The scorpion monster gave Mira no respite. It twisted its body, its left claw shaped like a horse's rib snapping toward Mira, intending to crush the girl into a pulp.

  Mira forced her legs to move. She rolled to her right, narrowly avoiding the claw that shattered the tree trunk she had been leaning on into splinters.

  Panic spread through Mira's entire body. She thought about running, to keep moving before the monster attacked again.

  In a fraction of a second, she could feel her Intian surge drastically, flowing rapidly through all her blood vessels. Magic is flexible; there are no strict rules for using certain techniques. Yes, they are shaped by experience.

  Mira thought about running away. With a racing heart, she created light particles that gathered at her feet. She shot backward, creating distance.

  However, the scorpion monster was relentless. It chased her, its legs tearing through the ground, destroying every obstacle.

  “Star magic is flexible and adaptive. Create techniques according to your own fighting style,” said Kars, who was just watching from the side, folding his arms across his chest. Kars’ face was expressionless, as if evaluating the quality of a piece of art.

  “But I’m still in Mote Stage!” Mira shouted. With adrenaline surging, she struggled to dodge every attack from the scorpion monster.

  “That’s the interesting part,” murmured Kars with a slight smile.

  The monster stopped chasing. The sarcophagus on its back trembled. Black liquid dripped more heavily from the tip of its tail spear, falling to the ground. The soil that was touched by the droplets sizzled, and from there, little skeleton hands emerged, trying to reach Mira's feet.

  "A monster with necromancy magic," Kars murmured softly, noting it in his mind. "Interesting."

  Mira hopped around, trying to avoid the skeleton's hands. She was trapped. In front of her was a giant monster, and beneath her were the hands of the dead.

  The scorpion raised its tail high. The angel statue at the tip of the tail began to glow with a dull purple. Energy was gathering at the tip of the spear.

  Mira knew she couldn’t fend off this attack. The energy was too great; she would die, here, in the middle of nowhere in the forest.

  Suddenly, a memory came. A memory of Kars when he fought the bandits before. Of Kars taking down the sword bearer with just one strike. The star magic was flexible and adaptive.

  The best training is practice for survival.

  Mira raised her right hand forward, facing the monster. She imagined the same attack Kars had used back then—a straight and swift light.

  Mira closed her eyes.

  She felt something building up in her hand, like water being held back by a dam. It felt warm yet rough like waves crashing against every wall of her hand.

  As the monster's tail spear came crashing down...

  Mira felt a sharp jerk in her hands, pushing her backward.

  A thin white light cut through the air. The light struck the side of the monster's spear, deflecting its trajectory a few centimeters to the left.

  The spear hit the ground right beside Mira. A black energy explosion created a crater two meters deep. The shockwave knocked Mira down, but she was still alive. Intact.

  Mira looked up. The monster roared in anger, like the screeching of stones in the ears. The scorpion swiftly aimed its pincer at Mira, but Kars arrived faster, grabbing Mira and moving her slightly away from the monster's fury.

  “Mira, watch.” Kars' voice echoed calmly. “Undead Construct-type monsters like this have a core. They are not alive, so you won’t be able to kill them by just injuring their body. You have to destroy the binder of their soul.”

  After lowering Mira, Kars leapt high into the air. He directed his palms toward the scorpion monster.

  Gravity Style: Field Weight - Level 1.

  A transparent purple magic circle appeared on the scorpion's body.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The giant body collapsed to the ground as if an invisible mountain had been dropped on its back. Its bony legs creaked violently, some cracking under the weight of its own body, which had suddenly become ten times heavier.

  Kars returned to the spot where Mira was standing. “Observe. The bones are strong under pressure. But fragile against shear force and excessive load.”

  The monster struggled against gravity. The screams of the skulls in its body grew louder, dizzying the mind. Black fluid sprayed wildly from the gaps in the sarcophagus cracks.

  "He... he can still move?" Mira gasped. She could see the monster forcing its legs upright again, resisting Kars's magic with nothing but terrifying pure physical strength.

  The scorpion managed to free its tail from the pull of gravity. In a desperate motion, it swung its death angel tail horizontally, sweeping a wide area in front of it. The pine trees along the swath broke like twigs.

  Kars did not dodge. He just raised one finger.

  Light Style: Reflection Prism.

  A hexagonal prism-shaped wall of light appeared in front of him.

  The rusted spear struck the wall of light. The sound was like a giant bell being struck. The vibration cracked the ground around Kars, but Kars himself did not move an inch.

  “Your turn now,” Kars said suddenly.

  “W-what?”

