More bricks and debris were inside the building where the walls had collapsed. As Owin landed from his jump, he scattered broken stones and nearly tripped on the rubble. Nearly half the floor was gone where lava bubbled up like a spring.

Suta stood in front of Shade, as if the familiar was protecting the invulnerable, immortal skeleton. The familiar had pushed Shade back toward a wall, as far from the lava as they could be.

“What is it?” Owin asked. Chunks of obsidian and more broken bricks still drifted down from above, crashing all throughout the ruined structure.

Myrsvai landed beside Owin a moment later, immediately checking for Suta. They did their odd mental connection before Myrsvai actually turned his attention to the bubbling lava spring in the middle of the room.

Just beyond the lava, hidden in the corner of the room, was a metal chest. It was placed in a way that wasn’t hidden in the room, but it would require jumping over lava or walking on a thin strip of broken stones right beside the spring.

“It’s going to be the chest guardian,” Owin said.

“A chest doesn’t necessarily imply it’s the guardian. We have seen plenty of chests on the floors.”

“It’s the chest guardian.” Something coming from lava could be difficult to fight. Owin had his wands, which gave him Arcane Blast, Magma Mine, Ice Bolt, and Ice Aura. The ice spells weren’t going to be helpful and Magma Mine probably wouldn’t hurt it either. Would stabbing some lava creature with a lich bone knife be any better?

“I don’t know how to fight a lava mob,” Owin said.

“Claverstan use lava, but as far as a lava mob is concerned . . . an elemental perhaps?” Myrsvai swirled abyssal flames around his staff. “It is times like these when I consider how things may have been different if I had followed an elemental magus route.”

“Do you have any summons that could help?”

“Potirantoma is the only one with immunity to heat, but she’s not a fighter. Thalgodin could perhaps assist if the mob has a true brain. At that point, I could use Neural Blaze on my own.” Myrsvai shook his head. “We will need to rely on ourselves.”

“Shade, what class are you?” Owin shouted.

The skeleton shrugged. “A berserker?” He looked like he tried to flex. “Nope.”

Lava erupted into the air again, raining down chunks of molten and solid rock. Owin grabbed his knife out of habit, though he still didn’t see how it would help in a fight.

A roar rumbled through the water as a black column appeared through the geyser of lava. It crushed broken bricks and other rubble as it pushed down, sending slithering cracks through what remained of the floor.

Owin tried to Examine it, but whatever was emerging wasn’t a mob or wasn’t visible enough to pick up any information.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” Myrsvai gestured with his staff and within a second, Suta had sprinted across the room and stood beside him.

A black arm reached through the geyser, somehow gripping onto the flowing lava. It pulled itself out, sending its foot deeper into the ground, crushing the bricks until parts of the floor broke away and sunk into the lava river.

Ocean Mob

Solidified Lava Elemental

Level 38

“We can beat a level 38,” Owin said.

“That’s an obsidian giant. Hurting it won’t be so simple. Put that knife away before you break it.”

Obsidian rained from above as the last of the geyser died down. Owin slipped the lich bone back into his belt. What was he going to do? Punch it? Maybe he could’ve just crushed the elemental if he had his Thunderstrike Maul.

“That’s a big rock!” Shade ran over to them, flailing and pointing at the newly emerged mob.

The elemental had no head. It was like four columns of obsidian that formed into one pillar-like body. Its fingers were blocky with jagged edges and its feet were nothing more than a widened base of the column.

It swung its massive hand down, catching Shade’s entire body. Before Owin could even start to move, the skeleton was launched over the broken walls. He was sailing over the river of lava, but from how fast he was losing speed in the water, it looked like he was about to drop before he reached the end of the river.

Summon the Withered Shade

Shade poofed out of existence, turning into a cloud of gray dust that spread through the water.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Wow, that thing hits hard!” He shook his body out, then looked up. “Ah! It’s here again!”

“It’s still here,” Owin said. “What do we do?”

The elemental turned its body, adjusting its stance to face the four of them. Each step shook the ground and sent more cracks through the floor.

“I can see if my spells actually hurt it, though I doubt it will make a meaningful impact.” Myrsvai had his abyssal fire ready, but he kept it contained within the palm of his staff.

“What class are you now?” Owin asked.

Shade flexed again. This time, a red light flashed, pulsing off his body. “Oh! Untethered Rage! I’m a berserker! I need to hit something!” He sprinted at the elemental, which simply swiped and launched him again. This time, Shade flew right into the side of the seamount before Owin could cast the spell.

