The cavern shook as the Floor Guardian emerged from the depths — a towering Abyssal Core Beast, its body a grotesque fusion of obsidian chitin and molten corruption. A pulsating heart glowed deep within its chest, like a furnace pumping raw abyssal energy into its veins. Its roar cracked stone and sent a shockwave that nearly knocked Kael to his knees.
[Warning: Abyssal Core Beast – Floor Guardian Detected!]HP: 100,000Enrage Timer: 1 minute 30 seconds. If the Guardian is not slain, remaining HP × 1000 will detonate as True Damage.
Kael's blood ran cold. A minute and a half…? If I hesitate, everything ends here.
He gripped his new abyssal-forged glaive tightly, its edge humming with the resonance of his mana. He'd been saving 60 free stat points for this moment — without hesitation, he funneled them all into Strength. His body ignited with raw power, veins burning like fire, muscles thrumming as if infused with lightning.
The Guardian lunged, maw splitting into four serrated jaws, abyssal sludge dripping from its fangs.
"Now! All summons—attack with everything you have!"
Pyraflame roared, wings bursting with flame, its body a miniature sun amidst the darkness. It intercepted the Guardian's charge, slamming its fiery bulk against the beast's armored chest. The cavern trembled.
The Guardian's claws came down, smashing Pyraflame into the stone. For a moment, Kael thought the summon would shatter—But the flame-dragon roared back, heat exploding outward, forcing the Guardian back a step.
[Pyraflame has withstood a Floor Guardian's strike.]Condition Progression: Third Trial requirement met!
Pyraflame's flames stabilized, its core pulsing brighter as Kael felt its mana burning more controlled, less volatile.
The Guardian slammed its fists into the ground, shattering the cavern floor. Abyssal corruption surged, veins of black spreading through the stone. The arena itself began to collapse — walls crumbling, ceiling cracking.
Kael nearly lost his footing, but a golden light surged.
Luminara extended her wings, her halo blazing as she spread a radiant barrier across Kael and the other summons. The ceiling collapsed in a hail of stone and corruption, but none of it touched them. She guided them step by step, shielding and illuminating the path through chaos.
[Luminara has shielded allies through the collapse of a corrupted stronghold.]Condition Progression: Second Trial requirement met!
Kael's heart pounded. They're doing it. Every one of them…!
The Guardian screeched as Aquara stepped forward, staff raised, her waters glowing with sapphire purity. Abyssal corruption writhed around the beast's core, but her waters wrapped around it, searing against the infection like holy fire.
The Guardian thrashed violently, half its body steaming as Aquara forced her will upon it.
[Aquara has cleansed corruption from an Abyssal Core Beast.]Condition Progression: Third Trial requirement met!
The Guardian staggered, its movements sluggish — its chest now exposed, the glowing furnace-heart visible beneath cracked plates.
Umbra's form expanded from the shadows, its dark tendrils latching onto the Guardian's chest. With a guttural growl, it pierced through the armor and wrapped itself around the heart.
The Guardian howled in agony as Umbra tore it free, devouring the pulsating abyssal core whole.
[Umbra has devoured the Heart of a Floor Guardian.]Condition Progression: Second Trial requirement met!
[Enrage Timer: 0:45… 0:44… 0:43…]
Kael's system chimed in mercilessly. The beast's HP was plummeting but not fast enough.
"Everyone! All skills, everything you've got—NOW!"
Aquara's water blades surged, cutting through corrupted flesh.Pyraflame unleashed a Dragonflare Nova, engulfing the monster in a sea of fire.Luminara amplified their strength, her blessing doubling their speed and striking power.Umbra's shadows ripped chunks of abyssal flesh away, feeding and growing faster with each bite.
Kael lunged in with his glaive, channeling every ounce of Strength. The weapon's abyssal runes flared, releasing the skills bound within:
[Cleave of Ruin] – a sweeping strike that carved through the Guardian's torso.
[Void Rend] – a follow-up that tore open the wound further, exposing its inner furnace.
"Break it!" Kael roared. His glaive pierced the heart-chamber, and all the summons' attacks converged at once.
[Guardian HP: 5,000 → 2,500 → 1,000…][Timer: 0:09… 0:08… 0:07…]
The Guardian let out a last distorted roar, raising its claw for one final strike.
"Finish it!!"
Umbra and Pyraflame struck together — shadow and flame collapsing into the exposed core. With a thunderous detonation, the beast's heart was annihilated, its body imploding into a storm of corrupted energy.
Silence.
Kael fell to one knee, his glaive still humming with abyssal resonance. His lungs burned, his arms ached, but the system chimes flooded in, overwhelming his exhaustion.
[Floor Guardian Defeated!]+4,500 EXP distributed across party.Kael: +1,200 EXP. (Level 15 → 16)]Aquara: +800 EXP. (Level 11 → 12)]Pyraflame: +800 EXP. (Level 11 → 12)]Luminara: +800 EXP. (Level 10 → 11)]Umbra: +900 EXP. (Level 12 → 13)]
[All Summons have fulfilled their current Evolution Conditions!]
Kael exhaled shakily, staring at the fading motes of corruption that lingered in the air. His summons stood around him, battered but triumphant, each glowing faintly as if their cores were on the cusp of transformation.
He smiled grimly. "We did it. You all… you're ready."
But deep in the cavern, the system's voice whispered one more message:
[Warning: Next Floor Guardian lies ahead.][Evolution sequence pending…]
Kael tightened his grip on the glaive. Then let them come. We'll be stronger than ever.