The monster roared in fury, sending shock waves rippling through the cavern, shaking the entire room. Focusing on the tiny bug hanging on its face, the golem raised his hand and flicked it off. A shower of sparks and metal shards splattered onto his eyeballs as the blurred, grey shape of the man was sent crashing into the floor. The force of the blow propelled the adventurer into the ground head first, ploughing a metre-long trough in his wake before coming to a shuddering halt, his face buried in a mound of stone almost like a pillow.

Its vision turned blotchy as pinpricks of pain registered in its crude mind. After shaking its head side to side in an attempt to shake off the effect, the elemental slowly waded towards the intruders, casually grabbing a handful of lava from the massive pool as he passed. His hands molded it into a ball shape, before shifting his weight onto his back foot and lifting his front leg into the air. The golem wound his arm back like a trebuchet. He stomped forward while simultaneously launching the bolder of molten lava towards the still adventurers. The massive sphere of pure flames descended upon the unmoving warriors, rapidly gaining momentum as gravity tugged it down.

Feeling the encroaching heat, increasing in temperature by the second, the spell was broken. "RUNNNN," the swordsman screamed, quickly dashing off towards the exit, his legs a blur of motion. His companions soon followed with the rogue tailing behind, dragging the limp form of the tank with him.

The fireball slammed into the ground where they had stood, leaving behind a massive crater. Lava seeped in through the collapsed edges, hissing and bubbling as it took up residence in the vacant space.

The impact mimicked a volcanic eruption, hurling mounds of stone and dust into the air with a thunderous boom. Tremors shot through the ground, throwing the adventurers off balance. Briefly stumbling about, the delvers soon recovered their gait, speeding towards the exit, casting sparing glances backwards.

Slamming into the wooden door, the man furiously pumped the handle. It didn't budge. The lava golem, seeing that the first shot had missed, snarled, spitting blobs of lava from his mouth in irritation. Reaching down, the boss scooped up more magma in his hands. Forming two more fireballs, he tossed them at the shiny bugs who dared invade his territory.

Seeing their impending doom, the swordsman was shoved aside by the fire mage, who activated [Fire Hands], coating her hands in a glove. Her clenched fist slammed into the barrier. Inspecting the door, all she found was polished wood, not a scratch or burn mark in sight. A system notification greeted the group.

[You cannot exit a [Boss Fight] with both parties being alive.]

The adventurers cried in anguish. A hardened resolve replaced the terror within their eyes. A gaze that soldiers develop upon the realisation their next battle will be their last. Their hearts no longer jumped about in their chest, restrained in place with a steady, rhythmic thump. "To the end," they muttered to each other. The group revised their standard formation with the swordsman now working the job of tanking. Giving each other bitter smiles, the group sprinted towards their impending doom, screaming war cries.

The rogue knelt beside their leader's broken body, scanning the body from the bruised skull to the crushed chest. He eased the battered helmet off the man's head and placed it next to him. Next, the man ripped off a green vial from his belt and tipped its contents on the man's caved-in chest.

The green liquid melted into the man's blackish-red flesh. The chest filled out slightly, repairing some of the ruptured cells and giving his skin a more pinkish, healthy sheen. Popping and cracking could be faintly heard as the organs and bones repaired and readjusted themselves towards their proper positions.

Placing his ear close to the dying man's mouth, he no longer heard raspy breaths, in its place was long, stable breaths. Chest rising and falling at regular intervals. The breaths paused, replaced by a gravelly, weak voice, "So you don't hate me after all?" His voice trailed off... replaced by steady breathing once more. "Curse you," the scout muttered.

Grabbing a handkerchief from a side pouch, the scout gently dabbed the cloth on his teammate's lips, soaking up the blood. He watched the pressed-together thin strips of flesh carefully, looking for signs of internal bleeding. A few drops of blood leaked through. The internal damage had stemmed but not completely healed. Satisfied that the man would make it through the battle, the rogue leapt to his feet and rushed towards the battlefield, sidestepping the pools of lava and fist-like indents scattered hazardously across the landscape.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The adventurer party was struggling. The sword user had filled his role as a tank dutifully but at a terrible cost. His armour was dented and crumpled at the edges. His shield was unrecognisable, a twisted hunk of scrap metal and his sword was utterly disfigured, looking more like a thin club than a blade, retaining only the cross guard and handle. The rest of his team wasn't faring much better. The fire mage's hat was now just a puddle of brown liquid. However, her body and clothing tolerated the extreme environment relatively well, dispersing some of the fire that came in contact. The remainder were evenly distributed across the robe. She wasn't too worse for wear.

