Chapter 61 – The Solitary Sovereign.

The second floor of the Labyrinth of a Thousand Crypts opened before the squad like a throat of violet darkness.

The Amethyst Shadow Galleries (Floor 2 - Level 34-36) were colder, quieter, and incomparably denser than the upper crypts. The air hummed with static from veins of pure crystallized mana, and the black stone floor was cut by fissures emitting a soft purple vapor.

As they crossed the second floor's third gothic arch, the squad halted before a natural circular arena a hundred meters in diameter, enclosed by pillars of broken crystal.

In the center of the arena, resting on a pedestal of pure amethyst, rose the lord of that territory: the Amethyst and Shadow Chimera (Level 34 - Hall Boss).

The beast was a five-meter-long living nightmare: its body that of a colossal lion clad in armored amethyst plates; upon its back rose a crystal goat head with horns dripping elemental poison; and in place of a tail, a three-meter shadow serpent hissed with razor-sharp fangs.

The System interface displayed the boss's sheet in dark red:

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[HALL BOSS DETECTED!]

[Amethyst and Shadow Chimera - Level 34]

- HP: 1,600 / 1,600 | MP: 600 / 600

- Main Stats: Strength: 42 | Agility: 38 | Vitality: 40 | Intelligence: 30

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Kael immediately stepped forward, driving his Volcanic Steel Shield into the rock to pull the creature's aggro. Rhea brought her hands to her Agility 85 dragon daggers, and Aurelia-Elysia raised her staff to channel protection barriers.

“Halt.”

Diana's voice sounded calm, yet cut the squad's movement short with the authority of an ice blade.

Kael froze his shield in midair, blinking. “Commander…?”

Diana unclasped her dragon silk cloak and handed it to Rhea. She adjusted the bracers on her Dragon Crystal Chestplate, drew her black steel dagger with her right hand, and took two slow steps toward the circular arena entrance.

“You three stay at the entrance.” Diana ordered, her dark eyes fixed on the Level 34 Chimera. “Keep the perimeter sealed. Don't let any wandering monster enter this chamber.”

Rhea stepped forward, her silver ears drooping in pure worry. “Diana… it's a Level 34 Hall Boss with sixteen hundred health! Let me and Kael-”

“I built this faction to be an unbreakable wall, Rhea.” Diana looked sideways at the wolf girl, a small, sharp, confident smile on her lips. “But as Commander and as a Candidate for the Sin of Greed… I cannot rely on your shields forever. I need to test my true individual limit of destruction.”

Kael and Aurelia-Elysia looked at the Level 31 human girl, feeling the weight of the determination emanating from her.

Rhea held Diana's gaze for two seconds until nodding slowly, falling back to the arena entrance beside Kael and Aurelia-Elysia. “We'll cover your rear, Diana.”

***

—A Level 31 mage facing a Level 34 Chimera one-on-one without a tank up front? The System's voice echoed in Diana's mind, the black-gold interface vibrating with pure excited mockery. You are completely insane, Diana. But I am eager to see the carnage.

“Just watch, trash can.” Diana replied mentally.

Diana stepped onto the arena's crystal sand.

The Chimera opened the crimson eyes of its three heads simultaneously. The lion unleashed a screeching roar that made the amethyst pillars vibrate, launching a straight-line Strength 42 charge against the solitary human girl.

Diana didn't back down a single millimeter.

With 58 Perception points and [Command Eye] active, Diana read the charge's trajectory in real time.

The lion head gaped its jaws to unleash a blast of black fire.

MANA PRISON!

Diana extended her open left hand. Transparent arcane chains bound the lion head's throat, sealing the beast's fire spell for four full seconds before the first spark could escape!

The Chimera choked on its own locked mana.

The shadow serpent tail whipped through the air, trying to sink its venomous fangs into Diana's neck from behind.

ARCANE TELEPORTATION!

With a crackle of bluish energy, Diana vanished from the ground and reappeared instantly eight meters up in the air, directly above the monster's back.

In freefall, Diana channeled 40 MP into the palm of her right hand.

ARCANE STORM ORB!

Diana hurled the electric sphere point-blank onto the crystal goat head.

BOOM!

