We had only just reached the bottom of the spiraling staircase, when the larger than usual labyrinth floor came into focus, easily twice the size of the previous levels we had traversed. Keeping with the unnecessary urgency created by the impatient heroes, I quickly leapt into the flat, earthy field, and immediately began scanning the vicinity with my eyes in an effort to locate the spear and magic hero. At present, they were well beyond my mana detection radar range, so visual contact was to be my best bet at swiftly locating them. Frantically, I scoured the floor for any signs of a struggle, monster, or any other kind of interesting visual landmark, but nothing unnatural or suspicious was present. That’s when I heard Inari call out to me.
“Ko! I... I think I hear some shouting to the north; it sounded like Haru!”
Glancing at her, I nodded, then activated my dash ability to quickly head towards the direction Inari indicated. Rapidly trampling over the cowering specs of gravel, I eventually started to see the outline of 2 humanoid shapes along the horizon, encouraging me to pickup the pace further. Seconds later, arriving near the figures, I was glad to see they were in fact, the spear and magic hero, when suddenly, a barrage of angry “warning triangles” entered my peripheral vision, as a vicious wind-like attack was launched towards my direction. Somehow keeping control of my footing, I managed to leap to the side, just narrowly avoiding the eviscerating winds. In their wake, an obvious chasm had made its debut entrance on the earthy surface, kindly revealed to the world by the wind’s “generous” introduction. Next, my ears were vulgarly assaulted by the spear hero’s vicious words, berating my actions.
“You FUCKING LIAR!!!!! Boss floor my fucking ass! What the hell “Totally not a summoned person”. This floor, IS FUCKING... EMPTY!!!! Do you SEE a fucking boss anywhere??!?!? UGGGGHHHH. This whole labyrinth thing is a stupid, fucking joke, and everything dies without issue. If you’re bored as well, you don’t need to lie about there being a “boss” to keep things “interesting”, fuck man...”
Haru angrily kicked a loose piece of stone towards my face, which I brushed away before it could hit me. Seriously, what the hell was his problem?!?! I was only trying t—
*tet*
Another small pebble launched at my face, along with Haru, drawing his spear towards my direction, pointing it at me in an “intimidating” fashion. His brown eyes, equally as piercing as the spear he held, stared well into my own as he awaited my response. Briefly glancing towards the magic hero, they remained silent during the spear hero’s charade and obvious anger towards me, choosing only to smugly readjust the glasses across their face. Furious at his unreasonable and chaotic actions, I also exploded in anger towards him.
“What do you mean fucking lying?!? I was only trying to warn the group about the message written on the wall! Isn’t it weird how this level is so much larger than the others? I don’t know why there isn’t a boss, but I certainly didn’t “make shit up” to keep things “interesting” like you’re claiming! And why attack me?!?! What the hell is your problem man!”
“Ya? Pfft, clearly you did! I shouldn’t have even got my fucking hopes up when you mentioned you could “read” the lettering. We’re fucking heroes mate, and even WE couldn’t read the stupid runic words, yet you could?!?! Our cheat-powers would have translated it, just like it’s been doing for all of the other languages in this stupid world. Get fucking real. You’re obviously lying to get that stupid cunt-faced bitch to like you or something, or whatever the fuck you npc’s want.”
“What the hell are you talking about?!?! I was just trying to make sure we were all safe while exploring the labyrinth!!!”
“Really huh? Then why are you hiding your powers??? It’s obvious you’re stronger than anyone else in the kingdom, meaning you have to be a summoned hero, otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense how strong you are. You’ve also clearly done things that don’t exist in this world, like lame ass “fist bumps”. I’m not a fucking idiot you piece of trash!”
“Bullshit! What the heck’s with your obsession that I’m a “summoned hero”?!? That logic doesn’t even make any sense! Just because I’m stronger than you, I have to be someone that was summoned??? Seriously, this world is massive, and you have the audacity to think that there couldn’t possibly be someone stronger than you, just because your amazing fucking ass was summoned, and you have cheat-like abilities??!? Get a grip Haru...”
Haru’s face twisted and contorted into a knot at my words. I wasn’t even trying to think properly, but just letting out my emotions in response to his childish antics. Next, his lips curled, as he brought his free hand towards his face, then began laughing like some third-rate villain before speaking to me again.
*HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!*
...
“Don’t you fucking “bullshit” me! Why are you so adamant on hiding the fact you’re a summoned person? It was clear the moment I saw you, that you were from my world with the clothing you wore. Do you get some sort of secret pleasure or something from hiding this fact?
Ko-ta-to?
Are you one of those cliché characters that’s ignorant of how the world really works?”
...
A dramatic pause from the spear hero, as he spat at the ground while flicking his weapon towards the unsuspecting soil, taking the time to walk towards me, slowly, before continuing his rant.
*Pfft*
“The one thing, that bothers me more than insufferable idiots like you, hiding their powers, while pretending to be the good guy, is that you actually think you’re the protagonist, and not some nameless npc in my story! Every isekai show I’ve watched, always has someone like you, pretending to be the “hero”, doing their best to always be kind, while saying “with the power of friendship, we can do anything!”
...
It’s bullshit, all of it!
---
I resolved myself, that if I ever got “isekaied”, that I would do everything those “lame ass” heroes couldn’t, like fuck the women in their party, build an actual harem to take advantage of, and abuse the cheat powers that were granted to me!!!
But you... It seems all of those fucking stories were right. There’s always someone who thinks they can be the good guy, and that being “nice” always wins.”
What in the actual hell was up with this guy?!?! His words came across like some deranged, unhinged asshole, clearly so far removed from reality, that nothing would satisfy him. While I did agree with him that lots of isekai shows were filled with common tropes, such as oblivious main characters, but seriously!?!? This was just ridiculous! Still angry at how unreasonable the spear hero’s personality appeared to be, I finally decided to humor him and admit that I was in fact, a summoned hero as well.
“You know what Haru? Fine, I am a summoned hero. There, you happy? My summoning got messed up, and I ended up stranded in the forest outside the kingdom. When I eventually made it to the palace, I was kicked out because King Solar summoned you guys, thinking mine “failed”. Apparently, they couldn’t afford to take care of a 5th hero. That’s why I’ve been living as an adventurer in this world instead.”
“HAH! I knew it! You finally admitted it! That’s what you get fo—”
Before I could even continue berating him, Haru rapidly began ranting about a whole assortment of things, ranging from common isekai tropes, to me being an idiot, to... Well... Honestly, I stopped listening after a bit, choosing to roll my eyes instead at his rambunctious... Rambling? I don’t know, this whole situation was just one, big, confusing mess, leaving me wondering why it even happened in the first place...
[Skip]
Eventually, as luck would have it, Raya and Inari, along with the rest of the elite guard and heroes, managed to catch up to us, hearing the tail-end of Haru’s disdain for my existence. While he was quick to inform the rest of the group that I was a “lying, fucking idiot”, we were unfortunately, met with a much larger, unexpected problem. Once we had all gathered together, there was a thunderous *Booming* noise that eclipsed the entire chamber, along with a swarm of blue, grid-like lines, rapidly covering the entire observable area. Then, an equally thunderous voiced echoed inside my head.
[Boss Floor... Engaged – All Identified Individuals Have Successfully Entered Floor 15 - Calculating Difficulty Parameters – Processing...
Additional Information For Challengers – All Exits Between Floors Have Been Sealed Until One Of 2 Conditions Are Met:
1. The Elimination Of The Boss Occurs
2. All Identified Individuals Are Eliminated In Combat
Warning – Party Member Size And Parameters Exceeding Floor Conditions Detected – Modifying Adversary Status – Calculating...
Success!
Good Luck!]
My face froze in horror as I heard the words speaking in the same, monotone voice as my internal assistant. Looking at everyone else, their faces were equally filled with confusion and fear, some even bordering on the line of despair. No one, dared to make a sound, only choosing to stare at each other in shock. Finally, one of the guards beside Raya, broke the defining silence amongst us.
“Did... Did anyone else... Hear that... Thing... Talking in their... Head?”
I looked at everyone, along with the man who raised such a simple remark. Had this comment come at any other time, they would have been labeled a fool, a lunatic, or the visage of a madman, clearly suffering from mental illness, unable to differentiate reality from fiction. Unfortunately, based on the expressions from everyone else, it was clear that all of us, heard that exact same voice. Next, I heard the trembling voice from Raya, as she ordered us to retreat towards the floor’s entrance.
