A Close Hit

Bob held the spear with his right hand and thrust it toward the big obsidian gem on the front of the throne.

Clang!

The spear vibrated, sending waves of pain across Bob's arm. But there was not a single scratch on the gem. Sumei's hopeful gaze turned dimmer. She looked at the other four gems, and Bob got the message.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

With each impact, the hope in her eyes reduced until it went dull. Were they truly fated to die in this dungeon? Was there no hope left for them? She knew the gargoyle would come for them when it was done with Jacob. She didn't even know if those unknown potions could help Jacob defeat the boss or survive fighting it.

Meanwhile, Bob felt the rapier in his left hand vibrate as it touched a gem on the throne's arm during his movements. He stopped as he looked between the gem and the rapier. He remembered how the boss looked at him before throwing the spear at Sumei.

Bob had a silly grin on his face.

***

Jacob's forehead was covered in sweat. His front torso was covered in a thin layer of blood. Scars of all sizes covered his chest. The two big wounds slowly bled with each big step he took. But the Boss of Four Deaths didn't give him time to rest.

He stepped back when it tried to pierce his other kidney. When it attempted to pierce his heart, he tried to parry. It even tried to gouge out his eyes. Each attack was lethal, aimed at the vital points. Jacob's body was nearly emptied of strength. His muscles ached, and the aftereffects of the rage potion left him empty.

'Only one minute till their effects disappear.'

His heart felt dread for the first time. While his body tried to match the monster before him, his mind was elsewhere. He had little hope of defeating the monster right now. His chances of turning into a corpse were higher than his teammates awakening and returning to save him.

As he thought about the fact that this time he may face death and be unable to return, he felt regret. He was not sad that he didn't become the strongest hunter with his system, nor that he let down his teammates. He had tried his best. Jacob knew that.

But the regret came in waves as he thought about his father. The tough man cared about him, although his career as a hunter was crippled. He knew that in the accident back then, Peter could escape. His enhanced body made him capable.

But he didn't do it. He saved the weakest family member. Then he was the first to reach Jacob's fainted body as uncontrolled mana ravaged it. He went to his wife the last. Peter carried her fainted body with his two children as the blood left his thigh since his leg was severed.

Jacob felt regret at being unable to prove that he was no longer a weakling. He wanted to scream that he had hoped to wake up his mother by becoming an A-Rank hunter. A feeling of emptiness assaulted his body. His speed slowed as pain flooded his nervous system.

The gargoyle before him didn't miss the chance. It knew that slight cuts it made had limited effects on its opponent's body. So it quickly punched Jacob beside his open chest wound. It cracked his ribs, and they punctured his lungs. It compressed his heart as he flew back outside the door under the bright sun.

"Aa.."

Jacob's mouth opened as he tried to breathe in. But it felt like his lungs had vanished. His body went into shock as he had lost too much blood. His ribs compressed his heart, and his heart stopped beating momentarily.

His life flashed by his eyes as the gargoyle exited the door. It looked at his body, then went right towards the side door to its throne room. Jacob's body was completely spent. He tried summoning some strength to breathe, move, and stand up. He knew others couldn't take a blow from the monster.

'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!'

His eyes turned red as their arteries expanded with his immense effort. Nothing seemed to respond to him. But as he was about to give up, he felt a different power. It was not something that seemed to exist in the physical realm. He felt it was not present on Earth.

Jacob tried to feel it and noticed it flow across his blood vessels and enter his brain. He tried to influence that energy. His will was the highest it had ever been summoned that energy residing in his body. To his surprise, it responded.

He directed it towards his heart, and a second later, it began beating slowly. He directed it toward his lungs, and two seconds later, he began breathing. Jacob felt his concentration loosening. But he shook his head to remain awake and focused on the energy.

'It's less as if healing me consumed this energy.'

He focused on his will. The energy traveled through his blood vessels towards his exposed wounds. His focus was then on the skin. A few seconds later, his open wounds closed. Apart from his bloody body, nothing seemed wrong. As Jacob stood up again, he touched the newly repaired skin and realized it felt hollow.

'Looks like it repaired my skin like I wanted. I'll wait for the inside to recover after going out of this hellhole.'

Jacob saw that the Boss of Four Deaths was about to enter the throne room a few seconds later. He looked into his body and realized less than 50% of that energy remained.

'Go to my right hand.'

After some practice, he had gotten better at controlling his energy. It obeyed his command and entered his hand. As it passed through each muscle fiber, a feeling of strength welled up inside him.