The electric explosion shattered the goat's horns into a thousand pieces and stunned the Level 34 monster for three full seconds, forcing the Chimera to buckle its knees in the crystal sand.

Diana landed smoothly on the stone behind the monster. Without losing the advantage window, she activated [Greed's Flame] on her black steel dagger and delivered a deep slash to the creature's rear thigh.

Black flames latched onto the Chimera's flesh, burning the amethyst structure and draining 5% of the beast's MP per second.

***

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The Climax of Arcane Destruction

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The Chimera recovered from the stun, releasing a howl of agony upon feeling its mana devoured by the black flames.

The monster entered a state of desperate rage. Its amethyst claws swept through the air in a blind sequence of four rapid strikes that carved deep grooves into the stone floor.

Diana didn't try to block.

Using her 23 Agility points and Command Eye's reading, she dodged the first three slashes by millimeters, the wind from the claws whipping her black hair. The fourth slash grazed the side of her chestplate, but the Dragon Chestplate's [Physical Defense +35] absorbed the impact, reducing the damage to a mere twenty hit points.

With the Chimera's HP plunging below 400 points, Diana decided to end the test.

She activated her supreme skill:

GREED'S COMMAND - SOVEREIGN'S WILL!

The golden light of the vault's seventeen gold coins erupted from Diana's chest.

Her Intelligence surged to a monumental 145 INTELLIGENCE POINTS for sixty seconds! The mana pressure emanating from the human girl's body warped the air of the entire arena in blue waves.

Diana extended both hands open.

ARCANE ICE LANCE + DOUBLE ARCANE ARROW!

A colossal stake of pure ice, empowered by 145 Intelligence, skewered the Chimera's serpent tail, pinning it to the stone floor.

Next, Diana unleashed two gigantic beams of pure arcane destruction energy straight into the open chest of the lion head.

BOOM!

The final magic explosion ripped through the Level 34 Chimera's body from end to end, shattering the monster's crystal frame into a monumental shower of violet dust and glowing ash.

***

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[HALL BOSS SOLO DEFEATED BY DIANA!]

[Amethyst and Shadow Chimera (Level 34) Eliminated!]

- DIANA REACHED LEVEL 32! (1 Level Gained!)

- Rhea, Kael, and Aurelia-Elysia Received Shared Squad Experience!

[COMMANDER'S LOOT ACTIVATED (+30% BONUS)]

- Direct Boss Coins: +18 Gleaming Silver Coins!

- Legendary Item: 1x Amethyst Chimera Core (Level 34).

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***

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[ATTRIBUTE DISTRIBUTION - DIANA (LEVEL 32)]

- Evolution: Level 31 -> Level 32 (5 Free Points).

- Class Passives (+3 INT, +2 PER, +1 WIS): Automatically added.

- Allocation:+3 Free Intelligence (121 + 3 + 3 = 127 INT!), +2 Vitality (41 -> 43 VIT -> HP reaches 430 POINTS!), +2 Perception (60 + 2 = 62 PER!), +1 Wisdom (26 + 1 = 27 WIS!). (MP reaches a monumental 730 MP POINTS!)

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***

Diana stood in the center of the violet ash crater, her black steel dagger lowered, breathing deeply as Level 32's golden light restored her minor scratches and expanded her magic power beyond any limit she had ever experienced.

At the arena entrance, Kael, Aurelia-Elysia, and Rhea ran to her, their eyes wide in pure, unconditional admiration.

Rhea handed the dragon silk cloak to Diana, her amber eyes glowing with immense pride. “You destroyed a Level 34 Hall Boss solo in less than five minutes, Diana…”

Kael shook his head, laughing dumbfounded. “You are a one-woman army, Commander!”

Diana took the cloak, adjusting it over her shoulders with an elegant motion. She tossed the Level 34 Chimera Core into the air, catching the glowing jewel with her left hand, feeling her Intelligence 127 energy burning steady in her chest.

A calm, supreme, hungry, unshakeable smile lit up the Commander's face.

Level 35 was a mere three steps away. And the Amethyst Labyrinth remained ready to be devoured.

Final Notes:

For those who wanted to see how strong Diana is on her own... yeah, she's no joke.