Chapter Twenty-Five

Aside from a small cut on his cheek and a flurry of arrows he had to flash Shout up to block, Will led his party through the first chamber with little trouble. He sent Blanik ahead to scout the second, and the teen returned successfully having sneaked in and out without being seen.

“Okay, there’s that Altar you mentioned in the middle of the room and then twelve or thirteen...snake people? They look like Voldemort, kinda?”

Will chuckled.

“That’s new. Well, the Altar is apparently how you trigger the Boss, so I’d bet we have to kill these snake people to access it.”

Okembe voiced the idea of trying to negotiate, but Will waved him down quickly.

“I’d try it, but think. They’re snake people, worshipping an Altar that spawns a Hidden Boss. What are the odds that the Boss is a big snake and they see it as their God?”

His logic was flawless, bolstered as it was by future knowledge, and the party agreed to assume the snake people were hostile unless they surrendered.

It was a slaughter. Bolstered by their gifts and a month of pent-up energy and training, the party swept through the chamber like it was a group of goblins on the first Floor. Daphne’s firebird and electric hare each wiped a Serpent Cultist out in a powerful detonation, the young woman barely pausing to swig a Mana Potion between each cast. Okembe sent four telekinetically controlled spears he’d picked up on the 2nd Floor and they turned two charging snake-men into pincushions before they could get close enough to swing their swords.

Unk stepped up, blocked two axes that came towards him and pushed the attackers back far enough that Metrodora was able to lob an explosive potion right between them for massive damage. Will dashed forwards and flicked Whisper straight into the heart of a snake-man that tried to go after him with twin daggers, Vigorous Sharpen [E] letting it glide straight between thin ribs like butter.

Even Blanik, their least combat-experienced member, flipped and danced around the edges of the chamber and managed to drill several darts into the skull of a monster that tried to catch Unk from behind. In less than two minutes, the chamber was silent except for the breathing of the party, and they looked around them at the messy display.

“Well, that was easier than expected!”

“You’ve jinxed it now!”

Daphne and Unk burst into their usual mock-bickering, and Blanik looked between them in confusion. Will and Metrodora laughed, Okembe smirked, and they caught their breath before activating the Altar.

“Brace yourselves, here it comes!”

Unk shouted, jamming his sword into the floor to steady himself and throwing a hand out to grab Daphne’s shoulder as the floor of the chamber shook violently. In the centre of the room, the circular altar was receding into the floor, kicking up clouds of dust as it slid in and away. Silence and stillness reigned for a second and then it came, rushing out of the hole and slithering into the chamber with lightning speed and a sibilant hiss.

Daphne’s Spell earned from the Snow Sentinel activated behind Will and sent a flurry of small icy birds to scatter across the giant serpent’s scales. This gave the others enough time to react as Unk and Will dived in to keep the snake’s attention, their swords flashing in harmony with one another.

The Jungle Serpent let out another hiss as it tried to get its’ fangs between the two shields of Unk and Okembe, one held fast in armoured hands while the other delicately floated to cover any gaps in the American’s defence.

“It’s calling friends!”

Blanik punctured this callout by flipping over Will and the Serpent entirely, letting loose several darts at the apex of his flight.

Metrodora had drawn the dagger he’d convinced her and Daphne to carry and was swiping at a pair of smaller snakes that had emerged from holes in the floor to bite her, and as Will turned and beheaded two that came for him, he watched the silver darts slam perfectly into the skulls of the snakes, with the third passing Metrodora entirely and hitting a third snake she wasn’t aware of.

He didn’t have time to be grateful for the Acrobat’s assistance as he turned back to the Jungle Serpent and activated Alacrity and Vigorous Sharpen.

[My summons aren’t doing shit against the big one, I’ll work on keeping the ads clear.] Daph]

[Me too. Met]

Blanik didn’t reply in the Party Interface, but he shouted agreement and joined the two girls in trying to pin down the writhing mass of smaller snakes coming for them. With his enhanced Speed, Will leapt in to an opening created by Unk and drove Whisper into the snake’s side, drawing blood and having to backpedal quickly to avoid the whipping of its’ tail in response. He dived out of the way, watching Unk activate his new Skill again to force the serpent back from where it was about to bite Okembe. Will gestured to the other two men, and they formed a triangle facing their foe.

Behind them were the sounds of fighting, as the other three threw darts, potions and spells by the dozen in an attempt to keep the wave of minions from getting through to them. Okembe’s shield dropped and was replaced by the spears, floating out of his Spatial Bag and hovering ominously as the Jungle Serpent reared back to lunge.

