Karl glanced around the clearing.

The air itself felt heavy. Countless faint particles floated everywhere, barely visible unless one focused on them.

Residual traces left behind after players died. A lot of players had died here. Not just a few.

Enough that the place felt saturated with it.

'Even in my past life,' Karl recalled, his gaze steady, 'I never fought this thing.'

Back then, he had arrived too late. The [Flower Behemoth] had already been slain, its massive body gone, replaced only by an open path and a ticking revive timer.

Once the boss died, a one-day countdown would begin before it revived, much like the [Gardener] as they worked pretty much the same way.

During that limited window, players rushed through the [Flower Labyrinth], desperate to escape and reach the next region while they still could.

That was how it always went. Strong players cleared the path. Everyone else followed.

Karl's gaze shifted past the massive body of the boss. There it was.

The exit of the [Flower Labyrinth].

It stood at the far end of the clearing, unmistakable even from a distance.

A massive archway formed of stone and roots, partially swallowed by nature. But thick vines wrapped around it completely, sealing it shut. Not a single gap remained.

The rule here was simple: Kill the boss. Only then would the path open.

And now, after the [Flower Behemoth] had slaughtered everyone else who reached this place…

Karl was alone. There was no one else rushing in from behind.

He tightened his grip on his staff, feeling its familiar weight settle into his palm.

He spun it once, casually, letting it rotate before stopping it firmly. The motion was smooth, practiced.

A wide grin spread across his face.

"Well," he said calmly, lifting the staff and pointing it straight ahead, "guess it's just us."

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

Karl didn't hesitate.

He unleashed his spells in rapid succession, mana surging violently as three different elements tore through the air at once.

A massive blazing meteor descended from above, wrapped in roaring flames.

Bolts of lightning crashed down around it, splitting the sky with deafening cracks.

Shards of icy crystals followed, spinning rapidly as they shot forward.

The [Flower Behemoth] reacted instantly, planting its massive feet into the ground and raising its enormous blade to brace for impact.

Boom! Zap! Bam! Bam!

-706,200! -282,400! Deflected! Deflected!

The first two spells struck cleanly.

The [Blazing Meteor] exploded directly against the behemoth's body, flames engulfing its upper half. The [Storm of Lightning] followed immediately, lightning tearing through its form and grounding through the clearing.

The [Permafrost Crystals], however, were another matter.

One after another, they were swatted aside by the boss's massive blade, deflected effortlessly with brute force.

Even so, Karl didn't mind. Nearly a million damage had been dealt in a single exchange.

That alone was enough to satisfy him. A full third of the boss's health vanished almost instantly.

And perhaps the most telling part was Karl's reaction. He wasn't impressed.

In fact, as the fight continued, his mind already began drifting elsewhere, calmly thinking about what to do next.

Fwish! Slash!

The [Flower Behemoth] swung its massive sword again. The blade was wrapped in thick vines, and several flower-like mouths along its edge opened wide as it cut through the air, releasing a violent pressure wave.

Karl stepped aside with minimal movement, dodging the swing effortlessly.

'The [Key of the Maze] can't be far,' he thought as another slash passed inches from him. 'It has… to be on that monster.'

His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the behemoth recover from its attack.

There was nothing else in the [Flower Labyrinth] that made sense. No hidden chest. No secret path. No puzzle left unsolved.

The boss was the answer. Which meant he needed to defeat it. And fast.

Flower Dance!

The [Flower Behemoth] drove its massive blade straight into the ground.

The impact sent a shockwave across the clearing, and from the cracked earth, hundreds of vines burst forth. They twisted and writhed violently, surging toward Karl from every direction.

If the behemoth could speak, it would probably be screaming for his death.

But Karl didn't care.

He spun his staff in his hand again, movements calm and controlled, and fired off another spell.

Blazing Meteor!

The meteor descended once more, slamming directly into the behemoth's torso. Flames erupted outward, scorching petals, vines, and flesh alike.

-702,800!

The boss staggered slightly under the impact.

Ding!

[You have afflicted "Burn" to "Flower Behemoth".]

Several of the vines it had summoned were instantly scorched and crumbled away, blackened by the flames. Others continued pushing forward regardless.

Karl didn't bother watching them.

All-Powerful Magic Barrier!

A shimmering barrier materialized around him just as the remaining vines slammed into his position. One after another, they crashed against the barrier, coiling, striking, and crushing against it.

The barrier held.

Every single attack was blocked.

Still, Karl frowned slightly.

'Can't keep going like that,' he thought calmly. 'There's too many vines. If they keep hitting, the barrier will break.'

He needed to change the flow of the fight.

Now.

Eclypse Beam!

Karl focused his power into the tip of his staff. Mana condensed rapidly, forming a small, dense orb of energy. The space around it distorted slightly as the beam prepared to fire.

The [Flower Behemoth] sensed the danger immediately.

It lunged forward, abandoning defense entirely, while commanding its remaining vines to surge forward at the same time.

SLAM!

The vines smashed into Karl's barrier again, cracks spreading across its surface.

But Karl didn't lose focus. Not even for a moment.

SWASH!

The behemoth swung its blade downward, aiming to shatter the barrier and crush him in one strike.

But just before the blade connected, Karl stepped backward.

He raised his staff.

Fwish… BOOM!

The [Eclypse Beam] fired.

A concentrated beam of destructive energy slammed directly into the [Flower Behemoth], blasting through its defenses.

-100,000!

But Karl didn't hold the beam on the boss for the full five seconds.

Instead—

Swash!

He twisted his staff in a wide arc, sweeping the beam across the clearing. The energy tore through every single vine in its path, vaporizing them instantly.

In seconds, the battlefield was cleared.

By the time the [Eclypse Beam] ended, not a single vine remained standing.

The clearing fell quiet. Karl lowered his staff slightly.

"Let's end this," he said calmly.

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

This time, the [Flower Behemoth] couldn't respond.

Its body was scorched, burned, and cracked. Its movements slowed, its stance broken.

Every spell hit cleanly.

The meteor crushed its upper body. Lightning ripped through what remained. The crystals pierced straight through without resistance.

The massive figure swayed once…

Then collapsed. Its body slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. Defeated.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Flower Behemoth (Level 50 Legendary-Rank Zone Boss)"]

[You have gained 600,000 experience points!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 46!]

[All your attributes have increased by 5, and have gained 5 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 32 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 438 Lives!]

---

"Only four more levels now," Karl grinned. "Should be fine."

Fwoosh!

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