<h4>Chapter 108: Dk''s Revenge (Part 24) - zing Combat Maid - Part 2</h4>


    n regained control of Anastasia and sent her forward where Dk awaited, standing still.


    "Earth Boost, Living Fortress..." the boss casually cast before Anastasia stroked him with her sword.


    The result: Her de shattered into pieces.


    ++"It felt like hitting an anvil,"++ Anastasia said.


    ++"Yes, I know..."++


    **I saw the exact moment when he reinforced himself, all in glorious slow motion, and I just didn''t make her stop...**


    Dk roared victorious and threw a punch, but this time, Anastasia dodged it.


    ++"Anastasia, remove the Ice rune before discarding the sword''s hilt."++


    ++"Understood."++


    ++"n,"++ Aaron interjected, ++"without a weapon or a piece of gear to encrust it, she won''t benefit from the rune. The belt you gave her already has an effect, so it won''t bepatible."++


    ++"Aaron, this is a mechanical body we''re talking about! So... Anastasia, put the rune in your right arm!"++


    ++"Roger."++


    ++++++Notice: Ipatible item detected.+++++


    ++"Um..."++


    ++"You''re not giving me any breaks, huh? I at leastmend you for having imagination,"++ Aaron said, sighing. ++"Give me a moment while I change Anastasia''s specifications."++


    +++++Congrattions! You have learned a new skill!+++++


    ++"Woah! I love you so much, buddy! And... um... you kind of sounded like an older brother, you know?"++


    ++"How should we call the new--"++


    ++"TUNING!"++


    +++++Notice: Minion has equipped a new item. ''Ice Rune''.++++


    ++"Yes! Let''s fucking do this--!"++


    +++++Warning: Your Mana Points have dropped to 0 .++++


    n fell to his knees, feeling dizzy.


    **I can barely breathe, as if my lungs had stopped working. My chest aches. I feel needles traveling through my veins. My limbs are burning. My mouth is dry. It suddenly became difficult to see.**


    **It''s fucking painful, man...**


    ++"I... I didn''t know that running out of mana was this severe..."++


    ++"Master, are you okay?"++


    ++"K-keep fighting! I''ll be alright!"++


    ++"But..."++


    ++"Give him a minute. I''ll assist you,"++ Aaron said to Anastasia.


    "You''re open to an attack, my boy!" Dk shouted, once he noticed n kneeling. He dashed towards him, but Anastasia shielding him, making him chuckle. "My sweet girl, why are you still attached to this piece of garbage you call a shield, after all the enhancement you''ve gone through? Here! Let me show you how useless it has got!"


    The boss got into a fighting stance, while projecting a wind, green aura.


    ++"Dk is preparing a Special Attack!"++


    Having n behind her, Anastasia could do nothing but hold her position.


    ++"If I could only have an Earth Boost like him... Could you teach me ''Living Fortress'', Aaron?"++ she asked.


    ++"Of course not! I know I''ve been the MVP of this team, but don''t ask for impossibles! Use your Ice Rune as an alternative and surround your whole body with ice!"++


    ++"Understood, Aaron. I''ll try it."++


    Three seconds before Dk could unleash his attack, Anastasia clenched her right fist, activating the blue gem inside her wrist.


    "Ice Crafting..."


    "HELLSWIPE! Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha!"


    Dk''s Special Moveprised a series of fast consecutive sh attacks. Whileughing out loud, his ws swept furiously against Anastasia''s shield, which only endured two hits before getting cut as if it was made of wood.


    The other fifteen swipes hit Anastasia directly. All of them were delivered in two seconds.


    When Dk finished, he grinned at the sight of her exposed silver, metallic chest, covered by deep scratches.


    "Did you see that? Your own body has now be harder that the pathetic steel you were holding so dearly! Not bad, my child! For a regr NPC without the NU update, you have a lot of guts! I''ll give you that!" Dk then narrowed his eyes, noticing the ice dripping from her body. "Did you also cover yourself with—Nya-ha-ha-ha! You''re all so fun! You and your teammates, n! It seems that all of your minions have learned from your fighting spirit!"


    "Correct," Anastasia whispered, puffing out steam from her back again. "Mayor Fire Boost, Overcharge+."


    Dk frowned. "Over-wha—?"


    Without her regr weapons, Anastasia was forced to use her fists. The first punch to the face threw Dk off-bnce, and the second made him cough blood.


    ++++Notice: Boss'' HP at 37%.++++


    ++"What is she doing?!"++ n asked Aaron through Party Chat, for he could not regain his sight yet.


