The seahorse boss narrowed its startling green eyes at me, a cruel smile twisting its features. It didn't seem to care that I was standing there alone, without the protection of a party. "You dare to interrupt my slumber, human?" it sneered. "You'll pay for that insolence."
Typical boss dialogue. Instead of responding, I crouched, preparing to leap at it.
It was more perceptive than I thought, as it flinched from the pressure exuding from the Soultaker and slammed the butt of its trident on the floor.
"Fuck!" I hissed under my breath, berating myself for allowing it to happen. As soon as the trident clanged against the floor, the seahorse boss was engulfed in a sea green light, which then split its body into two identical clones.
I charged forward, swinging the Soultaker, but it was too late. Even as I cut through one of the seahorses with one strike, the other clone had already tapped their trident, splitting into two more. Then, there were four of them, and they surrounded me, their tridents flashing like silver lightning.
I managed to easily evade their attacks, but every time I cut one down, two more popped up to take their place. It made it worse that I wasn't gaining anything from killing them, which meant that if I could find the original seahorse, I'd be able to finish this fight quickly.
The only problem was, I was now looking at more than 20 of them. They were swarming around me, and I couldn't seem to catch a moment to find the original without getting surrounded.
[So, what's the plan?]
"Figuring that out right now," I snarled through gritted teeth, barely dodging another trident blow. "I don't have any AOE Skills for crowd control."
"...What?" the Soultaker stopped humming with power. "Are these actual gaming terms?"
[Sadly, yes... e.e]
Ignoring the two, I activated Grim Mantle, zipping up into the air. I took a deep breath, and unleashed a wave of Reaps from my palm, watching the darkness rain down upon the seahorse clones.
[Seahorse Tyrant Health: 994990]
Cool, so the good news was, I was able to hit the real one, subsequently bringing all the other clones' max Health down as well. The bad?
[Reap: 898/1128]
It cost a chunk of my precious skill usage just to hit it once. I'd have to use the rest sparingly, but I still had a decent amount. I could manage. Probably.
"You know," the Soultaker said, its voice mild as ever, "if you keep using that skill on them, you'll eventually be able to chunk them down to a point where you can just use Death's Shadow on all of them to deal extra damage."
"I know that," I growled, flying around to avoid the tridents. "What do you think I've been trying to do?"
I unleashed torrent after torrent of Reaps, striking the original a few times.
[Seahorse Tyrant Health: 974950]
[Reap: 446/1128]
Shit. At no point did I ever think I'd exhaust my Skill uses this quickly. I surveyed the throne room, zipping around the tridents in the air. The seahorse boss had completely filled up the entire room with clones and nowhere to land.
[Seahorse Tyrant Health: 974950]
[Reap: 10/1128]
I swore, deciding that it would be best to just start using my Death's Shadow. With a single cast that targeted all enemies within sight, I watched as a massive fog of darkness rose up and engulfed the army with a hissing explosion.
[Seahorse Tyrant Health: 944890]
[Death's Shadow: 530/1128]
The army of clones roared in pain, creating a deafening din as the darkness tore into them. I felt a surge of satisfaction as I watched them become afflicted with the slow. At least now I could start to whittle down their numbers.
I landed, immediately whipping the Soultaker around and cutting through the waves of clones with ease. Some were attempting to split again, but I managed to reach them in time to cleave them in half thanks to their hindered status effect.
Over and over, the Soultaker left a trail of blue light behind as I swung it around, quickly chipping away at the army. I felt myself begin to grow winded, but I pushed on, determined to slash the number of clones in half.
The Soultaker's blade sang through the air, each blow landing with a satisfying thwack. The clones screamed in pain, their voices starting to grate on my nerves. After roughly reducing the army to a quarter of its original size, I spammed Death's Shadow once again.
[Health: 884770]
[Death's Shadow: 402/1128]
Ugh, at least it was better than nothing. I could feel the exhaustion burning through my veins as I bounced around the room, using the Soultaker to slash at the remaining clones. With each strike, I felt a little bit more of my strength leave me, but I refused to give up.
No wonder even the top Players couldn't clear this floor. It wasn't a matter of strength, it was an endurance test. One that I was determined to win.
I continued to hack and slash at the remaining clones, my movements growing more and more sluggish with each passing moment. The Soultaker felt heavier and heavier in my hands, like it was made of lead instead of the familiar weightlessness it usually possessed. My muscles burned with fatigue, my lungs ached from the effort of forcing air in and out of my body.
Finally, I managed to cull the number of clones down to 5. The seahorse bosses backed away towards the throne, poising their tridents at me fearfully. With the last of my stamina, I pushed forward, casting a couple more Death's Shadow to keep them disoriented.
I quickly cut down the first three, struggled against the fourth, and finally faced off against the remaining seahorse who was cowering behind the throne.
"Argh, you insolent–!"
