The sun set on the first day of hunting for a Floor Boss. Throughout the day, Mathew had killed four Sand Sharks and scared off a pack of flying four legged eagles. They were not much of a threat to him. At night, he found no Lost Souls bothered him. He was forced to keep watch alone all night. He kept an Earth Elemental out with him, just in case anything strange appeared.
The cold night had no effect on him like it originally did. His Axiom of Cold allowed him to ignore it. He did keep a fire pit out, and scanned the area with his Axiom of Piercing enhanced eyes.
When day came, he would sleep for a few hours and push on. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it was one that was needed. He would have used the sled again, but it was lost after the giant worm attacked at the gathering for the Sundrop.
Mathew wondered if anyone else was left. He took a glance at the level leaderboard, finding nothing noteworthy. All the important people he cared about were still alive. Most of them were gaining levels. Zachary was pushing level 60 recently. He wondered if Zach already left, or was going to stay till the last day.
Either way, it didn’t matter to him unless he somehow found the brute. Mathew had to focus on himself right now. That included finding a floor boss.
They continued to traverse the desert for two days before Agnox spotted something in the distance. It wasn’t a sand shark nor a quadrupedal eagle. It was a large humanoid creature. From so far away, he couldn’t get more details than that.
Mathew sunk into his own sight to fuse with his familiar’s senses and let the imp fly closer. He stayed high into the air, to avoid any chance of being spotted. As Agnox flew closer, Mathew had an idea.
He sank his own Axiom along the connection between the two of them. Agnox’s vision sharpened and Mathew could see more details through their connection. Mathew was able to see a tall humanoid with a dog head, but couldn’t see anything else as its body was covered in layering armor. A long crudgle sat in the monster's hands before Mathew’s own soul snapped.
A whiplash of pain caused Mathew to return to his own senses and double over in pain. He writhed and tossed as something deep within him shattered more. Cherry let out a squeal of pain of her own as did Jeffery.
Mathew hardened his resolve and returned to seeing what Agnox could, pushing through the pain. The imp was falling. The blue sky and sandy ground rotated around. “Damn it Agnox, stop falling!”
The ground grew closer. Agnox was only a dozen feet from the ground before the speed at which the imp fell slowed. Agnox turned his head around as he landed. Mathew tuned his ears to hear as well.
“Boss. If you can hear me, you better explain what in the fate stealing travesty you just did.”
Mathew was relieved, and returned back to his own body. His entire being ached. It was obvious as to what happened.
His soul couldn’t handle the strain of using an Axiom with Agnox. He did it with Jeffery, with only a middling ache. Like when he was pushing the boundaries of what he could do.
There were several differences between Jeffery and Agnox. The most obvious being that Agnox had his own class, profession, and even an Axiom. Jeffery was just a summon. One that could die and come back.
Cherry spoke up. “Mat. What…what did you just do? Is Agnox okay?”
“He’s fine. Just…I didn’t realize the possible ramifications of that action. I tried to use my Axiom through our connection with Agnox. It worked, but my soul can’t handle the strain.”
Agnox slowly came back. He was really feeling it, but Mathew had the worst of it. “Boss. Next time, you send Cherry to scout.”
“Hey! I can’t fly like you, and you out level me, and so many more things over me. I’m a pacifist!”
“You literally helped us kill members of who are now our allies.” Agnox retorted.
“And? I have to! Not like I wanted to be here. Forced to fight for my life! I am supposed to be a servant, not a fighter!”
“Hey!” Mathew yelled. “Knock it off. Tensions are high. I messed up. Let’s not throw nearly two weeks of work out the window on working together, please.”
Both of them stared at their Summoner. “Fine.” Cherry said, but seemed to hold a bit of resentment still.
Agnox went over to Mathew. “Sorry Boss. I was scared. I almost died out there.”
“I know Agnox. I’m sorry. If I knew, I wouldn't have it. Lesson learned. Better now versus in the middle of a fight.” Mathew rubbed at his head. “Okay, so Agnox, correct me if I am wrong. Very tall humanoid creature with a dog head and has a crudgle for a weapon. I’m willing to bet that it is an Anubian, Egyptian mythos creature. The armor will be a problem.”
“The armor looked like what Zac makes.” Agnox said. “Large plates of metal stacked over each other, creating layers. He did a similar style with Jeffery.”
