The cavern resounded the footsteps of two adventurers. One, had the heavy sounds of metal, touching metal and the other, had distinguished footsteps from the soles of their boots accompanied by a soft rattle of coins and other trinkets from their leather leg bag.

As they approached the dim, dark green-colored lighting of the otherworldly rocks of the cavern, the two figures are discerned to be a swordsman clad in darkened steel armor and a ranger in chainmail under a leather vest.

It was Arka and Mikrim— venturing into the depths of the Mountain Region.

The cavern they ventured in was a craggy environment; dimly lit by many strange, dark green-colored rocks occupying the ceilings, walls, and the floor. It served as their light source on their journey for mountain ores, so they had no need of using a torch.

The cavern has a chilly atmosphere due to being near the mountain's crest. This frigid atmosphere affected Arka the most in her steel armor due to its high, thermal conductivity.

"Are you okay in that armor, Arakar?" Mikrim asked Arka.

"No... I-I didn't know this game's... climate would affect me with what I wear," Arka said, as her voice shook due to the cold atmosphere.

And suddenly, a small, icon outlined in red borders appeared on the left side of her HUD. She focused on this icon to find out its description.

Biting Cold

Your movement speed is decreased

And indeed, when she tried to move one of her arms around, it felt slower than usual as she saw this. It was a strange feeling for her... like she was drunk.

"Hold on," Mikrim said as she saw the debuff appear on her party member's status window. She bent down reaching for her leg bag. She took out a small bottle.

She removed the cork of the bottle. "Pour this on anywhere on yourself," She said as she held out the bottle to Arka.

As Mikrim handed the small bottle to her, Arka began pouring its contents as Mikrim instructed. A purple liquid spilled out from the bottle to the top of her armor, down to her sabatons as the liquid seeped in on her through the gaps.

"What I said probably sounded strange, just now..." Mikrim muttered to herself as she reflexively covered her mouth, grinning underneath it.

After that, Arka's whole body became engulfed in a purple flame, then it disappeared. All this happened in a split second.

Arka suddenly felt the chill throughout her body, and the cold sensation on her armor disappear. She reverted back to normal body temperature. She looked to the left for the debuff icon on her HUD. It was gone.

"Feeling better?" Mikrim asked

"Yeah," Arka said. "What's that you gave me just now?" Arka asked.

"Cold Coating. It's something I learned to brew when during my time experimenting with alchemy," Mikrim said.

"I see... that's some amazing stuff," Arka told Mikrim. "Anything you want in return?" Arka asked.

"You already did," Mikrim said. "This is my payment for you clearing that mob a while ago. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be tagging along right now for some ores," Mikrim said.

"Well, if you put it like that, I suppose it sounds fair," Arka said, with a gesture.

"Yep," Mikrim said. "Well, I'm getting bored. C'mon, let's go!" Mikrim said as she walked past Arka briskly in an eager tone in the cavern.

She does love exploring. Arka thought. After that, she followed suit.

And so, they traversed in the cavern. As they explored its depths, they saw more of the dark-green glowing rocks illuminating their path, and the rough surfaces of the cavern in various, craggy formations. No sign of fungi and other creatures are present. They eventually reached an enormous crevasse, illuminating blue light within. Upon seeing that there are no ores at the place where they stood, they decided to climb down the crevasse using Arka's rope that she has had stored in her satchel.

As they climbed down the rope, the area soon transitioned to blue, glowing rocks illuminating the crevasse, beneath. They eventually reached the bottom with a large tunnel, and a pathway of glowing, blue rocks heading straight. As Arka and Mikrim walked on this pathway, it didn't take long until they reached a wide, open area of the cavern. Upon closer look, they saw the rich mountain ores they've been seeking.

"This is the place..." Mikrim said. After that, she turned to Arka. "We made it," She said.

"Yeah, it was quite easy," Arka said as she nodded to Mikrim. "It's quite pretty down here too," Arka said as she looked around the wide area. She saw the mountain ores shimmer all around and reflect the blue light being given off by the cavern's rocks.

On the other side of the area, Arka could see an archway that leads to somewhere else. She was hoping it was an exit. She will have to investigate it later.

"Well, let's grab as much as we can," Mikrim said as she began to walk to the ore veins.

As Mikrim approached the center, Arka eyed Mikrim's leg bag. "Isn't your bag a bit too small though? Are you gonna break the ore into bits or something?" She said.

