"We've come a long way, Mama," William said as he stared at the Bronze Gate in front of him.
"Meeeeeh."
"We have done everything in our power to prepare for this day. It's time to take that final step to the unknown!"
"Meeeeeh!"
William and Ella were currently standing at the gates of the Boss Room located on the Tenth Floor. After increasing his job level to level eight, he decided that it was finally time to experience his First Boss Fight.
After careful consideration, he chose to put his remaining skill point to the skill Ice Wall.
< Ice Wall 1 / 5 >
-- Creates a Wall of Ice at a target location.
-- Ice Wall is two-meters tall and three meters wide.
-- Ice Wall has a thickness of one meter.
-- Skill Duration: 25 Seconds.
Current Exp: 4320 / 91,207
< Ice Mage Lvl 7 >
Current Job Exp: 185 / 6,197
"Yosh, let's do this!" William gripped his staff tightly and used his other hand to push the Bronze Gate open.
The first thing that William saw when he opened the gates was a spacious area. It was similar to the coliseum in Rome, where the gladiators fought against each other. Flaming torches lined up the side of the boss room casting an eerie glow around the battlefield.
After William and Ella took a few steps inside the room, the gate shut close behind them. William had already anticipated this scenario so he wasn't too bothered. Immediately, he buffed up his Mama Ella to ensure that she would be able to handle anything that was thrown at her.
"Bestow!"
"Leader of the Herd!"
"Ice Armor!"
"Steel Armament!"
"Meeeeh!"
Ella pawed the ground and prepared herself to battle. She stood a meter and a half tall and her horns glowed bloody red. William stood at the edge of the arena, he also readied himself for the appearance of the boss.
A ferocious growl reverberated inside the room as a two-meter tall goblin jumped off a platform at the back of the Coliseum. It was covered in leather armor, and equipped with a sword and shield.
William used his Appraisal Skill to identify their foe.
-----
Hobgoblin Leader
-- After countless evolutions, the goblin race has finally given birth to a leader. The Hobgoblin is born from the goblin race's desire to grow stronger. A Hobgoblin Leader is born to lead the Hobgoblins to battle.
-----
William had often wondered why his appraisal skill doesn't work the same way as those in the novels. Usually, when one used the Appraisal skill, they would be able to see the complete stats of the people and the monsters around them.
He had tested his Appraisal skill numerous times in the past, but there had been no improvement since then. The only stats he could see were his own and Ella's.
After reading the description of the Hobgoblin Leader, William narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on the Hobgoblin in front of him.
After the Hobgoblin let loose another mighty roar, four Goblin Warriors and two Goblin Marksmen appeared on the battlefield.
"Mama, take care of the Hobgoblin Leader, I'll handle the rest!" William ordered.
"Meeeeh!"
Ella, stomped her foot and charged forward. She used her Rush Attack Skill and rammed herself at the Hobgoblin.
As if expecting her assault, the Hobgoblin raised its shield and blocked her attack. However, Ella's attack was strong enough to push it back a few meters from where it stood.
The Hobgoblin roared and gave its order to its subordinates. Instead of ganging up on Ella, the subordinates charged at William.
The two goblin marksmen released their arrows, while the four goblin warriors closed the gap between them and their target.
"Ice Wall!"
A pillar of ice appeared in front of William, which immediately neutralized the two arrows. During that brief exchange, the goblin warriors managed to close the distance by ten meters. William was currently multi tasking, he was looking at his map, while observing his surroundings.
The goblin warriors split up and attacked William on his left and right sides. Their swords were poised to strike, but William had long been ready to intercept them.
"Ice Wall!"
"Magnum Burst!"
William placed an Ice Wall at his left and slammed his staff at his right.
The two goblin warriors got knocked back due to the impact and suffered minor injuries.
The "L" shaped Ice Wall offered enough protection for William to defend on one side without worrying about getting a sneak attack from behind. Although he was not as strong as Ella, he had gained enough battle experience to face these lower-tiered goblins in melee combat.
As long as he wasn't facing a hobgoblin, William was confident that he could hold his ground until Ella had finished dealing with the Hobgoblin leader.
"Ice Bullet!"
"Ice Bullet!"
"Ice Bullet!"
"Ice Bullet!"
"Ice Bullet!"
"Ice Bullet!"
William's spittle flew in the air as he fired a barrage of Ice Bullets at his enemies.
