We step into the arena with a deep breath. The line of Ether glows brighter and brighter as tiny glyphs I recognize as [Repulsion] start to glow on either side. I place my hand on the auroral wall. Solid. I could probably disable the glyphs with my [Basic Glyph Manipulation] or just override them altogether with a [Repulsion Bullet], but the intent is clear. This is a battle to the death, with escape no longer a possibility.
If there’s one positive about the barrier surrounding our dueling arena, it’s that I can see what’s going on the battlefield as though it were all covered in the pale light of a full moon. I can’t make out every detail, but I can see the handful of rocks and pits that will make for a potential tripping hazard. Oh, and at least one skeleton. Either it’s a prop designed to instill fear, an undead abomination that’ll reanimate in the middle of the fight, or it’s the real deal, from someone unfortunate enough not to beat the knight before us. Not one of those options is reassuring in the slightest.
Armosi raises its sword and grips it with both hands. The armored knight is covered from head to toe in steel full plate, along with a matching helmet, greaves, vambraces, gauntlets, and every other piece of armor. Its sword is more akin to the fat buster swords of fantasy than anything a real-life knight would have used. The blade is a good four feet long, eight inches thick, and looks heavy enough to bisect a girl with a single slash. It has a smaller longsword sheathed at his side, though at least it’s not currently trying to dual-wield against us. Probably a backup weapon.
I make a mental note to craft a second [Modular Blowgun] when we get back to base.
Chloe steps behind me as I set my blowgun to the [Repulsion] setting. Armosi charges quicker than I’d expect for a metallic brute, but not as fast as I’d feared it might. I fire with thirty units of [Ether] and will the blast to explode as it gets within three feet.
My blast fails to do more than dent the armor knight, but it does stun the boss long enough for the two of us to get out of the way. Chloe takes the lead, dodging to our right and running around the arena, while I do my best to assail our pursuer while keeping distance. Its vitality is high and my [Ether Bullet], even when guided into the chinks in its armor by [Trick Shot], fails to do much damage.
Ten bullets fly in rapid succession as I try for some sort of compounding blast, followed by a [Lightning Bullet] with fifty [Ether] behind it. This one stuns the creature for a moment, allowing Chloe to gain some needed distance. I am dismayed when it swings its blade toward me, hurtling that electricity right back at me. I raise my hand and activate my [Repulsion Gauntlet], not sure if it’ll work on a massless attack.
It’s partially successful, sending bits of the electrical surge away from me and toward the wall behind me. Chunks of stone break off the wall, and a cloud of debris wafts over the battlefield. I take ninety-seven points of damage from the residual shock, which is quickly patched up from Chloe’s almost instantaneous [Healing Bullet] hitting my stomach. And it has a nice cooling sensation to go alongside!
I dodge the follow-up horizontal slash to my right, then aim my [Repulsion] field at just the right direction to send Armosi’s diagonal follow-up careening into the side of the chamber. It gets stuck for half a second, and I use the momentary break in action to run with all the celerity my pitiable 20 [Speed] stat can muster.
I channel [Ethersight] for a moment, hoping I might identify a couple of weak points. I notice a few additional dents in the armor that I couldn’t make out before. Most of the construct’s internal [Ether] is in its chest as expected, but it contains five smaller concentrations as well. One inside its helmet. One each on the back of its kneecaps. And finally, one each in the armpits. Of the five, I’ve tried and failed to pierce its helmet. The back of the knees seem too hard to reach, considering my relatively low [Speed].
This leaves the armpits. Based on Armosi’s grip, the construct seems to have a slight proclivity for its right side, so I set my sights on its left instead. I rush backward to gain distance, letting Chloe fire her [Repulsion] field much as I did. This time, Armosi is prepared, slamming the barrier with its fist with enough force to shatter it completely.
Chloe takes damage. Her nose is bleeding; she falls to the ground, winded. I want to lash out in anger as I did the last time I saw her injured like this. But I stay violently calm, at least on the outside, trusting her to heal herself and retreat to safety. I focus on tempering my rage and channeling sixty points of [Ether] into a [Flaming Bullet], launching it the moment I lock on and using [Trick Shot] to spin it upward at the last second, hitting the armpit from below.
The attack erupts into a golden sphere the size of a tennis ball. For the first time, Armosi staggers to the ground. My first instinct is to rush in, but I know better. [Ethersight] confirms that it’s been weakened, but is far from dead. Instead, I think through my options, trying to piece together the best follow-up.
My [Repulsive Bullet] didn’t do enough to it. [Attractive Bullet] might stun it, but I doubt it’ll do enough damage to crumple those heavy metal plates. That leaves my three elemental options. I get an idea.
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As soon as Chloe is out of the way, I pop two more [Ether Bullets] out of my side pouch and slot the first one in, palming the second for the follow-up. With a single twist of the top dial, I switch the ammunition to [Freezing Bullet] and wait for the opportune moment.
