Crystalize

Hitoshi wasn't the king of dryads for nothing. If Neto lost concentration for even a second, countless vines would surely pierce him, or the unstable ceiling would crush him.

"LEVI, PROTECT MY PEOPLE!"

Using gestures and incantations simultaneously... this dryad could cast two spells at the same time?!!!

RUMBLE!!!

Roots boiled from the surface of the ground, wrapping around Ume and Fumiko, before twisting their bodies upward, expanding into monstrous trees that pierced the roof of the cavern. Magic resistant protection.

Even though Hitoshi was covered in sweat from stamina pot overuse, and was likely too drunk to think coherently, he still had the instinct to preserve his kin.

CRACK! POP! SNAP!

Branches pierced the ceiling, destabilizing it further.

'Is that bastard trying to crush us both??'

Just one more problem to worry about.

"DIE!!" Hitoshi screamed.

A flower with purple petals plopped out of the ground in front of Neto, growing to match his height and releasing a cloud of spores. Poison!! He immediately shut his throat, sensing their danger, but that wasn't the only attack Hitoshi aimed at him.

WHIP! SHHHWWHIP!"

Vines sprung from every direction, at speeds which could easily pierce bone.

"BLEH!" Neto hacked up chunky clumps of blue-black flesh. Perhaps pieces of his lungs. He'd accidentally inhaled a few spores as he vaulted away from the projectiles.

Neto had to fight back somehow, but this relentless barrage kept him too occupied.

The initial rush of unbound entity wore off, but all that mana coursed through him still, spreading a malignant corruption. Even though his mind was clear, his limbs were filling with mud, and his joints cracked at every move.

FWWIP! WHRRR!

Hitoshi must have guessed Neto would dodge those vines, because he instantly prepared a counter. Needles grew like a thick mane across them and launched from their surface like tiny missiles. They weren't deadly, but they would certainly slow him down and make future attacks harder to deal with.

They pierced his skin like pins in a voodoo doll.

Neto knew that if he traveled too far, his organs would turn into mulch, so he opened his mana-gate to the max and unleased his most powerful blast of unbound authority yet. His entire body locked into place..

BOOOOMM!!!

That explosion ruined the last shred of stability in the cavern's ceiling. Basketball-sized chunks of limestone showered over the poor ground. Neto didnt have a choice now, he had to keep moving. The spikes in his skin felt like parasitic worms, digging towards the nutrient-rich organs hiding under his muscle.

Thankfully, Neto's last strike connected with the dryad king. His magic-resistant vines couldn't protect him against a blast as powerful as a bundle of dynamite, and dark purple blood leaked from every orifice in his body. However, he was still standing... That's when Neto noticed the vine connecting to the back of that guy's head. It was pulsating, as if it was injecting something directly into his brain.

'Dont tell me that's stamina...'

Hitoshi's eyes glazed over. He must have been a dead man walking. Only his insane willpower and stamina kept him alive enough to continue the fight...

"CHARLOTTE!! Please wake up!!" Neto pleaded.

He depleted most of the mana inside his body with that attack.The corruption slowed down, but he would surely die if he used Unbound Entity to restore it, or if he kept having to dodge this falling ceiling.

RoAr...

Neto's dragon called out to him half-heartedly. She must have been in rough shape, but just knowing she was alive filled Neto with the motivation to continue searching for a way to overcome this obstacle.

Unfortunately, [Grand Void] had other plans.

CRACK! POP! SNAP!

Blasts of nitrogen-cold air filled the cavern, and the hail of stones stopped completely. Neto looked up to see frost fill in the crackling ceiling, stabilizing the collapsing cavern. This was the dungeon's emergency-repair mechanism... It's immune system in the form of an intense weather event. A nipshift.

"Even though it's a nipshift..."

He didn't feel cold at all. Maybe since his unbound entities passive was level three, but his body could maintain homeostasis rather easily. He stoppped moving, as the falling debris ceased, and then he noticed something rather lucky.

Or rather, someone not so lucky...

"AYIII!!!" Hitoshi cried out in pain. Net looked over in his direction and saw something rather strange. His skin... was crystalizing?

"What the hell is that?"

For a second, he thought Hitoshi unlocked his second boss phase, but he knew better once [Unbound Sense] revealed the dryads flickering life-force.

Why was the nipsift effecting that dryad so terribly? That's when Neto remembered. Stamina potions caused the body to sweat terribly, something that would royally screw anyone in a flash-freeze event.

Salt and ice: a deadly combination.

"That's brutal." Neto chuckled, observing the dryad become a frozen statue in front of him.

"Wait... if the environment kills him, do I get any XP!??"

Worry dispersed Neto's relief, and he dashed over to Hitoshi who was completely encased by then, disregarding the pins poking into his liver, intestines, and lungs.

'I cant lose this XP!!'

If [Grand Void] had bosses, Hitoshi was certainly one, and a redgate boss, no less. He must hold an astounding amount of XP, Neto thought.

Opening a gate in his palm, Neto squeezed out the last drops of his mana into a drill, and swung with all of his might at the dryad's left cheek.

CRITICAL HIT!

Neto imagined that screen pop up as the Dryad's frozen head exploded into purple-green ice cubes.

A satisfying 'CRACK!' Resounded through the air, and his knuckles dyed with blood as the skin crackled and blistered from touching ultra-cold ice.

'Its over.'

Neto sighed, but his elation was short-lived. No matter how hard he breathed, he felt like he wasn't getting enough air. Sharp pains echoed through his mangled insides.

'That fight would've been over in two seconds if that guy was in peak condition. I'm nowhere near strong enough to challenge a red gate, let alone fate.'

ROOAR!!!

Charlotte snapped him out of his bitter rumination, and suddenly Neto was left without a drop of adrenaline. Cruel vividity spread like wildfire through his veins, and he instantly recognized the extent of the damage done to his body was serious. He would collapse at any moment.

"Charlotte? What are you doi-"

Before he could finish his sentence, his trustworthy dragon lunged from behind a pile of rubble, unhinged her massive jaw, and hoisted him with the fleshy mass of her tongue.

"CHARLOOTTE!!"