Born in apocalypse

A smile appeared on the queen’s face as she finally managed to pin the mutant to the ground.

’Finally! He struggled a bit... but in the end, this will be his end,’ the Queen thought as she began to manipulate her mana.

Pinning Dhruv to the ground wasn’t mere luck... no, it was a well-thought-out plan that she had to execute very carefully... doing so, she had received some injuries, but in the end, it was all worth it.

In response to her manipulation, she could see the mutant trying to free himself as well... but she wasn’t going to give him time.

Aiming for his legs, she sent a sharp slash of ice. Against her attack, the mutant’s resistance seemed to bend as his legs were cut off like butter against a knife.

Looking at the mutant drooping like a speck of snow... she heaved a sigh of relief. At first, she wanted to directly go for the kill but understood that the mutant would probably free himself by the time she summoned that powerful spell.

In the end... she decided to cut off his mobility. Now that there was no way for him to get away from her, she could prepare a final attack for him. Understanding how tenuous the mutant in front of her was, she was going to use the spell that consumed almost all her mana.

Taking a deep breath, she began to manipulate mana both within and outside her body. Bit by bit, she began to shape it into a long, sharp-pointed spear.

As the shape took form, she began to compress the mana into it. The compression would continue until her core would have only five percent mana remaining.

’Ahhh!’ A hint of amusement appeared on her face when she looked at the scene in front of her.

Bathed in blood, the man was still struggling. In response to her, he was manipulating his mana as well. From what she understood, he was preparing his final spell too.

Looking at the scene, she wanted to mock him... but stopped herself from doing that. Mocking someone... was something that was beneath her status.

’Haha! No matter what type of defense he uses... it won’t be enough to stop this attack of mine.’ She was confident... almost too much in the power behind this attack of hers.

She knew the mutant at tier III, no less, didn’t have the ability or affinity to stop this next attack. She knew the spell she was preparing couldn’t be stopped by even a tier IV royal mage.

"This is it... rest in hell, mutant..." Murmuring these words, she aimed her spell directly at his head. Adding the last bit of mana, she fired the spear with a smile on her face.

Booooommmm!

Breaking the sound barrier, the spell reached Dhruv in a second. Everything was destroyed to smithereens where the spell landed as a cloud of dust erupted once again.

She was about to turn around but stopped as she found it missing.

’What?!’ The smile quickly lost its luster as she realized something. The cosmos hadn’t spoken yet. For some reason, the mutant was still alive.

’Did he block the spell... no! No, that can’t be the case. He can’t do that. Something else happened...’ Panicking, the queen began to think about everything.

’Huh! If he wasn’t preparing to defend himself... then is it...’ Before she could finish the thought, a sonic boom resonated in the town once again.

Boooooooommm!

Time seemed to slow down as the queen realized her mistake. The mutant wasn’t manipulating his mana to defend himself... no, he was preparing his last attack as well.

The queen understood that he was betting on his last gamble as well, but her question remained: how did he survive the spell?

Alas, she wouldn’t receive her answer in this life as the spear reached her. Blood, flesh, and intestines erupted around her as the queen lost her balance.

The entire right side of her body was destroyed to oblivion as her vision began to darken. She could have survived this... if only she had been in full power. All her potions resting in her clothes were destroyed as well.

Snowflakes began to drop on her face as she looked at the sky, slowly getting covered in clouds. Looking at the illusive yet beautiful sky... she sighed!

A last thought appeared in her head as she closed her eyes, ’Phew! At least I’m not bound to this place anymore.’

[Unique Quest: Survive has failed.]

A cosmos whisper in her mind as the queen finally died.

***

[You have killed a unique monster: Ice Empress]

[You have gained exp.]

[You have earned 300K CC.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[....]

[....]

[You have reached the maximum level for your species.]

[WARNING! Your core is still not filled] [It is advised to fill your core to 100%.] [Do you want to evolve?]

[Yes/No]

Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! AHhhhh! AHHHH!

Dhruv couldn’t focus on the notification as his entire being screamed in pain. Even in pain, a smile has begun to bloom over his face. He had finally killed the boss.

He had finally conquered this dungeon... the dungeon which had given him so much challenge. The dungeon where he could’ve died multiple times... but here he was, still alive while everyone else was dead.

Dhruv’s reward came quickly as well... he could evolve once again... but he wasn’t going to do it. He would fill his core to the fullest. He was going to get every advantage he could.

Sigh!

A sigh escaped his mouth as he felt cold creeping over him.

Even though Dhruv was happy, he couldn’t help but feel he had come so close to death this time... especially the last attack. He could swear he had seen the reaper himself holding a scythe, ready to claim his life.

Lying on the floor, he remembered how everything had happened.

After dropping to the ground, he knew there was no way to escape... to put him in further despair, the queen was preparing an attack to finish him as well.

Betting his life on that single chance, he began preparing his attack too... but the queen was a step ahead of him.

Sorcerer’s eyes proved to be a blessing as he could feel the moment the queen summoned the attack.

The moment he sensed the attack coming, he activated the exclusive ability [Ethereal Body], which he had gotten from Alaric.

The spear had reached him, but it only hit his shadow and not his real self. When the attack passed him, he had turned solid once again and fired his own.

What happened after that is already apparent.

Taking a deep breath, Dhruv pulled some cores out of his inventory and began crushing them.

[You have absorbed a tier II core.]