Atreo and Kore each received a card for overcoming the wizard's simulacrum in the Challenge of Intellect. Atreo received his first, grabbing it as it floated in the air before him.
Dire Wolf Monster Card
* Description: Depicts a giant wolf howling at the moon.
* Rarity: 1 star (common)
* Text: "Step quietly; you never know when a wolf stalks you."
* Stats: X HP and X Attack
Kore’s popped into existence right next to where his had been.
Swift Archer Card
* Depicts a wood Elf Archer with a raised bow pointing it at oblivious beasts.
* Rarity: 1 star (common)
* Text: "With an arrow's whisper, the battle shifts. Her aim is true, her speed unmatched."
* Stats: X Hp and X Attack
The door opened into another small chamber, creating a long entrapment area with one heavy stone door behind them and one in front, blocking their path.
Kore took a hesitant step forward. With Atreo following close behind her.
I wonder what the chances are that these walls move in to crush us, Atreo thought as he followed her lead.
Kore reached the stone door, grasping the thick handle. This door bore no symbol but was a twin to the door they’d previously entered. The handle ground in its socket but didn’t resist. A dull click echoed somewhere in an inner mechanism, and it swung open, revealing what was once an old library.
They stood in the doorway for a moment, scanning their surroundings. Heavy wooden bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, and in the center of the room, aisles of wooden frames stood empty, skeletons of their former selves.
Scraps of parchment, torn from books long vanished, were scattered across the floor, and cobwebs draped the walls like eerie decorations in a haunted house.
Unlike the first chamber, the ceiling here was rough stone, mirroring the floor. No roots pierced through, giving the space the atmosphere of an underground tomb, safeguarding artifacts long forgotten.
Atreo and Kore had barely taken in the eerie surroundings when Nat’s voice echoed through the chamber, signaling a random encounter.
The room seemed to come alive with an ominous energy, and a spectral timer appeared in the air:
“Survive for Three Minutes.”
Bones that had previously gone unnoticed twitched and rattled, skittering across the floor like magnets. They clattered together, scraping against the cold stone floor as if guided by an invisible hand.
First, the vertebrae aligned, forming a spine that arched and straightened with a sickening crack. Ribs snapped into place one by one, creating a skeletal ribcage that seemed to breathe with malevolent intent. The skull rolled across the floor, its hollow eye sockets staring blankly until it clicked into position atop the spine, completing the ghastly visage.
The limbs followed suit, bones connecting and snapping together with eerie precision. The fingers flexed and curled as if testing their newfound mobility. Finally, the pelvis and leg bones locked into place, allowing the skeleton to stand upright, its joints creaking and groaning.
With a final, bone-chilling snap, the skeleton fully formed, standing tall and menacing in the dim light of the dungeon. A faint, otherworldly glow emanated from its eye sockets as it turned its gaze towards Atreo and Kore, ready to attack.
“There’s only one,” said Atreo.
“Yeah, for now,” Kore replied.
“We only need to survive for three minutes; I’ll go around the left.”
Atreo took a definitive feint to the left, stomping hard on the solid earth, trying to get a good angle to attack the skeleton. At the same moment, waves of energy began pulsing from his hands, slowly at first, until red-hot fire began shooting through his Nanoflux-coated veins. His fists caused the air to shimmer as the heat radiated off them. From wrist to shoulder, Atreo’s veins flowed with molten lava.
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He moved forward, a blur of fire and trailing light, as he slammed his fist into the newly formed skeleton. He cracked exposed ribs and ripped through the skeleton's chest cavity, grabbing at the skeleton's spine. His fist pulsed like an artificial heart as he strained against the cold, lifeless corpse.
The skeleton reacted, its chittering jaw extending unnaturally wide to chomp down on Atreo's extended shoulder. It bit deep into his flesh, sinking its teeth to the bone.
Kore dropped her spear and extended her arms out, positioning one hand above the other as if she were supporting a heavy, invisible orb charged with raw power. She reached toward the skeleton, her fingers glowing with intent. Her eyes narrowed, and fierce determination set her jaw. Her hands trembled as she strained, seeking the essence within the ancient bones. Yet, she found nothing. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she fought against the forces animating the skeleton, but no trace of life responded to her call.
Her expression shifted from determination to bewilderment as she realized the futility of her efforts. Her fingers began to tingle, then burn, as the skin started to peel back, drawn into the hungry void between her palms. Panic flared in her eyes. She gasped, stumbling backward to sever the flow of energy. The glow around her hands flickered and died, leaving her breathless.
Atreo got hold of the creature's spine and yanked hard, snapping the creature in half. Its legs toppled to the floor, but its upper half remained, its skull still clamped onto Atreo's shoulder. He reached up, grabbing it by the eye sockets, and tore it from his arm, sending a stream of blood flying into the air. A tooth remained in his shoulder, stuck into the bone. He threw it against the ground, and the sound of crunching bones echoed through the library as Atreo crushed the skull against the hard stones.
“You okay?” he said, noticing Kore’s health bar had dipped below full.
“Yeah, I can't drain the skeletons. There’s no life essence for me to absorb—”
Her explanation was cut short as the rattling of bones began again.
“Level two,” said a voice Atreo had become too familiar with.
The fresh pile of skeletons rattled, and new bones rose from the ground to join them. They bonded together, forming two skeletons, larger than the first.
