Each charge became faster than the last.

The forest became a battlefield of exploding earth as enormous craters appeared one after another, trees collapsing while rocks were launched into the air every time the Bone Burrower erupted from underground.

Yet...

Tatiana hadn’t attacked once.

She merely avoided every strike with almost lazy precision.

A sidestep.

A leap.

A backflip.

A spin.

Every movement flowed naturally as though she had already memorized the monster’s rhythm.

Liam watched silently before finally speaking.

"You’ve figured it out already."

Tatiana smiled without taking her eyes off the beast.

"Almost."

The Bone Burrower erupted once more, its enormous jaws closing around empty air.

Its momentum carried it several meters past her before it buried itself underground again.

Liam’s voice rang out immediately.

"It slows down after every failed charge!"

Tatiana nodded.

"I noticed."

The vibrations returned again.

This time...

They were slower.

Much slower.

The beast had burned a tremendous amount of energy trying to catch her.

Tatiana rolled her shoulders.

"My turn."

She planted one foot forward.

The instant the ground beneath her bulged upward—

She vanished.

BOOM!!

Instead of retreating, she lunged directly toward the emerging monster.

Her fist slammed into one of its armored plates with an explosive crack that echoed through the forest.

The Bone Burrower’s head jerked sideways.

For the first time...

It actually stopped moving.

Tatiana blinked.

"Oh?"

"So you can feel pain."

The monster answered with a furious shriek.

Its enormous body twisted violently, trying to wrap around her like a giant serpent.

She slipped beneath it effortlessly before driving another punch into its underside, sending the massive body rolling across the forest floor.

Trees snapped beneath its weight.

Dirt exploded everywhere.

Liam couldn’t help smiling.

"Good."

"But don’t waste your strength on the shell."

Tatiana glanced toward him.

"The shell’s too durable?"

"It is."

"The armor absorbs impacts better than it should."

She nodded once.

"Got it."

The Bone Burrower recovered astonishingly fast.

Its dozens of hidden legs dug into the earth before it lunged forward with terrifying speed, its enormous body moving far faster than something of its size should have been capable of.

Tatiana finally became serious.

She met its charge head-on.

BOOM!!

The collision shook the surrounding forest.

Dust rolled outward in every direction.

For several seconds neither moved.

Tatiana’s boots carved two long trenches through the soil as she pushed against the monster’s head with both hands, every muscle in her body tightening while the Bone Burrower continued driving forward with relentless force.

Then...

She laughed.

"So this is your full strength?"

The beast roared inches from her face.

Its jaws opened again.

Liam’s eyes widened.

"Tatiana!"

She reacted instantly.

Her entire body twisted sideways just before those rotating teeth snapped shut where her shoulder had been a heartbeat earlier.

She used the motion to climb onto the creature’s head before sprinting along its armored back, every step light and controlled despite the violent movements beneath her.

The Bone Burrower bucked wildly, smashing through trees in an attempt to throw her off.

She refused to fall.

Instead she sprinted all the way toward its tail before launching herself into the air.

The monster immediately dove underground.

Its gigantic body disappeared beneath the earth once more.

Tatiana landed gracefully.

Silence returned.

She exhaled slowly.

"So..."

"You’ve finally stopped playing."

The ground began trembling harder than before.

Much harder.

Even Liam frowned.

The vibrations weren’t moving anymore.

They were gathering beneath one location.

The earth began swelling upward like something enormous was forcing its way toward the surface.

Liam immediately understood.

"Its next attack’s different!"

He activated his vision again, watching the beast’s path underground before shouting,

"Tatiana! Don’t let it return beneath the earth after this attack! That’s where its advantage is!"

Tatiana’s crimson eyes narrowed.

A confident grin slowly spread across her face.

"I was thinking exactly the same thing."

The entire forest exploded.

The Bone Burrower burst into the sky with a roar so powerful that birds fled from miles away, its full colossal body finally revealing itself beneath the fading evening light.

Tatiana bent her knees.

Her claws slowly extended.

"This time..."

"...you’re staying above ground."

——-

Tatiana’s crimson eyes remained locked on the Bone Burrower as it towered over the battlefield, its enormous body swaying from side to side while countless armored segments scraped against one another with a deafening metallic rasp. Dust continued raining from its shell after its explosive emergence from underground, and despite its terrifying appearance there was something noticeably different now. The confidence it had possessed when it hunted from beneath the earth had disappeared. It had expected another helpless prey. Instead, it had found someone who had dodged every ambush, studied every attack, and was now standing before it without the slightest trace of fear. The corners of Tatiana’s lips lifted into a smile that made even Liam shake his head.

"You’ve had enough time underground," she said quietly. "Now stay up here."

The Bone Burrower answered with another shriek before hurling itself forward.

Its entire body slammed across the clearing like a living avalanche, tearing through trees as though they were blades of grass. The ground quaked violently beneath Tatiana’s feet, yet she never stepped back. Instead, she burst forward herself.

BOOM!

The collision echoed throughout the forest.

