A seething mass of slime pulsed from the center of the sub-boss room. Ethan stood, arms folded, as he assessed the arena. He’d cleared his way to the eastern sub-boss, only to find a massive slime taking the vague shape of a goblin. Spotting it from a distance, he thought he was in for a fight against another [Big Goblin]. Instead, he found the damned slime.

[Big Viscous Ichor], like the [Big Goblin] was just a larger version of the normal [Viscous Ichor] monsters. There the Caller was left with a decision to make. The rewards for defeating the [Big Goblin] were great. Beyond just the experience, the new core and ring were worth the trouble he had with the fight. But a prolonged battle in a narrow area wasn’t appealing.

Ethan swapped his [Evoker’s Subcore] for the [Healer’s Subcore] and weighed his options. Like the other slimes, this one moved incredibly slowly. It displayed more bursts of speed, though. More concerning than that, the ichor had taken on the appearance of Ethan himself. It paced on the other side of the threshold, cupping its chin in its hands.

“I don’t look like that,” Ethan said, gesturing to the slime.

The monster shrugged a response.

He inspected the creature before deciding on his next move.

[Big Viscous Ichor]

Sub-boss Monster

Rank 0

Level 8

Description:

Larger and more capable than normal [Viscous Ichors], the sub-boss version is also smarter and faster. Like their weaker cousins, they’re incredibly hard to kill. Making matters worse, they can change forms.

Ethan had already seen the power of Luca’s new ability, but it might not have been enough to take down the sub-boss. But the facts of the dungeon were laid before him there. The sub-bosses were leading to something. A real boss. Something he’d need to face in the end if he wanted to clear the dungeon and keep everything he’d gained. To do that, he’d need to hit level 10. That wasn’t a question, and the sub-boss would provide the experience to do so.

Studying the arena, Ethan found that it was extremely favorable to his method of combat. A set of twisting ramps, leading to a second-floor sat in the room. He estimated he should have enough time to out-maneuver the monster, get up on the platform, and rest his mana. As long as he could outpace the creature, it didn’t matter how long the fight took. Luca would handle doing damage. All the Caller needed to do was to stay alive.

With all his cooldowns up, and [Mana Tap Ring] full, he made a decision. There was no point in avoiding the difficult things in the dungeon. He summoned Luca, then ordered him to charge in before holding his breath.

Sub-boss engaged!

[Ethan Stout] has engaged [Big Viscous Ichor] in combat!

Arena locked. All participants teleported inside.

3…

2…

1…

GO!

Ethan snapped to beyond the threshold as time rolled back to its normal speed. The slow pulsing of the magical energy behind him put off waves of cold. Luca sailed through the air, having no regard for his safety as he engaged the mimicking creature. For now, the Caller would study the monster’s motions and make a plan. He moved up the slick ramp, watching the fight below from the platform.

Unlike the other [Viscous Ichors], the sub-boss version was quick. But there was a limit to its ability to change into another form. Ethan counted out loud as his summoned spirit battled. The monster could hold the form for 30 seconds. Once that expired, it went on cooldown for an unknown amount of time. It was twice as fast as the normal oozes, but that still sent it across the arena at a snail’s pace.

“About five minutes?” Ethan asked, dangling his legs over the platform.

Luca was in full defensive mode, relying on his shimmering shield to absorb most of the glancing blows. The [Big Viscous Ichor] formed a spear from its side and jabbed forward, shattering the shield and gaining a deep wound on the Symbol’s side. Then Ethan noticed that Luca’s health bar had turned purple. Health began ticking away, one at a time.

“Of course. Poison.”

The first time Luca died during the fight, Ethan was resting atop the platform. He had plenty of time to resummon, and simply watched as the squirrel jumped down below. From the time that the summon went down, to the time it was back in action, the slime had only just reached the ramp. The fight went on like that until the Caller was getting dangerously low on mana, slipping down to 60. And the slime sensed it.

Luca went down again. The moment the summon vanished into a puff of silver light, the [Big Viscous Ichor] transformed into some four-legged animal. It sprinted up the ramps, reaching Ethan before he could even begin channeling the spell. The ooze jumped from the platform, landing hard on the hard stones before turning its attention to the Caller.

“Ah, crap.”

The animal-slime rushed across the open arena, coming to within a step of Ethan when it transformed back into its normal form. He stumbled back, tripping over himself in an attempt to retreat. And the slime undulated toward him, back to its old slow slimy self.

It seemed as though different forms used different time for the monster’s transformation. The four-legged, goat-like form it picked had reduced its transformation time from 30 seconds to about 5. Ethan retreated to his platform again, grumbling down at the slime. It was a good time to let his mana rest and get off a single [Cure Minor Wounds] on himself. He’d only lost 10 health jumping from the platform, but he wouldn’t risk it.

At first, Ethan thought the form the slime took was random. But that last display meant it had a plan. There was a rudimentary intelligence there. The only way he’d win was through his old methods, and a lot of luck.

