The next few days, the party went around and killed many of the monsters in the area and stored them for meat and parts. They found a few chests out in the world that were resource boxes or item boxes as they explored their general area and mapped things out. Many of the new animals they found and hunted had odd organs or internal parts and it made dissecting them more difficult. It took Brandon 3 tries to extract the flame organ from the fire foxes they hunted. The foxes were called [Flare Tails] and had tails made entirely of fire that went out after they died. The flame organ was located in two places, they had one in their throat and one where their tail came out from.
They hunted many mud boars, thundeer as they had started calling them, fire foxes, and had tracked a few more. There were quite a few varieties of prey animals, from deadly rabbits to small mammals that were not like anything on earth called [Vals] They were most akin to a six legged capybara with two spikes protruding from the shoulder and a long and wickedly curved tail spike in almost the shape of a scimitar blade. Even the prey animals were dangerous, but they had seen evidence of predators as well. There was something like a wolf that seemed to be able to vanish and reappear, and a bear with glowing runes had been seen a few times. The party had even tracked it to its lair.
After reaching level 8 and becoming competent with their abilities They were now outside the bear’s cave, crouched in the grass. They were texting back and forth in party chat planning out their raid.
“We need to be careful guys, we don’t know what this thing can do at all.” Mia sent.
“I agree, but after level 5, we have slowed down significantly, and I think one bear will be easier to fight than the wolves. We even have decent weapons for the first time.” Thysse said.
“That is why we are waiting here, we will set up an ambush and wait for the bear to get back.” Brandon sent.
They sat outside of the cave in the grass till after the bear left and went outside. When it did, they could see the bear’s name and size. The bear was twelve feet tall on all fours, barely able to fit inside the cave. Its fur was a deep black with blue undertones and there were six different runes glowing on each side as well as runes on its claws, paws, and face. Each rune glowed a slightly different color in shades of blue and purple mostly. The claws had red and yellow runes that sparked and burned as they touched the grass. [Rune Bear Lv. 10].
They waited twenty minutes before moving into the cave. The cave was deep, they walked a while, using the light from Mia’s staff as a guide. There were dozens of bodies inside the cave from human to beast. There were even many beasts they hadn’t seen yet lying dead inside or just bones. They walked and walked, slowly making their way in, the cave went down as it got deeper and they eventually felt the ground level out ahead of them. In front of them was a larger, open room. It looked like the cave expanded to the size of a basketball court but remained roughly circular.
Inside the flat room, the ceiling was full of glowing crystals that painted the room in a cerulean light. The floor was mostly clean except a large pile of straw, bones, and sticks in the center that looked like a horrific nest. It was where the bear slept. At the far end of the room was a set of double doors that expanded to the ceiling, they were black and looked to be made of charred wood with a metal framing. Instead of round studs in the metal, it looked like the same crystals that lined the ceiling had been shaped and hammered in to hold the metal frame to the wood.
When they passed the threshold of the room and were all past it, the cave entrance shined blue and a visible wall of pure mana blocked their exit. They all turned around hearing it form and ran towards it but were too late. Dylan couldn’t stop in time, having used his abilities and slammed into the mana wall, bouncing off with a sound similar to shaking a thin metal sheet in the air. All at once all of them heard the ding of the system, but instead of being in their heads, it was behind them. It echoed slightly off the cave walls. Turning to look, there was a large system window above the nest like construction.
[Rune Bear Den (Event)]
[You have disturbed the den of a rune bear, it is using its teleportation runes to arrive at your location with haste. You must quickly prepare for combat. 00:28]
The rune bear was less than thirty seconds from arriving and they were trapped. Brandon drew his mist steel sword and quickly equipped one of his thorn swords. At level 8, Brandon had 520 mana, He could use it a lot more freely, but he also had gotten more efficient at controlling it. Telekinesis with just one weapon had become second nature, and while using two he could fight but it was not comfortable. It was better to use one sword through telekinesis and one physically, though he used his telekinesis to help control the speed, power, and direction of the sword, it being in his hands helped him channel that power and use it with much less brain power as it was instinctual.
