Once they entered the dungeon boss room, Thalia and Miho were immediately shocked…the boss was nothing like what they expected. The two girls were expecting to see a giant spider, bug, ape, or maybe some terrifying snake-creature.
Instead, they saw a muscular man with wings lying down on a bed…or perhaps he looked more like a body-building angel combined with a mummy. His body was covered in bandages…that alone gave him a mummy look…or like a man who had been in a very bad car accident bandaged from head to toe.
The second odd thing the girls noticed about the dungeon boss was that he was surrounded by mana crystals…piles and piles of mana crystals all around the boss room…and he appeared to be goring himself on the crystals…like a starving man at a buffet.
!ALERT!
[Apostle of Itarim (weakened)]
"He is an Apostle of Itarim…but something is off about him…" Thalia said to Miho.
The Apostle turned his attention to the two intruders and said with a polite voice, "I really don't feel like fighting you…I'm done with fighting…but it appears I have no choice…please forgive me ladies."
He dashed forward with a quick thrust aimed at Thalia's chest.
!ALERT!
[MAIDEN'S DOMAIN Activated]
[CORONA skill used]
Thalia quickly cast powerful buffs on herself and Miho while also materializing her mana armor and enhancing her cutlass.
CLANG
She managed to parry the Apostle's thrust attack by redirecting the powerful blow with her cutlass.
The Apostle scratched his chin while complaining… "man, I was hoping to end this quickly. I guess it's the hard way then."
CLING CLING CLASH
He unleashed a savage storm of sword attacks including vertical, diagonal, horizontal slashes and trusts. Thalia read his mana flow and was able to counter and dodge his attacks…meanwhile more ape-guards appeared.
"I'll take care of these guys…you focus on the boss!" Miho shouted.
CLANG CLANG CLASH
The swords flashed and sparked like two dragons dancing in the air. Their blades met in a ringing CRACK sound that filled the air. The vibrations from the sword strikes combined with the mana pressure both fighters were unleashing caused Miho to shiver.
'When did you get so strong? I need to intensify my training…or else I will get left far behind.' Miho thought as she battled the ape-guards.
Thalia's cutlass shined with the intensity of a blade dipped in lava…pulsing bright white with the immense mana she had poured into it.
CLING CLING CLASH
As the fight dragged on, the Apostles strikes became more and more relentless…faster and faster he went. Swinging and striking with incredible speed and lethal accuracy…each blow directed at a vital spot.
Thalia increased his speed by converting more and more mana into speed and strength. It quickly went from a contest of strength to a contest of speed and skill. The fighter to make the first mistake would surely lose.
The Apostle continued to press his attack with ferocity, until he managed to catch Thalia off-balance and stuck a massive blow to her left shoulder. Immediately, blood gushed out of her wound. The Apostle smiled…this meant he landed the decisive blow…the battle was over.
Thalia looked complete unfazed…she calmly looked at the Apostle as if nothing had happened.
[RESTORATION skill used]
Instantly the wound healed…restored back to normal…as if nothing had ever happened. The Apostle looked disappointed…both fighters took this brief pause to assess their opponent.
Thalia thought, "he is good. Very good. In terms of skill, he far exceeds me…thanks to my CORONA skill I'm able to keep up…but something feels off about him."
Based on her observations, Thalia thought, 'he seems anxious…he wants to end this fight in a hurry. Why is that? Normally, skilled fighters enjoy their fights…and if a fighter hasn't engaged in a fight for a while…they get restless…itching to fight.'
'Yet this Apostle is a hurry to end our fight…hmm…his mana seems off too. Wait a minute…it was hard to see with all those special bandages…but I see that his core is severely damaged…is that why the System identified him as "weakened"? Now I get it…he's commanding the beasts to excavate and gather mana crystal for him. By eating those crystals, he is able to sustain himself…but he needs mountains of crystals…and it seems he is running out of gas now…I have an idea.'
