Though a boss monster, and ostensibly a threat able to annihilate a half-dozen unwary delvers within moments, the goblin shaman did have one major disadvantage.
It was just a goblin.
A large goblin, with exceptional magical abilities, yes. But a large goblin still only came to a little above Levi’s waist. More than twice the size of a not quite knee-high gremlin, but far from an oversized ogre.
Of course, the more mana and other stats a creature had, the less physical size mattered, but right now, this one was only level 1 — even with its + status as a boss — and Levi was level 4. Every enemy in a dungeon was intended to be deadly, but apart from the ogre, these level 1 dungeons severely tested his inclination to take them seriously.
Levi didn’t bother with anything complicated. He ran up to the goblin shaman and punched it in the jaw, then grabbed its staff and yanked hard.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 136%
The sudden attack disrupted the goblin’s spellcasting and the gathered power dispelled in a burst of heat and light. It dropped Levi’s health by 4 and scorched the hair on the back of his hand holding the staff near the power crystal, but that was all.
The goblin’s grip was astoundingly strong for his size. Levi failed to pull the weapon away, leading to a brief tugging match as both tried to gain control. The incensed goblin screeched angrily at him, but Levi didn’t release the staff.
While he kept the boss in place and held its attention, Gremlin Two ran up and leaped into the air, Levi’s knife held tight in both hands, slamming it into the goblin’s back. It penetrated deep, then Two’s weight dragged the blade down in a jagged tear.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 112%
Then the gremlin twisted, slamming his scythe-like horn into the goblin’s back, scoring a horizontal slash to match the vertical one.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 108%
The goblin kicked Levi viciously, but through his layers of protective clothing, the blunt impact barely left a bruise. Furious, the goblin tugged hard on its staff, trying to pull it free of Levi’s grip.
The goblin might be strong enough to keep a hold on its weapon, but Levi was no weaker. He gripped the staff tight, moving it in random jerks to prevent the shaman from getting any spells off. Meanwhile, Gremlin Two continued to savage the goblin’s back with knife, horn, and claws.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 82%
For a moment, Levi dared to imagine that this might be his easiest boss fight ever. The lingering effects of the corrosive mana dart from earlier had dissipated by now and his health worked to repair the damage. It still hurt, a steady uncomfortable heat in his side pulsing with his rapid heartbeat, but wasn’t going to cause any more harm.
Then the goblin screeched and raised its free hand, green light gathering around its entire body.
“Get back!” Levi released the staff and jumped back. Gremlin Two heeded his warning and threw himself to one side as power exploded outwards in a wave from the shaman, hissing and snapping.
The goblin laughed and capered for a moment, gleeful at escaping the tug-of-war with an evenly matched opponent. Without warning it raised the staff above its head in both hands, then slammed it down. Power flared out from the contact point, a straight line of green flame burning across the floor and up the far wall. Unlike the other spells, this one didn’t splash and dissipate. The fire lingered, drying out the ground and crisping nearby moss as it continued to blaze.
Levi could jump over it, if necessary, but it added another hazard to the arena. One more thing to take into account.
He crouched and sprinted away from the goblin, leaping aside as his instincts responded to an unseen attack from behind. He reached the far wall, where the shattered remnants of a crystal lay speared into the ground. Shifting his course, he scooped up a throwing rock in each hand and ran back at the goblin boss.
It had shifted its attention, firing corrosive bolts at Gremlin Two, who kept trying to reach the boss but couldn’t close the distance without being blasted back.
Levi grinned. He wouldn’t dare attempt this at higher levels, but right now...
He ran up behind the distracted goblin and smashed the rocks into its skull from both sides with all his strength.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 76%
Then again, and again.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 60%
The goblin screamed in anger. It twisted, grabbing behind itself to claw at Levi’s chest, flailing its staff as it tried to get free. Levi was faster, twisting with the goblin to stay behind it as he kept smashing it with his rocks, refusing to let the boss reorient.
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Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 48%
The boss flared with green light. Gremlin Two leaped away, knowing better than to stay in range. Levi dismissed the impulse to tank it and jumped back as well. He didn’t have the stats for it. Even small things like this could hurt him now.
He wasn’t fully clear of the blast, but it only dropped his health by 7. This attack didn’t even have any lingering health drain.
Levi turned to close the distance. This time, instead of an attack, the boss cast a spell that pulsed briefly white, then dissolved into its own chest. Levi couldn’t see what the spell did. A subtle buff? That could be dangerous, but he didn’t have time to worry over it.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 42%
With Levi now taking the boss’s full attention, Gremlin Two resumed the attack. His health was much lower than Levi’s and dropping steadily from the corrosive dart attacks he’d taken during the brief time he’d held the aggro.
