Chương 61: The Final Drop

Recap: You are at 6 HP and 1 MP. The Corruption Drain is ticking. The Parasite is recovering from stun. You voted to RETRIEVE & DROP HAMMER (FINISHER). One MP. The number flashed in my vision like a countdown timer. The Corruption Drain was a heartbeat away from sucking me dry. If I hit zero, the penalties would start. Skill lock. Stat reduction. Maybe instant death in an Instance. I couldn't cast. I couldn't magic. But I had the Hammer. And I had the Pocket. The Parasite was rising.

Its glass shards were knitting together. The shadow was coalescing into a spear form. It was going to fire. Not today. I focused on the Guardian Hammer lying on the platform. It was smoking, still hot from the first strike. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Skill Used: Dimensional Storage Cost: 0 MP (Retrieval) Item: Guardian Hammer Status: Stored It vanished. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Skill Used: Dimensional Release Cost: 0 MP (Deploy) Target: Parasite Head Effect: Gravity Assist + Fire Enchantment It reappeared instantly.

Ten feet up. Directly above the Parasite's reforming skull.

"NO—" the Parasite hissed. It saw the shadow of the hammer. It tried to dodge. Too slow. CRUNCH. The hammer landed. The fire enchantment ignited the shadow substance like dry tinder. The glass skull shattered into dust. The body dissolved into black smoke. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Damage Dealt: 40 HP (Critical Finisher) Target HP: 0/100 Status: DECEASED The void shook. The gray corruption faded. The white light returned, pure and bright. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Stolen story; please report.

Quest Complete: The Purge of Prism XP Gained: 100 XP Current XP: 490/550 (Level 6) LEVEL UP! Level: 6 Stat Points Available: +2 HP Max: 23 → 25 (+2) MP Max: 18 → 20 (+2) SP Max: 28 → 30 (+2) Current HP: 6/25 (Regen Pending) Current MP: 1/20 (Regen Pending) Current SP: 23/30 New Skill Unlocked: Core Resonance (Passive) Effect: +10% Power vs. Core Entities Effect: Corruption Immunity (Permanent) The Corruption Drain stopped. The MP tick halted. I felt… cleansed. The black ichor on my bands evaporated.

My HP began to regenerate slowly. The platform dissolved. I fell. Not into void. Into light. I slammed onto the stone floor of the Prism Chamber. The Geode behind me cracked. The black veins vanished. The white light pulsed steadily. Safe. Stable.

"Box!" Kara screamed. She ran over. Torin followed, sword ready. I opened my lid. Creak. I was alive. The Keeper stood before the Geode. She looked… younger. The crystal lines on her face had faded.

"You… chose… Wisely," she projected.

"The… Parasite… is… Gone. The… Core… is… Pure. The… Path… is… Open." She raised her staff. The Geode split down the middle. A staircase spiraled downward into darkness.

"Floor… Seven… The… Void… Awaits… No… Administrators… Watch… Here… You… are… Clean." Clean, I thought. That's a relief. Torin helped me upright.

"You did it. Inside there… what was it?" Nightmare, I thought. But I won. Kara inspected my bands.

"The corruption… it's gone. You… you purified the floor." SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Party Loyalty Increased: Torin (High), Renn (High) Effect: Preferred Leader Buff Received: Dungeon Favor (Temporary) Effect: Loot Drop Rate +10% for 1 Hour Nice.

"We rest," Torin said.

"Five minutes. Then we go down." I closed my lid. I needed to assign stats. Level 6. Two points. Defense was 15. Strength was 7. Intelligence was 12. Floor 7 was "The Void". Magic hazards. Spatial anomalies. Intelligence helped with Magic Resistance and Mana pool. Defense helped with survival. I put one into Defense. One into Intelligence. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Stat Distribution: Defense: 15 → 16 Intelligence: 12 → 13 Current Defense: 16 Current Intelligence: 13 I felt sharper. My mana pool felt deeper.

My wood felt denser. The party finished their checks. Torin sheathed his sword. Renn nocked an arrow. Kara charged her staff.

"Ready?" Torin asked. I vibrated. Buzz. (Ready). We stepped onto the staircase. Down into the Void. Current Stats (Level 6 - Ironband Mimic): HP: 8/25 (Regenerating) Mana: 3/20 (Regenerating) Stamina: 23/30 (Unchanged) Inventory: 2 Pebbles, Metal Items (Fused). Mage Staff (Loot). Guardian Hammer (Stored). Status: Core Resonance Active, Corruption Immune, Dungeon Favor Active. What do you do? A) SCOUT AHEAD (VOID) Slide down the stairs first. Use Tremorsense to check for spatial traps. (Cost: 2 SP. Gain: Intel. Risk: Solo Encounter.) B) STAY WITH PARTY (FORMATION) Move in the center. Let Torin lead. Conserve energy for the Boss. (Cost: 0 SP. Gain: Safety. Risk: Surprise Attack.) C) EAT LOOT (REGEN) Consume any minor drops from the Parasite (shards) to fully regen HP/MP before descending. (Cost: 0 SP. Gain: Full Stats. Risk: Delay.) D) COMMUNICATE WITH KEEPER (LORE) Ask the Keeper one last question about Floor 7 before she fades/returns to duty. (Cost: 0 SP. Gain: Lore. Risk: She might vanish.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 60! Option A (Hammer Finisher) was a success! You killed the Parasite, completed the Quest, and reached Level 6! You are now Corruption Immune!