Chapter 272

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After what feels like a hot sword thrust through my chest and an electric shock rippling through my body, I hit the ground struggling to breathe.

Shock and confusion fill my mind as the room's colors fade to black and white again.

"W-What's going on...?"

The last few seconds of this battle are mostly a blur, but I'm positive I won.

I defeated the Arch Demon, and it told me everything I wanted to know. This doesn't make any sense.

Actually, now that I have a moment to think... nothing that demon said makes any sense.

It's sending a message across the abyss? Demonic Energy being the pinnacle of Demon's power? The King is trying to take over this world?

Also... the fact that I wasn't able to sense any mana while wielding this new skill and defeated a Labyrinth Guardian with a single attack is mind-boggling.

With so many unanswered questions swirling around in my head, it makes it difficult to focus on the real problem at hand.

The grip on both of my blades loosens, and my knees rest on the cold hard floor of the Boss Room.

Yellow and white lights still crackle from the tips of the two weapons. My eyes widen as the reactions slowly start to grow. It looks exactly like the result of mana and demonic energy canceling each other out.

*Clink*

In the same moment, a palm-sized black sphere falls to the floor in front of me out of a dissolving pile of ash. Blue text hovers above it.

[Arch Demon's Core] +100% All Stats

Letting go of my weapons, I grab the orb and it instantly sinks into my palm just like the previous one I bonded with. The stat boosts are immediate, and the natural perception additions are very noticeable.

Before I can enjoy this moment in my dazed state, the sharp pain in my chest comes back. This time around it's even more intense. I can feel a headache coming on too.

I rest both hands on the floor and watch another dark black line appear on my other forearm. It winds up to my shoulder and curves to my chest. I can only assume my eyes have grown much lighter after this core absorption too.

My gaze darts back and forth as I try to catch my breath and stand to my feet. The sword and dagger I left on the ground are crackling and popping with sparks. The reactions are only growing, so all I can think to do is open my item storage system and put them inside.

The white spatial magic portal opens and a voice enters my ears as Ember flies down from the sky with a shiny silver amulet hanging from his mouth.

"Stop."

I look up and appraise the item he's holding on instinct.

[Platinum Amulet of Frost] +137% Mental Strength +90% Ice Magic

The sharp pain in my chest returns, but bare it without falling over. It keeps coming back every time I use magic.

Ember keeps speaking.

"That was horribly reckless, but I believe it may have been one of the best options to secure a guaranteed victory."

I grit my teeth while nodding and look up at the enormous ranked-up dragon that lands in front of me on the hard ground. He's excited about this new upgrade, but the worried expression tells me now isn't the time to celebrate.

I use self regeneration on my full body and dump out an HP potion from my item box to attempt to heal whatever is making this horrible pain.

Once all the shimmering green liquid from the bottle disappears, I feel as good as new...

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