Jacob held his sword and willed that energy to enter it. He used the strength of his entire body and accurately threw his sword toward the gargoyle as if it were a spear. The giant sword shone light blue and pierced through the gargoyle's body like butter.

Before Jacob could understand how his sword got so strong, the surrounding air surged toward him.

Jacob began feeling confused about why he was attracting all the wind. His eyes widened as a special power seeped into him every instant the wind blew against his body. But he could no longer continue thinking. Immense heaviness assaulted his mind. He only thought of one word before falling flat on his face.

'Mana?'

***

"I think the rapier will work."

Crack!

Sumei's eyes widened in shock as Bob struck with the rapier towards an obsidian gem.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The life and death struggle suddenly seemed like a joke. Sumei's heart began beating with such great joy she couldn't help but jump at Bob and hug him tight.

Bob froze in his place. Despite being a newbie, he seemed so confident and courageous in front of deadly monsters. But the joyful hug of a young girl reaching just above his waist looked as if someone had petrified him.

Sumei woke up from her joy and looked at Bob's frozen face. Her ears and cheek turned as red as a ripe apple.

"L-let's go back and see if it worked!" She stuttered, then ran down the staircase that led towards the throne.

Boom!

The sound woke Bob up from his frozen state, and he looked at the entrance. Sumei froze in her tracks as the gargoyle standing in front of the entrance turned to look toward them. But they saw Bob's sword poking out of its chest as it turned.

Its limbs stopped moving as it fell forward. Before it touched the ground, it made a great effort and fell on its back, facing the sky.

The duo saw it remained still and didn't vanish. They knew it was still alive. Sumei's face contorted in rage as she remembered how much physical and mental torture this monster had given them. She put her hand towards Bob and shook it. Bob remained still, confused.

"The spear!" she growled.

Her current image differed greatly from a moment ago, and even Bob flinched at the vibes she gave off. He knew she was not strong enough to defeat him. But the danger she gave off was not physical. It directly affected his mind.

He quickly approached her and handed her the Boss of Four Death's spear. Sumei's hand instantly sank, and she had to use her other hand to barely carry the giant spear. Her rage grew as she had nearly made a fool out of herself. She directed it all towards the boss and approached it.

As the footsteps of its killer approached, the boss spoke.

"Human. You ants have miraculously defeated me. But your kind will still perish. Your world will still fall. You have no idea what you are up against. You will fa-"

Putch!

"Shut up!" Sumei screamed as the spearhead pierced the monster's mouth. She lifted the spear once again and looked into the calm eyes of the monster. "Why did you come over? You're not even the boss? Why the heck do you want to kill us? Do you know how difficult it was for me to-"

Sumei choked while shouting. She held back her tears as her fury raged. Bob's heart was heavy as he approached and saw her destroy the gargoyle's face in another blow.

"Do you know how difficult it was for me to come this far? With no financial help, with parents that do not understand me, and with a younger sibling who idolizes me. Do you know?"

She sobbed as she knelt. Bob stood beside her and learned more about her. As he thought of the words to console her, she fell to the side and went silent.

***

"The mana levels have settled down," Adam commented in front of the dungeon entrance. His face remained somber, wondering if his students were victorious or the dungeon got to them.

Jake was back in his military pants, vest, and t-shirt, whose sleeves waved with the wind. His free hands held a cigar as he calmed down his tense nerves. He remained silent as he wondered the same thing as his friend. He even wondered if letting his friend's students use this dungeon was the right choice.

The black portal door at the entrance of the dungeon rippled. A big bleeding leg stepped out then the big man carrying two people appeared. As the exhausted man looked at Adam, a relieved smile formed on his bloody face.

"Sir-"

The man's words were cut short as the adrenaline rush faded, and he fell forward. But his body didn't squish the lady he was holding his arms, nor did the young man on his back fall.

Jake supported him while Adam took hold of Sumei under him. A sincere smile bloomed on his face as he said two words.

"Welcome back."

***

Jacob woke up seeing a familiar white ceiling. He didn't even know what to feel for a moment. Hadn't he recently promised that he would get stronger and not get back to this place?

But as the feeling of déjà vu faded, an immense feeling of gratitude rose in him. His eyes turned wet, and his nose felt stuffy. The feeling of safety and being alive was something he had always taken for granted. But today, when he returned from the jaws of death, he finally realized its value.

'It's priceless.'