The inn room's workbench was covered in glass vials, stone mortars, and strips of beast hide.
Diana spent the first three hours of the morning dedicated exclusively to upgrading her crafting proficiency. She had invested 80 bronze coins from her balance to purchase basic mineral reagents, ground sulfur, and arcane solvents in the artisans' plaza.
[REAGENT AND MATERIAL EXPENSES]
- Arcane Solvents + Ground Sulfur + Leather Thongs: -80 Bronze Coins.
[TEMPORARY POCKET BALANCE: 9 SILVER COINS (900 Bronze)]
The results of the crafting session were immediate and impressive:
[ITEMS CRAFTED SUCCESSFULLY!]
- [2x Blinding Smoke Bomb]: Throwable. Creates a cloud of thick, noxious smoke in a 5-meter radius for 8 seconds. Reduces enemy accuracy in the area by 50%.
- [2x Concentrated Paralysis Poison]: Blade application. Inflicts [Severe Slow of 60%] status and prevents active skill usage for 5 seconds on the struck target.
- [Crystal Leather Reinforcement (Applied to Armor)]: Increases Diana's and Rhea's Physical Defense by +3.
[SYSTEM: YOUR PROFICIENCIES ROSE!]
- [Alchemy / Botany]: Level 1 -> 2 (20 / 250 EXP)!
- [Leatherworking / Weaving]: Level 0 -> 1 (35 / 100 EXP)!
Diana observed the two small cylindrical iron bombs and the vials of concentrated poison on the table.
Knowing those tools had come directly from her own hands, built with resources she had gathered herself, brought a sensation of absolute control that Diana adored.
"Equip the smoke bombs on your belt, Rhea." Diana ordered, stashing the poison vials into her pouch. "Today we head to the deep sector of the Mist Forest."
Rhea fastened the small bombs onto her reinforced leather belt, her amber eyes glowing with confidence. "Understood, Diana! The blades already have poison applied!"
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Deep Zone - The Ravine of Mystic Crystals
The Deep Zone of the Ivory Mist Forest was an area isolated by gigantic bluffs of white rock.
The ravine floor was carpeted with large formations of blue crystals that emitted a pulsing magic light, and the air was heavy, saturated with elemental mana.
Diana and Rhea walked carefully along the ravine bed, harvesting samples of Infernal Fireflowers, when a terrifying crash echoed from atop the stone bluffs.
BOOM!
Immense boulders and shards of crystal plunged down the mountain slope, crashing with devastating impact at the ravine entrance, completely blocking the sole way back with a ten-meter-tall pile of rubble.
Diana and Rhea spun around instantly, unsheathing their weapons.
A dark, corrosive mist began to leak from a cave at the far end of the ravine.
From inside the darkness, a colossal creature emerged, treading heavily onto the floor crystals. It resembled a gigantic eight-meter-long reptile with scales made of hardened black crystal, eyes red as embers, and a tail bristling with stone spikes.
[FIELD BOSS ALERT!]
[Shadow Crystal Salamander - Ravine Alpha]
Level: 11 (Field Boss)
HP: 380 / 380
Main Stat: Absolute Defense / Corrosive Breath
Note: Hide immune to low-level conventional physical attacks.
Level 11. Three hundred and eighty HP.
Diana (Level 7) and Rhea (Level 6) were completely trapped in a dead-end ravine before a Field Boss four levels above them, whose crystal armor rendered ordinary daggers useless.
—My God…
The System's voice echoed in Diana's head, the screen flashing an emergency vivid red.
—The passage is blocked. There's no fucking way out! This monster's crystal hide will snap your daggers on the first strike! What are you gonna do, Diana?!
Rhea took two steps back, her breathing shallow, but her hands gripped her iron daggers firmly. She looked at the rock pile blocking the exit and then at Diana.
"Diana…" Rhea said, her voice trembling yet steady. "The exit is closed. We have to fight!"
Diana stared down the colossal monster.
Panic tried to crawl up her spine, but Diana's arrogant rage and analytical mind crushed all hesitation.
Run…? Diana thought, her dark eyes glittering with homicidal intensity. I didn't spend money and time crafting bombs and poisons just to run away from a fucking crystal lizard!
"Rhea!" Diana shouted, her voice booming with overwhelming authority. "Don't bother attacking the dorsal scales! The weak point of reptiles is the belly and eyes! We're using the bombs!"
The Crystal Salamander unleashed a deafening roar that shook the ravine rocks, gaping its jaws wide and spewing a jet of dark, corrosive fire toward the two of them.
