The boss of the third floor, the [Mantis Lord] stood before them.

Its elongated head twitched unnaturally as it studied Karl, Celeste, and the spirits.

Its eerie, insectoid eyes seemed to calculate every movement, and with a sharp motion, it extended one of its scythe-like arms.

The lance it had thrown earlier suddenly jerked into motion, flying back toward it as if pulled by an unseen force.

The moment it returned, the creature caught it effortlessly, its grip firm despite the speed of the retrieval.

"Kriekiak~?"

[Mantis Lord - Level 22 (Boss Monster)]

[Strength - 150] [Stamina - 150] [Agility - 200] [Mana - 30]

Karl's eyes narrowed, that thing's stats were ridiculous.

Its Strength was enough to match his strongest spirits, and its Agility far surpassed his own by a lot.

The only thing it didn't have an edge on was Mana, but it was probably because it mostly used physical attacks anyway.

Even so, when he glanced at Sovaryn and the [Shadow Assassin Lizard], he didn't feel like they were outmatched just yet.

They had something stats alone couldn't measure, talent.

And that made all the difference.

Celeste raised her [Archbishop's Staff], pointing it at the towering insectoid.

"Let's do this," she said firmly as a ball of fire materialized at the tip of her staff.

Fireball!

[-10 Mana]

Karl, keeping his grip firm on his [Spectral Blade], glanced at her.

"Your skills cost more now?"

She nodded, eyes still locked on the enemy, "Yeah, when they upgrade in rank, they get stronger, but the mana cost increases too.

For example, before, I could only summon five [Mana Missiles] at once for one mana each.

Now, I can summon ten, but it costs three mana per missile."

"Hm."

Karl absorbed the information with a nod.

Skills evolving was a good thing, but the increased mana cost meant they'd have to be more strategic about their usage.

Meanwhile, the [Mantis Lord] took a few slow, deliberate steps forward.

Its lance spun in its right scythe-hand while its other arm remained poised to strike.

Celeste launched her fireball, but the boss didn't even bother dodging.

Instead, with inhuman precision, it hurled its lance forward once more.

The spinning weapon cut straight through the fireball, dissipating it in an instant before continuing its deadly trajectory toward Celeste.

Karl reacted instantly, his [Spectral Blade] swung out, clashing against the lance midair.

The impact sent a small shockwave rippling outward, and though he managed to deflect the attack, the sheer force of it pushed him back several steps.

"Be careful!" he called out.

Celeste let out a sharp breath, nodding quickly.

She knew she'd just barely avoided death, and the realization sent a shiver down her spine.

Meanwhile, the [Ghoul Zombie] and [Demonized Bear] charged forward, eager to tear the enemy apart.

Karl let them go for now.

He wanted to see what the [Ghoul Zombie] was capable of before he committed more resources.

But as they neared the [Mantis Lord], something felt off.

The boss had suddenly stopped moving.

It didn't engage them, it just stood there, waiting.

Karl's gut twisted, and a sudden realization clicked into place.

His eyes widened, and without hesitation, he reopened the Floor 3 Objective window.

[Objective: Kill the Mantis Lords before the end of the timer.]

At first glance, it seemed normal.

But then, why was there an "s"?

The [Mantis Lords], in plural.

"BACK AWAY!" Karl shouted.

His spirits immediately halted, instincts kicking in as they retreated just in time to follow the master's order.

And then—

Fwish! Fwish! Slash!

A second lance tore through the air, striking the [Demonized Bear] and pinning it in place.

Before Karl could react, another Mantis Lord dropped from the treetops above.

The execution was swift.

SLASH!

A single scythe-hand decapitated the bear.

The body hit the ground with a sickening thud.

[Your Demonized Bear was slain.]

Karl clenched his fists, keeping his emotions in check.

Losing a summon was nothing new, but rushing in blindly wasn't an option anymore.

Because now, there were three of them.

[Mantis Lords - Level 22]

Each one had the same insane stats as the first.

Karl's thoughts moved quickly.

Three boss-type enemies with superior speed, coordination, and high damage output.

This fight was absurdly high, no matter how he looked at it.

It made sense why most people didn't pick the [Nightmare] difficulty, and why it wasn't recommended at all to do.

Without wasting another second, Karl adjusted his strategy.

"Come forth, Orc King!"

The [Orc King] materialized beside him, its towering form exuding an overwhelming presence.

Karl exhaled, he would need all three of his boss-type spirits for this one.

Celeste, summoning another row [Mana Missiles] around her, muttered under her breath, "You're telling me this is only the third floor…?"

The three Mantis Lords, each nearly two meters tall, stood motionless for a moment.

Their heads twitched and clicked, as if communicating silently.

And then—

Fwish! Fwish! Fwish!

They moved.

One dashed straight toward the group while the other two vanished into the trees, disappearing into the dense foliage.

They were surrounded.

Karl didn't hesitate, "Orc King, stay close to me," his voice was firm as he gave his orders, "Sovaryn and Lizard, each of you take one of the others."

The [Sovereign Wolf] and [Shadow Assassin Lizard] nodded before vanishing into the forest to pursue their respective targets.

The only ones left with Karl now were the [Ghoul Zombie], the [Infested Undead Skeleton], and the [Orc King].

Karl tightened his grip on his [Spectral Blade], it had four strikes remaining.

Three [Spirit Flames] hovered around him, but he knew none of that would be enough alone.

Which meant... it was time to test his newest skill.

Spirit Gun!

A translucent, silver pistol materialized in his right hand.

It looked simple, too simple, but Karl wasn't concerned.

Skills always started at their lowest potential, and C-Rank skills had a lot of room to grow.

Without hesitation, Karl aimed the gun at the Mantis Lord charging toward them.

A swirling vortex appeared at the gun's barrel, and for a split second, Karl saw something unexpected, three of the spirits in his storage transformed into bullets and loaded into the chamber.

The shots fired as Karl pressed the trigger.

BAM! BAM! KRAK!

The [Mantis Lord] reacted.

It deflected the first two bullets with its lance, the impact sending sparks flying.

But the third bullet, the one it tried to block with its scythe-arm, pierced through.

"KRAKRRK—"

A spray of green blood burst from the wound.

The Mantis Lord stumbled back, its body clicking in alarm, it had been injured.

Karl's grip tightened on the Spirit Gun, looking at it with wide eyes.

'It's actually far stronger than I believed...'

If it could harm even a boss with such high stats and durability even though his own were far below, it meant each bullet was powerful.

But then, as he was about to continue his assault.

"KRAAAAKRKKRKRK~"

The wounded Mantis Lord let out a low, unnatural clicking sound: a call.

Karl's jaw tensed, it wasn't retreating, instead it felt like it was signaling something.

"Be ready," he muttered, keeping the gun raised.

They had only just scratched the surface of this fight.

And he had a feeling... It was about to get a lot worse.

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