Chapter 132

The group had fought their way through floor B1 one room at a time. They'd start by sending in Norri to scare the hell out of anyone inside followed by the rest of their group. It worked every time. Most of the rooms had one or two Snatchers in them but that wasn't enough to really challenge the young group.

Finally they fought their way through the entire floor and ended at another spiral staircase. This one only went down, not up.

Carly had handled the fights well, especially since there was little call for her to help. Two Snatchers weren't a match for Norri, let alone Norri and M'redith. By the time Carly got in to a room its occupants were usually already defeated by the rest of her group.

Each time Jay and his group would search the room and enemies and every time they came up empty. The dungeon was a bit stingy with loot it seemed.

Aiden paused to take out a foil wrapped pouch but when he tried to open it he found it sealed up tight. He sighed theatrically.

“It hasn't even been an hour yet! Where's your patience?” Norri asked with a grin.

“It's in the pouch with my sandwich!” Aiden replied hotly before sighing again and smiling.

Jay gave him a pat on the back as he passed him to take a seat next to M'redith.

The group broke for a short five minute rest but then got back in to line.

“Let's try B2.” M'redith said to herself as she led her group to the next basement floor.

The winding staircase made it difficult to see anything until they had exited it. Once they did so they were surprised to find a large open space with a pedestal in the center. At the far end of the room was yet another spiral staircase with a B2 written next to it and it appeared to only go down, not up.

In the center of the room standing on the podium was a Snatcher larger than the others had been. The creature had green skin, a snakelike head, and an otherwise normal looking bipedal humanoid body. It was wearing a rather weathered set of light leather armor.

In its hands it clutched a coil of rope with a hook on the end which the sailor was currently spinning in the air in front of him. At its side rested a cutlass in a soft brown leather sheath. The handle of the cutlass was finished with a candy apple red color that glinted in the light.

On its head sat a black sailor cap, a round, flat hat with no visor. Off the back of the hat hung two black ribbons embroidered with anchors. The hat was black with white stitching.

On its feet it wore nothing and its toes frequently flexed as if trying to grab on to the floor itself.

The creature looked weak. Weaker than the others they had fought. Usually bosses were tougher, not easier than the enemies you fought to reach them. It was, however, still taller than the others had been. They would have to be extra careful with this one Jay thought to himself.

“Mini-boss time.” Jay said.

“Er, that doesn't look very little to me. That looks bigger than all the others.” Norri insisted with a shake of her head.

Jay tried again, “I'm used to calling the final big enemy the dungeon boss. The other bosses aren't usually as strong as the main boss so I call them mini-bosses.”

Aiden grinned at Jay but looked a little skeptical, “How cute.”

M'redith laughed, “Ok you two, pull it together. That thing looks mean. Anyone have any ideas before we give this a go?” She said it out loud to everyone but she looked directly at Jay when she spoke.

Jay sometimes seemed to have ideas which at first didn't make any sense but frequently ended up working out well.

Jay shrugged, “This one seems pretty easy. Don't get hooked by that hook its swinging around. That cutlass looks special, fancy. It might have some sort of special ability but we'll have to wait to find out. Seems like a simple tank and spank.”

Carly laughed out loud before she could stop herself. “Excuse me?” she said. She even blushed a little at having laughed so loudly.

Jay looked a little embarrassed for a moment, “You know – M'redith tanks it while the rest of us spank it.”

Aiden groaned, “Goddess, you're not making things any better with your explanation, you know that, right?”

Norri was giggling but was trying to hide it using one of her hands.

On Earth the phrase 'tank and spank' was a phrase often used by gamers to indicate an enemy that just needed a tank to keep it busy while everyone else attacked it. The phrase had sounded normal to Jay's ears back on Earth but somehow lost something in translation in Eden.

Jay sighed and hung his head. “Ok, that phrase does sound a little...odd. Still, you get what I mean right?”

“Yes. You mean you want to spank the boss.” Aiden said with a straight face. Even M'redith laughed.

Norri buried her head in her arms and shook as she tried to control her giggling.