The seahorse's words were cut off as I landed in front of it, the Soultaker swinging in a wide arc that cut through both it and the stone throne, severing its head from its body. The body thrashed wildly for a moment before collapsing lifelessly to the floor. I let out a shaky breath, my entire body screaming in protest. The throne room was silent until a wave of blue screens flooded my vision.
[System alert: Seahorse Tyrant has been defeated.]
[Congratulations! Floor 28 has been cleared. Floor 29 has been opened.]
[Main contributors: Player Luquier Vaunt.]
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Goddammit," I wheezed, collapsing to the ground on my knees. I panted heavily, trying to catch my breath as the Soultaker clattered off to the side.
"Hey, jerk! Watch it." The sword grumbled, its blue light dimming.
[Well done, Player! ^u^ I knew you could do it.]
"Thanks," I mumbled to Sephera's message as a green portal cracked open behind the destroyed throne. Outside, I could hear the clamoring of Players as they fought through the remaining sea creatures to get to the throne room. They'd have an easier time now, since the defeat of the floor boss would cause the mob respawn rate to lower significantly.
[You have gained 10 (x50) experience points.]
[You have gained 500 experience points.]
[Level up!]
[You obtained Seahorse Tyrant's Duplicate Skill.]
Despite the tiredness, I couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction as I accepted the experience points and skill gain. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Seemed like bosses would always drop something regardless, even if I was overleveled.
I opened up my Status Window, quickly investing the 50025 points I had just acquired. I was not going to waste them this time.
[Level: 1133]
[Health: 32025 | Strength: 10500]
[Speed: 10000 | Magic: 15000]
[Risk: 10000 | Stat Points: 0]
[Experience: 6%]
[Jeez, Luquier. You might as well become a boss yourself.]
I smiled slightly. This much was needed for the 30th floor boss, and even then, I wasn't totally sure if it was enough. I browsed through my skills, relieved to see that not only did they replenish, but also increased their max usage to match my level.
[Duplicate]
[Cooldown: 1x (3600 seconds)]
[Description: Allows user to clone self, copying all stats and equipment. User does not receive damage clone receives. Clone remains indefinitely until its death. Maximum one clone.]
Oh, this skill was going to be useful later, especially with my new stats. Sucks that it had an hour cooldown after death, but I figured I wouldn't need the whole hour to deal with whatever was in my way. I cleared the screens, reaching to grab the Soultaker and putting it into my Inventory, ignoring its protests.
As I recovered my stamina, I heard the throne room doors groan open, and a flood of Players rushed in, led by Gigi, Phoebe, and Krion.
"Dear lord... You actually soloed it..." Gigi breathlessly exclaimed, looking at me with wonder. "You're amazing, Luquier. Truly amazing."
"Thanks," I said with a nod, standing up and brushing the dust off my clothes. Truthfully, it didn’t make sense for me to have been able to solo the boss, despite the stats I had. Considering that even the top Players were unable to defeat the boss, it was supposed to be impossible for me. That is, if I didn’t have the Soultaker. I begrudgingly had to admit, that sword was the hard carry of this battle.
I glanced at the three of them. "We still have a ways to go. Let's get moving."
"You're going to keep moving up?" Krion asked incredulously. "You just beat the 28th floor!"
"So?" I shrugged, jerking my head over to the portal, where a few Players were already discussing amongst themselves. "You guys have been stuck on this floor for a couple of weeks. Aren't you relieved to finally move on?"
"Yes, but moving too fast would only leave the rest of the Players who aren’t as prepared facing a higher risk of death," Gigi explained. "While it is important to clear these floors, doing so faster than the others can catch up poses a hazard. What if a dungeon break occurs but the level is too high for most of the Players in the world?"
I grimaced as I realized they were right. "Well, I just want to clear the 30th floor and unlock the Safe Zone for now. That way, people can just start off on the 31st to grind, maximizing time and effort. How’s that?"
Gigi and Phoebe shared a look, then glanced back at me. "We're grateful, of course," Phoebe said. "But... aren't you tired? You should at least rest right now."
"A little," I admitted. "I guess I can take a longer break."
Gigi grinned. "Great! I also have some stuff to inform you regarding your Enigma induction anyway, so this is the perfect time."
"Whoa, he's getting inducted into Enigma?" Phoebe shot Gigi a shocked look. "You didn't mention that earlier. You had me thinking he was going to die in the boss room earlier."
"Hey, I didn't want to give you false hope," Gigi retorted with a grin. "But yeah, I've received the details of the other members. Looks like your induction is set in stone."
Krion had been silent, gazing between the three of us with an open mouth. "You're... going to be an Enigma member?" he whispered, as if he didn't believe it. "How... but the last time I saw..."
Our group conversation was interrupted as a few other Players came over to congratulate or simply thank me. It felt great to be appreciated for my efforts, and I was glad to be able to share this moment with them. But as the adrenaline from the fight began to fade, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of exhaustion.
