A second overloaded lightning construct shoots out from his mouth. This one feels a bit slower and less powerful, but still faster and stronger than any sapphire-rank spell. I dodge quickly to avoid being pulverized.

  "How do you survive without damage while overloading your body and core that much?" My question was thrown into the air—I never expected an answer. It was more like asking myself.

  "Don’t compare me to the other monsters of my species. I am special." Hearing him speak again surprises me.

  "Is that so? I see you just as weak and dead as the others." I’d like to drag this fight out as long as possible to try learning something about his ability; however, responsibilities come first. I must end this to avoid risking the owl team.

  Mana moves differently inside his body—it compresses completely before being expelled. I do something similar with my constructs. I pile up a ridiculous amount of mana in each one to surpass the skill’s rank in raw power. At first it was hard to control; now it feels as natural as breathing.

  What is this monster doing that makes him seem different? Why are our attacks similar and yet not? I dodge another bolt while constructing several Joyeuse to attack him from afar.

  I unleash twenty swords at the enormous feline. I feel a huge amount of mana swirling inside his body and shooting outward, forming a field around him. My eyes widen in awe at his ability.

  All my constructs are struck by the field around him—each one is slowed by small electrical currents and Takes damage from the impacts. The reduced speed and partial structural damage are enough for him to dodge my attack.

  I construct the same number again. The feline keeps using the same ability to stop them while moving side to side with a movement skill similar to my old one.

  The fourth time he defends himself, he stops using that peculiar ability. "It lasted one more round than I thought." I speak to the monster in front of me. On his second defense I realized the one drawback of that ability—it consumes an incredible amount of mana to stop my constructs.

  If my ice swords were typical sapphire-rank attacks, he could use that field for a long time. But stopping constructs infused with multiple Laws, my powerful Imra, and my special Banner is not easy.

  His claws and fangs receive a reinforcement of electric mana—they become larger and sharper. He surprises me by directing the mana from his previous lightning field into his legs, shooting toward me like an arrow.

  Despite being caught off guard, I manage to defend because I saw this ability moments ago. This leader is using empowered versions of his underlings' skills. I teleport to a safe distance, and his body continues forward until crashing into the wall.

  I teleport again to his side. I can feel his exact position through the curtain of dirt and smoke around him. My sword slides in to cut off one of his legs, and I sense a strong electrical construct trying to stop my strike—useless.

  I feel his panic through his Imra as he tries to reposition using his movement skill. When he disappears from my sight, it’s already too late—my blade is drenched in blood, and judging from the sensation, I cut through half his leg with that strike.

  The feline screams in pain, uses his affinity to seal the wound, and now looks much more cautious. He watches me while limping side to side.

  This little cat is definitely strong—almost at the level of an advanced grade-4 monster. A sapphire-rank team wouldn’t stand a chance—only death awaits them.

  The yeti was still a bit stronger due to natural advantages—more endurance, more raw strength—both had spectacular mana control and abilities. The difference between them is tiny; by my estimate the yeti would win seven out of ten times.

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  "Thanks to your abilities I feel inspired; I have an idea of how to improve a few of mine. So I’ll let you choose." The feline looks at me with pure hatred. "A quick death or a long suffering." My words are cold and dry, and I use my ice mana to lower the temperature around us.

  The feline lets out a deafening roar and charges straight at me. I tighten my grip on my swords to face him head-on. His electrified claws and fangs withstand my cuts—his strength is monstrous. One wrong move and I’ll be pierced or thrown back.

  Due to the pressure of fighting at such speed, I can only construct seven Joyeuse. I release them point-blank, but they’re intercepted by that electric field. I’m affected too—my natural resistances aren’t enough to withstand all the swirling lightning around him. I feel stunned for a few seconds.

  I fail to react in time and a massive paw is already in front of me. I block with both swords and I’m sent flying several meters back. I don’t have time to reposition—he goes for a bite. I fail to dodge fully and one of his fangs pierces my shoulder. It doesn’t go too deep thanks to all my defenses.

  "That hurts, you bastard." The pain of being impaled and nearly cooked by so much lightning is unpleasant. I unleash my gravitational field at maximum power. All his movements slow down, and I take the opportunity to stab my sword into his jaw, then try to drive the other into his forehead in one fluid motion.

  My attack doesn’t land—the feline deactivates his fangs and retreats before being pierced in the brain. We stare at each other from afar; we’re both wounded, but I’ve won by a large margin.

  The injury in my shoulder is healed with my life affinity. Before that, I removed all traces of his ability with death mana. Was that two or three electric Laws in a single ability? I felt more than one—I’m just not sure how many.

  "It’s time to put an end to this." His mana pool is nearly empty, and I still have a considerable amount left—though I’m close to half.

  "Why? Why do you come to ruin my empire? Don’t you know who’s behind all this? They’ll take you like a stupid lab rat once they find out." The feline roars and roars.

  "Are you going to tell me who they are? That could extend your life by a few seconds." His Imra and expressions are easy to read. He’s hesitating whether to tell me something or not. A few seconds later he just shakes his head and looks at me with even more hatred.

  "Not a chance. I’ll die horribly if I say anything." I can feel the fear and terror in his Imra. He’s terrified of the minds behind this entire plan.

  "Then just die if you won’t tell me anything." I release more gravity over him. My constructs dance at my side as I rush forward at full speed—I don’t hesitate for even half a second.

  The final clash was balanced for the first few seconds. When his mana began draining, his electric field weakened, and my ice blades started piercing different parts of his body.

  His speed and power declined steadily. His eyes trembled with fear for the first time. Each of his strikes became slower and slower. I never eased off—I actually increased my speed once my mind had some space to build more abilities.

  The leg I had partially cut was the first to go—it detaches completely. He loses balance, and I take advantage of it to stab a sword into his stomach. His scream stuns me for a moment. I feel him charging a massive amount of energy near his core—he’s been preparing it since the moment his lightning field disappeared.

  The attack is finally released with full power in front of me. A horrifying sound echoes through the entire cave. "I took you with me! Damn human!" His body collapses with a dull thud.

  "That last attack was extremely strong. Your body is damaged on the inside." I see a trace of surprise in his fading eyes. "I always knew—you’d been charging that bolt, waiting for the perfect moment. I was one step ahead and teleported at the exact second." The feline moves his mouth to respond, but he can’t speak.

  His eyes slowly close and his vital energy fades. "Good night, kitty." My twin swords carve a clean cut, separating the massive head from its body and ending the monster’s life.

  I make a cut along his abdomen; with my ice mana I freeze parts of it to avoid being covered in blood and guts. I take his bright yellow core and pull out the icy sky-blue core. At that moment, a notification hits my mind—the omnipresent voice makes its appearance.

  "Congratulations on completing this Corrupted Villain Dungeon." Corrupted Villain Dungeon? Is it related to Hero Dungeons? Their names are opposites—maybe they share something.

  "According to the analysis, you are awarded two rewards: a new skill slot and the Floating Bracelets." Two rewards? It’s a shame I can’t choose like in the hero dungeons, but I won’t complain if I get something good.

  "The dungeon will be destroyed in 20 seconds. All living humans will be teleported outside in 10 seconds." I store the cores and let myself fall to the ground. In ten seconds I’ll be out of this damn dungeon and can return to my daily life.