A line of destruction sliced through the basketball court, destroying all in its path. The boss, though, blocked it with both arms. Unable to completely stop the force of the strike, he was pushed back, plowing through the floor like a tractor, and still he didn’t appear to have been even remotely hurt.
For the last several minutes, the trio had thrown everything they could at him, and hadn’t gotten close to threatening him. All the wounds they’d done—and there were several of them—were insignificant, neither slowing nor weakening the man’s actions. That included a vertical chop capable of destroying walls.
“It has to be a skill,” Will said as the boss lowered his arms. Both of them were already bloody from other attacks, making it unclear whether the last had caused any new wounds at all.
“Just one, bro?” one of Alex’s copies asked. “I stabbed him five times at least. That’s more than one skill.”
Clearly, they had reached the next skill wall. The first time Will had faced a wolf, the beasts seemed undefeatable. Similar things could be said for several of the elites. This run, thanks to careful planning, three of the group had significantly leveled up and had pretty good luck with the random skills, and still they appeared to be powerless.
The hidden boss didn’t seem to have an obvious pattern, discernable weaknesses, or apparent flaws. He was fast, strong, and considerably more durable than a level eight knight. The only reason he hadn’t managed to bring about the loop’s end was the self-preservation instincts of everyone involved. Alex was hiding among his copies, as a thief would. Helen made it a point to use her acrobatics skill to retreat following each of her attacks. As for Will, he maintained a thirty-foot distance between the monster and himself. There were only two problems with that: in the case of a stalemate, the defender always won, and despite appearances, the hidden boss was the defender.
“He must have regeneration,” Helen said, breathing heavily. “There’s no way anyone could lose that much blood.”
“There’s no way bones could withstand your knight’s bash, either,” Will added.
Seeing them talk, Spatra took advantage of the momentary pause to grab the remaining seven spears from his quiver and throw them at Helen in rapid succession.
In her state, the girl was less mobile than any of her teammates, making her an easy target.
Without warning, copies of Alex emerged out of thin air, shattering as the spears pieced them. It wasn’t much, but each copy slowed down the projectile ever so slightly, allowing the girl to somersault into the air without getting hit.
Daring to risk it, Will chose that precise moment to leap twenty feet closer to the man and threw his dagger in the hidden boss’s shoulder.
“Bro, don’t!” Alex shouted.
POISON IGNORED
“Damn!” Will said beneath his breath as he leapt out of reach again. The bad part was that he didn’t have a weapon anymore.
“Poison Spear, bro,” all the mirror copies shouted simultaneously.
“Well, he doesn’t have spears anymore.”
Come to think of it, he’d never seen a skill relating to spear use. Either it was something extremely rare, or there had to be a spearman class among the twenty-four.
The hidden boss grabbed Will’s knife and pulled it out of his shoulder. For several seconds, he examined the weapon, then unceremoniously snapped it in two, breaking the blade off the hilt.
DUAL-FANG DAGGER DESTROYED
Will watched in horror as his unique weapon was rendered useless. Not once had there been any indication that something of the sort could happen. Everything so far had pointed to their weapons being permanent, at least as long as the tutorial lasted. That illusion had just now been shattered.
It was just a dagger, but it made Will feel as if ice was forming in his stomach. That was the first piece of loot they’d come across. It had meant something, and now it was no more.
“At least he doesn’t have a weapon,” Alex said in an attempt to find the positive. “Should be better for us.”
No sooner had he said that than Spatra took out a small object from his trouser pocket. Before everyone’s eyes was a mirror fragment, no different than the ones Helen and Will had obtained. Cold hatred burning in his eyes, the hidden boss tapped on its surface.
“Did you know they could have fragments?” Will asked, as he took out one of his all-purpose knives.
“First time, bro,” Alex said. “That’s why he’s a boss. Stronger than the usual mobs.”
Things didn’t end there. After a few taps, the figure’s hand sunk into the fragment, taking out an ornate grand spear. The thing seemed so long it could be used for pole vaulting. The tip on top was nothing less than a serrated machette splashed with purple liquid—possibly poison. Gems, along with gold and silver, covered the shaft, several of them covered in a low glow.
“Shit, get back!” Alex’s copies rushed forward, creating a wall between the boss and everyone else.
“What’s going on?” Will asked.
“Phase two.”
Spatra put the mirror fragment away and spun the spear around him. The action was so fast that it created several after images.
If that really was an unknown class, speed had to be its main benefit. Thankfully, it didn’t seem as if he had the ability to jump. They had seen that ranged throwing remained an option, as was expertise in spears. One could also assume that he had a few random skills as well.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Poison immunity and regeneration, Will thought. It also didn’t look like Spatra was one bit tired, suggesting his endurance was on par with that of Helen’s.
“I’m open to ideas,” Will said.
“Go for the eyes?” Several of the Alexes suggested.
“Or the head,” Helen added in determination. “
“That thing is ten feet long, sis. How will you get close to strike?”
Suddenly, an epiphany came to Will. The experience of facing the snake monster while having three different classes had allowed him to see what he otherwise would have never considered. It was more than just learning the strengths of the other classes, but how to combine them in order to achieve something far greater than the individual parts.
“Alex, distract him!” He said, leaping in Helen’s direction. “I have an idea.”
Seeing that something was amiss, the hidden boss ran into action. Dozens of mirror copies were shattered in one single arc strike of the spear. Thankfully, dozens more appeared out of thin air, charging at the man. Even so, it was impossible to contain him.
