Claire loosed her arrow. Against any normal beast, it would have been perfect — a direct hit.
Against the [Dissolutaur], its jellied head warped around the arrow, sucking it through and passing it out the other side in a goopy mess.
Wouldn’t be recovering that one.
Unperturbed, she nocked another arrow, sending it deep into the flesh just below the beast’s ring of dripping tusks. Although it slowed, I could tell that wasn’t the place I should aim.
I clambered over my hiding place, readying my spear and shield in the stance Esko had shown me. The acid from our foe could probably melt through my {Wooden Shield} in a second, but I kept it up at my chin, building a good habit.
With my speartip lowered, I charged to meet the monster. Its attention turned to me, and I knew I was about to succeed, or be drastically, painfully wrong.
The burned skin.
The beast’s constant, raw wounds were undoubtedly my target. If I was correct, and it was the constant dripping of acid onto its own skin that sent it into this craze, a spear thrust was bound to hurt it a lot.
My only prayer was that a Level 38 monster wasn’t too strong for my spear. It would be a terrible test-run if the first monster I ran into already surpassed my new weapon.
Luckily, it did not.
Whether I struck in exactly the right place or not, the [Dissolutaur] still exploded.
Like, everywhere.
Fragments of tusks blasted their way into the smooth stone walls. Remnant drops of acid sprayed from the beast, quickly fading before they could do any damage. The translucent jelly covering my shield fizzed for a moment, then followed suit.
{You have defeated a Level 38 Dissolutaur.}{+142 EXP, +1 Dissolutaur Jelly}
Claire was ecstatic.
“One hundred and forty-two EXP? Are you freakin’ kidding me Ollie? You one-shot that thing!”
I was in shock, too. One lucky jab was all it took to earn EXP equivalent to twenty-three bread-delivery quests, or twenty-eight bouquet deliveries.
My ‘Liberate the Yard’ quest was becoming less impressive every day. I just couldn’t stop finding new ways to earn EXP.
And that was while partied-up with Claire — potentially halving my EXP gain.
After an appropriate amount of celebration, we continued through the dungeon. There were more [Dissolutaurs], and Claire snagged a few beetle-like monsters called [Crallapods]. The small, mauve monster didn’t put up much of a fight, and consequently didn’t earn us much EXP.
But the [Dissolutaurs] didn’t disappoint.
{You have defeated a Level 33 Dissolutaur.}{+120 EXP, +1 Dissolutaur Jelly}
{You have defeated a Level 36 Dissolutaur.}{+134 EXP}
{You have defeated a Level 24 Dissolutaur.}{+98 EXP}
{You have defeated a Level 38 Dissolutaur.}{+142 EXP}
LEVEL UP! Your new Level is: Level 5!
Attributable Stat Points: (2)
Attributable Skill Tokens: (1)
Access the ‘Stats’ screen to boost your potential!
LEVEL UP! Your new Level is: Level 6!
Attributable Stat Points: (4)
Attributable Skill Tokens: (2)
Access the ‘Stats’ screen to boost your potential!
The levels were rolling in once again, with less than half an hour of effort. Only a day or two ago, Claire and I had spent hours in the fields south of the Yard, grinding out [Darthogs] and [Goblins] until we couldn’t stand the sight of them. Thousands and thousands of other players were out there doing the same, assuming that there were no better options.
But Claire had found one. And I’d brought the firepower to get it done.
The caverns were opening up, and there was no longer just one path to follow. I enjoyed the backtracking, because it meant that we fought more monsters and earned more EXP. At times, swarms would attack us all at once, which made Claire’s paralysis arrows invaluable. I was fine in a one-on-one, but if I got in trouble, I only had one [Dash] to get me out of danger.
[Arc Strike] could also deliver a short Stun, but by the time I snatched the javelin from my back and threw it, my time would be up.
At last, we found our way to a cavern that could be nothing but a boss room.
Video-game law basically said so.
Two giant braziers sat outside, throwing out green beams that shone directly into the bejewelled eyes of a snake statue. The hazy mist that initiated us into the dungeon also hung here, a strong indicator that once we entered the next room, shit would get real.
