As he considered the problem of the goblin shaman and its glowing crystals, one thing came to Levi’s mind. He needed a ranged attack. He was too used to using his sword abilities for everything, his long-trained instincts hadn’t yet caught up to his lack of abilities and equipment here.
The first treasure room had contained only potions, enough to replace those he’d used, plus one of stamina which he had tucked away for later use if necessary. But the swampier rooms of the dungeon contained one resource in plenty: rocks. Slimy, slippery, submerged in corrosive bogs, yes, but a perfectly good ranged weapon for the taking.
Thankfully the bogs were diluted from the pure corrosive the first dungeon had contained, otherwise stepping into one would have been almost immediately fatal. At level 1 the dungeons simply didn’t have the capability of filling a large room with anything more potent. The bog only caused a minor health drain, painful but survivable.
With the help of a health restorative to recover quickly, Levi gathered several dozen stones from the collapsing-type footholds and sorted through them to find the most regular ones that fit decently in his hand. They were still a bit on the large size, but it didn’t take him long to adapt to their weight.
After that, he took a few minutes in one of the non-swamp rooms to practice his aim, and let Gremlin Two practice with his dagger, before they headed into the boss room.
Levi sprinted into the boss room with a shout of defiance, drawing the goblin shaman’s attention. It immediately raised its glowing staff, bones rattling as it began casting a spell.
Gremlin Two scampered behind, gleefully clutching Levi’s dagger in both his spindly hands. For a moment Levi worried that the overeager gremlin might neglect the plan and charge straight in, but his minion resisted the temptation. Gremlin Two ran around the edges of the room with at least some attempt at stealth toward his planned position behind the boss.
Now, Levi ran around the room, dodging the goblin shaman’s flung spells, holding its attention while Two slipped into place for a sneak attack. Fortunately, though the room was murky and squelched underfoot, the ground was solid enough. Only certain rooms in the dungeon were filled with corrosive bogs, and the boss room was not one of them.
For now, Two held his position and waited, lurking in the closest thing to shadow that could be found in the mostly wide-open room, staying behind the goblin shaman.
A blast of acid-green fire splashed off the wall beside Levi, the heat slightly increasing the discomfort of his many layers of clothing, but he’d ducked away in time to avoid being ignited.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 103%
While he was running and dodging, Levi counted. What time it took the shaman to cast, how many spells it used, the patterns it cycled through.
He needed to finish the fight fast — the longer it took to destroy the crystals, the more powerful the goblin would become — but he also needed to survive. Even at level 1, every boss needed to be taken seriously. That fact had been reinforced quite vividly when the first dungeon nearly succeeded in killing him.
Immediately after the fire blast, the goblin started a quick follow-up spell, a corrosive mana dart that would deal ongoing damage. Two such darts already stuck out of the walls, burning slow-growing holes into the rust-stained stone around them.
Levi dropped to the floor to avoid the dart, then stood in place long enough to hurl three rocks at three of the crystals across the room.
Two were solid hits, exploding the crystals in spectacular fashion. Shards of green-yellow flew in all directions, pinging off the floor and ceiling. If he’d been anywhere close to them, they’d have done serious damage. But the fragments’ momentum died as unnaturally fast as their initial burst speed.
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The third rock bounced off its crystal without fully destroying it, leaving a crack that leaked wisps of fading yellow-green light.
Then Levi was running again, zig-zagging at random to throw off the shaman’s aim. Another blast of green fire splashed off the floor in front of him just as he came to an abrupt halt. He hurled a stone, shattering another crystal, evaded another attack, and kept moving.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 108%
So far, Gremlin Two hadn’t made a move, apart from shifting his position to remain at the goblin shaman’s back as Levi held the boss’s attention.
But he'd been watching Levi the whole time, and when Gremlin Two shifted to the blank spot of wall where the two crystals had already been exploded, he crouched slowly and picked up the smaller of the two rocks.
Levi remained focused on the boss, trying to predict where each attack would be aimed. His current body was too slow to dodge spells, so he had to use his experience from thousands of fights to read his opponent instead.
Even with its + status, the level 1 goblin shaman wasn't able to conceal its movements. Levi could predict them almost flawlessly so long as he stayed focused.
Gremlin Two’s messing about with rocks in the background barely registered in Levi’s mind as he calculated his next step.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 109%
Suddenly, the gremlin dropped the knife, grabbed the rock, and ran across the room with it held over his head in both hands.
In that moment, Levi realized his plan.
“Wait, don't —”
Too late.
Before Levi could stop him, the gremlin hurled the rock at the nearest crystal with all his strength.
For a moment Levi hoped his scrawny little minion would be too weak to break the crystal, or that the rock would bounce harmlessly off the wall, but he’d chosen the already-damaged crystal Levi hadn’t quite destroyed with his first throw.
The rock hit solidly and the crystal exploded, shattering outward with unnatural force. Gremlin Two stood in the blast zone, broken shards slicing through his tiny body. His health dropped by almost half in an instant.
“Stick to the plan!” Levi shouted, in a voice tinged with anger. “Leave the rocks to me!”
Gremlin Two wilted at the reproof and scurried back to grab the knife, squeaking apologetically. Pinkish gremlin blood dripped to the ground leaving a slick trail behind.
The momentary distraction offered the Goblin Shaman an opening, and Levi failed to evade one of those corrosive mana dart attacks. It slammed into his side as he twisted, too late to avoid it.
The dart missed hitting anything vital, barely dropping his health, but its corrosive nature negated his health regen and added a drain effect instead. -4 health/minute. Not enough to kill him right away, but he did not want to be hit by any more of those.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 112%
This time Gremlin Two did as ordered, remaining out of the line of fire and not trying to be helpful.
Levi darted methodically around the room, breaking the remaining crystals from a safe distance while keeping an eye on the goblin shaman.
Without distractions, he easily managed to evade further attacks from the dangerous but still only level 1 boss.
Two minutes later he smashed the final crystal, then glanced at the shaman to see how they’d done.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 138%
So, it had been boosted by about a third. Levi could deal with that. If the crystals had been fully drained and the second form unlocked, the boost would have been 300%.
Even with the delay and playing it safe, he’d blitzed through the challenge in record time. Most teams at this level without much dungeon experience wouldn’t have realized what they were up against. At +38%, he'd consider them lucky.
Tricky part over, time for the fun part.
Levi stopped running, signaled to Gremlin Two, and charged.
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