Before the purple, oval portal, about six meters high and three meters wide, a large being stood. It was slightly different from those monsters outside, not only because it was ten meters tall but also because of a different appearance.
"Eeew..." Toki couldn't help but comment, seeing the slimy enemy squirming about.
Yes, the enemy was no longer insect-looking but rather looked like an octopus that was stuck on land. However, it didn't have eight thick tentacles but instead had hundreds of smaller feelers squirming about as if to find prey.
However, unlike other octopuses, it was pure black in color and didn't seem to have an eye anywhere. From a glance, it just looks like a giant blob that grew tentacles, causing most of the girls within the group to squirm in disgust. The only one who wasn't too affected was Kaede, who was observing the enemy with calm eyes.
"It doesn't look like it could see us, but keep in mind that it might have other ways of detection, like sound, vibrations, or something," Kaede whispered, warning everyone.
Looking at her, it was obvious that she was nervous, similar to us. After all, she was only in the second class advancement, the intermediate class. Although she had a rare class, she was still doubtful if we could destroy this boss monster, who was expected to be around, or more than level 40.
"... Let's proceed." Still, to accomplish our task, we could only move onward with careful steps.
At every level we descend, the large octopus gets more and more intimidating. After all, the hundreds of tentacles it had were about as thick as my arm! If hit by those, like a whip, then I guess it could easily punch a hole through my body.
"Stop..." Just as we reached the second to the last floor, Kaede whispered. "From here, the appraisal should work. Let me see its stats first before we proceed."
A normal appraisal would normally show only the name, level, and class. However, Kaede possessed the upgraded version of it, Appraisal EX. Using it, unless the enemy was leagues above the user, the display could even show the stats and skills of the target.
Kaede, careful not to create a loud noise, approached the boss monster. As soon as a tentacle was in range, she quickly used her appraisal skill. Right after she did, her shoulders jumped a little, until she started shivering like a small puppy left in the cold, pouring rain.
Her expression was covered in fear, as if she just saw the end of the world, while she carefully crawled back. After taking a few breaths and calming herself down, Kaede finally turned to us and explained.
"We should give up tackling this with just us." Her words were firm, as if not accepting a no for an answer. "The enemy is level 40, but its stats are all fixed at 1000. No matter what we do, we can't beat it!"
"A tho-?!" I almost raised my voice in surprise.
My base stats are still below 100, but when combined with the snowballing stat bonus, my strength and agility stats would be around 263, with my endurance reaching 373. However, that's not even enough to reach half of the boss's stats.
"... To fight it, we would need a group of advanced classes..." Even with that, it was doubtful if they could even kill it.
As everyone slowly digested Kaede's words, everyone felt that escaping was the only choice. However, if they do so, then that means the current monster attack will continue for a while longer, increasing the casualties from all over the world.
"What to do..."
Just as I was about to raise my voice in order to retreat, a black beam suddenly fired, landing straight in the middle of the octopus-looking boss. The black beam created a large hole in the middle of its body, where white flames started burning.
*SHAAAAAAAAAA!*
A shrill sound was released as the monster started rampaging around, waving its tentacles randomly. We were fortunately far from its attack range, but the stairs leading further down ended up crushed by its attacks.
The white flames were slowly spreading around its body. But the slimy surface of its skin hampered the speed of encroachment. Such a powerful attack and it even comes with a continuous DOT after the main attack. I guess it was pretty obvious where the attack came from.
*Blop* *Blop* *Blop*
However, as if angered by the Witch of Ruin's attack, from all over its body, small slits opened up, revealing red and black eyeballs looking around in anger.
"...!"
An octopus with countless eyes. It was a revolting sight before, but now it is a creature of nightmares. It was as if looking at it alone was enough to lower our SAN points.
As the old saying goes, when it rains, it pours. All the eyes suddenly moved, locking onto our figures that were exposed, crouching on the stairs. I felt a chill run down my spine, quickly preparing Kyouya's lance to defend.
