What I assumed to be one day later, I finally reached the boss chamber of the second section. I sighed in relief, since the floors were getting too long. I also sighed in relief, since Sligo wasn’t there.
‘Well, then… should I take things a bit more personal now?’
It was clear that I would have to find a giant frog underwater. It would be less creepy than fighting the previous boss. Still, the difference in power should be obvious. The best option would be to just get done with it by using the cannonballs as soon as the boss shows an opening.
I didn’t have to worry about my pride now. Getting stronger and getting a new class was supposed to be the best option, it didn’t matter how. Still, that annoying feeling that something bad was going to happen was bothering me again.
‘I guess living in this world for so long, I would even start developing instincts…’
It felt like I was a modern man to think about that. Still, it was very clear that such a thing existed… otherwise, humanity would have become snacks for sabertooth tigers until extinction.
In the end, I decided to fight the boss directly. It would be a good experience. Besides, I would use everything in my power except the cannonballs. I also figured out that keeping them saving until the very end was a better option since I didn’t know what would be waiting for me on the one-hundredth floor.
‘This is still very weird… I can’t imagine how long the last few floors will be if the labyrinth keeps expanding, like usual. The last section will have floors of ninety kilometers of length. How does that make any sense?’
I feared that if I started the math, I would realize that even without taking a break, I would need months to cross the whole labyrinth. Besides, walking is just a minor part of the challenge of a labyrinth… the final guardian is the real issue.
While thinking about that, I began to climb to the next boss’ chamber. Those thoughts soon left my mind when I arrived at the boss chamber and then found another massive underwater lake. This time, there wasn’t a single spot that I could use to land that had a bit of dry land. Once I committed to start the fight, I wouldn’t be able to leave until the boss was killed. That made me wonder how difficult the other bosses would be.
I took a deep breath, since the boss was nowhere to be seen. In the end, I filled my lungs with air and then jumped into the lake. I was already ready to fight as I began to go deep into the lake, but I was still a bit surprised and some air escaped from my mouth when I saw the boss so soon. The creature was at the bottom of the lake, standing still.
The giant monster frog had a grotesque and weird appearance that made my skin crawl. Its skin was a murky, mottled green and brown, slimy and covered in patches of moss, with warts that ooze with a faint, toxic sheen. Its body was bulkier than that of a normal frog, with powerful limbs ending in webbed, claw-tipped toes that dig into the ground, making it look ready to spring forward at any moment. The frog’s eyes were enormous and unnervingly human-like, a sickly yellow with slit pupils that seem to follow movement with cold intelligence.
Its massive mouth stretched nearly the width of its entire head, lined with jagged, irregular teeth. The creature’s tongue, long and muscular, flicks in and out with disturbing speed, coated in a sticky secretion to trap prey instantly. Small, secondary eyes dot its upper spine, providing extra awareness and giving it a watchful, omnidirectional gaze.
The creature suddenly leaped from its spot toward me. It used its massive legs to push itself forward while swimming. Before long, the monster used its massive tongue and tried to grab me by my waist… it looked like it wanted to eat me whole.
I was already prepared for that, so I quickly used my grappling crossbow and then pierced the tongue of the monster with the hook. Despite being underwater, the hook still pierced the tongue of the monster since it didn’t move for that long and then the monster flinched in pain.
The creature pulled its tongue and then I decided to reel in the rope as well, and soon I found myself being pulled toward the big mouth of the monster… it looked like the beast enjoyed that arrangement.
‘It is too simple-minded…’
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The monster kept its mouth open, but soon regretted that. When I was only a couple of meters away, I used my hand crossbow. Without hesitation, I fired three frost-enchanted bolts at the same time toward the monster’s mouth… just as I had expected, the bolts flew with speed and pierced the sides of the monster’s mouth and made the skin around it freeze.
The beast shook in pain once again. I used that chance to approach the head of the monster and then try to stab its head with my swords, but the creature still reacted to attack me with frontal legs. The power of the attack made me lose some air and spin underwater too.
