The floor cut off as a wall of rocky stone shot out of the ground, all the way to the ceiling. Without a second thought, I slung Sern over a shoulder and began climbing.

  Below me, the Core clicked, hands behind his back.

  [Did you seriously expect to run from me in my own dungeon?]

  As I rose higher, the Core walked behind me, swaying back and forth with every leisurely step. Once he reached the base of the wall, the stone sealed to his feet, and he began to walk vertically upward.

  [Of course, when I say ‘my own dungeon’ I rather mean a dungeon I stole, then overrode with my own mana signature—but of course, that much goes without saying.]

  My mouth choked up, and I spat, spittle black as it splashed against the ground.

  [It’s quite similar to stealing another’s core for my own purposes,” he continued. [You don’t even need a specialization, though a copy ability like mine makes the whole process noticeably faster.]

  Sern squeezed her eyes closed, clenching my shirt.

  I took a deep breath, and my vision blurred.

  Was the Core using some kind of gas attack?

  The Core grinned, pulling a tooth from his open mouth.

  [Here, most Cores are one trick ponies. They forget that even simple abilities have depth, when used correctly.]

  He concentrated, and poison steamed, breaking off the tooth into the open air.

  [See? Simplest thing in the world]

  My lungs burned, and my head was pounding. Sern’s grip had noticeably slackened, and she was breathing lighter than before. But I kept climbing.

  And climbing.

  And climbing.

  The Core made a yawning gesture, checking his wrist.

  This wasn’t working.

  I let go.

  Wind cushioned my body, allowing me to twist around, hitting the ground feet down with Sern safely in my arms. The impact cracked the bricks, but otherwise, it wasn’t anything I hadn’t dealt with before.

  The Core hissed and dived toward us.

  I rolled, blocking a spike to the face, then to an arm, before ramming Goregothica into the Core’s lower jaw.

  At most, he was shoved back a couple inches, but the strike had at least provided the opening I needed to flee, grabbing onto the portal.

  {2-Star Dungeon : Gauntlet of Stairs}

  [Dungeon Core: Active]

  [Locked]

  [Nice sword.]

  The Core reached into his chest, metal fusing into a single solid object longer than my entire body. The sword gained shape and edge, then liquid metal ran down the edge, forming slits in the blade.

  Then the blade started squirming, crackling with visceral energy, and the Core grinned wide.

  If the mages couldn’t force the portal open, I had to either stall, or to kill the core myself, if that was even possible.

  Which meant I would have to fight.

  First things first, this gas was an issue.

  I contemplated wrapping a cloth or something over my mouth, but it was a gas, not a liquid, which meant that a cloth wouldn’t do much of anything.

  Maybe I could hold my breath?

  New notifications appeared beside my head.

  {Grind}

  [ 80% Ox]

  “I have eighty percent oxygen left?” I squeaked. It felt like a lot less.

  {Grind}

  [74% Ox]

  Idiot.

  I kept my mouth closed, and oxygen went down noticeably slower.

  Still though, my head was pounding like crazy and my vision blurred. If this was only twenty-five ish of my oxygen spent, then I’d hate to see a hundred.

  The Core made popping sounds, and the hole in his chest—from where he’d pulled his new sword, was close as loops of metal pulled the metallic pieces of flesh to one another.

  “Sern,” I whispered. “Hold your breath for as long as you can.”

  Her eyes flickered white, and she obeyed.

  I hadn’t meant to force her to do it, but it would be for the best. The less thinking she did, the less oxygen she’d need.

  With any luck, she wouldn’t remember the fight at all.

  [Are you about ready, or are you just going to keep staring angrily in my direction?]

  The Core mimicked a throaty chuckle, pulling other teeth from its mouth, and they vaporized into a spray of invisible but deadly gas. By now, the room had a noticeable smell of metal, forcing its way up my nose.

  One breath and we’d be out cold. I just had to survive.

  I whipped Goregothica in a wide circle, and charged.

