As Rowan gained the upper hand in the fight, the boss was quick to adapt. It seemed more intelligent than any other monster Dylan had seen in the dungeon, and after losing a large piece of its tail, it became more cautious, observing the changes in its opponent.
Dylan felt a new turn begin. He drew a Phantom Archer, but he only looked at the card out of the corner of his eye. The rest of his attention continued to monitor the battlefield around him.
While he backed away from Rowan’s confrontation with the lizard, Dylan watched the creature send a few experimental strikes out against the veil of smoke. When it noticed its limbs begin to slow, it quickly drew them back, clearly fearful of repeating what had just happened with its tail. It began to fight more defensively.
The rare times the monster did attack became more calculated. It didn’t act when it couldn’t find an opening from the swordsman, and when it struck, it would take advantage of its multiple pairs of arms to simultaneously approach Rowan from different angles. It began to trade its previous speed for complexity; the simple but seemingly unending flurry of blows morphed into moves that were more difficult to intercept.
For Rowan’s part, with the combination of his own enhancements and the slowing effect of Siphoning Veil, he was able to escape most of the damage the boss wanted to inflict. However, there were still times when he would find it a challenge to completely avoid getting hit when guarding against three or four clawed hands attacking at once.
When another turn passed, Dylan added a Draw card to his hand. He’d have to wait fifteen more seconds to generate before he could play it, though.
A quick glance around him showed that hardly anything had changed on the battlefield.
Chester still held down the spider boss.
Dena and Alice were still working on slowly eliminating the fight’s smaller monsters, and while they struggled a bit more without the Phantom Soldier’s help, they were still managing to whittle them down. A few monsters from the newest wave had even started to look a bit shaky, having now been exposed to the damaging sound waves for more than a minute. Dylan guessed that it wouldn’t be too long before they’d begin to rapidly drop.
The only difference was with Jaiden. The Earth Mage had finished off the last of the archers that had arrived with the bosses’ charge and was now staring out toward the back of the cavern. It wasn’t until Dylan saw a few monsters scurrying around the rock formations that he realized they were continuing to trickle out from the darkness. Jaiden watched for a moment before firing a Stone Bullet at a lizard with a bow the instant it dashed out from behind one of the larger stalagmites.
The rest of the currently approaching enemies were only capable of melee attacks. Jaiden let them go. They’d soon be drawn to Dena and her music. And with Alice beginning to reap the weakened monsters around the Bard, the added pressure from the new arrivals would be minimal.
Once enough of the creatures dropped, the only real challenge would come from the two bosses. While Rowan was making progress, Dylan still worried about his stamina. And that didn’t even touch on the seemingly impenetrable mountain in front of Chester.
A new turn began, and almost at the same time that he chose to generate, he felt another three turns added to Siphoning Veil’s duration. He turned his head to find Rowan fending off a coordinated attack from three of the lizard’s arms, one of its clawed feet, and even its half-severed tail.
The man danced around the majority of the blows but still took a thump from the tail across the side of his chest. Dylan could see Rowan grit his teeth with the impact, but with the smoke’s interference, it could hardly compare to the earlier tail lashing that had sent the man flying. At the same time, the boss also let out a growl of pain as the injured appendage made contact.
While watching the fight, Dylan noted how fast the lizard’s attacks would charge Siphoning Veil; every turn since he’d activated the card had seen its duration extended by its maximum limit well before the fifteen seconds had passed. Maybe it was because the boss was a powerful monster, but each one of its attacks added close to another turn to the smoky barrier. Even with the creature’s more cautious approach, it was more than enough to power the veil for as long as Rowan could keep fighting.
Dylan played Draw and hoped to get a way to contribute more. Looking at the new cards, he found a Basic Energy and Lunadera’s Bloom.
At least it’s something, he thought. Lunadera’s Bloom would come in handy if the fight kept dragging, but Basic Energy would be useful almost immediately. If he generated next turn, he could use the card to pay for his Phantom Archer.
While he was planning his next move, there was a sudden shift in the fight in front of him. The ground rumbled and another shower of rocks fell from the ceiling, no doubt a consequence of Chester’s ongoing confrontation with the gargantuan spider.
