Heavy rain had been pouring over the cursed forest for hours, drowning the landscape in a gray veil. The bare branches shivered, twisted like pleading fingers. Alice cut through the mist with long strides, her soaked cloak clinging to her skin. Her breath formed small puffs of steam with each inhale, while her boots crushed the damp moss. After nearly three hours of steady running, she finally emerged into a ruined clearing.

The sanctuary was there, silent. Fallen columns, stones eroded by time, a decapitated statue, and in the center... a massive figure. Lying in the middle of the circle of broken rocks, the Mist Guardian was asleep. His deep breathing stirred the puddles around him.

Hati pressed himself to the ground, ears back. The trauma with his mother was still fresh in his mind.

Alice shivered as well. The memory of their first encounter sent chills down her spine. The place where he had wounded her long ago started to itch. She pulled herself together and activated her skill.

[Inspection]

Name: Mist Guardian
Race: Ancient Chimera
Level: 75
Rank: Unique Boss
Affiliation: Servant of #@€&!?# / Sect Creation
Specialty: Physical devastation
Skills: Regeneration, Mutilation, Bone Breaking, Crushing Leap, Paralysing Howl

She grimaced.

"Great. The Lich was already scary, and I wasn’t alone. This guy is fifteen levels above me with regeneration… and I’ve got no one. And that damn Sect… If I ever run into them, I’ll tear them apart one by one."

Ding!

[Main Quest unlocked: The Mist Guardian]
Objective: You forced fate and came to face the Guardian before you were ready. Defeat him to access the sanctuary.
Rewards: Skill “Storage,” Mist Cloak, Medallion of @#€!?#, Experience

"Okay, he seems specialized in physical attacks, so no magic to fear, that’s already something. Maybe with a surprise attack, I can end the fight before it even begins…"

She turned to the puppy.

"Listen carefully. I let you come with me, but he’s way too strong for you. Hide in a corner and don’t come out under any circumstances! If you don’t obey me, I’ll abandon you somewhere in this forest!"

The puppy obeyed without hesitation and went to hide in a thicket.

Alice tightened her grip on Swiftblade. It was time.

With a silent leap, she climbed onto a fallen wall. The rain streamed down her skin. She focused. A gust swirled around her. Then she whispered:

"Air Dash."

The surprise attack was a partial success. The wind magic suddenly carried her above the Guardian. She aimed for the heart, but her blade pierced the Guardian’s left shoulder. He let out a hoarse growl and sprang up. Immense. Massive. Far larger than she remembered. His body was a nightmarish chimera of mist and black flesh.

The bestial roar he let out made the ground vibrate.

"Oh oh... Missed. Too late to run now."

He leapt to the side, dodging a blade of wind, and lunged at her. Alice rolled onto her side, narrowly avoiding a paw as wide as her chest. She replied with a thrusting charge, aiming for the injured paw, resulting in a new hit. The monster staggered.

She took advantage of the opening to slice off a claw and stepped back.

"Barrier!"

A wall of earth sprang up to block the next charge. The Guardian shattered it, but was slowed. Alice jumped into the air, sent two intersecting gusts in an X shape, then followed with a side stab.

Her movements were perfect. With her rapier, she was like a storm among the ruins.

But the monster was tireless.

He let out a hoarse howl. The sonic shock made her stagger. The next moment, a paw slammed down on her. She rolled, hit the ground face down, her cloak torn away. She felt a rib crack.

"— Tch…! Terrae Tremor!"

The ground opened beneath the Guardian. He partially fell. Alice stood up, trembling. Her breath was ragged, but the Guardian was already lunging at her again. She was soaked, wounded, and her mana was running out.

"Damn, with his regeneration ability, I don’t have enough DPS to really hurt him! If only he’d let me spend my remaining points on strength…"

Each attack cost her dearly. And he... did not slow down.

"Come on, think… Terrain, traps, combos…!"

Alice ran in circles around the Guardian, her boots striking the soaked stone. She avoided predictable trajectories, taking advantage of every stump, every relief, every piece of ruin to unbalance him. She was only a shadow, fast and elusive.

Combo: rocky spike + Air Dash + thrusting charge.

She stretched a hand toward the ground. The earth rose beneath the monster’s left foot with a low rumble, a mound of rock violently emerging. The impact made him lose balance, stopping his charge mid-way. The Guardian’s hoarse roar choked into a growl.

"Now!"

Alice activated her Air Dash spell. Her body was propelled by a silent gust, her silhouette piercing the rain like an arrow. She reappeared just under the colossus’s nose, barely a meter in front of his torso.

"Thrusting Charge!"

