Mark could feel his tail trembling from the lingering pain.
His twitching lips remained curled up throughout the pain.
Long whiskers shook.
Yawn-
The next instant, something entered the Boss Room.
A projectile.
An Ice Spike flew through the air.
Directed towards the Guardian's body.
The Boss Monster immediately disappeared.
The Ice Spike missed its target.
The Moonlit Feline meowed from outside the Boss Room.
'You just had to spoil it, huh'
Mark brought his right hand to his head.
'Hahaha... Hahahahha! Oh my, hahahhaha!'
He laughed and laughed, while monstrous sounds were emitted from his mouth.
'Enough playing around, huh?'
The Moonlit Feline meowed in response. And Mark chuckled once again.
The Guardian appeared in front of him, ready to attack.
'Fight fire with fire...' Mark thought, as his tail moved towards the ground. 'That was fun. But if the System needed to warn me then...'
The expression on the Guardian's face changed.
"NO! STOP IT!" The Boss Monster shouted, sensing a change in Mana.
A massive amount of Mana was immediately turned into Freezing Mana, as Mark's tail touched the ground.
[Your Skill "Frozen Land[C+]" has evolved into "Freezing Winter[A+]".]
The next instant, the entire Boss Room was frozen solid.
The ground, ceiling, and walls.
Everything had been frozen.
Only the Guardian remained, hovering in the air.
"NO! YOU DIDN'T...! YOU DIDN'T JUST...!"
The more the Guardian struggled, the hotter and fiercer its flames got.
The fiercer its flames burnt, the faster the ice that covered the ceiling melted, turning it into fire-extinguishing water.
Mark stared at the spectacle in front of him.
"I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME AT LEAST!!" The Guardian shouted as it prepared a great explosion, ignoring the water that fell on its body.
This time, instead of using his "Impenetrable Barrier" Magic Skill, Mark tried something different.
[You have learned the Magic Skill "Ice Dome[C]".]
An insanely strong explosion ensued, destroying and melting most of the ice in the Boss Room.
Even Mark's "Ice Dome[C]" was quickly turned into hot water.
But, the instant the barrier melted, he used the Magic Skill once more.
By doing so, he avoided all damage from the Guardian's explosion.
A minute later, Mark broke the protective dome with his tail.
The Boss Room, which, once, was filled with flames, was now covered by water and blocks of ice.
The air had become misty.
And the Guardian's flames were slowly dying out.
'Mm. That was a good fight. Oh. Now that I think about it, he must have been scared of you, huh?' Mark lowered his body.
The Moonlit Feline that had entered the Boss Room took a seat in front of Mark.
'That must be why he wanted to make that deal, huh? He wanted to keep the ice outside. To keep you outside. To keep the one that could cause him the most trouble outside. And, he, as if doing me a favor, convinced me to go along with it. Pretty cool for a random Monster, don't you think? Haha. I hope... I really hope...'
Mark's eyes burned.
'That I can turn him into my Underling. Strong, smart, cunning. Yeah. Almost wicked. And above all...'
Mark gently placed his palm on the Moonlit Feline's head.
'Full of pride.'
Seconds later, the Guardian's last flame died out.
[You have defeated The Second Floor's Guardian. 80'000 Gold Coins and 160'000 Experience Points earned.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have defeated a Guardian.]
[You have been awarded 3 Skill Points.]
[You can now access the Dungeon's First Floor.]
[You can access the Dungeon's Last Floor.]
'That took a while.' Mark thought as he read the last message in front of him.
"It was well fought, my Lord." Levi complimented.
'Was it? That guy basically had me on the ropes at the end. Plus, he really pulled me into his game. I was too focused on competing that I almost let him go through some kind of Evolution. That could have been trouble. Still... Being able to compete against Fire with Fire...' A large and wide smile was drawn on the white-scaled Monster's face. 'Good to know.'
Using its paws, the Moonlit Feline moved around two Items that lay on the ground.
Right where the Guardian's last flame had died out.
'What are these?' Mark asked as he picked up two red gems.
[You have obtained a "Fire Spirit Core[S]".]
[You have obtained a "Guardian's Core [S]".]
Mark got no information from the System, and yet, something inside him awoke, letting him know what one of the two Items was for.
Swallow-
[You have gained 5000 Evolution Points.]
[You have devoured a Floor's Guardian.]
[Calculating appropriate reward....]
'So little, huh?'
Mark turned his gaze back to the second red gem.
'Fire Spirit Core. Can I get information on that or...?'
[Fire Spirit Core[S]: A gem full of Mana.
A certain Fire Spirit slumbers within it.
The Fire Spirit Core can be used to either Manipulate Fire or summon the Spirit inside.]
'A certain Fire Spirit, huh?' A wide smile appeared on Mark's face.
All his Underlings had now joined his side.
'Not a random Fire Spirit, but a certain one.'
Mark held onto the gem tightly.
'Come out.'
Silence-
'Come out, I said.'
No answer came.
'Come out, you coward.'
[The Slumbering Fire Spirit awakens.]
The next instant, the red gem caught fire.
But it wasn't nearly hot enough to burn Mark whose Fire Resistance was [A] Ranked.
[The Fire Spirit is testing you.]
'This again? Well, I've beaten you so-'
[The Fire Spirit has deemed you Unworthy.]
'You're joking, right? Come out, now.'
[The Fire Spirit refuses.]
'Scared?'
[The Fire Spirit glares at you.]
'I'll give you a rematch sometime.'
At those words, great flames exited the vibrant red gem.
