The entire battlefield fell silent when the dust finally settled.
Shattered earth and black ash drifted through the air while fragments of wind mana slowly dispersed around the crater left behind by the Colossus Grazer’s final attack.
Most of the awakeners were still staring at the center of the destruction with hardened gazes. Some looked exhausted. Others looked grim. A few were still trying to process how Emily and Alice killed the Boss Monster. Then...
Emily figure was revealed, still standing.
For several seconds, nobody spoke because nobody could understand what they were seeing.
The final attack of the Boss Monster had not been ordinary. Everyone present had felt the pressure behind it. The Great Dungeon had strengthened the Colossus Grazer’s attack during its last moments. That attack should have a guaranteed kill effect.
Yet Emily Warren remained alive, and perfectly fine, not even her clothes damaged.
"How is she alive?"
One of the awakeners muttered unconsciously.
The nearby teams finally noticed something lying in front of Emily.
A gigantic snake-like corpse.
Most of its body had been erased. Torn flesh and shattered scales covered the ground around it while only a portion of the creature’s massive frame remained intact.
Understanding slowly appeared on the faces of the awakeners.
"She used a summon."
"That thing blocked the attack for her."
"So she sacrificed it?"
The whispers spread quickly across the battlefield.
It was possible. Summoners occasionally used their summons as shields during desperate situations. However, the more experienced awakeners immediately realized how naïve her actions had been.
The first issue was obvious.
An ordinary summon would never have survived long enough to block an attack of that level. The Colossus Grazer’s final attack had been enhanced by the Great Dungeon itself. Only an extremely powerful creature could have protected Emily from it even momentarily. Losing a summon of that level was a big loss.
The second issue was more serious.
Summons were not mindless beasts. Intelligent summons remembered how they were treated. If a summoner sacrificed them carelessly, their other summons’ loyalty could fall drastically. Some summons would refuse future orders. Others might even rebel completely.
Sacrificing a high-level summon to survive was possible, but the consequences usually outweighed the benefits.
While everyone was still making theories in their minds, something suddenly moved.
The corpse twitched.
Several awakeners froze immediately.
The torn edges of the snake’s body wriggled unnaturally. Flesh slowly stretched outward while dark scales began growing back at visible speed.
Someone inhaled sharply.
"It’s regenerating?"
"No... wait, that thing was dead."
Everyone had seen the summon was dead. There was no doubt about it. The Colossus Grazer’s attack had obliterated most of its body.
Yet the corpse continued moving.
Bone reformed beneath the flesh. Torn muscles connected themselves together while dark mana surged violently around the remains. The regeneration speed quickly became absurd.
Then, only moments later, the giant serpent slowly raised its head again.
Alive.
No.
Resurrected.
Shock spread through the battlefield far greater than when Emily survived the Boss Monster’s attack.
"That’s resurrection..."
"It resurrected itself?"
"It has multiple lives?"
The awakeners stared at the massive serpent with disbelief filling their eyes.
A summon capable of self-resurrection was already horrifying enough, but this creature clearly retained all its strength and awareness after reviving. It had not weakened at all.
What kind of legendary summon was this?
Only one person among the gathered teams recognized the species.
Zahard narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at the serpent.
’That’s a N’theris Serpent...’
As a high-ranking military official of the Florathi, his knowledge was far beyond most awakeners present. He immediately recognized the monster.
A native species from Hell.
An extremely dangerous one.
The N’theris Serpent slowly turned its head toward Emily. Its eyes carried an almost human emotion. The giant snake lowered its head slightly and stared at her with obvious grievance.
Its expression practically looked ready to cry.
Did she seriously summon it just to use it as a meat shield, after finally calling it out to a battlefield?
Emily smiled awkwardly before caressing the serpent gently.
’I didn’t really have a choice there. I’ll compensate you later. I’ll give you extra resources and more of those treats you like.’
She could almost feel N’theris Serpent sniff loudly.
Once upon a time, the creature had been incredibly prideful. Spending time around Emily had softened it somewhat, and the summon now looked ready to cry.
After a few more seconds, the serpent finally gave a nod before dissolving into dark particles and returning to her Soul Space to rest.
The awakeners exchanged uneasy glances with one another.
Emily ignored them and immediately focused on the notifications floating before her eyes. She did not have much time left.
[You have received the following rewards:]
[Random Skill Ticket (SSS+ Rank) x2]
[Core of Colossus Grazer x2]
[Meat of Colossus Grazer x150]
[Colossus Grazer Bone x42]
[Colossus Grazer Wind Crystal x18]
[Colossus Grazer Hardened Hide x11]
[Colossus Grazer Eye x2]
[Spire of Wind Chest Plate (Legendary) x2]
[Spear of Tornado (Mystic) x2]
[Title ’Monster Hunter’ x2]
[Title ’Critical Hit’ x2]
[Error! Two Titles of the same achievement cannot be given.]
