[09:03 | May 04, 2035]
Enormous gates blocked their path. The doors were about the same size as the one they went through in the Urumel main lobby. When they got to the entrance, a blue magic circle formed at the foot of the door. The magic circle grew in size, followed by a flash of light. Shin, Nightingale, and Fuyumi collectively took a step back in caution, as they didn't know what to expect. However, the other four party members were unfazed by the shining light.
"No worries, this isn't a surprise encounter." Geoff stuck his hand out to his side, reassuring his allies.
From the light, emerged a lizard-like figure with a trident. It was Toffins.
"Hmmmmm, nice to see you all once again." He scratched his non-existent beard.
"I am Toffins, Guardian of Urumel. I see that you have made it to the tenth floor. Please, allow me to sing your praises and congratulate you."
The lizard-man put his weapon on his back and clapped slowly.
"Amazing work."
His sarcastic tone struck a chord with one of his new party members as he heard a tongue clicking.
"Now that the celebrations are out of the way. I'll be here when you need me to open the door to the floor's boss. Just talk to me when you're ready and I will open the gates."
Geoff turned his back on Toffins to face his party members.
"Let's check our equipment."
The party was scattered about the entryway of the tenth floor. Each member was preparing for the fight ahead in their own way. Malady ran a cloth down her drawstring to clear out any dirt. Scottie sharpened the long edge of his greatsword with a grindstone. Prezzo stood off to the side, idly kicking rocks and whistling, while Geoff scolded him.
Geoff took out the shield from his back and announced his intentions to the group.
"I'll be taking up the role of a tank for this boss. I'll be relying on everyone else to do the damage."
Shin, who already prepared his equipment shortly after he woke up, stared at his blade. He picked it up after winning a fight with a bounty hunter. The sword wasn't his - in fact, he kept it after disarming the player he fought. Remembering the conflict, Shin rolled up his sleeve to look at the scar on his forearm.
"Is it giving you trouble?"
He turned to face his old friend who pointed at the scar.
"Not really, just reminiscing."
Shin rolled his sleeve back down. Although the scar was deep, it was only temporary. If he died, then the scar would disappear as his body will be restored to its original state upon respawning.
"A sword for a scar was a good trade, wasn't it?" Fuyumi said as she leaned against the wall, running her fingers down her dagger.
"The scar is more like a temporary tattoo, but damn did it hurt in the moment."
The party took one last look over their equipment in preparation.
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[Character Page]
[Nickname: [Shin] | Level: 38 | Specialization: Savant | Profession: Manufacturing]
[Attributes]
Strength: 55 | Agility: 55 | Intelligence: 55
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[Character Page]
[Nickname: [Fuyumi] | Level: 41 | Specialization: Bandit - Assassin | Profession: NONE]
[Attributes]
Strength: 16 | Agility: 80 | Intelligence: 12
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[Character Page]
[Nickname: [Nightingale] | Level: 37 | Specialization: Artificer - Elementalist | Profession: Processing]
[Attributes]
Strength: 12 | Agility: 11 | Intelligence: 72
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"Everyone ready?"
Geoff's voice was strained from the arduous expedition. He had been calling out commands and attacks throughout their journey.
"Yup!"
"Yes."
"Yeah."
The party members responded in their own way. Some nodded.
Geoff approached Toffins and asked him to open the gates.
"Well then, it seems you're all ready. Enjoy your fight."
Toffins slammed his trident into the ground, creating the familiar shaking feeling they had felt at Urumel's entrance. The gate creaked and rumbled as it slowly opened, revealing a dark void of a room. They could only see about three meters into the room until the darkness claimed the land.
Toffins stepped to the side and bowed like it was the end of a play. As he finished his gesture, he disappeared in the same flash of light he arrived in.
"I'm not sure you guys remember, but you did say that you got cooked that one night. Was this boss what you were referring to?" Nightingale asked.
"Oh, we said that? Hahaha, I guess our drunken selves were right then." The bearded greatsword user replied, scratching his head.
"The boss is similar to the minotaur we fought many times before. But this guy is mostly resistant to fire and dishes out his own fire too. Luckily, there aren't any annoying enemies in the backline that we have to deal with. His move set is more varied from what we'd seen so far, but we haven't ever taken him past the halfway point. This guy is pretty tough."
