The pathway skills were self-evident, and Jonathan felt no need to investigate them. Edgar had few skills, but all of them seemed to fit his needs perfectly, and there was a very clear line of progression evident within his skills, starting from the lowest one. There were no extraneous skills, save for Politician, which likely had something to do with his past. His skills were about on the same level as Jonathan’s, which was surprising, given how much longer Edgar had to hone them. However, that likely had something to do with the lack of available training resources in Telvaria. The Hells were far more conducive to growth. In addition, his stats were low, but not that low, and his mental ones were actually higher than Jonathan’s. Jonathan closed the stat sheet to see Edgar peering at the air in front of himself with disbelief.
“Cyron’s lance! What in the name of the gods is this? How are you so powerful at this level?” Edgar asked, almost unable to believe his eyes at the sheer power of Jonathan’s stats.
His stats probably looked far more suspicious than they would be normally, given that he had hidden all mention of anything to do with his Divinity or runes, which meant that his main strength boosting title was absent. Jonathan shrugged at his companion, not wanting to explain the real reason behind the incredible strength that he exhibited.
This seemed to assuage Edgar’s curiosity, and he managed to steer the other man’s mind away from that topic. With no further words exchanged, they continued down the tunnel, heading for the final challenge of this dungeon. The dungeon boss. It was likely to be a medusa like it had been before, given that the overall layout of the dungeon had not been changed, just some of the minor details.
As the tunnel snaked its way downwards, Jonathan quickly briefed the other man on the creature, finding that Edgar had never come across such a monster in his time in Telvaria. However, he was a quick learner, and he had encountered similar monsters, such as basilisks, with the same petrifying effects, and he knew how to deal without his sight. Given that he was a mage, such a circumstance was far more forgiving for him than it was for Jonathan.
In any case, this fight would be a lot easier with two fighters, both of whom had the enhanced senses granted by their races. Soon they were upon the entrance to the cavern that contained the monster, and they slowed down, keeping an eye out for the creature. It would not be good for one of them to fall prey to its eyes this early in the fight. Thankfully, the monster was otherwise engaged within its cabin, no doubt poring over whatever noxious food it enjoyed. Jonathan knew that whatever it ate, it did so not for sustenance, but for strength, given that people at this level did not need any food to survive, or if they did, it was too little to be noticeable at the rate that Jonathan was leveling.
The monster drew out power from the prey that it consumed, or at least it seemed that way given what the last medusa had said. In any case, it hardly mattered to Jonathan’s present concerns. It was a monster that needed to be killed, and no more. The two men snuck into the cavern, edging around the sides of the hut a few minutes later, having traversed the rows of disturbingly lifelike statues around the hut, the remnants of the medusa’s previous prey. Jonathan knew that it was all for show, given that the dungeon was instanced, but the System liked to add in a bit of flavor to its dungeons, given the fact that the medusa last time around had believed that it had actually fought other adventurers before. Perhaps it had, and the monster was actually being recycled through the different dungeon layouts, which would have been interesting to say the least. However, it was still their enemy. It was time to strike, and there could be no mercy afforded to such a dangerous foe.
Stolen novel; please report.
The two men closed their eyes in preparation, and approached the hut, getting ready to strike. The medusa was still inside, bent over a table in the center of the hut. A moment later, Jonathan kicked the door in, prompting the monster within to let out a hiss of rage. Jonathan sensed the creature turned their way, and paused as it realized that its petrifying gaze did not affect them. Rather than banter like the last medusa had, this one flashed forwards at high speeds, leveraging its advanced level to attack. It was not simply a one trick monster, but a powerful being in its own right, with the petrification ability tacked on.
It was almost as fast as Jonathan, and he only got out of the way with a bare instant to spare. Jonathan lashed out with his Void coated fist, slamming it into the side of the monster, eliciting another hiss. The creature stumbled, straight into a gust of wind from Edgar that flayed its flesh from its bones. However the damage was minimal, and Jonathan raced in, trying to get another strike. His senses had become unbelievably sharp, even more potent than they had been the first time he had completed this dungeon, and he was able to almost see a full picture of the world around him in his mind, allowing him to parry an incoming strike.
The taloned hand of the medusa skittered off his gauntlet, and Jonathan grabbed onto the limb, pulling it up and over his head. The monster resisted, but Jonathan overpowered it, and slammed the creature into the ground, adding in his redirect skill for good measure. Bones cracked, and a crater exploded into being beneath the monster, showcasing the sort of power that Jonathan was putting out with his near five hundred Strength.
The monster writhed free from his grasp and sent its hand on a collision course for one of the holes in his armor, Jonathan ducked, and weaved backwards, avoiding the attack with inches to spare. The medusa got to its feet, and changed targets, heading for Edgar, who was weaving together a potent attack in the background.
As the medusa approached the mage, the man released the strike, creating a giant spear of wind, ensconced within a tunnel of pure compressed air that accelerated it at supersonic speeds. There was a boom and then the spear broke through the monster’s chest, and out the other side. The damage was significant, but not fatal, and the medusa plowed through the attack, ripping into Edgar a moment later.
The man was sent flying backwards, and he smashed into one of the nearby statues, shattering it. With his lower durability than Jonathan, Edgar had taken quite a bit of damage from that strike, and the medusa was closing in, eager to inflict more.