A sandstorm ruled inside the Boss Room.
Mark couldn't help but keep his eyes half-open.
'Tsk. Hard to see in here. Don't attack before I do. All of you are here to assist me when I tell you to.'
Behind him stood his Underlings.
Something pierced through the dense sandstorm.
A rapidly approaching tail.
It hit Mark with great strength.
BAM-
He was left embedded in one of the room's walls.
'Haha. That wasn't a bad hit.' Mark thought as he dusted himself off.
The stones that had momentarily covered his body fell off.
Right before impact, he had used the newly acquired Magic Skill "Golem Armor[D+]".
'Solid defense. Good.'
Mark turned in the direction the hit had come from.
Staring at him with two slit pupils and yellow iris, was what looked like a giant snake.
But instead of scales, its body was covered by sturdy-looking rocks, similar to those of the Golem Monsters.
The snake-like Monster must have been about 30 meters long.
Its whole body was covered by the sturdy rocks, except its eyes.
The Guardian opened its mouth wide and screeched, showing off its sharp fangs.
'Mm. Yeah. I can take him.'
Despite the Guardian's massive size and its loud screech, the white-scaled Monster didn't seem intimidated.
'It sure is huge though. I revived the Great Rattlesnake thinking its size was impressive, but it really isn't when compared to this guy. Rattlesnake, Iguana and Vulture. You're up.'
The Great Rattlesnake quickly slithered to the front of the group while the Sand Vulture took off.
The Great Paralyzing Sand Iguana stood aside and spat a huge amount of Paralysing Poison over the Boss Monster.
A forked tongue exited the Guardian's mouth.
It hissed shortly.
The next instant, a wall of stone rose from the ground, protecting it from the paralyzing poison.
Using its sharp claws, the Sand Vulture Underling tried to slash the Guardian's unprotected eye, but the huge Monster moved at the last second.
One of the Sand Vulture's claws was broken, as it hit the stones that covered the Guardian's body.
The Great Rattlesnake, approximately 2 to 3 times smaller than the Guardian, tried its luck too.
The Guardian hissed.
A spike made of rocks exited the ground below the Underling.
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
The spike had pierced through the rattlesnake's body.
'Hmm. So it hisses before using some kind of Earth Magic or whatever. Can't tell if it's offensive or defensive by the hiss though... The stones are hard enough to break the vulture's claws. They're probably a bit less tough than the Golems'. Probably...?' Mark thought.
He watched over the fight.
'Golem. Try to grab and immobilize it. Iguana, shoot your poison whenever it isn't focused on you. Ummm, you. Try freezing its body at different locations. Might make it easier to break, just like for the Golems. Light, your claws and fangs would probably break, huh? You stay back. Fiery too. Fire doesn't work well against the Monsters of this Floor. And the vulture... You're not needed.'
And just like that, the flying Sand Vulture turned into dust.
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
Obeying its Master's orders, the Golem Underling approached the Guardian as fast as it could.
Which was, as one might expect, pretty slow.
The Golem was hit twice by the Guardian's tail, but it was not enough to deal any real damage.
'Three Golems combined. Not bad. I wonder if I can break its stones?'
Feeling pressured by the approaching enemy, the Guardian started slithering away.
An Ice Spike hit its body, and a tiny fraction of it started freezing.
Paralyzing Poison was about to fall on the Guardian's tail, but it turned around at the right moment.
Hiss-
A wall of stones protected it once more.
But once it turned back to face the Golem, it found a white-scaled Monster instead.
Mark's chest was held high, inflated.
The next second, a fog of sand was exhaled.
The Guardian shook its head in order to dissipate the cloud of sand.
[Resistance is too high.]
[You have failed to inflict the Status Effect: Blindness.]
'I guess there was a sandstorm here before we came in. Makes sense. Still...' Mark thought as he jumped, aiming to land on the Monster's body.
He slammed his Aura-covered fists down the frozen part of the Guardian's body.
