Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)
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pat.treon:/Keanu_Eugene
CHAPTER START---
The sounds of explosions rocked the boss room and connecting corridors.
Tiona, Welf, and Thalie stared with wide, unblinking eyes as Yang and Udaeus kept clashing fists for minutes, neither giving an inch.
'C'mon C'mon C'mon!' Yang's inner voice screamed as he kept clashing with the monster rex's fists.
In the exchange of blows, they both understood what this means. Who would give first, they both had more than just their hands, but the first to summon soldiers or use magic would be the loser in this clash.
But Yang's been training, all day every day since he got cleared by Airmid, he had more than just magic.
Taking short ragged breaths, he pushed his body further and further. His adrenaline began pumping more and more, his physical stats raising beside it. There was a hard limit to how big of an increase his new skill Adrenal Overdrive, once it triggers it can't be turned off until he completely calmed down, but he didn't need to worry about that here.
His gauntlets glowed brighter and brighter as he poured more and more magic into them, doing all he could to take an inch in this tug of war.
*CRACK*
The sound of bones breaking is heard.
*BOOM*
Udaeus's right hand is shattered under the force of Yang's amplified strikes.
Up to the wrist is gone in an instant, the unexpected event caused Yang to stumble as the force of his strike kept pushing him forward.
The monster's left hand immediately took the chance and punted him across the room, ragdolling him across the floor and crushing all the protruding boulders in his way.
The recently melted and cooled floor falling apart with the force of his body as he skips across it like a stone across a lake, up unit he's embedded into the wall of the room.
"RRRAAAAAAHHHH!"
Udeaus releases an ear-splitting battle cry, placing his left hand, his one remaining hand onto the stone floor, as he raises his hand the hilt of a jet black longsword rises a few feet below it, the blade forming out of the stone floor causing the weapon to rise all the way up to his shoulder.
The weapon was thin, it's blade looked as if it were made of thin ovals rather than one long rectangle. Within the center of the hilt was one red orb much like the monster had in place of all his joints. The handguards resembling the horns on his head as the orb in the sword is hidden within a skull just like Udeaus's.
Much like a rapier, it wasn't meant for large battles, it was meant for precision in duels. Udeaus wasn't the kind of king to charge into armies. He wasn't a conqueror therefore he had no legs, he didn't need to move. Enemies would come toward him because HE IS the evil king of the 37th floor. His presence incite challenge in all who want the crown.
He has no legs because he doesn't have to debase himself by seeking anyone out, they will come to him. He had a rapier-like blade because swaths of enemies couldn't challenge him for the crown, it can only be won in a duel.
As Yang felt the power radiating off the king and his weapon, all these feelings were conveyed. All the adventurers nearby could feel it. Udeaus was, for the second time in know history, giving his all against a challenger.
Prying himself out of the wall, Yang stared down at the monster as Udeaus turned toward him. Raising his sword above his head, he brought it down with extreme speed, speed unexpected from a monster that size, but speed Yang was already used to after their brawl earlier.
As the sword struck the ground, a massive cone of the floor was obliterated. The shockwave destroyed everything as Yang quickly flew out of the danger zone. The gloves were off now, the sword was out and that meant Udeaus wanted his challenger at his best.
As the dust settles, Yang stands across the battlefield from his opponent. His elemental wheel out as mage armor rages on his body.
The elemental wheel now split, half containing blue flames as the other half has swirling green wind, some of the progress he made after his last training trip in the dungeon.
His allies couldn't help but stare at him, Tiona was impressed by his magic, but his team knew how much this change meant.
With a massive leap, the ground beneath his feet becomes a burnt crater as he rockets toward Udeaus.
The monster swings his sword, expecting another clash.
Yang alters his course slightly, ignoring the sword swing as the massive blade narrowly misses.
As the sword hits the ground once more, the newly summoned spartoi soldiers are obliterated. They became non-factors the moment the mage armor came out, Yang didn't even pay them any mind as he flew toward the king's head.
With wind and fire swirling around his fist, he strikes out at the boss's head, only for Udeaus to headbutt the adventurer with one of his massive black horns.
The struggle sent waves of heat across the room, concentrated at the point of contact to the extent that the other adventurers could barely feel it, but still enough heat and force to decide the outcome.
*CRACK*
The horn shattered.
Yang flew past the monster as its head almost slammed forward into the floor from the force it was putting into the headbutt.
In mid-air, before he hit the wall of the room, in one smooth motion he tumbles, doing a complete 180 before rocking down toward the monster.
Before he can cover much distance for a follow-up hit, dozens of black lances shoot out of the ground, massive spikes form and move to impale him.
His eyes open in surprise as he begins evading what he can and smashing what he can't.
A wall of black spikes blocks his view for an instant before a large blade cuts through all the spikes and closes in on his head.
Raising his hands, he gets knocked through another wall of the spikes that raised behind him.
"Agh...not...that bad, honestly," he mutters to himself, realizing Udeaus wasn't doing as much damage as he expected, surprising even himself as he expected more.
With a smile on his face, he rockets toward Udeaus to test how powerful the monster really is. All the orbs in the monster glow bright red, as if realizing what's about to happen.
Lightning-fast sword swings are met and matched with punches from Yang's gauntlets.
Using two elements that complement each other he constantly flies around and attacks at various angles forcing the monster to defend.
Every time Udeaus isn't quick enough, he gets punished.
First, his entire left arm is destroyed up to the shoulder.
Then his jaw.
Then the left side of his ribcage.
Finally, after systematically dismantling the boss, Yang hovers in the air and stares at him with bored eyes, almost disappointed at his opponent.
