In little to no time, Adama closed in on his destination. The Big Wall of Grief was the final leg of the journey through the Middle Floors. It stood in an enormous room and spawned the Monster Rex, Goliath. It represented the final challenge any adventurer needed to overcome before journeying further into the depths of the Dungeon. The Monster Rex was estimated to be Level 4 individually, which would probably be a bit too ambitious for even Adama to try to tackle. Fortunately, he would need to do no such thing. He had it on good authority that the Monster Rex had been killed just a week ago, and it took exactly 2 weeks for the fiend to respawn.
He whistled a tune as he approached the large room, the only obstacle between him and the Under Resort. The plan was looking to be going perfectly as he made his way down the crystal laden path. And then the world around him began to crack. Simultaneous sounds of groaning rock echoed throughout the underground passage as holes opened around him and beyond. This was the only warning he received before he took a punch from behind, sending him sailing right through the last bit of the path and into the large boss room beyond.
Adama’s instincts were as sharp as his blade, however, and he had managed to turn around and get the flat of his blade between himself and the strike. Even so, the heaviness of the blow surprised him and sent him flying as he hadn’t had the time to properly brace himself. Midair, he dug his sword into the ground and forced himself to a stop, glaring back at the path from whence he came in pure annoyance.
It seemed that the bull men of the Dungeon hadn’t had enough of trying to ambush him, but this time they had come prepared. 8 newly spawned burly figures trundled into to room, all of them bellowing out war cries and rushing after their newfound prey. One of them had skin of the deepest burgundy and stood larger than the rest. It fixed its eyes on Adama in undisguised bloodlust, raising an enormous stone club and howling to exhort its fellows to run down the intruder. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this fellow had been the one to punch him, and Adama grinned menacingly as he planned to return the favor.
There was a chance, of course, that he could run into the 18th floor and try to lose them there. Minotaurs were not known for their outstanding speed, after all. But running wasn’t exactly his favored strategy either. If they ran him down as he tried to retreat, he would be in trouble. And, more importantly, running just wasn’t in his DNA. He had died running once, and every fiber of his being rejected the feeling of that memory. He would stand and fight.
The wide-open room gave him plenty of room to move around, however, so move around he did. If he let enemies of this caliber surround him, they would beat him to death, so he used the distance between them to string them along, letting out Rippling Swords at the fastest Minotaurs who got the closest to him. This strategy saw several of the enemy wounded before they even touched him. A well-aimed spell downed one of the leading monsters when it was too slow to bring its weapon up to block. Blood spurted from its open neck, and soon the enemy decided to change tactics.
Realizing that they couldn’t surround the adventurer, they lined up horizontally to Adama and began hurling whatever they could pick up at him. Rocks, dirt, and crystals were all suddenly hurtling toward the lone swordsman, putting him immediately on the defensive. Some even began disassembling the body of their fallen comrade and throwing pieces of it as well. Adama navigated the barrage of projectiles with grace and skill, weaving and dodging and cutting his way through everything they sent at him. But the attacks were relentless and eventually one or two started to land home. His armor took the blows well, but each dull thud on his chest or shoulder threatened to disrupt his concentration. This couldn’t go on forever.
Changing gears, he began sprinting towards the line of enemies. As he did, he began the chant for the Endless Sword once again. Acting on reflex, many of the Minotaurs converged on the chanting swordsman charging their position, seeking to disrupt the threat. But the magic didn’t take long to complete, and just as they drew within striking range, Adama reached the final bar of his song:
“Skill of a Sage, the End-“
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Then, in a flash of dark lightning, the Minotaur leader was there. It had closed the distance faster than anyone else. In an uncommon display of agility, and an uncanny use of timing, it had gotten right in his face at the critical moment. It swung its club in a perfectly timed uppercut just as Adama completed his chant:
“-less Sword.”
He was forced to take the attack directly on his blade, and the force behind it launched him upward at the least opportune time. His magic burst into effect in mid-air, cutting weakly at the heads and shoulders of the enemies below. They were outside his most effective range, so most of them only received minor damage as he sailed away, his most powerful attack rendered largely impotent.
It was at that point, however, that Adama finally caught a lucky break.
