Colm stepped back, slipping out of sight from the Shivermaw. His breath remained steady, but his mind raced with uncertainty.

"It has to be Tier 5. What the hell did I get myself into? This was supposed to be a Tier 3 Echo…"

His eyes flicked to Carver and Lance, then to the towering form of the Phantom Harbinger standing guard nearby, its massive sword gleaming with spectral energy.

"A few things are racing through my head." he murmured.

"It has to be a rare spawn. From what little I know about those, they tend to appear above the Echo's normal level. But then there's also the whole mystery of this underground cavern. This place isn't normal… otherwise, I would've heard something about it."

His thoughts churned as he attempted to piece together the larger picture.

"Maybe everyone who found this part of the Echo… died." he said with a whisper.

"Whether it was from a lack of oxygen due to the water, the Cryosharks' increased level… I doubt an entire team would willingly jump into flooded ruins if it were common knowledge. Or maybe they tried… and failed, and the knowledge was lost to time."

Exhaling slowly, he slid down, his back pressing against the frigid stone wall as he tried to make sense of it all.

"This world makes no sense. But one thing does. I want to get stronger."

Not just in levels, but in skill. If all he did was rely on raw numbers, he'd never be more than a system-fed puppet.

The Shivermaw posed a unique opportunity.

"If it really is Tier 5, I need to assume the worst and treat it like it is. But… it's not that far ahead of me in level. I have an achievement that boosts my stats, which should give me the edge. I have Phantom Harbinger… that buffs all my other phantoms and myself. I don't have to rely on individual phantoms anymore. I have an army."

He clenched his fists.

"I can do this. I can win this fight."

And if he didn't?

A grin tugged at his lips.

"Well… it's a damned good way to die."

Pushing himself to his feet, he let the thought settle. His path was clear now.

"But I need to be smart."

The intuitive tug of Phantom Harbinger warned him that the knight's duration was nearly up.

"I'll summon the Harbinger first… let it tank damage while Robin hits from range and Lance and Carver flank." His mind focused on the strategy, refining each detail. "I need to end this fight before the duration expires… otherwise, I don't know how it'll go."

But before that… he needed to watch.

Observe.

"I know it has that insane dash it used to take down the Frost Wyrm, but what else?"

His eyes narrowed as he peered toward the Shivermaw, studying its movements with predatory focus.

"Let's find out."

The minutes stretched endlessly as Colm watched the Shivermaw tear into the Frost Wyrm's corpse with effortless brutality. He scratched his head absently, never allowing his eyes to stray from the beast.

"You know… I'm not really sure how that works. Isn't the wyrm made of ice or something?"

He tried to recall the feeling of its presence from his first encounter—the unnatural cold it radiated, the way its body seemed almost more elemental than organic. Yet here it was, devouring flesh like any other Paragon predator.

His gaze dropped to its massive jaws, watching as it crunched through the Frost Wyrm's dense exterior as if it were nothing but paper.

"Those teeth are dangerous. I can't let it get near me."

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The Shivermaw no longer seemed in any hurry. Now that it had secured its prey, its movements were slow, deliberate, a stark contrast to the terrifying speed it had displayed moments before.

Colm tilted his head back, glancing at the once-covered cavern ceiling, now wide open.

"Well… at least things stopped falling around here," he muttered, his eyes tracing cracks still spreading in the distance.

"But it's not quite over. If those cracks keep spreading, this whole place will collapse, and before long, it'll be the new ground floor."

He turned his focus back to the Shivermaw.

"Well, I have time… might as well watch."

Colm lost track of how long he lay hidden, shifting positions whenever the Shivermaw's gaze lazily swept around the cavern. He wasn't taking any chances. Eventually, he settled on a massive boulder that had smashed through a ruined building, creating a jagged observation platform. Lying prone on its curved surface, he kept his phantoms positioned nearby—not too close, but within range if anything went wrong.

Peering over the edge, he studied the Shivermaw again.

It had finished eating a while ago.

Yet it hadn't moved.

"What is it waiting for?"

His mind raced.

"Maybe it's just relaxing. Full belly, satisfied."

