The beast appeared to be a solid chunk of brown and grey mottled stone nearly as wide as he was tall. In a feat that turned his stomach, the beast opened its mouth, exposing a view into a rank, tooth-filled pit he wished he'd never seen. The Wyrm's head shook from side to side, flexing, and finally unhinging its jaws.

Alans confidence took a blow when he saw the Boss's mouth open up even further. It kept expanding until it was more than double it's original size. The Wyrm exhaled a heart-stopping hiss. Its humid breath hit Alan like a moist tropical breeze, leaving his exposed skin damp, and smelling of carrion.

He unconsciously retreated a single step and took a defensive stance. With revulsion settling across his features, Alan watched as seven short whip-like tentacles unfurled from within the inside corners of the Wyrm's putrid mouth. All fourteen of which settled into place on the unattractive creatures chin. When the Boss monster closed its mouth, the unsettling whiskers jumped into action. They began to whip around in a frenzy of motion, slinging long tendrils of white ooze flying off in all directions.

It took him a moment to come to grips with what he was looking at. He swiftly realized the red flash had been the ambient light being reflected off the surface of a single, basketball-sized eyeball. The disgusting 'slide' he and Su'ong had both traversed was actually the shovel-shaped face of a massive beast. The eight-foot tall ledge, Alan now realized, was nothing other than its camouflaged body. The first floor Boss had somehow perfectly mimicked both the color, and texture of the cavern walls.

Sensing a relax in its restraints, Alan's repressed thirst for bloody conflict rose to the surface. Before he realized what he'd done, Alan had already attacked. He started by summoning all ten of his Mana-Steel spikes from inventory at once. They were a bit heavy, but the thin rods fit snugly within his grasp. In a single fluid motion, Alan cocked his arm back, raising his makeshift javelins over his head.

“DIE!!“ Alan bellowed out, whipping his arm forward.

He held nothing back.

The Wyrm was caught completely unawares. When Alan released the spears, they flew forward at an astounding velocity, temporarily becoming nothing more than a dull-grey blur. Almost as soon as he released his grip, they had already struck their target.

His aim was a little off center, but even so, eight of the Mana-Steel spikes managed to penetrate over a foot into the right side of the Wyrm's massive eye. Unfortunately, two spikes had struck the hardened flesh to the side of its eye, and bounced off. They clattered to the floor without leaving as much as a scratch on it's face.

The Wyrm tossed back its head, and discharged a high-pitched shriek, thick with pain and rage. It unfolded a hidden pair of short, arm-like appendages from beneath its underside and began to claw at the sides of its head. The furious beast wanted nothing more than to remove the painful new additions to its face. However the beast's arms were far too short to reach. They instead tore long furrows down the side of its face.

The Wyrm reeled back even further, to the point its head nearly touched its spine. Alan instinctively flinched as the Boss cried out another ear-splitting screech. The reverberations carried such force, that several glowing stalagmites were knocked loose from the ceiling overhead, falling precariously close to where Alan stood. Once the Wyrm ceased to scream, the entire length of the ledge began to ripple fluidly, changing shape at a mind-blowing pace. Before Alan's unbelieving eyes, a monstrosity unveiled itself.

That thing has to be at least twenty feet long! Alan realized. His face mirrored the uncertainty gnawing away at his insides. I have to fight that thing?!

But it was far too late to turn back.

To Alan's eyes, the Wyrm looked like a long grey cylindrical chunk of stone. Roughly carved to mimic the shape of an oversized eel, it had but a single beet red eye centered over its cavernous mouth. Silver ichor slowly dripped from the corners of its jaws. Upon striking the floor, the caustic substance sizzled and smoked like overheated bacon grease.

A pair of shovel shaped claws sat below its elongated face, mainly used for gripping the ground. And, Alan assumed, they would allow the Wyrm to make suprisingly sharp turns.

Not only was it big enough to swallow three Alans standing shoulder to shoulder, but its mouth was lined with row upon row of sword-like teeth, running all the way to the back of its throat.

Several deep cracks ran the full length of the massive Beast. From deep within the fissures, a faint purple light began to shine out onto the walls. It reflected off the stalagmites around the cavern. Shadows danced around the room, making the camouflaged Wyrm even more difficult to locate.

