"Hey… these golems... have they always been here?" I asked, brushing the dust off my sleeve.
[Yes. They did. But since you never attacked in the earlier floors during your second walkthrough, the golems were never activated. Energy-saving mode. They awaken only when they sense intruders.]
I sighed. Great. First three floors were a breeze… now this?
The fourth floor stretched out like an empty cavern, yet two hulking golems blocked the path forward, their stone bodies etched with faint lines of glowing runes.
My sword, already chipped and cracked, felt like it could shatter at any moment.
Still, I raised it.
One golem moved first. Its massive stone fist came down from above like a falling boulder.
I darted sideways, the impact shaking the entire chamber.
Dust erupted, swallowing me in a storm of grit and echoes.
My boots skidded across the rocky floor, and I pushed forward, straight up its arm. Tearing through the cloud of dust and debris.
The second arm came swinging, aiming to swat me out of the air.
I jumped just in time, its colossal fists colliding with each other in a thunderous crack.
Using the momentum, I landed on its shoulder.
Red aura licked around my boots, spiking outward like thorns.
I crouched, then launched myself higher. The faint blue glow below its neck caught my eyes.
Its core. Its weakness.
"Got you."
I brought my blade down in a vicious arc. The red threads of aura snaked down the sword's edge, crackling violently.
Metal met glass in a sound that rang across the chamber.
steel screaming against crystal. A thunderous thud followed, and the core shattered into glittering shards.
Purple mana bled out like smoke escaping a broken lantern.
"Now!" I roared. "Nexar. The mana coil!"
[Two stat points deducted from defense.]
A swirling orb of condensed energy materialized in my palm, buzzing with power.
That was when I felt it. The ground trembled. The second golem had closed in.
its gigantic arms sweeping inward from both sides, ready to crush me like I was an insect.
"Not today."
I dove forward, twisting, aura surging around me like liquid fire.
As its palms crashed together, I shot upward, spearing straight through the gap. My body became a streak of red light.
The golem's stone arm splintered as I pierced through it, leaving behind a smoking hole where its right hand used to be.
I landed in a crouch, boots sliding over the jagged rock, sparks of aura trailing behind like crackling lightning.
Purple mana still poured from the broken core of the first golem, staining the air in violet wisps.
Without hesitation, I hurled the coil from my fist.
The orb tore through the air, toward the dying giant's chest.
The mana coil sank into the dying golem's chest.
Purple wisps, wild and frantic, bled from the shattered core and spun toward the coil.
The orb pulsed brighter, feeding on the leaking mana.
"That should do it," I muttered, pushing myself up from the crouch. My breath misted in the dusty air.
The second golem lurched forward, one arm dangling uselessly.
Its growl was no ordinary sound.
It was a shockwave, vibrating the cavern itself.
Dust and debris tore away in swirling streams, clearing the air until the battlefield stood exposed.
Then it came.
A thunder of stone feet pounding against the ground.
The monster charged me, its run like an earthquake, its guttural roar echoing.
Red sparks of aura erupted from me, scattering off my body like fire in the wind.
In the blink of an eye, I was right before its legs, swinging my sword upward with a snarl.
Clink.
My eyes widened. My strike stopped midair. Not because the golem resisted it, but because the blade was gone. I was left gripping a hilt with nothing attached.
"…Wait. What?" I muttered, staring in disbelief. When did it even...
The golem's massive leg came sweeping toward me.
My instincts flared. I skidded sideways, narrowly escaping the crushing kick, the wind pressure alone nearly blowing me off my feet.
"Dammit!"
I darted forward, climbing its stone leg in desperate bounds.
The surface trembled beneath me as the golem shook violently, trying to fling me off. The gusts from the movement battered my balance.
"Whoa! whoa, easy there!" I stammered, clawing for footing.
Then I saw it.
The leg I clung to was swinging wide, about to slam into the cavern wall.
"Fuck!"
Red spikes of aura erupted from my boots.
I sprinted upward as fast as I could, forcing speed before the impact came.
The collision hit like thunder, rock exploding outward, shards raining down.
The shockwave carried me with it, hurling me upward, straight toward the glowing blue heart of the beast.
Perfect.
I clenched my fist, funneling every ounce of aura I could muster into it.
My veins burned, my skin prickled. The threads of red coiled and twisted, condensing at the knuckles until my hand shimmered like a blade of pure violence.