Claire went first, and I was forced to follow.
As is required in all spooky boss fights, human skulls gathered in piles around the room. They all faced the rear of the room, staring into one spot like an undead audience at the cinema.
Somehow, there were no other bones. Just skulls.
Ever the brave one, Claire strode forward, hurrying me along.
“I thought you wanted your lunch, man! No point farting around, let’s activate the boss so you can farm EXP for me— sorry, us.”
“Smooth. And I’m just being cautious, all right? I can’t move like you.”
“No one moves like me,” she replied, winking at me in a way that I really didn’t need at that moment. I couldn’t tell if the teasing was because she had intuited my slight ‘crush’, or if it was just Claire being Claire.
Either way, it shouldn’t have been top of mind.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
What should have grabbed my attention was the glittering haze Claire had stepped into. Immediately, a permeating hiss filled the cavern, echoing around me like I was in the belly of a snake, already swallowed.
She’d started the boss fight without even letting me prepare.
At first, I wasn’t worried. A very, very big snake wriggled out of the darkness, coming towards us with an open jaw and a flickering, forked again.
Again, it was gigantic, but really not that bad. A single arrow from Claire stunned it, and after a friendly jab with {The Glass Cannon}, it turned to smithereens.
{You have defeated Dark Naga’s 371st Servant.}{+20 EXP}
I see. Not the boss.
Then the hisses began, plural, and I reread the notification.
‘371st’ Servant.
What I’d thought was darkness was not that at all. It was a living wall of jet-black snakes, all packed up against each other in the most populous group hug I’d ever seen.
But now the seal was broken, and we had almost four hundred snakes — at least — coming towards us.
Claire nocked an arrow, and I yelled out above the constant hisssss.
“Wait! These are the Servants. They must have a Master — conserve your arrows!”
She took heed, selecting the dagger at her waist instead. She pulled it from the scabbard, showing that it was closer to a short sword than a dagger. If it were as enchanted as the rest of her gear, she’d be able to handle the Servants better than I could.
The first wave approached, testing our capabilities. I was thankful for the range, as I could maintain distance while chipping away at the horde. Claire was doing fine on her own, though I could feel the snakes separating us and surrounding us in two circles. We were fortunate to have pushed forward so far, as it gave us lots of space to back into.
Claire noticed our predicament. “Ollie! They’re pushing us apart! Try to fight through to me, I’ll meet you in the middle!”
I switched my focus, ignoring those coming at me from the front and instead throwing myself at the snakes between us. I had to [Dash] to the side as they closed in from the space I’d occupied five seconds earlier.
It wasn’t looking good.
Claire broke through to my side, simply vaulting over the last of the gap rather than fighting. We took a semi-circle each, fighting nearly back-to-back against the Servants. It was a serious step up from the [Dissolutaurs], almost certainly intended for a larger group.
The best thing about fighting almost four hundred enemies is the EXP gain. My conservative estimate was 7000 EXP if we could defeat all the Servants, and the mass of notifications I received seemed to confirm that.
I used the tiniest of lulls to check my Stats. I’d rocketed up to Level 9.
Attributable Stat Points: (0)(-12)
Strength (6) (+0)
Defence (10) (+6)
Vitality (1) (+0)
Affinity (0) (+0)
Restoration (0) (+0)
Endurance (4) (+0)
Agility (11) (+6)
Attributable Skill Tokens: (5)
1. Shield Bearer I (Passive)
Increase strength of all shields by 10%. Shield durability replenished.
2. Dash II (Ability)
Dash cooldown reduced. 2-minute cooldown.
3. Spear Charge II (Ability)
Super-charge your next two attacks, dealing double-damage on a successful strike. 4-minute cooldown.
4. Warrior’s Rage I (Passive)
Upon enemy kill, deal 4% increased Damage for 20 seconds. Refreshes with each kill. Max Stack: 25.
I couldn’t escape from the goddamn [Shield Bearer I] skill. I didn’t want it, and although [Spear Charge II] and [Warrior’s Rage I] sounded decent, neither of them would help me in this situation.