Summon the Withered Shade

A splotch of gray dust was all that remained where Shade had collided with the side of the mountain.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Lesson learned.” Shade adjusted his scarf. “I will stand here and give advice.”

“What kind of advice are you going to have?” Myrsvai asked.

“If we’re looking at it that way . . . I’ll think of something. What spells do we have?” Shade opened an index, covering his whole face in the yellow spell.

“You have an index?” Owin asked.

The elemental took another step, shaking the ground, collapsing more of the floor into the lava river.

“Of course. I can see all of your stats. 160 Charisma? Is that why I hate you?” Shade waved his hand. “Just kidding. I have other reasons.”

Another step brought the elemental dangerously close. With one more step, the fight would have to begin. Owin wasn’t ready. What was he going to do?

“If my knife might break against the elemental, what about the sword?” Owin turned his back to Shade, who happily drew the Incandescent Blade. When Owin turned back, the skeleton handed the sword over.

“A fire sword isn’t going to help us here.” Myrsvai took a step back. “We’re going to need to be creative.”

“I’m not using the sword’s ability. It’s unique. It shouldn’t break.”

“Do it.” Myrsvai pointed his staff. The abyssal fire flowed in a stream from the palm into Suta’s chest, causing the familiar to glow with magenta energy. “Suta, give Owin some room. Shade, be a distraction.”

“Me? A distraction?” Shade took a few steps forward and started waving his arms. “Hey!” As the elemental slowly shifted toward Shade, the skeleton took off running with his arms still waving and flailing.

Owin still didn’t know if he actually had a plan, but they didn’t have more time to wait. He needed to do something quickly.

An Abyssal Barrage launched through the water, crashing against the elemental’s chest. As expected, the magenta fire washed over the obsidian without any visible damage.

There were other ways to fight and other strategies that made a lot more sense than what his first thought consistently told him, and yet, Owin found himself leaping through the water to land on the elemental’s shoulder. His jump wasn’t perfect. Even with a higher dexterity, he hadn’t had many chances to practice. He managed to crash into the shoulder of the elemental and roll over to the back of the mob. Before he could fall into the lava below, Owin pushed off the elemental and landed on broken bricks a dozen feet from Myrsvai.

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The magus cast another spell, which formed a magenta staff in Suta’s hand. The familiar spun the weapon around then jumped and smashed it down against the elemental’s wrist. Magenta fragments scattered then vanished as the summoned weapon shattered.

Suta landed and quickly brought his hands up as the elemental hit with a wide palm. Unlike Shade, who had gone flying with each hit, Suta held back the elemental, gripping one of its fingers with his tiny, clawed hands.

Despite the size and the hard obsidian skin, a level 35 was still weaker than all of them. Except Shade, of course. Owin had to remember that. It had looked so intimidating until Suta held it back.

Now that he had failed the jump, Owin was certain he had it. He took two steps and pushed off, cracking the floor and sending more of it into the lava river. His feet landed right on the elemental’s shoulder, but his momentum carried him into its head. The Incandescent Blade’s tip smashed against the mob’s head, helping balance Owin.

His feet immediately burned. In the quick succession of movements last time, he hadn’t even noticed the intense heat coming from the obsidian. His health immediately started ticking down.

Owin set his jaw, grabbed the sword with both hands, and stabbed at his feet. The blade clicked against the obsidian. Neither broke. Not a single chip or crack appeared in the obsidian or the sword. Flames burst from the elemental, fully covering Owin in a brief flash of flames before the water suffocated the conflagration.

Owin jumped off and backed toward the far wall. Suta disengaged and let the elemental pull its arm back. The familiar hurried over to Owin.

“No sword?”

“It didn’t do anything.” Owin handed it to Suta. “Hold this.” He adjusted his stance a few times, trying to ignore the blisters that had formed on the soles of his feet. The burst of flames only did a little damage. If they weren’t under water, he would’ve been in real trouble.

Suta waved the sword back and forth. “Too big.”

“I know. Just wait.”

“Ah!” Shade dropped to the ground as the elemental swung for him again. The obsidian hand passed right over the skeleton.

“Its skin is too hot.” Owin pulled a wand from his belt. “Do you think Ice Aura can cool it?”

“Don’t know.” Suta tried to hand the sword back.

Meanwhile, Shade tripped and caught another elemental palm. This time, the skeleton flew right into the ruined wall, throwing bricks far off into the water. The skeleton was still mostly intact, minus an arm that had flown away with the bricks.

“Give me that.” Owin took the sword back, holding it in one hand. He had never cast Ice Aura before. When Barracuda had first used it against him, it wasn’t clear if it was cast on something or in a spot.

