I took a minute to catch my breath, hating the weakness I felt. When I was ready, I examined the pad next to the wall and did not see any obvious methods to open the door. I tried placing my palm on the pad, nothing happened. I moved my face closer and looked at it. Again nothing. ‘Think, what do I have that this place seems to want… wings.’ I pulled one of my wings around and placed it over the pad. With a beep, the doors slid open. I made sure I was behind the wall and waited, listening for any indication that the creatures inside could hear me.

When I heard nothing, I peeked around the corner and saw many basic creatures gathered around a boss creature carrying a semi-automatic rifle. There may have been a few area bosses or other creatures as well, but I could not tell. The boss creature was staring up at what looked like a holographic screen. I stared at the screen, realized that it showed the interior of the room, and cringed. They would notice and swarm me as soon as I entered. I decided to use my tactics with previous rooms here. I would fire into the room and hopefully eliminate most of the horde before I was forced into the room to deal with the boss.

With all the creatures clumped together, I really did not have to aim. In the three seconds it took them to register they were being fired on, I had fired 15 fire shots and killed 15 creatures. I continued firing for another second before I moved back into cover. A moment later, the sound of gunfire echoed through the air. I counted the time for the three-round bursts, waited an additional second after the fire died down, then maneuvered myself to fire again. I used the roughly 11 seconds I had to fire productively and was able to eliminate the majority of the horde. ‘There is no fucking way I am going to underestimate those bastards again.’ As my time ran out, I ducked back into cover and listened.

The same pattern of fire resumed. At the next pause, I immediately leaned out and fired. Before I ducked back, I was able to see that the bosses weapon stayed as a semi-automatic rifle. I could not suppress the giddy smile at that. The next break would be, at most, 20 seconds and I would only be able to fire maybe seven of those. I focused on listening to the firing pattern and switched my rounds to acid while I waited.

Within seconds of the break, I had aimed at the torso of the boss and rapidly began firing. ‘I’m so fucking glad for maxed firing speed.’ In roughly six and a half seconds, I was able to fire just over 30 rounds. I was firing faster than ever. I saw the boss die, dissolving into dust, but was unable to stop firing fast enough to avoid wasting a few rounds. ‘That was unexpected. I thought it would take more than that to kill it.’

With the boss out of the way, there were no more basic creatures being summoned. I needed to kill all the creatures ASAP before my health dropped even more. ‘Fuck it, nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ I charged into the room, not bothering to conserve my ammo, and fired at the center of the group of creatures.

Within a few seconds, I threw myself to the side to avoid the fire from the area bosses. I had taken out at least six or seven of the creatures before I had to dodge. Since I was not flying, the area bosses had their ability to fire reduced, they had to wait for the basic creatures to clear a path for them. I did not give them that opportunity. I sprinted to the side, keeping as many of the creatures between the area bosses and me as I could. I continued to fire sporadically while I ran. My aim was shit, as was my firing rate, but I was doing damage while avoiding being hit. I saw at least five more creatures go down in a minute. As the number of creatures began to thin, I began to move in a more erratic pattern. I continued running and firing, my breaths becoming harsher as I gasped for air.

I landed a hit on one of the area bosses. It must have been a critical hit, since it knocked the creature back and interrupted its firing. A second shot finished it off. ‘One down, two to go.’ My exhaustion had forced me to slow down. I was still dodging, trying to keep a gap between me and the rounds being fired. At the same time, trying to avoid the creatures trailing behind me.

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Ahead of me was a group of creatures that must have cut across the room. I shifted my aim and fired at them. As the last creature ahead of me fell, I received a notification. ‘Are you fucking kidding me, this is not the time!’

Level 10 Shotgun (Maxed)

Abilities: infinite basic ammo

Rate of fire: 1 per 0.2 seconds (Maxed)

Damage range: 1-25 (Maxed)

Critical hit rate: 25% (Maxed)

Critical hit Damage: 50 (Maxed)

‘At least I won’t have to deal with this piss poor timing again.’ There were no longer any creatures in front of me. I swung around and fired at the ones behind me. Less than a minute later, all that remained were the two remaining area bosses.

Both creatures held semi-automatic rifles. I forced myself to start flying. It felt like when you get shin splints except in my wings. I gritted my teeth and continued moving, dodging the fire from the area bosses. Once my opportunity arrived, I fired at the first area boss, killed it, and switched my fire to the second one. It too quickly fell.

Not wasting any time, I landed and gathered up the rounds dropped by the creatures. As I moved towards the door to the next room, I checked my status and found that I only had 34% health remaining. ‘Fuck, I need to move faster, or I will die.’ I started jogging, forcing myself to go faster. The quiet hiss of the door sliding open, lost from the ringing sound of my heels clicking against the floor.

There was no hallway. I was in the entrance to a positively massive room that must have been at least a quarter mile long. At the far end of the room were two bosses with creatures scattered around them. I took flight to move faster. Ignoring the pain, I focused on closing the distance. I was not fast enough, more creatures materialized while I was flying.

‘Damn it, I need it to move faster.’ I still could not tell what guns the creatures held. But as I closed in, I was able to hear the sound of pistol fire as they shot at me. I swerved out of the way to avoid being hit. But it was too late, one of the rounds clipped me on the shoulder. ‘Fuck, I can’t afford the health drop.’ If anyone asked me later, I would not admit to acting recklessly, and I certainly did not charge in like a dumbass, not me. I made a tactical decision and executed a plan with a calculated risk.

That is to say, I said fuck it and charged in a zig-zag pattern while recklessly firing as fast as I could in the general direction of the bosses. My precision from earlier in the dungeon was lost and while four out of five rounds at least clipped a creature, maybe one in ten of the hits was a solid hit. In less than a minute, I was able to fire around a hundred rounds. When the additional acid damage was added in, it was enough to kill only one of the bosses.

The other bosses gun began changing. ‘Don’t be a fucking AK.’ I wanted to fist pump when I saw that it was a semi-automatic rifle. Predictably at this point, I was back to dodging, thankful that the firing patterns had not changed with each room. When the break in firing came, I was ready and did not hesitate to aim and fire. Within that break, I threw caution and continued firing, even when I should have started moving again. It paid off when the creature dissolved, dead. With only the basic creatures remaining, I switched to the fire rounds and began taking them out. Within minutes, I had killed all of them, each only taking a single round when I aimed properly.

I landed and picked up the rounds dropped by the bosses. I spotted a doorway further down the room and had to fly again or it would take too long. While flying I checked my status, my health was at 21%. ‘I really, really fucking hope there is only one more room, otherwise I will probably die, and I would rather live.’

At the end of the room, there was a simple wooden door that, when I opened it, led to a smooth stone hallway.