Chapter 62: Win Condition & Two New Relics
"Boss!" Nyla’s voice cut through the chamber after seeing Damon hurtling into a nearby wall.
Monster’s movement was too fast for them to follow their eyes barely blinked before Damon was already sent flying, but as their eyes followed after him, he was already standing, sending shards of ice into the monster who was now blocking the attack.
"Stay back!" Damon shouted quickly, realising it wasn’t a fight they could survive.
The group hesitated but understood that fact very quickly, seeing how Damon and the chimera-like creature went into a barrage of exchanges, each too fast for them to even see the outcome of.
The group backed out to the tunnel they came from, watching the battle from the threshold as Damon and the chimera battled across the entire space.
’It’s faster than me, probably stronger too,’
Damon slowly began to fall a step behind with each exchange, the monster found more openings to strike from as he struggled to keep up.
’It’s not using any more of my abilities, could it be-’
As realisation struck him, Damon activated his Corrosion ability, instantly weakening his opponent.
But unlike his clone, whom he fought earlier, the monster before him did not activate the ability in retaliation, only continued to charge forward.
’It can only copy one ability from each of us!’
Wasting no more time, Damon activated Berserker’s Fury.
The sudden leap in strength and speed made the previous gap in strength almost non-existent.
Then, as he dodged one of the monster’s next attacks, he finally found it.
A perfect opening.
He drove his blade straight at the creature’s neck, but as it connected...
PUFF!
The monster turned into a smoke, vanishing entirely.
’Huh-’
Before Damon could even realise what had just happened, the monster appeared from his right, the golden hammer crushing against his rib with a deafening crack.
Blood escaped his lips as Damon stumbled back to his feet.
’Just now... was that ability related to Amber’s Jester class?’
The answer would have to wait as the chimera charged at him again.
CLANG!
Damon’s sword deflected the hammer at the last moment, his arm trembling from the terrifying impact.
’How the hell does she even swing this thing?!’ Damon cursed before slipping under the monster’s second attack, leaving a large gush on its side as his blade found its target.
"It can’t use two abilities at once!" Kitsune’s voice suddenly cut through his head.
Damon’s eyes widened in realisation.
This was it.
The win condition.
With the gap he just earned with his last strike, he sent a barrage of shards toward the monster.
Just like last time, it used the barrier ability, blocking each of them, but before the last ice shard could reach it, shadows engulfed Damon, and he stepped forward.
Appearing from behind the monster’s shadow, he thrust his blade right into the creature’s back.
It dismissed the barrier, letting two shards of black ice strike its shoulder and arm as it turned desperately toward Damon, whose Jian sword was already moving again.
As the second strike connected, the monster’s arm dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, followed by another.
Damon continued cutting, severing each of its limbs as he stepped around the monster’s shadow as if it were some form of shadow dance until the creature finally slowed.
’It’s over...’ Damon noted, watching the life fade away from the chimera’s three faces.
But before the monster could die, there was something else Damon wanted to achieve.
’Everyone,’ he suddenly spoke loudly across the chamber, ’Gather up, I need you to get some hits in.’
Everyone from his group blinked in disbelief, watching him like he was a crazy person.
"To get a reward from killing a monster, one needs to make an impact toward its death," Damon quickly explained, making his group approach him hesitantly.
Although the system did manage how much experience points each person gets based on merit, even the smallest cut on a monster this strong would definitely grant them quite a bit of experience points, especially considering the monster index bonus they would receive.
Once everyone got their hit in, Damon finished the monster off with a quick thrust.
[You have slain a Level 49 Chimera]
[New Monster Index bonus: +10 Mana, +10 Strength, +10 Dexterity, +10 Stamina]
[You have reached Level 38. You have received 1 Stat Point.]
[You have reached Level 39. You have received 1 Stat Point.]
[You have reached Level 40. You have received 1 Stat Point.]
[You have received a Relic: Midnight Scale Armour]
Damon’s eyes widened at the last notification. It’s been far too long since his last Relic, and it was an armour nonetheless.
But before he could process any of it, loud gaps echoed through the chamber.
"Holy shit," one of the twins breathed, eyes glazed as he read his notifications. "Plus ten to four stats!"
Amber stood completely frozen, blinking at the notification before her, while Nyla gasped loudly as she saw the monster index bonus.
"Boss..." She whispered, but didn’t finish. Whatever the train of thought she had got lost in her awe.
Even Elias, who seemed the most composed of the group, couldn’t help but admire the strength of the monster Damon just killed. ’Level 49... to think I’d get to witness such a thing...’
Damon watched his group for a couple of moments before turning his gaze back toward the monster.
’Level 49...’
Realising the creature was still before its second evolution, Damon couldn’t help but wonder how terrifying it would be afterwards.
’Good thing I killed it before that,’ he thought before turning toward the treasure chest, which everyone in the group now watched carefully.
He approached the chest with slow, deliberate steps before opening it.
But as he pulled out the item from the inside, everyone let out a disappointing sigh.
[You have received a Relic: Chalice of Restoration]
Before he could even take a proper look at the item, a voice cut through his head.
"My dear, you wouldn’t mind if I took it, would you?"