“Everyone, retreat to the entrance! We’ll regroup and ascend to the surface. This is far enough for today. Quickly! Hurry!”
All of us, started running towards the stone staircase we had entered from. Amongst the crowed, I joined pace beside Inari, who was frantically flipping through the pages of her journal, trying to find some type of clue as to this mysterious voice and potential boss.
“Ko... That... That voice! Is that like... The one you’ve been describing to me???”
“Yes. While I’m glad others have finally heard it as well, proving I’m not crazy... I’ve got a really bad feeling about this...”
Did... Did I just raise a red flag again with that comment?
No sooner had the words left my mouth, had the ear screeching sound of stone grinding against stone, filled the room from above. Looking up to my right while continuing to run, a large portion of the ceiling above us, appeared to be shifting, slowly revealing a large “hole” by neatly sliding itself into a portion of the rocky terrain, much like a sliding door. Then, a large, black object, plummeted from the rocky roof, landing on the ground, shaking the very earth to its core.
*SLAM!*
A giant, gritty wave of dust and particles, quickly formed from the unexpected impact, and rapidly began rushing towards our direction, causing all of us to shield our faces from the spontaneous “sandstorm” we were about to be embraced with. With my vision constrained, while also gasping for breath in the dirty air, I tried to focus on my mana detection radar for any clue in identifying the mysterious object, but couldn’t recognize it. Eventually, we made it to the entranceway, followed by a thunderous roar from behind us.
As it would seem, it appeared the mysterious voice’s claims that the floors were sealed, were in fact, accurate. When we reached the stone archway, there was now an obvious translucent, blue barrier blocking our passage. Furthermore, in the middle of the empty space, was the same blue, runic writing from earlier, except this time, reading “Blocked”.
Ignorant and oblivious to the runic letters meaning, one of the guards attempted to ram the barrier with a shoulder charge, which was unfortunately met with him being blown back 20ft from the door’s entrance. Sharp, electric sparks, crackled and flew through the air at him, further electrocuting his body for daring to go against the blocked entranceway. While the guard was still alive, they were very clearly disabled from attempting to flee the floor. Wanting to take control of the situation, I drew my sword and shield while speaking to Inari.
“Have you located anything yet about that mana signature? I... I don’t recognize it from my training.”
“Not yet Ko. It’s... It’s similar to one of the monsters in my journal, but if this is a unique variant, then the pattern won’t hold.”
“Got it, guess I’ll just have to confirm it visually. Start setting up defensive barriers an—”
While I was still speaking, my left arm instinctively raised its shield to block an incoming attack while my right eye glowed a painful heat. Confused, and still trying to process what had just happened, I suddenly felt an aggressive smash into my arm, causing a painful, tingling feeling to vibrate throughout my entire body. I grunted in pain, as my body was pushed back several feet from the impact. Moments later, I heard the sound of several objects whizzing past my ear.
*Tink*
*Shw*Shw*Shshshw*
Next, I felt the sensation of something soft and warm hitting the back of my neck, followed by the sounds of some bodies dropping onto the rocky ground. I quickly brushed it away with my free hand, repulsed at the “squishy” texture I felt. Bringing my gaze to the ground where I tossed the slimy object, I gaged slightly after noticing it was a partially crushed eyeball, staring up at me from the ground below. That’s when I turned around to see 4 of the guards that were standing behind me, ominously missing their heads, which were instead replaced with a horrifying mixture of gooey brain matter and facial fragments vaguely resembling a human face. Feeling nauseous at their brutal deaths, I cursed under my breath as the sounds of serpents entered my mind once again, laughing, while taking control.
[HAHAHAHAH!!! YES!!! Youuuu better hurry Ko!!! Our meal awaits ussss!!! Slice it! Stab it! EVISSSSERATE IT!!! BRING US IT’S CORE!!!!!! NOW!!]
Staggering on my feet while clutching my face, I tried to remain in control of my body, but couldn’t, losing myself to the serpent’s desires. Before I knew it, I was dashing forward to meet whatever “adversary” the floor had prepared for us. Rapidly traversing through the dust that was obscuring the battlefield, I eventually laid eyes on the monster that had already eliminated some of the elite guard on our expedition.
