The parched earth crumbled at Joe’s feet. He jumped back from the edge of the fissure just before it gave way, watching as loose dirt and rocks tumbled into the darkness below.
“Mind your step, there are cracks everywhere.” Brian placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. TJ kicked up dirt with his boot, sending a brown, stringy clump flying into the abyss. “Fuck every crack here, especially that one. It took poor Lucky.”
“I take it you are speaking figuratively,” Rose said, planting her staff.
Joe laughed. “Yeah, we’ve no time for that.”
A notification appeared, one he couldn’t blink away:
[Titan Slayers faction have engaged First Floor Titan ‘GreenSnare’ in battle. All other ascenders in the vicinity awaiting their turn, please standby. May the god of all titans have mercy on their souls.]
Joe almost laughed again at the absurdly polite boss battle notification.
The shimmer in the sky he’d noticed earlier grew stronger, forming a translucent dome. The glistening barrier distorted the landscape beyond, creating a hellish mirage of twisted trees and fragmented reality. It felt like they were trapped in a snowglobe hellscape, the dome’s walls casting a surreal light over everything.
Dawn drew their attention to the hazy edge of the dome in the distance. “Map shows we’ve got an audience. There’s got to be a few hundred ascenders arriving at various spots around the perimeter.”
They all followed her gaze. Joe didn’t need Quick Wit to see the mass of specks growing at the outside edge of the boundary. The sense of being trapped gnawed at him, the dome’s oppressive presence making escape seem impossible.
TJ frowned and cocked his ear. “You hear that?”
Muffled by the distance, Joe strained to listen.
Thunk. Thunk. Boom!
A blazing light blanketed one side of the dome; it had to be some fool ascender casting a magic attack, trying to break through the barrier. The light refracted off the dome, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that danced around them.
“Some folk won’t take no for an answer,” Brian said with a shake of his head.
“Yeah,” Dawn said, gesturing to the masses gathering around the dome like moths to a flame. “It only takes one functional idiot to try their luck before they all follow like lemmings.”
A raspy voice cut through the growing tension. “Ascenders, no loitering at the boundary and please refrain from your feeble attempts at trying to break it. Those who persist will be given a severe ten-year time penalty. Red Zone Ascenders best beware—you could end up GORED. Use your time wisely…”
The lich’s voice faded to a whisper near the end. The ground trembled as a shadowy form emerged, crushing fallen trees under its giant foot. Joe’s eyes traveled up its colossal form. Vines and roots twisted around its body, pulsating with a green light. The titan had no eyes—no surprise, as plants didn’t need them. Blood red roses and nightmarish blooms with twisted thorns covered its hunched back, adding to its grotesque appearance.
[Greensnare Guardian
Type: Elemental Titan - Earth/Water
Level: 95, High Bronze Mana Rank
Health Points (HP): 14,949
Mana Particles (MP): 6,000
Strength: 95
Agility: 40
Intelligence: 70
Constitution: 100
Charisma: 20]
Joe’s eyes circled the group. “Remember our formation: range, mid-range, and melee. We’ve got to strike hard and strike fast from a distance to damage the titan and slow it down before its foot can stomp us into pulp.”
“Holy shit!” TJ’s eyes bulged in shock. “That’s a lot of strikes, even for a kill-happy thug like me.”
“I estimate it will take us at least ten minutes if we are efficient. We need to be clever to make our mana last long enough too.”
The titan's movements were sluggish. Inky black blotches traveling up its trunk meant that their earlier efforts attacking its root system were more than worth it.
Dawn grinned with a hint of savageness. “Drink up, Motherfucker. Poison’s working a nasty debuff.”
Joe read the notification that appeared above its head.
[Root Snare Debuff
Type: Attack Suppression
Effect: Greensnare is unable to use the Root Snare attack.]
Dawn’s grin vanished as a countdown timer appeared.
[Duration Remaining: 5:00]
Joe's heart raced as he processed the information. “We’ve got five minutes to do as much damage as we can before it recovers. Let’s make them count!”