The thorn sword he equipped appeared floating above his head with the string of mana he needed to help in its control still attached. He was becoming less reliant on having his mana touch the sword as a string as the area of influence his mana created around him grew. It wasn’t large enough yet to be much use in combat though at only ten feet away that he could control it proficiently without a string. Luckily, the soul storage could store it with the string attached and hovering above his head if that was the equipped state last time he used it. It even made a new slot on his equipment screen for each sword he put away floating above his head.
Brandon ran up to the nest with the others and started charging an arc slash, he planned to put in about a hundred mana to start the combat with a powerful strike before the bear had a chance to respond after being teleported in. There were a couple of seconds of tense silence then a series of runes orbited a large sphere around the nest glowing blue and purple and in letter shapes he could only recognize from the bear itself. They let off beams of light in the same color as the runes that seemed pulled to the center of the formation. The beams of light curved as the runes got faster and faster and there was a large swirl of magic in the center forming into the shape of the bear. In reality it took less than five seconds for the bear to materialize, but it felt much longer as they watched the magic happen.
The bear let out a roar like that of a lion that echoed off the cave walls as it stood on its hind legs. Brandon noticed almost half of the runes were missing from its side and began his slash pulling his sword from just above the floor on his right into an arc that ended above his left shoulder. The blast of energy from his improved arc slash with so much mana infused was enough to cause him to stumble back. His left foot caught on a crack in the cave floor and caused him to fall backwards.
As he fell he realized he must not have been the first to move. As the arc slash reached the bear so did a running shoe covered in thorns and the teeth of other monsters. Brandon saw a rune move across the bear’s fur and slide between Dylan’s foot and the bear, it repulsed him and with a brilliant flash of blue, Dylan flew back and crashed into the ground at nearly the same time Brandon did.
Thysse was throwing thorn Javelins and Mia was pelting the bear with flaming mana bolts, Jade had seen what happened to Dylan and had pulled out a javelin. Due to the nature of the Javelin’s power and the low number she had, she aimed carefully before making her first throw.
It didn’t matter. None of it phased the bear. The monster had used a rune to block Brandon’s arc slash as well creating a similar flash of light as what had repulsed Dylan. The bear bounded out of the nest and started running on all fours towards Brandon. It was not a far distance and Brandon barely had time to scramble to his feet before it reached him. Brandon saw the bear raise its paw to swipe at him. The creature's size was much more evident up close. I’m going to die. Was the only thought going through his mind as he froze in fear. The bear’s paw began to glow with yellow and red energy, and he heard Mia cry “Brandon, Noooo!”
Her cry broke him out of his state of shock and he quickly used his telekinesis to move his thorn swords between him and where the bear paw was descending from. He also held his mist steel sword in two hands pointing towards his left to pierce the bear’s paw and slow it as much as possible. Just before the paw hit his three swords, he saw three blue runes move between each sword and the paw underneath. All Brandon had time to do was think, How? Before a concussive wave three times as strong as what hit Dylan engulfed him.
All Brandon could feel was an immense pressure and pain as his eardrums burst and he lost his sense of sound. His nose broke and so did two ribs. All he could see was the brilliant blue light from the runes, and then he was lifted off his feet. He flew back over the heads of his companions and crashed into the cave wall, breaking his left arm and shoulder as well. Brandon sagged against the wall in pain. He watched his companions continuing their fight but could not hear what was happening.
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Brandon was down to 47/195 health. He took out his last healing potion he had gotten in the dungeon and poured it over his shoulder and ribs. He felt them repair painfully but the pain was gone quickly. It also healed him back up to 92 health.
Brandon was not in fighting shape, but he had enough mana to still control his swords. He used his telekinesis to find them and sent the three swords out with force towards the bear. The Bear was at the edge of the range of his abilities, but the swords still found their marks. Flashes of blue made them soar away but Brandon was able to redirect them to the bear each time. They distracted the bear from his companions and Dylan ran over to him.
Brandon looked up in surprise as Dylan arrived in front of him, in his hands were two of the same minor healing potions Brandon had gotten in his dungeon. He could not hear what Dylan was saying as he poured the potions over Brandon’s head. Brandon slowly recovered his sense of hearing as the potions worked and his health soared to 152. He felt bruised and exhausted but strong enough to fight again. “Thank you,” He said to Dylan as Dylan ran back to the others. The momentary distraction made Brandon lose track of his swords and the bear had gotten to both Jade and Thysse in the meantime.