Armosi charges once more, this time going for a quick stabbing motion right at my abdomen. I dodge the stab, but I’m unable to fully dodge the follow-up as the armored brute switches its grip and delivers a weak cutting blow directly upon my side.
It’s only relatively weaker, doing nearly eight hundred damage to me. It misses my intestines by the barest margin before cutting upward and cracking three ribs in the process. I want to scream and curse out. It hurts like absolute hell and I feel like shit. The pain is so bad I feel waves of nausea come over me and I want to lose my breakfast.
But I’m within my enemy’s defenses and I know Chloe can patch even this up with her more powerful healing spell. With all the willpower I can muster, knowing damn well that I might be this universe’s greatest hope, I launch my [Freezing Bullet], then immediately switch my settings. Without hesitation or delay, I fire a [Repulsive Bullet] at the same target.
I fly backward from the concussive impact, slamming into the ground. My health falls to under seventy before Chloe’s spell hits me and restores me by five hundred. She helps me back to my feet, stepping behind me as she does.
I turn to our foe, knowing that until I’ve seen the System notification, I can’t assume that the battle is over. Armosi is covered in piles of debris and doesn’t get back up. I peer through the cloud of dust surrounding it with [Ethersight]. And just as I’d hoped, I notice numerous chips and cuts all throughout its torso. Its left vambrace is utterly shattered, and its gauntlet falls to the ground, motionless.
As I had suspected, the construct Armosi is just an animated suit of armor, with no fleshy being controlling it from within. In a sense, it is a reflection of my own being as an artificial being, though on a less-refined scale.
It tries to wield its greatsword with only one arm, but fails to properly swing it, instead chucking it toward me like a throwing knife. The two of us leap out of the way. I consider grabbing the weapon, but based on the clang it makes as it thuds into the ground, I’m not confident the two of us working together can even lift the damned thing.
It draws its sidearm and charges even faster this time. I’m able to get up my [Repulsion Field] in the nick of time. But this time, even against the full weight of the attack, I’m able to barely hold back the strike. I fall to my knee in the process and make a desperation gambit.
As the one-armed construct lifts its arm up to finish me off with an even more powerful strike, I use [Trick Shot] and fire an unmodified bullet right at the base of its now-exposed armpit. The damage is minimal, but the stunning effect lasts just long enough for me to snake my way between its legs and fire a [Repulsion Bullet] directly into the back of its left knee with forty points of [Ether] behind it.
I’m again sent flying. I try to hit the right knee, but I’m too low on [Ether] to use my attack with even thirty points, the bare minimum to activate both glyphs. I curse my miscalculation, but get an idea. I instead switch the nozzle back to the sixth, unused section. With my final twenty-four points of [Ether], I use the glyph of [Impulse] alone at the last weak spot. I narrowly miss, on track for a clean but not precise hit. But at the last second, my [Ether] ticks up from 0 to 1, just enough for me to use my [Trick Shot] to correct the trajectory of my attack.
I’m winded. Mentally, I’m drained. I want to sit down and not have to do a damn thing for I don’t know how long. Except eat. My stomach growls, not caring that it’s the worst possible time.
I don’t have enough energy left to continue on. I’m about to reach for my Ether canister to continue the fight when the dust settles. Armosi isn’t vanquished, but with one arm, one leg completely blown off at the kneecap, and the other crumpled like a piece of foil, it isn’t moving either. It stands motionless, holding itself up by its sword with its one good arm and leg stump.
“Did we win?” Chloe asks.
“No System notification,” I say.
I pull out my [Ether Bullets]. No strength left to use my blowgun. Only choice is the crudest method. I start hurling them at the construct. Air resistance makes my attacks weak, of poor aim, and less effective than I’d feared they would be. But I just need the last bit of chip damage to bring our foe down. One lucky shot. I finally get it.
Armosi’s hand loosens from its blade and the entire suit of armor falls lifelessly to the ground. A thin wisp of smoke emerges from within it. My heart starts to pound. What the hells do I do? Escape? I don’t have anything effective against incorporeal beings. And I don’t know if Chloe does either. I stumble backward, trying to buy a few crucial seconds. But the wisp doesn’t attack. Instead, it briefly forms into the shape of an wizened old man with a full beard. The man smiles, then fades away.
[You have defeated Construct Armosi, The Armorsoul Knight (Level 21)! You have gained a boosted 6,666 Experience! (Experience boosted further due to being a dungeon boss.)]
[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 17. [Vitality] +1, [Mind] +1. Please allocate remaining stat points. (3 Remaining)]
Its suit of armor and swords both dissipate into Ether. A treasure chest materializes in its place, but all I can do is sit down, throw my three free stat points into [Mind] for the extra maximum [Ether] I so desperately need, and crawl up against a wall until my mental fatigue goes away.
[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x2 + Current Level + Rand[1, 3] = 106]
[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0, 2] = 71]
[Level: 17; Experience: 22,546; To Next: 2,579]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 813 / 1,274 ; [Ether]: 75 / 741]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 20; [Speed]: 20; [Vitality]: 43; [Mind]: 54]