Her magic counterpart was another story. While her attacks were potent, consistently biting off chunks of rock with the white missiles, her defences were severely diminished. Depleted, dull runes clinked against her belt, some scattered along the ground, broken, with massive scorch marks visible on the surrounding rocks and the rune itself. The last usable engraved stone tablet was clenched in her right palm, glowing blue. Her other hand wielded the staff, shooting burst after burst of pure mana into the monster, chipping away at its defences.

The monster screamed in pain as another barrage of white light slammed into its chest. The golem stumbled about as a fire tornado blocked its line of sight, churning the orange liquid in its wake. The sudden, uneven steps sent waves of lava washing over the stone platform, forcing the adventurers back.

As the whirlwind of fire surrounding the monstrosity's head died down, the beast fashioned another fireball and lobbed it at the priestess, the source of all its suffering. The massive flaming sphere ate up the distance rapidly, but it was enough for the woman to throw out her counter. The now red, shimmering tablet was sent flying towards the incoming projectile. Nearing it, the inscription shattered, forming a blue luminescent shield in its place.

The globe of molten rock met the translucent barrier yet it didn't disperse like before. A small section of the fireball had been successfully absorbed and nullified yet most of the molten globe had bounced off, redirected straight at the swordsman.

The man had no time to react. He opened his mouth, releasing a silent scream before being obscured from sight as the molten lava wrapped around it. The ball lost its shape upon impact, returning to its natural liquid state and forming a puddle on the ground.

A second incoming fire globe broke them out of their daze. The remaining adventurers scattered, avoiding the impact radius by a hair's breadth, singing the heels of their boots.

The attacks restarted with increased ferocity with the rogue taking up the role of distraction. He dashed from side to side, keeping the monster occupied until the priestess could summon another round of bolts. After the barrage, the fire mage would conjure another fire tornado to block his sight. During the spell's duration, the rogue would dash onto the torso and pry out another rock or two before leaping off a split second after the spell ends, earning the monster's ire once more. The cycle continued with minor mishaps. A burn there. A singed eyebrow here but nothing catastrophic.

The hole within the monster's chest grew and grew. As another particularly large molten rock fell from the cavity, a pink gem was revealed, nestled in a crack between the rocks. It pulsated rhythmically. The heart.

"Cover me," the rogue yelled at the two mages before rushing at the boss. A barrage of spells flew overheard, confusing and dazing the beast once more. The man leapt onto the beast's leg, driving his daggers into the crevices as the golem stumbles about, holding on for dear life. A fall would mean slow, death by melting. The floor was lava. Jumping up onto the thigh and then the waist, he climbed the final distance, teeth gritted as his exposed skin blistered. The smell of cooked flesh bombarded his nostrils. His eyes narrowed, spat a curse and pressed on.

With one hand grabbing onto the edge of the hole, he pulled himself up. He strolled inside, hands braced against the side walls in anticipation of further movement. Upon reaching the life source, he jammed his two short weapons into the space behind it and pushed down on the handles like levers.

His body leaned into the makeshift crowbars, his nose nearly touching the jewel. His muscles trembled as the rock holding it in place slowly gave way. More and more crumbs of stone clattered to the floor, joining their brethren in one large pile. The rocks holding the core captive broke, sending the golem's heart on a collision course with his head.

Sharp pain shot up his neck but it couldn't keep the scout from smiling triumphantly. The golem stilled and crashed forward into the lava, sending waves of magma careening over the islands like miniature tsunamis.

[Boss defeated! Congratulations! [Rogue] is now level 14!]

Grinning happily, the man leapt out of the hole, landing easily on the sloped torso. He lifted the heavy gem into the air as a trophy.

His smile stiffened, muscles locked into place. His eyes were glazed over. His mind slowly drifted into a catatonic state. He was no more than a statue.

In slow motion, the figure tipped backwards, slid down the golem's legs and straight into lava. His rigid form disappeared beneath the orange waves with only hissing and a cloud of steam as his final send off.

The fire mage stared in horror at the events that had just unfolded, "W-WHA-" Her comment was cut off as a white bolt slammed into her body, sending her flying over the platform and directly into the lava like a rag doll.

"Well, that was easy."