Will dashed in first, followed by Unk, and he could see the spears in his peripherals keeping up with even his enhanced pace. He dodged two quick bites from the Jungle Serpent and landed twin slashes with his blades, cutting an X into the scales and opening a weak point that Okembe immediately slammed one of his telekinetic spears into. The monster convulsed and turned to spit poison at the Psion in revenge, but Unk called a link, swigged an antidote and Okembe just let the poison wash over him.

“Ooh that’s nasty, don’t get hit with it again please anyone!”

Speeding up, the Jungle Serpent began using its’ bulk, attempting to isolate Unk from the others and driving repeated attacks into his shield, trying to dispose of the party’s tank so it had a shot of hitting the rest. Will felt a backlash of heat from his side as he ran to assist, and turned to see a pile of barbecued snakes being launched back from Metrodora, who was swaying with several bites on her legs. Snapping focus back to the task at hand, he trusted Blanik and Daphne to assist her. That was the point of a team.

“Unk!”

He shouted as he leapt over the body of the serpent and landed behind its’ head, driving Whisper deep into its’ skull with all of his might. He looked down at the man, who was staggering, nursing a large shoulder wound and fumbling to keep a shield in his hands as the telltale purple veins of the Jungle Serpent venom began bulging across his face and neck. The Serpent thrashed and Will was sent careening towards the edge of the chamber, with no leverage to stop himself. He dropped Alacrity and braced with Endure, waiting for the impact, but none came.

Instead, he saw Blanik helping Metrodora to her feet, handing her an antidote and the leaping towards him. Concentration wracked the teen’s features, and Will’s Reflex let him study it as Blanik came flying towards him and diverted him off course to land roughly on the floor instead of crack painfully against the wall. Bringing the kid along had actually paid off a lot more than expected.

“Thanks, help the girls.”

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He ran back to the Serpent, swapping Spells over again as he did. Okembe was stood over Unk, who was trying to get back to his feet. There was an empty bottle of antidote rolling along the floor beside them, but Unk was still struggling to raise his sword.

Okembe’s right hand was pressed to his temple so hard the knuckles were white, and his left moved like a blur directing not only his 4 spears but also the sword and shield he normally wielded. Between them, he was fending the Jungle Serpent away from the tank.

Will felt a number of the smaller snakes dig fangs into his trousers, and a few even pierced the skin, as he sprinted towards the Jungle Serpent and jumped over Okembe to engage. He ignored the pain burning through his veins and aimed directly for the Bosses eyes as he triggered Powerful Shout.

“Whooompf!”

The sound popped Will’s eardrums as the blade of force projected from the edge of his sword and launched towards the snake. It recoiled from the attack, but he still watched over a dozen smaller serpents be ripped to shreds, and then the attack hit the Boss. It slammed home, causing a huge fountain of blood from the Boss’ head, tearing one of its’ eyes into pieces. Two of Okembe’s spears followed in its’ wake, and went for the other, but they both ended up slamming into its’ body as the huge snake thrashed and slithered backwards.

Daphne sent her firebird in after it, with Blanik and Metrodora standing back to back and wiping out as many smaller snakes as possible. Unk threw a link to his niece and the Alchemist, draining a healing potion and nodding to Will. Will drained his own antidote, feeling the accumulated venom from the small snake bites purge slightly.

By this point, everyone on the team except Okembe had been poisoned at least once, and as Daphne sent her ice birds and electric hare to back up the firebird he could see cuts and scratches crisscrossing the ruined hems of her robes that made her footing less stable. The minions would just keep spawning as long as the fight continued, but nobody was letting them wear them down and they just continued throwing as much damage as possible into the Boss.

The Jungle Serpent was far beyond enraged, slamming its’ huge form around the chamber and trying to swipe them with its’ body as well as pierce its’ forearm-long fangs into their chests.

[Everybody jump when I shout! Met]

Metrodora let out a half-scream half-cackle after sending the message, and everyone but Unk was fast enough to listen. There was a crash and then a buzzing sound, as the carpet of snakes all twitched and writhed, covered in a sheen of electrical energy. Will landed on the burnt and stunned snakes and immediately sprinted up to the Jungle Serpent, aiming to smash its’ fangs from its’ mouth with heavy blows from Shout.