Both Helen and Will leaped away in opposite directions, moments before Spatra thrust his spear forward. The poisonous tip went through the many copies, reaching a distance far greater than any of them had perceived in their mind’s eye.
“We need to get together,” Will shouted. “Go round the other end.”
On cue, Spatra did a one-eighty, thrusting his spear forward again. The attack wasn’t remotely close, but it served as a warning.
“He doesn’t want to let us,” Helen said.
“That’s because he knows what I’m about to do.” It wasn’t going to be easy to surprise him.
“It ain’t dumb, bro,” Alex said. “It’s probably listening to anything you say. We must talk in code or Latin, or something.”
“Who knows Latin?” Will threw the knife he was holding, then several more. The boss deflected him with his shaft without issue.
“I was bored, bro,” the goofball said apologetically. “Nothing interesting happened before you showed up.”
Twenty mirror copies charged forward.
STAB
Surprise attack.
Damage increased by 1000%
Wound inflicted.
Several of them managed to survive long enough to actually strike their target in an unprotected spot. Even that didn’t matter, since Spatra had the annoying ability to ignore any wounds he received. That had never been the point of the attack, though. Alex was just continuing with what Will had asked him to do, and was doing it well. Now, it was just a matter of taking advantage.
“Hel,” Will shouted, attempting to circle round the boss. “Just like the snake. I’ll meet you halfway.”
Suspecting something, the enemy ignored the copies’ attacks and moved to remain in sync with the boy.
“Trust me,” Will added.
The ornate spear split the air, aiming to strike Will in the leg. That’s when the boy made his move.
Twisting in place, he evaded the attack, then leapt in the direction of his attacker. On the other side, Helen did the same.
As adrenaline kicked in, both floated in the air as if in slow motion. Will threw all knives he had left, then tossed his backpack.
The spear thrusts continued. The poisonous tip ripped the air, passing inches from Will on several occasions. Purely thanks to his evasion skill, did he manage to twist his body just in time to evade it. On one occasion, the tip even bounced off the metal knee guard, absorbing the full force of the attack.
It really was useful, Will thought as he reached the point right above Spatra.
Helen was only a foot away, gripping her sword with both hands. She had no idea exactly what Will was planning, but had decided to trust him. This was the make or break moment.
“Aim for the head,” Will whispered as he took hold of her left arm, twisting his body so he got behind her. “I’ll tell you when to let go.” His other hand reached out behind her. Both his arms had gotten hold of her forearms, transforming the pair into one unit.
Helen could feel Will’s guidance, waiting for the massive sword to rise above their heads, then swinging downwards.
At precisely the right moment, Will tightened his grip. Fifteen feet above the hidden boss, the sword was let go, thrusting straight down.
From this distance, there was nothing Spatra could do. His spear was held in such a position that he couldn’t deflect the sword on time.
KNIGHT’s BASH
Damage increased by 500%
Armor shattered
Armor? Will thought, looking down.
In the very last moment, the hidden boss had managed to arch backwards, letting the sword hit him in the chest.
The strength of the attack remained massive, but instead of a lethal blow in the head, it had merely removed the man’s protection. After all that, he had still managed to survive.
“Hold tight, bros!”
A new wave of Alexes emerged, swarming the boss like an avalanche. Several of them leaped up in fast, albeit clumsy fashion. It was rather that they were jumping during a sprint than doing anything else, but even so, through mass and effort alone, managed to change the downward trajectory of Will and Helen, allowing them to land ten feet away from the enemy.
At that point, Will took the initiative again, leaping further back with Helen. The strain was significant, but thanks to the belt he was wearing, the pain didn’t seem so bad.
“Good plan,” the girl whispered.
Will let go of her, then shook his head. No one could argue that the plan had achieved a lot, but it had failed its main goal. The boss had survived. The attack had left him armor-less and slightly disoriented, but that wouldn’t last for long.
“Alex, fetch the sword!” he shouted.
“I’m a bit low on mirrors, bro,” a voice replied. What used to be dozens of mirror copies had been reduced to five, each keeping their distance. It was a good chance that the real Alex was among them. “Don’t think I can pull it off.”
“Damn it!” Will hissed.
He wasn’t angry that they had failed, but that they were so close. If only they had been a second faster… if only the boss hadn’t moved at the last moment, this could have been the end of it. Now, they had earned second place, and in a duel, second place was the same as failing.
The albino turned in their direction. Without his torso armor, he seemed even whiter, as if he were a living statue of marble. Maybe that would explain his high resistance to physical attacks.
A slight smile formed on his otherwise stoic face as if saying, “nice try, kids.” At this point, they were entirely at his mercy. None of them had any weapons or surprises left. All they could do was to prolong the inevitable until one of them fell victim to his spear, or the loop came to an end.
A whooshing sound broke the silence, followed by a dull thump. The tip of a somewhat sharp bolt emerged from the boss’ chest along with a burst of blood.
Confusion covered everyone’s faces, but Spatra’s most of all. The large man looked down in utter disbelief, then back at Will before collapsing on the floor.
HIDDEN BOSS REWARD (set)
MASS INVENTORY SLOT INCREASE (permanent): inventory slots increased to 48.
A message appeared on the backboard mirror in large purple letters.
“Fucker,” Jace said from the entrance, holding what looked like a miniature cross between a harpoon gun and a crossbow. “Now anyone tell me I’m useless,” he added with a smirk.