Rowan had to dodge out of the way of a cluster of fist-sized stones poised to smash against his head. Interestingly, the few that came closest to the man were slowed by the smoke around him, but Dylan stopped himself from thinking about future uses of Siphoning Veil when the lizard boss moved.
The creature chose to take a few hits from the falling debris, trusting its scales to protect it, and initiated a strike against Rowan while he was distracted.
It was able to successfully land a blow against the man’s arm, but instead of clawing at the redhead like it had been doing throughout the rest of their fight, the monster chose to grapple him.
The veil may have slowed and drained the energy from its attacks, but the lizard realized that it couldn’t protect against something that had already passed through its defense. In exchange for the fiery blade burning a deep cut that nearly severed one of its clawed hands, the lizard was able to take hold of Rowan’s sword arm with another, limiting the man’s ability to both strike at it and dodge its other attacks.
The monster then used its two free and uninjured arms to direct a barrage of blows toward the swordsman’s face while simultaneously trying to use its legs and the remains of its severed tail to bring the redhead to the ground. The veil of smoke reduced the attacks’ speed and strength enough for Rowan to keep his feet and avoid any serious damage, but due to his limited mobility, he couldn’t escape everything. A new series of gashes appeared on his face and neck.
It wasn’t until Rowan further empowered his own free hand that the situation changed. The skin of his fingers brightened to match the glowing hue of his sword, and Dylan could tell that their temperature had increased sharply; the heat they put off began to distort the shifting veil of smoke around them. For a moment, it seemed like the redhead’s hand would burst into flames just like the man’s blade.
When Rowan reached out and took hold of the arm that was grappling him, scales sizzled, and the lizard screamed. It tried to persist and maintain its grasp, but after a moment, it kicked out and jumped backward, skin and scales sloughing off its arm as the limb slid through Rowan’s nearly molten fingers.
The swordsman didn’t pursue. His hand returned to its normal appearance before he clutched at and massaged his sword arm. The crushing strength of the monster’s grip had been enough to leave him in pain even after he’d escaped.
At the same time, the lizard leaped toward one of the rock columns, using the claws of its feet and uninjured arms to secure itself against the stone surface, out of the Blade Warden’s reach. On the forearm Rowan had just touched, Dylan could make out a handprint burned into cracked and melted scales as well as scorch marks streaking down where it had pulled the limb free of the swordsman’s grasp.
Both combatants were hurt and drained. But even though Rowan’s physical injuries didn’t seem as severe, Dylan was still concerned about how much longer the man could maintain his fighting condition.
As a new turn began, Dylan followed his previous plan and summoned his archer.
Not wanting to give the lizard boss any extra time to recover while safely out of reach, the moment the phantom materialized, Dylan ordered it to attack. Five seconds later, the mist around the archer’s bow condensed and an arrow flew toward the pillar of rock.
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The lizard snarled at the phantom and began to scramble around the column to avoid the projectile, but it was stopped by a fast-moving stone smashing just to the right of its head. Jaiden.
The arrow struck one of the lizard’s injured arms, fracturing a few scales and drawing a hiss of pain.
The monster circled the pillar to avoid the phantom’s line of fire and Dylan ordered the archer to move in pursuit. Jaiden rounded the column from the opposite direction, ensuring that at least one of the two would always have a shot at the creature.
The harassment prevented the boss from resting, but it couldn’t do anything to drive it back to the ground.
When Dylan drew another card, Intermediate Energy, Dena’s music changed. Dylan turned to look and saw the monsters remaining around her regain some of their momentum. He wondered what she was doing, but when he followed her gaze to the boss circling the column, he understood.
For a moment, the lizard’s body drooped, muscles relaxing; Dena was trying to put it to sleep, but in the next second, it shook off the music’s effect in the same way it had ignored Chester’s Taunt. A brief pause was all the Bard could buy, but she’d timed her action well. Just before the boss had fully recovered, it fumbled with its grip on the rocks it was clinging to as Jaiden softened the earth around its claws. As it began to slip, it was hammered by a misty arrow and lost its hold entirely.