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Standing before me, at roughly 12ft tall, was a bull-like creature covered in pitch-black fur. Unlike it’s 4 legged brethren, which were bound to a 4 hoofed fate on grassy planes, this creature had the audacity to defy it’s evolutionary destiny, instead opting to stand on it’s two massive hoofed legs to resemble a human. Held in it’s hands, was a massive 2-handed axe, whose metal gleaned an impressive sheen, effortlessly reflecting my image with flawless precision. Looking at the creature’s face, its snout was twisted from a tarnished, metallic, hoop-like piercing, as it grunted visible waves of hot air towards me. With blood-shot eyes, my presence was being scrutinized in excessive detail, complimenting the sharp horns adorning it’s massive head. This creature, was the frightening crystal image, of a minotaur, from Greek mythology.
While I was ashamed I hadn’t thought of it sooner, it was clearly fitting that a stronger variant for a dairy cattle, could potentially be a minotaur. When this simple realization was combined with the fact we were presently inside a labyrinth, I was both astonished, and frightened, after observing it’s destructive power.
The beast, having noticed my presence, aggressively stomped it’s right hoof on the ground, followed by a thunderous roar from it’s mouth, which nearly burst my eardrums from it’s vicious decibel prowess. Some of the spittle from it’s aggressive greeting had even managed to land on my face in the process. Wiping my face, I quickly cast an appraisal spell to learn more about this upcoming boss fight.
---
Creature: Minotaur Level: 25
Race: Bovine HP: 1,000/1,000 MP: 200/200
Profession: Floor Guardian
Status: Strength: 300 Defense: 225
Magic: 122 Dexterity: 250
Skill Proficiencies: [Strength] [Earth Magic – Great+] [Resilience] [Tough Skin]
[Axes – Excellent+] [Berserker’s Rage] [Labyrinth’s Blessing]
Titles: Solara Labyrinth 15th Floor Boss – Blessed with great strength from the labyrinth’s creator, this creature has received an exceptional boost to it’s base status. Additionally, when encountered by a larger than designated group per the labyrinth’s conditions, compensation magic will be applied to reinforce the floor guardian’s powers.
---
What in the actual hell, was up with those status values!!!! This... This minotaur, was clearly the very definition of a boss with monstrous values like that!!! Everything about it, from it’s HP, to it’s illogical strength, screamed of an unbeatable enemy. This creature... It had no reason to be the boss of the 15th floor!!! I... Everything before it had been an absolute breeze, barely posing a challenge, oblivious to the very definition of the word even! Then this impossible monster gets thrown our way?!?! What the heck was with this difficulty curve?!?! Was the labyrinth designed by some vindictive game developer, insistent on making the players suffer countless defeats after developing overconfidence from the easier floors???!?!? There was no way I could even fathom surviving an attack from this deadly bovine!!
Still shocked at the realization of how powerful this creature before me was, my body thankfully still retained the capabilities to dodge attacks, as the minotaur launched a quick overhead smash towards my direction. With a calmness at odds with my current mental state, I effortlessly stepped to the side of the colossal axe’s path, dodging the body-splitting blow, and subsequent barrage of rocky shrapnel my direction. Then, my body stepped forth to deliver a swift stab to the minotaur’s chest.
Unfortunately...
*Shting*
My blade failed to penetrate it’s muscular hide! I... I’ve never come across this type of resistance before. Was this the raw difference between our strength and defence status at play?!?! How on earth... Or rather... How on Terra am I going to deal with this thing?!?!
Both of us, were now awkwardly within each other’s grasps, with the minotaur staring deep into my soul, it’s warm and uncomfortable breath, fogging my vision, as it huffed and puffed in frustration towards me. Unfortunately, as much as I was currently enjoying my spontaneous facial steam bath, all good things must come to an end, and the monstrous bovine had decided it had enough of my presence, swiftly attempting to skewer me with it’s massive horns. Fortunately, I was able to raise my shield, just enough to lock with one of the horns, narrowly avoiding a new hole of a fashion statement through my chest.
*Guh*
The impact was rough, but I managed to hold my ground. Next, the heroes finally started getting within range of the beast, with the bow hero and magic hero, already launching a volley of spells and arrows towards it’s direction. While their quick attacks had managed to “hit” the minotaur, they seemed to have no effect, as the creature appeared oblivious to their impacts. Seemingly more annoyed than anything at the paltry sticks and flames lobbed it’s way, the beast continued it’s assault against me. Quickly, I managed to dodge to the left, just narrowly avoiding another vertical smash and subsequent horizontal sweep from the enraged cow, by rolling.