Dawn’s hands glowed, scorching the air, forcing Joe to take a step back. “I’m ready to flame this fucker a new asshole. Brian, you got any more of Lucky’s poison brew left? We could keep the Root Snare attack suppressed if you shot a bolt after I flambé its ass.”
Brian withdrew the bottle and swirled it, then frowned. “I like the way you’re thinking, but there’s not enough left. I suggest you and I make the most of our Dual Strike attack.”
Dawn didn’t look convinced. “We don’t have enough time to deal enough damage to kill that thing. Once those roots erupt, there’s nowhere we can hide from those time suckers. Once we’re GORED, you know what that means…”
“Game Over. Permanently,” Joe said, thinking about what the Lich had said about them being unleashed. So far, they hadn’t met them, and he wasn’t looking forward to when they did. He squared his shoulders to Dawn. “That’s why we have to outsmart the Greensnare because we sure as shit can’t outfight it. Lucky for us, it’s got a 70 for intelligence and 20 for charisma”
Rose raised her staff, her eyes alight the color matching the intense glowing water tendrils of her staff. “I think we better move.” She pointed to the vines uncoiling around the titan’s trunk. “I can provide a water shield. My water whip will be too weak to bind its limbs and it's not fast enough to counter those vines.”
Joe nodded, his confidence in his team growing despite the dire threat they faced. He turned to TJ. “What’s your Strength and Constitution like?”
“Whoa, I gained points in both Strength and Constitution. When did that happen?” He flexed like a bodybuilder, his bulging biceps straining the fabric of his hoodie.
Brian tutted. “Nobody likes a show-off, and in future don’t ignore your notifications. It might do you good to throw your flex points into intelligence since clearly, you are not increasing that one through your actions.”
TJ’s chin jutted in defiance.
Joe stepped in with hands raised. “Give it a rest, you two. If we don’t work together, we’re dead.” He pointed to the debuff timer to emphasize his point.
“Here’s a hot take,” Dawn said. “Without that poison, the risk of being GORED is too great. I say we cut our losses and leave.”
Joe looked at Brian. “What are our odds? Can we kill it using Dual Strike while TJ draws its attention and takes the brunt of the attack, Rose provides a shield to reduce damage, and I go rogue and search for a weakness?”
Brian rubbed his goatee. “Odds are slim, but with those tactics, we may take the Greensnare down with seconds to spare. But we need to act now.”
A titan roar rooted Joe to the spot. “I say we fight. Leaving now will cost us a time penalty. I bet that barrier has a toll both ways if we try to breach it. I’m not giving up ten years.”
A fiery aura lit Dawn’s form. “Okay, I’m in. But what happens if we are killed and our respawn token activates? Do we respawn back in our zones or here?”
Joe didn’t get a chance to think. A vine whipped towards them at frightening speed.
Rose glided forward, arms spread wide. Her staff glowed brighter, sending out a wave of crystal-clear water. The vine slowed upon contact, as if moving through dense liquid. The attack’s force lessened, but those caught by the tail end still felt the sting.
Joe barely dodged the strike, feeling the wind rush past him. His Quick Wit skill activated, and everything around him sharpened in clarity. He could see the subtle shifts in the titan's movements, predicting where the next attack would come from. “TJ, get ready!” he yelled. “We need you to tank its attacks!”
TJ frowned. “Do what now?”
“Draw its attention! You can take more damage than the rest of us with your constitution.”
“I can do that.” TJ grinned. “Hey, shrub-for-brains, you hit like a sapling. Anyone ever tell you that your bark is worse than your bite?”
Brian groaned. “TJ, it’s not even a tree. Save the dad jokes and keep it distracted!”
Rose giggled, her eyes sparkling. “Oh, I thought it was funny, it’s nice to have a little humor while we’re fighting for our lives!"
TJ charged forward, waving his machete. “Come on, you leafy loser! Over here!” His taunts echoed through the chaos as he planted himself firmly in front of the team.