Once the Caller had restored his mana, having another scare when the monster transformed into a ponderous turtle, he summoned Luca yet again. The squirrel jumped down, slashing away at the monster. Ethan rang the bell on his staff, activating the [Spur] ability. The Symbol grew, and tore larger chunks out of the monster. He wouldn’t use the effect on his shoes, saving those for when he needed to escape with haste.

The battle fell into a familiar pattern. Ethan felt like he was bugging a video game, taking advantage of the monster’s one weakness. He couldn’t remember a battle that he’d won head-to-head without using some stupid trick. An hour later, the slime used the same trick as last time. Luca died, and Ethan was preparing to summon him back while at low mana. The [Big Viscous Ichor] transformed into another random four-legged animal, and sprinted up the ramp. The Caller activated his shoes and ran for it.

The sound of squelching slime and jingling bells echoed through the arena.

Sprinting slightly faster than the slime’s cat-like form, Ethan ran a circuit around the room. When the ooze shifted back into its formless form, the Caller stopped to catch his breath. Jogging back to the platform, he put together the pieces. The [Big Viscous Ichor] only activated the travel form when he was about to resummon Luca at low mana. He sat on his platform to regain his mana before summoning his spirit again. While the pair were busy fighting it out, he searched the room.

Unlike some goblin-themed rooms, the slime rooms seemed filled with nothing. Goo dripped from the walls, sometimes bubbling from the floor, but it was otherwise barren. The only landmark was the twin ramps and the catwalk above. Letting out a heavy sigh, Ethan fell into a rhythm for the fight. Hours passed with the same tactics repeated. Weariness washed over him some time later. Time seemed to have little meaning in the fight.

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“Attrition is fine,” Ethan yawned, looking down at Luca battling. “It’s just boring.”

That was another strength of his class, though. Each time Luca came out, he was fresh and ready to fight. Ethan wouldn’t allow his mana to get low, taking breaks between fights, so the ooze wasn’t even shifting into a travel form anymore. The repetition went on. And on. But eventually, the sub-boss fell in the least spectacular way.

Ethan earned no bonus fight for his pitiful effort. And the system message that appeared seemed to taunt him for his slow method of killing the sub-boss.

You defeated the [Big Viscous Ichor] solo, earning yourself a [Wooden Sub-boss Chest].

Defeating a sub-boss has extended your time within the dungeon by 1 day.

The amount of experience rewarded for killing a monster wasn’t affected by the time it took to kill it. Ethan felt something swell through him as he ascended to level 10. Another system message appeared.

You’ve reached the level cap. Perform a Rank 1 ritual to continue gaining experience for your [Caller’s Core].

A bit disappointing, but his other cores would get experience until he could perform the ritual. Ethan opened the wooden crate, only to find the [Sub-boss Core] within. The dungeon deemed his performance so dismal, that it didn’t even throw him a magic item. But at least the slime was dead. And he had a new list of abilities to pick from for his [Caller’s Core].

Like with most level-ups, he took a while to sift through the list until he found abilities he liked. There were the old ones that he saw before, [Empower Attack], and [Chain Attack]. He lumped those together with two new abilities that were locked behind the level 10 requirement.

[Spirit Radiance]

Caller Ability

Cooldown

30 minutes

Description:

Your currently summoned spirit performs a massive attack, consuming half of your mana. The nature of the attack depends on the summoned spirit.

[Spirit Radiance] was tempting, since he assumed it did massive damage. Perhaps Lucantele’s attack would be supportive, but that didn’t matter. His current strategy was about lasting longer in combat, not dealing damage. While this ability would be useful if he intended to solo all the time, that wasn’t the case. This dungeon run was a one-off, but the abilities he selected were permanent.

Before he examined the next one, he considered the two older abilities. [Chain Attack] allowed him to use a summoned spirit’s ability twice in a row. He was impressed with it the first time he saw it, but now it had lost its shine. [Empower Attack] was likewise lacking. It increased the amount of damage, healing, or effectiveness of protective magic on the summoned spirit’s next ability.

[Caller’s Resilience]

Caller Passive Ability

Description:

After your summoned spirit dies, your mana regeneration will double for 20 seconds. Combat limitations on mana restriction are removed.

If you cast a summoning spell before the 30 seconds has expired, the cost of your spell is reduced by a quarter.

Effects:

After your spirit dies, regen double mana (even in combat) for 30 seconds.

Summoning a spirit before the expiration of this effect reduces the cost of your summon spells by a quarter.

This ability was the most interesting he’d seen so far. He’d get a burst of mana regen when Luca died. At his current rate, after applying another point to [Mind], he’d get 81 mana back. If he didn’t allow the effect to tick at all, he’d save 10 mana on casting the [Summon Lucantele] effect. This ability fell more in line with his build. He selected it, confident that more mana regeneration was always better. It worked so far, anyway.

Ethan swapped to his [Evoker’s Subcore] and got to clearing out the rest of the dungeon. He worked through the rooms of goblins, thanking whatever gods this world had that there weren’t anymore slimes. Without the ability to gain experience, he spammed the [Echo] ability to level his subcore. Since days meant nothing down in the dungeon, he judged the time by how tired he was.