[Hiiiisssssss!! Weeeee neeeed moreeee! Power!! More power!! Ssssssubmit!!! Acccept us!!!]
NO!
I angrily shouted in my mind against the serpents again, except this time, clutching my right eye in pain. I was also starting to get disoriented trying to regain control, as movement after movement became more and more jarring. Finally, the spear and sword heroes made their debut entrance in the deadly dance of hooves and feet.
“Fuck ya!!!! Now this is what I’m talking about! An actual fucking boss battle!”
At his more than enthusiastic approval for finally having an appropriate challenge, Haru quickly launched himself into the fray with a spiraling wind and flame attack from his spear. Scorching heat and slicing winds ravaged my face, as he clearly disregarded his allies’ safety, opting to release the attack right next to me instead. While the spear had managed to hit the minotaur’s chest like my sword from earlier, Haru’s face quickly shifted from confidence, into confusion, upon realizing his attack was ineffective. Also annoyed at the spear hero’s attempt to dispatch him, the minotaur decided to act in turn, opting to quickly punch Haru with its massive hand instead. Thankfully noticing this in time, I somehow managed to intercept the bovine’s powerful punch, with my shield, knocking me back slightly.
*Ching!*
“Gah! — Haru! This one isn’t like the other monsters. It’s... It’s level 25!!! We’ll have to do more than simple attacks like that!”
“Heh! Well, obviously a single attack wouldn’t beat this thing. I was... Clearly just warming up! Samuel, use your title power already!”
Nodding at Haru, the sword hero crouched down with their hand on their sword’s hilt, almost like they were preparing for a quick-draw style attack. Then, they swiftly drew their blade, unleashing three slashes into the minotaur. After seeing the attacks connect, Haru attempted to stab the beast again, with similar results.
“Tch! Tough bastard... I’ll turn you into beef skewers yet you oversized cow!”
Clearly, we weren’t going to make much progress this way. We needed to combine our powers with the rest of the group and find a way to start working on it’s absurd HP value. That’s when I noticed a slew of status buffs happily announce their presence, along with a panicked fox and Raya.
“Ko!! I— Is that really a minotaur?!?! And those status value! How are we suppose to—”
Noticing Inari, along with the cluster of soldiers now entering it’s range, the minotaur aggressively stomped it’s right hoof into the ground, causing large chunks of stones to fly into the air. Then, keeping with it’s rage, smacked the bewildered rocks with it’s axe, using it like a baseball bat. While this made me realize how the stone bullet barrage was produced, I was horrified seeing the attack in action, as the stones were now happily soaring towards our vulnerable members. Noticing the barrage just in time, Inari thankfully managed to leap and twist her body to avoid becoming Swiss cheese from the flying bullets. Unfortunately... 3 of the guardsmen beside her couldn’t react quickly enough, causing their bodies to become riddled with holes, as blood, bones, and organs, oozed out from their fleshy confines. That’s when I aggressively called out to nimble fox, asking her help protect the guards and Raya as best she could.
“INARI! I’ll try and keep the beast focused on me. Do your best to support them while applying hex and curse magic when you can. This is going to be a long fight! Boss siege battle plan #3!”
Nodding at me, Inari leapt back to give herself some extra distance, then quickly activated a multi-barrier spell around the remaining sorcerers while applying a hex for strength reduction and curse for blindness to the minotaur, which caused it’s eyes to become covered in a black fog. The battle plan which I had called out to her, was something we had discussed when I was sharing knowledge from my world with her while at the Tavern. Essentially, Inari was intrigued that these “video games” from my world allowed for simulated battles against powerful monsters, which lead me to describe various methods I would employ when learning their patterns or mechanics. Boss siege battle plan #3, was the variation we had decided on that focused on protecting the backline, while the front kept the boss engaged. The front would concentrate on defending, dodging, and applying “chip damage” where they could, while the backline healed any damage taken. From a gameplay perspective, it was tedious, slow, and boring, but safe and effective.
