Wes stood tall with his new shield against the spider queen. He didn’t have a spear this time around and James could see that he didn’t need one. In many ways, it was holding him back. Wes’s steps still held some nervousness, but it was offset by the adrenaline of the fight.
James watched as Wes’s position shook each time the spider queen attacked with her legs. After fighting the queen over a dozen times, he had built a strong strategy meant to avoid her magic hexes. It was one of the few things he had to worry about each time he fought her. Her webbing and traps were disabled easily enough thanks to Ian. The mini spiders were dealt with by Ian as well and assisted by Derek. His swings cleaved through their small bodies in between attacks on the queen.
James kept his focus on the queen and used his volleys and a magic arrow to stop her magic. Once the novices had done significant damage to the queen he used his finishing move. The magic arrow he chose for her was a lightning arrow.
He chose it for a simple reason. The attack spread. Lightning coursed through the queen and spread to the minions that were spread around her. Ian and Derek jumped back to avoid the effects of the attack. The queen shrieked in pain, and she dropped to her side. James prepared a charged shot with a hardened tip arrow. He released his arrow and it shredded through the queen with ease killing her in the process.
James put his bow away and looked to the novices.
“The 20th floor will be a contained fight against a demon in a mimicry of its natural environment. Beyond that will be an icy mountain region that we will both need to fight in and stay warm in. Ian, your job will be to stay in the back and help out when one of us gets burned. Your fire mana is a resource, and we will need to use it after the boss fight. Naomi. You and I will need to keep it at a distance if possible or else it will coat itself in fire and give us trouble. It will try and throw fireballs at that point and Wes will have to handle it from there. The demon’s skin is tough to get through but once it is opened up we can do some real damage hopefully before it heals itself. Derek your job will be to get behind it and start chopping if it gets too close. I’ll try and give more specific directions once we start. And Ian. You get the loot this time, but we fight as a team.”
James stepped foot on the volcanic floor of floor twenty with his bow already drawn and the novices following behind him. A volley of arrows released as soon as James’s second foot stepped on firm ground. The arrows all hit the demon staggering it back.
Wes set up his defense behind James as they readied for a closer encounter. Naomi had her bow prepared soon after James and fired single shots at the demon.
The demon refocused after getting hit so suddenly. Its eyes narrowed to slits as fire swirled around its body. It picked up speed moving towards their group. In response, James pushed Derek forward before readying another shot. This time it was a single focused charged shot. He got down on one knee and aimed.
The blunt arrow shattered on the demon's shin after it had raised its leg for another step. The demon skidded and tumbled into a heat vent trap. The steam did not injure it much but blinded the boss to James’s follow-up attack.
“Now!” James shouted.
Derek was quick to action and swung with ferocity down at the demon before it could get back up. Derek roared like a wild animal. The demon’s form shifted at the last moment so that where its body once was only its hand remained. The fire burned over the stump of the remaining arm of the demon as it blasted Derek point blank. Derek only had his sword between him and the flames as the attack threw him into the air on fire.
Ian rushed to his side and extinguished the flames while pouring part of his health potion down Derek’s throat. The third-degree burns and scrapes shrunk visibly on his body until they were only harsh sunburns. Derek coughed and struggled to get up. The injuries and then subsequent recovery occurred so quickly that he needed a minute to process how his body was feeling.
James and Naomi took the opportunity presented by the demon and fired the arrow against its back while it stood back up. It was moving visibly slower as it tried to jump on Naomi who stood nearest it. Wes was quick to react however and hit the demon with his shield while it was midair.
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The demon slid back breathing flames from its mouth. The flames that surrounded it staunched its hand injury and resealed the wound from further bleeding. The flames also burnt away the arrows sticking out of its body regardless of how deep they went. It let out a guttural roar and ran for Wes. James and Naomi backed up as the Demon slammed into Wes for a contest of strength.
Wes held firm and planted his shield on the ground and kept his abilities flowing. The shield held up against the onslaught and protected against the exploding heat of the demon. Its focus was solely on Wes for the moment dooming it in the process.