The monster crashed to the ground, and Rowan immediately dashed forward to reengage. Dylan noticed he wasn’t as fast as he had been earlier in the battle. The man’s skin was no longer buoying the veil of smoke with the heat it put off. The only enhancement that still seemed to be active was the flaming sword.
Hopefully, it’ll be enough.
Jaiden returned her attention to the trickling stream of monster reinforcements crawling out from the dark recesses of the cavern, and Dena resumed her deceleration debuff.
Dylan didn’t feel safe letting the archer continue to target the lizard. It and Rowan had once again started their rapid dance of attack and defense, and the phantom’s arrows would only add more chaos to the duel. They may even hit the swordsman. Instead, the archer began to help Jaiden catch up on eliminating the incoming monsters she’d put aside to deal with the boss.
Dylan checked his remaining cards before estimating his distance from Chester.
It should be safe to use…
He stepped back and pulled both Intermediate Energy and Lunadera’s Bloom into his hand. Even though he was probably far enough from the Guardian to not affect his Taunt with the card’s effect, a lot could happen in a minute. Moving a bit further away would probably be for the best.
“I’m playing Lunadera’s Bloom,” he called out once he’d chosen a spot about halfway between Chester’s battle and the chasm. He activated the two cards he held in sequence, and as the illusory orchid and its rising moon began to form, Jaiden began to back up toward the edge of the field effect.
He’d wanted to use the card close enough to help the rest of his group, but choosing anywhere other than the open area he’d settled on would have been risky. Besides his obvious desire to avoid Chester and the giant spider, he wasn’t sure what effect the card might have on the monsters surrounding Dena.
The deceleration would most likely be counted as a physical effect and shouldn’t be cleared, but Dylan was more worried about disrupting the fixation the monsters had on the Bard. It might or might not be counted as a negative mental effect, but even if it wasn’t, he’d discovered that Lunadera’s Bloom helped calm his thoughts and clear his mind. His ideas seemed to flow free and unhindered under its effect. He was worried that if the creatures were touched by the card’s field, they might “wake up” from their blind aggression. Without their overwhelming drive to stop the music, controlling them may be more difficult.
And as much as Dylan wanted to be close enough to help Rowan, that battle was too dynamic for him to feel safe sharing the limited space of the orchid’s field with the two brutalized combatants. Even injured as they were, they were still the fastest pair in the cavern.
A new turn began, and Dylan drew a card, Immobilize. It joined the other two cards remaining in his hand.
Ideally, he’d play his Phantom Rally in two turns to get the maximum duration out of his archer, but he’d need to draw at least one energy card first to make it happen.
He put his Mana Spike to the side for the moment. Its damage was considerable, but right now, it would be better to try and build energy to maintain the consistent presence and fighting power the Phantom Archer could provide.
As for Immobilize, he couldn’t think of a good way to use it for the moment.
Unless it was an emergency, playing it against a normal monster would be a waste. He might be able to hold the big spider like he’d done with its smaller counterpart during the combat trial, but with how defensive the thing was, it would be difficult to deal the kind of damage they’d need in the limited time burning through his mana could provide. And if he used it against the lizard boss, based on its past behavior, it might even be able to shrug it off like it had all the other debuffs that the group had thrown at it.
Standing under the blooming moon, he thought of Sara and supposed the card might be able to help someone escape another falling stalactite, but hopefully, those circumstances could be prevented with continued careful observation and positioning. Besides, he’d need energy to do it.
Dylan looked back at the chasm yawning just over ten yards away from him and thought, Can’t always get the kind of luck that starts a new turn right when I’m sent flying off a cliff.
Then he paused.
Images flashed through his head in quick succession. A brief history of his stay in the dungeon.
Jaiden softening the earth beneath her opponents and collapsing spider holes.
A web shooter crashing through the collapsing ground and falling into the abyss.
Himself suspending over that same bottomless depth.
Then his mind returned to him holding the armored spider in the training room.
Further back to the sense of weight that monster had carried when it'd first been summoned.
The even heavier colossus rumbling the cavern around Chester right now.
