PLAYER SYSTEM C28 FLYBEAST QUEEN

Three Flybeasts buzzed in a chaotic spiral around Jack, darting in and out like taunting hornets. Their wings grazed him now and then, leaving fresh cuts and bruises across his body. He was already riddled with injuries—but thanks to [Healing Light] and a steady supply of potions, he was still standing.

Barely.

His mana, however, was starting to run dangerously low.

Jack gulped down another mana potion, wiping the sweat off his chin. “I can’t keep this up…”

Then, an idea struck him.

As the three Flybeasts circled again, weaving in tight patterns, Jack suddenly planted his feet and raised his hand. “Let night bind your stride...” he muttered.

A dark wisp burst from his palm, [Grasp of Doom] activating.

The shadows surged forward, snaking across the damp ground—then latched onto the silhouette of one Flybeast. The moment the spell connected, its movements slowed drastically.

Jack didn’t waste a second.

“Grieve… and detonate!” he shouted, casting [Mournburst]. The shadowy sigil bloomed on the Flybeast’s chest—two seconds later, it exploded.

The Flybeast reeled midair.

Jack rushed in and struck with precision, his dagger piercing straight into its thoracic core. The creature let out a distorted shriek before dropping, twitching, to the ground.

One down.

Using the same combo, he picked off the other two one by one. His timing, spacing, and rhythm—everything clicked together. He was starting to adapt.

Soon, the system chimed:

[Grasp of Doom leveled up to Lv. 2.]

Jack exhaled hard and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Phew... These things are more pain than they’re worth.”

Still, he pressed on, trudging deeper through the swamp. He was slowly adapting to the rancid stench, the clinging fog, and the constant buzz in the air.

Then—he heard it again.

The shrill hum of wings.

Three more Flybeasts emerged from the mist, gliding low.

Jack narrowed his eyes. This time, he was ready.

[Grasp of Doom] had leveled up—now he could target more than one enemy. He cast it without hesitation. “Let night bind your stride...”

Shadows struck all three at once, halting them mid-air just long enough.

He dashed forward and slashed with [Gracepierce].

One. Two. Three.

They dropped like flies.

[Gracepierce leveled up to Lv. 3.]

Time passed.

He continued grinding, mixing in [Piercing Dawn: Radiance]—its wide, radiant burst easily disrupted clusters of Flybeasts swarming too close.

Within half an hour, his level ticked up again.

[You leveled up! Lv. 15.]

Not just that—his [Grasp of Doom] had reached Level 3.

Now, each cast slowed enemies more effectively, reducing their movement speed by roughly 35%. The spell had also become more mana-efficient when targeting one or two enemies, allowing for quicker, repeated casts. However, locking down multiple targets still consumed a fair amount of mana—just not as punishing as before.

He stood still, panting, surveying the fogged swamp.

It had been over an hour and a half... yet there was still no sign of the Queen.

“She better show up soon,” he muttered, gripping his dagger. “Because I’m not leaving here empty-handed.”

It would've been a total waste of time if he didn’t find what he came for—the Eye of the Flybeast Queen. Jack continued scouring the Shallow Fen for another ten minutes, racking up experience with each Flybeast he felled. His EXP bar inched closer to the next level, hovering just below the halfway mark toward Level 16.

By the time another ten minutes passed, he was already sitting at around 80%.
"At this rate, I might hit Level 16 before I even meet the damn Queen," Jack muttered under his breath. "Well... not a bad deal. At least I’ll be stronger when I do."

He didn’t have to wait long.

After slaying another group of five Flybeasts, an ominous, thunderous buzzing drowned out the usual droning hum of the fen. Jack turned slowly.

There she was.

Hovering above the spongy terrain was a grotesque monstrosity—easily the size of a small cow—her six crystalline wings thrumming with unnatural energy. The Flybeast Queen’s exoskeleton glistened like fractured glass, webbed with cracks where toxic alchemical fluid hissed against open air. Her abdomen was grotesquely swollen, pulsing with clusters of gelatinous sacs that glowed faintly from within, a sickening rhythm of life and decay. Spinal ridges ran jagged down her back, twitching veins visibly throbbing along her sides like a diseased heartbeat.

Her entire face was a grotesque crown of multifaceted eyes—glimmering, ever-rotating, and hunting for magic, movement, or heat. Her lower jaw opened in four jagged mandibles, each strand of saliva sizzling as it dripped onto the swamp below.

Jack stared, slack-jawed. It took him a full second before the words left his mouth:
“Shit… an oversized fly again. But this one... damn.”

Then he noticed what trailed behind her—dozens of smaller Flybeasts. Thankfully, many were smaller than the ones he’d fought—about the size of kittens—but their numbers were intimidating nonetheless.

The Queen's acidic stench hit him before the swarm even closed in. A pungent chemical tang, sour and cloying, thick in the air like industrial waste mixed with rotting flesh.

"Ugh..." Jack gagged, covering his mouth, his face going pale. “Damn it, this game’s way too immersive... Who the hell coded the smell system like this?”

But the time for complaints ended quickly. The swarm was closing in.

He narrowed his eyes. 'There’s too many. If I try to Grasp all of them, I’ll run dry on mana…'

Still, he raised his hand. “[Grasp of Doom]!” Wisps of dark energy shot forward, weaving into the shadows of the first wave. The swarm slowed, just enough. Without hesitation, he followed up:
“[Piercing Dawn: Radiance]!”

(AN: Now that his skills have leveled above 1, Jack no longer needs to recite the full chant to activate them. He can trigger a skill by simply speaking its name—or even just by thinking it. The chant remains optional, used for style, focus, or flair.)

A burst of radiant energy erupted from him, incinerating the slowed Flybeasts in seconds. The explosion of light left shimmering mana trails in the air—and in their wake, only the Queen and half her swarm remained.

He’d used nearly half his mana—but the tactic worked.

The second wave rushed him.

He did the same thing again—slow, blast, sweep—and suddenly, it was just him and the Queen.

A system notification blinked.

[Level Up! You are now Level 16.]
[Piercing Dawn: Radiance has reached Level 4.]

But there was no time to celebrate.

The Queen shrieked, her screech sharp enough to rattle his bones. Her multifaceted eyes ignited with violent mana, and searing beams shot toward him.

Jack’s eyes widened. “Oh, hell—she shoots lasers too?!”

He barely dodged, rolling into the muck, mud splashing against his robe. Before he could recover, the Queen surged forward with unnatural speed, wings slicing the air like razors.

“[Grasp of Doom]!” Jack shouted in reflex. The spell connected—but barely slowed her.

Her wings struck him across the cheek with enough force to stagger him. He stumbled, blood running down his jaw.

“Shit! She’s so fast the skill barely slows her anymore!”