[Entrance of Devil Grave.]
"We are here." Jessica's voice was a low rasp as they stood before the chilling entrance of the Devil's Grave: a colossal fissure in the earth, framed by grotesque, crumbling ruins and countless bleached skulls scattered like pebbles.
"Soldiers, today, we will avenge Captain Miller and our fallen comrades!" she whispered, her eyes alight with grim determination. She then turned to Mirabella. "This is your cue."
Mirabella stepped out of their hiding spot, a solitary figure moving toward the mouth of the terrifying ruin.
'Based on my past knowledge, the common enemies here are Wraiths—the fallen souls of warriors consumed by the Grave's darkness,' she mused.
'It doesn't matter how long this place has existed or how many died here; what matters is the objective.'
She walked alone into the eerie shadow of the entrance, leaving Jessica, her soldiers, and a nervously still Carl watching from the tree line.
'If the unexpected happens, I must be ready to use my skills to escape, not to fight,' Mirabella decided, her eyes scanning the bizarre landscape: skeletal remains hanging upside down from twisted, lifeless trees. She summoned her metal dagger, its mundane gleam a stark contrast to the surrounding decay.
WHOOSH!
A breath of impossibly cold wind swept past her, making her stop instantly. She pivoted, dagger ready. 'Alright. Where are you, you bastards?'
WHOOSH!
She turned again, only to see a single, intense ball of bluish light. In the next heartbeat, it violently splintered into ten distinct spheres. These spheres instantly solidified into ten towering, humanoid Wraiths, armed with spectral weapons. They shrieked—a sound like metal dragged over bone—and lunged.
"What the hell?!"
Mirabella barely managed to leap sideways as the Wraiths shot past her, their spectral forms leaving shimmering trails.
{Information.}
{Name: Wraith... Soldier.}
{Level: 20.}
{Weakness: Weak against light elements and attacks.}
{Difficulty: Medium.}
{Attack: 1,000.}
{Health: 5,000/5,000.}
{Defense: 1,000/1,000.}
{Agility: 2,000.}
'What the hell?! They're not even Bosses, yet their stats are all over one thousand!' The shock was profound. This beginner server was already deviating wildly from the established game lore.
She quickly conjured a basic energy arrow and sent it flying at the nearest Wraith. To her utter disbelief, the magical projectile simply flew through the entity.
"Immune to magical attacks?" Stunned, she leaped backward as another Wraith slammed its spectral fist where she'd been standing. Landing lightly, Mirabella activated Dash, surging forward toward the attacker. She slashed with her metal dagger, but it, too, passed cleanly through the ethereal body.
"Immune to Physical Attack?!" Her composed face instantly turned pale.
'Shit! Only Light elemental attacks or weapons can harm these things! I'm completely screwed!'
She glanced toward the massive, horned skull jutting from the rock face, its jaw agape in a silent scream. "That must be the main chamber... but what if there's an even stronger Boss inside?"
She dodged two synchronized spectral blades. 'I could escape now and save myself, but the High-Grade Boss card is too important.' She used Dash again, creating a crucial distance from the ten deadly Wraiths.
'I shouldn't fight them. I'll come back once I have a Light elemental skill or weapon,' she thought, then mentally slapped herself. 'Wait, I have the low-class skill scroll! No, I won't risk a garbage skill now.'
With a deep breath, she taunted them, drawing upon her acting skills. "Hey, you fools! Come get me if you can!" She Marked all ten Wraiths with Dash, and, capitalizing on the immense boost from their 2,000 combined Agility, she exploded forward in a blur of speed.
SCREECH!!!
The Wraiths erupted in loud, piercing shrieks of rage, abandoning their post and flying after Mirabella, whose speed was now godlike.
Seeing her strategy work, Mirabella pulled out a whistle and blew a single, sharp note.
Jessica, hearing the signal, nodded grimly. "Get ready. We haven't entered the main hall, so be cautious, but the intelligence said the Legendary Treasure was in clear view." Taking a deep, focused breath, she led her remaining ten soldiers toward the entrance, leaving Carl to stand guard, remembering his Queen's absolute command: 'If you see many enemies, run.'
Jessica and her team vanished into the skull's maw.
___
Two minutes later, Mirabella glanced over her shoulder. The Wraiths had instantly stopped chasing her, their spectral forms flickering as they abruptly turned and rushed back to the Skull.
"Shit!" Mirabella hissed, halting her momentum. 'She must get out of there! I need my payment!'
Without hesitation, she blew the whistle again, a desperate, continuous blast, and sprinted back, using Dash to tear past the slower Wraiths. 'I used up over 5,000 Spirit Energy on that chase—she better compensate me fully!'
".....?!!"
