He sprinted across the chamber, boots sliding on ash and melted stone. The heat was unbearable, burning his lungs with each breath. His vision narrowed to a single point—the exposed vents beneath the Queen's thorax, glowing blue amid the red.
She sensed him coming. Her head whipped around, mandibles clicking. Too late.
Garna roared from the opposite side, drawing the Queen's attention for the crucial second Frank needed. Tace lunged forward with his bent spear, jabbing at her front legs. Auri's final arrow struck true—directly into one of the Queen's compound eyes.
Frank reached the vents.
He didn't hesitate. He didn't think. His body moved on pure instinct, the motions burned into muscle memory.
『Twin Fang Draw → Piercing Fang Chain Activated』
First—two quick slashes across the exposed vent, metal screaming against chitin.
Second—he pivoted on his heel, the blade whipping around in a tight arc, following the seam he had just opened.
Third—the thrust. Clean. Precise. He put his entire body weight behind the blade as it punched through the weakened plates and into the Queen's core.
The reaction was immediate and catastrophic.
The Queen's body convulsed, internal flame surging through cracked seams. Light flashed from within—orange to white in an instant. Her scream this time was different—desperate, primal, ending in a strangled hiss as her core began to rupture.
Frank wrenched his blade free and ran.
The chamber floor cracked beneath his feet as he sprinted for cover. The Queen's body was coming apart—plates separating, flame erupting from every joint. Her legs collapsed beneath her, abdomen pitched forward.
Then she exploded.
Fire swept across the room in a blinding wave. Frank threw himself behind a fractured pillar, arms covering his head as heat washed over him. The sound hit like physical force—stone cracking, flame roaring, the Queen's final scream cut short.
Then silence.
Steam hissed softly as the inferno began to die. The chamber's oppressive heat faded gradually, the air cooling enough to breathe again.
『Boss Defeated: Firefang Queen (C-Rank)』
『XP Gained: +152』
『Bonus XP: Final Strike』
『Stat Points Earned: +8』
『Level Progress: 137/150』
『Skill Proficiency: Twin Fang Draw +10%, Piercing Fang +8%』
Frank stayed behind the pillar, lungs heaving, skin slick with sweat and blood. His sword arm trembled slightly—adrenaline ebbing, pain rushing in to fill the void.
"Status?" Tace's voice carried across the chamber.
"Alive," Garna grunted from somewhere to the left.
"Standing," Auri added, coughing once.
Mik didn't speak, but his silhouette emerged through the thinning steam, one hand raised in acknowledgment.
Frank pushed himself upright, his legs protesting the movement. "Confirmed kill."
He stepped back into the chamber's center, where the Queen's body lay in ruins. Her carapace had shattered into dozens of pieces, some still glowing from residual heat. The core—a pulsing organ of crystallized flame—sat exposed amid the wreckage, its light dimming by the second.
Tace approached, spear held loosely at his side. His armor was scorched black in places, skin reddened beneath tears in his coat, but his eyes remained clear.
"C-Rank," he said, not asking. "That wasn't the rank on the posting."
Frank nodded once. "System flagged it during the fight. Rank fluctuation."
"Explains a lot." Tace turned to survey the remains, professional instinct taking over despite their exhaustion. "Start salvage before it cools. Anything that still glows is worth credits."
The team moved with practiced efficiency, despite their injuries. Garna used her sword to pry apart larger pieces of chitin. Auri collected flame residue in specialized vials. Mik, with his arm still hanging awkwardly, used his good hand to extract smaller components from the wreckage.
Frank approached the core. It pulsed once as he neared, the light responding to his presence. Without hesitation, he wrapped it in a heat-resistant cloth from his pack and secured it in his inventory.
『+1: Inferno Core (Rare) — Inventory Updated』
『+2: Flame Sac (Intact) — Inventory Updated』
『+3: Chitin Armor Fragment (Heat-Fused) — Inventory Updated』
『+1: Molten Memory Shard (Unknown) — Inventory Updated』
He stepped back, allowing the others to claim their share. No one protested his taking the core—an unspoken acknowledgment of his killing blow.
Tace approached as they finished, wiping soot from his face with the back of his hand.
"For an F-Rank, you fight like a C," he said, the closest thing to praise Frank had heard from him.
Frank sheathed his sword, feeling the weight of the Mercurial Cut settle comfortably against his hip. "Just used what I had."
Tace's mouth twitched—almost a smile. "Next time, try sharing your plan before diving under a fire god."
"Wasn't sure it would work."
Tace glanced at the Queen's shattered remains. "It worked."
The chamber had cooled enough that their breath no longer steamed in the air. The walls' glow had faded from dull red to nothing. Only the Queen's core, wrapped and secured in Frank's inventory, still radiated significant heat.
As they gathered their gear and prepared to leave, Frank opened his system interface once more. Notifications scrolled past—experience gained, items cataloged, skill proficiency updated. But his focus settled on the core's estimated value:
『Inferno Core (Rare) — Est. Value: 15,000-20,000 AC』
Not bad for an afternoon's work.
Tace called from the tunnel entrance. "Moving out."
Frank closed his interface with a flick of his wrist, mentally calculating the market for fire-resistant gear that could be crafted from their haul. The memory shard alone might fetch a premium from the right buyer.
"You're not just a trader anymore," Tace remarked as Frank joined them at the exit.
Frank felt the weight of his inventory—potions sold, core acquired, profit secured.
"No," he replied, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. "But I'm going to sell this like one."
They left the chamber behind, walking back toward daylight with measured steps. Behind them, the Queen's remains cooled to ash, and the dungeon grew quiet once more.