Three towers shone silver in the moonlight with crescent-shaped bridges allowing easy movement between them. In the middle of the towers, a bulbous structure rounded atop the tallest tower where the mid-boss of the castle surely waited for our 3rd duel. While I was excited to test out my new skills, they weren't why I took the familiar path. An enchanter called this place home, and I needed their help, or maybe I would kidnap them.
While I told Fu my plan was to enchant my swords, that wasn't an option. Hard alloys like what made up my chainswords weren't receptive to enchantment. For there to be any chance, I would have had to have them enchant the material in its molding while the metal was still hot and malleable. Heating my blade could cause cracks to form, and I didn't want to risk it.
I wasn't all sweeping windstorms and chainswords to necks and joints. There was a brain between my ears as little as I used it. I paid attention to Fu's incredible stitching, the way she casually took my measurements, and the obvious solution to my tamer problem. Well, a solution for the short term. Long term, I would require them to train their Willpower and have them all learn the training and adapt skills.
One of the biggest obstacles for Tamers was money. Most couldn't afford to fill all their monsters with skill shards. Even as I walked around with a backpack full of them. I could basically turn Veronica and Fu into versions of myself, only missing my core skills. Farming my dungeon was an excellent way to stock up on skill shards.
I crossed over the blood lake, barely disrupting the surface thanks to Crow Step and a small updraft of wind. A few times, I circled around the castle while massive leeches rose from the water when I slowed down and tried to devour me.
"Keep moving. If one of those things latches on, it'll drag us into a feeding frenzy." Fu said.
I pushed her head back into her bag. Then I realized this was the perfect time to practice Psy Bolts and Telepathy. While they couldn't technically grow stronger until we left the dungeon, I could gain tons of experience against the monsters here and maybe find some unique monsters with rare loot drops.
Purple light appeared above my hand, pouring out a small breeze from the psychic energy held within the membrane of the reaction. Using the technique for a moment taught me more about fell energy, and I knew I earned levels in the skill. It felt like a piece of the puzzle slotted into place. More fell energy gathered as I struggled to break into the monsters' minds. All the while ran across the lake. Those monsters close enough to get a feel for their mind were always ready to attack or in the process of attacking. At the last second, I moved out of the way and hit with a Psy Bolt. The fell membrane around the bolt made the psychic energy shine all the brighter.
The bolt impacted the giant leech's skin, bounced off, covered in slimy mucus, and exploded, submerged, spraying blood everywhere.
"It's dying, my backpack. Make it stop." Fu cried.
"What's wrong? I thought you liked red?" I asked.
"White is my favorite color. My red lips pop because my face is a beautiful white. Your face is more tan than white, and your lips don't stand out because of it." Fu said.
My second bolt appeared with throbbing pain behind my right eye as I used the fell membrane to change the shape of the stored energy. Drill spears sounded silly, but I had a mastery skill for them. Warping my simple Psy Bolt skill into something that better synergized felt like a good decision. My focus slipped, and the Psy Bolt exploded in the air before it could do anything. Clearly, drill spears would be the work of many practice sessions.
Creating a third bolt felt out of the question. My head pounded, and I didn't want to risk passing out in the middle of the blood lake. Fu wouldn't be able to save me. I pulled my chainswords free from their sheathes, clean of blood and gleaming under the moonlight. I stopped moving, practically hovering above the lake thanks to my updraft momentum carried me to the side of a diving attack. I didn't waste a moment slicing the monster from head to tail, spilling its guts into the bloody lake. My other hand wasn't idle. A follow-up cut deep through the belly of a leech throwing itself overhead. Gemini Waltz and Gemini Blitz were still incredibly effective at causing enemies to misjudge their attacks.
My latest cyclone had taught me how to hold the wind just right to hover with Crow Step enough to fool enemies to attack above me, thinking I would fly away like a bird. On that dive the most my skills could do was put me a few inches hovering above the lake.
