Chapter 81: How to battle a third floor boss.

Right on top of the weirdly shaped rocks, Phera stood there, looking down at Cowl, who was also, just like the rest, shocked to see the level glowing at the top of her head.

[Phera.

Level: 1000

HP: 900,000]

Cowl had a nervous look on his face, trying to process how a being with an HP of 900,000 could exist.

If they were even going to clash, just how many times would he need to use his high-tier magic skills before he could even scratch her?

From the looks of it, with such high HP, cutting off her head would never be that easy, as her vitality would also be just as high, if not higher.

Phera stared down at the number of people below her. She could tell the one standing at the very front line was a powerful mage, surely someone she could play around with for a while.

As for the ones behind him, numbering nine in total, she was certain of one thing… they were not worth her time in the slightest.

Especially since she was sure Kai was going to be watching the battle as well.

“I don’t mean to be rude when I say this. But can you send those weaklings away? Pretty please… Normally I’d slaughter them all and then come back for you. But I am feeling a bit generous, so I’d like us to skip that part.”

Cowl felt a shiver run down his spine.

Every word she spoke was followed with a strange, unnerving smile on her face. If she were weak, it would have been something he could ignore. But she was strong—very strong. As such, he could only interpret it as her mocking him.

“Who are you? Are you the boss of this land? Are you… Are you the Shadow Victim?”

Upon hearing this, as though they were waiting for the confirmation, the soldiers gasped loudly. They then proceeded to pull out their blades and took on a defensive stance.

Phera tilted her head to the side for a while, then like ice melting in the sun, her expression softened. Her cheeks flushed red, and she covered a bit of her face with both palms in exaggerated delight.

“Awwwwwwwnnnn~ you think I and the Boss look identical?!!!” she squeaked a bit. “I know I am strong, but ahhh! That really made me blush a bit there.”

Cowl frowned. Now he was certain she was making a mockery out of him.

Even with that said, her words confirmed one thing: she wasn’t the Shadow of Victims.

“You say you are not the Shadow of Victims?” Cowl asked one more time, just to be sure he wasn’t jumping the gun.

In that moment, Phera stood straight, dropping her playful act. She opened her palm, and a blade materialized right in her grasp.

Then, she rested it on her shoulder, her free hand stuck casually in the pocket of her shorts.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Phera, leader of the Third Floor of the Nameless Dungeon, and servant of the mighty leader of the Nameless Dungeon, Lord Kai Greyhat.” She grinned, pointing the blade at the man.

“And I have come to take your life.”

Unless it was some illusion he knew nothing about, then there was nowhere he was going to win like that.

Seeing the blade in her hand only made it further impossible. The weapon emitted so much energy it made his own magical power seem like child’s play.

There was no way in hell he was going to win a fair fight. He had to cheat.

“Soldiers, this is a direct order,” Cowl spoke as calmly as he could, reaching into his cloak to pull out his grimoire. “Buy me enough time so I can finish up a spell that would end this bitch.”

“Pfttt! Hahah!” Phera laughed. “You need to cast a spell? Don’t tell me you are going to hide like a coward and recite rubbish at the back. Hey, maybe if you come back as an undead, I’ll have Azeal teach you a few things about being a powerful mage.”

Cowl figured she was just trying to draw time, so he ignored her and began to run to a safe distance.

“Now! Go!!!” he yelled, disappearing into their midst.

The soldiers were, of course, scared. But again, numbers were on their side.

One by one they began to rush forward, trying to see if they could poke her from all sides and distract her long enough for Cowl to finish his spell as he had promised.

Oh, how disappointed they were.

They realized too late that all Phera had to do was slash her sword once.

Swish.

The single motion killed not just one, not two, but all nine of them in one go.

Their bodies were sliced cleanly in half, torso separating from legs, falling to the ground in their own pool of blood before they could even scream.

When Cowl looked back, noticing that he could no longer hear the battle cries of his soldiers anymore, he suddenly felt a presence.

Phera was standing right next to him, her arm wrapped around his shoulders like an old friend.

“Looking for me? Looks like we are bonding already, don’t you agree?”

Cowl blinked, his brain unable to process the speed.

First of all, he could see the dead bodies of his men—men he was sure he had only left alone for a few seconds. So how… how was she able to kill them so fast?

Not to mention, how was she able to suddenly sneak up beside him without him even spotting her until she wanted to be spotted?

“Argh!!!”

Cowl screamed as he panicked.

The first thing he did was move away from the danger.

“Fire Magic! Basic Attack!!!”

He yelled, stretching his hand forward so he could blast the magic directly into Phera’s face.

But to his surprise and shock, Phera, completely unfazed, grabbed him by the wrist before he could complete the cast.

“Don’t go burning my clothes now.”

CRACK!

She crushed his limb like a dry twig.

[HP: 100/120]

Cowl fell to his knees in pain, crying out. But adrenaline took over. Using his other hand, he grabbed Phera by the leg.

It seemed as though he was trying to process the pain, until he yelled once again.

“Fire Magic! Fire Scorch!!!!”

WHOOSH!

Immediately, Phera’s entire body lit up in a pillar of fire, burning her all the way from her legs up to her head.

Seeing this, Cowl immediately crawled back a bit, staring down at his broken arm for a second, panting heavily.

“Dammit! That bitch broke my hand! Shit! No wait, it’s fine, this is good. I was able to get an opening because of that. If I take another—”

“What exactly did you hope to accomplish from what you just did?”

Cowl froze up, slowly lifting his head.

It was then he noticed something impossible.

Phera was indeed still burning from his magic flames, and her HP was reducing as well. But with every point of HP that was gone, the bar would completely reset itself instantly, turning back to the total 900,000 like a broken clock.

[Regeneration: Active.]

“No way…”

Cowl was too shocked to say anything. Before his very eyes, he watched as Phera slashed her sword to the side, the wind pressure alone blowing the entire inferno off her body.

While she stood naked, since her clothes were burned to ash, Cowl didn’t get the chance to catch a single glimpse of anything.

She acted.

Slash.

Before his eyes could even focus, his head was severed from his shoulders, spinning through the air with a look of pure terror frozen on his face.

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