She stopped dead, her entire being freezing as she saw Jessica crawling out of the cave entrance. One eye was gone, her body covered in a sickening mixture of blood and black soot.
"FUCK!!!"
Instinct taking over, Mirabella snatched the low-class skill scroll from her storage and instantly activated it, simultaneously running toward the fallen General.
WHOOSH!!
{Host gained a new skill.}
{Skill name: Teleportation: Can teleport self and one target to any location, one mile away.}
{Due to royal bloodline, Teleportation maxed. Mastery Maxed.}
{Can teleport self and ten targets to any location, 100 miles away, active skill. 1,000 Spirit energy per use.}
Mirabella stopped beside the collapsed Jessica, quickly lifting her. "Hey! What the fuck happened?! You were just inside two minutes ago!"
"Monster… everyone… everyone… is dead," Jessica gasped, her remaining strength failing as she collapsed in Mirabella's arms.
WHOOSH!!
Mirabella froze, a primal, cold terror gripping her spine. Slowly, agonizingly, she turned her head back toward the skull's dark interior. She felt a monumental wave of power, an energy signature she had only ever felt from the horrifying demon king, Angra Mainyu.
Mirabella's eyes widened in unadulterated horror. Standing in the center of the hall, amidst the scattered, gruesome remains of Jessica's entire squad, was a towering Knight in blood-red armor. Blood dripped sluggishly from the massive sword held loosely in its hand.
{Information.}
{Name: Devil Personal Knight... World Boss.}
{Level: 90.}
{Weakness: N/A.}
{Difficulty: Extremely Difficult.}
{Attack: 500,000.}
{Health: 500,000/500,000.}
{Defense: 1,000,000/1,000,000.}
{Agility: 100,000.}
{Trait: Immune to magical attacks, dark gaze: paralyze all enemies for ten seconds.}
"Level 90?! In... In the first server?! And a World Boss at that?!" The sheer impossibility of the situation shattered every axiom Mirabella knew.
In that instant, only one thought mattered: Run!
She looked up, seeing the ten Wraiths rushing toward them. Without hesitation, she placed her hand firmly on Jessica, focused her new skill, and Teleported away from the Devil's Grave.
___
WHOOSH!!
"...?!"
Carl looked around, utterly bewildered, finding himself standing a great distance away from the ruins. "How did I get here?"
"Carl!" Mirabella yelled, holding the unconscious, bleeding Jessica.
"Huh?! What happened?!" Carl rushed over, his confusion turning to alarm.
"We need to get her to Galaxy City immediately! She must not die!" Mirabella's voice was sharp with urgency and exhaustion.
"Yes! Yes!"
Thinking only of the distance, Mirabella began using her enhanced Teleportation skill repeatedly, flashing them across the miles until they appeared abruptly at the gates of Galaxy City, stunning the two entry guards.
"Help me get her to the hospital!" Mirabella snapped.
The guards quickly took the General from her, noting the blood still seeping from her left eye socket.
"What happened in there?" Carl asked, staring at Mirabella, who was visibly shaking.
"We encountered a World Boss," Mirabella muttered, following the guards. Her expression was a mix of confusion and cold realization.
'What is going on? A Lv90 monster, and a World Boss, in the first server? In my previous life, I never went near that place—is that why I didn't know about this monster? Something is profoundly wrong.'
She focused on the Knight's energy signature. 'That monster has the same energy as Angra Mainyu... they must be related somehow. With my current strength, even with Multiplier, I would die before I could even land a hit. And it's immune to magical attacks!' She exhaled, the gravity of the danger settling over her.
'I knew a Legendary weapon wouldn't be easy, but who told Jessica about this place? When she wakes up, she'll realize she lost everything—all her soldiers, sacrificed for a glimpse of power.' Mirabella felt a flicker of genuine pity for the General.
'Regardless,' she thought, hardening her gaze, 'I will wait for her to wake up. I will still get my payment.'
"What happened, Master?"
Cupcake descended from the sky, shrinking neatly onto Mirabella's shoulder as she stared at Jessica being rushed inside on a stretcher.
"Encountered some trouble," Mirabella replied simply, taking the bag of sweets from Cupcake. She opened a candy wrapper and placed the sugary treat in her mouth, the sweetness a necessary anchor back to reality.
"Why are we paying so much just to treat her? Aren't there health potions?" Carl asked, scratching his head.
"You don't understand, Carl. There are some injuries that Health Potions can't heal—especially the ones inflicted by a World Boss," Mirabella explained, walking into the hospital.
"She needs a specialized Healer, and this hospital has one."
"Oh. Then we need a healer in our team, right?"
Mirabella looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes distant. "We will see."
The immediate goal was clear: survive, collect the reward, and rapidly increase her own strength to face the true dangers of this chaotic, unexpected, and broken world.