Nick dunked his head into the underground river, using the water’s biting chill to help clear his mind.
As soon as he was calm enough to process what was happening, the answer came to him. He had already been given the key to his situation. It had been with him from the moment he first set foot into the dungeon. I need to clear the final room and kill the foreman before the blight consumes me. The System said that I would be fully healed upon successfully completing the dungeon. That must include negative statuses as well.
If Nick had time to spare, he would have been furious at himself for missing an obvious clue. Being able to leave the dungeon with no penalty influenced my judgment and convinced me to keep pushing until I triggered this trap. I thought that I could turn back if the danger was too great, but I was never meant to leave the sewers without facing whatever lies beyond the fog door.
His psyche shifted into overdrive as he pulled his head out of the water and started running back the way he had come, his tactical brain working hand-in-hand with the rest. Every neuron was firing in a frenzy, helping him navigate this deadly threat. One small piece of his mind was busy counting down the time remaining until the blight overcame him, while the rest were busy planning.
He couldn’t feel the parasite affecting his judgment yet, but the horror evoked by his situation filled him with an electric cascade of adrenaline, which made it hard to concentrate. Due to his haste, he lost his grip on his spear, and it fell into the sewer channel with a plop. Nick left it behind without a second glance. He didn’t have time to retrieve it, and his daggers were more reliable regardless.
It’s do or die, Nick. Roguelike protocols. Prepare for a blind boss fight with a strict time limit. One attempt only.
This situation exemplified everything that he had been trying to avoid, so he didn’t have a plan ready to go. He would have to rely on instinct and whatever tricks he could come up with over the next few minutes. He had no choice other than to gamble everything on a single strategy, as there was simply no time for contingencies. You only have two charges in the wand right now. You need to make them count.
By the time he made it back to the unfinished section of the tunnel, Nick was clenching his jaw so tightly that his teeth were grinding together as an alien rage began bubbling up through the surface of his awareness. He knew that it had to be the parasite influencing his emotions. Just a taste of what was in store when it finished reducing him to the same mindless fury as the ratmen he had fought.
Suppressing the urge to draw his knife and hurl his body through the fog door then and there, Nick stepped through the crack in the bedrock and reentered the cavern where he had been infected. Although the clock was ticking, he forced himself to stand still and take a few deep breaths. Even in this dire situation, he refused to act out of anger, parasite be damned. It wasn’t who Nick was, and it wasn’t who he was going to become, even if this was fated to be his final moment.
On accepting the reality of his imminent demise, a strange thing happened. From somewhere deep inside, arctic clarity spread forth across his mind, extinguishing the white fury stoked by the parasitic fungus burrowing into his brain. All the tension flowed out of his body, and an intense, feral lucidity blossomed within his mind’s eye.
Don’t rage. Don’t act out of fear. Use your brain and always be cool, calm, and collected. As his reason returned, the gears in his head started turning once more, faster and then faster still. His thoughts became a juggernaut of analysis, born of need and desire.
You got me this time, Taltos, but I’m not going down. My name is Nick Henry, and you will not be the end of me.
He stopped in front of the fog door, taking two minutes to review his opening move once he entered the boss’s chamber. He had been worried about the red mushrooms surrounding the archway, but now that he was infected, they no longer seemed to respond to his presence. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about being blown up or flooded with poison before the fight even began.
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Nick made sure that his daggers were in the best place on his belt, and quickly reviewed the tools at his disposal, considering how he might use each while fighting for his life against a powerful foe.
That reminded him that he had acquired a new piece of armor. He took the gloves out of the pocket of his bathrobe, pulling them on while scanning the strip of paper that had been rolled up inside.
Congratulations! You have discovered an Exploration Reward Chest (Wood).
A tutorial knowledge point has been awarded.
Contents: Pugilist’s Gloves (Uncommon).
These gloves are worn by fighters as well as a wide range of craftsmen. They provide superior protection for the palms and knuckles while leaving the fingers free to perform precise motions.
Modification: Durable.
This item is resistant to damage from all sources, increasing its armor value and enhancing its longevity.
By the time he finished reading the gloves’ description, he was ready to go. Knowing that he had less than twenty minutes remaining before the Crimson Blight turned his brain to mush, Nick stepped into the swirling fog and entered the chamber beyond. He found himself standing in an underground space roughly the size of a basketball court. This area was brightly lit compared to the sewer access tunnels, thanks to a cluster of glowing crystals that bathed the enclosure in a cool and steady light.
He immediately started scanning the cavern, searching for hostile creatures and traps alike. But two precious minutes later, he had yet to find anything of the sort. He knew that it wouldn’t last, but it appeared that Nick had been granted a moment to prepare for the trial ahead. An opportunity that he intended to take full advantage of before the desperate battle that would inevitably follow.
Despite the pressure of a ticking death clock, he still had plenty of time. He doubted that his fight with the foreman would take more than five minutes, ten tops. If he couldn’t win by that time, he would likely be killed well before the parasite finished establishing control. Not that he intended to waste even a single second.
The first feature that Nick noticed was the gleaming crystal coffin dominating the far end of the room. He decided that coffin wasn’t quite the right word, since there was no indication of what was inside. The shape closely resembled a casket—a rectangular box carved out of what appeared to be a solid slab of diamond.
Its surface sparkled beneath the crystals’ light, forming a glittering contrast to the dark bedrock that formed the walls of the chamber. One side of the box was chipped and shattered, as if someone had tried to break their way inside using hand tools, then given up and completed the job using an explosive or magical equivalent. Maybe this was a vault instead of a tomb.
The next detail that caught his eye was that every inch of the floor, walls, and ceiling, even the damaged surfaces of the diamond container, were covered in runes. An intricate tapestry of interlocking symbols that he could not even begin to guess the meaning of. Nick would have been interested enough to take a closer look under happier circumstances, but instead, he drew his knife and prepared to charge.
He had already decided to attack the most conspicuous object in the room as soon as he took stock of his surroundings, then keep on smashing until the boss revealed itself. He didn’t have time to play wait and see. The clock was ticking.
However, on this occasion, the strategy proved to be unnecessary, for that was when Nick’s gaze landed on the third and final feature of the chamber—the ratman foreman sitting in the far corner. The creature looked more like a pile of rancid mushrooms than it did a living creature—just a hint of arms and legs extending past a heavy coat of vermillion fungi. But even a passing resemblance to a person was enough for him to understand what was happening. He had already fallen for this trick back on the first level of the sewers.
He crossed the room and raised his dagger above his head, hoping to start the battle by landing a critical blow. He brought the weapon down straight and true, using the strength of his arms combined with the full weight of his body and the force of his momentum.
His blade streaked for the hollow of the ratman’s throat, barely distinguishable amidst the pulsating mushrooms covering every surface of its skin. Had Nick been just a tiny bit faster or more skilled with his weapon, his blade would have met flesh and sank deep into the foreman’s neck. But on this occasion, his best wasn’t good enough.
Just before his knife struck true, the ratman came to life and deflected his attack.