CHAPTER 40: FINALE (2)

He hit the ground with a grunt, skidding across the frost-slick stone. His coat caught on something jagged and ripped.

He didn’t care.

He was already back on one knee.

[Tension Mark – Armed]

The boss stepped forward.

Its heel caught the ready mark, the one Lucen had planted half a second before.

The glyph fired.

Pressure. Sharp. Focused.

The boss staggered.

Only for a blink.

But it was enough.

Mira shouted, "Pierce Shot!"

The next arrow didn’t whistle. It shrieked.

It tore a line through the air and hit the boss square in the crack Senna had opened earlier.

The ice reactivated.

This time it crawled.

Faster.

Into the gap.

Under the armor.

The boss roared again.

This time it sounded like a person.

Too real. Too human.

Lucen flinched.

Senna stepped in once more, slashing through the outer joint of the knee. A clean cut. Sparks flew.

The boss dropped half a meter.

Lucen raised both hands.

"Get clear!"

Senna didn’t argue.

She dove back.

Lucen hit the stone with everything he had left.

[Hold Point – Active]

[Tension Mark – Full loop]

The glyphs cracked the floor.

Mana surged.

The boss’s legs locked in place.

Lucen shouted, "Now!"

Mira didn’t even respond.

She loosed two arrows back-to-back.

The first hit the same frozen gap.

The second was glowing. Pale green.

It sparked on impact.

"Detonation type," Mira muttered.

Lucen didn’t even have time to shout.

The core ruptured.

A blast of pale light ripped through the room. Dust, frost, and bits of ancient armor scattered in every direction.

Lucen threw up a forearm and hit the ground, hard.

Silence.

Then static.

From his system.

[EXP Gained: 145]

[EXP Total: 311/300]

[Level Up – Level 6 Achieved]

[+1 Spell Slot]

[System Notice: Skill Design Protocols Active – Optional]

Lucen didn’t move.

He just lay there.

Then let out a slow breath against the cold floor.

"...Okay," he whispered. "I think that counted."

Behind him, Mira groaned.

Senna was already getting to her feet.

Lucen rolled onto his back and looked at the dark ceiling overhead.

’Level six. Finally. One more slot. Two spells to design. I should probably feel proud.’

He closed his eyes for one second.

’Mostly I feel like I want soup and a therapist.’

The stone under him was still cold.

But the boss was dead.

For now.

And the hall was quiet.

—

No one said it, but the fight was over.

Lucen stood still for a second longer, just breathing.

The last echo of the boss’s fall still lingered somewhere between his ears. Not a sound, exactly. Just pressure. Like something had gotten unplugged from the world and the hole it left behind hadn’t figured out how to collapse yet.

He looked down at his hand.

Mana: 17/65

’Great. Barely enough to light a match. Or kill someone with an especially dramatic cough.’

He flexed his fingers. No shaking. That was something.

Senna lowered her sword. Blood crusted along one edge, not hers. Her chest rose slow and steady under her cracked armor. No limping. No dramatics. Just that usual haunted calm she wore like second skin.

Mira leaned forward with her hands on her knees, catching her breath. Her braid was half undone and her bowstring frayed, but her expression said she’d go another round if someone made the mistake of asking.

Callen was slumped against the wall. Not unconscious. Just... done. His shield was planted beside him like he couldn’t be bothered to hold it anymore.

Lucen turned to the center of the chamber.

No more enemies. No more frost mist. No more flickering, cursed lighting.

Just a wide slab of stone cracked through the middle where the boss had fallen. His system still flickered faintly in the corner of his eye.

[EXP Gained: +394]

[Level Up – Level 7 Achieved!]

[+1 Spell Slot]

Lucen blinked once.

’Wait. That’s three spells I can add now. Should’ve done one after last level.’

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Didn’t matter. He’d figure it out later. Preferably in a place that didn’t smell like undead sweat and powdered rust.

Senna’s voice cut through the quiet. "We move."

Mira groaned. "We just killed a death knight on ice steroids. Can we not move for like two seconds?"

Senna didn’t answer.

Lucen muttered, "That’s a no."

He adjusted the strap on his bag and took one last look around the room. Black stone. Burn marks. Bits of frost still clinging to the far wall like a warning label that forgot what it was selling.

"Where’s the exit?" he asked, mostly to the air.

Callen grunted. "Usually opens after the final kill. Look for glyph seams."

Lucen frowned and started scanning the wall. Sure enough, thirty seconds later, a low mechanical sound hummed from the far side of the chamber.

A piece of the wall slid inward with a hiss and folded to the side, revealing a narrow corridor bathed in orange light.

Mira tilted her head. "That looks too warm and friendly."

Lucen said, "So definitely a trap."

Senna had already started walking.

Lucen followed.

The corridor was cleaner than the rest of the dungeon. Not just in a "less blood and screaming" way.

The walls were polished. Smooth. Lit by embedded mana panels that cast steady light down the hall like a fire had been frozen mid-burn and glued to the ceiling.

Mira walked beside him now. Her voice low.

"You think this place was always like this?"

Lucen shrugged. "You mean haunted, horrible, and full of dead guys who forgot how dying works?"

"I mean... built this way. Like it was supposed to be part of something."

Lucen glanced up. "Architects don’t make death dungeons on accident."

Mira didn’t respond.

The hall stretched on for another minute, then opened.

A circular chamber. Small. Quiet. A raised platform in the center.

On it was a single orb.

Faintly glowing. Blue, with silver veins threading through the middle like lightning caught in glass.

Callen made a soft sound.

"Core."

Lucen’s eyes narrowed.

The orb pulsed once. Like it knew they were watching.

His system pinged again.

[Drift Core Stabilized]

[Exit Gate: Active]

A shimmer appeared on the far side of the room. Transparent. Vertical. Gate-shaped.

Mira whistled. "About damn time."

Lucen didn’t move forward.

Neither did Senna.

Callen stepped closer. "You two not coming?"

Lucen said, "I’m just trying to make sure it’s not the kind of gate that shreds you into pieces if you’re carrying more than one soul."

Mira blinked. "That’s a thing?"

Lucen didn’t answer.

Senna stepped through first.

No screams. No explosions.

Just... gone.

Lucen let out a slow breath.

"Alright," he said. "If I die, tell the debt collectors I skipped town."

And stepped through.