The sudden surge of power made my vision flicker in and out until I was forced to my knees. The system hadn't protected me this time, which meant my body was simply struggling to adapt.
But the pain kept intensifying until I could no longer keep my mouth shut.
"W... What did you do to me?" I gasped, pain ripping through me like a thousand knives stabbing all at once.
"I didn't really do anything. You wanted my servant's power. True to my word, I gave it to you."
"But I left out one little detail." Her smile stretched wider.
"Unlike the breadcrumbs other mortals get, you've swallowed the whole essence. And since I destroyed my servant myself, most of its power stayed intact. So you're getting way more than if you'd beaten it alone."
She paused, studying me with that amused, condescending smile. "Consider yourself very fortunate."
"Fortunate?" I grunted, every breath was a battle of endurance.
I kept calling the system in my mind, begging for it to do something.