Brandon renewed his attack on the bear with vigor. He was pushing as much mana into his swords as he could to make them faster and hit harder. His skill infused blade activated and they glowed with energy as their edges shined with the blue light of his mana. Brandon noticed that as the rune bear was batting away his swords, the runes had gotten less and less. There were very few blue or purple runes left covering the bear and the ones on his claws had diminished in light. Jade and Dylan were working together, Jade throwing javelins and Dylan retrieving them when they were repulsed by the bear. Mia and Thysse were also casting their magic at a distance to hit the bear, but Thysse was leaning against a cave wall with an obviously broken leg.
As the last of the defensive blue runes faded off the bear, Brandon’s Mist Steel Sword sank into its side and it let out another roar. The sword had taken nearly 5% of its health, but while that wasn’t much it was the first damage done to the bear. The other’s attacks also began whittling down on the bear. The bear, seemingly enraged, put its paws in its mouth and Brandon watched in horror as it bit off its own claws and even the tips of its fingers and swallowed.
The bear took damage from its self mutilation, but it gained something in return. The bear’s maw glowed and lightning and fire spewed from its maw, washing over Mia and Jade. Their screams were terrifying. Brandon ran over to them, keeping up his attacks with the thorn swords but pulling the mist steel sword into his hand. Mia and Jade had bright red skin with signs of severe burns and it seemed the electricity had knocked them out, but both were still breathing.
“Dylan,” Brandon shouted. “Take them back away from here, heal them if you can!”
Brandon heard Dylan call something in reply, but he didn’t have the time to pay attention to it. The bear had seen him running at it and was charging another breath attack. Brandon charged an arc slash as the bear charged its breath. The moment the bear leveled its maw at him, he let it loose, the speed and strength tearing the muscle in his already wounded shoulder.
Brandon’s arc slash split the breath in two, keeping him safe from it as he ran forward. The mana wave cut into the bear’s muzzle, severing the bottom of its jaw and even going through the bones. There was only a bit of muscle and skin holding its hanging and swaying bottom jaw onto its face.
Brandon infused all of his swords with the rest of his mana and felt the headache coming as he sent them into the bear, the thorn swords into its sides and the mist steel sword into its maw. It wasn’t enough, the bear still had a little over ten percent of its health and could still attack. As unconsciousness came Brandon saw Thysse step in front of him glowing green.
***
Thysse had watched as Brandon fought the bear, He had been using mana continuously, and let out a powerful arc of mana that cut into the bear’s jaw. He knew the basics of infusing mana from Brandon teaching him about it, but unlike Brandon could, he couldn’t seem to infuse with things the same way. Only natural things worked for him.
Seeing his infused swords glow and the mist steel sword leave his hand again, Thysse was relieved. Brandon seemed to alway make it out of the stickiest situations. Then he saw Brandon fall. It happened in almost slow motion, Thysse checked the party tab and saw Brandon had reached 0 mana. He knew that your head started to hurt if mana got too low but he had never seen anyone hit zero mana yet.
Thysse ran forward, his broken leg causing him a lot of pain, but he was infusing his mana into his own body to strengthen it, to allow him to get there. Brandon was falling and the bear was reeling in pain. Before it got back to its senses, he needed to get there, they needed Brandon to win.
As he stepped near Brandon, Thysse saw his eyes close. “Shit,” he muttered and turned to face the bear. Brandon’s sword was sticking out of the roof of the bear’s mouth, it hadn’t pierced all the way through, but the bear could not get rid of it with no claws and the bottom of its jaw hanging off its mouth. Its bloody paws scraped at the sword, not moving it.
Thysse had an idea. He was the only one still standing besides Dylan. He needed his help. “Dylan!” He called. “I’ll pull his head down with vines!” The bear started to calm down enough to realize it was still in danger, “Kick that sword in its mouth till it pierces its brain!”
Thysse used his mana to grow blackberry seeds quickly and threw them beneath the bear. The bear saw the thorny vines begin to climb up its paws and breathed its fire and lightning down at the plants, killing them. Thysse tossed more seeds already growing. They used the ashes of the previous vines to get bigger faster, and they had engulfed the bear’s legs as it pawed at them, waiting for its breath to recharge. The bear fell over onto its side, Brandon’s thorn sword singing deeper into it.