Unk was groaning and looked as though he’d stuck his finger in a power outlet, but was still conscious enough to step up and swing his sword through the heads of a few small snakes that had survived Metrodora’s chain attack. As Will took one of the Serpent’s fangs to the torso and felt a deep gash carve down his chest, he drove Whisper into the creature’s mouth and up through it’s head, wiggling the blade and wishing he’d unlocked the blade’s Skill already. Instead, he had to draw the blade back and dodge another bite, watching Okembe’s spears cover his retreat and thump into the Serpent’s head.

The respite that Met had bought them with whatever concoction she’d somehow brewed mid-fight allowed everyone to fix their attention on the Jungle Serpent, and as Will danced out of its’ way and kept its attacks directed his way he gritted his teeth through the coursing venom, activated Verten’s Vitality and doubled down. Along with him, the others all unleashed anything they’d been holding back, sensing in the Serpent’s ruined face and slowed movements that victory was within their grasp.

The Boss tried to spit venom again, this time across all 3 of the Casters, who had grouped together on one side of the chamber, but Blanik scooped up Okembe’s shield from the ground and leapt in front, using the large metal disc to deflect the majority of the poison and allow the others to simply shrug of the remaining drops and keep attacking. Unk gathered all of his remaining energy to fire off a final Bulwark’s Might, battering the Serpent back and giving Will and Okembe the room to deliver twin finishing blows. Two spears dived simultaneously into the Boss’ last working eye at the same time Will flipped up and slashed deeply into the creature’s spine, hacking away as hard as possible until he felt the huge form go limp.

“You have defeated [Floor 3 Hidden Boss] [Jungle Serpent]

Clear Rating: B

Clear Contribution: 40%

Clear Rewards: 2000 Tower Coins, Jungle Zone Key Piece, Reactive Bezoar [D], Boots of Jungle Serpent Swiftness [D]”

Even the mostly mediocre rewards and the fact they’d taken too long for an A Rank couldn’t mute the party’s enthusiasm. They’d made it through another Boss, this one even tougher than the last, and none of them had been near-fatally injured.

Will joined the group in celebrating and discussing their loot, noting how Unk and Okembe both patted Blanik on the back and gave him compliments on his work in the fight and the way that he shuffled uncomfortably and then beamed with pride when they looked away. Metrodora and Daphne were comparing the Spells they’d earned, and he overheared Met mention how the Lightning Draught (as she was calling it) was based on the younger girls’ Electric Hare.

“What’s a Reactive Bezoar?”

Unk asked, and Will replied without thinking about it.

“You swallow it and it’ll wait till you suffer a fatal poison, purging it. I think it has like two or three uses, though there are some things on later Floors that’ll ignore it since it’s only a D Rank variant. Still worth swallowing, especially as a tank.”

Unk just nodded, inspecting the small grey marble and walking over to hug his niece. Okembe gave Will a slightly curious look, but then turned away and began chatting to Blanik.

“The bandolier was really helpful, thanks Will!”

He turned to Metrodora and grinned, taking the offered embrace and patting her back firmly.

“I saw it on a Climber’s table during one of Brunjar’s markets and thought of you instantly. That electrical attack was amazing, by the way. I was worried about the minions before this, but you guys kept them off us perfectly.”

That began the portion of any successful mission where the party began to swap compliments, re-enact their cool moments and banter about Contribution percentages as they dressed any lingering wounds and started the journey back to the safe area.

[Can we talk privately? Okembe]

Will looked at the man curiously but nodded, and once they’d returned to their temporary HQ he slipped out of the hut and dipped around the corner, greeting the tall mage as he followed a second later.

“What’s up mate?” He asked.

“Where do you truly get your information?”

Ah. That was not the question he’d expected. He’d known he’d have to tell the others some story eventually, and he was already planning to tell a modified version to the other important Climbers when he offered them the chance to join him on Floor 4. Given that he’d spent the longest with the Kenyan, and that he was unquestionably the most perceptive of the group, it shouldn’t have been surprising he’d be the first to notice.

“You mentioned to Metrodora that you had expected the minions. You also could not safely disarm the trap before the temple alone, but claimed to have been inside it previously. You also speak with some authority about other Floors occasionally.”

The explanation made sense. The more information Will shared, the better chance his party and Humanity as a whole stood at reaching the 51st, but he couldn’t cause a mass panic by revealing the truth to everyone and had to keep some things close to the chest for the sake of discretion or exploiting for himself. Especially since Daphne’s injury, he’d leaned a lot heavier on sharing, so it was no wonder Okembe had clocked the implications.

“I may as well tell the rest of the party at the same time, if you don’t mind. I was planning to eventually anyway, and I’ll be telling a modified version to some other people before we go to Zone 4, so it’s best you know before then.”