Once the backline was setup, the chaos started to settle as we gradually became accustomed to the minotaur’s attacks. Samuel, Haru and I, were trading blows with the beast while dodging all of it’s swings towards us. Kyle, Miles, and the other sorcerers, were launching their own attacks as well, some of which started inflecting some damage from the repeated blows. Finally, Inari and Raya were focused on protecting and healing the group from any additional rock barrages sent their way. After several minutes, the situation started to feel like it was “somewhat” under control.
---
15 minutes into our encounter, we had finally started making progress on the minotaur’s health, albeit with some difficulties. I had never been engaged in combat for such an extended duration before, that I was starting to get exhausted from constantly focusing on dodging the vicious blows my direction, as a single hit would most certainly result in my demise. There were also issues amongst our melee coordination, such as Haru and Samuel sometimes interfering with my attacks, or being in the way of my dodging pathway. Most of these problems were probably due to our inexperience fighting together, but this really wasn’t the best scenario to be working through these problems on the fly! However, things unfortunately took a turn for the worst once the minotaur’s health dropped below 50%.
Just as one of Haru’s stabs lightly pierced it’s hide, the beast let loose a thunderous roar, much louder than any sound it had produced so far during our siege battle to the death. Following the ear-shattering shout, I heard the jagged, screeching sound of heavy metal being lifted, followed by horrifying shrieks from above us.
Briefly looking at the ceiling of the arena, the sound was fairly easy to locate, presumably coming from the rapidly descending stream of black giant bats, which had emerged from portcullis in the rocky roof above us. While I was personally amused that I had “probably” remembered the word to correctly describe a retractable opening covered by sturdy metal, I was less amused when I analyzed the bats diving towards us. The colony of giant bats, possessed the same combat status as the ones we had seen during our trek through the 10th floor. However, the striking difference between the two scenarios, was we were currently also engaged with an absurdly powerful boss! To make matters worse, the minotaur also appeared to be moving faster, making dodging it’s attacks much more difficult.
“Shit!” I exclaimed while narrowly avoiding another slash my direction, just in time for some bats to crash into my body, knocking me prone onto the trampled ground below. Seeing I had fallen, the minotaur tried to stomp me into the soil with it’s massive hoof, but was thankfully thrown off-balance by an aptly placed earthen pillar spell, staggering it. That gave me just enough time to quickly roll to the side, dodging the incoming stomp attack. Scrambling to my feet, I readied myself for the upcoming “enraged” phase of the boss battle.
Seeing that the minotaur was still being “bombarded” by the bow hero, along with spells from the magic hero and palace sorcerers, the giant bats decided their presence would be better suited harassing the backline. I just had to hope their defenses could withstand the increased pressure from a swarm of the creatures. Bringing my attention back to the minotaur, I made sure it’s focus was on my person, providing opportunities for the sword and spear heroes to land blows where they could. I was able to keep this up for around a minute, when I heard a loud explosion from behind me, quickly followed by some bloodcurdling screams from the soldiers, and frantic cries from Inari.
*BOOM!*
“GAH!!!! MY ARM!!!”
“Keep holding the line! Don’t let th- AHHH”
“Ko! We... We need some help back here! Miles... He— He used up all of his MP and he can’t protect us anymore! We’re being overwhelmed!!! I can’t... I can’t protect everyone with my barrier!!”
While some charred chunks of bat wings and flesh grazed my armor following the explosion, it clearly sounded like our backline was rapidly falling apart under the pressure from the giant bats. With the minotaur still focused on me, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I left to try and help Inari, the minotaur might follow, exposing our casters to it’s deadly melee attacks. If I didn’t help them, they would crumble under the bat’s assault, leading to their eventual deaths anyways. Trying to think of a solution, I called out to Haru while continuing to dance around the minotaur.
“Haru! Can you help the guards behind us? One of your spiral wind attacks should be able to eliminate the bats so they can regroup an—”
“Pfft, why would I help them? They’re just going to die anyways. If they can’t even handle those bats, they shouldn’t have joined us to begin with!”
“They’re dying!!! Can’t you quickly help them while I keep the minotaur distra—”
“Ohhhh nooooo... The poor npcs are dying...
No. I’m not going to risk my life for some stupid soldiers. Fighting this boss is actually interesting.”