I moved in a bloody dance under the moonlight, slicing open the beasts of the lake one by one, filling the lake with more viscera than a slaughterhouse. No matter how many I killed, my chainswords remained pristine killing machines. Blood and guts couldn't manage to cling to my blades long, and they felt so light in my hands I could kill with them all day.
The blood lake bubbled, and I shot away as bloody spears erupted from the water in their hundreds as I retreated. As the bubbling grew worse, waves of blood and more blood spears erupted everywhere.
"What did you do? There is nothing like this recorded in our histories?" Fu asked.
I laughed and revved my blades; this was getting good why was she worried. "The dungeon is just rewarding me for doing a good job."
A coffin emerged from the lake bound in chains before a scream erupted from it. Fell Wind erupted around me moments before what I expected was a psychic or fell attack could hit. My head throbbed as my Willpower was tested as a hand with writhing tentacles instead of fingers emerged. Increased wind equaled increased speed as I felt First Strike and Counter grip me.
Fell energy lined my blades as I started to reach the limit of what I could do. Adapt was in the background, struggling to force my skills to grow faster, even under the dungeon's laws. Telepathy was still active, keeping surveillance for minds 5ft in every direction.
This was an event it had to be, and I was all too happy to play it. For all I knew, it could be a secret boss, and wouldn't that be something special.
"Do you think it's a secret boss?" I asked.
"No, it can't be; my mother is the boss. I would know if there was secretly a bigger boss."
"That's not what a secret boss is. They are like the strongest monsters in dungeons placed in secret locations for those adventurers trying to complete a dungeon to find. If this is one, then I'm so excited it will probably have skills we won't see until much later floors. Blood Stakes is a skill worth 100,000W. If I could sell it, I could pay back my debt and buy another tract of land bigger than the one I own."
"Don't get greedy; we came here to enchant your weapons."
"It's a secret, boss. I have to challenge it at least once."
"What is your level?" Fu asked.
"Why not ask my penis size while you're at it," I said.
"I'm level 19; see, I told you mine first. What level are you?"
"Does it matter? I'm sure I can take this thing on easily." My eyes widened. "Feces," I cursed.
Stakes shot out around the coffin as it spun everywhere the opening faced the stakes erupted. I shot across the lake, keeping ahead of the massive waves of stakes. A thought occurred to me, something truly ludicrous, but as I grew more powerful, such thoughts felt possible. What if I fought the coffin in the castle?
I shot forward as stakes continued to rise in a spiral under the moonlight, and I kept just out of sight. The secret boss clearly thought something was up, but that wouldn't matter. I grabbed one of the chains holding the coffin closed and spun like in a dance. A whirlwind erupted from my actions, more a bloody water spout than a true cyclone. I used it to fling the coffin across the lake toward the castle.
The coffin skipped over the water in flight as I shot forward. Waves rose 60ft in the air before crashing into small hamlets on the lake. I winced at the sounds of houses shattering as I chased the secret boss. Never fought anything in its home territory that was basic. Before the coffin lost too much momentum, I caught it with a Blitz Kick, changing its angle and adding to its momentum. Blood poured down my nose, and I knew I pushed past my limit. Already, I was going full throttle, and I thought snapping the throttle handle would make me go faster. In the air, the coffin spun, aimed at one of the towers moving at the speed of a stone launched by the Artillery skill.
Regeneration kept me awake as I flew over the lake in front of the rising waves. My legs pumped faster and faster, unnaturally standing on and pushing off currents of air. I was moving and using my powers unconsciously. Crow Step and Fell Wind didn't let me walk on water; it was my own sense of balance and finding the sweet spot between the two skills. Once I found that balance, I did it without understanding how.