Mikrim stopped in her tracks, and turned to Arka. "Yeah, I only want to see what I can make with this through Alchemy, and record it to my index, is all," Mikrim said. After that, she turned away from her. "Now, enough dawdling... Let's get to work!" She pumped a fist as she said this, showing her determination. After that, she began walking across the area in pursuit of the rich ores of the cavern.

However, Mikrim stopped her movements as she suddenly felt the ground shake. Arka felt it as well. Both of them attempt to regain their balance during the rumble.

But the unsteady earth they stood on increased in intensity and no sooner did the both of them end up falling to their knees, and their arms.

"What?!" Arka yelped. Her voice drowned with the earthquake of the cavern.

Suddenly, a humongous, arm erupted under the cavern's ground and towered over the two. The arm almost covered the whole area of the cavern they were in. And then, the arm dropped and slammed onto the cavern floor. It almost smashed Mikrim flat, being inches away from her. A powerful shockwave blew past the two of them, with Mikrim almost deafened by the strong force.

The hand gripped the stony floor.

As the floor broke, another arm shot out underneath. Mikrim quickly crawled backward to Arka, struggling on their balance as the pair sat helplessly, and witnessed the scene about to unfold.

As it grabbed on the rocky surface, it dragged itself up, bursting forth underground.

A gigantic figure stood at about six meters tall in front of Arka and Mikrim. It possesses a body thick, muscular, and wide like a rhino's. Its arms are humongous, enough to grab a whole person's body; it possesses black fur from its forearms to its hands, with sharp claws on each of its four fingers, its legs have hooves and black fur up until its waist, and a head, possessing twisted horns. Its face has a mouth that almost stretches and covers the entirety of its skull, showing its teeth, and eyes full of rage. Two extra heads that have different shapes appear asymmetrically at the sides of its neck that resemble almost that of a human's head.

It giant creature roared at Arka and Mikrim when it saw them both.

As the ground stopped shaking, Arka and Mikrim quickly stood up.

Afterward, the beast charged at them.

"Run—!" Arka yelled. Mikrim reacted to her voice, as both of them turned away from the creature and they both began to escape, with Mikrim going first.

However, the beast is too fast as it eventually covered the distance in seconds between Arka and Mikrim. They haven't even reached anywhere near the tunnel they came from. The beast was able to grab Arka, taking her off the ground.

"No—!" Mikrim shouted as she stopped.

As Arka saw Mikrim stopped running. "It's fine! Go! I'll just respa—"

But the beast immediately threw Arka at the far end of the area, losing any more means of escape for her.

Mikrim saw Arka's HP on her party window. It dropped to 20%, along with fracturing her avatar’s left arm and left leg. A status window appeared of her being debilitated.

As the dust, and rubble of the craggy area settled, she saw Arka, sitting down on the rough ground, unable to stand. Mikrim thought the same as her that it is a hopeless battle, and it'd be best if one of them gets out alive.

Arka drew her sword, as she sat on the ground. Her mind was still focused on fighting.

Mikrim was surprised seeing this. Despite the one-sided perspective and differences in strength, her companion decides to face the beast, all while she can’t stand up to fight.

Once again, she felt the same glimmer of inspiration from Arka.

Arka's facing the creature as she sat helplessly, looking at it straight in the eyes. She pointed her sword at it, as it continued walking toward her.

Arka thought that it was worth giving up all the equipment, items, and money she has earned all for the sake of her friend. Besides, she accepted that it was her fault she got caught.

For such a fight, it was fine whether you win, or lose, so long as you die trying.

However, in the corner of her eye, she saw Mikrim heading toward the beast from behind.

Arka knew what Mikrim was about to do.

"Stop! You'll die!" Arka shouted at her.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Mikrim shouted. "I've got to try... unlike you, I've got nothing to lose!" She said to Arka.

Why of all times, did she decide to fight now? Arka's dumbfounded as she couldn't say another word. She doesn't know if it was because of the beast approaching her, or because of Mikrim's sudden change of mind. A perplexed feeling overwhelmed her; deafening her thought processes.

Mikrim stopped, as she measured an appropriate attack range. She took out her bow and began pulling back on the string.

No arrows? Arka thought as she saw this.