Its head fell close to Thysse. Thysse threw more seeds and let the vines wrap around its head. Thysse flinched as Dylan jumped over his head from behind and landed in front of him still running to the bear. He watched as Dylan’s foot made contact with the pommel of Brandon’s sword and it shot hilt deep into the roof of the bear’s mouth, taking the last of its hp and killing it. Ding!
***
Brandon woke up to a series of notifications and to his party members sitting around him.
“Brandon!” Mia called as she leaned forward and hugged him. “I thought you died when you fell.”
“Wait Mia, I’m-” Brandon started but realized he had no injuries on him anymore. It appeared a level up was not just minor injuries but some kind of full restore for health points. He didn’t know if it would restore things like missing limbs, but it definitely restored his body to a normal state and refilled his mana and health.
It could not have been long since the cave floor was still smoking from the Bear’s fire. “What happened?” Brandon asked. As he looked around, he saw Jade holding Thysse’s hand and Dylan looked much more confident than he had ever seen him.
“We won,” Thysse said with a goofy grin on his face, “We couldn’t have done it without your swords though Brandon.” Thysse handed Brandon his three swords and explained what happened after Brandon fell unconscious.
“Wow, thank you Thysse. I mean it.”
“It’s alright. You know, I think we have been relying too heavily on you. Without you telling us any of what to do the combat was kind of in chaos since the bear first arrived, and when you were charging down the bear’s maw, It thought it was only natural that you would somehow win and we’d be safe. Then you fell. I think that was when it clicked that this isn’t a game or story and that you aren’t some protagonist but just a friend who happened to be a little more prepared. I’ll try harder. I am sorry we were so dependent on you so far.”
“You’re wrong Thysse, I depend on you just as much, we are a team, not individuals, it is only right we depend on each other.” Brandon nudged Mia off of him and then held his hand out. Thysse helped him up and Brandon pulled him into a hug. “Thank you Thysse, I thought I was dead.”
“I couldn’t ‘bear’ it if you died like that, get it, bear it?” Dylan said and laughed hysterically. Brandon couldn’t help it, he laughed too and so did everyone else. They spent a while after checking their new stats and notifications. They had killed the challenge dungeon guardian apparently, allowing them to open the doors at the end of the hall.
[I am sure you must be cheating. First a named monster, now a mini boss? This just isn’t fair. Each party member receives a Crafter’s Kit. The kit may only be opened once a job has been unlocked as well as 7 gold and 3 silver each. You also each receive one random item box.]
In his random item box were 10 minor healing potions and 10 minor mana potions which had the same effect as the minor healing potion but restored mana instead. The others hadn’t shared what they got, but Brandon gave two of his potions to Dylan and thanked him for his help during the fight. They spent a long time dissecting and putting the bear in their bag after. It took a long time and a lot of effort, but due to the size of the rune bear, Brandon was sure they could all get some armor out of it if they could tan the hides.
After the bear was taken care of they had a dinner of Rune bear meat cooked in a pot slowly with blackberries and carrots. It was not the most delicious thing Brandon had ever eaten, but the berries helped the gaminess of the meat and it was soft tender beef with a sweet and sour taste from the berries and the sweetness of the cooked carrots as well. They each ate a bowl and no one complained.
“The elephant in the room,” Brandon said, “Do we explore the dungeon or not?”
“I think we wait till level ten.” Jade spoke first in response. He didn’t expect it since she was usually less up front with her opinion.
“I think we go now,” Thysse said, “We are already level nine and we don’t know if this dungeon will stay open or if someone will get here first or even if another rune bear will spawn.”
“I agree,” Dylan and Brandon said at the same time. They glanced at each other and grinned.
“Only if we are careful.” Mia said, eying Brandon. “We also need to make plans if something happens and backup plans. We could have used one with the bear.” They talked until they got tired and slept on the cave floor.
In the morning, with their minds made up, Brandon led them to the large double doors and placed his hand on them. And the world faded to black Ding!
[You have entered a Challenge Dungeon. Good luck!]