In one last attack, he rockets down directly at the monster's skull.
Both hands forward and flames at his feet pushing him as fast as possible.
Udeaus isn't fast enough to intercept his path with a sword swing, the blade is too late as the adventurer smashes the monster's skull.
Udeaus falls lifeless on the ground, shattering into pieces but not disappearing as Yang avoided the monster stone.
Jumping out of a large crater he formed at the point of impact on the stone floor, Yang looks around to see bits and pieces of the massive black skeleton that was his opponent, a frown on his face.
He didn't feel the rush that killing Amphisbaena or the gold dragon gave, this wasn't enough of a challenge. The fact that he wasn't too out of breath was enough, but he still hoped that the falna would think otherwise.
He put a hand over the left side of his chest, there wasn't a burning sensation within like before, he had to go even further than this.
"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Tiona yells out as she runs over with his team, wrapped tightly in his coat still.
"Uh, thanks," Yang begins to walk to the monster crystal, with some effort he shatters the bone cage around it and frees it in one piece.
"Damn, that's big..." Welf says as the monster disappears, the smith currently staring at the sword on the floor that's not turning to ash.
"Looks like you won't need to do this again then huh, how you feeling?" Thalie asks as she looks over at Yang.
"Eh, I could do it again right now, he was kinda disappointing if I'm being honest," he shrugs while walking over to the sword with her and Tiona.
"Way to set the bar for us level 5s, hope nobody expects US to do that," Thalie says while shooting a look at Tiona.
"Meh, I can't store this thing so... looks like I've gotta carry it, shit..."
"Yup just like us regular people, how will you ever manage," Tiona teases him as she looks at the sword.
"This means I can finally get started on the weapon of yours, I've almost got the design figured out..." Welf says while inspecting the sword.
"Wait, you guys knew it had this then... how? I've never seen this before and we killed Udeaus a bunch!" Tiona finally catches on.
"Some things like a challenge and fight harder because of it, you attacking him with 20 people isn't a proper kings challenge," Yang casually replies as he begins dragging the massive 30ft sword behind him.
"Is that how you level up so fast?" Tiona asks as they all begin to walk to the exit.
"Nah, I'm just a freak like that, you guys saw my Falna remember, if it was on there Riveria would have figured it out, I'm just built different," he gives her a teasing smile.
"Meh, whatever. I'll level up in my own way."
"Good girl. Hey, how did you guys handle my big attacks from the fight, all good?"
"My sword handled the heat pretty well honestly, definitely takes all my focus with my level of skill, the cold, however..." Welf winces a bit as he recalls that attack.
"We had to run down the corridor, and barefoot over here needed a potion for her feet because she froze to the floor," Thalie informs him.
Taking a glance at Tiona, Yang finally realizes that yes she was in fact barefoot.
"Dumbass, if one of these floors has lava what's your plan?" He questions her.
"Well, hasn't happened yet, so best not worry about it!" Her response was as happy as ever.
"Might as well challenge the dungeon naked if that's your mindset..." he mumbles as they walk into the 38th floor.
"You three are upfront, kill anything in our way, when we get to the safe zone we'll deal with this thing and contact Hephaestus," he commands his team, allowing them to escort him to the safe zone while carrying the massive sword.
During the trek to the safe zone, nothing stood in their way for long as Welf, Thalie, and Tiona kept the path clear for Yang to carry the massive drop item.
Entering the safe zone, they all released a deep breath, finally getting to relax even if it's only a little bit considering monsters from the lower floors can still enter this floor.
"Ok let's make the camping spot, been wanting to try this," Yang says as he leads them over to an open area in the safe zone.
Dropping his cargo, he places both his hands on the ground and focuses on the grassy area of the forest in front of him for a few minutes.
At a far end of the safe zone where they can see the entrance to the upper and lower floor, the Trifecta and Tiona feel the ground below them shake.
A massive pillar rises out of the ground, as large as the base of Babel and a few stories high.
He raised their camping spot above the trees for them to overlook the forest below.
With another pulse of magic smaller blocks rise out of the ground at two sides of the plateau to form stairs. Wide enough for adventurers to carry the cargo up with ease.
"And the finishing touch," he slams his palm into the floor, the sound of rocks falling over the side is heard but nothing at the top changes.
"Wow..." Welf and Tiona were amazed by the sudden camping spot they had.
"Kinda high up here...." Thalie mutters as she looks at the edge with some apprehension.
"I can lower it if you want."
"NO! I mean, I'll manage. It's safer up here anyway..." she tries to say convincingly, failing miserably.
"Just tell me if you need it changed, check over the side guys," he nods at Welf and Tiona.
As they jump down to the floor below and look at the plateau, the Hephaestus and Trifecta symbols are carved into the side of the large plateau, clearly showing off who made it.
"Damn," Was all Welf could say.
"What's the second symbol?" Tiona asks.
"That's our team's symbol, the Trifecta," Welf informs her as they begin walking up the stairs.
"Awe, wish my team had one of those..." she whines.
"You don't have a team exactly, you're just Loki's executives remember."
"Oh, right, guess I'm so used to the same few people in meetings for the past few years, it hasn't felt like we've been the top of some big familia. We haven't gotten a new first-class adventurer in years..." she reminisces as they make it back to the top of the plateau.
"Well, I hope you're liking the change of pace we bring."
"Yeah, you guys are pretty cool, definitely way more intense than my familia, guess that's how you've gotta be when you have fewer people huh..."
"Yeah, but that's why we've got him, he makes up for our numbers quite well, right?"
"Yeah, I see why you call him Miracle Boy..."
END CHAPTER---
Udeaus was found lacking, I wonder how that changes things :)