“Ok, ok! I get it.” Jay said with a smile.

M'redith finally got them all calmed down once again and started over. “Ok, when I attack give me a few seconds before you all start attacking. Give me time to get the boss nice and mad at me so it won't turn and attack one of you when you start fighting.”

Everyone nodded and M'redith grinned. She grabbed Jay's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before she turned and ran at the Snatcher Sailor. Aiden rolled his eyes at the display of affection but didn't complain. He thought it was kind of cute how sweet they could be sometimes.

M'redith charged towards the creature and it turned its head as she did so and watched her approach. The creature threw out its hook at the end of its rope towards M'redith but she deftly dodged it as she continued her charge towards the creature.

She lowered her center of gravity, tucked her head in, lowered her shoulders, and pushed with her legs in to the creature's body as they collided.

The boss was thrown back a few feet through the air and on to the floor as M'redith leapt forward and delivered an overhand blow with her sword.

The Snatcher rolled out of the way as the blow descended and struck the ground where the creature's body had been but a moment before.

The Snatcher hopped back up to its feet and turned. While M'redith was closing the gap the creature threw out its hook and line once more and it sped across the room and struck Jay in the side. The hook bit in to the leather before sliding and finding a gap between the thick leather pieces. Jay could feel his skin tear and begin to bleed profusely.

The pain was brutal and Jay almost dropped his staff but held on out of sheer stubbornness if nothing else.

Aiden caught sight of the blow as it happened. He moved so that Jay was between Aiden and the mini-boss. Aiden mumbled some words and moved his hands until three green bolts flew off from his fingers and streaked towards Jay.

Physician's Blast – rare – when activated shoots one bolt per rarity level (rare=3) in a forward facing cone. The bolts are green in color and glassy in appearance. The bolts do not interact with objects and will splash harmlessly against them. Any party member struck will have their wounds covered with a green gel and receive moderate healing. Any enemies struck will be blinded for two seconds and take moderate damage.

One of the green bolts struck the spot where Jay had been wounded. It melted as it made contact with Jay's body and spread until it covered his wound completely. It glowed faintly green and shortly after faded away in to nothingness as Jay's wound was healed.

The other two bolts missed and continued on, hurtling forward through space so fast that they left a streak of light behind them as they moved.

One struck the Snatcher's arm holding the rope and hook and the creature almost dropped the weapon as the bolt struck the arm and sizzled as it spread, eating away at armor and flesh alike. The attack didn't last long but long enough to make the Snatcher's arm a lot less useful in the fight.

The last bolt hit the Snatcher directly in the face, and it screamed in fury as its face blistered. The creature appeared blind for a moment and stumbled.

Norri hadn't been standing still during all of that and had approached the Snatcher from the side. She hopped forwards and struck, again and again, as the creature was still blinded and incapable of defending itself.

They must have done some pretty heavy damage to the creature because it chose that moment to use one of its hidden abilities. The cap atop its head had two ribbons hanging from the back, both black ribbons with white anchors embroidered on them. One of the ribbons began to flash brightly and then glow a bright white.

The Snatcher Sailor's body appeared to grow more substantial and its muscles thickened and swelled. The Snatcher had been almost emaciated looking up until then but that quickly changed as its body filled out and stretched to accommodate its new and more powerful muscles.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The Snatcher screamed and raised its arms over its head and flexed. It was an impressive display.

Norri took a step back out of a sense of self preservation but M'redith did the opposite. She again leapt forward and delivered a descending overhand strike with her sword aimed at the creature's head.

The creature slid to the side but not enough and took a glancing blow to the side of its head. A wet plop was heard and it took a moment before the group realized what M'redith had done. M'redith, her group, even their enemy all paused for a moment.

“You cut its ear off?!” Aiden yelled from further back.

“What the hell M'redith!” Norri yelled with a grin.

“I didn't mean to!” M'redith said as she sidestepped the hook as her enemy threw it in her direction.

Jay laughed, “It's fine! Cut off the other one! I don't care! Just kill this thing!”

