I stare at the grey mass of energy spinning in front of me. My breaths slow down as I think over my current situation.
I could wait around outside the 16th-floor boss room for a few more hours. There are about 5 teams left, I'd have a few more chances to get stronger before facing the Greater Demon again.
On the other hand, it really couldn't hurt to test my luck. I can compare my new skills to the demon and teleport out instantly if I'm in any real danger.
I gulp.
"This is just a trial run…"
I take out both my blades. Sword in my right hand and dagger in my left.
Each footstep I take echoes in the narrow stone tunnel. The spinning portal gets closer and closer until I step through without a second thought.
The intensity of mana in the air rises as I'm transported into the final boss room.
My heart rate spikes as I activate all my stat-boosting skills my All-Seeing Eye.
Fast, yet light footsteps catch my attention from the back of the room. They vanish, then a dark swirling mass of energy appears no more than 20m in front of me.
I clench my jaw and lift my weapons as the Greater Demon appears.
Its eyes are a dreadful pale white contrasting its dark skin. The red-horned creature that one-shotted me last time we fought slowly walks toward me without a shred of hesitation in its movements.
My breathing speeds up and I ignite my body into a ball of fire. My eyes glance side to side trying to think of a plan. Then… I hear a deep voice ring out in my head.
"You've returned. It's not often a visitor comes back to see me a second time."
The towering demon continues its slow strut toward me as it shows me a sly toothy grin while flashing me the face of its sword.
My eyes and mouth both open wide for a moment, then I stutter a few words.
"D-Did you just talk… to me?"
The monster stares straight ahead, continuing its rhythmic strides in my direction.
"I did young one. It seems this is your first time… talking to one of my kind."
Frozen in place, I don't know how to process what's going on. I've heard of intelligent monsters, but never anything that can communicate to humans with actual words.
The demon is less than 10m away now, its voice rings out in my head again.
"It's a shame you had to come back here, I see a great potential in you, mere mortal. Unfortunately, I'll have to cut the bud before it blooms."
Drops of sweat roll down my forehead as the final boss comes closer and closer.
It's less than 5m away now…. and I'm finally coming back to my senses. A wave of urgency comes over me as I let out a thin smile.
"I'd like to see you try."
I use Dungeon Walker to teleport behind the demon and release a slash of fire from close range. It's a surprise attack, and a powerful one at that. I let out a grunt as the dark red wave of energy rockets toward the demon's exposed back.
Time seems to slow down as I watch my flames cut through the air.
My attack inches closer and closer but something doesn't feel quite right…
In the next moment, with unfathomable speed and precision, I watch the demon turn its neck to lock eyes with mine giving me a bone-chilling stare.
I watch the hard floor beneath its feet fracture as it propels itself away with both immense power and seamless ease. The deep voice rings in my head again.
"I applaud you for your efforts, but this is the end."
The menacing Greater Demon turns toward me with a wicked grin. It flies forward obliterating the rocky floor beneath its feet, hurling stones in wave-like patterns on either side of its body.
I grit my teeth and use Dungeon Walker to distance myself from the beast again, over 40m away.
The second I appear, a black swirling mass of energy opens directly beside me. The same overpowering energy destroys the stone floor all around us as a massive black demon's hand comes shooting out of the portal. I hear its voice one last time.
"Goodbye, it was fun playing with you. DEMON'S CURSE."
The fast-moving palm slams into my chest. I get flashbacks from my previous time fighting this monster as the breath gets knocked out of me.
While letting out a desperate gasp for air, I activate Dungeon Walker and teleport myself as far away as I can without thinking much about where.
My HP drops 100, but my MP does too…
For some reason, it's easiest for me to transport here of all places… The 3rd mountain in the Griffin's dungeon, overlooking the vast hills and trees below.
My head throbs as I keep trying to inhale air through my punctured lungs. While regenerating damaged organs and a few broken ribs I finally stand to my feet.
I open my status to watch my health and MP drop lower and lower as I deactivate all my skills chugging an HP potion.
Last time I was hit with that "Demon's Curse" it did not end well… at all…
I gulp.
