I form a dagger in my hand. It's crude—barely holding together—and will probably dissipate if I don't patch it up. I'm too used to making swords; I can't even properly shape a damn dagger.
I shove the jagged thing right at the captain's face.
He takes a stance and says something I barely hear.
"Third move: Twin Divide."
He summons another blade made of rock and dirt, and I don't even see the movement that follows—only two red lines suddenly appear across my chest.
What?
The bastard doesn't stop there. He stomps down, and a pillar of earth rises from the ground, slamming into me right where I got cut.
I'm sent flying by the impact, and behind me, [Draconic Senses] screams—there's a spike ready to impale my skull.
Even with my special form of casting, I won't be able to summon a shield in time.
So I activate [Draconic Scales] and focus everything on the back of my head.
Crack-!
The spike shatters against my obviously superior draconic scales. As expected, I win that trade.
I rise from the ground, but Thraaly-boy isn't giving me any breathing room—he's already on me.
I sidestep to the right just as the Zelk stabs toward my heart, then grab his extended arm, yanking him closer and driving my dagger into his side.
He falters for a moment, but I don't let up. I immediately launch two fireballs point-blank.
He doesn't dodge or block. Instead, he uses what I now recognize must be a skill—the earth beneath him sinks, lowering him just in time for the fireballs to fly harmlessly over his head.
What the hell is wrong with this monstrous bastard?! Am I in Hell Difficulty mode or something!?
There's no reason for the tutorial boss to be this hard!
And yet—even with all the struggle—I still smile.
"FUCK!" I yell, a mix of frustration and excitement boiling over.
I push as much aether as I can into [Reinforcement] and activate [Overcharge].
I dash forward and stab my aether dagger straight into the deer-headed bastard's shoulder. I slam my foot on top of Thraal's so he can't move, abandoning the dagger inside his flesh.
Then I raise my fist, cock it back, and slam it into the tutorial boss.
I don't let go of his foot—I throw a right hook next. All those boxing tutorials I watched back on Earth finally pay off.
A loud crack echoes as my fist connects with the Zelk's face.
[Draconic Senses] alerts me of another spike flying in from behind, aimed for my heart—I leap away just in time.
Thraaly-boy doesn't look so good anymore. The wounds I've inflicted are piling up, and he's clearly tiring.
But I won't give him a moment to rest.
I charge again. I try to weave myself some gauntlets—but it fails miserably.
Doesn't matter. I don't need gauntlets to dish out a beatdown.
Thraaly tries to raise another earthen barrier and hurls five sharpened spikes formed mid-air toward me.
But with [Draconic Senses], it's useless. I use [Flight] in short bursts, dodging each one as I advance.
When I'm close enough, I use one final burst of [Flight] to lunge forward and grab onto the captain's antlers.
Then I hold on for dear life as I punch.And punch.And punch.And punch.
I'm running low on aether—I have to end this soon.
The Zelk tries to stab me again, but I let go of his antlers and cast [Water Geyser] straight into his chest. I don't push too much aether into it—it's just enough to knock the air from his lungs and send him flying.
I giggle.
He rises again, but it's clearly taking effort now. He doesn't immediately attack like I expect. Instead, sounding like he's about to cry, he screams:
"How can a mere Soldier-rank human push me this far?! How did you know of the invasion? You set up bombs all around the city before we even arrived! What in Monistar's holy name are you?! Who are you?! Why did you steal the artifact?!"
The Zelk's in disbelief—he just can't wrap his antlered head around what's happening.
I don't listen. He might as well be walking EXP now. At first, I wanted to kill the captain out of rage for how he crushed me earlier.
But now?
Now I want to kill him for the fun of it.
"Hurry up and die so I can get more of my precious EXP!" I cackle, weaving another aether sword into my hand. I channel what little aether I have left into [Flight] and launch myself straight at the Zelk.
***
The Zelk captain raised a freshly formed spear of solid earth, its tip aimed directly at the approaching human.
His grip tightened. He prepared for the clash—only for the human to shift course mid-charge, darting to Thraal's side with a flicker of unnatural movement and swinging his blade toward Thraal's neck.
The blow was blocked, barely. Thraal thrust his spear forward, aiming straight for the thief's smug face, but the boy slipped aside with irritating ease and stabbed back.
A shallow cut opened on the side of Thraal's neck. Just a graze, but the humiliation stung more than the wound.
He snarled and activated his sword art, adapting it to the spear. It wasn't ideal, but he had no choice. With a surge of aether, he called out the seventh form: Piercing Mountain Peak.
With everything he had, Thraal lunged forward—one final, desperate pierce meant to end this madness.
The aether around his core was sputtering, barely enough left to hold this weapon together, let alone conjure a full-scale rain of stone spikes. This had to work.
But deep down, he knew.
It was futile.
That damn human's smile hadn't changed once throughout the entire battle. Not when he was hit, not when he was bleeding. The thief—no, the devil—grinned like he was enjoying himself.
And then he abandoned his sword.
Thraal's eyes widened.
A sudden burst of wind carried the human skyward—[Flight] again, that cursed spell—and in the same breath, a trio of wind blades tore through the air, sharp and silent.
They hit.
The world tilted.
Thraal didn't even register the moment his head hit the ground. His mind was slipping. The last thing he saw before darkness took him was that unholy, maddening smile.
Perhaps… perhaps Monistar would grant him a place in the afterlife
But he knew that he had failed too greatly for even that.