The armorless wolf was laying down in the sand, but looked over when his name was mentioned.
“Okay, so we need a plan.” Mathew said, thinking. “What little I remembered is that Anubis is a God of Death. That includes dying, staying dead, and what to do with dead bodies. Which fits a pattern.”
“What pattern?” Cherry asked.
Every floor had a boss related to its Dungeons. Beasts had a larger predator. The second floor with cave creatures had a larger of a similar creature type, but we can’t prove that as we only encountered one boss and never asked about the others. As for this floor, we have a giant Sand Worm with Sand Sharks. Now we have a creature related to the God of Death and Lost Souls. I’m sure the giant eagles would have something similar.”
“How does that help us?” Agnox asked.
“It doesn’t, but it shows something interesting about how this Dungeon is built. More a personal thought I spoke aloud. Going back to our upcoming fight. I’m willing to bet this guy will be difficult to take down, but easier than the worm. We don’t have to worry about it running away easily.”
“Mathew, that thing is probably reaching the upper limits of the Apprentice rank. It took nearly two dozen humans to take down the worm. What makes you think we can take this guy out ourselves?” Cherry asked. “We can still pop your token. We can get out alive and safe.”
Mathew shook his head. “And lose everything? The System wasn’t specific on what we lose. If I lose levels, titles, and all my Axiom progress, that is as good as making me dead. That includes you. That includes the contract with the Black Snow faction. You know my soul is shattered, hell it’s probably a little worse after that recent stunt. We can’t quit now.”
“So, how do we fight this? I don’t think our normal plan to fight will work. I rather not need to go nova.”
“You know the rules for Plan Nova. And we do what we can to prevent it.”
“What’s plan Nova?” Cherry asked.
Agnox and Mathew spoke at the same time,
“I sacrifice myself.”
“Agnox goes suicidal to protect me.”
Cherry blinked. “Why would you have such a plan!”
Mathew shrugged, “better to have it, than not.”
Agnox grimaces slightly, “I uh, kinda agree.”
“I’m surrounded by idiots.” Cherry muttered.
Mathew pointed to a nearby rock. “We fight there. Use the giant rock pillar to our advantage. I’m going to cover the area in traps, acceleration, and deceleration rituals. Probably won’t have many mana cores left, but at this point, I have plenty of money to make more. Not to mention all our Dungeon Cores produce some as well.”
“Seems like a half baked plan.” Cherry huffed, “surely there is more to it than that.”
“The plan is straightforward.” Mathew started to explain what he wanted to happen. Every detail. Including back up plans and what to do in certain situations. Mathew spent nearly all of his mana cores setting up ritual traps around the rock pillar. Everyone knew where they were at.
Mathew had no clue if the boss could tell what was a trap or not. He couldn’t risk it. Each ritual was covered in sand once it was ready to be triggered. They were novice ranked, every one of them. Yet, if he stacked enough to keep the boss annoyed and distracted, it would suffice.
Agnox, Cherry, and Jeffery were in position. Both the wisps were out as well, and Mathew had them stay behind. In his hand was [Doozkora’s Rod]. He would swap out for his spear later in the fight, but right now, he needed this.
Mathew pulled out three pills from his personal storage. He handed one to Cherry. “It’s an emergency pill called [Final Stand]. You pop this, you get a surge of energy for one, maybe two minutes tops. Once it’s used up, you pass out. Use it wisely.”
“That sounds dangerous. Are you going to take one too?” Cherry asked.
“Probably.” Mathew said with a shrug. “Depends on how bad this fight goes.”
“Your soul is already in terrible condition. Stacking this with [Gaia’s Grace] is going to kill you!” She sounded concerned.
“And if we don’t and that thing kills me, I die too. You think I want to risk my life like this? Hell no. But, this is the only path forward. I refuse to not take the risk. Either we win, or we lose. No halfassing this.” Mathew said sternly. He was getting annoyed with Cherry’s constant worrying.
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“She thinks I am being reckless and not thinking this through. I am. Yes, there is a risk. Everything has a risk. It’s figuring out what is acceptable and what isn’t that matters the most.”
Mathew looked over all five of his summons. “Stick to the plan. Don’t lose focus now.”