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The Greensnare Guardian responded, targeting TJ with relentless fury. A massive vine whip slammed down, but TJ was able to evade thanks to Rose’s water shield slowing it down. Still the sheer force of the titan’s attack sent vibrations up Joe’s legs, but he held his focus, searching for weak points.
He pushed down his frustration as he couldn’t find any, at least not on the front. No glowing core in its chest, no eyes to target either. It was a moving fortress of vines and plant matter. The trunk still appeared mottled from the effects of the poison.
"Brian, Dawn, hit the black spots on the lower half! It'll do more damage there!"
Brian nocked a bolt. Dawn’s hands ignited, and she touched the bolt igniting it with orange fire. The bolt flew, striking the trunk, the flames spread out and scorched its top layer.
[Greensnare Guardian HP: 12,838]
Joe glanced at the timer and gulped.
[Duration Remaining: 3:57]
We’re not fast enough.
With a roar TJ charged, his machete hacking at the vine. “BK Slash!” His blade bit into the vine, sap spraying as he cut deeper. Despite his high level of strength, the titan’s retaliatory force was immense.
Joe's eyes followed TJ as he dodged a Vine Whip by rolling to the side, the massive root smashing into the ground where he’d been standing. TJ leapt back to his feet, using the momentum to slash at another vine. The titan’s movements were sluggish, but its size made every swing deadly.
“Over here, you overgrown weed!” TJ shouted, hacking away at the vines trying to ensnare him. He leapt onto a higher vine, using it as a platform to strike at the titan.
Dawn and Brian struck in tandem, their attacks gaining a twenty percent damage bonus.
The titan’s health bar barely budged.
Joe’s body tensed with a wave of frustration. They were running out of time. "We need to cause more damage in the debuff time that we have left if we have any hope of succeeding!" Joe shouted, urgency in his voice.
Brian, panting and sweating, nodded. “Agreed. We can’t let up now.”
Dawn’s eyes burned like molten steel. “Alright, let’s turn up the heat.” Flames roared to life in her hands as she directed a torrent of fire at the titan, scorching its vines and causing them to writhe in pain.
“Brian, aim for the scorched areas!” Joe directed, his Quick Wit making every weak point clearly stand out.
Brian nocked another alchemy bolt, his hands steady despite the chaos. He waited for the exact moment when Dawn’s flames had burned away the outer layer, revealing the tender inner vines.
The bolt struck true, embedding deep into the exposed vine. The titan roared, shaking the ground with its fury.
[Greensnare Guardian HP: 9,300]
Dual Strike was effective, but the thirty second cooldown cost them debuff time before they could use it again.
Rose slowed the incoming attack giving TJ an opening to leap onto the next vine. His blade cut through, sap spraying like a fountain.
He climbed higher, nearing the poison blooms. The air was thick with the acrid smell of the blooms' toxic mist. He hacked away at the vines, exposing more weak points. But as he struck again, a cloud of poison mist engulfed him.
Joe’s heart sank as he saw TJ blinded and choking, the toxic fumes overwhelming him. “TJ, get out of there!” he shouted, but it was too late. TJ’s body went limp, and he fell from a great height, crashing to the ground below.
[Boon of the Fallen: Strength Boost to All Party Members]
Joe’s muscles tingled as a surge of strength amped his stat. Even with the boost, they were down a team member, and he wondered if TJ would respawn here or back in the Orange Zone.
The countdown timer read 3:00.
Shit!
They were running out of time, and the Greensnare Guardian’s HP was still high.
Joe, using his agility and rogue skills, darted between the titan’s flailing vines, searching for any signs of the titan’s core. He spotted a cluster of glowing vines on its back.
Activating Quick Wit, Joe’s senses sharpened even further. The titan's movements seemed more predictable with the next strike coming. He scanned its massive form, focusing on the glowing vines cluster.
Using Shadow Step, Joe dodged another Vine Whip and circled behind the knot of glowing vines humming with energy. The mana poisoning made him gag, but he ignored the wave of sickness and scaled the back of the titan.
With the added strength boon from TJ, Joe used his butterfly knives to cut open a hole in the knots of vines, exposing the titan core. The dizziness of mana poisoning was getting to him; his vision darkened, but he held on tight.
