A guttural roar built of anger and hatred shook everything around us, I felt it in my bones and I froze, what was I looking at and how were we meant to survive this thing.
The monster stomped its way into the puzzle pit, slamming angry feet into the ground. It must have stood at about twelve to fifteen feet tall, with a huge hulking frame.
“Is that a minotaur?” I said, my mouth wide open as I took in the monstrous form in front of us.
It only wore, torn fabric around its midriff, a skull sitting in the centre of a metal, spiked, chained belt which wrapped around its waist. Its body was shaped like a mans, except it was covered in a light brown fur, thick muscles rippled across its body. The creatures arms and legs had thick, spiked metal bands wrapped around its wrists and ankles, chains hanging lily from them. Just how long had this thing been chained up. However long it had been it had only served to make it more angry and unfortunately for us we were in its cross hairs. Its hands were gripping a giant axe, the outer edge shaped like a crescent, moon, rusted and crude. The creatures face was the most terrifying part, though. Hit was huge I couldn’t see the creatures neck, its hair or fur wrapping around it like a darkened main, its nose was a hole in the centre of its face, its eyes dark and sunken. Large jagged teeth snapped and snarled as it slammed its feet into the ground like it was going to charge at us. Two symmetrical tusks curled out from the bottom of its mouth. It had two large serrated horns, protruding from the side of its head that looked more metal than bone, cracked, with rat clinging to the upper edge. A central, thicker horn poked out the centre of its head, cracked and chipped, this looking more like bone.
Extendabull
Level 15
Fuelled by a primal rage and cursed by the gods themselves.This monster is the guardian of the Labyrinth. If you are seeing him, then the best option for you is to run.
“Raven are you seeing this?” I asked, I still wasn’t sure if Raven could read stats like I could, “Apparently this thing is level fifteen, we have no chance against it.
The Extendabull let out a ferocious roar, shaking its head as if it battled with its own thoughts, it slammed its large hoofed foot into the ground again, dragging it behind it and started charging straight at us.
Its speed was frightening, moving faster than a creature of that size should be.
“Run!”
I didn’t have to tell Raven twice, she was already making her way back in the direction we came from and I was hot on her tail. With a smash, the ground rumbled and a whoosh of air blew from behind us, I didn’t want to turn, I didn’t want to see the damned thing again. I just dug deep and ran as fast as my legs could carry me, Raven was faster but I kept up as best as I could.
The Extendabull’s steps continued to shake the ground with every violet step that it took, its grunts and snarls far enough away to grant me the faintest bit of comfort.
When we excited the area, confusion whirled around em as I realised the mini maze had gone, it had been replaced with another. How, why had this happened it was as if the Labyrinth was a living breathing thing and it wanted us to fail.
“Keep going!” I called out as Raven shot inside, I was right behind her, the sides of the maze were taller than before. “Keep right,” I said, convinced that this would see us to the exit. Raven did as I siad and I followed her, this worked well fro the first couple of turns and my chest heaved, I could hear the Extendabull but I could not see it and that was utterly terrifying.
“Shit!” I cursed as we reached a dead, end spin round, “ keep tracking to your right,” I was sure this was the right way to do things, sure this was what my dad had told me all those years ago when I was just a kid. What I would give for him to be with me now, well not in this moment but to be able to give me the advice that I needed.
With thud the Extendabull crashed through the side of the hedge to our left about ten feet ahead. It ripped through the walls like they were made of paper, sending throned, splintered shrapnel spilling out in every direction.
It roared loudly until a rumble and thud told me it had crashed into something.
“Go!” I said the two of us momentarily frozen. We rushed forward, I glanced to my right, the Extendabull was around twenty feet away shaking its head as it searched around for s.We continued tracking the walls of the maze, I could hear the echoes cries of the master as it charged around like a feral animal searching for us.
We ran and ran, navigating the maze but it did not take long for it to feel like we were lost. We passed another hole in the hedged wall where the Extendabull had crashed through and I couldn’t help but think we had already been here.
“We’re going around in circles,” how are we meant to find our way out of here.