Finally clearing the eastern side, Ethan sat down near a shimmering portal. Since he hadn’t fought the boss, this was either an exit or the boss room. Touching it gave him a prompt, something asking if he wanted to “do the final battle”, so it was the boss room. He had no desire to clear the western side of the dungeon, but did so anyway. Those fights showed the power of his new [Caller’s Resilience] ability.

The rush that filled Ethan after a goblin killed Luca was intense. His mana jumped in large increments when the spirit went down. Even as the goblins trundled down the hall, he waited for the last moment before summoning the Symbol again. With those goblins dead, he found himself before the boss’ room. There were no more rooms to clear, and a singular goal. To obtain his [Rank Seal], and whatever other goodies were in store for him.

Ethan camped outside the boss room for the night, finding it hard to get any sleep. He rose after one fitful session of sleep, and decided that now was the time. He packed his things away, slung his bag over his shoulder, then pressed his hand against the barrier.

This is the [Boss Room].

Entering will start the final fight of the dungeon. Do you wish to proceed?

[Y/N]?

Ethan confirmed his desire to move forward. Against his will, his body moved forward, stepping through the barrier. Time slowed down and another system message popped up.

[Ethan Stout] has entered a [Boss Arena]!

Defeat the boss or solve the puzzle to complete the dungeon. Your reward is based on the amount of rooms and sub-bosses you’ve cleared.

As a solo delver, you’re eligible for a [Rank Seal] when you complete this dungeon.

Good luck!

“Really?” Ethan asked after seeing the boss. He inspected it.

[Really Big Goblin]

Boss Monster

Rank 1

Level 1

Description:

If you thought the [Big Goblin] was big, wait until you get a load of this guy. While goblins are dumber than a bag of hammers, they know where to draw the line. These massive brutes keep order within the goblin ranks by bashing them over the head. Isn’t that nice!

“What happens when the goblin is bigger than ‘really big’?” Ethan asked.

Time was still frozen, and the massive goblin didn’t have answers. It stood on a dais, in front of a throne made of oozing stone. Resting on the throne was a box with small holes in it. Hanging on the hewn stone walls were keys of every type. The goblin itself was twice the height of Ethan, holding an even longer spear. It looked like an oversized version of its kin, bulging with muscles and releasing a threatening aura.

“Puzzle,” Ethan whispered, even as time caught up to him. He channeled [Summon Lucantele] before the boss could even move.

But when the creature did move, it was with a flourish of movements, ending in a jab that would have skewered an ox. Both Ethan and Luca dodged to the side at the last moment, avoiding the strike. Then the spirit was off, jumping onto the over-extended goblin’s face and raking with his claws.

Ethan skirted the room’s edge, inspecting the keys as he went. There was nothing common among the keys. They were made of all shapes and sizes, with more teeth patterns than he could count. As Luca and the boss did battle, he studied the box. It was made of rusted metal. Each hole looked like a small keyhole, but there was no discernible pattern. Each surface of the cube had several holes.

“I don’t get it,” Ethan said, flipping the box over. The goblin’s spear caught a nearby pillar, shaking the ground from the force of the blow.

Ethan dragged his attention away from the box for a moment, spotting a few places he could run and hide after Luca died. The arena was big enough to make that happen, but the Caller wouldn’t rely on distance to save him. He saw the way the massive goblin fought. It covered several steps in one and moved with more grace than nature should have allowed. Instead, there was a space near the wall of keys that he could shimmy into. A narrow pass of pillars that would buy him more time than running.

The battle became more pitched. Luca held his own, relying on his speed to outpace the searching spear. Ethan activated the [Barrier of Hope], sending the spirit into the air to gain a shimmering silver shield. Jabs came at speed after that, probing for the squirrel as it fell from the air. Luca took a few hits, but still remained above half health.

Ethan edged closer to the boss, spotting something on its tattered belt. Like most goblins, the monster wore little more than a loincloth. But this one had a pair of tattered shorts with a cord for a bet. On that belt, there were a series of bone placards. Filled with symbols. The Caller studied them the best he could, commiting a single one to memory before retreating to the key wall. He searched for a matching symbol. Looking for anything on the keys that matched what he’d remembered.

With his focus away from the fight, he didn’t see the spear diving for his abdomen. Luca jumped in the way at the last moment, absorbing some of the blow with his barrier. The rest of the force sent the Symbol flying across the room, only to smash into the far wall. The keys there rattled, creating a sound that was joined by bells shortly after. Ethan felt the mana flood through him, regenerating quicker after his summoned spirit’s death. But he was off. Sprinting away from the fray with [Caller’s Retreat], he found a safe spot on the opposite side of the room to wait it out.

He waited too long, and the boss was upon him.

Cursing his greed for more mana, Ethan activated his [Rapid Summon] ability and brought Luca back into the fight. He only noticed the wound on his side when he went to check his mana reserves, finding that half of his health was missing. But the spirit slashed at the boss’ chest, ripping it open. More blood than usual flowed from the room, splattering the wall.

That’s when the Caller saw it. Of the thousands of keys on the wall, hundreds of which were now doused with blood, one glowed.