'Tsk. Not much damage...' Mark noted as he jumped off.
The Guardian hissed loudly.
'Something is coming-'
Dozens of spikes made of rocks appeared from the ground all around the Boss Monster.
'Why does it get so agitated when we get closer? When its body is so hard... A weak point somewhere?' Mark thought as he dodged the numerous sharp spikes.
The Golem finally managed to grab the Guardian.
Hiss-
Spikes hit the Golem's body.
Numerous cracks appeared.
'Nice one!'
Mark jumped towards the Guardian once more.
'This should definitely keep you from moving for a bit!' Mark thought as he extended his right arm
As soon as his hand touched the Guardian's tail, a great amount of Mana left his body.
Except for its head, the Guardian's whole body was frozen solid.
The Moonlit Feline gave Mark a death stare.
'I guess this is your first time seeing me use Ice Magic, huh? Well, you have a lot to learn!' Mark thought as he chuckled internally.
He ran towards the frozen Guardian.
'Could look for a weak spot, but who has time for that? I'll use all my remaining Mana on this!' Mark thought while a black liquid was condensed into what looked like a spear.
The Guardian, feeling its body getting damaged little by little, hissed louder than ever.
The stones that composed the ground, ceiling, and walls were deformed into spikes designed to pierce through its enemies.
As Mark approached its head, his body was grazed multiple times by those sharp spikes.
Nevertheless, the black spear sank into the Guardian's right eye.
GRRR-
The Monster raised its head as it cried loudly.
Black blood flowed down its nose.
'Already, huh? Since I hit its eye, the corrupting poison acts faster...'
The Guardian's body suddenly changed.
'Shit-'
The stones that covered its body were momentarily deformed.
They turned into spikes that pierced through the Golem Underling with ease.
Mark's left leg was stabbed.
The ice that covered its body was destroyed too.
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
Only once the Guardian had lifted its head did Mark notice.
During the whole fight, the Guardian's body never left the ground.
Its lower side had never been shown.
Not even once.
'Huh. Is that it? The lower side isn't protected?' Mark thought as he hurriedly jumped away.
Mark wasn't far from the truth, but only the Moonlit Feline had positioned itself in a way that let it see the underside of the Guardian's body.
Only its throat was unprotected.
Motivated by its Master's show of strength, the Moonlit Feline condensed all of its Mana.
The tip of its raised tail radiated a bright light.
'Huh-'
The light shined so brightly, that it caught Mark's attention mid-fight.
A spear made of ice, so clear that it looked like it was made of crystal, flew through the air.
[Your Underling has developed a new Magic Skill.]
Massive amounts of blood spurted, as the attack pierced the Guardian's weak spot.
Mark's eyes widened.
The Guardian cried weakly, as strength was quickly leaving its body.
Corrupted blood exited its nose and eyes.
Slowly but surely, the attack's freezing effect was activated.
About a quarter of the Guardian's body, starting with its head, was frozen.
The ice was so clear that Mark could see his reflection on it.
'Amazing...' He thought as he ran forward.
Mark dealt the finishing move, before the Boss Monster could free itself.
[You have defeated The Fourth Floor's Guardian. 50'000 Gold Coins and 100'000 Experience Points earned.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have defeated a Guardian.]
[You have been awarded 3 Skill Points.]
[You can now access the Dungeon's Third Floor.]
Mark walked towards his Underling while showing his sharp fangs.
The Moonlit Feline, ready to receive praise, stood tall with shiny eyes.
'I guess you can do it when you try...' Mark complimented, as he placed his hand above the Underling's head.
Pat-
Sometime later, Mark devoured the Guardian.
'Fourth Floor, done.'
A large smile was on Mark's face.
[You have gained 80.000 Evolution Points.]
'Aren't you forgetting something?'
[You have devoured a Floor's Guardian.]
[Calculating appropriate reward....]
'Let me out of this place. I'll check out the outside world now.'