Derek came from behind and swung diagonally down on the demon’s neck. The boss shuddered and then froze before the heat radiating off it stopped. Wes released his active abilities and lifted his shield up. The demon’s dead hands released the shield and the demon’s body dropped to the ground.
“Good job. I can already tell you that your shield will do great for you in this dungeon and outside of it. And Ian. Your prize is over there in the box within the safe zone. It should be to your liking. I am not sure what we will get on the 25th floor once we face the drake, but the dungeon has shown a bit more generosity than I have seen previously. It will also be one of the few floors where we will each get an item as a reward.”
Ian ran over to the safe zone eager to see what the 20th floor held for him. He grinned after opening the box and examining its contents. Ian dropped the box on the ground and slid his new ring onto a finger.
The others got to the safe zone afterward. Derek and James were the last to enter the safe zone. Derek walked slowly and visibly relaxed as the effects of the safe zone fell upon him. The burns he had sustained started to finish healing and his sore muscles felt less sore.
The break was nice for James and the novices. It allowed for one of the few times when they could relax without worrying about monsters or traps. As the time for them in the safe zone winded down James stood up and discussed with them the dangers of the next two floors.
Ian had limited his fire magic, so his reserves were at max as they left the floor. Wes no longer held onto the spear, so his focus was on his shield and staying warm with a torch. Derek double-checked where he had been burned and felt no problems. While waiting for the next floor Naomi and James took advantage of the boosted mana regeneration and filled their quivers back up with a variety of options.
James did one final check over everyone and his own items before stepping through the portal into the 21st floor.
Wes held the line against the frost trolls as they funneled out of the castle. James made suggestions after seeing what might happen to them if they messed up. Ian threw fireballs down the stone hallways which caused the trolls to turn and focus on the novices outside the castle. Naomi fired arrows that slowed the giants down even more until Derek finished them off. Wes kept them from getting around their blockade as they fought.
Ian’s hands glowed as the fire continued to fly out of them. They progressed further into the castle and the ice elementals exploded when in contact with the fire.
James recognized the end of the floor before the others. They followed the steps down into the castle depths where they found the exit portal and the floor’s boss. A slightly larger frost troll was accompanied by two other trolls. The boss frost giant wore an extra layer of armor that looked like ice. It shimmered as the boss moved. James recognized it for what it was.
“We need to destroy that armor first,” James said as he readied a mana arrow. “It is an ice elemental and will heal the giant's wounds if it isn’t destroyed.”
James’s mana arrow flew through the air and struck one of the secondary giants. The lightning energy coursed through the giant stopping it in its tracks. The energy bounced to the other giant slowing it briefly. The boss troll was unaffected when the energy bounced to its armor and dissipated.
Derek rushed the first giant and the mana arrow helped greatly in injuring it. Derek pushed the weakened troll around. Naomi assisted by holding back the other giant as he finished it off.
Ian checked his mana reserves before downing a mana potion. The basement grew warmer and warmer as he let out a torrent of flames onto the boss giant It stomped toward him and raised its club. James stayed behind, out of arrows and mana, and directed Wes.
Wes’s shield reflected the blow and Wes pushed forward moving his shield and body together. He stayed upright as the giant tried again. Wes’s skills all worked in tandem with one another to keep the giant focused and busy smashing a near-impenetrable wall.
The time it was occupying gave James enough room to prepare an armor-piercing bolt. James aimed for the chest and the arrow shattered the heat-weakened armor. The boss giant stumbled back stunned that its protection was gone. Its focus was now broken, and Wes could not draw it back anymore.
The monster charged at James. He recognized the move and was ready before he had even fired his armor-piercing arrow.
To deal with the boss he used a tried-and-true method he had performed before. James pushed Ian out of the way and got close to the wall. As the giant swung downward James was already moving out of the way and let the monster’s momentum continue into the wall.
Ian was quick to make use of the opening and blasted the giant’s head and back with rock-melting flames. The boss could not defend itself and dropped dead.