"Aggro on me!"
ShHrRieEkK!
The Maiden of Agony snapped toward Leonel and, in a blur, unleashed [Multiattack]. She loomed over him—closer, uglier, and more terrifying than anything his nightmares had ever stitched together.
Leonel's brain went white with panic. His breath caught. His knees dipped.
"Shield up, idiot!" Ren's voice cut through like a slap.
Leonel reacted on instinct. His shield snapped into position a heartbeat before the Maiden's two heavy, spiraling arm-blades crashed down.
BaAmM!
BaAm!
Even braced and blocking, Leonel's HP bar shuddered and dipped hard.
–27
–22
And because of her passive [Cunning Action], she chained a cruel bonus strike that slipped along the shield's edge and rattled his ribs.
–17
Isolde and Ragnar moved to counter, but the torches winked out—two full seconds of suffocating black. The Maiden melted into the dark, her outline swallowed whole. With [Shadow in the Night] she wasn't merely hidden; she was invincible—and that made every reappearance a loaded gun.
"Tsk." Ragnar's grip tightened, boots planted wide, eyes trying to drink light from a room that had none. "Her kit is annoying."
He wasn't wrong. If this kept up, they'd be forever on the back foot. She could strike, earn a bonus action, snuff the light, vanish, reposition behind someone, and deliver a guaranteed crit from stealth—often with venom. That was a recipe for wipes.
"Don't let it hit you from behind," Isolde warned, voice low and taut. "As long as the aggro's on you, keep your back to a wall if you can."
"Easy for you to say!" Leonel barked, shield trembling. "I can't even see you, much less her!"
He hated the dark. Hated the way it pressed in at the edges. Hated how every second of silence made his brain invent new horrors. Leonel drank [Health Potion] ×2, grimacing at the bitter sting. It barely helped—his HP crawled somewhere near half, and he could feel sweat tick down his spine like ice water.
Off to the side, Ren's eyes flicked over a translucent interface only he could see. He saved the Maiden's [Multiattack LV.4] to his [Mind Palace], overwriting the Dread Widow's earlier version. Higher success rate, smarter pick. Then he did something colder. He purged[Web of Doom LV.1] and slotted in a fresh suite:
[Cunning Action]
[Shadow in the Night]
[Torturing Venom]
[Multiattack LV.4]
[Snuff Light LV.2]
His Mind Palace ticked full. A satisfying weight.
Ren's pulse quickened—not from fear, but from possibility. This kit was vicious in the right hands. In future dungeons, he could douse the room in darkness, vanish into invincibility, circle wide for a backstab critical, then chain [Multiattack] plus a bonus from [Cunning Action], layering venom on top. Against anyone with just double-digit ATP, that combo could be a silent execution.
For now, he tempered the thrill and moved. He triggered [Multiattack]—but rationed it. One prong: [Heal] on Leonel—just enough to keep morale from cratering.
+10
He knew the cap: Heal only ever restored 10% of HP. Three casts wouldn't save Leonel from a perfect crit chain. But one cast said, I've got you. He needed Leonel steady and brave for thirty more seconds.
The other prongs of [Multiattack] sparked: Ren conjured two Fires and flung them not at the Maiden—but into the air and webbing, bright points to force light back into the room. If he couldn't stop her vanishing, he could at least deny the perfect ambush lane.
"Ha! There you are!" Leonel spotted a shiver of motion in the fire's glow—just a smear of shadow peeling off a pillar. He hurled his shield like a discus; it smashed into the Maiden's twisted forearm, deflecting her bite by inches.
He backpedaled hard—nearly tripping—as her red eyes bloomed inches from his face. The smell was wrong. Sour metal and rot.
"Hit it now! Before it chains another skill!" Leonel shouted, voice cracking.
He didn't need to tell them twice. Isolde slid left, knees bent, gun braced. Ragnar drove right, axe low, setting a crossfire.
Isolde dumped MP into her best finisher:
‖ B U L L E T D I V E LV.1 ‖
– Piercing shot that deals true damage
– MP –40
– Knockback + 1s Stun if your STR > enemy's
– Cooldown: 10s
BaAnNG!
The chamber rang like a bell. The bullet hissed, a silver whisper stitching a straight line into the Maiden's abdomen. The number that popped was insultingly small.
–24
"What? That small?!" Isolde's stomach sank. On wolves and rabbits this skill deleted targets. Here, against layered resistances and domain buffs, it barely scuffed paint. Her STR just wasn't there yet.
Ragnar's turn:
‖ B R U T A L S T R I K E S LV.2 ‖
– A wild torrent of four slashes
– MP –50
– Hits: 4
– Cooldown: 10s
He blurred forward in a sleeve of gold, axe flashing four times in a savage X-pattern across the Maiden's midsection. It felt like hacking a steel drum.
–12
–15
–12
–14
Ragnar's eye twitched. Non-magic resist. Slashing resist. Domain DEF. Ugly stack.
The Maiden hissed, ropes of saliva slapping Leonel's shield. He darted in with [Dash and Slash], body-checking her timing—canceling her wind-up right as Ren's [Multiattack] cooled.
"Now!" Ren's voice was a fuse. He stacked three Fires and, riding [Cunning Action], stole a fourth—all four blooming into spears of heat.
They landed like meteors.
–1124 Critical Hit!
[Maiden of Agony is afflicted with BURN]
–5% HP per minute
–250 (BURN)
The Maiden screamed, fur sizzling as the burn chewed at her. A heartbeat later, she snuffed the torches again. Darkness surged. The flames on the webs guttered and died.
"Ren! Fire—now!" Leonel yelled, voice high with panic.
"Cooldown," Ren answered, maddeningly calm.
Leonel's throat went dry. The skill dance was brutal: [Snuff Light] cycled every two seconds—the same window Ren needed to safely re-light the room with a fresh [Multiattack]. If she beat him to the draw, she got to choose the terms of execution.
The torches fluttered back—just as the Maiden appeared behind Leonel.
Two arm-spears punched through his stomach, lifting him off the ground like a caught fish.
–214 Critical Hit!
[You have been POISONED]
–10% HP per minute
–17 (POISON)
[You have DIED!]
"AaArgGhH!" Leonel screamed—then blinked. "Huh. That . . . doesn't hurt?"
He looked down at the two spikes in his abdomen. No blood. Only light. His outline had already begun to pixelate, the telltale sparkle of death in instance.
His eyes snapped to Ren. "Listen! If you don't kill that spider and I lose ATP for this, you owe me ramen. A big bowl. Extra egg!"
He wagged his finger—then burst into drifting motes, vanishing with a soft chime.
The Maiden's mouth unhinged, jaw stretching so far her face seemed to split. All eight eyes narrowed into burning slits as they fixed on Ren.
"You're . . . next . . . ," she rasped, one spear-arm rising to point directly at his heart.
Ragnar slid a half-step to flank, breath low and steady, reading the floor for the tiniest tells. Isolde reloaded with shaking hands, but her eyes were bright—angry, focused.
Ren didn't move. He only exhaled, the corner of his mouth quirking like a man who'd already solved the puzzle and was now simply setting down the pieces.
"Alright," he murmured, more to himself than to them. "Let's finish this."
The torches guttered. The chamber held its breath. And then the hunt resumed.