Carly looked at the others as if they were crazy. They were joking during a boss battle. It wasn't the last boss, but it was a boss. They should have all been nervous and scared but instead it sounded like they were joking and having fun. Crazy!

The moment wore off and everyone moved at once. They continued to try and damage the creature but M'redith's sword strikes were now sliding off the creature instead of damaging it. Likewise, Norri's staff strikes had become completely ineffectual.

“What now?!” M'redith asked while breathing heavy as she tried to ward off the Snatcher's attacks. She couldn't find a way to damage the creature now that it had buffed itself somehow.

“I've got an idea!” Jay yelled as he dodged the line and hook that flew past his face suddenly.

The line snapped back before shooting out once again, this time striking Jay in the ankle. Jay went down in a heap but held on to his staff. The rest of his group continued trying to damage the creature. Carly looked like she was getting ready to cast something.

“Wait Carly, not yet!” Jay yelled as he stumbled to his feet.

Carly looked confused but held off on her ability and backed off a bit from the fight.

“Aiden! When I say to you hit it with your Physician's Blast! That should blind it for two seconds!” Jay began.

“Got it!” Aiden said in agreement and prepared to cast his second Class Ability.

“M'redith! When the Snatcher is blinded use your Fancy Doppelganger to get behind it and then pull off the glowing ribbon from its hat!” Jay yelled as he jumped back out of the way of another hook and line attack. The boss really had a thing for Jay all of a sudden.

That's ridiculous, Carly thought to herself in confusion.

M'redith yelled back. “Ready!”

It took a moment to get things lined up but finally Jay said, “GO!”

Aiden was already prepared and waiting and three glassy green bolts flew out from his fingertips towards the Snatcher.

M'redith didn't have to move at all, the bolts would pass to her left without touching her. Instead she delivered a sudden and unexpected jab towards the creature's lower lower stomach area.

Although the Snatcher was buffed to be almost impossibly strong it had a weakness. It was male.

Males have a very delicate and sensitive part of their body and it dangles between their legs. Males grow up learning to protect that area at all times. It was burned in to their minds so that they didn't even have to think about it. Any time that part of their body was in danger their mind would react automatically to protect it.

A leg crossed over the other, bending over and turning to the side, dropping an arm to block that area, there were numerous little movements the brain used to protect that area without conscious direction.

Even though M'redith's blow to its sensitive bits would do no damage the creature still reacted. The creature was buffed to be almost invulnerable at that point – it knew that M'redith's attack would do no damage. Still, that didn't matter as the Snatcher drew one leg up off the ground and across and in front of its body to protect itself.

M'redith's sword bounced right off the creature as it was struck but the creature was now off balance. It teetered in the air a moment before it lowered its leg to regain its balance. It would have been fine if it weren't for the three bolts hurtling towards it.

The blow kept the creature too busy to deliver any of its own strikes and managed to momentarily stun the creature, which ensured that Aiden's bolts would not be dodged.

The bolts hit with a physical impact, three strikes in quick succession, all above the waist. The Snatcher's body was struck and its balance visibly wavered.

M'redith said a complicated sounding word under her breath and triggered her new ability.

Fancy Doppelganger – very rare – The caster's body is replaced by an exact copy of itself that will continue to fight as the caster would. The caster is transported behind their enemy but turned so that they are facing the enemy so long as the enemy is within ten feet. Once transported behind their enemy their doppelganger explodes in to bright flashy glitter. The glitter hangs in the air and prevents spells being cast through it. The glitter lasts until the caster makes contact with their enemy or five seconds elapse, whichever happens first.

M'redith's body appeared to turn in to streaks as she was suddenly behind and in front of the creature at the same time. Suddenly the 'M'redith' in front of the creature exploded in to a field of glitter that hung in front of the creature. The glitter didn't float to the ground but hung as if suspended in mid air. The glitter turned and rotated but did not fall.

Behind the creature M'redith let go of her sword with one of her hands, reached out, and grabbed a hold of the glowing ribbon hanging off of the Sailor's hat.

