Chapter 210 - Luna’s awakening 1

We finally entered the boss room and began looking around.

This time, things went completely differently from our previous encounters with bosses.

The moment I stepped inside, a massive wave of fire rushed toward us.

Luna’s eyes widened as she prepared to use an Ice spell to block the incoming attack.

However, I stopped her.

Instead, I used Devour at full power, absorbing the entire wave of fire and converting it into Space Aura.

Then I swung my sword toward the direction from which the attack had come.

It was a powerful slash. Everything in its path was cut cleanly in half.

As the attack traveled forward, I noticed something moving.

The boss had actually dodged my attack!

Even the boss didn’t dare to take that slash head-on.

Then we finally saw our opponent.

Luna and I exchanged glances before speaking almost simultaneously.

"Oh, so that’s why the boss monster welcomed us like that."

I felt a little bad, but there was no room for hesitation on the battlefield.

Then Luna spoke.

"It seems we killed the boss’s children—the Fire Salamanders—at the beginning."

"Oops..."

The enormous Salamander glared at us with pure hatred.

I simply sighed and looked at Luna.

"Prepare for battle, Luna."

She nodded.

Then I asked, "What’s this monster’s weakness?"

Luna grinned.

"Isn’t it obvious? Ice, or rather, water."

I nodded.

"Then let’s attack it with Ice Aura."

Luna grinned even wider.

"That’s my specialty!"

I returned her grin before charging toward the overgrown lizard.

Ah... A... No, Salamander.

I coated Eclipse with Space Aura and Ice Aura before slashing at it.

However, the Salamander raised its enormous claws to meet my attack.

Its claw was slightly cut, but its incredible durability meant that the damage was minimal.

I hadn’t used much power in that attack, so I only managed to leave a small wound covered in ice.

I used my perception to predict its movements and deliberately guided its attacks toward me.

Meanwhile, Luna took advantage of the opportunity to prepare a devastating attack of her own.

It was another one of her newly created spells.

She looked at me and said, "Gray, after I use this, I’ll lose most of my mana. I’m trusting you to finish the boss."

I looked at her in surprise, but ultimately nodded.

Then my expression became serious.

The entire atmosphere seemed to change as Luna began casting her new spell.

The surrounding heat gradually faded, and an intense chill spread throughout the boss room.

Luna unleashed her Ice Element to its absolute limit.

With the additional effects of her class, the result was devastating. The surrounding area began freezing rapidly.

The Fire Salamander immediately realized what was happening.

As a wave of freezing Aura spread through the room, it abandoned its attack on me and turned toward Luna.

It wanted to kill her.

The Salamander understood that her spell could weaken it considerably.

The moment it turned away, my eyes darkened.

I used Abyssal Energy to enhance my body to its maximum and gathered every ounce of strength I had.

Then I teleported directly toward it and delivered a devastating punch.

The impact was tremendous.

The Salamander was sent crashing toward the ground.

I immediately teleported close to its head, plunged Eclipse into it, and released my Ice Aura.

With Luna’s domain-like spell covering the area and my own Ice Power attacking its head, the boss didn’t even have time to resist.

Its brain froze, and its lifeless body finally collapsed to the ground.

I didn’t bother looking at the dead Salamander any longer. Instead, I teleported toward Luna.

"How are you holding up?"

She smiled and replied, "It’s the first time I’ve used that spell. Its effects weren’t exactly what I imagined, but it’s not bad."

I smiled as I noticed how exhausted she was after using nearly all her mana.

"That’s amazing! It has a lot of potential."

Luna nodded.

"Hmm. I’ve always liked the concept of domains. I know that creating a proper domain requires reaching S-Rank, but I still managed to create a miniature version of one."

I smiled at that.

"Hmm, I wonder..."

She looked at me in surprise.

"What are you wondering about?"

I smirked.

"I’m wondering whether you like domains or the icy effects they produce. After all, Ice is your favorite element."

She smiled as well.

"Hmm, you could say both. I like the idea of an Ice Domain. When I become an S-Ranker, I’ll create the most beautiful Ice Domain in this world!"

I looked at her as her eyes practically glowed with excitement.

However, the next moment, she suddenly collapsed.