Without having his own spells, the best Owin could do was improvise.

He nudged Suta. “Get its attention again.”

Suta sprinted ahead, watching Myrsvai, who had yet to move. The magus had connected with Suta, transferring power, or whatever it was that they did. The elemental seemed to either not notice or not care about Myrsvai at all.

Suta punched the elemental in the leg, which didn’t do anything. The mob shifted, moving its other leg to turn itself.

Owin sprinted across the ruined stone, over the rubble, jumped, and cast Ice Aura with the wand pointed right at his chest. White wisps appeared, circling around him. The water cooled immediately, which was a relief on his burning feet.

Owin crashed against the elemental’s chest again and scrambled to put his wand back in his belt. Luckily, he fell slower in the water than he would have on the surface. The elemental’s body was full of angles and odd, sharp surfaces, giving Owin just enough room to find a spot to grip and pull with his strength. He needed to stand to give a real attempt at stabbing into obsidian.

The elemental noticed him, but didn’t try to attack as it was still fighting Suta. The familiar had been hit a few times and still walked back toward the elemental like he was going to rip its arm right off.

Ice Aura spun around Owin, making it easier to stand atop the elemental’s shoulder. Another burst of fire erupted from its body, which failed to do even a point of damage to him.

Owin held the Incandescent Blade in both hands again, and with all his strength, he stabbed right between his feet. A chunk of obsidian immediately broke off, revealing flowing molten rock beneath. Water and Ice Aura caused it to harden and freeze into obsidian, sealing the wound.

How much did he have to chip away before it would die?

Another stab at the same spot caused cracks to slither from the wound. The elemental had no clear face, but it did have a head. Would breaking that kill the mob? Was it worth trying when he already had a weakened spot?

“How do I kill an elemental?” Owin shouted.

“They always have a core. Similar to a mana crystal!” Myrsvai walked to the edge of the broken floor. “It could be anywhere!”

‘Anywhere’ wasn’t helpful. The core could be in its foot or in one of the hands attacking Suta. It probably wouldn’t be in the head because that was too obvious.

Ice Aura was weakening the obsidian while also cooling the molten rock too quickly. Maybe he could—

An obsidian fist swung at Owin. He blocked it with the sword and let the blow carry him through the water. He bounced right off the top of the broken wall and landed outside the building.

Summon the Withered Shade

Gray dust poofed into the water, making a cloud that stretched just above the rubble.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Are you okay?” Owin asked.

Shade swung both of his arms back and forth. “Now I am. I was armless!” His arms swung through the spinning aura. “Ah, what is this?”

Owin climbed the rubble, leaving the skeleton behind. “Couldn’t you have stood up and grabbed your arm?”

“I thought if I acted injured, perhaps someone would show compassion!”

“Oh.” Owin shrugged. “I knew you were fine.”

“You didn’t know anything!” Shade climbed the rubble with surprisingly bad dexterity. “My arms are all frozen.”

“No, they’re not.”

“You are trying to make me freeze to death with that spell!”

Owin sighed.

Myrsvai had finally moved, joining Suta in distracting the elemental. Abyssal spells flew through the water, striking the same shoulder Owin had attacked. More cracks had formed in the obsidian, though nothing had broken off.

After four floors of Myrsvai winning nearly every fight with such ease, it was time for Owin to handle an enemy. He grinned and reached into his bag.

The core could be “anywhere.”

Most of his fighting style came from instinct, from the time before he gained real consciousness. Part came from Artivan, though that part was small. The mostly stationary, defensive fighting style of a knight had little impact on Owin, but Artivan himself had a lot of good ideas for Owin to try. The rest had come from experience. From seeing how other people of different classes fought.

Owin clutched a percussion grenade, gifted to him by Ernworth Eckelson. Would it explode as soon as it touched the lava or would it sink? Either way, it would do some damage to the elemental.

Myrsvai swung his staff in a wide circle, covering an entire half of the room in a veil of abyssal magic. Owin had only seen the spell once before, back when he had tried to help Gropnil fight Nosolus on the second floor of the Great Forest. It had been a choking, debilitating spell.

Now, from far away, it looked like a dark cloud and nothing more. The elemental swung through the cloud, failing to hit Myrsvai or Suta. It walked closer, crushing more of the floor with each step. It looked like the entire building, or what was left of it, was barely surviving on top of a whole pool of lava.

“Now would be the time to go,” Shade said. “This is what we experienced heroes call ‘an opening.’”

“Thanks.” Owin checked the grenade in his hand. If he gripped it too hard, would it explode? His experience with grenades was non-existent.