“Shit, Kore, we need to stay together. I’ll stay in front; you spear them from behind me.”
“Alright,” she responded, as she grabbed her spear.
Atreo grabbed the bookshelf closest to him and threw it against another. It broke to pieces, which had been his hope. He’d just created a funnel so that only one skeleton could reach them at a time. He also knew, though, that he’d just removed their only plan B. They would have to fight until the timer ran out, or they died.
The skeletons, unchallenged upon their animation, let out hollow roars as their empty eye sockets locked onto the cornered duo. With a jerky, unnatural gait, they began to run.
Atreo stepped forward and channeled his plasma fist. The anger at being assaulted and imprisoned had welled in him, creating a darkness that he’d dared not entertain. The feeling of being useless, the hopelessness and depression, had lingered within the recesses of his mind, and it all came boiling out on a river of fury.
“Let’s fucking go!” Atreo yelled like a berserker at the top of his lungs and lunged forward to engage.
His plasma fist broke through the reaching hand of the approaching skeleton and aimed straight for its skull, shattering it with a single, powerful strike. Blackened bone fragments sprayed out from the impact, and the skeleton fell limp, but Atreo wasn’t done. With his hand still in the skeleton's gaping face, he pulled down on the jaw and slammed its head onto his waiting knee, crushing it. He threw it to the side, its lifeless form collapsing into a heap at his feet.
Kore watched with keen interest, analyzing Atreo's fighting style and movements. She couldn’t use her powers against the lifeless skeletons, but she was gathering information, assessing their weaknesses and potential patterns. Her mind raced, considering different strategies they could employ against the skeletons’ relentless assault.
Hot on the heels of the first, the second skeleton jumped, clawing at Atreo’s face. It missed by a hair and dug its bony fingers deep into Atreo’s back. Atreo tackled it to the ground and rained hammer fists like falling meteors on its exposed head. Each blow sent bone fragments flying, and Kore noted the precision and intensity in Atreo's movements.
When he was done, the ground beneath was cratered and shattered, a deep impact hole surrounded by fragments of bone, the skeleton reduced to a pile of debris.
Kore remained vigilant, her spear held at the ready. She admired Atreo's relentless assault, understanding the necessity of his ferocity in this fight. She tightened her grip on her spear, ready to jump in if needed and constantly thinking of ways to exploit any weaknesses she observed in their skeletal foes.
“Level 3, One minute remaining.”
As the announcement echoed through the chamber, a low, sinister laugh began to emanate from the pile of bones. The scattered fragments started to move, pulled together by an unseen force. Bones clattered and snapped into place, forming a grotesque and menacing figure. A skull with glowing green eyes rose from the center, attaching itselfto a newly formed spine.
Kore’s eyes narrowed with focus. “Atreo, we’re not done yet!” she shouted, her voice steady despite the tension.
The bones coalesced into a towering lich, its bony fingers crackling with dark energy. Tattered robes materialized around its skeletal frame, and a cold, malevolent aura filled the room. The lich’s eyes burned with an eerie light as it raised a hand, dark magic swirling around its fingertips.
Atreo stood ready, his plasma fist still glowing hot from the previous battle.
“I see it, Kore. Let’s finish this,” he replied, his voice filled with determination.
The lich let out a bone-chilling roar, its voice echoing through the chamber. It began to chant in an ancient, forgotten language, summoning waves of malevolent essence that crackled in the air.
Kore took a deep breath, centering herself. She knew this fight would be different. The lich wasn’t just another skeleton; it was a powerful adversary with its own dark magic. She tightened her grip on her spear, ready to strike at the first opportunity.
Atreo charged forward, his plasma fist leading the way. The lich responded with a wave of malevolent essence aimed directly at him. Kore saw the incoming blast and, with lightning reflexes, threw herself between Atreo and the dark energy. She caught the blast in her hands and neutralized it with healing magic, surprised as the malevolent essence became neutral coursing through her. Her body glowed with an eerie light as she neutralized the dark magic, her face set in fierce concentration despite the shock of discovering this new ability.
“Atreo, keep pushing! We’re almost there!” Kore yelled; her voice strained with effort but unwavering.
Atreo nodded and redirected his attacks towards the glowing symbols on the lich’s bones. His fist connected with one of the runes, and the lich let out a hiss of pain, its movements becoming more erratic.
Kore seized the moment, driving her spear into another rune. The lich staggered, its dark energy flickering. The two fought with every ounce of strength and skill they had, each blow and strike more desperate as the seconds ticked down.
“Thirty seconds remaining,” the voice announced, heightening the urgency.
The lich, realizing its vulnerability, lashed out with a ferocity that caught them off guard. More blasts of malevolent essence shot out, but Kore was ready. She intercepted each blast, her hands absorbing the dark magic before it could reach Atreo. Each interception deepened her understanding of this newfound power.
With renewed determination, Atreo launched himself at the lich, landing a powerful blow on another rune. The lich screeched, its form wavering. Kore saw her chance and lunged, her spear piercing the final rune with precision.
“Ten seconds remaining,” the voice warned.
The lich let out a final, agonized roar as its bones began to disintegrate, the dark magic holding it together unraveling. Atreo and Kore stepped back, watching as the once formidable enemy crumbled into dust.
As the last of the lich’s remains scattered to the ground, the timer hit zero.
“Level 3, Complete the voice announced, as the tension began to ease.