The monster smashed through the wall behind us, this time it led with its axe, barely missing me. How, how were we meant to get out of this place, what were we meant to do. There was no way that we could face of against the Extendabull, is was such a higher level than us.
We continued pushing through the maze, when I remembered what Raven had done with the flower petals in the last maze. “Keep pulling the flowers out” I said, panting like a dog, desperately searching for breath s I busted a lung to keep as much distance as I could between us and the Extendabull. “It, it will help us track where we have already been, that way if we see petals on the floor we keep running in the opposite direction.”
The plan made sense at least it did to me, I started raking my hands grazing what flowers I could from the walls, pulling off the flowers, decorating the ground with their delicate petals. We took a hard right, my ankle rolling as we turned, I stumbled forward needing to press my hand into the ground to stop me from falling over.
With a chop the Extendabull’s axe came slamming down in front of me, carving the earth, mud sprayed over me like a grenade had just exploded in front of m. If I hadn’t of stumbled that would have made contact with me.
“Go!” I called out to raven, “ I’ll catch you up.”
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The monster swung out an arm at me, catching me in the shoulder, it was as if I had run in front of a steam train, the force was incredible and my health bar flashed dangerously low as I rolled backwards several times, only stopping when I hit the boundaries of the hedge wall. I cried out in pain, my left arm and shoulder fell limp, that thing had shattered my bones. I quickly searched my inventory for a health potion, drinking it as fast as I could before scrambling to my feet. The Expendable had eyes for me and and lowered its head, gripping its axe as it charged at me once again. I dropped the health potion vile, only magian to drink about half of it as I scampered away. It was enough to reduce the pain in my shoulder to a dull ache but at least I had my mobility back. I could not afford to be hit like that again, I only had one more health potion left.
I glanced over my shoulder as the monster smashed straight though the wall where I just was, that thing had no control, it was charging at speed in straight lines and I could use this to my advantage. Ahead of me there were scatterings of red petals, they trailed of to the right so I took a left, hopefully there was more than one way out of the maze.
I skidded to a stop as I passed a hole in the wall where the Extendabull had ripped through, I could use these tracks, they could be like a short cut back to where I was before I got separated from Raven. The Expendabull roared again, it was far too close, so I took the torn up path,, bits of hedge and roots made it difficult to run fast but hopefully it would give me the edge I needed, and more importantly the distance.
When my foot snagged on a root I instantly regretted my decision as I face planted the ground and slid to a stop, before I had chance to react, thick thorn filled vies reached from the earth, and gripped me tightly. As I struggled against the vines, the thorns bedded into my skin, but that did not stop me from trying, the was no way that I was going down without a fight.
I continued to kick and struggle, lashing out wildly, desperate to escape, the vines only grew tighter as it became harder to breath. When the Extendable stopmped into the broken opening in the wall, it turned slowly, breathing angrily through its nose, its blackened, unforgiving eyes, showing no sign of resolution. It had one thing in its mind and one thing only.
Its head shook again and the beast started beating its chest, this things level already dwarfed my own, it only just caught me in the shoulder before and nearly destroyed me, like it needed to be any more amped up for a fight.
“We don’t ned to do this,” I said, I had no idea why, “Just let us leave, preferably with the orb but hey if that’s a non - negotiable then I will put it right back where we found it.”
The monster continued an anxiety fuelling slow walk towards me, each thunderous step causing me to recoil into myself. I pressed my legs into the ground, pushing my arms out into the vines naively thinking my strength would cause them to simply snap. They only gripped me tighter, and I could feel my face bulge as it threatened to make my head explode with pressure. The Orb was pressing into my rib and I could swear I heard a crack, not the ribs - not again, I thought to myself as I fought in defiance, I couldn’t go out like this.
I did have one more thing up my sleeve and I started tapping into the one thing that seemed to help me trigger it ever single time.
With the last few struggled, laboured breathes I had I said, “Fuck…. you…… Jerry!”
For some reason this is what my mind latched onto to help me activate my berserker skill.
