[-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-?????????????????????? Boulder - Lvl.-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-??????????????????????]

“Huh.”

I stared at the Cursed Boulder. Or the.. something Boulder. And I wasn’t actually staring at it, more like looking in its general direction. I couldn’t discern what it was entirely. It was a storm focused on a single spot, blotched and disarrayed by a deformed mixture of vibr ant colors.

It seemed to blur and break at its fringes. The only sign that something was behind this phenomenon was the semblance of a stone-like figure within it. It floated in the sky, and sunlight seemed to seep through it, not leaving a single sign of a shadow.

I crossed my arms, frowning.

“Well, I don’t even know it’s level. Should I.. should I fight it?”

This obfuscated tempest raged on before me, tearing up the landscape without any specific target. I spotted small animals flying up alongside uprooted trees and joining the whirlwind before me. But it wasn’t actually a whirlwind. Instead, it was some kind of levitation spell. Space magic.

“Wait, actually..”

I didn’t know its level. If it was stronger than me— far stronger than me— I would be caught and suffer the same fate those animals did. However, I did have something that could mitigate that.

I pulled out my Bag of Holding and produced a rainbow-colored chestpiece. The Breastplate of Alexander. It glimmered underneath the sunlight, shining with the faint traces of the powerful magic within.

I hefted it over my blue jacket, feeling its effects take over me.

Temporary General Skill [Greater Status Effect Resistance] Obtained!

Temporary General Skill [Superior Aura of Greater Protection] Obtained!

Temporary General Skill [Repudiation Repulse] Obtained!

“Alright. Let’s try this now.”

A barrier overcame my body as I approached the storm. I wanted to test it first. I didn’t want to walk into death. When I got closer, I felt a strong tugging feeling like it was trying to yank me into the air towards it. I stood my ground— I didn’t need any additional help to stay on my feet.

However, it seemed that walking within distance of its magic alerted it of my presence. The Cursed Boulder, or whatever it actually was, suddenly halted. The storm calmed slightly as it seemed to turn towards me. I cocked my head.

“Um, hello?”

And from the center of the blur, a tree shot out. I leapt out of the way as it crashed into the earth. I frowned.

“So, is this how you fight? You throw trees at people?”

I was about to land when the pulling feeling returned. I found myself being thrown into the air for a moment, but a quick teleport got me back on the ground.

“Now, that’s just rude!”

I straightened as an eerie echo came from whatever it was I was fighting. My own voice came back a garbled mess, like it was both repeated by it and a reflection of what I actually said. It hurled more trees at me, and I simply stood and let the attacks come. It bounced off my [Superior Aura of Greater Protection], thanks to the Breastplate of Alexander.

I would’ve just flown straight in and clawed this thing in the face, but for whatever reason, it was trying to suck me in. Obviously, I was apprehensive of just striking it right away. I activated [Planar Navigation] to figure out what was going on inside that storm.

The Skill told me that there was a large mass at the center, just as I’d suspected. However, when I tried to make sense of what it was there with the Skill, my senses failed me. What I perceived caught me by surprise.

It was like I’d been trying to run my fingers over a rosebush, but instead of the petal-soft touch of a flower, I was pricked by something sharp. Odd, jarring presences; thorns that poked out like Human teeth, chomping for my flesh while ants crawled up onto my arm before scattering all over my body. This susurration washed over me like I was thrust into the depths of the ocean as my entire body shivered from the coldness of the water and the darkness of the deep.

And the feeling did not end there. Because from the shadows, a horror of the ocean revealed itself to me. An abomination. A being of time itself. Twisted and vile, its power fleeting and overwhelming. A thing of many impossible angles and inverted dimensions that I couldn’t even tell what I was looking at, and that even trying to understand it was like sticking needles into my head as it kept shifting and twisting and—

And yeah, it was not a nice feeling at all.

“What are you?”

I narrowed my eyes. As if the thing heard my question, it decided to reveal itself. The cloak of many colors that distorted it was pulled back, showing the monster I was faced with.

It wasn’t just a large, spherical piece of rock like I’d been led to believe. The name ‘Boulder’ was very misleading. Sure, it had bits of rocks comprising its form— but they were fractured. Not a whole, monolithic entity. Multiple large boulders were mashed together into a craggy and uneven form, with deep cracks lining the edges where they were connected. The separate rocks didn’t even come into contact with each other. They were held together by a powerful magic that seemed to warp the air around it.

But that was not all.

There were streaks of an azure-stain blotched over its body. One that melded together with the rocks, like it was splashed over its surface. Like the sky itself had been ripped down and adorned over it like ornaments. Bits of wooden splinters were tossed around it along with the remains of leaves and bushes and dirt. It was odd. That didn’t seem like enough wood to have come from the entire forest. What happened to the rest of.. everything?

My questions were answered when a tree was ripped out of the ground and pulled into that vortex of jumbled things. It reached the distortion at the edges before being torn apart, melted, and pulled into the multi-colored aura covering the main body.

I crossed my arms.

“Ok, so I definitely don’t want to get close to you..”

However, the thing wanted to get closer to me. The multi-colored aura struck down at me, whipping out like some kind of whip made of water. Except, it wasn’t a liquid that struck down. It was the condensed amalgamation of everything it stole converted into pure energy.

