I saw my reflection. I looked different.
Staring at myself in the shiny crystal, coated with the poisonous substance of pulsating matter, I realized the truth.
Valeria didn't ask any questions, though I could see that my transformation shook her even more than it did me.
Everything had changed. My eyes had turned a deep, dark violet, the same shade as the scales on my head and upper neck, extending down to my spiked tail. The scales had hardened and gleamed, while the skin beneath them had cracked in places, like living rock, with a muted catastrophe-colored glow pulsing through the crevices.
I was no longer just a monster. I felt as if I had become part of the wild dungeon… but not its slave.
The second head now mirrored my own, though its eyes were immersed in darkness, reminiscent of the shadowy aura that had awakened me. I couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious woman, whose memory felt both close and distant at the same time.
With every step and every devoured creature, I felt more alive and absorbed by the darkness of this place. I felt the corridors, I heard the wild dungeon breathing. Matter shifted from place to place, corridors luring us into dead ends.
The color of my aura had changed — it now resembled Valeria's. Absolute darkness. Terror. It had also grown heavier — unpredictable, wilder, more primal.
I had a feeling that the second head obeyed my will more often, without draining my [MP]. Which had risen to [113]!
Did I owe these changes to that woman? Was any of this even real? What was really happening? The mysterious woman, both distant and near at the same time, refused to leave my mind…
"You've changed… What saved you?" I heard a sudden question, and I didn't know the answer. I remained silent. "I saw that monstrous bite. You writhed in pain. You fought. I tried to save you, but it was too late… Then your body was bathed in darkness, your color and aura changed, and you came back to life! The wounds were healed by darkness. Some foreign aura, so pure and powerful that even the strongest high vampires were far from matching it!"
We pressed on. The fight was simple, and the creatures, though fast and strong, without heavy armor or defense, fell quickly to Valeria's blade. I devoured one after another, feeling my power grow with every bite. If I gained levels only by eating, then strangely enough, devouring catastrophe beasts, even much lower-level ones, gave me extraordinary results.
"I had a terrible dream that seemed to last an eternity. I wandered through some horrifying wild dungeon until I almost died. Just before my end, some strange woman… she… she saved me, waved her wand, drenched me in her aura, and I woke up with you at my side… I don't know who she could have been. She showed me my past life and what it could have been… I don't want to talk about it now. Let's kill the boss and get out of this cursed place."
The vampiress next to me looked thoughtful. She just nodded and ordered two of her dark monsters to massacre the low-level catastrophe beast in front of us. She stomped her foot.
"Enough with the sadness! Let's kill the boss and close this wild dungeon!" She declared seriously, smiling widely for the first time since my transformation. "Then I'll become the queen of goblins, and you'll be my supreme commander! If you let yourself die again, I'll find you in the afterlife and personally beat you to death! Pff!"
Dangerous woman! Acting like some graduate of a worthless course, thinking life will be simple. In this world, I could die at any moment, and it's better she doesn't expect some epic relationship. Besides, I've never been good with women, and no romances or great friendships were ever meant for me — past life showed me that enough.
Especially this queen of goblins nonsense. A weak species in a weak place, surrounded by enemies and treated as nothing more than sources of slaves and food for the stronger. Good luck creating a kingdom with them as the main cast!
Perhaps my close encounters with death so many times in such a short span had filled me with bitterness, and the more I thought, the angrier I got at myself. After rebirth, I did everything cautiously and never risked unnecessarily, but I had grown slightly in power, and yet I almost got killed more than once!
"I hope this boss won't trouble you too much," I said, trying to break the strange silence, only to be met with laughter. Valeria, smiling and scanning the area, responded like an expert:
"Judging by how many trash-level catastrophe monsters are here and how often it changes, the boss must specialize in summoning and terrain control. Such phenomena are normal in wild dungeons, but not in ones of such low rank as this. That's a good sign. I think its speed won't exceed mine, let alone its defense…"
I had to admit, one of her strengths — confidence — was certainly undeniable. She continued teasing me, dragging me into fights with creatures, even sitting on me during combat or travel, as if I were her servant!
She probably already forgot how she shed tears not long ago!
At least I had no problem satisfying my hunger. The further we moved into concentrated aura, the more meaty food there was for me, and blood reservoirs for the vampire. Based on my experience and how the system worked for me, I suggested that she could grow stronger if she drank as much blood from powerful beings as she could.
"Good plan! I'll try!" she thanked me, then unexpectedly bit me again, tasting my blood. "Indeed! This seems to work. I feel myself growing stronger! We should do this more often, friend!" She teased, fixing her hair, licking her lips, tapping her boot in the matter, hands behind her back, clearly enjoying my recklessness.
Brazen woman! Always has to make a joke out of me! I could see how she started biting stronger monsters, but never once admitted I was right. An arrogant companion indeed…
Never mind… Good thing she was here, good thing she brought me to this place.
I learned more about myself, saw who made me reborn in this world, and gained more levels and tons of new skills! My body also felt stronger and more agile, which my stats confirmed.
Even eating those trash monsters, I could see my stats rising, getting me closer to the next breakthrough. I got my second head at level 10. Later I thought the third would appear at 20, but that hypothesis didn't hold.
I hoped it would happen at level [30], which I would reach if all went well after defeating the dungeon boss!