  The Core struck back, hitting with the force of a train. I managed to connect it with its wrist, cracking the blade out from the monster's hand, and without a moment's hesitation, I took the opening, planting both hands on Goregothica and cleaving around the side.

  It was a perfect strike. Goregothica moved in slow motion, sailing for space right on the Core’s chest. If the Core’s core wasn’t directly there, then I could switch into a twist, gouging a sizable amount of metal.

  Best of all, the Core couldn’t do anything to stop it.

  As I moved, it was moving backward, putting his arms around to catch the ground, before my hit sent him tumbling. His head had been snapped back, aiming toward his weapon.

  Something was wrong.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  This was a monster who could think equal to or better than a human, with a body that could do just about anything.

  Why not grow an arm?

  Goregothica was inches from its chest.

  In one strike, I could turn this battle around and kill a three-star.

  Well now hang on.

  Three-star? You’re telling me a three star couldn’t stop a basic parry and jab by a rookie in the two hundreds?

  I concentrated, and, at the last moment, let Goregothica disappear into my inventory.

  The Core shuddered, bracing itself against the ground, and a new mouth appeared inside its chest, building outward around where Goregothica had been, only moments before.

  If I’d used Goregothica, she would’ve been eaten, and I’d been forced to use Crapshovler, a legendary shovel with properties similar to my own.

  At that point, I’d be safer just trying to punch the core of death.

  Even a normal one-star core ranked-up after consuming a legendary item. For a three-star who could also absorb, say, the properties within it, how much stronger would it get?

  How strong could it get?

  I staggered back, and the battle snapped back into focus. I spun, ducking under a metal spear, jutting from its ribs. The monster’s body twisted, sinking under layers of metallic tissue, sprouting elsewhere, and the Core shifted back into an upright position, now with two mouths, on its face, and one over his heart.

  [Clever boy]

  But now, it had two mouths, neither shifting or closing. Which meant that I’d have twice as many chances to use a RuptorShroom.

  I took up a fighting stance. By now, I’d seen its secrets. I could handle anything it threw at me.

  The Core curled up into a ball of metal.

  And stayed there.

  I blinked, kicking it with one foot.

  The metal reacted, rippling with spikes, but otherwise, the Core remained where it was.

  So why?---

  {Grind}

  [40% Ox]

  Oh.

  That was bad.

  I couldn’t use a weapon, since fighting was burning oxygen and he’d eat anything I’d throw at him, but I couldn’t wait to pass out either.

  Fortunately, this little strategy had a relatively simple solution. I set Sern somewhere a little safer, grabbed a RuptorShroom from my inventory, and set it ontop of the metal orb.

  A wave of heat shook the dungeon, burning against my face, and the Core was blown apart.

  I don’t mean to say that chunks of it were blown off, I mean to say that the entire thing was shattered, thin sheets of metal shrapnel cut into a nearby stone wall and floor.

  The remains vaporized into spent mana, but I was given no sort of reward or prize.

  Which meant that the Core still wasn’t dead. Again.

  I groaned, grabbing my hair. Obviously, this ball of metal had been some sort of diversion, maybe formed from a basic spell, or perhaps the Core had split itself, using weaker useless metal to keep me busy?

  This Core was getting on my nerves.

  I turned to Sern, who sat a little ways away from me, next to…me. A shinier, toothier version of me.

  “I’m G-Gr-Gr-ind Grind.” The Core frowned, stretching his jaw, working each syllable into shape. “Grind. Funny name.”

  “Don’t touch her!” I shouted, sprinting toward the Core.

  The floor pushed downward, but I clung on, suddenly on a steep slope that lurched, dropping down into black void.

  Not-me-me chuckled, patting Sern. as before her eyes were blank and helpless, unable to see the strike even as it cracked against her neck.

  Sern dropped, unconscious, into the Core’s arms.

  “PUT HER DOWN!” I screamed, cracking the rock with my bare hands, forming handholds.

  “Terrifying,” the monster chuckled. “Sern, get up.”

  Despite being unconscious, Sern suddenly rose to her feet. He pulled a dagger out of his chest, rippling the metallic disguise, and laid it in Sern’s hand.

