"It's still their choice. I'm just giving them more options." ~Shallies Mythernal

"You mean we shouldn't defeat the Dungeon Boss?" Grace asked. She and her party were on a small break after having defeated a pack of stronger brontrels. It was essentially the final group of monsters that they had needed to defeat on this island, save for the last Mini-Boss and the Dungeon Boss.

"Well, it depends," Shallies replied, her voice carrying over from the other side of the System Console. "I'm asking you to wait for Val's negotiations before you make your decision."

"Why exactly are we not allowed to do it?" Tayin asked. "Sorry, Ren and I were busy collecting our loot."

"I heard something about letting the dungeon stay open?" asked the Shield Knight.

"The chuchilis that we found in this dungeon can't be grown outside. Well, we're trying to clarify now if that's still the case, because my knowledge about this particular plant is from quite a while in the past.

"The point is, I'm asking you three to wait a bit. If we can actually plant these outside, then we won't have anything to consider with regards to killing the Dungeon Boss and closing the dungeon. But if we can't, and we get permission from Hydrangea to keep this dungeon open, then that's when I want you three to make a decision."

There was a small pause.

"I realize, I should've told all of you about this yesterday. My mind was somewhere else. If you three are already dead set on killing the Dungeon Boss, then I won't stop you anymore. The important thing is that you now know what's on the table."

"Well…" Grace turned, asking for her companions' opinions. They both shrugged. "I suppose we can wait until Val comes back. We still have the last Mini-Boss to deal with, anyway. How long will he take?"

"He should be back for lunch."

"Alright. We'll deal with the Mini-Boss for now, then."

"Wait…" Shallies began, but her voice didn't go through for a few seconds. "Actually, never mind. We'll talk about it during lunch. Good hunting."

Before Grace and the others could ask, the Godkiller closed her communications.

[Shallies has set her communications to Do-Not-Disturb. You may only contact her during emergency situations.]

"What was that about?" Ren asked, more towards Stachie, than towards the other two. "The pause, I mean."

[You already know that I'm not going to answer that, Ren.]

He shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to try."

[It doesn't, correct. Now, off you go.]

"I guess we're going to the Mini-Boss now, then?" Grace asked, standing up and patting down the dirt off her trousers.

"Yep," Tayin added, doing the same.

"Yep. Mini-Boss," Ren also said, already on his two feet.

In unison, Grace and Tayin gestured towards Ren. They acted with such a level of flourishing and sarcasm that it both came out as endearing and patronizing at the same time. Or at least, that was what they had hoped to convey to the only guy in the group.

"Please lead on, oh great Ren Salvatur," they said at the same time. "For we do not wish to be lost!"

Ren, amused, simply scoffed and gave a sarcastic bow of his own. "With great pleasure, I shall. Now get off your asses."

"We're already standing, thank you," Tayin rebutted.

"Get down the hill, then!"

Grace appreciated how relaxed they could afford being at this point. With all their new levels combined, clearing the second half of the island had turned from a day mission to a morning task.

Each of them had gained 10 more levels without even breaking a sweat. A feat that neither she nor her teammates could've ever fathomed achieving. Within this thought process, however, a question suddenly formed in Grace's mind.

"Wait," she started, causing the entire group to stop. "If we're not fighting the Dungeon Boss, how are you supposed to get your second Class to Level 30?"

They both shrugged, but it was Tayin who spoke first. "Maybe we don't need to now. We got so many levels already anyway. I can't even recall how many."

"Fourteen," Ren said. "For the both of us. Twenty-three for Grace."

"Oh, wow, you've been counting! And holy crap, Grace, that's so many levels!"

"I suppose," Grace said, sighing. They continued their march. "Missing out on the Dungeon Boss still feels weird, if you ask me."

"Well, for what it's worth," Ren started. "We can still make the choice in the end. Shallies is just asking for us to wait until Valor'el returns."

"We'll finish up with the Mini-Boss, travel back to the entrance, have lunch, get Valor'el's results, and then decide there." Tayin nodded while counting each step on her fingers. "We can technically finish everything today. If so, we have two more days to spare until the Gaiamaxims Vice-Guildmaster arrives!"