She brought down her rapier with a lightning force, aiming at the joint between two bony plates of his torso.

But the Guardian, quick despite his size, slammed his clawed hand down.

Alice felt the pain before she even understood what was happening. The black claws sank into her outstretched arm, piercing leather and flesh, stopping the charge dead.

The scream she let out was torn apart by the wind.

And before she could pull away, the monster’s other paw slammed on her in a brutal sweep.

"GHAA—!!"

Her body flew, spinning through the air. She violently hit a collapsed wall section, the impact breaking the stone as much as her ribs. She collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, inert for a few seconds. The world swayed. A dull pain racked her whole body.

She tried to move. A sharp burn tore her back. Blood dripped from her lips. She tried to get up, but her spine screamed. She could no longer feel her legs. She… couldn’t move anymore.

Thunder rumbled.

And in the distance, the slow, terrible sound of the Guardian’s steps approaching again.

"...So this is how I die, huh? Maybe I’ll wake up in my world… maybe…"

Hati had come out of hiding and was now barking at the monster.

"Idiot, I told you not to come out…"

Ignoring the puppy, the Guardian raised his clawed arm to strike. She stared at him. Even now, she refused to close her eyes.

And suddenly, a sharp whistle and a red flash. A gust of wind made Alice’s hair fly.

BOOM.

A titanic blow tore through the air. The monster was propelled to the side, crashing into a stone column.

A giant of lava and rocks stood between him and Alice.

A golem.

"Golly…?"

The Golem was indeed there, taller than ever. He stood straight and proud, like a bulwark between her and the Mist Guardian, the crown of flowers on his head. The clay surrounding the rocks forming his body was glowing red-hot, smoke rising with a sharp whistle. He looked as if he were molten.

"I’m sorry, Golly… He’s too strong. Run!"

The Golem didn’t answer right away, still facing the Guardian, who struggled to get up. Then he just turned his head toward her and said calmly and steadily:

"Don’t worry about me, little Alice. Promise me you’ll survive and be happy."

Alice didn’t understand immediately. Golly turned back toward the Guardian, who had risen and was charging toward him.

"Goodbye… my friend."

Alice reached out with her hand.

"Golly?!"

He braced himself, anchored in the ground, pulled his fist back, his clay hotter than ever, and struck when the monster was in range.

Alice saw the shockwave spread through the rain and the ground. The Guardian howled in pain, a gaping hole in his right flank, with his magical gem visible through the wound. Golly, meanwhile, no longer had his arm, which had exploded under the impact.

He did not wait and jumped on the Guardian, wrapping it with his remaining limbs. He shouted:

"You shall harm my family no more!"

Then, Alice understood. She screamed, pleading:

"Golly, don’t do this!!!"

Her friend looked at her one last time, with an almost tender expression on his stone face. His body shone, the whistles intensified, and suddenly a huge explosion engulfed the ruins.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

[...]

Silence followed the explosion. Only the sound of the rain remained… and Alice’s sobs. The place where Golly and the Guardian had stood was now only a large smoking crater.

A horned rabbit, attracted by the noise, ventured onto the ground. Curious, it approached the now silent Alice. Her hand shot out as it came near. She grabbed it swiftly and sank her fangs into its flesh.

[Severe trauma detected]
[Blood magic activated]
[Hyper regeneration activated]
Stats boost: +20% (Duration: 20 minutes)

Alice already felt her body regenerate. Bones cracking, muscles contracting, flesh reforming. She gasped as her ribcage mended with dull pain.

She raised her eyes. Two glowing red lights, incandescent under the blood magic, pierced the mist. Her gaze burned with hatred.

No quest validation.

That could only mean one thing: the Mist Guardian was still alive.

He appeared, a staggering silhouette through the smoke. One missing arm, one shredded leg, and his flank open. His jaw hung, torn on one side. It was a dying beast… but still, it was standing.

Alice stood up. Far from healed, but there was no question of letting him flee or regenerate. She picked up her faithful rapier, lying a little farther away.

Calmly, coldly, she opened her interface and assigned the 50 available stat points to Strength.

[Character Sheet]

Name: Alice Vanberg
Race: Vampire
Class: None
Level: 60
Experience: 4 / 2170

Stats:
– Strength: 83 (2 base +1 [Survivor] +75 assigned +5 [Swiftblade])
– Constitution: 45 (3 base +2 [Survivor] +25 assigned +15 [Shadow Scales])
– Agility: 92 (8 +74 assigned +10 [Vivelame])
– Intelligence: 91 (15 base +2 [Gifted Mage] +74 assigned)
– Charisma: 34 (14 base -5 [Fallen Noble] +25 assigned)
– Luck: 27 (2 base +25 assigned)

Magics:
– Wind Element – Level 18 (Intermediate) – Zephyr Blade, Air Dash
– Earth Element – Level 16 (Intermediate) – Telluric Fangs, Stone Wall

– Blood Magic – Level 1 (activatable for 20 minutes after feeding)
 ➤ Hyper Regeneration if activated while injured

0 undistributed attribute points.

