The boss stood in another cavern just down from where we came from. The backside of the cavern was entirely caved in, leaving half of it buried in rubble. Lucia tugged on my hand, pulling me back. “Is that it?”

  The boss itself looked human… kinda. Most of his face was blocked by a porcelain mask, like that of a doll. Bulbous flaps of flesh arced alongside the mask, as if slowly seeking to cover it. Tumorous growths of flesh grotesquely poked out of the eye and mouth holes.

  No telling how much was left under all the contamination. My best guess? Not much. He stood over a dead Faceless, slowly stabbing it again and again and again with his bayonet. He seemed to be stuck, looping the last thoughts he ever consciously had. He hadn’t fully fallen into it if there was still that level of control, but it was only a matter of time. Already fatal, I’m afraid.

  The man wore a fancy tailcoat that was ripped in several places. Plate armor covered his clothes, pressed out and warped thanks to massive swelling across his entire body. And, of course, he had a rather ornate musket in his hands tipped with a bayonet. He was the boss of this place: the Muffled Musketeer.

  I checked my shield and sword and then nodded to Lucia. “…?”

  “Y-yeah. I’m ready… is there anything I should know?” Lucia clenched the mk5 in her hands and twisted it around.

  “Dodge?” I patted her shoulder, pulling some of my Ebonshroud out. It flowed from me, disappearing into her clothes without her noticing. Insurance just in case something went wrong.

  “That’s so helpful…” The teenager muttered under her breath. “Ready.”

  I glanced over her one last time and then darted out into the cavern. As soon as I crossed a certain threshold, the Muffled Musketeer snapped to attention. He pulled the musket out of the corpse and aimed at me. Ether pulled around the barrel-

  Bang!

  A bullet of pure ether shot out at me. I already had my shield up though, following the trajectory of the musket’s barrel. I used Etheric Reinforcement and easily tanked the shot. It didn’t even get through the ether shroud. Should I say as expected of an F-rank?

  “Mmmpph!” The boss backed away from me and gathered ether in his musket once more. I didn’t let him outpace me, charging forward without any hesitations-

  Rat-tat-tat!

  Behind me, Lucia finally got involved in the fight. She fired a burst right past me. Most of her shots slammed into the wall, but one of them hit the boss in its bulbous flesh. Rotten blood poured out in waves. The wound was just as quickly covered up by a rapid growth of flesh.

  I slammed my shield into the musket, knocking it to the side. Just before I could slash forward and deal a heavy blow, the boss’s feet glowed with ether. It jumped, creating an instant gap between us using some kind of Skill. It’s fine though. I was just playing distraction for Lucia to do most of the work.

  Although it could make a gap between us, it couldn’t do the same with Lucia. Another couple bursts slammed into the boss. This time, it was ready though. Ether flowed from it, enhancing the defensive properties of its flesh. Ether Physique, the Skill we were here to get. The boss’s speed and strength also spike rapidly.

  The Arcanite bullets still did some damage, easily piercing through its flesh and armor. It didn’t do as much damage as it used to though. Ether Physique provided it just enough of a defensive boost.

  It flew toward me with a Bayonet Charge. I met its charge with a slap of my shield, easily parrying the bayonet-

  Bang!

  “…!”

  An ether shot fired from the parried musket, lancing straight toward Lucia. I underestimated whatever intelligence was left in the Muffled Musketeer and fell for its trap. A true warrior, even steeped in heavy contamination, was still a warrior. I should know that better than anyone.

  The Ebonshroud I put onto Lucia immediately activated like a sleeper cell, flowing over her to tank the shot. She staggered back, but otherwise looked unharmed. She stumbled into the wall, gasping for air. “I-I’m- ugh- fine.”

  I slammed my shield forward, breaking the creature’s arm. Before it could disengage, I stabbed down with my sword in the same motion, skewering its foot into the ground. My Ebonshroud shield shifted subtly, forming a spike in its center. I slammed forward repeatedly into its chest while the boss struggled to get away.

  The Muffled Musketeer’s paltry armor shattered under my blows. It staggered back, falling to the ground in a pool of rotten blood. The sword ripped through its foot entirely, giving it some level of freedom. It used its escape Skill once more, though only went half the distance with a torn foot.

  The boss twitched and fidgeted, dropping to its knees. Something in it seemed to shift. The boss reached up, tearing off its porcelain mask with clawed hands. It- no, he ripped and tore at the overgrown flesh covering his face. Masses of gore dropped to his feet around him. Blood flowed freely from his the self inflicted injuries, dripping to the floor.

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  His eyes and mouth appeared through the torn apart flesh, drowning in blood. There was a resolve in them that gave me pause in my pursuit. It fought against the overwhelming madness that drove the contaminated man to mindlessly attack anything that approached.

  “Zor-then, k-knight of T-Tralles.” The Muffled Mu- Zorthen’s voice was guttural and broken, sounding as though his throat was clogged with flesh. The language wasn’t one that I recognized. He lifted his musket into a salute.

  Before anything, I checked on Lucia one more time. She looked a little frazzled, but otherwise alright. As long as she was safe, thats all that mattered. I slammed my sword to my chest just above my heart, holding it at a perfect vertical angle. “Aylin. Abyss of. Serhymm.”

  He dropped his musket to the ground and took a stance. I likewise dropped low, holding my sword and shield at the ready. A knight’s resolve was never something to be taken lightly. Especially not when he fought tooth and nail to overcome the miasma warping and destroying him. I’d give him one last honor. Not that it’d even matter. This was just a copy of the long dead original.

  We moved at the same time. Zorthen charged, firing a shot to force a block and get me into his tempo. I, instead, threw my shield forward at him and tanked the shot. The ether bullet was caught by a thin layer of Etheric Reinforced Ebonshroud, plinking harmlessly to the ground.