Above him, nightmare blooms began to unfurl.
Uh oh.
“Dawn, flame those blooms before they release the mist!” Joe shouted.
The fiery blaze scorched the blooms nearby, but the mist erupted from a further bloom clouding Joe's vision. He coughed into his hoodie, covering his mouth, but the rising burn in his chest told him he was too late.
He blinked as a figure reappeared next to Brian.
[System Notification:
Oh, dear. It appears you have met an untimely demise. How tragic. Fortunately, due to my unparalleled generosity and undeniable superiority, you possess a Respawn Token. Using this token will only cost you a mere year of your precious life (see small print for details).
Small Print: The cost is index-linked to your life expectancy. Frequent use may accelerate signs of aging, turning you into a withered husk sooner than you'd like. Use at your own risk.
Would you like to use your respawn token?]
[ Yes ] [ No ]
Joe cocked an eyebrow. “Is 'No' even an option?” He wasn’t going to risk finding out and selected Yes.
His vision dimmed to a single point, another notification appearing in the darkness.
[Titan Slayer Party Benefit: Because you died in a titan battle while other members of your party are still alive, you have two respawn location options. Please choose one to proceed.
- Orange Zone
- Greensnare Titan Battledome]
Joe weighed his options aloud. “If I return to the Orange Zone, I’d have access to mana regeneration before rejoining my team... but even if I could teleport back to them, would I be denied re-entry to the dome?”
Poppy’s voice startled him as her little 8-bit kaiju avatar appeared, pixelated horns and dragon body jerking. She flapped her tiny wings. “Yip-yip Joe, if you need a nap after fighting big nasty Greensnare, go to the Orange Zone. BUT your pals are still fighting and not looking so good.”
“Going back to the Orange Zone is useless unless I can reenter the boss battle. I’ll do what TJ obviously did and select Greensnare Titan Battledome as my respawn location.”
“TJ so brave, I like him.” Poppy clapped her little claws, pixelated sparks flying. Then she grimaced, her tiny dragon tail curling in discomfort.
“What’s wrong?” Joe asked.
“Ouchy, poor TJ got flattened by mean ol’ titan.”
“We’re down two. I better get back there. Thanks for your help.”
“Poppy always happy to help,” she said, her avatar giving a dramatic bow, wings flapping with enthusiasm.
Joe selected Greensnare Guardian Battledome, more than ready to rejoin his team.
A deafening roar reached Joe’s ears before his feet found solid ground. In a swift thrash of a viny claw, he dodged TJ's body as it flung limply across the battledome. Water rained down around the titan as it broke through a wall of water to stomp on TJ again. Taking a quick breath, Joe gestured toward the others and threw a few smoke pellets at the Greensnare’s feet.
“Dual strike, now!”
Rose sprinted toward the distracted titan, gritting her teeth as she spun her wooden staff into a mighty arc through the smoke screen. The titan’s eyeless head spun around as Brian fired his tandem bolt, which penetrated a scorched vine.
No notification to indicate twenty percent damage—his team must have still been in cooldown mode from an attack when he was respawning.
The titan swooped down, the smoke clearing to reveal Rose’s staff wedged between its viny leg. The extra boon of strength seemed to remain.
Activating Shadow Step, Joe grasped Rose, pulling her to the side as TJ reappeared, his face redder than a cherry. Ducking his head, TJ charged toward the Greensnare.
Joe slashed his butterfly knives across the titan’s leg and leapt onto Rose’s staff for leverage. He hoped his minimal damage with the knife would be enough to count towards another dual strike attack as TJ’s thunderous strength plowed into the titan’s weakened leg.
A system notification flashed:
[Greensnare Guardian HP: 6,589]
Yes! Joe thought, continuing to climb onto the titan’s back, his boots enforced with Silent Enchantment to reduce his presence. He only needed to get to the core and cut it out using his small butterfly blade before the Greensnare had another chance to attack. How hard could it be?
Size doesn’t matter. It’s what you do with it that counts.