[Ahh look at him, that's my Player! The masochist of Sephera's tower! ^~^]
I didn't have the energy to deal with Sephera's messages, but I was glad to have made her proud. Gigi could sense my waning energy, grabbing me by the hand and leading me over to a group of support-type Players as a front to get away.
"Thanks," I grunted to her as we approached the medical tent. Some of them looked up; a woman beckoned us over to a table with medical supplies and had me sit down. She began to check me for injuries or debuffs, finally pressing a palm gently on my back. A soothing aura began to wash over my body, restoring my vitality.
"No problem," Gigi grinned, flashing me a thumbs-up. "Your sis- I mean, I know a few Players who've been in the same position you were, so I could tell when you're at your limit."
Ah, what a saint. I didn't care if she was friends with my sister or not, but I'd let it slide even if she was.
"Anyway," Gigi continued, conjuring a golden chair and sitting down in front of me as the woman finished restoring me. Was that an actual Skill? Or was it from the effects of her Title? I'd have to ask her later.
"I've already informed Celine about all of this, but she wanted me to ask you when the earliest convenient time would be for you."
"What?" I muttered. "What is up with that woman and wanting to do everything early? Why didn't she just text me that?"
"I told her that the afternoon would work best for the other Enigma members attending the induction ceremony, but she wanted to meet up with you to discuss ceremonial etiquette." Gigi made a face, giving me a sympathetic smile. "That woman is... unique to say the least, but it's only reasonable considering her sister is Chronia."
"Is that her real name? Chronia?" I frowned. "I've been hearing a lot about her, but I have no idea who she is."
"No, that's not her real name," Gigi laughed, rolling her eyes. "That's her Title. Many of the top Players are referred to by their Titles for several reasons. Some of the main ones are for personal privacy or to induce fame. In Chronia's case, it's for the latter."
[If only there was a Title that had 'masochist' in it...]
"Huh. So why does Celine refer to everyone by their Title?" I mused out loud. Gigi shrugged.
"Maybe she has her own reasons. But, that's besides the point right now. The scheduled date for your induction is tomorrow afternoon. I, along with your... with Aurora and three other members of Enigma will hold it at the Lambda Sector GPA." Gigi paused for a moment, giving me a meaningful look. "We're all looking forward to having you on board, you know."
"I highly doubt my sister wants me there." I muttered back with a scowl.
Gigi gave me a weird look. "It's none of my business to butt in, but whatever feelings you have towards Aurora, she doesn't feel the same way towards you."
"Of course not," I snapped back quietly. "She doesn't ever take responsibility for her actions. She didn't care what happened to me or our parents. That's why she would never get how I feel."
Gigi fell silent, closing her mouth. There was a hint of regret in me, but it was too late to take back my words. I let out a long sigh.
"Okay, let's push that aside for now," I stretched out my limbs. "Can I ask what guild you're in?"
"Oh, I'm in Nano," Gigi smiled, relieved to change the subject. "It's a pretty small guild compared to the top 10, but we're pretty tight-knit. It's more like a big family. And, of course, it's run by the one and only Lady Lit. Why? Thinking of joining?"
"Well, I was trying to get more insight on guild life," I replied, recalling the brief conversation I had with Tessa. "I wanted to learn about the top 10 guilds so that I can see if I have a shot at joining any of them."
"Big dreams," Gigi playfully replied. "Well, it's true that the top guilds do tend to have more resources and recognition, but it's not all about that. You see, every guild has its own unique culture, and the right fit can be just as important as the size or rank. If you're serious about joining a guild, I'd recommend taking some time to get to know them first. Attend their events, talk to their members, get a feel for how they operate. That way, you can find the guild that suits you best."
"Oh? Then why don't you join my guild, little bro? I'll show you the ropes."
In a flash, the Soultaker was in my hands as I instinctively moved, pointing the tip directly at my sister's neck. Aurora smiled, as if she thought my reaction was because she startled me.
"Easy, Lu. It's me, your big sister."
"I know," I replied coolly, keeping my blade trained on her.
****
[Updating…]
[Name: Luquier Vaunt | Level: 1133]
[Title: Reckless Immortal (A)]
[Health: 32025 | Strength: 10500]
[Speed: 10000 | Magic: 15000]
[Risk: 10000 | Stat Points: 0]
[Experience: 6%]
[Skills]
[Divinity (Passive)]
[Holy Element 1133/1133]
[Death’s Shadow 1133/1133]
[Reap 1133/1133]
[Final Gambit 1133/1133]
[Death Match 629/1133]
[Grim Mantle (Passive)]
[Duplicate 1x]
[Items]
[Silver Serpent]
[Soultaker (1250863)]
[Warp Cube (x1)]
[Grudge of the Fallen core (x1)]
[Cloak of the Guide]