Angered by his nonchalant attitude towards the human beings dying behind us, his refusal to help them solidified my upcoming actions. Finding a break in between the bovine’s heavy-handed sweeps and smashes, I managed disengage from the creature, bolting towards the sounds of my comrades’ deathly screams. Glancing back, it appeared the minotaur had “thankfully” turned it’s attention towards the spear hero, giving me the time I needed to deal with the giant bats assaulting the barriers.
Reaching the backline, I was able to see 10 more of the guards had fallen to the bats, with only Inari, Raya, the bow & magic hero, along with a few other sorcerers, remaining. Currently, they were huddled under Inari’s barrier, being swarmed from above by a horde of at least 50 bats. In anger, the bats were aggressively throwing their bodies into the translucent bubble protecting them from certain death. The bow hero was valiantly trying to pick them off with arrows, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming his attempts to keep the flying murder wings at bay. Taking the initiative, I leapt high into the air, and started gathering mana around me for my flaming spear attack.
Closing my eyes, I started focusing on the environment from a mana signature perspective. A rapidly flickering, blacky haze started to come into view as I began isolating all of the mana signatures related to the bat swarm. Next, I imagined the molten laser beam attack, sweeping across the battlefield above my allies, eliminating each of the bats in one fell swoop. Each and every giant bat, would be vaporized by the liquid fire, exploding into chunks of meat and fur as the beam sliced them into halves. Satisfied I had weaved enough mana particles, with my hand pulsing a soothing warmth, I opened my eyes to unleash my flaming spear spell to save my comrades.
*Schroon*BOOM*
In an instant, brilliant, oppressive flames, shot forth from my right-hand, as I swept my arm in a wide arc across the horizon, making sure to hit each and every bat with my action. As the wave of fire made contact with the bats, they all split into two, quickly followed by a mini “explosion” from their body, causing a chain-reaction of exploding bats above us. Fur, wings, and meat, scattered around us, as violent winds threw their eviscerated bodies in every conceivable direction from the sudden updraft created by the blistering heat. Thinking everything over, I was thrilled with how the spell activated as I glanced at Inari and Raya below. However, I was left confused after observing them and their reactions.
For whatever reason, it felt like time began to slow, similar to when my powers first awakened in this world. I was still in the air, yet my body, and all of the horribly mangled bat chunks around me, almost appeared frozen in time, oblivious to the efforts of Terra’s gravitational force, constantly pulling us down to the earth below. Looking at my allies which I had recently saved, their faces were filled with shock and horror, and not to my expectations, relief. Then, I noticed Inari’s paws were raised, glowing like they usually do when creating her powerful barrier spells. She was also staring towards my direction. While this action didn’t seem unusual by itself, considering she was actively maintaining a barrier spell already, they only glowed when she needed to create a new one.
Wait.
Why would she need to create a...
Suddenly, I felt a surge of warmth growing across my back as I made the connection to where her eyes were staring. While their gaze seemed to be focused on me, the pupils were slightly off-centre, putting the actual object of focus behind my person. Struggling with every ounce of effort I could exert; I fought against the invisible resistance to try and look behind me. After what felt like an eternity, I was finally able to “somewhat” see over my shoulder. In the distance, I saw Haru and Samuel, facing towards me, running in place. Then, I saw the lumbering object of Inari’s fixation mere feet away from me, the minotaur, currently completing a horizontal slash. I... I don’t think I can dodge this.
No.
I hadn’t dodged it, and everything happening now, was my mind frantically trying to piece together the chain of events leading to my predicament. Warmth, along with a sharp, unimaginable burning pain, continued to gleefully spread throughout my entire body, as I noticed the minotaur’s axe had decided to renovate my armor, with a clean slash through the blackened leather. Then, after the agonizing eternity, time once again, began to flow at its usual rate of passage.
Unable to move, act, or even make the simplest of sounds, I felt my body catapulted forward from the aggressive impact, as barrier after barrier cracked and shattered like glass attempting to protect my frail body. The warmth turned to agonizing pain, as I was hurled at unimaginable speeds towards the parameter of the floor, ready to be caught with the open arms of the spiky, rocky walls. I tried to cast a spell, or anything to slow my impact velocity, but nothing happened. Mere inches away from impact, I was left wondering. “Where did I go wrong? I... I don’t want to die like this”.
Then, just before my body collided with the rocky walls.
Everything, went black.