Alan's eyes narrowed in concentration as he focused on the glowing purple segment of the Boss's body. The source of the inner glow was what he could only assume to be a Core. Admittedly, his view was somewhat distorted by a layer of semi-transluscent grey stone. But upon further study, it looked to be a slowly pulsing cube, no larger than his head.

Su'ong said, using party chat to communicate,

Right as she spoke, the Wyrm lowered its head and launched forward, aimed directly at Su'ongs unprotected back.

Without time to give warning, Alan only had a split second to make his move. He summoned his Tower shield to hand, instinctively using the shield's innate technique. {Defenders Aegis}! He cried out in a panicked voice, while slamming the base of the shield to the floor.

In a dizzying blur of speed that wobbled his perception, Alan appeared before the massive Wyrm's descending jaws. As it slammed into his shield, he felt the slightest pressure before a blinding flash of yellow light launched the beast backwards.

The Wyrm slammed into the wall and began to writhe around, looping and twisting into itself until Alan was sure it would wind up tied into knots. Taking advantage of the opportunity Alan provided, Su'ong pressed her hands to the floor and activated [Stone Manipulation]. A tidal wave of liquid rock washed over the Wyrms midsection, and began to rapidly harden.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Sensing his own opportunity, Alan called up a [Spectral Plasma Storm] while the Boss was off balance. As the spell charged, Alan stared on in confused shock as Su'ong materialized a literal boulder and hurled it at the beast's exposed stomach, finishing the job Alan started, and knocking it over onto its back.

With a grunt of effort, she formed a stone partition to the beasts right, temporarily pinning it to the wall. With a mighty shake of it's head, the beast pushed right through the sturdy structure.

But it was enough of a distraction for Alan's spell to come to completion.

Though Alan's spell was fully charged and ready to cast, he wasn't willing to release it with Su'ong in the line of fire. <” Uhh, your 'Firestorm' is ready when you are.“> Alan said through party chat, hoping to get the point across.

However, instead of clearing out, Su'ong began summoning crudely formed stone spears and large stones. Each one was thrown with pinpoint accuracy.

Her spears targeted the inside of the Wyrm's mouth, while her stones hammered Alan's Mana-Steel spikes further into its head.

The Wyrm reared back and screamed. It was furious. These insignificant creatures had not only the audacity to violate the sanctity of its zone, but now they were getting the upper hand? This could not be allowed to continue. It was unacceptable. Pain was an entirely unexpected experience, and it was one the Wyrm remembered that it did not enjoy. Pain was for prey. For the weak, and the hunted.

Diluted though it may have been, the blood of True Dragons coursed through the Wyrm's veins, bringing with it a healthy dose of arrogance and self-confidence. Though it lacked the great intelligence and magical capabilities that Dragons were known for. A gentle nudge at the back of its mind informed the Wyrm of the presence of the Dungeon Core.

Its gaze weighed heavily on the Wyrm, for the Wyrm knew what it meant. The Dungeon was watching. Waiting. Learning. It had been so long since adventurers delved the depths of the dungeon.

The Dungeon was studying the opposition. Which didn't bode well for the Wyrm. So be it.

Even if these insects somehow managed victory, unless they could also defeat the Dungeon Wraith, he would ensure the Wyrm's revival in seventy-two hours time. The only cost; a few more memories, and a whole lot of Mana. After countless deaths, the Wyrm had no recollection of anything outside these walls, so there was nothing left for it to lose.

A well thrown stone slammed into the spikes lodged in the Wyrm's eye. The vibrating metal sent shockwaves of pain shooting through its skull.

Throwing back its head, the beast screamed out in rage, preparing to release a few Skills of it's own.

Su'ong danced around the beast, narrowly dodging the occasional swipe of its claws and tail, while continuously casting Stone armaments.

Su'ong said casually while ducking under the angry beasts jaws. A loud clap echoed out as it's mouth snapped shut mere inches above her head. She clenched her fist and executed her {Granite Fist} technique.

Alan's eyes widened in utter shock when he saw Su'ong's entire right arm more than triple in size. Massive, ropy veins stood out against her aquamarine scales right before her arm turned to stone.

She threw a devastating right hook, her fist slamming into, and through the soft underside of the Wyrms chin.