"And clearing out an entire dungeon on our own is still a big achievement," Ren added. "We can definitely convince them to let us join."

"Yeah, but Shallies gave us all the best opportunities to take on each encounter," Grace interjected. "We can't discredit that. We were practically guided perfectly each step of the dungeon."

"Not to blow our own horns, but we grabbed what we were given and utilized it the best way possible with our capabilities. I'd say, that should be additional marks in favor for us, not against."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I suppose…"

"Come on, Grace," Tayin started. "Even if we don't get to defeat the Dungeon Boss, just think about our constant supply of chuchili! And, if we keep the dungeon open, monsters will respawn. We can keep this place as our personal training grounds."

"I don't mind that idea, actually," the half-orc replied. She liked the idea of the personal training grounds more than the chuchilis, but she didn't bother clarifying to the halfling.

"Great!" Tayin rejoiced, pushing Ren back at the front of the march. "Come on, let's deal with this Mini-Boss already! I want a non-spicy lunch!"

"Alright, alright—"

Grace snapped around behind her. Her sudden movement caused the other two to ready their weapons right away.

But there was nothing. No monsters to see. Just a quiet forest on an island mildly disturbed by the gentle waves of the sea that surrounded it.

"Sorry…" Grace said, relaxing. "I thought someone was spying on us."

"That's alright," Ren said, relaxing as well. "It's good that you're alert even in situations like this. So long as it's genuine."

"Could just be Shallies, you know?" Tayin guessed. "Scrying and whatnot. A little slip of her concentration, which you caught coincidentally."

"Maybe…" Grace chose not to push her gut feeling. The presence, whatever it was, had long since disappeared. "It's fine. Let's go."

"Isn't that a Death Sword and Shield?" Grace asked, looking at the Mini-Boss.

They found it at the northwestern edge of the island. There it was, sitting pretty on a large rock. There was a sheer cliff behind it, with the ocean waves barely reaching the surface.

The monster, Death Sword and Shield, was a helmed knight wielding both armaments of its namesake. Dark aura filled the creature's armor, emanating death within a radius around it.

Grace hadn't exactly seen one before, but there was no mistaking a Death Monster in the first place. While they were lesser incarnations of Death, which now the half-orc realized was the Concept of Death, their very nature alone would squeeze the life of anyone who would be at the receiving end of their wrath.

"It sure is…" Ren said.

"It's a Death Monster!" Tayin said with such enthusiasm, that Grace had no other impression of it other than joy. "We should capture it!"

"What!?" Grace asked. When she turned to Ren, the human Shield Knight was simply covering his face with a palm in disappointment.

"Death Monsters are the closest thing to a Gone Old! They're basically Gone Old merged with Death! If we capture one, we can study its properties and help make better countermeasures against it!"

"But how do we get close in the first place?" Grace asked.

"What's your Constitution?" Ren counter-asked.

"Twenty now."

"Alright," he said, nodding. "If you're facing a Death Monster, your Constitution determines how long you can last within its Death Zone. One second per Constitution."

"That means I have twenty seconds. That's plenty, right?"

"Depends. Stachie, can you help us track it?"

[Sure thing. Make sure you discuss with Grace the various types of Death Zones first.]

The half-orc tilted her head towards the Ren.

"Yeah. There are various kinds. Since we're dealing with a Mini-Boss Death Sword and Shield, it'll at least have an enhanced version of its Death Zone. Your duration could be halved, or it could be quartered. It could also suffer a persistent effect."

"Meaning?"

"Normally, if you get out of the Death Zone, you'll instantly reset your timer. A persistent effect, however, will delay that reset for a time. How much? Well, it depends on the monster."

"If we Scan it, will we know?" Grace inquired. The two shrugged. "Stachie?"

[I suppose, I can answer that one. Yes, you can. But you have to make a successful Scan. And the Death Monster will become hostile, the moment you use the Skill on it. That goes for any Skill, now that you're within its sights.]

"Oh, that's right," Grace started, remembering something. "Why isn't it attacking us straight away? I thought Shallies made a mistake, or was challenging us, by sending us in front of the Mini-Boss, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"That's one of the mysteries of Death Monsters," Tayin started, smiling eagerly. "Despite their name, they don't really go out of their way to kill. They simply stand guard, defending pathways or entrances, or whatever else."