Glancing down, he saw TJ scuff the ground, preparing for another charge like a bull that had just been castrated. Flames whizzed past Joe’s shoulder, scorching the rest of the nightmare blooms before its mist attack could explode.
This was his chance to end it all. Traversing the titan’s warped viny back, using his butterfly knives as anchors he inched closer to the knot of protective vines. A blue glow rimmed the edge of the blades as they cut deep.
Consider yourself blessed that blade has fire affinity, but you’ll need more than that to reach the titan’s earth core and claim it. You’ll have to dig deep…
Joe tuned out the blue flame’s evil, villainous laughter.
Being tossed about like a ragdoll as the Greensnare whipped its body side to side, stole all of Joe’s attention. It nearly caused him to drop one of his knives as he worked on removing the knot of vines. He couldn’t risk losing his grip. Pulling the paracord from his backpack, he wrapped it around his waist and knotted it around a thick vine. His body swayed as the titan moved across the battledome.
Fireballs and alchemy bolts continued to pierce the Greensnare's open wounds, but another system notification flashed red in his vision:
[Warning: Root Snare Debuff has been removed.]
Joe’s eyes widened, his heart racing.
A root erupted from the ground below, whipping in erratic movements, chasing TJ, who was cursing like a sailor at the monstrosity.
Joe reached back into the vines and made a deeper cut, his breath quick and heavy as he slashed through the knot with his blade. He clung tighter as the last vine fell away. Before him lay a layer of thick, waxy tissue. He thrust his blade into the porous tissue—or at least he tried to.
"Damn," Joe said with an exhale. His blade was no match. Even with the extra strength from the Boon of the Fallen, his knife couldn’t breach the next layer. Taking a closer look, he noticed they were crescent-shaped cells, like something he’d seen in high school biology.
"Guard cells. They’re closed now, but will they open when plump with water?"
The titan reeled back, and Joe grasped the paracord with one hand. The weight of his body pulling on the thin line around his waist cut into his skin despite the padding of his hoodie. His butterfly knife clinked against the spindles of vine as it landed on the ground. Joe couldn’t afford to lose the second knife if he was to have any hope of cutting the titan core out. He looked between Dawn and Rose.
Be like water, my friend.
“Rose!” Joe waved at the water hybrid mage. “Can you give this overgrown plant a good soaking?” He pointed at the guard cells the size of two dinner plates squashed together.
Rose’s eyes locked onto him, and she gave a sharp nod. "Always happy to help a friend with his gardening," she said with a smirk. Given his proximity to her target, the force of the water stream was slow but steady. The guard cells plumped, triggering the automatic response he was hoping for.
Grunting, he reached his free hand back into the entrance that had opened. He kept reaching until he was shoulder-deep. If the guard cells snapped closed, his arm would be crushed.
Holding his breath, the tips of his fingers brushed against something dense and rough. Using all his strength, he tugged and tugged, loosening it from the cavity that held it in place.
The warmth of the titan core pulsed in his hand, and he ripped it free. It was surprisingly small but heavy enough to force Joe to grip it tight using his extra strength.
Victorious, a smile spread across his face as he turned to show his team.
His heart sank to the pit of his stomach when the titan’s root system erupted all around the dome, his team leaping onto trees to avoid the Root Snare.
Their chance of being GORED was way too close for comfort. Joe squeezed the titan core and transferred it into his backpack. Suddenly, sap sprayed from the gaping hole he’d carved to remove the core, showering Joe as if he’d unplugged his finger from a crack in a dam.
“Nooo!” Joe yelled as his body became weightless with the freefall of the Greensnare.
He tugged on the paracord’s knot but couldn’t free himself.
The titan’s shadow blocked his view of the shimmering dome as the the ground rushed up to meet them.
Joe winced, bracing for impact. Immense pain overwhelmed him. The weight of the titan crushed his bones, but the sensation was short-lived.
Darkness shrouded him once again as a number of notifications streamed across his vision.
The final one flashing red.
[You have died.]
“Good job, chump.” The blue flame mocked with laughter.