Shin had come to expect detailed explanations of the floors ahead of them from Geoff. Hearing him sound so uncertain was surprising.
"Let's try to stick to our usual formation. Shin, we're going to need you up front with the vanguard."
"Sure."
The party stepped into the darkness. Malady was at the back of the group. When the sounds of her footsteps stopped, the gates shut with a thundering slam, plunging them into darkness.
"Eeek!"
"Come on Malady! You should've expected that! We've already been here before!"
"At least she didn't pee herself this time!"
"Shut up! I didn't pee myself, okay?!"
"Guys, nows not the time for-"
Geoff was cut off by the sound of hundreds of torches being lit simultaneously. The room was illuminated by the same blue torches that they had grown so accustomed to.
In the middle was an enormous two-headed black minotaur, clad in gold-tinted armor. It was covered from head to toe in metal, with small openings at the joints. Metal chains hung from a belt on its waist. Flaming red eyes stared into the party as fire and steam shot out of its nostrils. With four arms, the front arms wielded two axes while the back side flexed its biceps holding two swords. Each weapon was about as tall as Scottie.
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[(BOSS) Minotaur General Guthrix]
Level: 48 | HP: 45,670
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"This is a little different…"
Geoff's voice shook as the shield and hammer in his hand trembled.
"Thi-this… wa-wa-wasn't like last t-time…"
Malady sounded even more timid than usual.
"What? What do you guys mean?"
Shin didn't think that they would be so surprised by the boss since they had seen it before. But if they said that it was different than before, then it must be true.
Geoff cleared his throat and got in a combat-ready stance.
"It didn't have two heads and four arms last time. Stay on your toes and don't stop moving."
The minotaur stomped its feet in place as if it was a car revving up. Its front arms slammed its axes into the ground as it released a bestial roar. When the roar finished, the creature charged forward in a stampede with its axes still in the ground. Rocks and stones were thrown aside as the ten-meter-tall beast rushed toward them.
"Attaaaaack!"
As Geoff gave the order, spells and arrows flew directly at the minotaur. Most of the ranged attacks bounced off of the minotaur's armor with a few of them hitting the mark in the slits between the armor's plates.
The vanguard split off into two pairs, flanking the minotaur from its left and right side as it charged forward. The pairs formed naturally as their partners knew each other's fighting style.
The minotaur was unfazed by the attacks as it continued to rush forward without hesitation. As the beast got close, the backline scattered, dodging out of the way. The minotaur's horns slammed into the gate walls, piercing through the stone. The horns glowed red hot as it wildy shook itself loose, sending drops of molten rock flying throughout the room.
Shin swapped his sword out for his bow, firing off multiple arrows at the minotaur's head before quickly putting it away. In reaction, the monster swung its axes in an attempt to knock the arrows out of the air. As it swung its axes, Shin swiped his hands outward, controlling the arrows with [Spatial Mastery]. The arrowheads suddenly changed directions, dodging the axes, and planted themselves in the beast's elbow and neck.
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[(BOSS) Minotaur General Guthrix]
Level: 48 | HP: 44,764
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The minotaur was enraged, turning its front head in a circle, and shot out flames from its nostrils.
"Get behind me!"
The party quickly gathered up behind Geoff's shield.
The minotaur threw its axes to its side, implanting them into the ground. It got on four of its limbs, and bent low to the ground.
"[Divine Shield]!"
Geoff planted his shield into the ground. It grew in size with a golden afterimage expanding outward.
The beast roared, breathing out an immense wave of fire that covered the entire width of the room. The adventurers closely packed behind the shield's protection as flames swept around them. Sweat broke out on Geoff's face as he valiantly screamed out to continue channeling his spell.
After five seconds which felt like an eternity, the flames subsided, but the minotaur was not done yet. With two hands, it threw its swords at the shield while picking up the axes with the remaining two. One of the swords slammed into the shield and bounced aside. However, the impact of the second sword shattered the holy afterimage created by the shield before getting knocked aside, throwing Geoff backward.
"You alright?" Scottie looked back at his leader on the ground.
"Don't worry about me, look!"