    ++"Since the Overcharge boost is still active, casting it again has turned it into an improved version."++


    ++"Don''t call it ''improved''! The downsides will double, am I right?! She''ll overheat faster!"++


    ++"You''re right. But I don''t think she cares."++


    "Ice Crafting..." Anastasia muttered while a thinyer of ice and a series of spikes covered her body.


    "Don''t you think this''ll turn you slower, my child?!" Dk cried out, trying a kick to the head.


    Anastasia remained still, raising her arm at thest instant to catch Dk''s feet. "Ice Crafting," she repeated, freezing it.


    Dk broke his own leg before the ice could advance through his body and jumped back. "B-Blood Crafting," he hissed, creating a new red limb.


    ++"Well thought, Anastasia!"++ Aaron praised. ++"Although using that rune slows you down, your reaction speed doesn''t get affected. You have returned to being in control of the situation. Let me just monitor your Mana... Oh..."++


    ++"What? What is it?"++ n asked as he stood up. Squinting, he could finally distinguish the silhouette of his protector in front of him.


    ++"Anastasia has run out of mana..."++ Aaron replied.


    ++"Oh. That''s..."++


    +++++Ricardo Silva has sent you a Party Chat request!++++


    ++"Freaking finally!"++


    ++"Yo, n Warden!"++ the voice of the Glitch Administrator was added to n''s personal audio chat. ++"How is it going, champ?"++


    ++"If you''re joking like that, it means that you know about my situation, don''t you?"++


    ++"That''s right. I know everything about your little vacation to ''Bugged Dungeon''... He-he... Ahem... I have good and bad news. And the bad news may get worse depending on your current progress."++


    ++"Please be quick..."++ n said, as he watched Anastasia charged forward to punch Dk in the gut.


    ++"The good news is that I have already reinstated Count Dk''s Dungeon to its natural estate. It no longer creates duplicate bosses, nor will you continue to be trapped there. I''ve also stripped that faulty Dungeon Director of her ''what-was-Vi-thinking'' Administrative Powers. Once the dungeon resets, it will be gone for good. I don''t need a whole glitched dungeon in my virtual world... The bad news is that this is still Vi''s jurisdiction, so I can manually reset it. She hasn''t responded to my messages and calls. She''s known for being a heavy sleeper. So in the meantime, in order to return everything to normal, the dungeon must be reset normally."++


    ++"You mean... by beating Dk?"++ he asked, ncing at Anastasia again, grabbing Dk and head-butting him.


    **Can an NPC get pissed?**


    ++"No. You have to beat all the bosses, without exception," Ricardo continued. "That''s why I mentioned the ''it may get worse depending on your progress''. I''m sorry for asking you to do this."++


    ++"Aaron,"++ n called, ++"share this info with ra."++


    ++"Done. I''m also sending a message to Ashley, since she is avable."++


    ++"Thanks, buddy. And don''t worry, Ricardo! Thanks for fixing this mess. We''re almost done here! Did you hear that, Anastasia? No need to hold back anymore! We can go all-out!"++


    ++"n..."++ Aaron interrupted. ++"I''m sorry to be that guy, but you have to see this."++


    ----------------


    +++++DUNGEON PROGRESS++++


    BUTLER MARICK - * DEFEATED *


    COOK MONIER - * DEFEATED *


    COUNT DYLAK - ONLINE


    C0unte$$ - Online


    HOUSEKEEPER BILMUR - * DEFEATED *


    - data not found - * NO INFO*


    HOUSEMAID ELIZA - * DEFEATED *


    PROFESSOR SPIEGEL - * DEFEATED *


    ---------------------


    "What the...?"n muttered, while feeling a cold pressure inside his chest. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS... ''COUNTESS''?!"


    "Master n?"


    -----------------------


    ++++++Warning: Minion''s temperature increasing.


    ++++++Warning: Minion has taken damage due to the overheating.


    ++++++Notice: Minion''s HP at 53%.


    ---------------------------


    ++"Holy--! Are you all right, Anastasia?!"++


    ++"No. I can''t move my body..."++


    ++"That''s the toll of constantly using Modding, n!"++ Aaron informed, as a blinding beam of light reached n.


    He could see the first sun rays behind the hills in the distance, and Dk projecting an increasing shadow against them.


    ++++Notice: Boss'' HP at 29%.+++++


    "Oh, crappy shitpants..."


    "Good training, n!" the boss said, while he diminished in size. "I''m so proud of you!"


    Before Count Dk lost his ''Creature of the Night'' boost, he punched Anastasia with all of his strength.


    The female NPC got sent flying backward, identally hitting n in her trajectory.