I doubt that thing can climb walls like the other spiders. If we can get it over the cliff…
“Jaiden,” Dylan quickly turned to the Earth Mage, “how long would it take you to collapse the edge of the cliff?”
Firing off another Stone Bullet, the woman asked, “What are you thinking?”
“If Chester can lure the big spider to the cliff’s edge, can you collapse enough of the ground beneath it to send it over? How long would it take?”
Jaiden was quiet for a moment, and a new turn began. “At least two minutes,” she said, nodding toward the monsters she was targeting, “and I won’t be able to do anything else while I work.”
Dylan drew a Basic Energy card and smiled. “My archer can last long enough to cover for you.” He looked over at Dena and the dwindling monsters around her. “I think the first two waves are dead. We’re just down to dealing with the reinforcements, and as long I can take out any new ranged support, Dena and Alice should be able to handle the rest.”
The Earth Mage shot another stone toward a lizard’s head. “And what about the boss? Its not just going to stand there while I mess with the earth beneath it.” She nodded at Chester. “And I can’t just do all the work beforehand or else there’s a good chance he’ll get caught up in the rockfall when he pulls that thing over.”
“Got it covered.” Dylan looked at his mana and estimated how much more Lunadera’s Bloom would give him. “I should be able to hold it still for just about fifty seconds. If you do enough prep work to weaken the ground but keep things stable for Chester to safely retreat, can you finish the rest in fifty seconds?”
“It’ll be tight,” Jaiden said after pausing to think, “but probably.”
The plan was risky. If it worked, most of Dylan’s mana would be gone. But the monstrosity of a spider would be gone with it.
So far, the extent of the damage the beast had suffered was a few scratches to its rocky carapace. Dylan thought about whether or not their group could even effectively hurt the thing.
Rowan could probably make some progress, but he was still trading blows with the other boss. Even if he was able to kill the lizard, Dylan doubted he’d be in a state capable of continuing to fight.
There was a chance Dena’s music could hurt it; maybe it was even hurting it now, but considering the time it took to kill the regular monsters and how unaffected the titanic spider seemed, it would probably take longer than the group could sustain to truly bring it down.
Dylan felt that he could get a good shot in if he managed to repeat the double Phantom Rally trick he’d pulled against the shaman, but looking at his current hand, that was impossible without a reshuffle and a lot of luck. Mana Spike might also do some damage, but even if he used all four in his deck, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Without skills, the amount of damage Chester and Alice could deal was similar to each other, and from what Dylan had seen of the Guardian’s battle, that amount was incapable of really harming the creature. If Chester built up a large enough Retaliation counter, things might be different, but that required getting hit. Unless the Guardian could release a blow strong enough to take the thing out all at once, using Retaliation wasn’t a good source of reliable output. And a counter large enough to pull that off would definitely exceed the tier one class limits placed on the skill.
Jaiden was probably the one who could currently sustain the best output against the monster, but things once again came back to a question of stamina. Her mana wasn’t infinite; when they’d been in Alice’s trial, he’d seen her reach her limit while she was under the effects of the accelerated time in the forge. There, she’d been able to let the different time streams rapidly speed up her natural mana regeneration in comparison to the actual battle. Here, there was no such advantage.
Taking everything together, the group’s largest damaging attacks were currently unavailable, and Dylan didn’t think their sustainable output would be enough to bring the spider down before they wore themselves out.
And that was ignoring the rest of the fight around them. The other monsters. The other boss.
If they could get rid of the spider, things would change. Chester would be free to help Rowan. They’d no longer have to spend extra care and attention to avoid the potentially deadly rocks crashing down from the ceiling.
Dylan might nearly burn himself out, but it would be worth it to free the hands of the rest of the group to end the fight. Besides, there was always the chance that Jaiden would finish fast enough to keep him active.
His mind split, signaling the start of a new turn. He chose to generate and played his Basic Energy card before pulling Phantom Rally into his hand.
“Okay,” he said to Jaiden, activating the card, “let’s start.”
His archer glowed with power as its duration was extended for another two and half minutes.
Let’s hope this works.