[Assist the employer in reclaiming the fortress. Time remaining: 44 hours 37 minutes.]0

Nobody will be waking up on my watch, asshole.0

I activated Flash Strike instantly.0

Even though Kyuntriachae had regained his memories, boosting his presence manyfold, I still couldn’t fully trust his combat abilities. Regardless of the reason—whether it was carelessness or something more sinister—he had already fallen prey to the necromancer once before.0

Allowing that egg to hatch in this situation would be a grave mistake. If it did, I would have to face both the necromancer and the beast simultaneously.0

There was no way a monster that emerged in a boss room would be weak. If things went poorly, I could end up fighting three against one if Kyuntriachae fell under the necromancer’s control once again.0

Of course, I could manage, but I couldn’t guarantee Doppy’s safety.0

This ticked me off, since I wanted to fight the beast to hone my skills, but then I remembered I could always summon it later during combat training. 0

Regardless, I wasn’t about to stand idly by like some villain in a children’s cartoon, waiting for my enemy to transform.0

Time slowed.0

Like a streak of lightning, I shot across the laboratory.0

Expanding and contracting, the obsidian egg pulsed, swelling as if on the verge of bursting.0

I channeled my lightning-infused Aura into my axe, raising the axe above me before brutally swinging it down. Just as the egg reached the peak of its expansion, my blade tore through its thick membrane.0

Crack—!0

A visceral sensation traveled up my arms. Flesh ripped apart, and bone shattered beneath my strike.0

I...0