"Break."
I drove the fist straight into the core.
Clank.
Glass shattered under my strike. The crystal heart splintered and purple mana spewed out like smoke from a dying fire.
"Another one, Nexar!" I barked, clinging tightly as the golem's titanic body began to topple.
Wind whipped around me, trying to rip me away.
[Two stat points deducted from strength.]
A second mana coil sparked alive in my palm just as the stone giant fell with a thunderous thud.
I tightened my grip, holding on as its body broke apart.
Purple mana poured freely from its shattered chest, twisting into the coil, sucked in like water spiraling into a drain.
I picked up the mana coil, its surface shimmering with a purple vibrance.
Holding it against the dungeon's dim light, I muttered, "Secured the core's mana successfully."
The words tasted like victory.
I crossed back to the first golem, prying the second coil loose from its chest.
[Let's use them after retrieving the Etherium.]
"Roger that."
Just as I decided to head deeper, the ground beneath my feet quaked violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling, and I stumbled a step back.
"What the hell's happening?" I muttered.
[Look to your right.]
I turned and froze.
A section of the dungeon wall cracked apart with a deafening snap, revealing a hidden alcove.
At its center stood a glowing podium, etched with strange runes, and embedded in it...
"…A sword?" I whispered.
[No wonder the difficulty on this floor spiked so suddenly compared to the last one.]
"You know something?" I asked, eyes narrowing.
[Those two golems you fought earlier... they weren't regular mobs. They were mid-floor bosses. Guardians. Once you defeated them, the reward revealed itself.]
I walked closer, boots crunching against the broken stone, listening to his explanation. The sword pulsed faintly as though calling me.
[Hmph. Disappointing.] Nexar wrote. [It's just a C-rank artifact. Sharper than most blades, sure, but it doesn't hold any special properties. Just a sword.]
"Just a sword? So… I can't use aura blade with it?" I asked hopefully.
[No. It would shatter before it could even hold enough aura. You'd need at least an A-rank weapon, or a high-end B-rank, to channel aura blade properly.]
I let out a sigh. "Figures. Well… at least I got some sword."
I gripped the hilt, pulling it free from the podium.
The glow faded instantly, leaving the chamber dim again.
Sliding it into my hand, I gave it a small swing before turning back toward the depths of the dungeon.
"Let's go," I muttered, stepping forward into the darker passage.
The air changed the moment I stepped onto the next floor.
I froze.
Dead Frost Claws littered the ground. Dozens of them.
Their bodies torn open, blood frozen into black crystals.
My gaze drifted left. A gaping hole had been punched clean through the dungeon wall, yawning into darkness.
"…Someone entered from underground?" I whispered.
[Not human.]
"Yeah. These wounds aren't human work…" My stomach tightened.
[Rune, we should leave. Anything that can break dungeon walls is beyond your current league.]
I hesitated, then nodded. "We'll leave. But I want to see what did this… It didn't appear in my second walkthrough. If it comes to it, I'll run."
[You sure?]
"Sure, sure." My voice wavered as I pressed forward.
The floor was silent, eerily so.
No monsters, no movement. Just corpses, their insides strewn like grotesque decorations.
I swallowed hard, descending to the final floor.
The grand podium where Etherium once rested loomed ahead. But the crystal wasn't there.
[Someone took it.]
I nodded grimly. Then my senses screamed.
A shadow loomed behind me.
I spun, leaping away instinctively.
It emerged.
Majestic. Terrifying. A mane of living frost, body larger than the golems, eyes narrowed with hate — the mystic being.
Fenrir.
"Damn you… Ebon Syndicate… scum." Its voice was a curse.
[Rune… let's hunt a monster before the cutscene starts in the fourth walkthrough, that way Rune won't get slapped around by that fatty again. What do you think?]
"...Don't talk like I'll die here!" I barked, though my throat was dry.
["Look at what's in front of us! A mystic being. A fucking Fenrir!"]
"I'll just run..."
[No chance.]
Fenrir growled.
The sound alone shattered the air.
Frost mana exploded outward, blasting me into the wall.
My body rattled like a toy. Bones screamed.
"Ugh… I think I broke something," I muttered, dragging myself upright.
[Don't resist. We'll start over.]
"No… something's off."
[Hm?]
"Fenrir's swaying… those eyes… they look… pained."