Tatiana planted both hands against the creature’s armored head as the impact sent shockwaves racing through the surrounding trees. Loose branches rained from above while cracks spread beneath her boots. For a brief moment neither of them moved.

Then she twisted her body.

Using the monster’s own momentum, she redirected its charge just enough for its enormous body to plow harmlessly past her instead of through her.

The Bone Burrower crashed across the clearing before quickly trying to force its body downward.

Liam’s eyes flashed blue.

"It’s escaping!"

"Front left!"

Tatiana was already moving.

She reached the creature before half its body had disappeared beneath the soil. Her claws sank into the gaps between two armored plates, and with a fierce pull she stopped its descent entirely.

The Bone Burrower thrashed wildly.

The earth cracked around it.

Its hidden legs dug desperately into the underground tunnel it had created, trying to drag itself deeper.

Tatiana’s feet carved long trenches across the ground as the creature’s strength fought against hers.

For a second...

It almost succeeded.

Then Tatiana inhaled deeply.

Every muscle in her body tightened.

"No."

With a sharp roar she yanked upward.

The gigantic beast was ripped completely out of the earth before crashing heavily onto the surface once again.

The entire forest shook.

Liam couldn’t help laughing.

"I almost feel sorry for it."

The monster recovered with another furious scream, its tail whipping toward Tatiana with tremendous force.

"Duck!" Liam shouted.

She lowered herself instinctively.

The tail sailed harmlessly over her head before smashing into a boulder behind her, reducing it to countless fragments.

"The neck!" Liam called again after another glance from his System.

"There’s a gap beneath the third plate!"

Tatiana nodded once.

"I see it."

She vanished.

The Bone Burrower barely had time to react before she appeared beside its head, her claws striking directly into the opening Liam had pointed out.

The attack landed cleanly.

The monster recoiled violently, letting out a painful shriek as its head snapped sideways.

"There!"

Liam pointed immediately.

"Again! Same place!"

Tatiana didn’t hesitate.

She darted around its head faster than the creature could turn, each strike landing against the same vulnerable section beneath its armor. The shell that had looked nearly indestructible moments ago was beginning to fracture from repeated precise attacks.

The Bone Burrower finally understood.

It couldn’t win above ground.

Without another attempt to fight, it twisted its massive body and dove toward the earth again.

Liam laughed.

"It never learns."

Tatiana was already waiting.

The instant its head disappeared beneath the surface, she caught hold of one of the armored ridges along its body.

The beast dug frantically.

Tatiana pulled harder.

Its enormous body stopped halfway underground.

For several seconds the two remained locked in place, neither willing to give an inch.

Then Tatiana planted one foot against a nearby rock for leverage.

With one explosive movement she hauled the creature back onto the surface once more before swinging its front half sideways.

The Bone Burrower’s enormous body slammed into the ground with enough force to leave a massive crater.

Dust rolled through the clearing.

The monster struggled to rise.

Its movements had become sluggish.

Liam smiled.

"It’s tired."

"So am I."

Tatiana flexed her fingers.

"But not nearly enough."

The Bone Burrower gave one final enraged roar before charging directly at her instead of trying to burrow.

It had abandoned strategy.

Now it was acting on instinct alone.

Tatiana waited.

Closer.

Closer.

Closer.

"Now!" Liam shouted.

She moved.

Instead of retreating, she stepped inside the monster’s attack at the very last second. One claw caught beneath its lower jaw while her other hand drove against the side of its head, throwing its aim completely off.

The enormous body crashed past her.

Before it could recover—

She was already on top of it.

Her claws struck again and again against the weakened section beneath its neck plates exactly where Liam’s System had identified.

The Bone Burrower thrashed violently, trying to throw her off.

She refused to let go.

Each precise strike weakened the same point further until the creature’s struggles became slower and slower.

Finally...

It stopped fighting altogether.

Its massive body slumped heavily across the clearing.

Silence returned to the forest.

Tatiana remained standing for another few seconds, watching carefully to make sure it wasn’t pretending.

Nothing.

Not even a twitch.

Only then did her crimson eyes gradually return to their normal color as her claws slowly retracted.

She brushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear before turning toward Liam.

"I think..."

"...that’s the end of it."

Before Liam could answer, the black mission stone hanging from Tatiana’s waist suddenly glowed.

The dull black surface brightened before transforming into a deep crimson color.

Ding.

Liam froze.

A familiar blue window appeared before his eyes.

[Mission Completed.]

[Hardest Guild Mission Cleared.]

[Reward Issued.]

[Instant Health Reboost Activated.]

Warmth exploded throughout his body.

The lingering weakness vanished almost instantly.

The soreness left his muscles.

The puncture wound in his side disappeared as though it had never existed.

His heartbeat grew powerful again.

His breathing became steady.

Liam slowly opened and closed his fists before grinning from ear to ear.

"...Now that’s more like it."

He stretched both arms over his head until every joint cracked pleasantly.

Tatiana blinked.

"You recovered?"

Liam’s smile widened.

"One hundred percent."

His white hair danced gently in the evening breeze as he looked toward the fallen Bone Burrower one last time before turning back to Tatiana.

"Come on."

"Let’s go collect our reward."