"I see. Then the first move is ours as always."

"The question now is, do we Scan it or engage it?" Ren asked. "I'm voting to Scan. Even if we fail, we'll at least still be outside of its Death Zone."

Grace agreed, but Tayin clicked her tongue in opposition.

"Come on, my friends, there's an easy solution to this." Proudly pushing a thumb in the middle of her chest, the halfling declared her plan. "I'll enter the Death Zone, Stachie can note how much my Death Timer ticks down, then I'll just Sight Step away. I have twenty Constitution now, just like Grace, so it should be easy!"

"The moment you do that, the fight starts," Ren warned. "If your Sight Step fizzles, we won't get to you in time."

"Oh, don't sweat it, Ren. It won't attack until a Skill takes effect, right, Stachie?"

The System Assistant sighed. [I'm giving way too much information. Yes, it'll stand still until your Skill takes effect. But this is the last time I'm answering your question!]

"Thanks. That's all we need."

Grace realized the halfling's plan. "Oh, that might work!"

Ren did as well, but a second later. He sighed. "Alright. You should have enough mana for it now."

"And I've been practicing moving while channeling it." Tayin smiled proudly. "Just watch me!"

The group stood in front of the Death Zone. Grace half expected the monster to just suddenly attack, but the Death Sword and Shield simply sat on its rock, staring at them.

Tayin began her incantations for Time Slow.

As far as the half-orc understood, the halfling needed more Skill Proficiency with both Time Slow and Spell Preparation in order to pre-cast it. In addition, hard-casting the Spell required too much time, even with incantation shortcuts.

But without any enemies disturbing Tayin, she eventually finished the Spell. Mana swirled around her as she pointed the wand towards the Death Monster.

Without a word, both Grace and Ren prepared their weapons.

"Here I go! Time Slow!"

A dome of white enveloped the Death Sword and Shield. It had started moving even before the dome had fully formed. But it was excruciatingly slow. Seconds had passed, but it was still in the process of standing up.

Grace saw Tayin breathed some relief and began to walk. But Ren stopped her.

"If it can't move, I can approach easily," he said. "I have the highest Constitution out of all of us. If it has a persistent effect, I'll be completely alright."

"Fine!" The halfling said, frustrated. "You just want to steal my spotlight."

"Maybe a little."

"Don't stay too long," Grace said. She had wanted to volunteer, but the Shield Knight beat her to it. And his argument made much more sense than hers.

With a nod, Ren headed into the Death Zone. The radius of the area was substantial, as far as Grace was concerned. She estimated that, even with haste, she would need at least two seconds just to get out.

The Shield Knight stood there for only three seconds, before jumping away.

[The Death Zone shaved six seconds out of your Death Timer. It has a minor-persistent effect. Rather than reset, you must stay outside of the Death Zone for the amount of time you've used with your Death Timer.]

"So three seconds in, six seconds out?" Grace confirmed.

[Correct.]

"We can't rely on switching, then," said the half-orc. "We'll eventually run out of time."

"We'll just have to run out of its Death Zone," Ren said. "You two should only spend five seconds inside. I can handle ten. We should aim for its legs first."

"Copy that."

"Are you guys ready?" Tayin asked. "I don't want to hold this Time Slow any longer than I need to!"

"Ready!" said Grace.

"Bring it!" said Ren.

On her signal, Tayin released her Spell. The Death Sword and Shield dashed, engulfing all three of them in its Death Zone.

Shallies watched on her System Console as her students dealt with the Death Monster. She already knew, that with their capabilities, this fight would be a challenge for them. It would test their mettle and teamwork in more ways other than just their ability to time their Skills together.

This was a challenge of trust, one that would bring out everyone's true colors.

"You're not allowed to help them, Shallies," she said to herself, reminding her of her principles. "If they die here, then that's that."

She sighed. "Apple would be mad at me for saying that."

Shallies crossed her arms. Renewing her resolve.

"I believe in them."

The Godkiller closed her System Console. With a single Sight Step, she was hovering above the sea.

"In fact, I believe in them so much, I'm willing to let them take on a more challenging ordeal. Well… That is, if they survive."

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