*BANG!*
As if a gun were fired, I could only see a black blur before my arms and stomach felt a powerful impact. My vision spun as I slammed against the wall behind us, taking out the air from my lungs.
"A.... aaaaaa..."
Unable to breathe, I tried to clench my chest, but my hands refused to move. The impact of defending alone was enough to incapacitate me!
"""RUIN!"""
"Hiro?!"
Everyone quickly moved, placing themselves between the octopus and me. Kaede, instead of only defending, went on the offensive instead. In just a moment, a rain of black lightning started ravaging the entire mall, using any and all metal objects around as a relay.
The octopus, bathed in the continuous rain of lightning, didn't even show signs of getting injured. Instead, more of its tentacles moved, as if to attack us once more.
"D-Dodge..."
My words lacked energy—not any better than a whisper.
"IRON WALL!"
At the last moment, Lily went forward and took the hit. And to our amazement, she managed to actually stop the attack, holding the slimy tentacle in her arms. Well, she was embedded in the wall now, just like me, however.
"NOW!"
"Got it!"
At her signal, Hailey quickly waved her spear and sliced the tentacle. Green blood started spraying around, staining all our clothes with it. However, she managed to land an effective hit with the lance!
Above the Octopus boss's head, a large display showing the number 15 was visible. It was the counter to the spear's effect—the hex that would lead to instant death!
The damage made the octopus stiffen for a moment, slowing down the other tentacles. Taking advantage of it, Hailey jumped off the railings and waved the spear like crazy. In an instant, all six tentacles were severed, lowering the count above the octopus' head to 9.
'However, we're now at a disadvantage!'
Not only did Lily's defensive skill, Iron Wall, have a long cooldown, but it also drained quite a lot of mana depending on the damage absorbed. Seeing her kneeling already and her eyes almost closing, it wasn't hard to guess that her mana was already running empty.
I was already able to recover my breath, but my limbs still weren't listening to my commands. It was as if they were glued to the floor, refusing to move.
Just as Hailey took out the tentacles, she started falling down. Below were more tentacles, poised to attack her as soon as she approached. "My turn!" But Mina's voice echoed as she peeked below the railing, aiming her two guns down.
"Hawk Shot!" shouting the skill's name, Mina fired the entire load of her two revolvers.
*BABABABABAM!*
Fourteen bullets, glowing in a blue color, flew at a blinding speed. Overtaking the falling Hailey, the bullets destroyed all the tentacles below completely, not missing a single target. With her landing spot cleared, Hailey quickly used a five-point landing and absorbed the impact of the fall before quickly standing up and rushing forward.
Nine more hits from her, and the battle will end. However, given the difference in stats, those nine hits seemed like an impossibility. As proof, at the fifth step, Hailey's eyes opened wide as a tentacle literally appeared right before her face, as if warping. Having no time to dodge, the tentacle slapped her hard, sending her flying off to the wall below the stairs.
"Hai... ley..."
If we don't do anything, she could die. However, we're all too far from her, as she was below while we're still two floors up.
Just as I was feeling despair at the situation, another popup suddenly appeared.
[
Analysis completed!
Breaker status is activated!
Temporary Class Acquisition: Cephalophod Hunter
Advantage detected: Applying a 3x multiplier to all stats
Duration: 1 minute
]
"...!"
I don't know what's happening, but my eyes quickly select the most relevant information from the display. 3x stat multiplier and a 1-minute time limit. In short, I can't waste time!
Ignoring my body groaning in pain, I took three steps and landed right at the top of the railing. I crouched, letting my body fall forward naturally until I was almost facing vertically downward, and kicked against the rails. The metal handrails bent greatly from the impact of my kick, but thanks to them, I was at the bottom in the blink of an eye.
My left hand still couldn't move, so using my right hand, I picked up Hailey's spear and turned around. "I'll be borrowing this for a moment!"
With the Rhinoceros Lance of Death, I rushed forward for one last clash! Just nine more hits!