Before she could hit the ground, I caught her.

I looked at her with worry.

"Luna! What’s wrong? What’s happening to you?"

She looked at me while I held her.

Her expression showed discomfort as she replied, "I don’t know either. When I tried to recover my mana, all of it was absorbed. I don’t have even a single drop left."

I immediately checked her condition with my perception.

That’s when I noticed something strange.

All the mana in her body had gathered in one place and was being absorbed by something inside her.

Then one of my Shadow Guards appeared beside me and spoke.

"Young Master, this is bad."

My head immediately turned toward her.

"What do you mean?"

She explained, "The princess is undergoing an awakening. If we don’t provide her with the proper resources, her body might reject the awakening or attempt to consume her life force instead. If that happens..."

My eyes widened.

I nodded.

"Okay, I understand the rest. I’ve already read about this and learned enough from my sister."

"If her life force is affected, I’ll take care of it. I’ll supply my own."

The Shadow Guard’s eyes widened.

Even Luna’s eyes widened.

"Hey, Gray..."

I simply shook my head and tapped her forehead.

"What are you worried about? I’m practically immortal. My Abyssal Power can absorb other people’s life force, and in the future, I can use Devour to do the same."

Only then did Luna let out a sigh of relief.

I turned toward the Shadow Guards and ordered, "Keep an eye on the dungeon. Inform me immediately if any monsters approach."

They nodded.

They couldn’t use offensive magic inside the dungeon because of its rank restrictions, but scouting was perfectly fine.

As for fighting with physical strength, the dungeon would still punish them if they violated its rank restrictions.

Then I created a platform using Space Magic and carefully laid Luna down on it.

I began thinking about what resources I should provide to help her awakening proceed smoothly.

However, I didn’t know what she was going to awaken into.

So I brought out several items I’d won from duels and received from my family.

I practically had an entire treasury with me. There were different kinds of blood essences, powerful monster cores, and rare herbs that many people would risk their lives to obtain.

I placed everything beside her and allowed her to choose.

"I don’t know exactly what you need, but from what I’ve read, these things can help with awakening."

"And if you can’t absorb them yourself, just tell me. I can transfer their energy directly into you."

I looked at her with genuine worry.

I really didn’t know what else to do.

But I couldn’t simply stand there and watch her suffer. I had to do something.

Then Luna spoke.

"Can you absorb this monster core and supply me with its Ice Power? I need that the most. I feel like it’s my physique that’s awakening."

I nodded so quickly that I almost looked ridiculous.

An SSS-Rank monster core appeared in my hand.

Luna’s eyes widened.

"Hey, you idiot! If you absorb that, you’ll die!"

I simply shook my head and used Devour on the core, extracting its pure SSS-Rank energy before supplying it directly to her.

"I’ll supply it little by little."

"Since you can convert it into Ice Aura, and your constitution is stronger in that aspect than mine, you should be able to absorb it more effectively."

She nodded weakly.

My heart ached as I saw her in this condition.

However, I didn’t lose focus.

I concentrated completely on transferring the energy.

Even a tiny amount of SSS-Rank energy was dangerous. It wasn’t something to be handled carelessly.

Fortunately, I first absorbed the energy into my own body, made sure it was stable, and only then transferred an even smaller amount to Luna.

But something unexpected happened.

The moment her body came into contact with the energy, Luna immediately converted it into pure Ice Aura.

She left some of it in its original form, but the rest was absorbed by her physique like a hungry monster.

As soon as the energy was consumed, I supplied her with more.

The items surrounding her also began reacting, and her physique started absorbing their energy as well.

I noticed which items were reacting and ordered one of my Shadow Guards to bring them closer.

Then I used Devour as before, extracting their essence and transferring it directly into her body.

If someone else were doing this, they would probably have to consume the items or absorb their energy manually.

But I wasn’t going to let that happen when I could do it more efficiently and safely.

I wanted Luna’s awakening to proceed as smoothly as possible.

Her new physique was like a black hole, devouring everything it could absorb.

Luna looked at my worried and serious expression as I continued supplying her with energy. She could easily absorb everything I provided.

She felt a strange sense of comfort.

And because she already trusted me so deeply, she closed her eyes and focused entirely on her awakening.