The exiting flames left the gem dark and stone-like.
[The Fire Spirit accepts your bargain.]
[The Fire Spirit has deemed you worthy.]
[You can now summon the Fire Spirit under certain Conditions.]
Mark's eyes widened.
The Guardian he had defeated appeared once more.
A humanoid being made of flames.
It stood in front of Mark with an expressionless face.
The ex-Guardian rose its finger and pointed at Mark.
"Next time..."
[The Fire Spirit's Evolution has been halted.]
[Your Title "Devourer" is resonating with the Fire Spirit's Nature.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" is resonating with the Fire Spirit's Nature.]
A nervous smile appeared on Mark's face as he stared at the messages in front of him.
[The Fire Spirit has acquired a new Title.]
[The Fire Spirit has acquired the Title "All Swallowing Flames".]
[The Fire Spirit's Flames shall grow stronger with each Being it burns.]
[The Title will remain the Fire Spirit's as long as you are the holder of the "Fire Spirit's Core".]
"I won't lose." The ex-Guardian declared.
'The more it burns, the stronger its fire will become...'
The Fire Spirit lowered its arm.
'That's a scary one.'
Only then, did Mark notice that its whole right arm was made of red flames, different from the rest of its body.
'So part of your "Flames" did become "Flames Of Chaos", huh? Guess I defeated you at the right time, before you could completely Evolve.'
An annoyed expression appeared on the summoned Fire Spirit.
"I can hear your thoughts now. How irritating." It said before disappearing.
[The Fire Spirit falls back into a slumber.]
'Already?'
Levi walked to Mark's side.
"Every time I see it, I am amazed, my Lord. Turning your enemies into allies. It truly is a power fit for a king." He proclaimed.
Mark was taken aback by his Underling's words.
'A king, you say...? What do you-'
[Appropriate Rewards cannot be calculated.]
[The swallowed Guardian Core is reacting to your Titles.]
'Huh?'
A sudden stomachache surprised Mark.
'Argh... That hurts. First time swallowing something-'
[Your "Devourer" Title is staring at the swallowed "Guardian Core".]
[Your "Evolving Monster" Title is longing for the swallowed "Guardian Core".]
Suddenly, Mark felt as if his stomach had been split into two different compartments.
'What... Is happening... AGH!'
The urge to throw up suddenly overtook Mark.
As did extreme dizziness.
He couldn't even muster the strength to read the messages in front of him.
[Your "Evolving Monster" Title is glaring at your "Devourer" Title.]
[Your "Devourer" Title is showing its fangs to your "Evolving Monster" Title.]
Mark felt that using his hand to keep his mouth shut was the only way he could keep his insides from spilling out.
No, it felt even worse than that.
Mark suddenly started coughing out blood black as night, while worry overtook his Underlings.
[Your "Devourer" Title desires to feast upon your "Evolving Monster" Title.]
It felt like he was being eaten from the inside.
As if fangs, claws, and thorns were piercing his internal organs.
The pain was unbearable.
Beyond reason.
Mark's head suddenly started twitching uncontrollably.
"What is it? My Lord? MY LORD?" The usually composed Levi shouted as he approached his Master.
[Your "Evolving Monster" Title wants to flee from your "Devourer" Title.]
'AHHHH!!!! IT FEELS... LIKE... LIKE I'M... GOING TO... LIKE I'M ABOUT TO... LIKE I'LL SPLIT... IN TWO!!'
Mark growled loudly as he gripped his head and held it with all his strength, as if to keep it together.
An incredible amount of Mana was emanating from Mark's body.
A Mana, that did not seem to be his.
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" partially becomes the "### ## G####".]
[Your Title "Devourer" partially becomes the "### ## G#######".]
A mixture of purple Mana and Mana dark as night emanated from his body.
The two clashed again and again, before enveloping Mark.
The light in Mark's eyes started fading.
He was about to pass out, when,
BOOM-
An explosion of Mana.
Mana, from a different source.
The clash led to a powerful explosion.
Smoke covered the entire Boss Room.
Once the smoke faded, a cylindrical barrier, that stretched from the ground to the ceiling, had appeared to surround Mark.
His Underlings, confused and fearing for their Master's life, attacked the barrier.
Alas, they couldn't do a thing.
Above the barrier, something appeared.
A red eye made of Mana, hovered in the air.
'AGH...AAH...!!'
The eye looked down upon the scene below.
As if finding it not to its liking, the eye started exuding insane pressure inside the barrier, in which Mark was held captive.
The pressure made his body feel many times heavier.
His knees fell to the ground.
The pressure made breathing difficult and painful.
It got heavier.
Mark's whole body was brought to the ground, as he coughed blood.
The ground below him cracked.
Breathing became impossible.
The pressure kept increasing, making Mark sink into the breaking ground.
His lungs and blood vessels were about to burst.
Mark lost consciousness, long before the extreme pressure ceased.
The reason, why it ceased, was,
[The Dungeon Master is suppressing the "### ## G####".]
[The Dungeon Master is suppressing the "### ## G#######".]
Mark had lost consciousness, but messages did not stop appearing in front of him.
[The Dungeon Master settles the dispute for the "Guardian Core".]
[The Dungeon Master rules that the "Guardian Core" fits the "Evolving Monster" Title.]
[The "Devourer" Title glares menacingly.]
[The Dungeon Master stares back.]
[The "Devourer" Title retracts begrudgingly.]
A final explosion of Mana appeared.
With it, the barrier and the hovering eye both disappeared.