Ruling as the Next Dragon Sage!

Vaniti pranced around, jumped as much as I did, and turned upside down entirely, [White Spirit Sword] forming within her left hand as she intercepted all four blades that were on target for me.

They all slashed as one singular unit, and she managed to repel all of them with immense strength. Vaniti. Vaniti managed to do that? Even I was shocked.

King Skeleton stumbled back before Vaniti rolled and got back onto her feet. She turned her head towards I, "Ryuuzen, shall I?"

She was asking for permission, she noticed I was caught off guard, and wants to intercept this being by herself?

At this state…I wouldn't be able for a great and clean fight. My magic is still debuffed, annoyingly so. My attacks won't land as great as they would, and King Skeleton if I recall has great damage reduction against physical attacks anyways.

Which means that my firm physical prowess wouldn't be enough. It would be a long pummelling, and he would die, eventually—yeah, but not quickly as Vaniti would.

With that, I nod.

"Y-yeah…"

She nods, and there…I thought I'd seen a slight smile tug at her lips, but her head turned too quickly for me to get a greater glance at it.

Koga had a hand at his blade, but he caught my gaze directly at him. He backed off entirely. Good, because I really wanted to see how my Consort would do in this fight. Here? I would say that Vaniti has the disadvantage when it came to strength alone.

If anything, and I mean it. If anything gets too bad where I deem it's unsafe, I'll swing in last moment. But…Vaniti told me to trust her.

I just…I don't know. Sometimes I feel like a friend watching their buddy at a talent show within millions of people. Even I fear for her, and I'm not the one fighting.

King Skeleton scraped it's scimatars against each other, sparks flying off. Vaniti was severely gapped by the height and size difference, but I don't think that necessarily bothered her. No, there's only one thing in the world that does.

The Dungeon bosses performed a scissor attack with both of it's blades, coming on opposite sides of her. She jumped up tilting backwards slightly before holding out her hands, and I recognize that spell. I know what she's going to cast.

My question is how will it work, here?

"Night Clone." She says it so softly and so effortlessly. Before I knew it, multiple clones from the shadows also formed within the air as well alongside her. King Skeleton got too impatient, seeing all of these clones, and move to strike quickly.

Most of them dodged the initial slash, all weaving throughout the air as if gravity no longer applied to them. The Real Vaniti I had been tracking all along stepped and slid down the blade that was in the air, and stabbed King Skeleton through the sockets of one of its eyes.

The Dungeon Boss cowled in pain, stepped back as its large foot tramped and stomped on the ground furiously. Emitting a shockwave that wiped most of the clones that had just landed on the ground.

It seemed useless, but it came to me that Vaniti just used them as decoys to land a brutal hit. But if I knew anything about King Skeleton, it would take more than that to take it out.

Vaniti's hand became unclenched, and she fell backward from the skull of the skeleton before another blade came about to slash her. She's doing well, and mind you, this is a boss that's designed for multiple people to take on.

She's about to solo it.

And become…

Oh, man, I wish they still had titles. She would've earned her first title, "Supreme Skeleton Solo".

She slid across the grounds, as King Skeleton responded with a flurry of slashes and quick jabs that seemed to have no effect at the current moment. It seemed as if he was flailing his arm at the moment.

But then, I realized.

One of it's emergency escape moves to deal a lot of damage within a certain amount of times. Usually iframes, blocking, or dodging would've done so…but Vaniti doesn't know about any of that! Much less iframes existing in real life…

"Va–" I almost called out to her, and let her know…but a part of me wanted to see what would happen. If I trust her right now…would I be mislead?

But something didn't even make sense. It only does that emergency escape move once the party has accumulated a lot of damage in a great span of time…do you mean to tell me that Vaniti's simple impale and riposte did that much damage?

This is all she did at base, even without most of her passives active? That's scary…but then, how would Vaniti survive this?

As if someone told her to look up, she did, and instantly, her fingers and hands tensed and clenched. Summoning [White Spirit Sword] yet again, she took on a familiar position and parried right at the exact moment.

Within that same moment, thousands of slashes had been accrued. This was King Skeleton's escape move, of the effect landing seconds later. Usually it was to get people who panic rolled, but since Vaniti wasn't rolling, she would have to parry each slash individually.

And she did.

You could hear the sound of magic and metal clashing time and time again. King Skeleton watched on, maybe amazed. Vaniti couldn't block, no, that would've wore down her stamina overtime, but now it's because she was able to sense it, and parry each slash individually to great ability.

I could almost feel a smile creeping upon my lips, even now. Despite how dark and grim this situation is, Vaniti was becoming…a proper fighter. A proper Nightstalker, and a proper Spirit Elf.

It was amazing.

As she continued to parry, however. I could see it. Her figure, her posture, they were weakening. She wasn't prepared to handle so many slashes at a continuous burst, especially if the rate picks up.

She held the same parry figure time and time again, but she slipped, her figure just bending slightly, and there, amongst herself, she took a considerable blow and was sent back.

I watched, had to clench onto my wrist tightly to stop myself from saving her, her body skidded across the ground as she got right back up shrugging off the pain as if it never happened. I also, forgot about that as well.

Her immense tolerance to pain itself.

With the emergency move done, she dodged King Skelly's multiple slashes from it's four arms. All overreaching, prancing around. She threw her [White Spirit Sword] forward, and it struck into the core of it's chest. Plunged deep into there, even by it's ribcage forming cracks.

Then, with one quick slash, her head turned to the side, the blade moments away from slicing directly at her.

Then, what the blade came into contact next, was a white mist.

Vaniti had vanished, and appeared as a mist centralized by the ribcage of King Skeleton's core. Grabbing the blade, she unplucked it before she threw it up again in the air, disappearing again and reappearing above it's head.

There, she spun and threw it one final time with immense momentum. It was sent so fast you could hear a cracking boom as it made contact with King Skeleton's head.

The Dungeon boss reeled back, losing it's footing for just one moment. A crack forming within it's skull. From the crevice, it was glowing, white. Remnant of [Spirit Magic] there. The blade dissolved into pure mana as Vaniti jumped back.

King Skeleton took a knee, dropping its blades. But she didn't drop her guard not once, she was going to go for the finishing blow. I could only watch, and see both the shocked faces of both Sultan and Koga.

This seemed easy, or maybe because of Vaniti making it seem easy, effortless. I remember the days I used to struggle soloing this boss.

But something was off.

Isn't he…

Isn't he supposed to have a second phase?

All dungeon bosses beyond the top 15 or so had second phases. Top 3 having three phases, and the strongest dungeon boss having only one phase but a insane and weird gimmick that insured it would survive if the party couldn't get right at it's weaknesses.

Memory isn't failing me…is it?

It's supposed to have a second phase.

And it isn't doing it. Not doing the animation—er, motion it's supposed to do. Did Vaniti deal away with it so easily that it can't process anymore strength? Couldn't find in it to fight anymore?

I guess when the game became real, it also agreed that there's no way dungeon bosses should have second phases.

As Vaniti stepped towards it, outstetching her hand, the same white blade formed within her left hand as she went to impale it. She's going to finish the job for good.

And when she did, the unthinkable happened.

I felt it slightly, my [Dragon's Authority] proc'd and told me so. I dodged out of the way, both Sultan and Koga did as well as bones unraveeld from the grab, in attempt to stab us.

But, when I looked forward.

My heart dropped.

"Vaniti—"