Path of the Pioneers

[WARNING: You have encountered a dangerous monster! It is not recommended to fight it at your current level]

[Title "Dauntless" has been activated! Stats increased by 10%]

[Title "Boss Duelist" has been activated! Stats increased by 30%]

Wait... What?

It's beyond me, above me. Even the ever-present system thinks so. This mess of shadows is a boss monster that outpaces my own abilities.

The amalgam rushes in towards me, my thoughts beginning to spiral out of control. It's the familiar grip of panic, slowly creeping its way into my mind. Its sudden attacks snap me out of it, forcing me to defend myself.

It strikes down with the ferocity of all my previous foes combined into one, its curved sword making a swing in the shortest possible path towards my neck. It's fast, unbelievably fast. In a desperate gambit, I send Tanascáil flying out towards the sword, angled to catch the sword in the nook of its guard.

My body's moving quicker, everything feels more responsive than it did before. Are the titles' effects truly that strong? It hardly matters, though, it'll take every advantage I can get for me to survive an encounter with this thing.

The sound of metal clashing against metal rings out through this open space as its curved sword meets my dagger. The blow is heavy, almost enough to send me toppling over. It resonates through my wrist and up my arm all the way to my shoulder, and I wince with pain. The sword is caught though, despite it all. I blocked its first swing.

I can feel the movements already in progress for its other blade, already aiming for my exposed right side. Dodging backwards wouldn't be enough, its reach is too long. To either side? Death. Forward may be just as dangerous, if it's capable of using its legs and feet as weapons.

I lunge out with my left hand, steeling myself to gamble with my life once again.

My hand stops just centimeters before the blade's edge, and I cast [Barrier]. Mana spills from my hand, and I begin to refine it into a hard surface. Fractions of a second slip by as I use everything I have to pack it together, condensing it into a smaller and smaller point. I quickly become certain of it, [Mana Control] is letting me shrink the barrier further than normal.

The monster's sword strikes against a barrier the size of a coin, and I hear it shatter, the screeching sound of metal resounding all around us. But I don't have the time to look. Threads of mana emerge from my right hand, crawling up Tanascáil's surface to wind around the base of the curved sword's blade.

With a deep breath, I cast [Transmutation], reducing the strength of a very thin area, enough for it to snap as soon as it-

W-why didn't it go through..?

The mana remains there on the monster's sword. Primed, yet unspent. I had cast the spell, I'm certain of it. So, then...

The amalgam leaps back, the threads connecting its sword to my hand snapping in an instant and fading away. As it settles itself once more, standing up straight, I catch a glimpse of the reason for the spell's failure.

Its longsword hangs limply from its left hand, missing a large chunk after shattering on my barrier. But it doesn't resemble metal, not in the slightest. Something like tar drips from the edges of the missing chunk, leaking onto the ground below like black blood.

I swallow nervously. The swords aren't swords, they're just an extension of this monster. Whatever it's made out of, it doesn't meet the requirements for casting [Transmutation]. That strategy won't work.

With a flick of its longsword, a streak of black lines the ground in front of it. It shudders and rattles, a low, voiceless rumble filling the air around us. As the symbol on its armor glows brighter, a crack forms in it, extending out to the rest of the armor. It looks slightly damaged now, glowing light reaching out from within it, as if it's trying desperately to break out from its restraints.

With another slash, the same stuff that it's made from fills in the missing chunk of the sword, remaking it into something good as new.

The white orbs of light that are its eyes look me up and down, and I swear that I can almost see conscious thought behind its blank expression. Can I endure another rush? I got lucky the first time around, but there's no guarantee that I can do it again.

Even if I can

execute those moves again, it'll be ready for them, won't it?

I open my status window, quickly glancing at the bonuses from [Dauntless] and [Boss Duelist].

---

Name: Sybil Sagecrest

Class: Apprentice

Level: 15 (--%)

Mana: (251/340)

Status Points:

• Strength: 6 (+3)

• Agility: 16 (+11) 

• Intellect: 23 (+11)

• Resilience: 15 (+7)

• Luck: 14 (+7)

---

Gods... The two titles working in tandem put my stats far above their typical levels. That was the reason I was able to move as quickly as I had. Is this what it would be like if my stats continue to grow?

I close the panel, my gaze quickly returning to my opponent. It seems that the amalgam is keen on attacking me once more. My lack of reach is going to be a problem, that much is painfully clear. There's an inherent value in using a dagger, and I've seen it more than a few times at this point. It's punchy. It pierces through to its target and kills them quickly.

But as a defensive tool?

It's dashing towards me once more, with all the precision of Josephine and all the fluidity of the devil from the mines. Those vicious swords are waiting eagerly at its sides to carve a path towards my vital points and hack through me.

Just as panic begins to claw at me once more, my mind flashes back to the Hunter I had fought not long ago -- the archer. They pinned me down by forcing me to dodge a certain way, essentially using their first attack as a trap to lead into the second.

When I cast out a sheet of flames before, it took whatever path it could to escape. If I extend the flames out far enough, it won't be able to dodge backwards like it had before. It would be forced to leap up or dive down, leaving little room for maneuvering.

If I follow it up with [Forcethorn Burst] or [Energy Missile]...

My left hand extends out, thin wisps of mana filling the area like a blanket. The amalgam slashes at it, perhaps instinctively, but stops after it only destroys a fraction of the mana present in the air. Whatever aura it's outputting must not be strong enough to easily eviscerate this form of mana.

Satisfied with the shape, I snap my fingers. The amalgam is three meters away from me now. Flames sprout up from my hand, and mana continues to spill out to keep the combustion going. In response, it leaps up into the air, eyes locked right onto me.

With a step back, I cut the flow of mana to [Flame Generation], pointing a finger at the amalgam.

[Forcethorn Burst]

A bright lance of mana shoots out, fast as an arrow. Faster, even. I watch as it readies itself to parry the attack away, intent on destroying it with one of its swords. Moments before it would slash towards it, however, its eye twitches. With a quick rotation of its body, it lets the longsword loose from its grasp and sending it flying towards me like a spear. It's even faster than my spell.

Black tendrils extend out from the hilt like the tail of a comet, attaching back to the amalgam. In an instant, the light of [Forcethorn Burst] is shattered into fragments that scatter in the air, the longsword ripping through it like glass. But the sword's momentum isn't stopped, or even slowed. It's continuing on, making a direct path towards me.

Before I can react, I'm staring down the length of the blade, only half a meter away from my certain death. Once more, I can't help but feel fear's cruel embrace within my heart.