Chapter 54 – The Apex of the Alliance.

The floor of the Hall of Titans was unrecognizable.

The lava lake had overflowed, covering the basalt in a sea of glowing puddles and suffocating steam. The Corrupted Silver Colossus (Level 40), now with its severed left arm gushing molten silver and black magma, roared in a destructive frenzy that sent ceiling stalactites plunging like stone spears.

Diana and Cassius kept in continuous motion, three paces apart from each other, gasping the furnace's hot air.

The fight hadn't been settled on that first strike. It had transformed into a brutal test of physical and mental attrition lasting over twenty unbroken minutes.

The Level 40 monster swung blows with its remaining right arm that blasted craters into solid rock. Diana used [Arcane Teleportation] almost on cooldown limit to dodge shockwaves, while chaining [Greed's Flame] to corrode the boss's mana channels and [Arcane Storm Orb] to shatter the titan's attack rhythm.

Cassius was the anchor of death. The Silver Legion commander parried magma shrapnel with the broad blade of his Gravity Cleaver, his Strength 68 muscles screaming under the extreme strain.

Both were bleeding.

A shrapnel of glowing stone had grazed Diana's shoulder, dropping her HP from 350 to 190 points. Cassius, who had absorbed the direct impact of a rock stomp to protect Diana's casting line, had his HP plummeted to 320 of his original 1,400 points, his heavy armor dented and breathing with difficulty due to cracked ribs.

***

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The Climax of Destruction

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The Colossus bent its titanic knees, gathering all remaining mana from its corrupted core into the center of its chest. The ancestral silver plates on its chest began glowing with a blinding crimson hue, priming an area magma detonation that would vaporize the entire amphitheater.

—Diana! The core is gonna self-destruct! The System shrieked in her mind in black gold. Four seconds until total detonation!

Diana didn't waver. She activated her supreme skill:

GREED'S COMMAND - SOVEREIGN'S WILL!

The golden light of the vault's fourteen gold coins erupted from Diana's chest, blanketing her and Cassius under the blood truce with the bonus of +20% TO ALL ATTRIBUTES.

Diana's Intelligence surged to a monumental 117 POINTS, elevating her magic power to an almost divine level. Cassius's Strength exploded to 81 POINTS.

“CASSIUS, FOR THE NECK!” Diana commanded, her voice tearing through the hot air.

Diana extended both hands open toward the titan's glowing chest.

MANA PRISON + ARCANE ICE LANCE!

Transparent arcane chains bound the monster's core, locking the self-destruct spell for four crucial seconds, while a colossal piercing ice stake, empowered by 117 Intelligence, drove straight into the center of the beast's chest, freezing the corrupted metal into a brittle crust.

Cassius leaped with every last shred of stamina left in his body.

Soaring through the glowing steam with his 81 Strength points, Cassius brought down his Silver Gravity Cleaver with a two-handed downward chop straight onto the monster's frozen neck.

SILVER GRAVITY SLASH!

CRASH-BOOM!

The Corrupted Silver Colossus's colossal head was severed from its body with a clap of thunder, crashing onto the basalt floor with a deafening thud.

The eight-meter titanic body shuddered, lost its magic anchor, and collapsed into the crater, breaking down into a mountain of silver ash and ore fragments.

***

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[HISTORIC VICTORY ACHIEVED!]

[Sovereign of the Eruption Defeated: Corrupted Silver Colossus (Level 40)]

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Absolute silence descended over the burning amphitheater.

At the very same second, the monumental amount of experience from a Level 40 Ancestral Boss exploded through the interfaces of the entire Arcane Greed Faction squad:

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[MONUMENTAL LEVEL EVOLUTION!]

- DIANA REACHED THE MILESTONE OF LEVEL 30! (3 Levels Gained!)

- RHEA REACHED LEVEL 28! (3 Levels Gained!)

- KAEL REACHED LEVEL 27! (3 Levels Gained!)

- AURELIA-ELYSIA REACHED LEVEL 27! (3 Levels Gained!)

(Lord Cassius rose to Level 34).

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Diana collapsed sitting on a cold basalt rock, panting heavily, her chest heaving, with Level 30's golden light fully restoring her wounds and elevating her spiritual vessel to a whole new plane.

Beside her, Cassius collapsed sitting on the ground, dropping his war cleaver onto the stone, breathing the clean air of victory, the light of his own evolution to Level 34 closing the cuts on his skin.

Kael, Aurelia-Elysia, and Rhea limped over from the wall fissure, their health and mana bars fully regenerated by the light of the three gained levels, their eyes glowing with unbelievable joy at seeing the Level 40 monster destroyed.