  Zorthen flipped backward, grotesque flesh making the move slower than it would’ve been in his prime. It was still adequate enough to dodge my tossed shield. It didn’t matter though. I wasn’t planning on hitting him with it in the first place. It was more of a distraction to hide my true motives then anything.

  I darted froward into a simple stab. He tried to dodge to the side, but I was already prepared for it. My Ether Reinforced Will Wire wrapped around his legs, holding him still. In one last attempt, he drew a dagger and stabbed forward to catch me.

  I slammed into him like a freight train, ether shrouded sword going in to the hilt. It rammed through his fleshy mass, skewering right through whatever was left of his heart. His dagger slammed into my side, shattering harmlessly against an Ebonshroud layer thrown up at the last moment.

  Zorthen grabbed onto the blade, staring at me through the mass of flesh slowly regrowing over his eyes. “Thank… you…”

  He dropped, sliding off my sword. I stared down at the dead boss. Honestly, there wasn’t really a point to honor in repeating rifts. They were frozen snapshots, and everything in here was just a copy of what once was. The true Zorthen was long dead before we even entered this rift, likely killed by the first people to raid this place. It was a bit of a sad thought, but…

  I flicked my sword to the side and then moved back to check on Lucia. She was leaned against the wall, rubbing at her chest. “Okay?”

  “Y-yeah, I think. Knocked the air out of me.” She pushed herself up, wincing slightly. “Is it over?”

  “Yep.” I looked down at the fallen knight. The bulbous flesh still twitched, but he definitely wasn’t alive anymore. Was it like the twitching of a snake’s body long after it was decapitated?

  Lucia looked away, her eyes squeezing shut. She leaned on me and covered her eyes. ”I think I’m going to be sick. Again.”

  [Code: RC-0]

  [Rift: Open - 29:59]

  “What language was that?” She nodded to the dead man still twitching.

  “…?” I shrugged. Genuinely had no idea. All-Speech for the win, once more. I was so glad I listened to Elysia back when she tried to convince me to learn it. I couldn’t even imagine where I’d be without it.

  Ether condensed around the body. It fully dissipated, and a book formed in mid-air. I was worried we’d have to grind a bunch to get it, but it looked like the reward I wanted dropped the first time.

  [Skill Tome: Ether Physique]

  [“And so there were those, blessed as they be, whose very bodies resonated with ether.”]

  [Ether Physique - Greatly strengthen your body with ether.]

  I passed the book to Lucia. “Take it.”

  Lucia stared at me without taking it. ”Are- are you sure? This seems really useful? Especially to you! You’re the frontline.”

  “I’m good.” Ether Physique and Etheric Reinforcement overlapped in effect. Might be able to resonate, now that I thought about it, but I could always come back and kill the Muffled Musketeer till it dropped again. Boosting Lucia’s survival chances was more important, especially with her going up against the board soon.

  She hesitated a few more moments before taking the Skill Tome. It vanished with a flash when she learned it. Ether pulsated throughout her body, much weaker than the Faceless Knight, but that’d fix itself with time.

  [Skill: Brace]

  [Accept?]

  [Skill: Guard]

  [Accept?]

  I went ahead and accepted both of them. No point in leaving them since I had empty slots. I could always get rid of them later for better stuff. Who knew? They might even prove to be useful Skills.

  [Aylin Io

  Innate Trait: [Dream Stride], [Ebonshroud], [All-Speech]

  Skills: [Etheric Reinforcement - 3], [Brace], [Guard]

  Star: Nighteye - [Guiding Moonlight]

  Bound: [Will Wire]]

  Lucia tugged on my hand lightly. “Aylin, I got a few different Skills. What should I take?”

  “…?”

  ”Oh, right.” She tilted her head, staring off into the distance. “Um- is there a way to share info?”

  “No idea.” I shrugged. I probably had less time as an awakened then she did. It did seem like quite the useful function.

  After a few moments, the OS chimed mechanically in my head.

  [Skill: Cower]

  [Skill: Guns]

  [Skill: Ether Shot]

  Wow… Cower as a Skill? Did she even cower all that much? I thought she did rather good… then again, she did stick behind me most of the time. Too bad I couldn’t read their descriptions. “All?”

  “Well… yeah, but I wanted to know what you thought?” She shrugged.

  ”Good start.” Guns and Ether Shot would probably pair together. Although I didn’t recognize Cower, Guns boosted damage with, well, guns. Ether Shot condensed ether into a bullet, similar to what the musketeer was doing. “Cower?”

  [Cower - Hide behind your companions, appearing less threatening.]

  Ah, an agro management skill. Not bad to have. Enemies would be more likely to attack me then her if we were together. We wouldn’t have a repeat of what happened here. I mentally beat myself over the head with a mace. Things had just been so easy recently that I let my guard down like an idiot.

  ”That was… interesting.” She sighed tiredly, rubbing a hand down her face. “Heh, my arms are numb. I’m so ready for a nap.”

  “...” I flashed a thumbs up to her. She did surprisingly good for her first rift. Some stuff to work on, like dodging, but that could be learned somewhere safer.

  ”Thanks, Aylin.” A weary smile lit up her face. She shakily ran a hand through her hair. “Couldn’t have done it without you. Seriously carried this whole raid on your back.”

  ”…”

  She seemed to find some reserve of energy once we left the cavern. “Let’s get out of here? I’m so ready to take a shower and lie down for a couple days.”

  Maybe we could stop and get coffee on the way back? Ugh- wait, actually, never mind. Lucia might not appreciate it after what happened when she first entered. I’d just have to go get some by myself once we get back.