Mirabella sat perched on Cupcake's back, leisurely eating a lollipop. Her gaze was fixed on the landscape before her: the Moonless Ruins. The zone was a desolate expanse of petrified, dried-up trees and countless bleached skeletons scattered across the ground. The most striking feature was the ambient light; even under the noon sun, the area was plunged into a perpetual, ominous twilight, living up to its name.
"Even if it's day when you enter the Moonless Ruins, the micro-climate here instantly shifts it to perpetual night," she murmured, a sight she had seen before. She scanned the perimeter, checking for prying eyes.
"Okay, Cupcake. Let's begin. No one is around." She finished the candy, flicked the wrapper onto the dusty ground, and slid off Cupcake's back.
ZAP!
A blinding white lightning bolt erupted from Cupcake and struck a nearby skeleton, instantly shattering its bones into dust.
CRACK!!
The remaining skeletons, which Mirabella knew had been perfectly preserved by the zone's magic, slowly creaked to life, turning their empty eye sockets toward her.
"Your tricks won't work on me," she said, pointing at the rising horde. "Pretending to be dead."
"Cupcake," she instructed.
Cupcake nodded once, then unleashed a torrent of cascading lightning bolts that arced and danced, striking every skeleton within a twenty-meter radius. Every target was instantly reduced to scattered bone fragments.
"Cupcake and I are both on the same level," Mirabella muttered, checking her own system profile. "But thanks to the unique properties we share, our base damage is far higher than any regular player at this level. This should be quick."
She walked toward the only half-collapsed stone building in the ruins, its shape hinting at a forgotten temple.
"Ready for the dive, Cupcake?" she asked as she reached the entrance.
"Where to now?"
Mirabella raised a finger and lightly tapped the crumbling stone wall of the temple entrance. The wall shuddered violently, then began to crack. The stone fragments didn't fall; they rose into the air, spinning violently. In seconds, the fragments collapsed inward, revealing a shimmering, dark purple gateway portal.
"Damn, I still need to find a way to control my raw strength," she sighed. "Or at least get a handle on my damage multiplier so I don't accidentally level a city."
She entered the gateway with Cupcake, the portal snapping shut behind them.
__
The two reappeared in a vast, dark cavern, a space filled with nothing but rough rocks and fine sand. The only light source came from luminous, magically charged stones embedded in the cavern walls.
"WHO TRESSPASSES MY HOME!!"
A deafening, demonic voice boomed through the chamber. A massive, five-meter tall skeletal figure, the Skeleton King, stomped toward them, a colossal iron axe dragging in its hand.
Mirabella raised her head to the monster and let out a light chuckle.
"What is so funny, you vermin?!!" the Skeleton King roared, enraged by her lack of fear.
"Apologies," she said, quickly suppressing her mirth. "Although I've done this twice now, the sheer ease of acquiring the card this time just struck me as funny." She raised her hand toward the Boss, pulling up its profile.
{Information.}
{Name: Skeleton King... Boss.}
{Level: 15.}
{Weakness: Weak against physical attacks.}
{Difficulty: Medium.}
{Attack: 1,000.}
{Health: 5,000/5,000.}
{Defense: 500/500.}
{Agility: 1,000.}
{Trait: Immune to dark elemental attacks.}
"A Boss who is weak against Physical Attack. I still can't believe it," she commented. She snapped her fingers, and the metal dagger appeared beside her, its obsidian tip aimed squarely at the Boss's head.
"Okay, Mr. Skeleton. Survive this, if you can."
Mirabella didn't use a powerful skill; she simply used a basic, precise attack. She spun on her heel and threw a kick, striking the dagger's back handle with the precise force required. The dagger shot forward with deadly speed, a silent, black blur that smashed directly into the Skeleton King's skull, instantly shattering its entire head into bone fragments and powder.
"This is too easy," she sighed, walking toward the crumbling remains. "Too bad only World Boss kills warrant a global announcement. I miss the beginner zone where every kill felt like an event."
She pushed a button on her Galaxy Bracelet. It scanned the remains, glowing purple, and transformed the skeleton into a Medium-Class Monster Card.
"Huh? Only a Medium-Class Card. Annoying." She stored the card in her inventory and turned to face the cavern, where countless smaller skeletons began pouring out of hidden chambers and rock holes.
"So foolish. I just killed your leader, and you think you can take me?" Mirabella turned to Cupcake.
"Take down these ants. Absorb all their Defense. You'll need the stats."
Cupcake's eyes narrowed, and with a focused look, she unleashed a continuous, rapid torrent of precise lightning bolts, each one seeking out and disintegrating a skeleton.
__
Five minutes later, Mirabella stored the ten required monster cards from the slain Level 10 Skeletons. She had gained some minor experience, a welcome bonus. She walked toward the entrance gateway and stepped through.
_
Mirabella appeared back in the Moonless Ruins, surrounded by the dried-up trees, but immediately froze.
"Hey? Where are the skeletons we killed first?" she asked in confusion, scanning the ground where Cupcake had dispatched the first group.
"Who took the cards?" She looked at Cupcake. "Why didn't you remind me to loot the initial kills?"
Cupcake simply rolled her eyes and started licking her paw, utterly uninterested in Mirabella's lapse.
"Hey, Is that you Mirabella?!!"
The two spun around at the sound of a voice. Standing before them was a young man with blonde hair, still wearing his slightly tattered St. John's uniform, though he looked healthier than the others.
"Carl?" Mirabella exclaimed in shock.
Carl was one of her classmates—a kind, gentle boy, if a bit naive. He was the only person from her old life she held any shred of respect for, though she considered him a fool.
"What are you doing here, Carl?" she asked, surprised he was this far out of the city.
"Hehehe! I can't believe I meet you here, Mirabella," Carl said with an innocent smirk, scratching the back of his head. "I was just... looking around."
"Um... Carl, did you take the bones from the skeletons Cupcake killed a few minutes ago?" Mirabella asked, a slight frown touching her lips.
"Bones? Nope. I didn't take any bones," Carl answered, looking genuinely confused.
"Then who took it?" Mirabella insisted.
Carl paused, then offered a small, knowing smile. "I didn't take any bones, Mirabella. But I did take the skeletal remains."
Mirabella's eyes widened, stunned into absolute silence.
"...?!"