With three heads, I could roam mountains and forests without much fear. I already felt that confidence, that lack of fear of encountering a monster that could kill and devour me… Mmm… That would be a wonderful feeling!
The road to that was, however, far from over.
Each level now required huge amounts of high-level plants or creatures as food, which this wild dungeon clearly couldn't provide.
Even the attacks of that disgusting matter, supporting several stronger catastrophe monsters, didn't stop me from devouring them completely. Yet I still saw level [28] when I checked my stats, in vain hope of leveling up…
"Do you feel that?" Valeria asked. I nodded. "The boss is close, its concentrated aura makes even me nauseous…"
It either had perfect control over its aura or was some composite of the purest catastrophe matter I'd ever seen. Perhaps only the cruel black-and-purple desert from my dream could match the intensity of its twisted aura.
So the real slaughter was about to begin… It'd be good not to die!
We moved through dark purple corridors of pulsating matter, and the deeper we went, the heavier the atmosphere became. The boss's aura still overwhelmed, and I felt every strike, every move, being watched with disturbing precision.
"Artax, watch your step and around you. Be careful of the matter changes… something's wrong here."
Valeria clenched her hands on the hilt, swallowed, and fixed her gaze on a point on the wall ahead. Her eyes glowed, ready for combat.
I didn't even have time to respond when the corridor ahead suddenly shifted. Matter pulsed, rising like a wave in the air, closing off our path behind. False branches appeared and vanished, and from each leaped what seemed like summoned beasts — stronger and larger than the creatures I had devoured before. Hundreds of them!
"What the fuck!? An ambush!" I roared, cursing in rage. Valeria leapt to the side and began slaughtering. Her blade sliced the air, cutting the enemy, while I devoured one after another in raw fury, smashing with my tail and tearing apart with the second head anyone we reached with our jaws.
We were in constant motion. Every step required attention; every turn could mean more summons. The purple matter around us quivered and pulsed like a living organism, forcing me to be careful.
Then I felt something strange, something powerful and ominous. An aura behind us. Stronger, purer, more unpredictable than Valeria's. Dark violet.
I spun around — and there, in the shadow of the violet mist, a humanoid creature with four arms spread in the air. Its deep violet, almost dead eyes pierced me from head to toe. It stood calmly, yet the aura around it trembled, ripping the air into invisible shards.
"Vagh Ma Óth Therg…" Its deep, shadow-filled voice resonated in my head. Matter beneath my paws began to ripple, and from it emerged new summons, fast, aggressive, coordinated like a single organism.
A massive beast, even a schoolyard gang of bullies wasn't this fucking terrifying!
[Level: 71
Threat: DEADLY]
Three meters of pure muscle! Long braids and a body like a strongman!
This is that fucking wild dungeon of D rank? The reason to smirk and joke!?
"This has to be the boss! Kill it, and the rest will die on their own! Watch out! This is at least a C-rank wild dungeon! This creature is a master of summoning and ruler of this place!"
My heart pounded like a hammer, but adrenaline mixed with hunger and strength. The second head was tearing a half-monkey, half-dog apart! Black blood flooded the matter at my feet!
With every second, the boss seemed closer. Matter behind us, summons at our sides, and the corridors ahead constantly changing — like a labyrinth built to trap us. Behind, hundreds of monsters; ahead, the boss…
I saw Valeria use her mist teleportation, appearing just behind the boss, slashing along its neck. The sword stuck in its flesh; it only roared in fury, smashed its fist into one of the four drums attached to its chest, and under their feet, a dozen creatures grew and lunged at Valeria.
Valeria's black monsters jumped to her aid, taking care of the summons.
The four-armed creature, furious and screaming ominously, struck with all its hands and kicked with all its might, but the vampire refused to be hit. She dodged its blows with grace, taking the tricky matter of the catastrophe into account. She quickly gathered massive aura in her left hand until it flared with black fire and struck the titan directly in its wound, igniting it and freeing the sword that had been stuck moments ago.
Valeria's attack exploded in black aura-fire, spreading across the boss's body, searing, crackling, and pushing it back briefly. The four-armed one roared in rage, and some of its summons vanished in a violet mist, leaving only the echoes of hundreds of rattles and whispers.
"An illusion?…" Valeria whispered, but had no time to think further as the next blows rained down relentlessly. "Damn you monster, die!" she shouted, swinging her blade like a true war goddess!
We both breathed heavily, I feeling the rising power and [Bloodlust] from every devoured beast, Valeria glowing in the dark light of her blade, seeming to dominate the catastrophe aura.
"Noght Tahg Ógt Aga…" the boss unleashed, its voices echoing in our heads like labyrinthine echos, each syllable piercing my mind.
This monster was definitely not normal. It ruled this domain and had the upper hand.
Although it seemed like a summoning mage without special protection, it was still incredible in melee combat and ridiculously durable! Even the vampiress had trouble with it. I could at least deal with its summons — the real and the illusions… I could at least help her that way.
I looked at her. Her eyes burned with determination and darkness, and I felt I couldn't let her down. The second head hissed a warning, and my body's aura filled with hunger, adrenaline, and the power of newly acquired skills.
Furious and bloodthirsty, I activated [Berserker's Fury]. The real fight had just begun, and there was no turning back. A red fog of fury clouded my mind.
The Four-Armed Boss would be my dinner!