Seeing Veloxis sleeping peacefully at the base of the beautiful tree pissed Ronan off. He knew that was an irrational reaction, but the boss had slaughtered him enough times with ease that he couldn't help it.

In future, he might even find an ally in the Dreamweaver. Who knew what might happen as the walls between sectors fell? However, right now he needed to kill the little fox, if only to satisfy his personal vendetta.

He knew now that Veloxis was fully aware of his presence. How naive he'd been, the first time he reached the hundredth floor of the boss' tower, believing that it was truly asleep, unaware of his arrival.

With that in mind, Ronan ensured his conjured shortsword was clutched firmly in his right hand, and that his mana was cycling smoothly, ready to be formed into a spell at a moment's notice. The impression he wanted to give the boss was that he was unaware of its gaze; a naive challenger attempting to get the drop on a sleeping fox.

Step by step he crept towards his target, sword clutched tightly in his hands. The instant he felt a mental probe or saw the fox so much as twitch, Ronan would begin forming a mana bolt.

There was no leaving this to chance. Veloxis seemed peaceful, resting in harmony with the overgrown skyscraper terrace, nature having reclaimed its territory from civilisation. Six metres away from the boss, Ronan felt a tingle in his left temple.

That was his signal to act. His mana surged down his left arm, flowing from his fingers into the air above his palm. Using a part of his focus, he compressed it into the bullet shape of his sole offensive spell.

The tingle of Veloxis' probing attack was brushed off. Such a weak illusory strike would never breach Ronan's sturdy mental defences.

Two steps closer and he'd formed his mana bolt. Veloxis cracked open a single eye, staring right into Ronan's own.

For a single breath, a frozen moment, neither of them moved. The fox leapt to its feet at the same moment Ronan launched his mana bolt. It screamed through the air, directly towards Veloxis' torso.

Ronan stumbled halfway through stabbing forwards with his conjured shortsword as a spike of mental magic struck the centre of his skull. The drilling pain lasted for a second before his resistances pushed back, breaking it apart. When he regained his wits, the boss had vanished from the base of the tree.

Raising the shortsword and forming another mana bolt in his left hand, Ronan pivoted, eyes on a swivel. He caught sight of an orange flash to the right. Without even waiting he launched the mana bolt towards it.

A ghostly claw collided with the mana bolt, both magical constructs exploding in a glittering, deadly shower of mana sparks. They scattered across the overgrown tiles. An orange body burst through the dissipating cloud. Veloxis was going on the offensive. Ronan bent low, intending to take the strike head on. A two-pronged mental assault struck him at the same moment that the fox's claws smacked into his conjured shortsword.

For a fox of its size, Veloxis was surprisingly heavy. He struggled to push back against the razor-sharp claws despite his overwhelming strength stat. Not wanting to get caught in a tug-of-war, he kicked out.

However, he felt his foot shifting to the right, missing the fox's body entirely. Compared to the first time that trick had been used against him, Ronan instantly realised what was going on. Rather than fumble around, he closed his eyes and spun in a circle with his blade.

Around three-quarters of the way around the circle's circumference he felt his arm being tugged slightly downwards. He launched a third mana bolt in the direction his personal trait was pulling him.

A hideous screech smashed into his eardrums like a sonic hammer as the mana bolt exploded against Veloxis' fur. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his amulet glowing brightly and the fox was pawing at burnt fur about ten metres away.

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The hateful glare in its eyes was evident. This time around, Ronan hadn't killed any foxes aside from those who inhabited the boss' tower—and Vulparis. However, that was enough to stoke the flames of its fury. That it had failed to kill him likely made it worse.

He wasn't about to let Veloxis rest in the middle of their battle. He launched another mana bolt at the fox, forming a second in his offhand the moment it launched.

Ditching the shortsword, as it was too damaged to still be useful, Ronan formed a dagger in his right hand while rushing at Veloxis. The boss avoided the first mana bolt, leaping to the left.

