The scene was chaotic, the sudden attack catching the party off guard. Nikos lay on the floor, heavily wounded, with Marielle next to him using all her spells to heal him while Liriel and Jarek held off the sea serpent boss monster.
The creature was a massive scaly sea snake, with two glowing green orbs serving as its eyes, burning with an otherworldly intensity. This sea serpent exuded a malevolent aura as its body moved nimbly through the area, with addition it's sharp tail.
On the floor, Nikos was still hurt, his eyes scanning the area, but it was all blurry in his vision. The surrounding sound created a buzzing in his ears, while all his senses tried to regain back control of his body.
Marielle, her nurturing nature turning into fierce protectiveness, cast a healing spell on Nikos. "Stay strong, Master. I'll heal you."
Slowly and surely, Nikos' senses came back. He could vaguely see Liriel and Jarek holding their ground against the sea serpent monster, with Marielle focusing on healing him.
Liriel and Jarek occasionally glanced back to check on Nikos' condition, but that small opening was used by the boss monster to injure them.
"Focus on the fight! I'm fine!" Nikos shouted, his hoarse voice steady despite the pain. He slowly stood up with his hand on his knees, and Marielle immediately helped support him to stand.
Seeing this, Liriel and Jarek nodded in understanding. Liriel, back in her alert state, readied her daggers. "Yes, sir."
Jarek, honorable and fierce, swung his greataxe at the serpent with all his might. "For my masster!"
They lunged forward, focusing back on the boss monster in front of them.
Nikos turned to Marielle, "Thank you, Marielle," he said, his voice calm despite the situation.
Marielle, her empathy showing, replied, "Master, are you alright?"
Nikos just nodded, answering her question while he looked around the corridors in front and back. In front of him, Liriel and Jarek were holding their stance against the sea serpent monster. The back was empty; there was nothing. Wait? Where's the other statue gone?
"What are you looking for, Master?" Marielle asked, seeing Nikos' confusion.
There's nothing in the back, which means there's only one place... The ceiling corridor debris was falling touching Nikos head. He looked above him, checking while hoping his guess is wrong. However, on the high ceiling, a massive king crab was hanging downside menacingly.
On the ceiling a massive king crab with red bulging eyes, and two massive pincers; its sharp claw ready to snap wildly as it moved, threatening to crush them.
Fuck!
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!Change Class
{Class: Support} ā {Class: Rogue}
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ā Quick Reflexes [Passive] + Evasion
Then the king crab descended to the ground, its claws aiming at them. Nikos tried hard to grab Marielle, who was stunned in her place.
Smash!!
The monster descended hard, shaking the dungeon corridor and shrouding the area with enormous dust. The impact caught Liriel and Jarek's attention, making them check on Nikos. "Master (Sir)!" both shouted, calling for Nikos.
Presenting a full opening, the sea serpent hit both Liriel and Jarek with its sharp tail, sending both bodies flying hard to the side wall of the dungeon.
Crash!!
The two vomited blood from the hard impact of the attack.
The battle had only just begun, and the fate of Nikos and his party hung in the balance. The outcome was uncertain, and the danger palpable. The dungeon's third floor had revealed its true nature, and now the fight for survival was on.
Inside the big shrouded dust area, Nikos held Marielle's hips. In a split second, he managed to escape from the crushing descending attack of the king crab.
Nikos put her down, but Marielle's breath was erratic. She inhaled much dust surrounding them, making her breathing feel very constricted. Her hand shook hard, and her mind raced with the thought that she almost died there.
Nikos held her face gently, turning it to face him as he gazed deeply into her eyes. "Calm yourself, Marielle." Marielle's blank eyes turned to Nikos, seeing his concern and calm stare at her.
He continued to reassure her, but her ears were ringing, and she couldn't hear any of it. But Nikos' deep blue eyes offered her the calm that she always could place her trust in him.
Slowly, she regained her hearing. "I really need you now," Nikos said deeply to her. She nodded weakly, understanding the importance of her role and position, slowly her breathing also stabilized.
"Good, hide here between this debris, and focus on healing me." Nikos instructed.
Marielle nodded at Nikos' instruction. She hid between the big debris and took a deep breath. Her grip on the magic staff strengthened. Nikos nodded and ran out of the area toward the king.
ā Sneak
Nikos used the surrounding dust as his hiding spot, employing a hit-and-run tactic against the king crab to gauge its weaknesses. He didn't ignore the many injuries on his body as he trusted Marielle to heal him. He needed to keep the king crab's attention away while looking for a solution to their situation.
Nikos glanced at Liriel and Jarek. On their side, Jarek roared, using his skill to gather and focus the sea serpent monster's attention on him for only a short 30 seconds.
ā Taunt
Liriel ran and hid around the area as she drank potions to recover herself.
Our distance is too far. I couldn't use the teleportation scroll right now. It also takes around 20 seconds to activate the item. That's too long; these monsters could separate us easily. That means our only option is to kill these monsters. Nikos continued to use a hit-and-run strategy to attack the king crab while thinking about what they should do.
After Liriel recovered enough, she took Jarek's position to draw the sea serpent's attention, giving Jarek time to recover both his health and mana by drinking potions.
Great, they can still stall the monster for longer. Nikos gathered all the necessary information. We couldn't finish these two monsters by being separated; there must be some other way.
Liriel noticed Nikos engaging in hit-and-run attacks on the king crab. "Sir, you're alive!" she shouted, her tone laced with happiness.
Jarek, recovering his strength, smiled widely, seeing Nikos alive. "I knew you wouldn't die that eashily, Mashter."
"I'm fine, just focus on your fight!" Nikos assured them, his calculating mind already formulating a plan. "Yes, Mashter(Sir)!" both answered in unison.
Liriel and Jarek fought the sea serpent, while Nikos and Marielle handled the king crab. Nikos' mind didn't stop looking for a solution until he finally formed a complete plan.
That's it, this should be working. Nikos emerged from the veil of dust fully, standing steadily, as he drawing his bow and aiming at the king crab's eyes.