"Oh shit—"

SWASH!

The massive jaws snapped shut.

They didn't meet flesh.

Instead, they slammed directly into Karl's [All-Powerful Magic Barrier], the transparent shield bending and warping violently under the sheer pressure of the bite.

Even though the barrier held, the sight alone was terrifying.

The enormous carnivorous mouth nearly swallowed the entire shield, jagged teeth scraping across its surface as if trying to tear reality itself apart. Karl's instincts screamed at him all at once.

He didn't hesitate.

Karl jumped backward immediately, creating as much distance as possible.

RAAAAWRRRR!

The [Floral Guardian] let out a deafening roar, its voice shaking the ground beneath them. The vibrations rippled outward, sending loose dirt and stone tumbling, while dust fell from the massive vine above like rain.

It stepped forward again.

Shield raised.

Eye locked onto Karl.

Its posture was completely different now: aggressive, relentless, no longer content with simply blocking the gate.

"Hah," Karl grinned, tightening his grip on his staff, "Finally," he said quietly, eyes sharp."A real battle," He didn't wait.

Blazing Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Permafrost Crystals!

Karl unleashed his spells in rapid succession, fire, lightning, and ice erupting around the [Floral Guardian] almost simultaneously.

The blazing meteor crashed down. The crystals formed. Lightning surged from every direction.

But the guardian charged straight through it all.

The meteor slammed into its shield. The crystals shattered against its body.

Zap!

-283,680!

Lightning struck from all sides, bypassing the shield entirely.

The guardian staggered slightly but didn't stop.

"Only two more," Karl muttered to himself.

Even now, even after tearing itself free from the ground, the [Floral Guardian] still couldn't properly defend against an attack that struck from every angle at once.

And its health, it was critically low.

[Boss HP: 446,880/3,000,000]

Yet it showed no signs of slowing down.

In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance again, the ground cracking beneath its feet as it advanced toward Karl with overwhelming force.

'Fifteen seconds,' Karl thought calmly as he crouched low, narrowly avoiding a downward slam from the carnivorous plant.

'That's all I need to end this.'

But—

SLAM!

The guardian suddenly twisted its body, rotating with shocking speed, and smashed its shield directly into Karl's [All-Powerful Magic Barrier].

BOOM!

-3,898,720!

Karl's eyes widened.

The barrier shattered instantly, fragments of magical energy exploding outward as the impact sent Karl flying backward like a ragdoll.

As always, the barrier acted as an immunity shield.

Karl didn't take the damage.

But the sheer force of the attack was horrifying.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Karl hit the ground repeatedly, bouncing across the terrain as he was sent far from his original position.

He slid to a stop, digging his heels into the ground to slow himself.

Moonless let out a sharp growl.

She bared her teeth, muscles tensing as she prepared to lunge at the [Floral Guardian].

"Don't," Karl said simply, raising a hand.

Moonless froze.

"That thing can stack the damage we deal to its shield," Karl continued, eyes narrowed, "and send it back."

The massive number made sense now.

The 3,898,720 damage hadn't come out of nowhere.

It was the combined force of everything Karl had thrown at it.

Nine [Storm of Lightning]. Two [Blazing Meteor]. Ten [Permafrost Crystals].

All of it had been stored. Then reflected. Karl clenched his teeth.

There had been no warning. No indicator. Nothing in its panel or behavior that suggested it could do that.

Which meant—

The only real ways to beat the [Floral Guardian] for a normal player were either to disarm its shield entirely or find a way to hit its back without letting the shield absorb the attack.

Moonless looked at Karl for a moment longer.

Then she slowly sat back down.

Ding!

[Moonless' Loyalty toward you has decreased by 3%.]

"…Damn."

Karl hadn't expected that.

But when he thought about it, it made sense.

Moonless valued strength. Power. Dominance.

Showing weakness, getting sent flying like that, had clearly affected her perception of him.

Still, Karl noticed something important.

She was still watching.

'Alright,' Karl thought, steadying his breathing. 'I'll get that loyalty back.'

Fwoosh!

Karl burst forward.

At the same time, the [Floral Guardian] lunged toward him, the massive carnivorous plant on its left arm opening wide, ready to swallow Karl whole now that his barrier was gone.

But—

Slam!

Karl brought his staff down hard.