The force of her punch sent its head crashing to the ceiling, which started a domino effect of falling stalactites. While he had the opportunity, Alan used [Examine]. The results were concerning to say the least

Lvl 22 Earth Wyrm HP: 8,728/11,000 (Bleeding)

We're not even halfway done?!! What's going on? Alan rescanned the Boss just to be sure. How is this blasted thing so tough?

The impact released a burst of wind, filling Alan's eyes with debris. Within the span of seconds, several yards of the ceiling had been wiped clean of obstacles, the floor became littered with rapidly dimming chunks of stone debris.

With his sight now useless, Alan activated [Mana Perception], and used the Mana vision it provided to locate his target. His mind's eye was greeted with a chaotic maelstrom of circulating energy, the very air within the cavern was thick with a brown-tinged Mana.

Alan could see a mahogany haze clinging to Su'ong, as well as a heavy fog of a similar color emanating from the Wyrm.

Is this what Attuned Mana looks like? Alan wondered, but his studies were cut short when Su'ong coiled her body like a spring and rocketed over Alan's head, and into the distance behind him. She cried out. Even through party chat, Alan could hear the weariness in her voice. With a quick activation of [Mana Regulation], Alan stuffed his Spell to bursting with additional Mana.

With his Mana-empowered vision fixed on his target, Alan released a devastating storm upon the stunned Wyrm. A whirlwind of green flames enveloped its entire body. Cones of Spectral plasma pelted its prone form. It was immediately obvious to see that the Wyrm was vulnerable to the flames. As they licked its hardened flesh, the beast writhed in place. Rolling and slamming itself on the ground in a futile attempt to stop the pain.

The Wyrm realized its attempts weren't working and flung itself at Alan. However, Su'ong wasn't out of tricks. Yet again, Alan watched her pull a boulder seemingly out of thin air. Even with [Mana Perception] active, he couldn't tell how she was making these stone objects. There was no outpouring of Mana, which left him to assume she wasn't using a Spell.

She slowly pushed her arms forward, an orb of Mana gathering around her hands. As she touched the stone, a burst of Mana from her palms sent it hurtling forward. Alan doubted he could've done a better job with a cannon. Her projectile delivered a powerful blow to the Wyrm's soft underside, right below its head. The momentum of the attack was more than enough to knock it back into the middle of Alan's raging plasma storm.

After finding its target, Su'ong's boulder dissipated within seconds, clouding the air with additional Earth attuned Mana. she asked hurriedly. Her last words were spoken sadly, as though she regretted the fact she'd depleted her reserves.

Trapped in a painful inferno, and pinned in between the wall and two annoying morsels of food, the Wyrm threw all caution to the wind. It charged Alan, but once again, Su'ong was prepared. She moved on front of Alan, allowing him plenty of time to equip his shield.

With the Boss bearing down on them, Alan used his final instance of {Defenders Aegis}. But as he appeared in Su'ongs defense, the beast raised up high. It gave Alan a wary glance and slammed its own face into the ground.

What the fuck is it doing now?! Alan's brows crinkled up in confusion.

He initially thought the beast had lost its mind, but he soon realized it was much, much worse. The entire Wyrm somehow forced its way, head-first into the floor, leaving behind an unblemished stone floor. There was no sign of its passing other than a pile of Mana-Steel Spikes.

Alan's [Spectral Plasma Storm] reached the end of its duration and faded away. The cavern became deathly silent. All of a sudden he could clearly make out the sound of Su'ong gasping for breath. It was unclear where the Boss was, but he already knew they were going to find out one way or another.

While he still had a chance, Alan collected his discarded spikes. He placed them back into inventory and tossed a couple of Mana potions to Su'ong. Eager to get her Mana Pool back to a workable range, he urged her to drink them both.

With a quick nod of gratitude, Su'ong swallowed both potions. It was as though the Wyrm could sense her distraction. Without disturbing the ambient Mana, or even making a sound, the Boss rushed out of the wall to Su'ongs left. Its mouth was already opened wide in preparation of an anticipated meal.

Alan saw his new companion about to suffer what he feared would be a surely fatal strike. She's not gonna make it! He realized.

His legs began to move of their own accord.