With a yank she tugged the ribbon and it came off with a snap. The creature was too off balance to respond in any way. The ribbon in her hand suddenly faded in to motes of light. The glitter in front of the creature faded.

The creature hissed as its body appeared to collapse in on itself and quickly lost its strength. The buff it had earlier applied was removed, its body returned to looking frail, and that was when its vision returned.

It looked at the group before it and for the first time Jay saw a glimmer of panic in the Snatcher's eyes.

“It worked!” Norri cheered as everyone pulled back to regroup.

“What now?” Carly asked. After seeing what Jay had just managed to figure out she was more than happy to follow his directions.

“Kill it!” Jay yelled with a grin. “Until the remaining ribbon flashes!”

They spread out and Jay turned to Carly, “NOW use your attack!” he said with a smile.

Carly nodded and turned to give the Snatcher her full and undivided attention.

She focused on the creature while she spoke a short word under her breath.

Starburst – Rare - a six inch across star descends and strikes a target. The star then bursts in to 100 smaller stars that then attack the same target, burrowing in to it before they themselves detonate.

A golden star the size of a hand drifted on invisible winds through the air towards the creature. It struck with a wet squelch as it burrowed in to the creature's armor. A moment later one of the creature's shoulders exploded and left behind a gaping wound along its upper back. The Snatcher dropped the line and hook it was holding as the wound spat out 100 tiny stars that then burrowed in to the creature as well before making little popping noises and leaving welts and wounds all over its skin.

The creature groaned and leaned over. When it rose once again it had slid its sword free from its sheath and held it out in between Jay's group and itself. Its upper body was covered in tiny wounds.

The Snatcher's black snake-like eyes glistened as the single ribbon hanging from the back of its hat began to glow. Once again the creature increased in size and its skin became immune to most of the group's attacks.

Carly cast Starburst again but this time the initial star barely did any damage at all while the 100 tiny stars seemed to bounce off of its skin ineffectually.

Carly now understood why Jay had stopped her from casting earlier. How did he know it would do that? Why hadn't she known it would do that? Carly was beginning to think that she wasn't as smart as she had initially thought she was. Or that Jay was smarter than she had originally thought he was. Or even worse, a combination of the two. The boss fight had been a real eye opener for Carly.

She'd need time to think through it all and arrive at a plan of action. She fully intended to rectify the situation. Once they got out of the dungeon of course. It seemed that she had been slacking off with her studying while spending too much of her time socializing.

“Aiden, ready to bolt 'em again?” M'redith called out as she parried a strike her enemy delivered with its cutlass, a wide side to side swing that M'redith avoided through the simple expedient of taking half a step backwards. Easy.

Aiden yelled “Shot out!” and sent a stream of three glassy bolts hurtling towards the Snatcher. M'redith leaned violently to her right to avoid them as they streaked past her and impacted the slaver.

M'redith immediately triggered her new favorite ability and suddenly there were two M'redith's, one in front and one behind before the M'redith in front exploded in to a wall of glitter that hung in space while twinkling light. M'redith reached up from behind the creature and deftly tore the ribbon off of the cap. As she did so the glitter disappeared.

The creature's muscles disappeared too once the ribbon was pulled free. The glow from the ribbon dissipated before the ribbon wafted off in to motes of light. The creature hissed in a panic as its body became weaker and weaker.

Everyone attacked at once. M'redith delivered a forward thrust that caught the creature by surprise and ran it right through.

Still impaled on M'redith's sword it was helpless to defend itself as the others rained attacks down upon it. M'redith used her sword to keep it pinned in place as the others wore down its hit points a little at a time.

Aiden delivered the final blow using another round of Physician's Blasts.

The Snatcher Sailor fell to the ground in a lifeless heap and the only sound left in the room was the labored breathing of Jay's group who stood about uncertainly as the fight ended abruptly. The silence was a bit of a surprise but was soon interrupted by Norri.

“We did it!” she yelled and clapped as she almost dropped her staff in her exuberance.