Chapter 115: A Difficult Level

Blanche froze for half a second, stunned by such overwhelming stupidity.

"Seriously?"

Apparently even monsters had ego problems.

The goblin stared down at her from his seat with all the majesty of a self-proclaimed king.

Unfortunately for him, he mostly resembled an aggressive potato that had recently discovered the concept of monarchy.

The chief let out a roar. Nothing compared to Phoenix's, of course, but it was enough to set the entire room into motion.

"Ah. Well, that answers my question."

Phoenix didn't give her time to add anything else.

The familiar leapt forward.

His larger form shot across the chamber like a living cannonball.

The first goblins were swept aside before they could even raise their weapons.

One vanished beneath a gigantic paw.

Another slammed into a wall with a distinctly unhealthy sound.

Then chaos erupted.

Blanche threw herself into the fray as well.

Her axe carved a wide arc through the air before crashing into the first enemy within reach.

The impact traveled all the way up her shoulder.

She followed through immediately.

Pivot.

Dodge.

Counterattack.

Even exhausted, covered in sweat, dust, and blood, her body instinctively applied Derek's teachings.

Which boiled down to a single principle:

Survive.

The first of the two massive goblins tried to intercept her.

Blanche immediately thrust out a hand.

A wave of black flames burst forth.

The fire engulfed the creature amid a terrible scream.

The smell of burning flesh instantly filled the room.

Seconds later, the monster collapsed.

Dead.

The second one proved more difficult.

Much more difficult.

It absorbed punishment with infuriating resilience.

Its club narrowly missed shattering several of her bones when it slammed into the ground only centimeters from her head.

Stone fragments exploded around her.

Blanche jumped back, swearing.

Her legs were trembling.

Her breathing was becoming increasingly labored.

How long had she been fighting?

She had no idea.

The timer was probably still ticking away somewhere.

Every movement cost more energy.

Every strike felt heavier.

Slower.

She finally managed to drive her sword beneath the creature's ribs.

The giant goblin let out one final gurgling breath before collapsing heavily to the floor.

Blanche stood still for a second.

Panting.

Her heart hammering in her chest.

Her arms ached.

So did her legs.

Every part of her body demanded a break.

Unfortunately, the dungeon appeared to have different opinions on the matter.

A roar echoed through the chamber.

Louder.

Deeper.

Closer.

Blanche jerked her head up.

The chief had finally risen from his throne.

At last.

He was even larger than she'd thought.

Ancient scars covered his body.

A heavy suit of dark metal armor protected his torso.

In one hand rested an enormous double-bladed axe whose edge gleamed ominously.

And unlike his soldiers...

He didn't look stupid.

His small yellow eyes fixed upon her with unsettling intelligence.

Like a predator studying prey that had already been wounded.

Blanche clenched her teeth.

"Oh no."

The goblin chief roared again.

Then charged.

Without waiting for her to recover.

Without giving her a moment to breathe.

Without even the slightest trace of knightly honor.

A scandalously reasonable attitude for a monster.

Blanche barely had time to raise her weapon before the gigantic axe crashed down on her in an explosion of sparks.

" Drain!" she shouted as she absorbed the blow, the impact forcing her backward.

It didn't kill him.

Obviously.

Otherwise it would have been far too easy.

At this point, Blanche was beginning to suspect that dungeon bosses were fundamentally allergic to the concept of dying quickly.

The spell struck its target head-on.

The creature staggered back several steps under the force of the impact, its balance briefly disrupted.

But it didn't fall.

Worse.

It remained standing.

Still alive.

And significantly angrier.

"Wonderful," Blanche muttered.

The chief released a roar powerful enough to make the crystals hanging from the ceiling vibrate.

Meanwhile, Phoenix had finally finished off the last goblin still standing. The beast pounced on its prey with all the subtlety of a landslide and silenced it within seconds.

The battle should have been over.

Only one enemy remained.

Unfortunately, that enemy seemed determined to be particularly annoying.

The goblin chief lifted a hand to his face.

Then froze.

His bushy brows slowly furrowed.

Very slowly.

As though he had discovered something entirely unexpected.

Blanche followed his gaze.

Then grimaced.

His nose was bleeding.

Profusely.

Blood streamed between his thick fingers before dripping onto the rocky floor.

The backlash of the spell.

Her Drain had managed to injure him.

Just not enough.

Her magic level was still too low to inflict truly decisive damage on a creature of that size.

The result was profoundly irritating.

She had literally given a dungeon boss a nosebleed.

Fantastic.

A major strategic victory.

The goblin looked at the blood.

Then at his hand.

Then at Blanche.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

As if his brain was struggling to process the information.

And when he finally understood what had happened...

His expression turned murderous.

Dark.

Cold.

" Ah."

Blanche instinctively checked the remaining time.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat.

A few minutes.

Barely nine.

No more.

"Oh no..."

She swore under her breath.

Every second mattered now.

Every mistake could cost her the quest.

The stress, held at bay until now, began to creep into her mind.

Quietly.

Insidiously.

She felt her heartbeat accelerate.

Her breathing shorten.

Her grip tighten around her weapon.

Bad idea.

Very bad idea.

Derek had repeated it dozens of times.

Fear reduced precision.

Haste created mistakes.

And mistakes got people killed.

Unfortunately, knowing something and successfully applying it in the middle of a critical situation were two entirely different skills.

The goblin chief charged again.

Blanche dodged.

Barely.

Then counterattacked.

Her axe struck the armor.

With no meaningful result.

The monster pivoted.

She stepped back.

Too slowly.

Her exhaustion was finally catching up to her.

Her muscles burned.

Her legs protested with every movement.

She had already sprinted through a large portion of the dungeon, fought dozens of monsters, and expended an alarming amount of magic.

Her body was gradually reaching its limits.

The chief, meanwhile, still looked as though he had plenty left in reserve.

The goblin roared.

A roar of pure anger.

Frustration.

Humiliation.

Because a human had given him a bloody nose.

And apparently his ego was taking it very badly.

"Oh, come on! " Blanche shouted. "It's just a nose!"

Mistake.

The monster somehow looked even angrier.

Phoenix circled behind the creature, attempting to attack from the rear.

The chief ignored him completely.

All of his attention was focused on Blanche now.

Which was never good news.

The young woman tried to reposition herself.

But a fraction of a second's hesitation was enough.

Just one.

The boss suddenly raised his enormous arm.

Blanche saw the movement.

She instantly understood what was coming.

Her body tried to react.

Too late.

Far too late.