I leapt back as I saw the attack coming. I didn’t want to wait and see if the Breastplate of Alexander was strong enough to withstand it. All I knew was that when it struck the ground, the earth seemed to dissolve in a way I’d never seen before. Particles slowly rose up in distinct, blurred shapes before vanishing entirely.

“How about this?”

I grabbed a nearby rock and flung it straight at the thing. It absorbed it the moment it got closed. I blinked.

“Well, what did I expect?”

I sighed as it swept over the landscape with its multi-colored ‘limbs’. I dodged out of the way from those slow attacks, and it fired trees and debris at me. I didn’t try to avoid those. The Breastplate of Alexander would at least keep me safe from that.

“Ok, if physical attacks don’t work—”

I spread my arms wide, letting [Mystical Projection] protrude from my body. I used it to grab onto a nearby rock to yank me out of the way from the next incoming attack. Then I sent the invisible arms towards the tempest, hoping to rip it apart bit by bit.

However, the closer my [Mystical Projection] got, the weaker my control over it felt. It was like my invisible arms were slowly growing more numb. Still, I powered through that oddity and grabbed onto the Cursed Boulder’s sides. I began to pull, watching as the cracked gaps between the haphazardly melded rocks widened—

And the curtain closed around its body, covering it entirely once more. I blinked as my control over [Mystical Projection] dissipated entirely. Like I'd been kicked back and forced out of the spell.

“What was that?”

I stared as the Cursed Boulder was once again shrouded in a distortion that hid its true form. Then it spread out once again, like the wings of a butterfly reaching out to wrap over me from all sides. I teleported out of the way as it consumed everything within a hundred feet from it.

“Seriously?

I glanced down at what was left of the forest floor while the tempest grew in size. Everything that had been touched was slowly fading away, and the Cursed Boulder itself was larger than before. The vortex around it was larger than before.

I scowled. I really, really, really just wanted to create a storm of flames to counter it. But would that even work? Not that it mattered, since I wasn’t allowed to use my Subspecies Skills, according to the Devil.

The biggest problem right now was the vortex of colors around it. It cut off everything that tried to touch the Boulder itself. However, I noticed there was a short period of time where I could strike it. Potentially. I activated [Mystical Projection] once more as it came for me.

I hopped around, avoiding its simple tendril-like strikes, baiting it into cornering me against a tree. When it thought I was caught, it tried to do the same tactic as before. The vortex spread out, and I struck.

My invisible hands pummeled into the boulder, sending a ripple of large cracks over the already existing lines on its body. It reeled back, obviously hurt as its body began to crumble. I bared my teeth.

“Not so strong now, are you?”

Then the curtains began to close. The window of attack I had shut as it began its own counter. The glowing colors wrapped around me, and I deactivated [Mystical Projection] and glanced up towards the sky. With a deep breath, I used [Long Range Teleport] to bring me out of the reaches of the vortex.

I found myself flying through the air, looking down at the distorted tempest far below me. Now, I’d just have to regain my bearings, and I could repeat the attack to defeat the Cursed Boulder. I grinned, ready to try it again. But just as I was about to move, the distortion— the vortex, the Boulder itself— all vanished.

I blinked, and suddenly it was in front of me. It had teleported straight to my back. Before I could react, it caught me in its storm. A brilliant flash came from my armor, protecting me like a shield as a loud whirring was audible to my ears.

It tried to rip me apart— tear me limb from limb— but the Breastplate of Alexander held its own for a moment. And I saw my chance there.

Instead of running, I stood my ground. I was being protected, and I would fight back. I activated [Mystical Projection] once more, grabbing for the core of the Boulder. I pulled it apart before it could tear me apart. The rocks— the stone that held that abomination of a thing together fell apart, crumbling as the vortex dissipated.

Around me, chips of stone rained down from the sky as I fell like a falling leaf, gently landing on the grass floor. Chunks of stone and parts of tree trunks fell in large clumps, clustered together and shaking the earth as they crashed.

I laughed to myself as I sprawled on the floor, pumping a fist in the air.

“Take that, stupid!”

Class [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus] Level Up!

[Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 55] -> [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 56]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus] Level Up!

[Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 56] -> [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 57]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus] Level Up!

[Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 57] -> [Worldly Mystic of the Nexeus - Lvl. 58]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Three notifications resounded in my head, the toll of a bell marking the end of this battle. I smiled, glad that I’d finally taken care of that annoying opponent. But I paused.

Something was.. wrong. No, it wasn’t just the fact that I only leveled up three times from this. It was the fact that I clearly hadn’t met the requirements to reach my next advancement, as the Devil demanded. And more than that, I’d leveled three times from nothing.

There was nothing telling me I’d defeated the Cursed Boulder. Nothing that notified me I’d won the battle.

I got to my feet, blinking as suddenly the world around me began to blur. Like a strong gust of wind had swept over the landscape. And from the craters that divoted the ground, the broken pieces of the Boulder rose up. Three of them. Each of them forming their own little tempest of distortion and colors.

My jaw dropped.

“Are you serious?”

[-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-?????????????????????? Boulder - Lvl.-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-??????????????????????]

[-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-?????????????????????? Boulder - Lvl.-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-??????????????????????]

[-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-?????????????????????? Boulder - Lvl.-??????????????????????-?????????????????-????????????????????-??????????????????????]