"SPLIT UP!" Diana ordered.
The two hurled themselves in opposite directions across the crystal floor.
The blast of corrosive fire hit the spot where they had stood a second before, melting the white rock like wax.
Diana pushed up from her roll, yanked one of the newly crafted [Blinding Smoke Bombs] from her belt, and hurled it with all her Strength 12 straight at the Salamander's face.
BOOM!
The small bomb exploded in midair right before the beast's eyes, releasing a thick, choking cloud of grey, noxious smoke.
The Salamander let out a roar of distress, thrashing its giant head, utterly blinded and disoriented by the dense smoke.
"NOW, RHEA! USE THE POISON!"
Rhea didn't hesitate.
SHADOW STEP!
Using her extreme Agility 17, the hybrid girl turned into a silver shadow that streaked through the smoke, emerging directly underneath the Salamander's unprotected belly.
With a precise upward thrust, Rhea drove both daggers coated in [Concentrated Paralysis Poison] into the soft folds of the monster's underbelly skin.
CRUNCH! DAMAGE: 45!
The alchemical poison crafted by Diana entered the beast's bloodstream instantly.
[Enemy Struck by Concentrated Poison!]
[Crystal Salamander Inflicted with Status: [Severe Paralysis] for 5 Seconds!]
The Level 11 Salamander froze mid-ravine, its muscles locking completely under the poison's action, its eyes blinded by the smoke.
Five seconds of absolute stillness.
Diana sprinted toward the immobilized monster, channeling all her remaining MP into the palm of her right hand.
ARCANE ENERGY ARROW!
A concentrated, glowing magic arrow materialized in her hand. Diana didn't shoot from afar, she leaped onto the Salamander's locked snout, drove her dark steel dagger straight into the monster's left eye socket, and discharged the Arcane Arrow directly inside the beast's skull.
BOOM!
The internal magic explosion shattered the Field Boss's brain structure from the inside out.
[Fatal Critical Strike!]
[Damage Dealt: 290 (Internal Arcane Damage)!]
[Shadow Crystal Salamander Defeated!]
The Level 11 Salamander's colossal body shuddered violently before collapsing dead onto the ravine floor's crystals with a deafening crash.
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Silence descended over the ravine.
Diana dropped to her knees atop the monster's corpse, panting heavily, her chest heaving, her MP completely drained. But an insane, victorious, devastating smile tore across her face.
Beside her, Rhea collapsed sitting in the dust, staring at the dead Level 11 monster before them, unable to believe what they had just pulled off.
"We… we killed a Level 11 Field Boss…" Rhea whispered, her voice choked with shock and pride.
The System flashed with a barrage of golden notifications illuminating the dark ravine:
[EXTRAORDINARY VICTORY ACHIEVED!]
[Enemy Defeated: Shadow Crystal Salamander (Level 11 - Field Boss)]
[Experience Gained: 1,200 EXP (+240 Anomaly Bonus EXP)]
[Shared Experience: Diana +720 EXP / Rhea +720 EXP]
[SYSTEM: ABSOLUTE LEVEL EVOLUTION!]
[Diana: Level 7 -> 8!]
[Rhea: Level 6 -> 7!]
[FIELD BOSS LOOT]
- Direct Coins: +3 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze Coins!
- Rare Item: 1x Dark Crystal Core (High-Level Crafting Material).
- Leatherworking Item: 1x Intact Crystal Salamander Hide.
—Unbelievable…
The System's voice echoed in Diana's head, the interface flashing with shocked approval.
—You used smoke to blind, the alchemical poison you crafted yourself to paralyze a Level 11 monster, and destroyed its brain from within. I take back what I said about your crafting kit being a waste of time.
Diana rose slowly from the monster's corpse, wiping blood from her face and gathering the loot.
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Twelve silver coins and fifty bronze in total.
Level 8 reached for Diana. Level 7 for Rhea.
A Dark Crystal Core in inventory, and enough rare crafting materials to forge mid-tier weapons and armor.
Diana looked at the rocks blocking the ravine entrance, raised her hand, and fired an Arcane Arrow into the rocks' weak structure, clearing a path for exit.
She looked at Rhea, who stood up at her side with a confident smile, ready for any challenge.
"We are becoming truly strong." Diana said, adjusting the tools on her belt. "Tomorrow we begin metal forging."
Final Notes:
This boss fight was actuuually pretty complex, I'd say, but Diana had a VERY smart idea here, look at that!
And yey, level up!