Berserker Skill Activated
The berserker symbol came into my screen with a thirty second timer which started counting down straight away, I drew on my increased strength and pushed out against the vines in defiance, not just at them but the whole situation. It was like I was in a nightmare that I was desperate to wake up from.
I was able to flex the vine enough to give me some breathing space but they were still too strong, still able to hold me in place as the Extendable started its advance on me.
When the vines started loosening enough, it aggressively grunted again and let out another roar that brought another wave of sheer panic. I was no match for it, I couldn’t fight it. All I had was to run.
With its final step it raised its rusted, serrated axe high above its head, but I wasn’t giving in, I didn’t wanted to submit. All my life I had ran away from conflict, did as I was told by people who were in positions of power over me. Again it was Jerry’s face that triggered every ounce of defiance in me, that smug, rugged face, he got the flash cars, the fancy cars, the promotions and the women and I got nothing, every time even though I did all the work. Deep burning rage poured into me, the vines wrapping around me groaning like strainedleather as they threatened to finally snap. I was not going to die today, not in this world.
ChAoS MOdE activated
The notification flashed up in big black letters across my vision, a golden edge to the lettering that made it stand out boldly.
The red mist that wrapped around my periphery vision when I was in berserk mode became more concentrated, it creeped across my vision, like blackened tendrils turning black as it consumed me.
I hadn’t a clue what the hell this was but it felt incredible, I let out my own scream, one bore of frustration and anger and as I pushed against the vines again they shrieked as they snapped and flailed around in the air as I broke free.
Hopping uptown my feet as if I had channeled my inner Raven I should have ran, I should have every ounce of what I had left in me to turn and run, that would have been the logical thing to do. That was what the mouse inside me would have done, continued to run and hide, to do what I needed to in order to survive. But whatever this chaos mode was it did something to me, it changed me, changed the way I thought, my senses were supercharged, the air feeling like I was breathing in a menthol, sound was more intense, hyper focus, I was aware of every minuscule detail around me. I was moving quicker, before I had time to think of a plan I was already acting it was like the Extendable was moving in slow motion as I charged towards it.
What was I thinking, I knew I couldn’t take this thing. I knew I couldn’t kill it but that didn’t mean I couldn’t put up a fight. Black energy surrounded me, replacing the red I was used to, it was stronger, firing up a fierce storm around me filled with static energy. Grabbing hold of the Extedabull’s arm I stopped his attack, straining against the monsters incredible strength. The pressure was intense, my feet pressed into the ground, which cracked around me. I should have been toast, left as nothing but a bloodied pulp, but I wast and this only served to antagonise the Extendabull even more.
Its warm putrid breath sat in the air, I could feel each grunted snarl that it made like a torrent of wind. But I continued to stand in defiance, standing firm, putting every ounce of strength into pushing the beast back, I had no clue where this strength came from and I did not care, berserking was kind of fun this was something else.
The Extendable continued to grimace and snarl as its warm spit splashed against me, I dug in as deep as I ever had before and started to push back against it, using all my might.
“Not today!” I said, My voice sounded different, there was an echo to it it was magnified, intense and intimidating. The Exteball pulled back its axe and took another swing at me, its speed increasing, I was overly confident, could I actually defeat this thing?
I immediately regretted my confident as the Extendabull’s axe crashed into me.
Berserker Skill Activated
Ricochet
Incoming attacks have a 5% chance of deflecting back onto the attacker.
Stacks Up-To 50%
What the, I hadn’t unlocked and skills other than berserking, that sounded badass. Before I had chance to realise what was happening the Extendabull let out a screaming roar of agonising pain. With a thud, the arm holding the axe slammed into the ground with a thud and blood sprayed everywhere. Somehow this skill had caused the monster to sever its own arm instead of mine.
As the Extendable looked down in its arm then back at me, it started staggering backwards, blood spraying the ground red like it was a farmer muck spreading in the fields, it was disgusting, with my heightened senses I could taste the iron in the air, rusted iron at that.
My berserker icon, had turned black with some kind of energy field around it, the timer was at two seconds, as it counted down the Extendabull, slapped its hand over its arm, covering the stump which sat below its elbow, it turned and ran.