Usually, I would take a deep breath once I stopped moving after such an attack, but I couldn’t do that underwater, so it was a pretty agonizing feeling.
The boss tried to pull me in with its mouth almost closed now, but I refused to let go of my hand crossbow. Once again, the beast tried to hit me with one of its frontal legs, but I blocked the attack with one of my swords… it pierced the flesh of the monster with ease, so the monster flinched. Without hesitation, I let go of my sword and let it stay stuck on the monster’s body.
While the enemy was flinching, I used Magical Shurikens in the eyes of the monster. One of them was hit and damaged thanks to the surprise, but the monster closed the other in time to save it. I felt like clicking my tongue.
In the end, the monster decides to change its plans and escape. It got rid of my hook with its lips by closing its mouth and then tried to swim away. However, I finished reeling in my rope too and then I pointed at the back of the monster, but the creature soon jumped to the side and avoided it… it had time to react since it was more than ten meters away.
The monster began to swim to the sides while studying me. It looked like it was waiting for me to drown. That wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t a half bad strategy.
In the end, I decided to lure the beast by swimming to the surface in order to get some air and the beast soon realized what I was planning to do and then tried to follow me. I ignored it… when I was about to reach the surface, the monster grabbed my right legs with its tongue. Even though it was hurt, it was still usable.
I felt the agony of almost reaching the surface, only to be stopped when I was almost there. In the end, the monster began to swim away without pulling its tongue, and more and more, we approached the bottom of the lake.
‘It was about time…’
Although I thought that, the truth of the Matter was the fact that I was already at my limits… holding my breath during a fight is a lot more difficult than holding my breath while I am not in a fight.
In any case, the moment the beast touched the bottom of the lake, I used my hand crossbow and then fired all the bolts I had reloaded. The monster tried to move away, but they hit the bottom too fast and exploded. Flames didn’t erupt since we were underwater, but the blast made the water vibrate and hit the beast, shocking it for a moment. When that happened, I used the hand crossbow on the tongue of the monster and right at the base close to the lip.
I pulled the second trigger and then began to reel in and approach the monster. The creature let go of my leg and tried to move away, but soon I chopped off the tongue of the beast with my other sword.
Blood began to spread around pretty fast thanks to that, and the monster shook in agony. I wanted to finish off the beast, but I decided to swim to the surface and recover some air since my vision was starting to get hazy.
“HUFFF!”
I felt alive again when I took that deep breath… still, the sense of danger soon returned and saw the monster approaching me again and it looked pretty pissed. It was time to end this.
The creature approached and despite its wounds, it tried to hit me with its frontal legs. Before it could reach me, I raised my right hand and then finally used my hand cannon… it had been a while.
A small iron ball hit the right frontal leg of the monster and made it bend in the opposite direction it came from. The monster stopped for a moment thanks to the shock, and then I unleashed four more at the head of the beast. They all smacked each other and against the head of the monster. Despite its squishy nature, the attack pierced deep enough to crack the skull of the creature and damage its brain.
I couldn’t have used this earlier because I needed to be really close since the iron balls didn’t move that fast underwater. I was a bit surprised that the beast actually had a skull, but something that big needs a skeleton.
You received 3000 experience points.
You completed a trial. Please choose between the classes: Knight, Enchanter (Dreadful Enchanter), and Assassin.
I squinted my eyes at the options… I finally could upgrade the Enchanter class, but it came with some problems.
‘Nothing in my life is easy or simple, is it?’
Although I said that, I wasn’t that really bothered. Sooner or later, I would have to tackle these kinds of problems, after all. I was just delaying things a bit. Besides, since I was in a difficult place, it was also a good opportunity. No one would notice if something happened to me now, like awakening dark powers thanks to my vampiric lineage or a choice of classes.
My first option was really upgrading the Enchanter class, but I couldn’t ignore the others. I didn’t have the Knight class, nor did I want it, but I once had the Assassin class and I upgraded it to Ninja. What would happen if I got that class again when I didn’t lose those skills? It was something that I didn’t read about.
‘Well, since this is something, I can’t ask anyone about it. I have to make my mistakes and learn from them.’