Final Life Online

A spiral of compressed air exploded from his sword, slamming into the serpent's jaw mid-breath. The blast bent its attack off course, sending a beam of dark energy carving through the swamp instead of the team.

The redirected blast struck a line of dead trees, vaporizing them in an instant. Steam, light, and black mana cascaded across the battlefield.

"Nice timing," Aria said, already closing the distance. Her spear twirled once, drawing in the remnant energy before she thrust it downward. "Now—Piercing Pulse!"

The spear struck home, embedding itself between the serpent's scales and flaring bright gold. The pulse detonated like a contained sunburst. The creature convulsed again, and through the burst of light, Rhys saw it—another core, faintly glowing beneath the broken scales.

"There!"

He landed hard, sword raised. "Mana Blade—Vertical Slash!"

He struck downward with everything he had. The blade tore through the shimmering glow, cutting the second core in half.

The serpent screamed.

The sound wasn't merely heard—it was felt. A shockwave of pure mana burst outward, sending waves of water and light in every direction.

"Right core shattered!" Sophia's voice trembled through the static in the comms link. "Only one left—central node, beneath the heart chamber!"

The serpent's form spasmed, its enormous body writhing uncontrollably. Its scales flickered between black and blue as mana bled from every wound. The swamp itself seemed to recoil, the water boiling and cooling in chaotic bursts.

Caria steadied herself, her crossbow glowing red. "That thing's dying, but it's not going down quiet."

"No," Aria said quietly. Her eyes locked on the creature's heart. "It's preparing a full-core detonation."

Sophia paled. "That'll level the entire basin!"

"Then we finish this before it charges," Rhys said, stepping forward beside Aria, blade gleaming.

She nodded once. "Sophia—containment dome, now. Caria, maximum focus fire. We're going for the heart."

Sophia drove her staff into the ground. "Seventh Seal—Luminant Veil!"

Light curved upward from the ground, forming a crystalline shell that enclosed the serpent entirely. The dome shimmered with stabilizing runes—barely able to contain the thrashing energy within.

"Containment stable for twenty seconds!" Sophia shouted.

"That's all we need."

Aria sprinted forward, spear blazing like a meteor. Rhys followed, water and air merging around him, each step throwing ripples of glowing blue.

"Combo formation—Echo Spiral!"

Aria leapt, twisting in midair. Rhys followed her rotation, blades of wind spiraling around them both. Their combined momentum forged a luminous helix of light that drove straight toward the serpent's chest.

"Now!"

Their attacks met the serpent's final core. The world detonated in blinding white.

The explosion tore through the containment dome, splitting the air with a deafening crack—but instead of destruction, light burst outward in waves of silver and blue. The serpent's body froze mid-motion, then fractured—its form dissolving into threads of mana that drifted upward like the remnants of a dying star.

When the brilliance faded, the swamp was silent. The water lay still again, reflecting the fractured moonlight above.

Rhys lowered his blade, breathing hard. "All cores neutralized."

Sophia sagged against her staff, exhausted but smiling faintly. "Containment… held. Barely."

Caria whistled low, lowering her weapon. "That's one for the record books."

Aria planted her spear in the ground, surveying the fading glow where the serpent had fallen. "Good work, everyone," she said quietly. Then, after a beat: "Mission complete."

The silence that followed wasn't empty—it was alive, filled with the slow pulse of mana returning to balance.

And beneath the surface of the calm water, something glimmered faintly—a shard of radiant blue light, pulsing like a heartbeat.

Rhys glanced toward it, eyes narrowing. "Looks like it left us a parting gift."

Aria smiled faintly. "Then let's see what it was guarding."

The faint glimmer beneath the water grew stronger.

What had at first looked like a shard of crystal began to shift, reshaping—soft edges becoming smooth curves, light deepening to a steady, inner pulse. The water around it began to spiral gently, as if drawn to its rhythm.

Aria stepped closer, eyes widening. "That's… not a fragment," she breathed. "It's an egg."

Sophia blinked, disbelief breaking through her exhaustion. "Wait, an egg? From a triple-core serpent? That shouldn't even be possible—those things don't reproduce naturally anymore."

Caria crouched at the edge of the pool, her crossbow resting on her shoulder as she leaned forward to get a better look. "Well, looks like this one did. And judging from that glow…" She gave a low whistle. "Epic-tier at least."

The light inside the egg pulsed again—three times in quick succession, each pulse a different color: blue, silver, and violet.

"Three heart signatures," Sophia said softly, scanning it with a faint mana weave. "Just like the serpent's cores. It must've condensed them during its final moments—passing its essence into this."

For a moment, no one spoke. The swamp was utterly still, save for the gentle hum coming from the egg. Then Aria turned her gaze toward Rhys.

"You're the only beast tamer among us," she said, her voice even but curious. "What do you think, Rhys? Worth it?"

He crouched, resting one arm on his knee as he looked down at the egg. Its glow reflected in his eyes, and for a heartbeat, it almost seemed to respond to him—its pulse syncing faintly with his mana.

"It's… powerful," he said at last. "But not for me."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Not for you?"

"I already have a bond," he said simply. "My slots are full"

That earned a laugh from Caria, short and sharp. "Fair enough. But still, that's one hell of a find. The Guild'll go crazy over this."

"So, we're buying it from you," Aria added, looking at him.

"Don't say it like I got it all alone," Rhys replied. "We all worked together for it. Let's just check what an Epic-grade beast egg goes for at auction, and then you guys can give me a quarter of that amount."

Sophia tapped a few words on the auction forum, her eyes scanning the translucent screen that flickered into view. "Current auction prices for verified Epic-grade beast eggs… hmm." Her tone shifted slightly. "Range starts at 2.7 million and peaks around 3.4 million gold coins, depending on species and affinity."