***

Diana coordinated point allocation on the hall stone for herself, Kael, and Aurelia. And Rhea picked the points she would spend.

- Kael (Level 27): 15 Free Points -> +8 Vitality (50 -> 58 VIT -> HP reaches a colossal 630 HP POINTS!), +4 Strength (34 -> 38 STR), +3 Willpower (14 -> 17 WIL).

- Aurelia-Elysia (Level 27): 15 Free Points -> +8 Intelligence (49 -> 57 INT +6 Robe = 63 INT!), +4 Wisdom (33 -> 37 WIS), +3 Perception (14 -> 17 PER). (MP reaches 550 MP POINTS!)

- Rhea (Level 28): 15 Free Points -> +8 Agility (66 -> 74 AGI +8 Gear = 82 AGI!), +4 Strength (31 -> 35 STR), +3 Vitality (22 -> 25 VIT). (HP: 250 / 250)

- Diana (Level 30 - Commander of Greed): 15 Free Points + Class Passives (+9 INT, +6 PER, +3 WIS) -> +8 Free Intelligence (98 + 9 + 8 = 115 INT!), +4 Vitality (35 -> 39 VIT -> HP reaches 390 HP POINTS!), +3 Perception (49 + 6 + 3 = 58 PER!). (MP reaches a monumental 620 MP POINTS!)

***

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[UPDATED STATUS PANELS - LEVEL 30]

- Diana (Level 30): Strength: 18 | Agility: 23 | Vitality: 39 | Intelligence: 115 | Wisdom: 25 | Perception: 58 | Willpower: 8 | Luck: 3. (HP: 390 / MP: 620)

- Rhea (Level 28): Strength: 35 | Agility: 74 (82 AGI) | Vitality: 25 | Intelligence: 7 | Perception: 13 | Willpower: 6 | Wisdom: 4 | Luck: 1. (HP: 250 / MP: 70)

- Kael (Level 27): Strength: 38 | Agility: 8 | Vitality: 58 | Intelligence: 6 | Wisdom: 4 | Perception: 5 | Willpower: 17 | Luck: 1. (HP: 630 / MP: 30)

- Aurelia-Elysia (Level 27): Strength: 5 | Agility: 7 | Vitality: 6 | Intelligence: 57 (63 INT) | Wisdom: 37 | Perception: 17 | Willpower: 5 | Luck: 1. (HP: 60 / MP: 550)

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Intelligence 115 for Diana. Six hundred twenty MP points in her pool.

Kael with six hundred thirty HP. Rhea with Agility 82. Aurelia-Elysia with 550 MP.

***

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Splitting the Abyss Loot

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Under the terms of the fifty percent Blood Truce, Diana and Cassius split the monumental loot dropped by the Level 40 Boss.

With the +30% Commander's Loot bonus activated by Diana on her faction's share, the Arcane Greed Faction collected a direct yield of 30 Pure Silver Coins and sole possession of the Ancestral Magma and Silver Core (Level 40), while Cassius took 70% of the corrupted silver plates for the Legion's forges.

***

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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]

Previous Balance: 140 Silver Coins (14 Gold Coins).

Level 40 Boss Loot Share (+30% Bonus): +30 Silver Coins!

[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 170 SILVER COINS (17,000 Bronze! / EXACTLY 17 PURE GOLD COINS!)]

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One hundred seventy silver coins stashed in the faction vault. Exactly Seventeen Pure Gold Coins.

***

The sound of heavy pickaxes and excavation spells echoed from the other side of the rubble wall blocking the dungeon exit.

The Silver Legion rescue troops and guild guards finally managed to breach a gap in the rock.

Cassius stood up from the ground, sheathing his Gravity Cleaver on his back, and walked over to Diana. The military commander extended his armored hand in a formal gesture of a handshake between equals.

“We survived a Level 40 Ancestral Boss together, Diana.” Cassius said, his voice solemn. “The Silver Legion recognizes the Arcane Greed Faction as a sovereign authority in the west sector. If you need passage through my outposts… the gates are open.”

Diana shook Cassius's hand firmly.

“The same goes for your men at our shops, Cassius.” Diana replied with a calm, sharp smile.

The two teams crossed the breached gap in the rock, marching together out of the destroyed dungeon.

Diana looked up at the Second Circle's purple sky opening above the canyon.

The milestone of Level 30 was conquered. Seventeen gold coins gleamed in the vault. And the Arcane Greed Faction was now only twenty levels away from crossing the portal to the Third Circle of Hell. On top of reaching a stable truce with the Silver Legion.

Final Notes:

Heheheheh, truce conquered! And three levels for everybody!!!