Floor nine passed in a blur of coordinated violence. They used the phalanx formation against the armored skeletons, Lina picking off the archers while Gray repaired the shields that took bone-cracking hits. By the time they reached the stairwell to Floor 10, everyone had burned through half their consumables.
The temperature dropped twenty degrees at the threshold.
"Climate control magic," Ella whispered. Her breath fogged in the air. "Void school. It sucks the heat out of the room to power the caster's shielding."
"Line of sight issue," Allen noted. He pointed at the thick shadows pooling around the pillars. "If it's using shadows for cover, we need illumination."
Ella raised her staff. A ball of white light bloomed at the tip, pushing back the darkness. The shadows didn't vanish—they retreated, coiling like living things around the edges of the room.
The chamber opened into a cathedral of stone. Black pillars rose to a ceiling lost in darkness. At the center stood a figure in tattered robes, its face obscured by a hood, its hands glowing with violet energy.
[Shadowmancer][Level 15][Class: Void Sorcerer]****[Threat Level: High]
It turned. The face beneath the hood wasn't flesh—it was smoke, swirling and reforming, eyes like burning coals.
"Mortals," it said. The voice came from everywhere at once. "You bring light to the darkness. How... quaint."
Allen activated Threat Assessment. The data poured in—weaknesses, patterns, mechanics. "Line of sight required for spells," he read aloud. "It needs to see us to target us. But it can teleport between shadows."
"Then we control the shadows," Lina said. She drew an Armor Piercing arrow.
The Shadowmancer raised its hand. Violet light lanced out, cracking against Gray's shield. The dwarf grunted, sliding backward across the stone, her HP dropping to eighty percent.
"First phase!" Allen shouted. "Ella, counter!"
The elf raised her staff. "Dispel!" Blue light washed over the chamber. The shadows shrieked, recoiling, and the Shadowmancer's next spell fizzled into harmless sparks.
"Now!" Allen ordered. "Lina, main DPS! Gray, flank left!"
Lina fired. The arrow punched through the Shadowmancer's shoulder, dissipating smoke instead of blood. It hissed, teleporting to a shadow twenty feet away.
"Shadow hop!" Allen called. "It's using the pillars!"
The boss appeared behind Will, violet energy crackling around its fingers. The militiaman barely raised his shield in time. The blast sent him sprawling, his HP dropping to forty.
"Will's down!" Jonas shouted.
"Not dead," Will gasped. "Just... winded."
Allen checked his MP. Sixty points left. One Redeployment. He needed to create distance, break the line of sight.
"Lina, draw aggro!" Allen commanded. "Get it to chase you to the east pillar!"
Lina sprinted, firing backward as she ran. The Shadowmancer pursued, gliding across the stone, its robes trailing darkness.
"Ella, prepare another Dispel!" Allen positioned himself behind a fallen column. "On my mark!"
Lina reached the east pillar. The Shadowmancer raised both hands, preparing a killing blast.
Now.
Allen activated Tactical Redeployment.
Blue light flashed. He swapped positions with Lina, appearing exactly where she'd stood—in the boss's direct line of sight, but also within melee range of its shadow-form.
"Dispel!" Allen shouted.
Ella unleashed the spell. Blue light crashed into the Shadowmancer just as it turned to face Allen. The darkness shrouding its form shredded, revealing a core of pulsing violet crystal.
"Physical vulnerability!" Allen barked. "It's exposed!"
Gray charged, her hammer raised. She smashed the crystal core with a two-handed blow that rang like a bell. The Shadowmancer screamed, its HP bar dropping thirty percent.
"Combo confirmed!" Allen's interface blazed gold. "Synergy Unlocked: Lightbreak Protocol—Dispel plus physical strike during shadow-teleport cooldown."
Lina reappeared from her new position—behind the boss—and unloaded three arrows into the exposed crystal. Will lunged up from the ground, driving his spear into the core.
The Shadowmancer shattered.
Violet light exploded outward, then contracted, sucking into the broken crystal on the floor. The darkness lifted. The temperature rose.
Silence.
"Status check!" Allen called.
"HP at sixty," Gray reported.
"Forty-five," Will said, clutching his ribs.
"MP at fifteen," Ella breathed, leaning on her staff. "That was... close."
Allen checked the loot prompts.
[COMBAT VICTORY: Shadowmancer Defeated][Synergy Combo Unlocked: Lightbreak Protocol][XP Awarded: 400]****[Loot Acquired: Shadow Crystal (Epic Crafting Material), Skill Scroll: Group Heal (Rare)]
He picked up the scroll. The parchment felt warm, humming with restorative magic. "Ella, this is yours."
She unrolled it, her eyes widening. "Group Heal. Affects all allies within twenty feet. This is... this is raid-tier magic."
"Learn it," Allen said. He pocketed the Shadow Crystal, feeling its cold weight. "Gray, can you work with this?"
The dwarf took the crystal, holding it up to the light. "Void-touched ore. I can forge arrows that phase through armor. Dark-Iron grade."
"Then we have our upgrades," Allen said. He checked the Waypoint stone in the center of the room—it glowed blue, now attuned to their party. "Floor 10 cleared. Magic Ore located. Zero casualties."
He looked at his team. Tired, battered, but alive.
"KPIs met," he said. "Let's go home."