Still, its fury didn't relent. Mana surged again, freezing everything in its path. The temperature plummeted.
My aura flared instinctively, red sparks bursting across my skin.
I rammed my C-rank sword into the floor, anchoring myself against the storm.
The frost gnawed into my arms, my legs. The cold pierced bone. My aura burned brighter, but even that felt like it would gutter out.
Step by step, I forced myself toward Fenrir.
[What are you doing?]
I ignored Nexar's words, teeth clenched, voice cracking as I shouted against the gale.
"I'm not from that Ebok...?...whatever.. Syndicate!"
Fenrir's voice thundered, heavy with hate.
"Lies! How did you find the dungeon I hid, then?"
"I stumbled across it. I'm here for—"
"Shut up."
The shockwave doubled in intensity.
My feet skidded across the frozen stone, aura sparks barely keeping me anchored, the sword vibrating under the pressure.
"Tsk…" My eyes locked on the C-rank blade. "I can't even use Aura Blade with this junk."
Then suddenly, the shockwaves stopped.
Fenrir staggered, its massive body crashing into the wall.
Frost crumbled around it as it leaned heavily against the stone, legs swaying, breath ragged and uneven.
[Rune… now's the chance. Run.]
But instead of running, I sheathed my sword and stepped toward Fenrir, arms raised to show I held no threat.
The beast's gaze fixed on me, still sharp, still wary. But behind the hatred, I could see it. Pain.
Its breathing was labored, each inhale like broken glass.
"Nexar… is it poison?" I whispered.
[Yes. Looks like someone used Shadowsting Tonic on her.]
My eyes locked with Fenrir's. "You won't survive like this."
She shut her eyes, then opened them again, voice hoarse. "Get out."
Her legs buckled, body pressing harder into the wall.
"Nexar… advanced potion still costs eighty stat points, right?"
[Y-yes. But why…?]
I clicked my tongue. Tsk.
After saving Sera and buying those two mana coils, I only had sixty-three points left. And I needed at least ten HP just to function. That meant… impossible.
"Fenrir," I called, watching her chest heave with ragged breaths.
"Did you not leave yet?"
"What if I told you… I have a way to fix you?"
Her eyes sharpened. "Fix me? Hah. What can you humans do, other than exploit the weak?" The hatred in them hadn't faded.
"Then let me demonstrate."
I walked past her, lowering myself onto the slighty warmer floor.
My hands slipped into my pouch and pulled out the two mana coils, still pulsing faintly with the golems' stolen energy.
Fenrir's eyes narrowed. "What is that?"
I didn't answer.
[Rune? Wait.. don't tell me..]
The coils in my hands hummed, vibrating with an alien rhythm.
Fenrir flinched, her body tensing, ready to strike if I made a wrong move.
But she didn't attack.
I closed my eyes.
The purple glow bled out of the coils, threading into me.
Heat and cold both at once surged through my veins.
Then came the black mana threads, snaking out of me, tangling with the red sparks of my aura.
I focused on my mana circuits, guiding the flood.
My own mana resisted the foreign intrusion, repelling it violently.
But I pressed harder, forcing my aura to act as a shepherd.
Slowly, agonizingly, the wild, mechanical essence of the golem's mana bent, adapting, reshaping to mimic my own nature.
Purple warped into black.
Time slipped by, thirty minutes, maybe more.
Sweat froze on my skin, my breathing heavy and uneven.
Finally, I exhaled sharply, opening my eyes.
I pushed myself to my feet.
Fenrir's gaze pinned me, unblinking, cautious. Ready to kill me the moment I tried to attack.
From my right hand, red sparks flickered. From my left, black sparks crackled faintly.
A weak grin tugged at my lips. "Good… My mana attribute hasn't changed. Still darkness."
I walked toward Fenrir, my steps steady despite the dizziness swirling in my head.
My eyes flicked to the glowing panel hovering faintly in the corner of my vision. Mana: 45/45.
"Good," I muttered.
I bent down, grabbed a jagged rock from the floor, and clenched it in my fist. Aura crackled around my knuckles, then crunch.
The rock split, its shattered form settling into something like a crude bowl.
"Stop… the nonsense," Fenrir rasped, her voice weaker than before.
I set the makeshift bowl on the ground, then pressed my palm against its hollowed center.