He smashed it directly against the guardian's left arm, striking the base of the carnivorous plant with precise force.

The impact disrupted its movement just enough.

The jaws snapped shut inches away from Karl's body.

Using that opening, Karl pushed forward instead of retreating.

The guardian reacted instantly, swinging its shield in a wide arc.

Karl jumped. His body twisted midair as the shield passed beneath him.

And in that moment, he pointed his staff downward.

Blazing Meteor!

The guardian reacted on instinct.

It raised its shield again, preparing to tank the attack and reflect it once more.

But it made a fatal mistake.

BOOM!

The meteor didn't hit the shield. Karl had aimed behind the guardian.

The explosion detonated directly at its back, the area of effect engulfing its entire body.

-709,200!

Thanks to the elemental weakness, the damage pierced through completely.

The guardian's remaining HP vanished.

[Boss HP: 0/3,000,000]

Karl exhaled. He lowered his staff slightly.

But then—

Ding!

[The "Floral Guardian" uses its roots to endure the fatal blow.]

Karl's eyes widened.

[Boss HP: 1/3,000,000]

"What—"

BAM!

The guardian launched itself forward with everything it had left.

SLAM!

Its shield smashed into Karl's staff, the impact so violent that the weapon was ripped straight out of his hands and sent flying.

Karl was left completely defenseless.

Before he could react, the guardian's left arm extended at an insane speed.

The carnivorous plant's jaw expanded unnaturally, growing wide enough to swallow Karl whole. This time, there was no barrier.

But...

Ding!

[You have afflicted "Burn" to "Floral Guardian"]

-10,000!

The guardian froze mid-motion.

The lingering flames from Karl's earlier meteor finally took effect, the damage ticking down at the worst possible moment.

Its HP dropped to zero.

Fwoosh!

The [Floral Guardian] collapsed forward, its body rapidly decaying as vines withered, stone crumbled, and the massive shield shattered into fragments.

The carnivorous plant shriveled, its jaws falling limp as the entire monster disintegrated.

"…Damn," Karl groaned.

He walked over, picked up his staff, and without taking any chances, fired another [Blazing Meteor] at the remains just to be sure.

BOOM!

Nothing reacted.

"That thing really didn't want anyone getting through the gate," Karl muttered.

Still, it was dead. And Karl had won.

Ding!

---

[You have killed "Floral Guardian (Level 50 Legendary-Rank Special Boss)"]

[You have gained 850,000 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 47!]

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

[You have gained 37 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 502 Lives!]

---

Karl didn't even pause.

Hand of Oblivion!

Ding!

[You have gained 32 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 471 Lives!]

"Phew," Karl exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Perfect."

He turned his head toward Moonless. She was staring at him intently, eyes bright, posture proud.

Ding!

[Moonless' Loyalty toward you has increased by 3%.]

It was back to where it had been before.

Karl smiled faintly. At least it wasn't moving in the wrong direction anymore.

Without hesitation, Karl stepped toward the decaying corpse of the [Floral Guardian].

Now that he had killed it, it meant he could actually obtain the final key he needed.

And so that would mean... he'd be able to enter the gate and go through this [Flower] challenge.

Karl doing all those things until now led to this very moment.

And though he wasn't nervous much, he truly felt like things were bound to change.

No one had ever cleared anything related to the [Gods Continent] in Karl's past life, but it seemed like there were things needed to be done for that.

Either way, Karl would be the first to go through this challenge... and he would also be the one to complete it, at least, he hoped.

He stepped toward the [Floral Guardian]'s remains, noticing two items on the ground.

"Hm."

He quickly pulled the first and second one, inspecting them.

---

[Floral Guardian Shield (Legendary): +5,000 Strength, +3,000 Agility. Requirement: Level 50.]

[Damage Reflection (Passive): Whenever something hits your shield, it will charge into the shield, and your next strike will hold the power of all the attacks the shield deflected.]

---

[Carnivorous Plant (Legendary): Can be used to make something, though there doesn't seem to be much about it.]

---

The first was understandable, but it was the second item that Karl was stuck thinking about.

It didn't seem to be usable in battle, it didn't even have a requirement, but it could be used for something else?

Regardless, Karl stored them in his inventory then looked at the monster's corpse.

"Well," Karl grinned, "Time to get that key."

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