Thalia retreated back a few steps…creating more distance between the two of them. The Apostle decided to end the fight in one final killer move. He poured all his mana in one final powerful thrust attack. At that same moment, Thalia spiked her mana creating a flashing bright light…the intensity of the light felt like being hit by a light-flare at point blank. The light blinded the Apostle for a split second.
"I got you!" The Apostle exclaimed as he pierced Thalia right through the heart. To his surprise, his sword went right through…like if stabbing a ghost or a projection.
"I got you." Thalia said calmly as her cutlass pierced the Apostle's "heart" from behind.
The Apostle staggered then collapsed to the ground. Blood oozing out of his injury.
!ALERT!
[Apostle of Itarim (weakened) has been defeated]
[YOU LEVELED UP]
[YOU LEVELED UP]
[YOU LEVELED UP]
[YOU LEVELED UP]
Coughing out blood, the Apostle smiled and said, "you created an after-image with your light at the same exact moment as the light-flare…didn't you? The bright light blinded me so I wouldn't notice…clever… very clever."
"You are a Seraphim…aren't you?" Thalia asked him calmly.
"How do you know what that is?" The Apostle asked confused.
"I am a terran…you and I are from the same universe." Thalia answered respectfully.
Laughing while coughing out more blood, the Apostle said, "oh…really? You should have said that from the start…maybe we could have avoided all this…maybe…maybe not. When you fight for a long time, your instincts change…you start seeing enemies everywhere, even when there is none."
"Do you know Vidar? He is my father…he is also a Seraphim." Thalia asked with a pleading voice.
"Vidar? You are his daughter? That sly dog…I knew he was up to something…always disappearing." The Apostle laughed weakly…his strength quickly fading.
"What happened to him? Is he alive? Where is he?" Thalia asked with impatience.
"I don't know…sorry…I don't know. The North Empire attacked…we fought back as best as we could…but we couldn't stop them. Our God gave me this shard and ordered me to flee and keep it safe…he gave similar shards to two others and ordered them to flee as well…that's all I know." The Apostle said as his voice grew weaker.
With his dying breath, the Apostle said, "Daughter of Vidar…take this shard. Keep it safe…I leave it to you."
!ALERT!
[Core Shard has been acquired]
[UPDATE TO QUEST: RETRIEVE CORE SHARDS]
[Additional 50% reset instruction data needed
Retrieve 3 Core Shards 1/3 Collected]
Thalia looked puzzled for a moment…then remembered she had received that quest a long time ago. So much happened since then…she had forgotten about that quest.
After the Core Shard was retrieved, the following message appeared
!ALERT!
[VOID skill has been acquired]
[VOID - a skill that creates a pocket dimension accessible by the Player only]
"Thalia! There are more prisoners here!" Miho shouted.
Among the 18 rescued prisoners, there were 2 very familiar faces…Siv and the historian.
[NAME: THALIA LVL: 100
JOB: ERROR
TITLE: LIGHT MAIDEN FATIGUE: 0
HP: 23,300
MP: 24,110
STRENGTH: 110 VITALITY: 102
AGILITY: 230 INTELLEGENCE: 689
SENSE: 920
[PASSIVE]
SAVANT Lv. 1
Due to high natural affinity to mana, your growth rate is accelerated to 150%
INSIGHT Lv. 1
Bonus to Intelligence and Sense
[ACTIVE]
CORONA Lv. 2
Light based magic is imbued into objects or people, increasing their attack/defense/resistance/durability. May reduces magic resistance and physical defense on target area by 50% for 1 minute.
PERCEPTION Lv. 2
Allows Player to see mana. Player may see through space including dimensional walls.
Player is able to share senses with allies. Range depends on SENSE stat. Mana cost is 0.
RESTORATION Lv. 1
Restores object or person to former condition.
VOID Lv. 1
Creates a pocket dimension accessible by the Player only.