow towards the ground.

When the Ent Core’s arm thrust extended like a whip, he fired it, bumping him up a few precious feet in the air. He landed on the end of the spear-like hand, another arrow ready and fully charged up. When the Ent Core began to return its right hand the archer flipped backward, releasing the charged arrow while upside down.

Even from where Kara was standing, she was still able to feel the air blowing against her cheeks. It went into the boss with a loud crunching noise, diving deeper than any of the dozen arrows on its body.

The archer landed on her his feet a safe distance, panting from the large number of resources he had used, but had already nocked an arrow in case the Ent Core pursued.

It didn’t, and was instead approached by the melees, now with further caution of the extending limbs.

“Was that the first time it extended its limbs like that?” Kara asked one of the archers to her side. He had been standing, nodding his head in approval.

“Yea. Your ridiculous attack brought it to ‘it’s next stage. That kid is something as crazed as you,” he said, and moved closer towards the boss.

Kara whistled. That Mage barely looked to be in his twenties but was skilled enough to go toe to toe against a boss using a bow and Kinetic Mana--it was a tough combo to master. Sitting on the sidelines and dodging attacks was easy, but predicting a monster’s attack pattern in the heat of the moment was something praiseworthy. Very few people had identification skills as good as Grasping Eyes to tell them the monsters moves.

The Game was being extremely considerate in these early Dungeons. It was no coincidence that the Core Ent used its surprise, ranged attack against a ranged unit who was already a distance away. It was both to ensure that the mage had escape tools, as every backline unit should if they had any desire to live, and for the others to keep in mind that bosses usually had ranged attacks.

It would have been a disaster if it had simply used its swipe attack in the early stages to catch those staying at the edge of its melee range.

Unfortunately, as easy as it was, it was still out of Nilbog’s league. She did want him to get a taste of a boss, considering that they would be meeting them often, but the risk was far too high. His level was far too low, and she hadn’t even seen him fight mob monsters yet.

Duel Duet

You have 4 minutes 52 seconds remaining until Duel Duet's duration finishes.

Break’s time over. Kara picked one of the swords laying on the ground. There was enough dead around with all sorts of weapons. None of it was special, and would have a hard time penetrating anything, but at least it gave her options. Slowly, a decent, if slightly daring plan began to take shape.