Afterward, a surge of visible, bluish-white energy enveloped Mikrim's Recurve bow. It seems to come from a small bauble attached inside near the grip, and lower limb of the bow. This energy formed a straight shape between her fingers holding the string. It manifested into an arrow made of energy, as its shape vibrated and crackled.

And then, she released it.

It hit the gigantic, six-meter beast at the back. However, it wasn’t enough to grab its attention. The beast was just inches away from Arka.

No way... was that—! Arka thought, after witnessing what just happened. Her eyes are locked onto Mikrim.

Mikrim pulled back on her string again. This time, more of the bluish-white light enveloped and manifested forming her energy arrow. It became more apparent, as the light shows to be concentrated at the tip of this arrow shape. After a short delay, she released it.

As she let go of the string, the arrow divided into multiple, arrow shots, moving in a circular pattern, hitting the creature in the back.

The beast groaned as it felt the force of impact of Mikrim's attack. And then, it stopped in its tracks towards Arka. It diverted its attention toward Mikrim now.

The beast began to rush towards the magic archer.

Mikrim kept shooting magic arrows, as she backed away in swift, careful steps. She shot her arrows, aimed at the creature's face which kept dividing, in mid-air for a spread-out attack.

As the beast turned away from Arka, she felt the system activate the regeneration process after a few moments.

However, this regeneration process in Helsfate would take too long. With the current HP, she has at the moment, healing on rest in Helsfate requires ten minutes before her limbs will be able to move. Another three minutes before she recovers to peak HP. Knowing this, Arka took out one of her emergency healing supplies to speed it up.

She withdrew a Potion of Healing from her bag and splashed it on herself to boost her healing factor on rest. Approximately, this cuts her time for healing her limbs to five minutes.

However, it was still too long of healing for Arka. Just how long can Mikrim hold on?

Mikrim's fingers started to shake during her battle with the cavern beast, as she was not used to an actual battle with a monster in Helsfate. Moreover, a zone boss. She can feel her focus slowly drift away, but also retain it. She was still getting the feel for the spur of battle. She remains resilient. After all, her friend's life was on the line. She decided she'll hold on as much as she can, waiting for her party member to heal.

The beast lunged towards her, and as it did, Mikrim dived out of the way, almost grabbing her the same as Arka. Knowing she wasn’t heavily armored as her, it would just take a single hit for her to die from this creature.

The beast stumbled due to its hooved legs, overextending its arms in an attempt to grab Mikrim.

Mikrim saw this as an opportunity. She quickly crouched with one knee bent, flipped open her leg bag, and reached for what was inside.

She took out another bauble, and quickly undocked the current bauble on her Recurve bow.

After replacing it, she aimed her bow at Arka.

Arka saw Mikrim aiming the bow at her. Mikrim focused on her, and then another shimmering arrow manifested on her bow from her bauble, in the color of green this time. She released it.

As the magic arrow flew in the air, it left trails of green light. It soon struck Arka.

Her HP instantly recovered to about 76% as it landed.

Arka felt her limbs get better, as she heard the bones of her avatar crack and go back in their places. After she felt her disability disappear, she immediately stood up and ran to Mikrim. She stood beside her, with her sword in hand, and a stance ready for battle. Just in time, the gigantic beast recovered from its imbalance, as it turned toward them.

Arka recalled the archway of the area they were in. She took a glance at it.

It was meters away from where they stood. But perhaps if they run now, they can still have a chance.

"This way!" Arka quickly yelled to Mikrim, as she did a careful tug on Mikrim's arm to lead her to their other means of exit. Mikrim was able to follow her lead.

However, the giant beast saw this and attempted to charge forward once more. It went adjacent to the exit that the two adventurers were fleeing for.

Arka immediately noticed this, and she quickly stopped in her tracks. As she did, she quickly moved her arm in Mikrim's way to stop her advance as well.

"Wait!" She said. Mikrim immediately stopped running as well.

As she said this in the nick of time, the beast halted in front of them, blocking their path. It recovered quickly this time without a mistake in its footing as it turned to face them once again.

This is some advanced AI. Arka thought. It was remarkable how the monster their fighting could predict their path.

Arka looked to Mikrim. She saw that her hands were shaking, while she switched the baubles, as she held her bow. She's still getting used to the feeling of battle with the Dive Console.

However, her expression remained unchanged. She made a look of resolution.

"We've got no choice," Mikrim told Arka.

