Millie ducked again, narrowly avoiding another flying arrow.
It was hard enough dodging the Death Knight thundering after her.
Now she had to deal with hidden enemies firing from the shadows of the audience seats too.
Why wasn't the Death Knight attacking them?
Maybe they had some kind of item that made them immune to undead monsters.
The Skeletons ignored them too.
Fwiish!
Another arrow tore through the air.
Millie twisted her body to dodge and quickly turned her gun toward the dark audience seats.
Bang!
The shot cracked through the air like a whip.
"Gyaaaah!"
[You have killed Player 'Aaron'.]
[You have acquired the item 'Poison Potion'.]
One shot, one kill.
But nothing changed.
Arrows rained down again.
She focused purely on dodging, eyes locking once more on the Death Knight that kept chasing her.
The endless onslaught was wearing her down fast.
Her forehead wrinkled in frustration.
'There's no time left...'
Even as she ran, she quickly opened her message window to check the dungeon's status.
From the moment those suspicious figures had shown up, she had already guessed it.
There was something wrong with this dungeon.
The Dungeon Break was accelerating.
'Less than three hours left now…?'
Her eyes narrowed into sharp slits.
No matter how skilled she was, soloing an E-rank boss monster wasn't easy.
Even sniping it from a distance might not work within the time limit.
Was there another way?
Maybe if she found whoever was accelerating the Dungeon Break—
'No. That won't solve it.'
Even if she killed them, the accelerated Dungeon Break wouldn't rewind.
She would still have to clear the dungeon within three hours.
Chasing them would just waste time.
'I'm not ready for D-rank dungeons yet.'
Her current level was 78.
Thanks to her insane battle instincts and the ridiculous performance of her weapon, she could barely clear E-rank dungeons if she had enough time.
But D-rank?
That was still out of reach.
She knew her limits well.
"Haaah…"
Millie let out a low breath and squeezed the trigger several times.
Bullets slammed into the Death Knight, forcing it to stiffen and stumble back slightly.
But her hesitation didn't last long.
Time was bleeding away.
If she hesitated now, she'd only lose.
'Whether I can or can't — I won't know until I try.'
She made up her mind.
She would ignore the arrows flying at her.
The real target was the E-rank boss monster.
There was no way to keep dodging while delivering the massive damage needed to tear down that thick HP bar.
She needed a different method.
'Using that skill will wreck my body but…'
What was her HP at now?
Probably not enough.
Her body would struggle to keep up with the strain of the skill.
But she had no choice.
And she didn't intend to hesitate.
Chzzzt.
The air around Millie shifted.
Her eyes bloodshot, a line of blood streaming from her nose.
'Skill — Burn Blood.'
A crimson energy bullet started forming at the barrel of her gun.
It burned, fueled by her own life force.
Her strongest attack — right now.
And it would drain her HP to the edge of death.
'But with this skill, I can pierce through that thick Death Knight skull.'
Burn Blood ignored all defenses.
If she could hit the Death Knight's "Cursed Spine" — the weak point — even that monster wouldn't survive.
Millie steadied her breathing.
She had only one shot.
Miss — and it would all be over.
She rushed straight at the Death Knight.
Vwooom!
The massive greatsword came swinging at her.
She dodged by sight alone.
Burn Blood strengthened her body during the casting phase.
That was its second effect.
It let her pull off insane movements and rapid dashes.
In a flash, she slipped behind the Death Knight.
At the same time, she pivoted.
Locked onto her target.
She was close — not point-blank, but close enough.
One shot.
She pulled the revolver's trigger.
Bang!
"Watch out!!"
Something rammed into her.
Her gun barrel shook.
The desperate bullet, her one shot with Burn Blood, missed its mark.
It only grazed the back of the Death Knight's skull.
Kyaaahh!
The Death Knight let out a furious howl.
Millie could only stare in horror.
Alarms were going off inside her head.
'…I missed!'
This wasn't in the plan.
She had gathered up everything — all her life force — into that shot.
And now it was wasted.
All her efforts. All her preparation. Crumbling to dust.
Who?!
Her glare snapped toward the figure that had tackled her.
It was a man.
Wearing what looked like beginner's gear.
Grinding her teeth, Millie forced herself to turn her eyes back to the Death Knight.
"No… It's not over yet. If I gather Burn Blood again…!"
It would put her life at risk, but she could squeeze out one more shot.
It wasn't too late.
If she could just land that bullet in the Death Knight's cursed spine...
But then.
Millie stared forward and let out a bitter laugh.
[Dungeon Break has occurred.]
['Collapsed School (E)' has entered the Cataclysm phase.]
[Boss monster 'Death Knight Master of Chaos (E)' has evolved into 'Specter Master of Chaos (D)'.]
The worst possible outcome had arrived.