'A single spike trap wouldn't do it.'
A small barrier wouldn't hold either.
'Screw the blueprints!'
I knew I needed something more, so I poured my will into the space between the party and the cataclysm before them.
I envisioned the Safe Zone, not as a dome, but as a shield.
A concentrated, layered wall of pure defensive energy, reinforced with the physical property of the hardest stone I could conceptualize: Adamantium.
[ "Invoking Conceptual Creation: Defensive Barrier through the guidance of the Assistance System." ]
[Stability Check… Passed.]
[ "Channeling 15 Creation Units. Remaining CU: 70." ]
A shimmering, multi-layered wall of interlocking green and grey light erupted from the floor, a last bastion against the approaching inferno.
The Basilisk spat its overcharged flames as the world turned white.
A torrent of incandescent lava and pure thermal energy slammed into my barrier, the impact wave almost rearranging my insides.
The unbearable sound was the end of the world.
The green light flared, then dimmed, the grey stone sublimating under the heat for more than a moment.
For three agonizing seconds, it held, a miracle of improvised architecture against the dungeon's wrath... but the impact still strained each bone in my body.
Then, finally, it failed.
Still, it had absorbed the core of the blast.
The critical danger was avoided.
The remaining wave of force and heat threw us all backward, but it was survivable.
The ground was scorched, battered, but alive.
Our captain, who had taken the majority of the impact with his enchanted armor and protective skills, was also fine, withonly some irreversible damage present on his expansive-looking gear.
Through the dissipating steam and fading light, Kaela's final arrow, launched the moment the barrier fell, found its mark.
It wasn't a fancy attack.
It was a simple arrow of cold-forged steel, and it flew straight into the Basilisk's primary eye just as it had exhausted itself.
The creature let out a deafening, gurgling shriek.
Captain Borin, once again, seizing the moment, charged through the fading embers, his entire body a weapon on its own.
He leaped, bringing his massive energy-covered sword down in a final, executioner's arc onto the beast's skull with a sickening, terminal CRUNCH.
"Skaaaaaaaa... trrrr..."
The Ember-Maw Basilisk shuddered, its immense body slumping forward, half in, half out of the lava pool.
The fierce light in its eyes, while watching the ones who brought its end, died, and it lay still, a mountain of a defeated monster.
For a long moment, the only sound was the ragged gasping of the five adventurers.
-Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrre...
Then, on the far side of the chamber, a new archway swirled to life, its light a calm, steady blue— the new semi-permanent path to the second floor, now unlocked.
I fell to the ground, gasping for air to calm myself down.
Captain Borin, leaning on his sword, turned his head.
His gaze found mine, who was pushing herself up from the ground, my body aching but my spirit still blazing.
I hadn't let my guard down just yet. You know how it's in those Hollywood Jurassic movies... just when you think it's over, a new one comes out to bite you up your ass.
"Haaaa..." But I was still extremely exhausted.
"That wall…" he panted just like the rest of us, his voice full of a kind of awe he usually might have reserved for legendary artifacts. "That was not on your character sheet, Miss."
Looking at him using an unconventional term, I managed a weak, triumphant grin, wiping soot from my face. "I'm… full of surprises..."
Finn was already moving towards the colossal corpse, a wide-eyed look of appraisal on his face... the ungrateful bastard didn't even thank me for saving his damn life.
"Incredible… the hide, the scales, the fangs… the Association will pay a fortune for an intact specimen ! We need to get a harvesting team down here!"
"Umm…" Hearing him suddenly talk about a harvest team, I interjected, stepping forward with still weak steps.
All eyes turned to me. "About that. We might not need a team."
I could understand them not wanting me to use my material collection skill on a boss monster, but having people down here would take too long.
We did not have that kind of spare time, now did we? Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novｅlfire.net
Captain Borin instantly frowned. "It's too big to drag out, girl. We'll have to section it here, and it'll be a messy, hours-long—"
I didn't let him finish.
Explaining would take too long, so I just walked right up to the massive, still-warm head of the Basilisk and placed a single hand on its somewhat cooler snout.
Then, closing my eyes, accessing a part of my skills I hadn't needed to use for something this large before, I wondered.
[ "Do you want to store the Ember-Maw Basilisk Corpse in {Pocket Space}?" ]
[ "Of course you can..." ]
"Then what are we waiting for?"
The air around the basilisk wavered. Then, in the blink of an eye, the entire sixty-foot-long leviathan… vanished.
One moment, it was a hulking mass of monster flesh and scale; the next, the space it occupied was empty, save for a few dripping bits of lava.
The silence that followed was even more profound than the one after the battle.
Finn's jaw was on the floor. Kaela had lowered her bow, her sharp eyes wide with utter disbelief.
Captain Borin just stared at the empty spot... then slowly, very slowly, turned his head to look at me.
"You…" Finn stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the void where their fortune had been. "You… you just… where did you…?"
I couldn't help my grin as I smiled sweetly, patting the now-empty space before us. "Don't worry. It's in a safe place. Very… pocket-sized, safe, personal space."
I also winked at the only other lady staring at me. "We can divvy up the spoils once we're back in the city. I promise it'll remain… fresh."
Borin, after closely observing me, let out a long, slow breath that seemed to carry the weight of twenty years of dungeon delving with it.
He looked at me not as a rookie, not as a support, but as a force of nature he was only just beginning to comprehend.
'Now I understand why she chose her over the others...'
I could tell what he was thinking, but I simply caught my baby Qwy, who watched the entire battle from a safer place, grabbing Cass and hugging him together with her.
He simply shook his head, a gesture of pure, unadulterated surrender.
Then, as the party stood in the aftermath, catching their breath before the glowing gateway to the next great unknown, a series of messages, visible only to me, bloomed in my vision.
[You have overcome a Dungeon Boss through architectural ingenuity and creative problem-solving.]
[Architect EXP (+200)!]
[New Blueprint has been Unlocked: Improvised Barrier (Novice).]
I looked up from my stunned party members to the serene blue portal. The first major 'exam' was over.
We had, against the presented odds, passed the trial.
And the curriculum ahead of us... looked more fascinating than ever.