A ragged gasp burst from my throat as my bones reconstructed themselves, followed by muscle overlapping them. It was like pins and needles stabbing me everywhere all at once. Finally, skin sealed over the top.
All of this happened in the time it took to blink, leaving me quivering from the aftereffects. About ten feet away, the mecha-dog was turning about slowly, either looking for me or my companions. For the moment, I had a chance to catch my breath and plot my next move.
I wasn’t entirely certain what had happened, but it seemed like the lightning was a built-up effect. Meaning I needed to get away when I saw the sparks.
But that also put me in danger of his ice grenades. This was going to be a tough nut to crack.
Since I still had a moment, I hunted through my inventory and used an uncommon core. All of my wounds had healed thanks to, you know, dying, but I could at least benefit from the blessing.
You have been granted the following random blessing: Limber (6 hours)
Okay, that was actually a pretty good one. I could use the extra Agility here, not to mention the Speed. Though I couldn’t exactly do much with only sixteen Speed... Yeah, I really needed to get rid of that rat rot!
Right, focus. The mecha-dog was turning back towards me. I didn’t give it the chance to spot my location but dropped my last static field right on top of it. The monster stiffened, cracks appearing in its metallic armor, and wisps of blue lightning starting to form across its back.
Keeping an eye on that growing storm, I rushed forward, releasing another Claw Slash that tore into its back leg. Thank you, skill bracelet.
Already slightly askew due to the damaged shoulder, the monster lurched heavily, revealing its back to me. I sank my paws in with a second Claw Slash, cutting out a sizeable metal plate, then leapt back as a lightning arc past a little too close for comfort.
Already there was a noticeable amount of the darn stuff. Was its appearance linked to the damage the monster had taken?
I didn’t stand around wondering, but turned and fled, using one of my other static fields as cover. Once past I turned and waited for any more lobbed bombs.
Sure enough, a blinking ball landed beside me a moment later. I sent it careening back towards the mecha-dog with a solid kick. Sadly not close enough to damage the monster (if it even could be damaged by its own weapons), but far enough it didn’t harm me.
A second followed, and a third. And so our game of hot potato-bomb continued until my Claw Slash came off cooldown.
By the time it did, the monster had retreated a fair distance. I ran at it zigzag to avoid any potential flamethrower attacks. As I approached, it began backing up again, so I activated my static generator, and was rewarded with a field popping into existence behind it. One of my others must have been exhausted or timed out—I still needed to figure out what the upper limit on those even were.
Between the speed reduction of my field and its two wounded legs, the mecha-dog was almost not moving at all. Unfortunately, it still had a significant amount of lightning on its back. Not nearly as brilliant as it had been before launching its last attack, though.
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Should I attempt to strike, and risk death again? My tag still retained one use, so it felt worth the risk. I launched myself forward.
My Claw Slash took the monster in the neck, nearly severing its head. Sparks flew everywhere as it swung by a single cable. The mecha-dog continued backpedaling.
Huh. It figured that a machine wouldn’t die from decapitation, but I still felt a bit cheated.
Then I noticed the lightning on its back growing brighter. I turned tail and ran. A second later, an earsplitting thunderclap shook the ground under me. I glanced back and saw a smoking crater just a few feet behind—and more importantly, a mecha-dog that was now entirely without lightning.
I spun around and charged.
As I approached, the mecha dog’s head let out a burst of flames, cooking the ground at its feet. It tried to swing its head around but had basically no control over the thing. I dodged it easily and came up on its unwounded flank.
Another Claw Slash and I was away again.
Behind me came an earsplitting noise, followed by another ground-shaking thud. I turned, half expecting it to have released its lightning, but the mecha-dog had merely collapsed, its broken limbs no longer able to support it.
It spasmed a few times, like it was trying to turn in my direction, but couldn’t manage much beyond that.
Coming to a halt, I sat down on my haunches to watch. The monster was still twitching, and I hadn’t received a kill notification, so it must still be alive, but it appeared totally immobilized.
[Boss, is the coast clear?] Zapper crept out from underneath a pile of rubble. I could see Riley watching me from further within. Luckily she didn’t follow the little corgi.
[Not yet. I need to deliver the killing blow, but I think the worst is over.]
[That’s good.] The little dog’s tail wagged. [I liked watching you zip around. You were all BAM! And hes was all WHOOOSH! Then you were all DICYDICY and—]
[Yes, yes, Zapper. Tell me about it after I make sure we’re safe.]
[Okay!] the little dog called after me as I loped towards the monster. My Claw Slash was off cooldown again, hopefully it would be enough to finish the job.
The mecha-dog struggled more fiercely as I approached, but couldn’t do anything to change position. An ice grenade went flying off in a random direction, and I heard the concussive blast as I stepped up to the monster.
Alright, if removing your head didn’t kill you, what do I have to do?
This thing might not be alive—as much as any of these CGI entities were—but it still needed to keep its critical parts safe, right? And it would make sense to put those where they’re most difficult to reach.
I slammed my shoulder into the enormous monster. With a loud groan, it tipped onto its side, unbroken legs flailing, its silvery belly exposed. I tore into it with a Claw Slash.
Black oil sprayed out as I carved through rubber cables and fragile circuit boards inside. The initial spray subsided, and I shook out my fur, scattering black droplets in all directions.
That accomplished, I could finally see the inner workings of the beast. There were more cables, and gears, and circuits, and at the center of it all was a pulsing sphere of light inside a glass canister, like an enormous beating heart.
My second Claw Slash broke the glass with ease, and the light sphere faded immediately.
You have defeated: Argyr the Mecha-Dog (Advanced) — Level 10
200 XP and 1 Rare Core awarded.
Oh? A rare core? That was likely a nicer prize than anything I’d get out of a loot box. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like the entire fight had been a bit anticlimactic. Maybe I was just getting to be that good of a fighter, but the battles I’d had against the rat king and the rubble guardian had felt much harder.
[Okay, it’s safe!] I called over my shoulder. Now that the boss was dead, the instance zone should fall. Then we’d find somewhere to set up our safe zone for the night.
After that, Zapper and I could discuss our next plans. While I wondered why exactly I’d felt such a strong pull to come here, to CGI headquarters, it didn’t help with our current problem of seeing Riley to safety. Maybe one day I could return to solve this mystery, but for the moment—
[Hey, Boss!] Zapper’s voice caught my attention. [Something’s wrong, we still can’t leave!]
I turned and saw him with his paws in the air, pressed against an invisible surface. Beside him, Riley rapped on the barrier and giggled as golden motes rippled outward from it.
[It probably just needs another minute—] I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced back. My breath caught in my throat. [Get back under the debris!]
[Boss?]
[Do it! Do it now!]
Riley let out a surprised cry behind me as Zapper dragged her back into hiding. I left him to it. My attention was needed elsewhere.
Because the mecha-dog had begun to glow.