The first day of battle was a test of endurance. Shadow creatures of all forms attacked from all sides, but my agility allowed me to evade their swift, deadly strikes.

My pets and their skills were valuable, one of which was using the elemental ability of Pyro for illumination to sniff the dark cave and strike at enemies lurking in the shadows.

By the end of the first day, I was exhausted but still very much determined.

I found a small alcove where I could rest and replenish my strength and Arcane energy through the magic stones I snatched from the school.

There were no moments of true rest, however. The shadows moved constantly, the creatures form and shadowy nature blended well in the dark, and I had to stay alert at all times.

The second day was even more brutal. As I ventured deeper into the cavern, the enemies became more powerful and aggressive.

Shadow creatures, clad in dark armour and wielding weapon and skills that I had never seen before stood in my path.

Their attacks were relentless and I had to use every trick I knew to defeat them.

My agility and spacial control allowed me to stay ahead of their strikes but the longer the battle went on, the more tasking it became on my stamina.

Fast forward to day four, I had cleared most of the cavern, but I knew the final boss was still ahead.

Deep within the cave, I could sense the presence of something powerful, something ancient, and I knew that would be my final challenge.

It wasn't until the end of the fourth day that I encountered this behemoth, freak of negative Arcane energy that let out such imposing aura from far out within the cave.

Ding!

~Boss Monster Detected~

~Roku: Overlord of The Dark Shadows~

»»»«««

The overlord of the shadows didn't waste anytime to show itself when I entered the boss chamber.

It was a hulking airborne creature, wrapped in shifting darkness floating n front of me as it flapped its massive wings, sending a huge current of winds my way.

Its body was visibly covered with darkness, but red eyes glowed in the night abyss. It glowed with a malice and its presence seemed to drain the little light from the cavern itself.

This creature would be the true test. This was my first time seeing a monster this scary and just as strong.

Roku's wing span loomed over me, the swirling shadows around it creating an aura of suffocating dread.

Ding!

~Boss Monster detected~

~Rebirth Is Possible~

Yes, this was my ultimate reward for accepting this mission, I felt my muscle tense as the creature raised its long shadowy tail and screeched so loudly it shook my eardrums, nearly bursting them open.

"You can shout all you want, at the end… you will knell to me".

"Come Forth…" I muttered, summoning all my available Arcane pet from within me and bring them to materialization.

Elemental Dogs, Naga the great serpent who was still at half health and Egar.

Without hesitation, I darted forward, using my spacial manipulation skill to close the distance in a blink.

The air around me split as my feet touched the rocky floor of the boss chamber. The overwhelming darkness was still very much suffocating even with my determination— every breath felt heavy, as if the shadows themselves were trying to crawl into my lungs.

"Go!" I commanded.

Egar roared, its massive frame shaking the cavern. The purple inscriptions across the fur flared to life too, signaling the beast was ready to pounce.

Ding!

~Your Arcane pet >Egar< has activated a skill~

~Active Skill: Aggro Field~

The aggro skill triggered instantly, catching the overlords attention and without wasting any second, the bahemoth snapped towards the bear like that, its red eyes locking onto the bear like two red moons.

The Elemental dogs Pyro and Cryo charged in from opposite directions using their elemental magic of fire and ice. Pyro jumped high, spitting columns of fire that illuminated the chamber like a miniature sun room, while Cryo slammed its paws into the ground, spreading a sheet of glittering frost that climbed up the walls and slowed the enemies movements.

Ding!

~Your arcane pet >Pyro< has activated a skill~

Ding!

~Your arcane pet >Cryo< has activated a skill~

Roku the overlord of shadows screeched. The vibration alone knocked me back a few steps, with my ear drums ringing in protest. Waves of Anti-arcane energy pulsed from its wings, scattering the frost and sniffing out the flames like they were nothing but candles in a storm.

I locked my jaws and attacked again. Using the Cobra's Tongue this time, and flashing it with Arcane energy and further reinforcing with with black fire from my Erebis skill.

I slice upward, Roku tilted mid air, avoiding the strike with unnatural speed for its size.

Then it used some type of skill that I had never seen or heard of before, it seemed that was the theme of the dungeon— skills that I had never come across before being used by Shadow creatures.

It was some form of echolocation, a series of rapid, high pitched clicks filled the cave, bouncing off every single wall.

My head throbbed. I could feel the sound waves crawling under my skin and reading every atom of Arcane energy in my body, mapping my position with ruthless precision.

"Damn it!! isn't that a wonderful skill!! I will have you under my belt no matter what".

Before I could move, Roku dived, moving like a blur of black mass and crimson light smashed into me.

The pain was instant, it instantly tore through my spacial manipulation barrier and straight into me. I crashed against a wall and went several meters into the wall with sound of cracking bones filling my ears. My shoulder screamed in agony— dislocated or maybe fractured.

Egar roared again, using the provocation ability of its Aggro Field skill to pull Roku's fury back towards it. The overlord turned and exchanged several vicious back and forth with the Arcane pets, then it flapped its wings creating a dark shock wave that sent the pets tumbling. Naga hissed from the shadows, too weak to join the fight properly, I could feel its exhaustion through the master-pet arcane bond.

"Stay back, Naga," I muttered, forcing myself up despite the stabbing pain. My left arm hung limp, but immediately retrieved one healing portion from my inventory and popped one load down my throat and felt that warm surge through my veins. My bones cracked and knit themselves back together in repair. The pain skyrocketed and dulled upon the setting of my bones.

This fight wasn't over. Not even close.

"Elemental dogs…"

Both dogs leapt simultaneously, Pyro unleashed a flaming storm while Cryo sent a freezing blast. The two elements collided in midair, creating a violent burst of stem that engulfed Roku. For a moment, I couldn't see through the haze.

But that was way to weak to keep the bastard down. Roku burst through the mist, screeching furiously, its wings expanding even further, the darkness around it pulsing like a living entity. From its mouth, it released a beam of compressed sound— a concentrated sonic wave that shredded the ground as it came for me.

I warped sideways using my Spacial Manipulation skill, barely escaping the attack. The edges of my cloak were torn to ribbons, and the shockwave slammed into my rib section, sending blood up my throat."

"Shit!!" I gasped, spitting a hot volume of blood.

Using so many skills all at once and unleashing all my Arcane pets who were using individual skills of their own all at once caused my Arcane reserves to deplete rapidly, now it was nearly gone. I pulled out a hand full of magic stone from my inventory and threw them in the air, absorbing them immediately before any hit the floor.

Energy rushed through me. My veins, to my heart and then from my heart to the rest of my body as pure Arcane energy, refilling my reserves just enough to stand a chance at this bahemoth.

Roku was quite the relentless boss, almost as if it had some certain level of intelligence to it. The bastard descended, wings curling inward as if it was gathering something. The air pressure dropped and I could feel the static of negative Arcane energy gathering at its core. It was preparing something massive and deadly.

Not on my watch.

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