"Fenrir… if you want to live, you'll have to believe me."
Her lips curled into a faint snarl, though it carried no strength.
"Believe you? I will never believe you, hum—"
I cut her off, my tone sharp. "Listen carefully. I'm about to lose consciousness."
Her eyes widened, confusion flashing across them. "…What?"
[Wait, what!?]
"When I'm out," I continued, ignoring them both, "this rock will hold a small amount of liquid. You have to drink it. That's your only chance."
Fenrir blinked, like my words were foreign, impossible to grasp.
I couldn't blame her. Even I didn't fully understand if this gamble would work.
Still, a grin tugged at my lips, stretching wider until it became a wolfish smile.
"Let me save you."
I drew in a long breath. "Nexar… buy the advanced potion. Allocate the rest of my stat points to health and stamina. Do it now."
[…Here we go.] Nexar sighed, resigned.
The world trembled, a heavy pressure crushing down on me. My legs gave out.
"H-hey…!" I heard Fenrir's voice, panicked now, ringing in my ears.
Then... thud.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
******
["Hello. Nice to meet you. I am Nexar,"] the words appeared, glowing faintly in blue script above the rocky bowl.
Fenrir recoiled, muscles tightening as she leapt away from the apparition. Her silver eyes narrowed, hackles raised, body poised to spring.
"W-what are you?" she demanded, voice a low growl.
More words formed slowly, the strokes deliberate and calm.
[Rest assured, I am not your enemy. Besides, neither of us can attack each other. So chill.]
Fenrir's suspicion deepened. "What's your race…? And how are you writing in this language? The tongue of mystic beings… Elarion."
[I wish I could tell you…] Nexar replied. […But first, tell me... how do you feel after drinking that?]
Fenrir hesitated, glancing down at the rocky bowl, its faintly shimmering liquid still tingling in her throat.
She closed her eyes briefly, testing her body.
"…The burning… the poison gnawing at my frost mana.. it's receded. My breathing is… steady again."
[Then you should be thankful,] Nexar wrote. [He risked his life to save you.]
Her gaze shifted toward the boy lying motionless on the ground.
His chest rose and fell faintly, but his face was pale, lips colorless.
Fenrir's throat tightened. "…Why?" she whispered.
[I wish I knew,] Nexar answered. [Then again… he's always acted on a whim.]
Fenrir's eyes lingered on him a moment longer, softening just slightly.
She murmured, "…I will repay him someday."
[The souls of higher lifeforms like you, mystic beings, carry enough spirit energy for me to interact. Which means… there's something you can do to escape.]
Her ears twitched, her stance wary again. "…What is it?"
[Take your children and head east. Reach the forest. You'll know what to do when you get there.]
Fenrir blinked, confusion shadowing her expression. "…How do you know about my children? And what lies in the eastern forests?"
[…I can't say much. You'll understand once you reach the forest.] Nexar's script lingered coldly in the air. [Or… you can remain here and be hunted, along with your young, for your soul print.]
The words carried no emotion, but they pressed against Fenrir like iron chains.
"…Thank you," Fenrir said at last, her voice low.
[Not me. Thank him, when you get the chance.]
Fenrir gave a slow nod, turning to leave, but the glowing text flickered again.
[Ah. One more thing. I can't sense Etherium in your blood. Perhaps… you didn't consume it?]
Fenrir lowered her head. "…No. I didn't have the strength to absorb it before. Instead, I slept beside it, suppressing the burn."
[That explains it… how you lasted this long. Hm. Seems like you died in his second life... after he took the Etherium before you could claim it.]
Her ears perked. "…What was that?"
[Nothing. Forget it.] Nexar wrote quickly, before pausing. [Can you give it to him? He came here for that.]
Fenrir studied Rune's unconscious form again, then inclined her head. "…Sure."
With a low hum, the air shimmered, and a crystalline shard of pure Etherium formed, drawn from her hidden dimensional space.
[Woaah… Fourth-dimensional storage. You have the same ability as me.] Nexar's words rippled in faint awe.
"…I will be taking my leave," Fenrir said quietly.
She padded toward Rune, lowering her massive head until her snout hovered just above him.
She sniffed his scent carefully, then extended her tongue, giving a slow, deliberate lick across his cheek.
"…I will remember your scent," Fenrir whispered, her voice almost gentle, before turning away and vanishing into the cave's shadows.