Fire Meteor!

Karl raised his staff, channeling the fire swirling inside it.

The spell pulsed once, the magic responding instantly, and a burning meteor formed above him.

The air shook from the power gathering there.

He swung the staff forward, launching the meteor straight toward the [Vine Serpent].

He knew exactly what kind of damage that thing carried.

One hit was enough to evaporate a boss at this level.

The spell dealt over three hundred thousand damage.

A clean strike would end the fight before the serpent could even hiss.

But…

Fwish!

The [Vine Serpent] simply shifted its head to the side, smooth and effortless, letting the meteor slam into the ground behind it.

"…"

That was exactly the issue Karl had brought up earlier.

This fight wasn't about damage. He had enough destructive power to end the boss instantly.

His problem was something far more annoying: movement speed.

That was exactly what Karl was talking about when he said he couldn't fight the [Floral King] yet.

The king's movement speed would simply not allow Karl to be able to actually hit him with any spells.

His strongest spells weren't instant. They all had travel time or casting time.

And if your enemy moved fast enough… everything could be dodged.

Even [Storm of Lightning], which spread over an area, could be avoided with enough speed.

HISSSSSS!

The [Vine Serpent] lunged, its huge maw opening wide, fangs ready to crush Karl whole.

But Karl wasn't on the ground.

He sat firmly on Moonless' back, and the mount reacted instantly.

Moonless pushed off the ground, her black fur rippling as she dashed sideways, avoiding the serpent's bite by inches.

Claws Strike!

Moonless twisted around and slashed the side of the serpent's long body with powerful claw strikes.

The hits tore into the scales, sparks flying as the claws left clean marks.

It dealt good damage, enough to get the serpent's attention.

But the serpent moved even quicker this time.

It whipped its massive tail around, the force behind it strong enough to uproot trees.

"Shit!"

Karl kicked off Moonless' back and jumped into the air right as the tail rushed toward them.

SLAM!

The tail smashed straight into Moonless.

The impact sent her skidding across the ground, dirt exploding everywhere.

Karl landed exactly where he had been standing before leaping.

His teeth clenched as he watched Moonless roll to the side.

She shook her head, growled, and stood back up, showing her sharp fangs.

She was okay, but Karl still felt the sting of seeing her hit.

He turned back toward the serpent.

Storm of Lightning! Frostbite Crystals!

Lightning exploded from his staff, flashing across the serpent's body before it could finish turning toward Moonless again.

-161,120!

The hit cracked several scales, and the serpent hissed in pain.

Before it could recover, five frostbite crystals spun into the air above Karl, then shot forward, piercing into the serpent's scales.

-7,500! -7,500! -7,500!

The crystals normally dealt fifteen thousand damage each, so seeing half wasn't surprising.

But the reason wasn't the ice element anymore.

It wasn't elemental resistance.

It was something else entirely: something Karl already knew from his previous life.

In [Gods Ascension], physical damage wasn't all the same.

It had three main types: piercing, slashing, and crushing.

Spears pierced. Swords slashed. Hammers crushed.

[Frostbite Crystals] counted as piercing damage with an ice affinity.

And the [Vine Serpent] had natural resistances against piercing because of how its scales were formed.

Anything sharp would deal half damage unless it struck a weak point.

Karl didn't care much since he was a mage, and raw magic ignored those structural defenses.

But his crystals had a physical element too, so the resistance applied.

Still, the serpent quickly snapped its focus back to Karl.

HIIIISSSSS!

It lunged again, deciding the human was the actual threat.

But that was a mistake, because it took its eyes off Moonless.

And Moonless never wasted openings.

JAGGED BITE!

She launched herself at the boss, jaws wide, and bit deep into the serpent's midsection.

Her teeth sank into its scales and held on tight, her body twisting to pull the serpent down.

HISSSSSSS!

The serpent writhed violently, trying to shake her off.

Karl instantly recognized this moment.

Moonless wasn't strong enough to kill the serpent alone, but she was strong enough to restrain it for a few seconds.

And that was all Karl needed.

Fire Meteor!

He raised his staff again.

The flame gathered instantly this time, forming a new meteor.

Karl hurled it down at the struggling boss. This time the serpent had no escape.

With Moonless locking her jaws deep into its body, it couldn't twist away.

BOOM!

-302,100!

The meteor struck the serpent dead-on.

The explosion echoed through the area, shaking the ground.

The serpent's HP dropped to zero instantly.

Moonless immediately let go, stepping back as the boss's body collapsed limply onto the ground.

Karl exhaled sharply.

He had expected this fight to be easy since the serpent's HP wasn't high enough to endure one meteor.

But of course, things in [Gods Ascension] were never that simple.

Even simple fights could turn dangerous if the monster had good mobility.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Vine Serpent (Level 27 Epic-Rank Boss)"]

[You have gained 73,000 experience points.]

[You have gained 8 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 128 Lives!]

---

Hand of Oblivion!

Karl activated the skill immediately.

A shadowy hand materialized from Karl's staff, then melted into the body.

[You have gained 7 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 113 Lives!]

'Damn.'

So it wasn't copying the monster's actual rewards.

It didn't match the EP or Lives he had just received from killing it.

That meant it didn't scale by imitation.

It scaled by forcefully extracting something extra, something stored deeper within monsters.

Even if the rewards weren't perfect, they were still incredible.

Karl let the thought go and approached Moonless.

The mount lowered her head to him, tail flicking lightly.

"Are you okay?" Karl asked, "If you're hurt, I'll send you back to the [Mount Bell]."

Mount Bells were personal spaces for mounts, and each mount had a different environment suited for them.

For example, Moonless had a cavern-like resting zone that resembled the [Fifth Floor].

It was warm, dark, and quiet, perfect for her to recover.

If a mount was tired or wounded, it was better to let them rest.

Overworking them or letting them die could lower their loyalty drastically.

Moonless, however, seemed perfectly fine. She nodded.

"Alright then." Karl smiled and got back onto her back, patting her head, "We're close anyway."

Sprint!

Moonless dashed forward again, her speed leaving a trail of dust behind her.

Fwish!

The deeper they went, the quieter everything grew.

Just cold air and the faint rustle of unseen vines.

It felt like something deliberately kept others away.

Karl already knew why.

Something about the massive crimson flower made the area reject outsiders.

He and Moonless finally reached the base of the enormous flower.

The vine supporting it stretched upward like the trunk of a colossal tree.

Karl spotted it immediately.

"I knew it."

Embedded into the vine's surface was a large opening, like a natural door grown from living vines.

Thick vine-locks wrapped across it, forming a pattern shaped like intertwining branches.

Three locks. All made of vines.

Karl approached.

Ding!

[You are not worthy enough to take on the "Flower" challenge.]

[Step away.]

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