It was forced to suddenly whip around as he shot his next mana bolt in front of its path. Trapped, it was forced to meet him head on. Ronan threw himself along the ground, going low into a sliding tackle.

The fox leapt over his feet, falling right into his trap. The dagger tore through the air and bit into the soft underbelly of the fox. The white furry skin split under the razor's edge of the blade. Ronan's slide carried him all the way under the fox. A sudden claw swipe forced him to yank his arm out of the way, lest he lose it entirely.

Despite having to cancel his strike early, he still managed to slice a decent way into the boss' gut. His face, chest, and arm were sprayed in warm blood. More dripped from Veloxis' abdomen onto the ground.

He could've sworn that the trailing roots that the blood dripped onto seemed to absorb it, swelling in size slightly. Scary.

Another ear-splitting screech cut through the relative silence. Ronan cursed and threw his hands up to cover his ears, but it did little to save them from the sonic blast. As it struck his cranium, it reverberated through his skull. His hands felt wet, both eardrums burst.

As he lowered his hands he suddenly stumbled. His balance felt extremely off. Fucking anatomy, letting me down now. He almost wished he'd never got rid of the perfect proprioception trait. It would've allowed him to remain standing even in situations like this.

Unfortunately he'd sacrificed it, which meant he now had to fight against his own body's weakness, as well as a level 95 boss monster. That was fine. Veloxis was equally wounded, but he couldn't see the agile fox anywhere.

His amulet had settled down again, which meant it wasn't an illusion. The wily fox had simply managed to slip out of sight.

He formed a mana bolt and gripped his dagger tightly in preparation for the first sign of an attack. Ronan was also fully aware he wasn't using many of his new skills, and vowed to up his game going into the second phase of this battle.

All of a sudden one of the trailing tree roots suddenly peeled off the ground, rising into the air and waving around like a tentacle. It seemed to be searching for something. As the tip passed by Ronan, it froze. Then it snapped straight and struck out at him.

While he didn't want to get pierced by a sentient tree, Ronan had a suspicion about this sudden turn of events. He shifted his body, avoiding a lethal strike but allowing the root to strike him on the arm.

As it did, it slashed into his skin. His arm erupted in burning pain along the wound. He frowned. That's not right. There was too much of a delay. The impact felt off, as well, he thought to himself.

Another illusion.

Veloxis thought it was slick, but Ronan was the worst matchup for the illusion-using fox. He turned his focus inwards, allowing his mind to centre itself as his illusion resistance and amulet worked in tandem. The subtle tugging sensation at the back of his mind guided him and he felt a sudden shift around him.

Opening his eyes again, the tree was still. Veloxis was right in front of him, slashing downwards with a claw. A ghostly claw emerged from the fox's paw, slashing towards his chest.

Ronan tossed the magic dagger at the fox, conjuring a shortsword the moment it left his hand. The mana bolt followed and he raised the blade to meet the strike.

His attacks struck the fox's body, but it was committed to the attack. Its momentum reduced the damage. The ghostly claw crashed against his sword. Ronan activated counter-parry.

The blade twisted in his hands, slipping between two of the claws and then yanking them to the side. The razor-edge of the blade slipped back out of the claws before thrusting forwards. Blood sprayed across him as the sword pierced through Veloxis' chest.

As the blade struck its skin, Ronan activated arcane piercing strike and surging strikes. He forced as much mana and stamina as he could into it, aiming for the upper limit on the surging strike combo.

Arcane piercing strike proved devastating. His sword pierced all the way through Veloxis' body, bursting out through the nape of its neck. Six ethereal copies of the blade struck one after the other, tearing the boss' throat apart.

Ronan felt a dozen mental magic hammer-blows smashing into his mind, each successive one breaking his defences a little more. However, he resolved himself against the onslaught. Whichever of the two gave up first would fall and he was determined to emerge victorious.

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