'Damn, I better learn instant cast or chantless cast soon,' William thought. 'Saying the spell consecutively is harder than I thought it would be.'
Shrieks filled with pain and anger echoed inside the Boss Room as the Goblins became enraged. They made a wild charge towards William not caring whether they lived or died.
William gripped his staff and swung it forward.
"Magnum Burst!"
The goblins flew in the air with blood spilling from their mouths. William fired another barrage of Ice bullets which turned the goblins into particles of light.
"Last two," William grinned as he removed the Ice Wall in front of him. The two goblin archers had chosen to support the Hobgoblin Leader after their failed attempt to snipe William.
Ella dodged their arrows with ease because she had already experienced it countless times before. She was used to fighting against a group of monsters, and her battle instincts had been polished to near perfection.
Since the two goblins' attention was focused on Ella, they didn't notice two Ice Bullets flying in their direction. Only when the spell had slammed into their faces did they realize that there was still one more enemy in the room.
Naturally, William didn't give them any chance to recover and fired four more ice bullets to end their lives.
After dealing with the small fries, William gazed at the two combatants that were duking it out at the corner of the coliseum.
The Hobgoblin Leader's shield had already been broken to pieces, and its body was already dyed in blood.
With one final charge, Ella used her Horn Assault and successfully pierced through the stomach of the Hobgoblin Leader. She didn't stop her charge and used her signature move "Wall Slam" to end the battle.
The Hobgoblin's lifeless hand fell to its side and turned into particles of light. The battle had ended and the Boss Room was bathed in white light.
Exp Gained: 12,000
Current Exp: 16320 / 91,207
< Ice Mage Lvl 8 >
Current Job Exp: 5,988 / 7,615
After the light receded, a bronze treasure chest appeared at the center of the arena. William ignored it and ran straight towards his Mama Ella to check if she was injured during the battle.
Both of them gained a level after their first boss fight, but for them, that wasn't too important. What was important was that both of them were safe.
"Meeeeh!" Ella bleated proudly as if to announce that it was an easy win for her.
William smiled and lovingly hugged his Mama Ella's neck.
"Thank God, you're safe, Mama."
"Meeeeh."
The goat closed its eyes and rested its chin on William's shoulder. William caressed Ella's back while casting first aid five times. Ella had received a few minor bruises during her clash with the Hobgoblin, and those same bruises disappeared after William used first aid on her.
Five minutes later, William and Ella stood in front of the bronze treasure chest.
"I wonder what's inside. I hope it's gold." William grinned as he opened the lid.
William and Ella peeked inside the chest to see what was inside. Lying at the bottom of the chest was a pair of boots.
"What a coincidence, I need a new pair of boots." William grinned as he picked up the boots from the chest. "This came at the right time. Now, let me use my appraisal skill…"
----
Windborne Boots
-- Wear light on your feet, go strong in your life.
-- Agility +3
----
"Very nice!" William was pleasantly surprised when he found out that the boots were enchanted. For him, every single stat matters. He had received similar equipment from the chests that littered the lower floors. However, a chest appearing in the lower floors was a very rare event.
In the past nine years, he had only found three chests and those three chests provided him with three accessories that he had worn to this day.
Ring of the Goblin Warrior - Str +2
Ring of the Goblin Vanguard - Vit +2
Amulet of the Wise - Int +2
Now, with the addition of the Windborne Boots, William had four enchanted items that increased his stats.
"Let's go back, Mama," William said after replacing his old boots with the Windborne Boots. The boy felt very happy and the anxiety in his heart finally disappeared. The Boss Fight went better than he expected. He also praised himself for not rushing to challenge the boss a year ago.
Although the possibility of winning against the boss existed, the chances of getting injured was greater.
Only two hours had passed in the real world when William and Ella re-appeared in the boy's bedroom. Instead of lying in his bed, William laid on the carpet and hugged his Mama Ella to sleep.
He had long gotten used to sleeping in her embrace. The Angorian Goat felt the same as him. She had long regarded William as her own child.
Soon, the two of them fell asleep. Unknown to William, James sat cross legged just outside his door. The moment the two of them disappeared from the bedroom, James had felt the fluctuations in the air.
He hurriedly went inside William's bedroom to check on him and found no one. With a look of understanding, James left the room and sat in vigil outside his grandson's door. He didn't stir even when he felt William's and Ella's presence return inside the room.
Only when the two were sound asleep did he go back to his own room to rest.