“Unsummon me,” Shade said quickly, right as Owin was about to leap.

“Why?”

“If you put that grenade inside, you’re going to blow yourself up, and that means another fifty years in the box. Summon me on top of that beast, hand me the grenade, and get out.”

Owin nodded.

Summon the Withered Shade

Three steps and a leap brought him through the water and onto the elemental’s back as it was still bent over, trying to hunt for Myrsvai or Suta. It didn’t notice as Owin gently landed on its back.

A quick crawl brought him up the shoulder to the broken, cracked section. Ice Aura still spun in a circle, making it possible to stand on the fire elemental.

Summon the Withered Shade

“Oh, we’re already here.”

The elemental quickly stood upright, forcing Owin to grab Shade to balance. The skeleton, somehow, stood with perfect balance and held the Incandescent Blade by the sharp sides to help Owin balance.

“Now might be a good time to start stabbing.”

Owin passed the percussion grenade to Shade and smashed the sword down with both hands. More cracks spread out, but nothing chipped away. The elemental swung its fist overhead toward them. A solid black block out of the corner of his eye was difficult to miss.

Another stab chipped a small piece of newer obsidian away without revealing any lava. Owin flattened himself to the shoulder after Shade squealed and dropped under the fist.

The elemental staggered as its weight shifted from the failed punch. It took a few steps, crushing more of the floor. Soon, there wouldn’t be anything left.

Owin pulled Shade up and repositioned himself. This reminded him of fighting the golem on the floor below, but at that point, his sword’s fire was enough to cut through. Now, that fire would only strengthen the elemental, if it did anything at all.

The Incandescent Blade carried Owin’s strength down into the obsidian, finding the smallest crack. Unique items couldn’t break under normal circumstances, and with that knowledge, Owin forced the sword down, even as he felt an odd vibration ringing through the blade.

He clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and pushed. The sword slipped into the crack and acted as a lever causing a section of the elemental to peel off. Owin saw the glowing lava spread before him, but Shade caught his hair and yanked before Owin could fall in.

“Go!” Shade shoved him to the side. If Owin had been ready, he could have easily overpowered the skeleton. Since he wasn’t ready, Owin slipped right off the obsidian. The Incandescent Blade fell from his hands and quickly disappeared into the elemental’s inner body.

Before Owin even crashed to the ruined floor, the entire upper section of the elemental detonated. Obsidian shards shot up, flying toward the surface of the ocean, while lava spewed into the water, quickly cooling and hitting the ground as hardened rock.

0 Experience

Summon the Withered Shade

Owin sat, staring at the legs of the elemental for a moment. He hadn’t gotten the kill, but since Shade had, it still counted.

Suta sat down beside Owin. The familiar had some blood on his face that was getting washed away with every small movement in the water. The wound appeared to be in his mouth somewhere, behind his mandibles, but Suta wasn’t bothered.

“Not a battle I was expecting,” Myrsvai said as he walked up. He was untouched from battle. “A grenade?”

“Shade did it, but . . . my sword was inside the elemental.”

“The unique one?”

Owin nodded.

“Where’s Shade?”

Summon the Withered Shade

Gray dust condensed into the skeleton. He yawned. “All in a day’s work.”

“You made me drop my sword,” Owin said.

“I didn’t make you do a thing. Hold onto things if you don’t wish to lose them.”

“Unique items won’t disappear that easily. We’ll fan out and look for it while you search in the lava.” Myrsvai gestured to the legs of the elemental and the pool around it.

“The beast has already frozen again. And besides, a sword wouldn’t fall to the legs that quickly. Surely it is out there something.” Shade gestured to the floor as a whole.

“It’s my first unique weapon,” Owin said.

Shade groaned. “Fine.” The skeleton stepped directly in the pool of lava. “I’ll just swim around until I melt.” He took a few steps. “Can I melt? It appears I cannot, though . . .” He disappeared beneath the lava. A few seconds later, he popped up with lava streaming over his skull. Somehow, his white glove and dark purple scarf remained untouched even in the molten rock. “This is pleasant. Anyone wish to join me?”

“Let’s find you that weapon,” Myrsvai said, ignoring the skeleton.

Suta pulled Owin to his feet. “Prize for winner.”

“What winner?”

“Whoever finds the sword, I guess.” Myrsvai scanned the area.

Suta took off at a sprint.

“Well, we’re not going to let Suta win the prize, are we?” Myrsvai took off running in a different direction.

“But who is giving the prize?” Owin asked quietly. Was he going to have to supply the prize?