For a second, Levi considered ordering him to retreat. Gremlins simply were not sturdy enough to last long in boss fights. Unsurprising, really; if the boss and Levi were roughly equal in strength and Levi could dominate a gremlin without much effort, then the goblin shaman could do the same.
He didn’t like the thought of losing his new minion so soon. Of course, he did have another option. He should have thought of it sooner.
“Two, get over here!”
His gremlin obligingly broke off his attack and scampered over, head tilted in query.
Levi shoved a restorative potion into his hands and pointed to the far wall. “Go over there, drink this, then rejoin the fight when you’re better.”
The boss took full advantage of the break in Levi’s defense. A bolt of green fire slammed into him, blasting him off his feet and setting his outer layer of protective clothing on fire.
Levi unzipped and threw off the flaming jacket, rolling back to his feet in the same motion. The attack only did minimal damage to his exposed face, the layers of clothing protecting him from much of the fire.
So the boss’s flare attack could be used only once a minute, otherwise it would have been burning it repeatedly while Levi and Gremlin Two had worn it down before. All of its other spells required that staff.
So, back to plan A: get the staff away, or at least tie it up. Levi charged back in.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 28%
This time, the goblin didn't have the mana capacity to do anything.
His timing flawless, Levi dove in, grabbed the staff without slowing, and tugged sharply as he barreled past, using his momentum to the full.
The goblin screeched in outrage and gripped the staff tighter, refusing to relent.
Levi swung the staff around in both hands, the goblin still clinging to its middle, and slammed it down onto his knee.
The goblin howled as the impact crushed its fingers against its staff. It kicked violently, clawing at Levi with its feet, still unwilling to let go of its weapon.
The staff began to glow.
Levi smashed it down again. This time something cracked. Light began to shine through the splintering wood under the furious goblin’s hands. It fired a series of quick mana darts, all at close range. Levi gritted his teeth and ignored their corrosive effect, slamming the staff down over his knee one final time.
It broke apart with a resounding crack, the blast of magical energy released hurling both Levi and the goblin away.
Level 1+
(Goblin Shaman)
Health 12%
The goblin screamed in wordless rage, raising both its hands above its head as it staggered unsteadily.
Two barreled into the creature pointy-end first, knocking it off balance and hurling it to the ground.
Levi grabbed the nearest stones and got back to skull-smacking.
The goblin's staffless state relegated it only to what it could do by hand, and its mana was clearly spent. It took only moments to bring its health down to 4%.
Staff shattered, the goblin shaman lay helpless and vulnerable, pinned beneath Levi’s knee. It still bit, clawed, snarled, and would invoke its magical aura in another 40 seconds, but for the moment it posed no threat to them.
“Serve me,” ordered Levi, activating Tame. His mana and stamina pools dipped, but the skill returned a different message than when he’d tamed Gremlin Two.
RESISTED
Well, he still had plenty of mana and stamina to play with, and potions to replenish each if necessary.
He tried again. “Join me.”
RESISTED
“Stop resisting.”
RESISTED
He glanced at the ‘+’ next to the goblin’s level. Perhaps plus status meant more than simply a massive health multiplier over other creatures of the same level.
He continued casting Tame until he’d exhausted his mana supply, and the shaman continued to resist every attempt.
Looked like bosses weren't meant to be minions.
He considered drinking a mana restorative and continuing his attempts, but the bedazzling effects of absorbing mana in such a concentrated form might be enough to allow his prisoner to strike back. He'd learned long ago that the temporary blindness and sensory overload caused by mana potions could be just as dangerous during a fight as the physical weakness caused by health restoratives.
Finally admitting defeat, Levi stomped the goblin’s skull in, finishing off its last remaining health. It would have been nice to collect his own army of overpowered dungeon bosses, but it looked like he'd have to make do without. At least for now.
He’d try again in the next dungeon, test whether magic-type bosses specifically were resistant, or it applied to all plus types. And if that didn’t work, he could wait until he evolved his class. Summoners had no such limitations, he knew. Summoners could bind anything, even the demonic invaders who didn’t rely on the system for their magics.
Even a normal army would be an improvement on the past, but Levi still hoped for more once his class evolved. He’d seen Summoners with seriously impressive entourages in the past.
But if he was going to be any use as a Summoner, he needed to reach his evolution before 10/24. Rushing through the first tier of levels remained his top priority.
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