Chapter 14: 14. Assassin who loves head pats?
AT THE SAME TIME
ALEXANDER
The guardian turned toward me slowly. Its furnace heart burned brighter, heat rolled through the boss floor in waves, every step making the chains around its body scream against the stone. The pressure alone felt crushing, like the dungeon itself expected me to kneel.
"Okay." I swallowed hard. "I am officially in danger."
"Correct."The sword answered immediately.
"I DIDN’T NEED CONFIRMATION."I said angrily.
The guardian moved again fast, wAY too fast. Its massive arm swung toward me, molten chains trailing behind it like burning whips.
"DODGE."The sword screamed inside my head.
I barely threw myself sideways in time. The impact shattered the floor behind me, black stone exploded upward. The shockwave launched me across the chamber. I crashed hard, pain shooting through my shoulder as I rolled across broken stone.
"OW."I groaned.
The guardian kept walking toward me. Slow now, confident, like it already knew how this ended.
"Weak."Its furnace chest flared brighter.
"Yeah, okay, I GOT IT."I snapped.
"Your heartbeat is accelerating."The sword pulsed sharply.
"THANK YOU MEDICAL ANALYSIS SWORD."I shouted angrily.
He took another step. The boss floor trembled and the guardian raised its hand again. This time I saw it: runes. Hundreds of glowing forge symbols burning across its arm like living metal veins.
"DING."Then the system exploded into my vision.
"STOP INTERRUPTING MY NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE."I almost screamed.
"LEVEL THRESHOLD REACHED."The system announced.
"What?"I froze.
Light burst across my body, heat surged through my chest. The sword vibrated violently in my hand.
"LEVEL UP DETECTED."The sword said proudly.
"LEVEL 6 to LEVEL 7."The system voice deepened.
The entire chamber shook and the guardian stopped moving. Its burning eyes locked directly onto me. Then for the first time it hesitated.
"Synchronization increased."The sword whispered.
I gasped as power rushed through my body, not cleanly, not naturally. It felt like something forcing open locked doors inside me.
"NEW SKILL UNLOCKED."The system said.
"Please don’t be another emotional disaster."I begged.
"SKILL ACQUIRED: KILL POINT CONVERSION."The system ignored me.
"I don’t like that name already."I said.
"HOST MAY NOW CONVERT ELIMINATED ENEMY ENERGY INTO GACHA SUMMON CARDS."The system continued.
"Wait."I blinked.
The guardian started moving again, faster.
"Accumulated kill points detected: 1,320."The system said.
"FOUR THOUSAND WHAT?!"I gasped in surprise.
"Stored from prior combat events."The system explained.
"I KILLED GOBLINS, NOT ARMIES."I shouted.
"The dungeon counted everything."The sword answered calmly.
The guardian vanished.
"OH COME ON."My eyes widened.
"DODGE."The sword screamed.
I moved instinctively, but it was a moment too late. The guardian’s chains clipped my side and sent me flying across the room like a broken doll. Pain exploded through my ribs, I slammed into a pillar hard enough to crack it. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. The guardian slowly turned toward me again.
"Insufficient."It said.
"Rude."I coughed violently.
"DANGER LEVEL: CRITICAL."The system flashed red.
"Yeah I noticed that too."I said.
"RECOMMENDATION: USE KILL POINTS."Then another screen appeared.
"Now?"I stared at it.
"Probability of survival without summon assistance: 3%."The system said.
"THREE?!"I scramed.
"That is generous."The sword answered immediately.
"I HATE BOTH OF YOU."I screamed.
The guardian raised its arm again and the furnace in its chest roared brighter. Heat distorted the air and the entire boss floor started melting around it.
"GACHA SUMMON AVAILABLE."The system flashed again. "AVAILABLE CARDS: RANDOMIZED."
"This is gambling during a boss fight."I said angrily.
"Correct."The system said.
"THAT SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGED!"I screamed.
The guardian took another step, and the pressure hit harder.
"Fine."Something inside me snapped. I raised my hand toward the floating screen. "If this gives me another emotionally unstable lunatic, I’m uninstalling reality."
"COMMAND ACCEPTED."The system said. "KILL POINT CONVERSION ACTIVATED."The system erupted with light.
The air twisted violently, and energy ripped out of the dead goblins across the dungeon. Red light flooded the boss’s floor, and even the guardian stopped moving.
"Something powerful is responding."The sword in my hand vibrated sharply.
"GACHA CARD GENERATION IN PROGRESS."The system screamed.
One card slowly formed in front of me. Black edged, crimson glowing text. The guardian’s furnace heart suddenly flared violently. Like it recognized the card.
"SS-RANK SUMMON POSSIBILITY DETECTED."Then the system finished.
"Oh no."I stared at the floating card in front of me.
The card began to crack open from the inside, and something behind it laughed softly. The card didn’t just crack, it broke reality. Red light spilled out like a wound opening in space, and the boss floor went silent in a way that felt wrong. Even the furnace guardian stopped moving, and for the first time, it looked uncertain and I didn’t like that. Then suddenly she stepped out, light footsteps, no dramatic landing, no explosion. Just presence. Blood red hair fell over her shoulders as it had never known wind. Crimson eyes scanned the room once, slow and bored until they landed on me. The pressure in the cave changed instantly like everything had just been marked for deletion.
"DING."The system chimed.
"PLEASE STOP SAYING DING AT LIFE ALTERING MOMENTS."I flinched.
"SUMMON COMPLETE: ROSALIA ANOS."The system announced.
"Wait."I stared.