  “Grind, buddy, I’m going to make myself and my demands abundantly clear,” the Core cackled, walking behind Sern. “I will bite you, and then, I will kill you. If you do not, I’ll kill the girl in the most grisly, painful manner my twisted little brain can think of.” He grabbed the edges of her mouth, pressing them up into a smile. “And we can’t have that, can we?”

  I hesitated.

  “You expect a bluff?” The Core grinned. “Sern—”

  “FINE!” I shouted.

  The floor rose up, bringing me on my knees, face to face with the Core.

  “What an idiot you humans are,” the Core whispered. “You have more power than any living being in the entire game, and you choose to squander.”

  He grinned, leaning closer. “She’d kill you if she could.”

  I stood, glaring myself in the eye. “She wouldn’t.”

  {Grind}

  [15% Ox]

  “Really?” The Core asked. “How well do you really know her? NPCs have layers, friend.” He rubbed his hands together, cackling in delight. “Now offer me your hand.”

  “Sern?” I asked, putting on a smile. “Please cover your ears.”

  {Grind}

  [12% Ox]

  The monster stopped for a moment, processing. “Ooo…that's clever. You’re a clever man. What are you planning?”

  “Nothing,” I said. With every breath, more oxygen leaked out from my lungs. It was becoming a constant pain, needling into the back of my mind, numbing limbs. But by this point, there was just too much poison in the air. I had to deal with it, adn keep on talking. “I just don’t want her to hear me die.”

  He scoffed. “I’m made of metal silicate, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. You expect to find a way to kill me, don’t you? Covering Sern’s ears is to keep me from instructing her, yes? Very cheeky, little man. Very cheeky indeed.”

  I remained silent, preserving what little oxygen I had.

  “Perhaps I give you too much credit.” He extended a hand, and a mouth of silver sprouted out, grasping mine. “Lets see what that power of yours tastes like—”

  I shoved the RuptorShrooms down his mouth, jumping backward.

  He glanced at his wrist, swelling with explosive fungi.

  I puffed out my chest, pushing Sern and myself a good distance away. “You see a summoned—”

  “---A rupture shroom into the hand I was biting while I was using most of my energy to control a near human form and voice—” the Core sighed. “---And even if I had bitten down on your hand, the RuptorShroom would’ve destroyed the tissue I absorbed, before it could be processed, or at least corrupt the tissue with destructive energies, which could very well be life threatening on a scale beyond a single plane.”

  He rubbed his forehead, grimacing.

  “Well this sucks.”

  The fungi exploded, and his charred, smoking husk dropped to the ground.

  {Three-Star dungeon : Gauntlet of Feasting}

  [(-1) 1Hp]

  Silvery metal shuddered, turning black as he shifted into his final form.

  Which I had no intention of fighting.

  I slung Sern’s unconscious body over my shoulder and started running.

  With the Core disabled, the team outside pierced through the spell, snapping the red portal blue, and I jumped straight through.

  “Grind!” Irion shouted, grabbing me by the chest and shoving me back and forth. “What happened?!”

  Quin took Sern into his arms, wincing at the large bruise across her neck. “Hey, guys? She’s been hit pretty hard.”

  Mall shuddered. “Explain. What exactly is going back there?”

  I panted for breath, forcing fresh, clean air into my system.

  {Grind}

  [100% Ox]

  Now satisfied, the notification vanished.

  Ardenidi sat nearby the rest of the party, sharpening a long blade. Harva was covered in a sheen of sweat, beside Eere, who’d been working with her to open the portal.

  They were all okay.

  Mall snapped her fingers in my face. “Grind! What’s going on?”

  I opened my mouth.

  “THE CORE CAN SHAPESHIFT!” My voice screamed.

  The Core jumped through the portal, hitting the ground, waving frantically. He started talking in a rush, but the words came out in a jumble before he dropped to his knees, panting for breath.

  Then clenched the grass, burning with anger. “The Core…can…shapeshift…”

  All eyes turned to me.