[Looking for solutions.]
[Solution found.]
[A Special Shop will be opened for 24 hours for Emily Warren, Alice Calloway, and Eleanor Weiess.]
[All three of you may exchange your extra Title for any item from the Special Shop.]
Emily’s eyes widened slightly.
Even she had not expected rewards of this level.
Random Skill Tickets alone were treasures that countless awakeners would fight wars over. Normally, skills could only be gained through one’s Class, Bloodline, Talent, or Physique. Acquiring skills through external methods was incredibly rare.
An SSS+ Rank Skill Ticket was enough to drive major factions insane.
The remaining rewards were equally valuable.
As the main contributor during the Boss Battle, Emily had received the Core of Colossus Grazer. However, because of Isaac’s Lord Talent, the reward had duplicated itself, granting her two Boss Monster Cores instead of one.
The equipment rewards were just as shocking.
The Spire of Wind Chest Plate was Legendary rank defensive equipment. Zahard, Alice, and Eleanor had also received Legendary equipment due to their high contributions, but Emily’s version was clearly superior in quality.
Still, even lower-grade Legendary equipment was priceless to all Lords.
Then there were the Titles.
The Monster Hunter Title had only been granted to the major contributors of the battle. It increased damage against ordinary monsters by twenty percent while increasing damage against Boss Monsters by ten percent.
The second Title was even more dangerous in Emily’s hands.
Critical Hit.
A Title granted because she landed the final blow against the Colossus Grazer.
Its effect was simple.
A very small probability to double the damage of an attack.
For ordinary awakeners, it was useful.
For Emily, it was terrifying.
She already possessed multiple summons, and her Phantom Parade skill allowed her to summon hundreds of spirits simultaneously. Every single attack from every summon would carry the effect of the Critical Hit Title.
Even with a low activation chance, the sheer number of attacks she could produce meant the effect would trigger repeatedly during combat.
Several awakeners clearly realized the same thing. Their expressions gradually became complicated.
A giant portal suddenly appeared in the distance.
It stretched upward like a massive whirlpool made from light itself.
The entrance to the Second Area.
Only awakeners who had contributed during Boss Battles or Mini Boss Battles could enter it. Furthermore, if party members entered together, they would arrive at the same location within the Second Area. Different parties would be sent to different random locations in Second Area.
The Cores, equipment, and materials materialized before Emily. She quickly stored everything inside her spatial ring.
Around the battlefield, the other awakeners also began collecting their rewards.
Then the atmosphere slowly changed. Eyes filled with greed turned toward Emily.
The Boss Monster Cores. The two Legendary equipment.
Any single one of those rewards was enough to tempt people into murder. Now Emily possessed all of them together.
The awakeners looked toward Alice and Eleanor.
Alice’s face had become pale after exhausting nearly her entire mana pool again. Eleanor looked even worse and could barely remain standing.
At this moment, Isaac’s team appeared vulnerable.
Several thoughts silently passed through the gathered teams.
This dungeon was being livestreamed, yes. Attacking another Lord’s team openly would damage their reputations. But this livestream was only reaching a small beginner city under Lord Isaac’s control.
So what if the people there hated them afterward?
The rewards were worth far more.
Normally, teams would never attack each other inside the First Area because everyone still needed allies to defeat future Boss Monsters.
This situation was different.
Emily had already shown overwhelming strength. She had even tamed a Mini Boss monster. If she safely reached the Second Area, she might monopolize future rewards entirely alongside Alice.
The leaders of several teams exchanged glances.
Then they quietly nodded. They needed to eliminate Emily and her team.
A low roar suddenly echoed across the battlefield. A massive black beast flew in the sky above the leader of Lord Qizhal’s team.
The summon resembled a qilin made entirely from shadows. Its massive body looked half real and half illusionary, as if darkness itself had taken shape. Violet eyes glowed beneath its horned head while thick black mist slowly spread beneath its feet and crawled across the battlefield.
The Shadow Qilin roared again.
Darkness exploded outward.
The entire battlefield was swallowed instantly.
Space twisted violently around the awakeners as black shadows rose from the ground like waves. The distortion spread across hundreds of meters within seconds.
The summon was using a Shadow Dimension.
One could say Shadow Dimensions were the evolved form of Mirror Dimensions.
Unlike ordinary Mirror Dimensions, Shadow Dimensions existed on a completely different level. Mirror Dimensions copied reality and isolated targets temporarily, but Shadow Dimensions forcibly dragged people into a secondary layer of space connected to shadows themselves.