Agnox gave a thumbs up. “Give it hell Boss.”
Mathew walked through the sand toward the Floor Boss. He ensured he approached from its back, to let him have some sort of element of surprise.
Even with his Axiom of Cold, Mathew was sweating. Nerves were being strained as his heart beat faster with each step. He steadied himself mentally. It was going to be a close fight, there was no avoiding that fact.
Once Mathew was within range of his [Mana Bolt] spell. He quickly set up one final ritual. He can’t put rituals on a non flat surface. It also needs to be rigid to not bend the circle and break the symbols.
Thus his choices of a mobile ritual was limited. However one of the shields he was given was just large enough for the Novice Ritual of Acceleration. Once it was in place, Mathew waited before activating it.
With his most powerful spell casting weapon, he took aim. Mathew let the mana build and build as he channeled it all down his arms. His mana had grown colder recently. Ever since accepting a part of himself, he felt a chunk of ice within him where the mana flowed out of.
The green gemstone at the end of the black rod continued to grow in brightness. He would maximize this shot dealing a chunk of damage to the creature hopefully and gain it’s full attention.
Mathew took a slow breath in through his mouth. The rod started to vibrate with all the excess mana inside of it. This would be a maximum powered [Mana Bolt] stacked ontop of everything he’s gained thus far.
It’s been a long time since he’s done one this powerful. He smiled to himself as he realized just how durable the rod was. “Even for an asshole, Doozkora knows how to make a good quality weapon.”
Mathew let his breath out slowly through his nose. Not risking a miss, he took control of the spell and fired. A resounding *thrump* of power echoed out. His Axiom of Piercing gave the blue bolt a silver sheen. It flew across the sand in a straight line.
Keeping a careful eye on the attack, Mathew forced it forward with his innate control of the spell. Control went beyond simple turning left and right. He could accelerate and decelerate it just as easily.
Mathew watched his attack burrow into the Floor Boss’s armor. It stumbled forward, not expecting such an attack. It turned to face Mathew. Even from this far, Mathew could see rage in its eyes.
Not wasting a moment, Mathew activated his Ritual of Acceleration, and boosted its effects with his Axiom of Patterns. Sand flew into the air behind him as he ran.
The Anubian creature charged Mathew with a bellowing roar. Each step was equal to five of Mathew’s. The Summoner was halfway toward the rock when he started to hear the booming steps of the heavy monster.
He couldn’t see any of his summons by the rock. “I hope you guys are ready. Here we come!”
The first trap was almost in range. Mathew threw his shield to the side, his speed falling drastically. He swapped to his Axiom of Bolster, and shoved all the energy into his legs. After four steps he lept into the air and over the first few rituals hidden in the sand. All of them were trapped rituals.
The Anubian didn’t suspect a thing as four explosions sent sand flying into the air covering everything. By the continuing footsteps of The Anubian, Mathew knew that didn’t even slow it down a little. He jumped two more times and slid across the sand as he turned around. A white energy flowing to the tip of [Doozkora’s Rod]. “Now!” He shouted when the boss was within range.
Jeffery barreled from behind the rock pillar and plowed into the boss as he ran through a Ritual of Acceleration, increasing his momentum heavily. Three [Fire Bolts] followed by two different blue bolts and a couple blasts from a staff slammed into the boss. It took a step to the side to catch itself from falling over thanks to Jeffery’s heavy build.
The infernal wolf timed his attack perfectly. The boss stepped right into a deceleration ritual. Its movements and momentum were slowed down.
“Gotcha!” Mathew sang to himself as he sent a [Fracture] spell at the creature's armor. It connected, causing a loud metallic snap to reverberate.
The boss swung its cudgel weapon down at Jeffery with a growl of his own. Mathew knew the wolf wasn’t fast enough to dodge. The boss’s weapon bounced off a circular barrier of mana as Mathew sprung up a shield to block the attack.
Now with weakened armor, ranged attacks continued to rain down on the boss. It let out a roar of frustration and walked out of the ritual. Jeffery and Agnox continued to attack from both the ground and the air.
Both the wisps flew back to Mathew. He reached out to Wispy and mana streamed from him into his first wisp. The fast rate of fire turned into almost a constant stream. Small bolts of mana continued to pelt the boss as he was constantly harassed.
