We Hunt Monsters, page 28
“Alright, Cayla,” Keith said. “Get ready. As soon as this vial explodes, I want you to rush in and attack him. Count to five in your head, then back off. After that, I’ll throw the next one, and you’ll do the same.”
“Are you sure it’ll be safe?” Cayla asked.
After seeing the previous explosion, she was leery of running back into striking distance, regardless of the rewards offered.
“Yes,” Keith replied. “He’s busy holding the formation together, and while I don’t know the details of the scroll and how much more time it’ll take now that we’ve killed four of the people supplying power, I do know that Jared won’t be able to react as quickly.
“The skill he used to set the trap takes a couple of seconds to set, so I’m going under the assumption that it’ll take him twice as long if he’s busy holding this all together. Then again, that trap might be a one-off, which is why we’ll be testing it twice.”
Cayla looked to the potion in his hand, then to the area in front of the man, where the plume of green fire had previously exploded.
“Alright,” she breathed. “Here’s to hoping I don’t die.”
“Don’t worry,” Keith said, hefting the vial. “This should expose any traps.”
With that said, he cocked his arm back and tossed the glowing vial. The magma potion streaked through the air, tumbling end over end before it shattered against the invisible barrier. However, instead of exploding as he’d been expecting, the magma potion clung to the dome, spreading quickly over its surface while small droplets fell, sizzling to the ground all around him.
Cayla charged in, not seeing any traps go off, and proceeded to attack the dome as the magma quickly began to cool and solidify. Chips of stone flew as the scythe blurred in a series of cuts. However, just as Keith had suspected, Jared was unable to retaliate.
After a count of five, Cayla leaped back and Keith hurled the second vial, which exploded in a manner similar to the first. Cayla danced back in, her scythe blurring as it slammed into the barrier. Flashes of green illuminated the stormy night sky each time it struck, and once more, after a count of five, Cayla backed off.
Unfortunately, Keith was now out of magma potions, but luckily for him, he still had other options. Yanking one of the hammers from his belt, Keith hurled it at the shield, shattering what remaining stone clung to its surface.
To his surprise, the hammer stuck in the shield for a second before falling to the ground with a muffled thump.
A vein in the corner of Jared’s temple twitched, and slowly, the crack that had appeared on the surface of the shield vanished. However, after checking both Jared’s HP and MP, it was clear to see which of the two had dropped.
“He’s using all his MP for the ritual!” Keith yelled, already running for the man. “His health is dropping. Give it all you’ve got!”
It seemed that the initial trap had been a bluff, a single deterrent left by a desperate man who’d wanted to scare them off. Jared might be level thirty-two, but being stuck holding the entire formation himself while also trying to complete it, rendered him basically helpless. Judging by the look of anger on the man’s face as Keith’s hammer slammed into the barrier, he was right.
Keith used the momentum of his first strike, leaning into the blow, snagging the second hammer, and coming up with an uppercut. The heavy hammer head slammed into the barrier, leaving a small crack in its wake, which Jared was once again forced to heal. Once more, the massive health bar the man had dipped, and Keith’s grin grew wider.
Over the next five minutes, he and Cayla attacked the barrier with all they had. The magma potions had seemingly weakened it to the point where Jared was forced to inject his own HP to keep it up. This barrier was clearly different than the ones that had been covering their previous enemies, in that it could be consistently repaired at a cost to Jared’s HP, whereas the other barriers seemed directly linked to the users’ health.
This meant that Jared’s barrier was far superior, as he could release it whenever he wanted. The reason for this difference was abundantly obvious once Keith found the skill in question and read its description.
It was called Life Barrier, and it had two main functions. One could be cast on others, and another on himself. Using it on someone else would cost him nothing but would directly tie the barrier to that person’s HP. Once it ran dry, the person would die. The person it had been cast on could cancel it themselves at any time to preserve their own lives, but apparently, they were just as crazy and zealous as Keith had previously believed.
Jared’s barrier, on the other hand, would cost him mana to activate and could soak up a total of one-thousand points of damage before it would start to fail. However, he had the option to repair it at the cost of his own health. For every point of health he injected into the barrier, that amount of damage would be nullified.
One might think of that extra function as useless, as it didn’t prevent any damage. However, Keith knew better. No critical hits would land against the barrier, as there were no critical points to hit. Additionally, no extra debuffs would be gained. On top of that, spellcasting could be interrupted, from what he’d read of the man’s status. This barrier would prevent that from happening, which was how he was still managing to keep the ritual going, despite the fact that he was taking damage.
The only problem he and Cayla faced right now was Jared’s monstrous health. Keith had no idea how someone at level thirty-two could have over five-thousand HP but had to assume that items were a contributing factor. Even with an HP so high, Keith and Cayla should have been able to whittle him down much faster, and it was in that area that the Life Shield really shone.
The shield would consider any armor the caster was wearing and automatically subtract the difference. Meaning that despite having to pay the cost of maintaining it with his very life, the barrier took said damage as though Jared were taking it.
Cayla’s scythe streaked through the air, shearing into the shield, though not quite managing to hit the man within. She spun, planting her legs and wrenching with all her strength. With a horrible screech, the scythe tore a ragged line across the shield’s surface.
Keith didn’t miss this opportunity, swinging his hammer downward and using his Ghost Flash. The golden sphere of energy streaked through the shield, striking Jared in the chest and causing him to stumble.