Begrudgingly, I selected [Dash II].
The stampede was almost upon me, and I had to make use of my new-and-improved [Dash] straight away. I wasn’t prepared for the boost to my Agility, and I almost sent myself straight into the jaws of one of my newest four hundred friends.
Evading them was only prolonging the inevitable. I had to spin the lottery once more and get a skill that didn’t suck. An Area of Effect Ability would save us.
“Concentrate Ollie!” Claire called. “If you die on me I’ll frickin’ kill you!”
To her chagrin, I opened the Stats screen once again. My options had refreshed, but [Shield Bearer I] and three other useless skills still taunted me. I took the stupid thing just to satisfy the system, and voila, my shield didn’t change at all.
Hope you’re happy now, B&B.
My gamble cost me. A Servant crunched its head into my thigh, knocking me off my feet onto the sharp cobblestones. Wet bodies covered me almost instantly, fighting over each other to snap up the morsel underneath them. Claire shouted, but she was too busy to do anything.
The few tons of snakes crushed down upon me, my pain receptors flaring. It was like I’d failed a bench-press, and now the bar and all its weight was steadily pushing down on my chest and lungs as my arms lost strength.
I opened the Stats screen one last time. It projected onto the writhing bodies, forcing me to read the screen only centimetres away.
The first three were awful. Out of everything I could be granted, [Shield Bearer II] and [Dash III] took away half my choices.
Someone, somewhere, had to be messing with me.
But the final option gave me hope.
Tsunami Strike I (Ability)
Deal 60% base-damage in a ten-meter radius. 30-minute cooldown.
With nothing better to choose, I clicked [Tsunami Strike I]. It was far from optimal — I couldn’t get a decent hit on any of these snakes, and if I couldn’t do that, my ‘base-damage’ would be 1.
{The Glass Cannon} was working against me already.
My right shoulder was pinned, and I could only move my forearm and wrist. I craned my neck, waiting for some kind of opportunity, unsure if one would arrive.
Then I saw it. A Servant had wriggled its way under the pack, the first to reach the tasty meal pinned below. It approached from above my head, its hiss ever-present.
Esko would hate your form, but it’s the only way.
The Servant jolted forward, squeezing all its effort into one slippery lunge. I aimed as best I could, and contracted my forearm, sending the spear towards the monster’s head.
“[Tsunami Strike]!”
At first, nothing happened.
Then everything happened.
The Ability started small, merely liquifying the bodies of those nearest my spear-tip. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that I’d done enough damage to kill them.
It expanded, the energy from the tsunami ripping apart all the snakes between Claire and me. The skill presented only as a pulsating energy, ebbing and flowing as it destroyed the Servants.
After about ten seconds, the tsunami subsided. Piles of snakes swarmed us in that time, and they’d all been desecrated. It was safe to say that I’d levelled up once or twice.
Claire didn’t stop, already taking out the few remnant Servants. I helped out as best I could, but I could still feel the jabbing pain of being crushed.
“Claire! You still got one of those potions from when you got crushed? Could do with one!”
She darted her way back over, neatly decapitating our last opponent. Her backpack wasn’t with her, so I didn’t like my chances.
“Sure thing Mr Last Minute. Here.”
A red vial appeared in her hand. Apparently, she’d worked out her Inventory system a bit better than I had.
I took it, gratefully chugging down the liquid. It smelled like mint but tasted like raspberry soda.
“Thanks. That’s actually amazing stuff.”
“No probs. Get yourself together though, I think we woke up whoever’s the Master of those things.”
I took deep breaths, rejoicing that my lungs were no longer caved in. Sure enough, there was movement deep inside the place we’d thought was darkness.
This one didn’t hiss, but the sound of a monstrous slithering body was evidence enough of what we’d be facing. A jet-black snake eased its way onto the battlefield, easily a hundred times larger than our previous foes. The bodies of its Servants had all disintegrated, clearing the way dutifully for their Master.
[Dark Naga : Level 80]
The real fight had just begun.