He thought back to alligators in the lakes and ponds back home, the way they lay still with their jaws open, waiting for prey to come to them.

This behavior was exactly the same. A chill ran down his spine. "It's not just resting. It's waiting."

But nothing was changing. The beast wasn't making a move, and Colm knew he couldn't remain hidden forever as the echoes of tho ruins falling apart boomed behind him.

"Well… guess I might as well give it a try."

If things went south, he could always summon the Phantom Harbinger to tank damage while he escaped.

Before engaging, he took the time to prepare a backup plan.

Carefully, he maneuvered through the crumbling ruins, clearing a wide path that would allow him to move freely while setting up obstacles that might slow the Shivermaw down.

"Hopefully, I won't need this… but better to be prepared."

After feeling satisfied with his preparations, Colm began making his way back toward the Shivermaw, only to halt mid-step as he activated Phantom Harbinger.

"If it uses that same burst of speed it showed against the Frost Wyrm on me, I might not be able to escape in time. Hopefully Herb can take the damage and if not I can activate the ability again. If it focused on me and triggered Phantom Sacrifice, I'll be completely screwed early on."

With a heavy sigh, he rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the mounting tension.

"Alright, you three," he said, turning toward Carver, Lance, and Robin. "We can't make any mistakes."

He gestured toward a crumbled ruin with a vantage point. "Robin, you're over there." She nodded, immediately moving into position. "Carver, Lance—you two wait for Herb to engage and attack from behind. I'll be off to the side, waiting out that speed burst it has but ready to hit it with Abyssal Lance and Wavebound Surge for support. Herb." he said with a grin. "Lead the charge."

Looking over his phantoms, he allowed a small smile. "Thank you three for everything."

Colm's phantoms responded with brief nods before silently moving into position, leaving Colm with a final moment to check his own readiness.

"I have my phantoms. I have my attunement. I have the achievement that boosts my stats. I have my specialization, which lets me leverage all my stats through my phantoms. I have Phantom Harbinger to lead my army." He inhaled deeply, exhaling slowly as his nerves began to surface.

"I can do this."

Then, despite everything, a wave of unease crawled up his spine.

"Fuck me… why do I feel so nervous? Maybe because, for once, this wasn't an enemy that just out-leveled me but because… it's my tier."

Colm slinked into the shadows of the ruins, keeping himself low as he nodded to his phantoms. It was time.

Carver and Lance moved into position, flanking the Shivermaw from opposite sides. Meanwhile, Robin remained still, waiting. Colm didn't want the Shivermaw's focus on Robin—having ranged support would be crucial, and if Robin was forced into direct combat right away, it could throw off the entire plan.

From his position, he felt the faint, familiar pulse of his stealth skill wrapping around him. "It's been a while since I used this," he muttered to himself, adjusting his stance as his eyes locked onto the Shivermaw.

He watched as Herb charged the front, moving with calculated intent, while Carver and Lance circled wide, creeping in from the rear. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, adrenaline surging as he tracked the creature's movements.

The Shivermaw's eyes shifted.

The once relaxed, patient stance was gone.

Its body coiled slightly, muscles tensing like a spring pulled too tight. Its tail twitched before slamming into the ground—and in an instant, it moved.

Colm watched in awe. "It didn't even try to wait."

It had no patience, no predatory restraint—only raw, unfiltered aggression. That was good. The less it thought, the easier it would be to exploit.

The Shivermaw became nothing more than a blur, its icy form vanishing in a flicker of supernatural speed. It reached Herb in an instant, its velocity inhuman, while Carver and Lance surged forward, attempting to close the sudden gap it had created.

The battle had begun.

Then, something happened—something Colm didn't expect.

Herb dodged on instinct, twisting at the last second to avoid the incoming attack, the Phantom Harbinger's massive blade flashing upward in a perfectly timed parry. But the Shivermaw didn't recoil from the strike.

It bit down on the sword.

Teeth like serrated ice clamped onto the phantom weapon, and in a sickening crunch, Colm heard it.

A crack.

A shatter.

The blade was gone, shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"What the hell?" he breathed, his mind reeling at the implications as he watched the fragments fall, dissolving like droplets of water before they could even touch the ground.

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