The name hit the air like a memory I didn’t have. Scarlet froze above me, Noa’s eyes narrowed immediately, Zavier went completely still, even the guardian didn’t move.
Rosalia tilted her head slightly, and then she sighed.
"Summoner." Her voice was calm.
Suspiciously dangerously calm, as then she looked down at the card remnants still floating around her. Rosalia tilted her head slightly, and then she sighed again.
"Summoner."She said as her voice stayed calm, soft even which somehow made her ten times scarier.
The guardian suddenly took one slow step backward. The dungeon boss WAS terrified.
"Did the giant furnace monster just get nervous?"I noticed immediately.
"Confirmed."The sword answered instantly.
"I hate that this is real."I said.
Rosalia looked down at her own hand for a moment, flexing her fingers slowly like she was waking up after a long sleep. Then her crimson eyes lifted toward me again. The boss floor trembled violently around us.
"Reward?"Rosalia asked quietly.
"What?"I blinked.
She stared directly at me, expression blank, completely unreadable.
"Head pats."Rosalia said.
The entire chamber went silent and even the guardian froze.
"Excuse me?"I said.
Rosalia pointed at herself once.
"Summon contract stabilization request."She explained calmly. "Head pats preferred."
I stared at her and then at the giant molten nightmare monster, then back at her.
"You want head pats during the boss fight?"I asked.
"Correct."She said.
"Master?"Scarlet’s voice echoed faintly from above through the dungeon connection.
"Did the assassin just request affection based compensation?"Noa sounded equally confused.
Zavier was completely silent for three whole seconds. That was the most worried I had ever heard him.
"Oh no."He gasped.
"I DON’T LIKE THE WAY YOU SAID THAT."I shouted upward.
The guardian suddenly roared and heat exploded outward. Rosalia glanced at it once, just once, then looked back at me again.
"Head pats first."She said.
"That sentence should not be more terrifying than the dragon sized forge monster."I groaned.
"Recommendation: comply immediately."The sword pulsed sharply in my hand.
"YOU TOO?!"I screamed.
"DANGER ANALYSIS: SUMMON MOTIVATION APPEARS DIRECTLY LINKED TO AFFECTION RESPONSE."The sword explained.
"I AM SURROUNDED BY INSANE PEOPLE."I shouted.
Rosalia stepped closer. Still holding the black red handgun loosely at her side. The guardian raised its massive arm again, molten chains screamed through the air. Rosalia didn’t even glance at it.
"Please."She said quietly and that somehow made it worse.
"This feels manipulative."I slowly raised my hand.
Rosalia lowered her head slightly waiting. The giant guardian charged, the entire floor exploded beneath it.
"FINE."I panicked immediately.
I patted her head once and the reaction was instant. Rosalia froze, absolutely froze then her eyes widened slightly. A faint blush appeared across her face.
"DING."The system exploded across my vision in tiny text.
"SUMMON TRAIT ACTIVATED. ROSALIA ANOS. CLASS: ASSASSIN. THREAT LEVEL: NATIONAL DISASTER. MENTAL PROFILE: INTROVERTED. PRIMARY EMOTIONAL STABILIZER: HEAD PATS. WARNING: POSITIVE AFFECTION RESULTS IN TEMPORARY COMBAT EVOLUTION. WARNING: REPEATED AFFECTION MAY CAUSE ATTACHMENT ESCALATION. WARNING: SUBJECT LOOOOOOOOOOVES HEAD PATS."The system announced.
"Why is the system spelling it like that?"I whispered in horror.
Rosalia’s eyes softened slightly, then the pressure changed. The guardian reached her, and Rosalia moved. I didn’t see how. One second she stood beside me the next, she was behind the guardian. A single gunshot echoed through the boss floor. Silence as the guardian stopped moving. Its furnace heart cracked slowly down the center. Then the entire upper half of its body slid apart cleanly. Molten metal spilled across the stone as the boss died instantly. Complete silence filled the dungeon.
"That."I stared blankly.
"Target eliminated."The sword answered immediately.
"NO, I SAW THAT PART."I gasped.
"Master."Far above me, Scarlet gasped.
"The boss signature disappeared."Noa’s voice followed instantly.
"She killed it in one strike."Zavier sounded deeply tired.
Rosalia calmly walked back toward me while the corpse collapsed behind her like a falling building then she stopped in front of me again. Quiet, calm, deadly.
"Additional reward?"She asked softly.
"YOU ERASED THE BOSS."I pointed at the burning remains behind her.
"Yes."She nodded once.
"WITH ONE BULLET."I said.
"Yes."She said.
"And you are asking for more head pats."I said.
"Please."Another small nod.
"Recommendation: continue reinforcement behavior."The sword in my hand pulsed.
"Master appears surrounded by emotionally dangerous women."Scarlet’s voice echoed again.
"Confirmed."Noa immediately answered.
"I CAN STILL HEAR BOTH OF YOU."I shouted.
"Was performance insufficient?"Rosalia lowered her gaze slightly.
"NO."Immediately I panicked.
She blinked once and I sighed heavily then carefully patted her head again. Rosalia closed her eyes instantly. The dungeon trembled.
"DING. EMOTIONAL REWARD RECEIVED. ROSALIA ANOS COMBAT EFFICIENCY
TEMPORARILY INCREASED. CURRENT MOOD: HAPPY."The system said.
"WHY DOES THE SYSTEM TRACK MOODS NOW?!"I screamed.
Rosalia opened her eyes again and for the first time, very slightly she smiled, which somehow terrified me even more than the giant molten guardian.