She felt power flood her under the system’s effect.

"Now, you’re going to die."

Hatred pulsed in her veins. Her vampiric nature, raw, wild, took over. She didn’t try to contain it.

The fight resumed.

She launched herself without warning, like a black arrow in the rain. A hoarse cry tore from her throat as she struck. Her first blow sliced the air with a direct hit at the monster’s already wounded flank. A spray of blackish blood burst out.

The Guardian howled, pivoted on his healthy paw, and tried a clumsy sweep. Alice dodged with a feline movement, passed behind him, stabbed her rapier into his mutilated hip, then leapt out of range with Air Dash.

She no longer sought to win.

She wanted to make him suffer.

She repeated again and again: hit, dodge, leap, hit, scratches, gusts of wind. Each blade lacerated the Guardian’s flesh a little more. She aimed at his joints, open wounds, and tendons. Once, she made a spike of earth erupt under his good leg, forcing him to kneel.

The Guardian backed up. He didn’t understand.

He was the master of the forest. The apex predator. When he had conquered this territory, he had killed the former lord, a great sacred ape. He had broken, crushed, and devoured it above the ruins of the sanctuary.

And he had taken his place at the top of the chain. Like long ago, in a distant, blurred life, when he fought in an arena to become the strongest.

Then, one day, his instinct - or was it a voice? - had pushed him to leave his lair. He had wandered to the northern edge of the forest.

And he had seen her.

Small. Weak. Frail. Too easy.

He wanted to play with her, like a cat with a mouse. But the mouse had escaped. That frustrated him. He roared for hours. Then he waited. Something told him she would come back.

And this morning… she had returned. Stronger, yes. But still far too weak for him. So he started again. He hunted her, cornered her, broke her… She had no chance left.

But at the moment of victory… a being of stone had intervened and badly injured him. Nothing too serious, he would regenerate in due time. The girl, though, was finished, rendered harmless.

But now she had stood up, almost healed. And her blows rained down. Fast. Precise. Devastating.

For the first time in decades, the Mist Guardian felt something new.

Fear.

Then, like a cornered beast, he redoubled his ferocity. He hit her with its shoulder. She rolled on the ground, her left shoulder dislocated. She growled, put it back with a muffled cry, and immediately went back on the offensive. She was a fury, no, a hurricane.

Her blade lit up.

"Thrusting Charge!"

She leapt, rapier forward, and pierced the monster’s right eye.

The beast howled, tried to blindly grab her. Alice leapt onto his arm, tore two claws off in a spray of blood, then struck his chest with all her strength.

The Guardian managed to grab her by the leg. He lifted her and threw her against a wall.

She slid on the ground, dazed for a moment. Her rib was probably fractured, but nothing debilitating. Her Blood magic was still active. She had time left.

She smiled with a fierce smile, almost mad.

"You won’t win. Not after this."

She circled the Guardian like a wolf around a wounded stag. Then, gathering all her energy, she summoned magic.

"Zephyra!"

An explosive gust threw the creature backward, pinning it to the ground. Alice ran, rapier in hand, leapt, plunged her blade into the monster’s thigh, then its flank, again and again, until her arm was tired from striking.

Finally, the beast collapsed on its back, limbs spread, its torso exposed. Its breathing was erratic. A gurgling agony rose from its twisted throat.

Alice climbed onto its torso.

The Guardian’s gaze met hers. There was… a spark. Not fear. Consciousness.

As if, at the moment of its death, the creature remembered it had been… something else.

Alice did not hesitate.

She plunged her hand into the gaping hole in its flank. Blindly, her fingers closed on something hard, smooth, and warm: the magic gem.

She crushed it.

A guttural, inhuman howl, older than the forest itself, shook the ruins.

Then… nothing.

Alice rose slowly, staggering. Her wet hair clung to her face, her blood mixed with the rain. She raised her head toward the sky. The drops gently washed her features.

It was over.

A victory without joy.

But a victory nonetheless.

Ding!

Success
[Main Quest: The Mist Guardian]
Rewards obtained:
● Mist Cloak
● Skill “Storage”
● Medallion of #@€&(!?#)
● Experience: +9765
● Level Up: 60 → 64
● Stat Points: +20