My HP returns to full, but moments later drops 100 points again with my MP bar along with it. Every second, both of them drop roughly 100 points.
"Why… My MP too? Why is this-"
Then I remember my new passive perk that comes with my [Special Grade] Self Regeneration skill: Poison and Curse removal.
I stare at my status wide-eyed while taking a few mana crystals out of my storage to plunder their MP. About ten seconds go by and the rate of decreasing mana and HP slows considerably.
They're dropping by just under 50 points each per second. After half a minute of intense breathing, HP potion drinking, and mana crystal plundering, the curse finally dissipates completely.
I let out a sigh of relief, then sit down on a rock ledge to think about the events that just took place.
This is a highly intelligent monster. Its telepathy ability even allows it to communicate with humans. My base stats are nowhere near strong enough to stand a chance in a battle of brute strength or speed.
It outpaced me in an instant even while my All-Seeing Eye and a superior teleportation skill. This Greater Demon is in a league of its own.
I scrunch my eyebrows and focus on the never-ending sea of trees in front of me.
"This is not going to be easy… Not one bit…"
I sit and stare for a while trying to formulate a plan, then one thing the monster said to me starts to poke at the back of my mind.
The moment I entered, it said: "You've returned. It's not often a visitor comes back to see me a second time."
That must mean it remembers me. The final boss' domain has to act like a normal dungeon floor for that to be the case. It's not like the boss rooms that reset every time a hunter defeats or leaves them.
"So, that's its weakness."
A small grin starts to form at the corners of my mouth.
Griffins fly high in the sky as my brain starts piecing together the perfect plan. This labyrinth has taught me a lot. Watching my teammates grow, defeating higher-level monsters with their limited abilities is pretty neat to see. Now it's my turn.
Sometimes, being stronger than your opponent is a weakness if you can't guess their next move.
It's time for me to put away the checkerboard and start playing chess.
I grip my blades and double-check my status to make sure my HP and MP are at full before activating Dungeon Walker and surveying my potential warp points.
Moments later, I prepare to throw myself back into battle.
I have one objective. With the element of surprise, my plan will go off without a hitch.
I teleport in as close as possible to the resting demon., this is the first time I've seen it not in full battle mode. The monster sits on a large flat stone slab at the backside of its lair overlooking the dome-shaped boss room.
A meter-tall egg-shaped red object catches my eye as I'm portaling in. The Demon seems to be eyeing it, guarding it even…
I pay it no mind and stick to the plan. My sword glows red and I pre-charge it to the brim with advanced fire magic. I release my attack at point blank without hesitation.
The red-hot flames ripple through the air toward the unsuspecting demon. I assume it will dodge, so I charge up another attack to ready a countermove.
As expected, it immediately realizes the danger, but a series of unexpected events unfold.
Rather than using its own Dungeon Walker ability, the monster throws its body in front of the red odd-shaped orb on the ground. I still can't see it clearly from this distance, but the object seems to be of great value to this creature…
My fiery slash makes contact with the Greater Demon, exploding into a crimson ball of flames as it hits the monster's right shoulder. It deflects some of the less intense outer layers of the attack away from any vital points with its long blade, but takes a majority of it at point-blank range…
It lets out a muffled grunt mixed with a roar as the fire residue sinks into its thick skin, searing it from the inside out.
This is not what I intended to do, but I'll take every chance I can get.
The angry voice of the Greater Demon rings in my head again.
"Mortal Boy! You've come too close to sullying the duty of a Labyrinth's Guardian."
The dark-skinned monster glances at the red item again then steps toward me with anger filling its eyes.
"This time, I will not hold back."
The ground all around me begins to rumble and fragments of black stone begin floating up into the air.
I gulp…
Then do what I promised myself I would. Use my head.
"Dungeon Walker."
In an instant, I warp away from the rage-filled Guardian's Lair back to the peaceful mountaintop.
Stage one of my plan is complete, it didn't go exactly how I wanted it to, but I got it done. The demon has been inflicted with a curse of my own, the ever-burning flames of advanced fire summoning.
Soon, I'll move to phase two. The only thing bugging me is the new information that's been revealed.
"What is that mysterious red orb…?"