"You're right," Arka said.

Arka turned to the beast and readied her sword once more. Mikrim readied her bow in correspondence with her.

The beast prepared to pursue them once again while looking at them from its location as if estimating the distance between the two.

It wants to make sure that its next move will be the last... it's setting us up? Arka thought.

That's when Arka understood.

This isn't just any of the regular monsters... Arka thought.

This creature possesses some intelligence.

"Mikrim," Arka called her. "This enemy knows how to read our moves," She said. "Be careful that it doesn't catch you off-guard."

"Gotcha," She said as she readied her finger on the bowstring.

And then—

The beast ran forward. It headed straight for Arka. And then, it swung the back of its arm at her. Arka jumped back, evading the devastating blow. At the same time, Mikrim also backed away and shot a single, spread of magic arrows aimed at the beast's upper body.

The beast ignored the multiple spread of arrows as it continued swinging its arms at Arka, trying to land a hit. However, try as it might, Arka could read its simplistic movements, making her evade the beast's carefully planned attacks. Although, there was no way for her to counterattack. Her moves were limited, and she knew she can't keep it up for long, as a stream of nervousness slowly crept up on her that her legs might give in.

And then, it decided to change targets as it headed next for Mikrim. Again, another swing of its arms... but Mikrim hopped back, staying consistent with the same strategy of keeping her distance from the gigantic beast.

While the beast set its eyes on Mikrim, a window of opportunity became present for Arka. She immediately stabbed the creature's legs with her sword repeatedly... plunging it down with both of her hands. She drew blood from it, but it wasn’t enough to neutralize the creature.

As the beast saw what was happening below, it tried to stomp Arka. She was able to get away, at a moment’s notice she saw that the gigantic creature reacted.

Both of the adventurers don't know if they're even chipping damage on it, or if their attacks are effective at all. Yet, they persist in fighting the creature.

For each roar the beast elicits, and for each swing of its gigantic arms, their fear slowly becomes apparent digging into the back of their minds, being; the death of their avatar. All it will take was one hit.

Half a minute elapsed, and still, they thrived at survival. They're adapting to the beast's attacks, staying consistent with their current stratagem. They understood each other's intentions non-verbally, with the same hit-and-run tactic. Although, both of them know that they can't keep this up forever.

Arka thought that whatever she was doing is just stupid. She still maintained a cool composure though. She knows that there wasn’t a clear way of winning against such an unknown creature, nor does she know of any apparent weaknesses on it. She never fought something like this before.

She couldn't help but feel that despair was about to overcome her.

Yet, her legs don't give in, and her body continues to move, like a pendulum— steady, and on the move.

Suddenly, the creature stopped its attacks, and it stood between them.

Arka and Mikrim became weary of the beast's sudden backing away. Something big was about to happen.

And then, the beast slammed its arms three times on the ground in a rhythmic pattern. Arka and Mikrim felt the earth vibrate, almost losing their posture.

Suddenly, a sharp boulder fell in front of them, smashing the ground in a violent boom.

"What?!" Mikrim yelped.

Not soon, multiple boulders fell on them in the cavern. For every boulder, it smashed the cavern's ground that they both stood on.

"Move!" Arka yelled to Mikrim.

Arka clenched her teeth, running and evading the boulders. Mikrim did the same, both evading and hoping that they won’t get squashed. The only visual cues they could see in avoiding the boulders were its shadows from where they stood.

The creature kept slamming the ground with its hands while boulders also fell on its body; unfazed by it, revealing this creature's toughness.

It stopped its attack soon after. Arka and Mikrim stood from the ground.

So this is...! Arka thought, as she stared at the cavern, wide-eyed.

As the dust settled, multiple craters are now present in the cavern, further limiting their movements.

Arka prepared for the worse to come. She prepared her sword stance. Mikrim prepared to aim again with her bow.

Arka took a quick glance at Mikrim.

She saw that her hands stopped shaking.

Arka and Mikrim felt the mental exhaustion about to overcome them. Running wasn’t an option anymore. It would be too difficult now that the ground was broken in front of them.

Arka observed the beast one more time thanks to the space between her and the creature.

Just then—

The creature wobbled. As Arka noticed this, she looked at its legs... the wound she gave earlier.

A weakness became apparent in the seemingly invincible opponent. She came up with a battle plan.

