I groaned as I dragged myself to my feet, my right leg unable to take even the slightest bit of weight. I ignored the pain as I forced myself forward on my one leg.

My chest heaved, and breathing felt like sucking through a straw. My internal energy pathways felt like they’d been burned by hot pokers—I figured this was an after-effect of chugging too much mana potion in so short a time.

Knives of agony shot through me at every jolting hop, but I’d come here to do a job and I was damned if I wasn’t going to finish. I’d touch the core if it was the last thing I did—which at this rate it might well be.

“Is that all you’ve got, Kyrine?” I yelled.

The homicidal maniac had come really close to killing me.

Did she have nothing else to offer? Or was this the end of her fucked-up greeting?

I would have expected an ancient entity like a dungeon core to have incredible mana reserves. Belinda had said the dungeon was in a weakened state, though, so maybe this was all Kyrine would throw at me. Either way, I had a chance, and I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I staggered up, and finally made it onto the platform.

Beside the large plinth that held the immense gemstone, a smaller circular hole opened in the surface of the platform. From inside the stone, a second, smaller plinth arose with a small pewter bowl resting on it.

I dragged myself toward the bowl and saw a glowing red liquid inside it. It smelled of aniseed. A healing potion, and from the depth of the color, I figured it must be an incredibly powerful one.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said, hoping Kyrine could hear me. “I’m glad for the healing potion and all, but I wouldn’t have needed it if your pet didn’t crush my damn leg.”

The chamber rumbled, almost like it was belly laughing.

“Fuck you!” I said as I guzzled the liquid inside the bowl. The taste was incredibly strong, almost overpowering, but I gulped it down, feeling the rush of the powerful healing energy blast into my system.

My body immediately began the process of rebuilding my leg. Despite the healing potion’s numbing effect, I experienced an excruciating pain as my bones began the magically enhanced process of mending.