Agnox took an elbow from the boss, sending him into the ground. Jeffery lept up to latch on the Anubian’s arm before it could slam its weapon down onto Agnox.
Jeffery’s back leg was grabbed by the Anubian’s empty hand and thrown onto the ground. “Cherry go heal up Agnox. I’m going to back up Jeff!” Mathew yelled and swapped to his spear.
He ran forward, and threw a mana constructed spear at the boss. He infused it with his Axiom of Enforce, making the weapon solidify in his hands before he attacked with it. It bounced off the armor, but left a visible gash in it.
Mathew threw three more before he was next to Jeffery. The Anubian continued its assault. Swinging, kicking, and occasionally bending down to try and grab. Mathew thrusted out with his spear, retaliating when a hand for foot came close to him.
Mathew and Jeffery tumbled across the sand. Jeffery’s body stopped Mathew from flying further back. With an emotion fueled retaliation, Mathew channeled his Axiom of Bolster through his body and ran right back into melee with the Anubian.
He needed to keep its focus off Agnox and Cherry. Jeffery was right next to him, and jumped forward to break the boss’s focus from Mathew to him.
Mathew aimed for a thinner part of the armor where it was showing damage already and pushed his Axiom of Enforce into [Quiq’s Spear]. He thrusted the weapon forward, its natural hardness pushing through the metal and cutting flesh.
Just as he did, he noticed a blur of something coming for him. A shield shimmered in the air between his head and the crudgle. His once a day shield was gone, but well worth the use.
Mathew let go of his weapon and backed away. The Anubian’s eyes glowed for a moment and it unhinged its jaw as a wave of black smog spewed outward.
Panicked, Mathew back stepped away, channeling his Axiom of Resistance through his body. He had no clue if it would work on poison, but he just silently prayed it would. The black smog licked at his body, causing intense pain to wash over him. Jeffery was also affected by it, but didn’t say anything audibly. Some fur visibly wilted off of him, leaving bald spots.
Once he was out of the smog, Mathew continued to toss [Mana Bolts]. He noticed his wisps seemed to have dissipated, the smog had gotten to them.
Mathew cursed inwardly to himself. He saw Agnox was flying again and Cherry was moving away from the fight. Looking at the Floor Boss, Mathew could see they’ve dealt considerable damage to it, but it has damaged them as well. Probably more so comparatively.
Mathew brought out [Doozkora’s Rod] once again and shouted out, “Phase 2!” As he did, chains whipped around the Anubian constricting it. Mathew layered his Axiom of Cold over the chains. The icy conjuration hissed in the desert heat. The Anubian thrashed to try and escape the chains as they dug into it.
“Agnox, Jeffery with me. Cherry, keep up the ranged support.” Mathew shouted as he swapped out his rod and summoned his spear using his [Conjure Weapon] Ability.
“Mathew, I don’t think this is working!” Cherry shouted her concerns.
“Damn it Cherry, stay focused. It is, just not as quickly. Stay alert and follow my commands. I need you to trust me, just like I trust you. Have faith in me like you do with Gaia and I promise you we will get out of this alive.” Mathew said over his shoulder.
Chains started to break. More ranged attacks were thrown at the Anubian. Mathew glanced at Agnox. His armor was bent in several places. Jeffery was also limping one one of his legs. Looking down at himself, he started to feel the effects of bruises and fractured bones.
He pushed those physical injuries out of his mind. A hand touched his back and a pink glow surrounded him. “I’ll start trusting you when you earn it, Mathew.”
Mathew shook his head in disbelief. “Now or never guys. Let him come to us, once the final ritual is triggered, we push. On my mark!”
The Anubian broke through the final chains and looked impossibly pissed off. Its armor was almost as bad as Agnox’s. Several spots had black blood dripping out of his armor or visible wounds on his body.
It charged at them. As it did, a black flame surrounded the crudgle. “Damn it, it has more magic.” Mathew cursed. This was not good.
“Boss?” Agnox asked, concerned in his voice..
“Three!” Mathew shouted as the Anubian got closer.
“Two!” Mathew swapped out his rod for the staff once again. His knuckles whitened as he gripped it nervously.
Three more explosions echoed and sent sand into the air. Another deceleration ritual slowed down the boss. There were no more rituals to help them.
“One! Go!”