  “I’m holding the tail. The essence is inside that sarcophagus. See the crack in the angel statue’s chest at the tip of the tail?”

  Mira squinted her eyes. Amid the chaos, she saw it. On the chest of the headless angel statue, there was a small crack emitting a blood-red glow.

  "That's the Heart. The source of the curse," Kars said. "Destroy it, and this bone puppet will collapse."

  "But... It's so high up! And it keeps moving!" Mira protested.

  "Then be Stealix," Kars replied coldly. "Calculate. Predict. Execute. If you miss, that tail will come loose from my lock and behead you. You have one chance."

  Kars snapped his fingers, and the walls of his prism changed function into clamps, holding the tip of the monster's tail in place. The monster thrashed wildly, its main body wriggling, trying to pull its tail back.

  Mira swallowed. Her fear was still there, cold and paralyzing. But seeing Kars standing tall, and the monster restrained, a burning shame filled her chest. She didn't want to die a coward.

  She stood up. Her legs still hurt, but she ignored it. She focused all the remaining Crystals she had into her right hand.

  Calculate. Predict. Execute.

  Mira couldn't just shoot; she had to attack up close. She transformed the light that had solidified in her right hand into a spear. She forced it as best as she could until a hiss came from her hand, feeling heavy and painful. Its Intian churned chaotically, no longer warm, but heating up.

  Finally, a one-meter-long light spear was formed. It was unstable, trembling, and not too bright. But it was sharp enough to pierce the monster's core.

  Mira ran toward the monster. The scorpion saw the approaching threat. Its free right claw snapped toward Mira.

  Left! Mira shouted in her mind.

  Mira slid across the ground, passing beneath the giant claw. The stench of rotting meat pierced her nose from such a close distance. She could see maggots wriggling among the monster's leg bones.

  She jumped onto one of the monster's hind legs, using it as a stepping stone to propel herself into the air. Luckily, she was only wearing a piece of light silk cloth and had left her heavy brown coat behind, allowing Mira to move as freely as possible.

  Her target: the tip of the tail, suspended five meters above the ground.

  The angel statue trembled violently. The red cracks on its chest throbbed.

  In the air, time felt like it slowed down. Mira could see the floating dust. She could see Kars staring at her. She could see death in the eyes of the headless statue.

  Mira thrust her spear of light right into the red crack.

  Her spear of light pierced the statue's stone. There was a sensation of piercing something soft and wet inside, like stabbing fresh flesh or piercing a heart.

  Black blood sprayed, drenching Mira's face and clothes. Disgusting.

  The giant monster collapsed, breaking down into an ordinary pile of bones. There were no more giant scorpions. What remained was a lifeless mound of bones five meters high.

  Mira fell from a height, landing on the now silent pile of rib bones. She was gasping, her whole body trembling, her face covered in black slime.

  Kars released his prism wall, which was no longer holding anything. He walked toward the pile of bones, casually climbing the mound until he reached where Mira was lying.

  He gazed at the disheveled princess.

  "You missed two millimeters from the center of the core," Kars said critically.

  Mira wanted to cry. He has tried so hard...

  "But," Kars continued, the corners of his lips raised slightly, very little, barely visible. "You don't run. And you managed to kill him."

  Kars raised his hand towards Mira, who was dirty and smelled of carcasses.

  Mira looked at the hand, then looked at Kars' face. Relief flooded his chest. He grabbed Kars' hand. The man pulled her to her feet easily, as if she were as light as a feather.

  "Where... Where are the seeds?" Mira asked, looking at the pile of bones under her feet.

  Kars picked up a skull that was rolling near his feet. "The seed is no longer there. That elf woman took advantage of us."

  "What do you mean?"

  "He used the seed retrieval mission to make us agree, but in reality, he wanted us to fight this monster." Kars carefully placed the skull back.

  "You knew that?"

  Kars nodded. "From the beginning."

  "Why did you agree?" Mira tilted her head. It felt so heavy after all these battles.

  "I did refuse at first, right? But you insisted... and come to think of it, it’s actually useful to train you."

  Mira couldn't say anything more. She just felt relieved that she was still alive.

  Kars raised his hand to the cloudy sky.

  "Starlight: Requiem."

  Tiny specks of light, like fireflies, fell from the sky, touching the pile of bones. Each bone that was touched by the light slowly turned into clean white dust, then was blown away by the wind. The stench disappeared, replaced by the fresh scent of air after the rain.

  "That… why didn’t you use this before?"

  "This only works on inanimate objects," Kars replied.

  Within minutes, the mountain of monster bones was gone. All that remained was the black soil, now clean, ready to be covered with new grass when spring comes.