Refusing My God’s Advances

I stepped into the cave, and all the crystals started to either grow or shrink. This made the cave sparkle with different colors, and it was the first time any of the caves had acted this way. It made me wonder if this was an effect of the final cave, or from the monster that I still couldn't see.

Speaking of monsters, this was the first time I had entered the cave and the monster hadn't rushed me. That paired with the moving crystals all around me made me even more cautious as I moved forward. I slowly moved around the crystals, but what I found confused me.

"Did those women bring you to defeat me?" The crystalline beast still lying on the ground asked.

It had crystals growing and retracting from its body like the rest of the cave. The main difference was the colors glowing from the inside of its body. They were a mix of purple and blue, and it gave the creature an otherworldly appearance. The crystals its body was made up of were so transparent that you could see into the creature's body.

"No, you have it backward. I came with my partner, who is a golem, plus a few other golems, but they are tired now," I replied, feeling very uneasy. Only a divine-rated or higher monster could speak.

"What of the other women?" The creature asked, and I let a small smirk slide on my face.

"This is my first dungeon and they are all the women that I love, and love me back. They all just wanted to be here to support me..." I said, trailing off, and then paused to tap my chin for a moment. "Say, can I use my Identify skill on you? I have never talked to a monster before."

There was a long pause, but then the creature spoke. "That will not work on me, but I will tell you who I am. My name is Vaedos, and I am a divine-ranked monster. I was once nothing more than a Legendary monster, but a great dragon came long ago and fought with me. Because of our great battle, he blessed me with souls that he had collected. From these souls, I was able to evolve into what I am today."

That was actually pretty interesting, but that meant this fight was going to be bonkers. Still, I wanted to pick this creature's brain a bit more.

"Is there a reason why you didn't attack me right away?" I asked, and Vaedos nodded.

"I couldn't hit you if I wanted to in this form. You are much too fast for me currently, but I am also in no danger currently," he explained in a nonchalant tone.

I cocked one eyebrow. "That is mighty confident of you. I mean, you are a divine-rated monster, and you probably know my stats, but not my inventory. Now, I have one more question. What was Ember like? I am taking control of his resting place, Emberfall as we speak, and I hope to take on the center crystal tomorrow."

Vaedos shifted slightly, the crystals on its body shimmering with a mix of intrigue and nostalgia at the mention of Ember. "Ember was a creature of immense power and wisdom, a guardian of the balance between the elemental forces. His presence alone commanded respect, not just for his strength, but for his deep understanding of the world's fabric. Taking control of Emberfall is no small feat, and if you are indeed on such a path, it speaks volumes of your potential and the support you have."

I nodded, absorbing the gravity of Vaedos's words. "I appreciate the insight. I don't know a lot about the island yet, but I hope to open all of the vaults that he left behind. There are probably more secrets, but once I have control of the island, I will have lots of time to search them out.

There was a long pause, and then Vaedos slowly rose up three feet in the air and looked into my eyes. "I have decided. I will test you, and decide if you are worthy of Ember's legacy, but I will not hold back. There is an aura about you that reminds me of him, and if you can defeat me, I will willingly give you my divine-rated soul."

I mean, I was going to kick this pile of jewels ass anyways, so it was just like getting a bonus for the job. Still, I could joke all I wanted, something told me that this fight was going to become a battle for life and death. From the looks of it, the creature was not fast, and that was basically my entire skill set.

"I planned to defeat you anyway, so this is just icing on the cake for me!" I laughed, and the creature nodded.

"Then let us begin."

Suddenly, I was forced to jump back and crystals erupted out of the ground where I had been standing. It was easy to evade, and another one appeared where I was going to land. Rather than dodge, I touched my foot on the flat part of the crystal coming out of the ground.

Then I activated all my time slowing skills at once as my view filled up with red icons. I was slipping off the crystal in pain and falling blind because I had been with 7 different status effects the moment that I touched the crystal.

[You have been Poisoned]
[You have been Paralyzed]
[You have been Stunned]
[You have been Blinded]
[You have been Mana Burned]
[You have been Cursed]
[You have been Burned]

I used Restore and narrowly dodged another gem shooting up from the ground. If I didn't have Restore, I would have probably died there. Even now I had to keep moving, but this was more than I was expecting.

I tried to leave the cave, but to my surprise, the entrance to the tunnel where the girls were waiting was gone. There was no getting out of this.