The coffin smashed into the wall of the middle tower and exited the back of it in a massive exit wound. I jumped through the entrance; the coffin's distance forced me to use Blitz Kick again to move my legs fast enough to kick off the wall as I passed through the hole, pushing myself through after the coffin even faster. Cracks echoed through the building as the stone held in place by Silver Strings exploded, and I followed after the monster. I felt Fu grip my back with her legs as I sailed through the air. My cheeks rippled under the air pressure as I caught up to the coffin as it impacted a grassy hill surrounded by giant foxes munching on chicken bones. My femur snapped as I landed on the coffin, and the hill exploded around us, blasting the foxes with dirt and rock shrapnel. There weren't any witnesses to my short entrance into the bunny castle, so that avenue was still safe.
My telepathy caught the attention of an angry presence. I turned, blocking the downward stroke of a very familiar bunny girl. Recognition appeared on her face when our eyes met.
"You," she spoke the words with such visceral I was proud. Behind her eyes was a mix of hatred, fear, and pride. From my telepathy, the emotion poured off of her as we clashed, swapping blows as she showed off how sharp her skill with a chainsword had become. She slipped through my guard and scored a massive cut over my shoulder before a return strike fended her off.
My femur was still broken, taking regeneration's time to take care of it. Movement was hard because of that, and I had to shut down Counter because of it. My health potion would speed it up, but I needed both hands to keep the bunny girl off of me. Blood continued to seep down from my nose and eyes as I fought at a level my body wasn't ready for; all the while, the Chimera Rabbit continued to dance around me, probing my technique and punishing holes in my defenses. All the while, I couldn't help the smile on my face.
"It's good seeing you again. The castle looks good; maybe this one will stay up." A horrible cracking sound could be heard from the hill, and one of the bridges fell between two towers. "That couldn't be my fault," I said as my rabbit friend snarled.
I sent a desperate telepathic message to Fu. She peaked over my shoulder between blows and ducked behind my back.
"You killed me twice; there won't be a third time." The Chimera rabbit said.
"Are you the enchanter? I noticed your fur was darker, or does it just look good under the moonlight. I see you've been taking care of yourself."
"That's my niece, and I won't be distracted by you."
"I see where she gets her good looks from." We continued trading blows as my leg throbbed, and my foe continued scoring minor blows to my sides and a shallow cut to my chest. One cut split my belt, and my potion tumbled behind my back. I felt Fu move and hoped she wouldn't abandon me.
"This is my victory; never again will I have to face an invader like you." The chimera rabbit aimed her blade at my chest and shot forward. "Die, Atom," She yelled.
Fu shot to my shoulder and pushed the healing potion into my mouth. I crushed the bottle with my teeth and felt the potion run down my throat with the broken glass. My femur popped back into place, giving me all the strength I needed. I stepped forward and brought my strength to bear against the rabbit. She fell to a knee as sparks flew off our blades.
"Three times we fought, and twice I've killed you. Not this time." I knocked her weapon away and grabbed her head. Telepathy could allow high-level users to put enemies to sleep. I slammed her head on the ground; the shock of the blow made her drop her weapon. After powering down my weapons, I placed my knees on her shoulders, using Fell Wind to keep her telekinesis from pushing me off.
"What are you doing?"
"Fu bind her legs and then her arms when I get them ready. We'll take her back with us after we grab her enchanter niece."
+10 Reputation with Fu
"What about the secret boss?" Fu reminded me.
I looked over to see the arm of the secret boss reach out and drag the coffin toward the lake. Really, it might as well be a fish out of water.
After Fu bound my Chimera Rabbit, I approached the coffin, revved chainsword in hand. There was no preamble or foolishness. I stabbed my blade into the coffin and watched as blood and viscera poured out, and the secret boss died before it could show off its real strength.
From the boss, a crossbow made of red metal with a coffin keychain hanging off the handle sat on the ground, practically screaming cursed. The signs of an automatic were clear to see its boxy frame and internal mechanisms, along with the massive cylinder built into the weapon. A glow surrounded it, clearly meaning it was enchanted. The weapon probably weighed over 50lbs lowballed, but with 20 or higher strength attributes, that wouldn't be a problem. I had Fu wrap it in silk just in case for safer transport. There was only the enchantress; then I could grab more hens, and I would be done for the day. I snapped my fingers after remembering the boss.