Jonathan and Edgar quickly picked no, and they were transported to the next floor. It looked much the same as the previous one, except there were higher leveled monsters. In addition, a cave system ringed the floor, with entrances every few hundred feet. No doubt there were monsters in there to kill as well.
At the center of the floor, a group of three massive creatures stood, guarding a small chest. They looked like smaller versions of the golems that patrolled the volcanic plains, except these ones were made out of a strange black substance rather than out of rock and lava. They were at least fifty feet tall, and seemed at odds with the relative strength of the rest of the floor. Perhaps they were some sort of challenge miniboss set or something of the like. The chest seemed quite random. However, to get to them, they would have to kill the rest of the monsters first, a task that the two men got to with aplomb.
Jonathan headed towards the nearest group, a small flock of human sized bats hanging upside down within a small outcropping of rock. The floor was filled with strange rocky protuberances, shaped too randomly to be called hills. Many of them extended upwards for dozens of feet, and monsters sheltered within them, or on top of them. WIthin this particular one, a lip of rock extended out into the air, revealing a colony of monsters.
Jonathan started to gather the Void to his hands, and signaled for Edgar to flush the beasts out. With a snap of his fingers, the wind mage sent a powerful gust sweeping up through the air, waking the bats from their slumber. WIth screeches of rage, they swooped down towards their tormentors, baring massive, fang filled maws. Jonathan drew back his fist and struck as the nearest bat came screeching for his face, flattening the monster midair. It crumpled around his fist, and its corpse was shot back up, straight into the flying forms of its brethren.
They scattered, but Edgar began to cast a net of wind around the beasts. They could not afford for them to get loose and signal the other monsters to their presence.
As the bats flapped wildly, trying to escape, Jonathan began to charge up his Void Cannon skill. At this point, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. The monsters were constrained by the net of wind, and were mostly helpless against the onslaught of purple projectiles. Each time a Void Cannon struck, there was a detonation of purple energy, and a dozen or more bats were turned into ash. Essence streamed down steadily to the two men, but like before, it was too weak to do much.
As Jonathan barraged the monsters, Edgar slowly tightened in the net, preventing them from escaping. Five minutes later, the last bat had died, and Edgar released his net. A rain of ash and body parts fell from the sky, landing in front of Jonathan and Edgar. Wrinkling his nose, Jonathan stepped back as the dust cloud rolled out.
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“Those were some of the most disgusting monsters I’ve ever seen,” Edgar said as he did the same. “Whatever this dungeon is, it needs to be stopped.”
Jonathan nodded in response, still walking away from the ever growing dust cloud.
About an hour later, five more flocks of bats had met their end, and the men were moving on to the inner circle of monsters. The next species on their hit list were a collection of lizards that seemed to be made almost entirely out of rotting flesh. There was no feasible way for that to be possible, unless the beasts were undead. However, a quick scan from Jonathan had revealed that they were living creatures. The sight became far worse as a result.
Each of the monsters was about twice the length of Jonathan, and about three feet tall at the shoulders. Their mouths were lined with thin, needle-like fangs, each of which dripped with black venom.
Jonathan watched from afar as the monsters warred among themselves, slashing around with their long claws, and taking great bites out of one another. Because of their cadaverous state, their bodies simply fell apart when they were touched. However, none of them died from their injuries, and the flesh slowly regrew over time. Besides that, the monsters were not especially tough or strong, and just seemed to be normal examples of their species.
“I take it back,” Edgar said as he watched. “These are the most disgusting monsters that I’ve seen.”
“I think I have to agree with you on that one,” Jonathan said, grimacing as two large lizards skinned another one, tearing off great chunks of putrescent flesh. “I hardly want to fight them.”
However, they had little choice.
Jonathan decided to break out one of his little used skills, creating a long blade of purple energy on the end of his hand. For this battle, the further away he could stay, the better. Edgar buffed Jonathan with one of his skills, and gave him a small boost in the form of a friendly gust.
Jonathan rode the wind, and leaped into the air, landing in front of the monsters. Immediately, their infighting stopped, and they turned to him, their eyes completely devoid of life. It was like looking at a corpse. A moment later, they charged in eerie unison, their feet making a rhythmic pattering noise on the cavern floor.
Jonathan stepped back and then swung, beheading one of the creatures with ease. As the head fell to the ground, the monster’s body kept moving, and a tiny nub of flesh started to grow out of the neck. Jonathan swore, and summoned the Void to his other hand, remembering the myth of Hercules. He reached out and sent a flare of Voidlight towards the monster’s neck stump. The tiny nub of growing flesh burned away, and the monster fell to the ground, dead. Just as the Greek hero had used fire to cauterize the regrowing heads of the hydra, Jonathan would use the Void against these beasts.