Shimmering red text floated above the frog’s head.

< Bellflower Frog: Lvl. 13 >

“Get into formation!” Beck yelled, diving behind David as the frog’s wounded tongue whipped out. It struck the ground where she’d been standing with a loud squelch. David pounded his sword against his shield and let out a battle cry, charging the monster.

“World Sunder!” David roared, rearing back and raising his weapon. A flicker of brilliant blue energy arced down its blade. It flared, surging back up and launching from the sword’s tip. An instant later, a tiny flicker of blue flame shot down from the sky above the frog, striking it in the back of the head with a hiss.

The frog croaked, turning one of its baleful, watery eyes toward David. It flexed its powerful legs and shot into the air, landing outside of the pond. The water level dropped multiple feet.

“Oh. Nice froggy,” David muttered, raising his shield.

In unison, the flowers growing within the cavern began to curl in the direction of the beast and slowly unfurl.

“That was pathetic,” Avery muttered. “Elijah, go take care of that thing.”

“Why don’t you?” Elijah shot back, readying his daggers and searching for an opportunity to jump into the fight. It wouldn’t do to run in and just get laid out by one of the frog’s huge limbs. The thing was considerably more powerful than the stupid monkeys they’d fought in the forest, and that meant a certain degree of caution had to be followed.

“Do I look like I have any abilities that let me kill a giant frog?” Avery hissed.

The flowers along the wall lit with brilliant light, bulging and belching out beams of energy that forced everyone to squint. The light shot into the flowers on the frog, which opened to receive it.

“Shit,” Elijah cursed. “I can’t use Shadow Step at all in this lighting. I can barely see.”

“Stop standing and fight!” Beck screamed. One of her vines whipped at the frog’s leg, scoring a thin line of blood across it but failing to make any serious injury.

David pounded his shield, and a shimmery black sheen formed over his body. It was just barely visible through the light filling the room. He charged the frog and swung his sword. A well placed tongue lash stopped him in his tracks, throwing the warrior across the room in a tumble of metal, but seemingly unharmed. The flowers on the frog were glowing dangerously bright.

He hit the wall with a grunt and struggled to his feet. “It’s too strong!”

Elijah gritted his teeth, trying to squint through the brilliant light. It was like a dozen miniature suns surrounded them. His main ability was essentially neutered, and none of his typical assassination techinques would be of much use at this range. Unless he could get closer, he was useless.

The frog advanced on David, forcing the warrior against the wall. Beck’s vines whipped harmlessly at its side, barely even managing to draw blood. Avery pulled out her crossbow and fired straight towards the creature's open maw.

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A beam of brilliant light erupted from the frog’s mouth, incinerating the bolt mid-journey. Elijah swore, throwing himself out of the way moments before it seared past him. The beam struck the wall, burning a hole clean into the rock for several feet before it faded away.

With it, the light in the room reduced as the flowers blinked out. Almost instantly, the chamber was cast into shadow. Elijah slipped into the darkness without hesitation, rising up just to the monster’s side.

He drove a dagger into its side, using it for purchase as he swung himself onto its back. The other blade in his hand lit a burnt orange and he slammed it home into the back of the frog’s head.

A roar erupted from the monster’s mouth and it whipped its body to the side with surprising speed. Elijah launched from his perch, losing his grip on a dagger, and dove into the shadows as he hit the ground, reappearing beside Avery.

“Can you slow the stupid thing?” Elijah asked, his dagger reappearing in his hand. “It’s too fast.”

“I’m working on it,” Avery replied, her brows knitting. “It isn’t working as much as it has been on the other monsters.”

“It’s a boss, you idiots,” Beck snapped. A larger vine erupted from the ground, wrapping around one of the frog’s legs. Along the walls, flowers started to light back up. “It’s going to be more resistant to all attacks, magic included.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me that?” Elijah complained, dropping into the shadows once more to take advantage of the darkness before it was gone completely. He popped out directly before the frog, thrusting both blades into the monster’s stomach before sinking into the ground once more.

He wasn’t a moment too soon. The frog slammed its considerable bulk down on where he’d been with such force that the stone cracked. As Elijah rose back up, David charged the beast again.

“Dimensional Slash!” A white sheen covered his blade and his sword bit into the frog’s shoulder, sinking in a few inches.

Roaring in fury, the frog whipped its tongue out and struck David in the chest. The black sheen around the warrior shattered. David was launched from his feet and sent flying into a wall for the second time. He hit it with a loud crash and slumped to the ground, his weapons falling from his grip.

The flowers turned, firing their energy toward the Frog once more. Elijah raised a hand, trying to squint through the flashes filling his vision. The frog wasn’t looking too great itself, but David wasn’t moving and Beck was completely useless. Avery fired another bolt from her crossbow and cast Hex once more. Faint purple lines shimmered across the frog before fading slightly. When it turned toward them, it was slightly slower than it had been - but not nearly enough.

Another beam erupted from the frog’s mouth. Beck screamed and a thick wall of vines erupted before her. The energy burned into them, setting Beck’s defenses alight in less than a second.

That was enough time for her to scramble to safety, and the pillar of light charred the wall behind her, striking nobody. This time, when the light of the flowers blinked out again, Elijah was ready.

He dropped into the shadows, ignoring the blinking dot in the corner of his vision warning him that his mananite levels had dropped dangerously low, and emerged behind the frog. Avery fired several bolts at the monster, drawing its attention, and then Hexed it again.

It croaked and hopped toward her. Elijah dashed after it, leaping into the air and vaulting off its back to gain the height he needed. As he came back down, the assassin twisted his body. For a brief instant, he and the frog locked eyes.

Then he brought his daggers down, one for each eyeball. They popped, covering his hands with fluid, but Elijah wasn’t done. He slipped from the monster’s head, using his legs to hook onto its bulbous head, and stabbed the monster in the underside of its throat.

Elijah dragged his blades out, following the curve of its neck. Purple blood erupted from the brutal wound and he fell back as the monster thrashed. Before he could drop into the shadows, its flailing tongue caught him in the side.

He did his best David impression as he hurtled across the room and slammed into a wall. Stars and light erupted in Elijah’s vision and the world flashed, spinning before blinking out.