Chapter 6
It started with a hiss. Like steam escaping a valve under pressure, the sound filled the room as The Knights Who Go Ni spread out, preparing themselves for the battle. Barely discernable in the flickering light of the room, a transparent, green tinged gas escaped from the serpent’s mouth. The gas slithered and crept across the floor, dusting the adventurer’s feet, climbing their legs, as it slowly, steadily, filled the room. And yet, the whole time, the snake head kept its eyes closed. The other two heads, now awakened, thanks to their slithering companion, also kept their eyes closed, waiting, carefully, for the perfect time to streak.
“The room’s filling with poison.” Oak called out hesitantly as he crept nearer the boss. “Do you think it’s a passive ability?”
“Could be,” Z said as he glanced about. The gas was thick, and it was now filing the room faster than it could escape down the hallways. “Either way, we need a cleanse, and we need to clear that smoke fast.”
“Cleanse is coming.” Med Ic called. “But I can’t get rid of the gas.”
“I’ll handle it.” Faust was already moving his hands in strange motions, preparing a spell of some sorts. “The moment we clear the room, start in on the mob.” He continued.
“I was getting ready to start in on the mob anyways.” Oak grumbled. “Before that gas started leaking from its body.” He hefted his glowing shield, once again applying a damage mitigating skill as he eyed the three-headed, ‘sleeping’, mob. “Which head are we starting with again?”
“The ugly one.” Elm said with a laugh, that turned into a bitter cough in the poisonous cloud.
“They’re all-“ Before Oak could finish, a purplish light erupted from Med Ic, washing over the players, and instantly cleansing them of the poison stack that had been growing on them. As the purple light glowed faintly, lingering on them, Faust’s voice echoed in the chamber.
“Air burst.” As the name implied, a concussive blast of air pushed away from his body, causing the clothes on his allies to ripple, strong enough even to make the lion’s mane ripple. More importantly, it forced the gas out of the room, pushing the noxious fumes down the various hallways that were connected to the large room. This was Oak’s cue. He looked quickly at the sleeping creature, made a thought, and then rushed forward, his shield held high, his axe at his side, bellowing.
“It’s Goat Time.” He roared, as he angled the shield, aiming the venom dripping maw on the grotesque shield directly at the creature’s forehead. His body glowed, the shield glowed. He was doing a shield bash. A high damaging attack that dealt damage based on his defense stat, and given his Indra class, applied lightning damage to the charge. It also carried with it a powerful taunt. The perfect opener for a tank to use in a battle.
“Did he really just?” Rue sighed as James nodded, the two of them experiencing more than a little second hand embarrassment for Oak’s obvious attempt at a joke. Steve, on the other hand, was clapping his hands like a child, his face beaming.
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“I told him puns make taunts more effective in DCO.” Steve said as he wheezed. “Told him it was a hidden mechanic.”
“You’re such a troll.” James said, though he couldn’t help but smile at Steve’s statement. His grin increased as his focus returned to Oak. His charge, after all, hadn’t gone quite as planned.
Just before impact, the goat head opened an eye, and tilted it’s head to the side. The motion, sudden and subtle, changed the target of Oak’s oncoming charge. Instead of crashing into the center of the sleeping creature’s forehead, which he had likely been thinking would cause additional damage given the creature was asleep in his mind, his shield, his force, smashed into one of the metallic, curling horns atop the goat’s forehead.
The force of the collision sent a shockwave outwards between the two. Lightning crackled as Oak’s body withstood the impact. The goat’s head was unmoving, two unmovable forces, colliding together, the sound ringing out like the starting bell of a boxing match. Then, the goat bleated, and ripped its head sideways. The motion pulled at Oak, pushing him off balance, as the giant Chem-Era rose. Oak fought to regain his balance, began to take a step backwards, preparing for the next attack from in front of him. What he should have been watching for, was the third head. The serpent. Because even though it was on the back of the Chem-Era, it didn’t mean it couldn’t reach him, couldn’t attack him where he stood.
As the party focused their fire on the Goat Head, arrows digging into its skin, spells crackling towards it, and Z’s minions rushing the massive creature, its other heads acted as well. This wasn’t a battle against a single foe. It was a battle against three mobs, that shared a single body. And all three heads, were able of acting independently of each other.
The serpent head extended unnaturally as it darted under the massive, shared body, using its legs and belly to hide its approach as it shot towards Oak, gleaming fangs extended hungrily. As for the other head, the Lion head let out a massive roar of rage, its mane flickering flames, as it glared at the party, taking in the battlefield as it assessed the situation. And all the while, the goat’s head, yelled. Only, unlike with the Scapegoats on James’s fifth floor, this goat’s scream wasn’t purely for annoying or ‘taunting’ players. It had a purpose. A dangerous, terrifyingly so, purpose. For as it let out is loud bleating scream, the creature activated the second of its three breath weapons.
Sulfuric Goat- The goat head releases a toxic, foul-smelling gas that is highly flammable. This gas can corrode armor, inflicting a 5% debuff to player armor per stack. This gas causes a choking effect while players are within it, causing them to lose 1% of their maximum HP every second they are within the gas cloud.
James grinned as the yellows gas rushed outwards. While the serpents poisonous gas had been slow, this gas erupted, propelled with great force from the goat’s mouth, and quickly covered the room in the thick, obscuring gas.
“I can’t see shit,” Elm yelled.
“Cleanse,” Z coughed.
“Airburst has three more seconds,” Faust half yelled, half choked out.
“Another few seconds on my AOE cleanse,” Med Ic said. The gas was thicker than James had even expected. He could see the full battle, of course, thanks to the magic of being a dungeon core. But it was clear even to him, that the thick, yellow, sulfuric looking gas had robbed a good bit of visual clarity from the players. A fact that was about to become even more damning, as he also knew, the Chem-Era itself, was immune to blinding effects.
“This thing’s got a-“ Oak began, before his cries turned to a scream as the Serpent’s head bit down on him.