The Minotaur leader, who had saved his followers from death or serious injury, had been the closest to Tim after the completion of the magic. That meant that he had gotten the worst of it, and one of the cuts in that random storm of blades had reached the monster’s most vulnerable place. Its eye. The red orb was mercilessly slashed by the dregs of the green energy, sending its owner into a panicked frenzy. Even the most hardened of killers would be caught off guard at the pain and the confusion caused by the loss of an eye. Even in the air, Adama saw this and moved to take advantage. One of his midair Rippling Swords slashed the neck of a lesser Minotaur, who had obstructed his line of sight, but the second attack landed home. It struck the Irregular monster right in the vulnerable flesh of its inner right elbow, severing its arm outright.
The beast howled in pain as Adama fought to right himself, but he had another problem.
The five remaining monsters had seen him go flying and begun to chase him, leaving the newly formed corpse of one of their kin and their maimed leader behind them. Adama had been given some serious lift, and he hung aloft for a subjective eternity. His trajectory was obvious, and the monsters were racing to the projected spot of his landing. If they caught him there, he would be truly surrounded. Time stood still as Adama’s mind raced to find a solution. Thinking fast, he realized that he had gained so much height he was nearing the crystal suffused ceiling. Just before he began to fall, he twisted around and dug his sword into those crystals, arresting his momentum violently.
The foolish bull monsters stared up at him, gaping. He favored them with another fierce grin before he began to chant again. His core tense and chest tight from holding onto the ceiling, he strained a bit to get the words out. But he got them out all the same. By the time the monsters realized they were in danger, Adama was already nearing the end of his song. Extracting his sword from the hardened crystals, he flipped himself around and struck the ceiling with his legs. He plummeted downward sword first, sticking his arms outward in a vertical dive.
His timing was impeccable. He finished screaming out “Endless Sword!” just as his blade was thrust into the midst of the monsters. The maelstrom of blades devastated the enemy ranks. Two monsters disappeared instantly as their magic stones were broken, and the others keeled over as their blood watered the stones, mortally wounded. Hearthblade subsequently pierced the floor, sending a shiver up Tim’s body at the impact, but he quickly fought to right himself and extract it.
And then his world went white.
As he was on the ceiling, chanting, the Minotaur leader finally got its bearings. It tore off the arm of its fallen brethren and started running towards Adama as he began falling. It was still running as Adama struggled to orient himself, and the monster used all its momentum to throw the disembodied arm. Its aim was true, and the projectile glanced off Tim’s head, sending him staggering and preventing him from retrieving his blade. Picking up steam, the Minotaur landed a kick on the beleaguered adventurer’s ribs, launching the man’s body into the wall.
Adama crashed onto the stone, the impact forcing him to cough up blood. His vision was hazy, but he fought tooth and nail to regain his focus. Miraculously, the world snapped into focus just in time to see the beast’s foot hurtling towards his head. Adama narrowly managed to get out of the way before his head was crushed like a melon, pushing off the ground and out of the way of the strike. The Minotaur tried to keep the pressure up, but Tim had moved into his blind spot. He rotated towards the beasts destroyed eye as the monster tried to turn to face him. He unleashed a Rippling Sword with his nails, cutting into the creature’s undefended neck.
It wasn’t a decisive blow, as it didn’t come from his sword, but the Minotaur did flinch at the unexpected pain in a vulnerable place. And that was all Adama needed. He kicked the creature in the side of its exposed leg with all his might, eliciting a loud crack and forcing the monster to one knee. The Minotaur tried to hit back with its remaining arm, but Tim deflected the blow and countered, punching the beast in its now exposed throat. That stunned the beast for long enough that Adama was able to reach up and grab it by the horns. The monster’s one good eye widened in fear for the last time, as Adama twisted its neck in one fatal snap.
Gasping in exhaustion and pain, Adama gulped down both Mind and Healing potions and he waddled over to retrieve his sword. Afterwards, he walked around gathering the spoils of his hard-won victory. All their bodies yielded nothing but magic stones. Except for the leader.
He left behind a piece of Minotaur's skin.
With no horn in sight, his quest to slay Minotaurs continued. When he realized as much, despite himself, he smiled.
And he began to chuckle.