"Mikrim," Arka called her. Mikrim turned to her. "Look at its legs," She said.

As Mikrim saw the bloodied legs of the creature, she immediately understood what Arka's intentions were. "That's it... so we're winning."

"Yeah... we'll need to execute this correctly," She said. "These craters weren't made so we wouldn't escape... it made these to keep us at bay," She said. Mikrim nodded in agreement knowing the situation.

"I've got a plan," Arka continued. "Aim for its legs, until it drops on its knees. Meanwhile, I'll charge in, and deal the final blow,"

Mikrim— baffled at Arka's idea, thought that it was too reckless. But it seemed like it's the best, strategy they have in securing the kill. They can't stall much longer, even.

She tried holding back any complaints about it. She trusted Arka. "I think I can only fire five shots left. I'll try my best to hit it at a good spot," Mikrim said.

"That'll have to do," She said. "Well then, get ready..." Arka said.

Arka immediately charged forward, with her sword in hand. She made a beeline avoiding the craters, towards the enormous opponent.

As she did, Mikrim aimed her bow at the beast's legs. She concentrated on her next shot. A bluish-light appeared as it shimmered on the whole magic arrow. After a short delay, she released it.

However, as the creature saw this, it dug its hand into the ground. It immediately lifted the earth, as the earth blocked Mikrim's magic arrow.

Arka and Mikrim made an expression of disbelief as they saw this, with widened eyes.

Mikrim attempted to find a different position to fire. Just one hit to the creature's leg was all she needed. She couldn't waste another magic arrow. She strafed, trying to find the perfect sniping position to subdue the beast.

The creature dug another hand into the ground. As it did, it threw the gigantic slab of rock at Arka.

Arka saw that there was no other way to evade due to the craters surrounding her.

She had no choice but to fall flat to the ground.

As she dived stomach-first, the rock missed her by inches and only grazing some of her armor. The beast uttered a stupefied cry, surprised at what just happened.

As the beast shrieked, Mikrim saw an opportunity, for the beast let its guard down. Once again, she sniped at one of the creature's wounded legs.

And then—

A successful hit.

The beast collapsed to the ground, kneeling with a thunderous echo in the cavern. During this short window, Arka was a foot away from the creature, about to maim the muscles of the creature's legs to stop it from standing.

However—

The beast covered itself with the gigantic slab of rock on its legs, blocking Arka's attack opportunity.

But Arka kept rushing forward.

She stepped on the slab of rock, and went straight up, toward the creature's head. The creature attempted to bite her.

The beast bit one of Arka's legs, dismembering her. Blood splattered on the giant slab of rock the beast held. Arka lost her balance.

However, the momentum still allowed her to thrust her sword forward to one of the creature's gigantic eyes.

The creature shook its head in agony, trying to shake off Arka. It roared. She kept a grip on her sword, as her hands clawed on the beast's thick hide. Thanks to the Kampilan's unusual, uneven, split-tip, she kept latched onto the creature's eyes, preventing her, and her sword from slipping away from it.

This time, the beast used both of its arms to get Arka off its face... but the creature's arms were immediately pushed away by two projectiles.

At the distance, it was Mikrim. She shot magical, twin arrows at the beast's hands, preventing it from grabbing Arka.

She can still fire an arrow one more time.

As Arka saw this, she quickly dug her sword even deeper, along with her whole arm. This went through the creature's skull, and then, to its brain. The beast's blood splashed on her armor, and helmet, as flowing traces of it went through the gaps. She felt the warm blood of the creature, hit her face.

And then, the beast fell forward, slumping, and twitching its final breaths on the ground. Arka kept a hold on her sword in the creature's eyes until it stopped moving.

Then, the monster's name was revealed to her as her monster index update. The monster was called, Lord Fraizo of the Southern Mountains.

28% of her HP remained after the battle.

And then, she let go of her sword, dropping down on her back and laying on the floor with a severed leg. Mikrim quickly rushed towards Arka.

"Arakar—!" She exclaimed. But Arka didn't respond.

Mikrim then walked over, avoiding the cavern's craters. "Hey, what happened?!" Mikrim shook her. "H—"

"I'm fine...” Arka held onto Mikrim’s arm as she said this. “Let me just sleep... for a bit," Arka told her. And then, the strength in her grip is gone.

Arka drifted to sleep, as Mikrim held on to her on the bloodied, devastated cavern floor.