Damons and Misty moved forward in silence.
The air was heavy. The tension, palpable.
They passed the last trees of the forest…
…then suddenly, nothing.
No trees on the horizon. Just an overwhelming void.
A massive blackened, cracked crater.
As if a meteor had ripped the earth apart.
And there, in the center…
A monstrous figure stood tall.
[PORTAL BOSS – FINAL STAGE MUTANT BOAR | Level 30]
Four defenses black as night.
Six glowing red eyes.
A colossal body, twice as big as any boar they had faced so far.
Damons and Misty, still half-recovered from their injuries, understood instantly:
They had to end it. Fast.
Damons' mana was nearly depleted.
Their breathing short. Muscles trembling.
Damons clenched his teeth.
"My title doesn't reduce damage anymore… We're wide open. We need to finish it in one strike."
They charged.
Their steps struck the ground like war drums.
The boss reacted instantly.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
It slammed the ground with its hooves, exploding the earth in a deafening crash.
A shockwave launched them into the air.
Mid-air, Damons shouted:
"Misty! Aerial combo!"
Their bodies crossed in the sky.
Their feet clashed for a brief instant.
Then they propelled each other in opposite directions.
Misty dove toward the ground like an arrow.
Damons rose even higher, like a celestial projectile.
SWOOSH! WHOOSH!
"Incredible…" he thought, glancing at the ground now reduced to a blurry dot beneath his feet. "It's the first time I've flown this high."
The wind whipped his face, his breathing quickened… Not from fear, but excitement.
There was a slight tension in his stomach, that instinctive vertigo in the face of the void… but nothing terrifying.
Just that strange, intoxicating feeling, like a chill down the spine.
It was exhilarating.
"If I'm not shaking, then I really have changed… I've become stronger."
And up there, carried by the skies, he smiled. Because it was no longer the world dominating him.
It was him rising above it all.
The boss's tentacles cracked through the air, targeting the two fighters.
But they dodged, spinning through the attack.
"LET'S END IT!" Damons yelled, still ascending.
The tentacles lashed again.
Damons evaded them one by one, twirling mid-air.
Then he dived straight toward the creature.
On the ground, Misty landed in a perfect roll.
He followed up with a series of acrobatics, slicing through the tentacles with grace and precision.
[SYSTEM]
[YOU ACTIVATE SKILL SHARING – TARGET: ROYAL GUARD MISTY]
Damons transferred part of his skills to his ally.
[SYSTEM]
[YOU SHARE YOUR SKILL MANA CHARGE WITH YOUR ROYAL GUARD MISTY]
Damons' body ignited with a brilliant purple aura, mystical flames covering every inch of his skin.
[SYSTEM]
[YOUR BODY IS OVERFLOWING WITH MANA – MAX CAPACITY REACHED]
The boss roared, sensing the threat:
GROOOOAAAAHHH!!
It leaped toward Damons, jaws wide open.
Misty, down below, didn't hesitate for a second.
[SYSTEM]: MISTY USES SKILL — CRUSHING LEAP ART: SECOND FORM – TRIPLE IMPACT!]
Damons did the same.
[SYSTEM]: YOU USE: CRUSHING LEAP ART – SECOND FORM: TRIPLE IMPACT!]
FWOOSH!!
Damons dashed straight into the beast's gaping mouth.
CRAAAAACK!!!
Misty struck the boss's stomach with such force that the earth trembled.
Inside, Damons drove his daggers into the beast's pulsing heart.
The two synchronized warriors destroyed the monster from the inside out.
BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!
The boss's back exploded from the violence of the six combined impacts — three from Damons, three from Misty.
Each strike carried rage, precision, and raw power that defied all logic.
A dull rumble echoed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
[SYSTEM]: BOSS [Final Mutant Boar] [DEFEATED.]
[+1000XP]
[YOU GAINED A LEVEL]
[YOU GAINED A LEVEL]
[YOU GAINED A LEVEL]
[YOU GAINED A LEVEL]
LV17 > LV21
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: SWORD ART LV.1]
[+1000XP]
[MISTY GAINED A LEVEL]
[MISTY GAINED A LEVEL]
[MISTY GAINED A LEVEL]
LV19 > LV22
The monster's corpse began to disintegrate slowly.
Soon, only a glowing green stone remained, floating in the air.
Damons and Misty collapsed to the ground.
Exhausted. Unconscious.
A floating screen appeared above their bodies.
[SYSTEM]: DUNGEON EJECTION IN 20 MINUTES]
Then… a familiar voice echoed in their minds.
DEMONIC AI:
"Congratulations, Candidate. Your mana is increasing exponentially.
The mana of the first Seal is ready to be released into your body… safely."
15 minutes later…
Damons slowly opened his eyes.
"What… is happening…?"
Crawling, he dragged himself to the green stone. He picked it up with difficulty.
Beside him, Misty groaned.
"Wasn't this supposed to be an F-rank portal…?!"
Damons sighed, leaning against a rock.
"Normally, we should've started with goblins or gnolls."
He paused, then gave a faint smile:
"But I wanted something stronger. So we'd get stronger… faster."
Misty let out a tired chuckle.
"It was suicidal… but fun."
Damons slowly stood up, holding the stone.
"Come on. Let's go home."
And despite the pain, despite the exhaustion…
They walked together toward the portal's light.
[A FEW DOZEN MINUTES LATER – RECEPTION ROOM – HUNTER ASSOCIATION]
A sharp metallic smell filled the room.
The receptionist pinched her nose, grimacing:
"Good grief… Did you just crawl out of a bloodbath or something?!"
Damons didn't answer.
He placed a box full of glowing crystals on the counter.
The scale screen lit up…
Then displayed:
[€15,000]
The receptionist's eyes widened.
Damons stood frozen, mouth agape, unable to say a word.
He had never seen so much money in his life…
His heart pounded, his head swam. The accumulated fatigue, the stress, the sudden euphoria… It was too much.
A sigh escaped him.
"This can't be real…" he murmured, staggering.
"Fifteen thousand?! Not bad at all… Player card, please."
Damons handed over his card, still dazed by the amount.
"There. All done. Your earnings have been transferred."
He retrieved his card automatically.
Fifteen thousand euros…
More than he had ever held in his life.
⸻
[NOTES: Even after a living being passes through the portal, it doesn't close immediately. The main portal remains open until the boss is defeated. Only then does a second portal appear above the boss's crystal and automatically eject all remaining living beings from the area after a certain delay.]