Ifrit

[HP 84/800]

He barely escaped death by catching himself on a sharp rock. Cutting his hand open on it.

[Status effect: Bleeding]

'That's the last thing I wanted to get gulp gulp gulp'

[HP 300/800]

[HP 550/800]

[HP 800/800]

[Potion exhaustion]

[9:59/10:00]

The disaster's body kept warming up, its skin glowed with yellow light.

Every part of the floor shook as the Minotaur began running towards Leo.

No matter how many slimes attacked they just melted into the creature's skin.

'What do I do now!'

No matter what, giving up was not an option, even though nothing seemed like it would work.

Leo closed his eyes as the disaster caught up to him, ready to throw another devastating punch.

[Tectonic Shatter]

[Due to using Gideon, all skills cause armor reduction]

[HP -43]

The ground below him shattered to pieces as Nyssa jumped to save him, sending the minotaur backward.

"I'm sorry... I couldn't leave you!"

She was too distressed to even wipe the tears off of her face.

"How do we kill this thing though..."

"We can't kill it. But we can weaken it by disintegrating slimes into it."

He tried to summon a dozen again to replenish the ones that were being obliterated.

One final crack on his weapon made it fall apart to pieces.

[Achievement: Destroy the Slime Staff]

[Reward: Shard of The King]

'What was that?!'

|I have never seen that happen before|

"New plan."

Leo grabbed her hand and dragged her. 

But the Minotaur behind them was only getting faster, filled with rage about getting struck.

"LEO STOP!"

Nyssa pulled him just in time before he fell head-first into a lava pool.

It was as wide and long as the eye could see, with occasional rocks floating around.

Things turned even more dire, there was nowhere to run due to the sea of molten rock around them.

"Do you trust me?"

He could feel how horrified she was, she wouldn't let go of his hand.

Due to that, the only way he could do to make her move was something drastic.

"Sorry for that... HMMMPF!"

With great effort, he picked her up on his back.

There was a distance small enough for him to jump through between each rock, so he decided to risk it.

Too focused on jumping, he couldn't look back for even a second, the occasional roars of the beast making him weak in the knees.

"I wanna go home..."

"We will soon. You see? It's about to reach the pool."

She looked back at the monster, hoping that Leo was right.

But something strange happened. Something even he couldn't explain.

The power of the lake started getting absorbed into the disaster, turning it bigger by the second.

Its rock-hard skin tearing apart due to the temperature, turning into nothing but a manifestation of fire.

[Danger! Danger! Raid Boss appeared]

[Turning difficulty to appropriate level for the floor]

[Quest Updated]

[Defeat Ifrit]

[0/1]

[Penalty: Escape Crystals won't work as long as the creature is alive]

[Reward: 2x Profession Slot(shared), 2x Profession Voucher(shared), ???]

"Fuck!"

The Ifrit ran through the lake like it was a puddle, being easily over 10 meters tall now.

He ran and ran, navigating through the scorched lands as fast as possible.

"Nyssa!"

She didn't answer, tugging around his neck not to let go.

"Listen to me! You will get off of me!"

"No! I don't want to!"

Leo grits his teeth while running up a cliff. The air around them was scorching hot, burning their skin.

There was no more time to think of a plan. He pushed the girl off of his back and ran to the edge of the cliff.

"No! Leo don't do it!"

But it was too late as the Ifrit caught up to him.

As it was about to swing its molten claws, Leo dodged its attack.

He could feel the ground giving up below them and tried to jump into safety.

But the monster snatched his leg at the last moment, pulling him down with himself.

Nyssa's screams sounded like whispers from down there.

His consciousness began to fade due to the lack of oxygen around him.

'I guess this is how it ends...'

[Quest Completed]

...

...

***

"leo"

...

"Leo...."

...

"LEO!"

He didn't believe what he saw. Right now he was on a floor of a merchant store with Nyssa right in front of him.

"Am I dead?"

She hugged him tightly, bawling her eyes out in the process.

"I thought you were going to die! I was so scared..."

Leo tried to embrace her but felt a striking pain on his left arm, making him retract.

"I... I tried to heal it. But it doesn't look like it's a wound. I didn't know what to do."

First things first, he had to calm her down.

"It's okay Nyssa, we are safe... but where exactly are we?"

Nyssa didn't let him stand up, forcing him to lie on the ground.

"We are in my store."

The tears in her eyes stopped flowing and she forced on a small grin.

"I used my voucher instantly and jumped after you. I'm a merchant now!"

"Isn't that way too big for a beginner?"

A pout appeared on her face.

"Don't underestimate me. The legendary weapon inflated my net worth."

That would explain the size of it and the decorations on the walls.

[Party Status]

[Nyssa Choi 🜲 - Level 14]

[100%]

[Leo Astralis - Level 15]

[100%]

"It doesn't seem like we gained any levels though..."

"Well, that's obvious, after all, neither of us dealt enough damage to make it count as our kill. Now help me stand up."

Once he got up he grabbed his arm, feeling the intense burning feeling inside it.

'What's going on?'

|I'm not sure either Master|

'And do you know?'

...

That was certainly unexpected, but it was not as important as the current situation.

Leo slowly walked over to the girl. She didn't look distressed anymore but he knew that deep down the emotions were still present.

"Come here."

He opened his arms, inviting her in, an opportunity that was taken almost instantly.

Another sting of burning pain went through his arm.

It was so painful that he almost screamed, yet he held himself back.

Nyssa's eyes welled up again, however this time they were tears of joy.

"Let's go home."

Using the two escape stones they had earlier, they teleported in front of the tower's entrance.

Now that they were safe, both of them sighed in relief, letting all the stress out.

That also made both of them realize just how much they let their emotions out.

In an instant, they took a few steps back from each other.

"WELL! Look at the time! I need to go somewhere!"

"You won't believe... me too! I'm extremely busy!"

"Let's meet here before midnight!"

He added, deciding to bring her to the gates once they appear.

After they waved at each other, Leo went towards the smith while holding his pulsing arm.

The streets were filled with parades, and all of the participants wore hats with 2025 written on them.

|Seems you were out of it longer than you wanted|

'It means they are about to clear the 10th floor... there isn't a lot of time left.'

His walking turned into a full-on sprint as he navigated towards the blacksmith's store.

Bang bang bang

Leo didn't wait to get an answer, forcing the door open and running to the desk.

"Did you finish?"

Earlier throbbing in his left arm turned into full-on rhythmic beating as he got closer to the owner.

"Who do you take me for? A third-rate smith?"

A blanket laid on the table, and as it was lifted by the smith, it revealed the artifact.

Its sight mesmerized Leo. The dark, glittering liquid inside an orb shone dimly, emitting an unfamiliar aura.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum

His left forearm was in so much pain that he could no longer handle it, it felt like his flesh was being ripped apart.

"AAAAAH!"

The skin on the affected area started being engulfed in a weird black matter.