-1, Critical
It was barely anything at all, and honestly, Keith was surprised he’d managed to do even this much, especially with the level difference and the man’s armor.
For a moment, the formation flickered, small cracks appearing in the spinning series of circles. Then, Jared steadied himself, and the formation followed. He glared at the two of them as the shield closed, the cracks healing as his HP dropped once again.
“When I finish with this, I’m going to-!”
He was interrupted as Keith’s hammer – now in one piece – came slamming down onto the shield, sending a web of cracks spreading across its surface. Keith dragged the hammer back, then spun into a kick, using the weight of the weapon as a counterbalance. His Steelstance-enhanced blow slammed into the shield, sending more lines spreading across the barrier’s surface.
Keith dropped his foot, his clenched fist driving forward, even as the cracks began to heal. His steel-colored fist finally broke through, shattering a hole in the barrier’s surface. Keith’s hand opened, and another sphere of golden energy blasted out.
-0
It did nothing, as there had been no power behind it – Keith had discovered that while swinging a hammer wasn’t necessary to use Ghost Flash, it did cause more damage – but it had its intended effect, causing the man to stagger and interrupting his concentration once again.
The formation flickered, the spinning runes slowing as cracks appeared along its surface. Jared tried to right himself and regain control, but Cayla struck from behind, her scythe shearing through the already damaged shield and slicing into the back of Jared’s neck.
The man let out a howl of pain, then staggered forward, raising both hands and halting the destruction of the formation while he poured his HP into the barrier. However, this time, with multiple spots damaged and his health falling dangerously low, the barrier wasn’t so quick to come back up.
Keith and Cayla continued attacking it, further damaging it to the point where it was only a few good attacks away from falling. Jared stood at the center of the circle, his hands spread wide and eyes manic with rage.
Clearly, completing the ritual on his own would have been hard enough, but with the two of them attacking him, forcing him to divert his attention, it was all but impossible.
“Give it up,” Cayla said, hefting her scythe. “It’s over, Jared. You’ve lost.”
Keith silently cursed when she said that. Don’t ever back an enemy into a corner, then brag about it. The moment those words left Cayla’s lips, Keith knew it was all over.
“Lost?” Jared asked, a look of sheer insanity coming to his eyes. “Lost?”
The man drew a gleaming red dagger from his robes, brandishing it before him and all but cackling.
“I’ll show you who’s lost!”
Keith lunged, swinging the hammer with all his might and finally shattering the shield. Whatever Jared was about to do, Keith knew it wouldn’t be good. His senses were screaming at him to stop whatever was about to happen. However, the barrier had put up just enough resistance to stop him from landing a clean hit, and the two-handed hammer slammed into the ground just inches from the man’s body.
Keith lunged, fist crackling with the power of his Brutal Hail, but Jared had been acting as he’d been moving.
“I offer this sacrifice to Neera, Spirit of Blood!”
Jared then brought the dagger up and slashed it across his throat as Keith’s fist slammed into his nose with a wet crunch.
46
Blood sprayed from the wound as Jared landed on his back, eyes wide and a mad grin stretched across his face. The blood pooled all around him, pumping from his open neck and soaking into the ground.
“What did he just do?” Cayla asked, her face pale.
“The spirit has heard my plea,” Jared gurgled, blood flecking his lips as he spoke. “It’s too late for you. For all of you!”
A flash of red light blasted up into the sky. It disappeared from view of a moment before it all came crashing back down, slamming into Jared, then spreading outward in a rush.
“Aw, man,” Keith groaned as a fifth circle appeared, this one blood-red, and began spinning, dragging the others – which had been flagging – back into motion.
An explosion of force and wind slammed into him, even as he frantically backed away, not wanting to be anywhere near this thing when it activated.
“Come on!” he yelled, grabbing Cayla by her arm and dragging her away from the scroll as a red-tinged tornado spread upward from the center of the spinning circles, towering up into the sky.
Snow and ice began to spin around it as lightning crackled across its surface, the wind intensifying even further and sending their cloaks tearing around them as they did.
“What did you do?” Bob exclaimed, leaping from behind a boulder and landing on his shoulder.
“We didn’t do anything!” Keith yelled back, finally stopping and turning to face the towering crimson tornado.
“We’re dead,” Bob whined. “We’re all gonna die.”
“What are we just standing around here for?” Cayla yelled. “We need to run!”
“No, it won’t do us any good,” Bob groaned dejectedly. “We wouldn’t get far before it caught us.”
“You don’t even know what it is,” Cayla shrieked.
“No,” Bob replied. “I don’t. But if it took a five-layer circle to summon it, we’re talking about a monster between level fifty and sixty. We don’t stand a chance against whatever it is, regardless.”
Keith continued to watch the towering tornado, noting that it was finally starting to look a bit thinner and more transparent.
“I think whatever it is is here,” Keith said, getting their attention. “You might want to stop bickering and look.”
He ignored Bob’s whimpering as the tornado seemed to pull in, shrinking down considerably before blasting outward in a rush. Their cloaks were sent flapping again, Cayla’s hair streaming behind in the wind as the monster within was finally revealed.
“We’re dead,” Bob groaned. “We’re all dead!”
“What is that thing?” Cayla asked, her eyes going wide as saucers.
Keith, for his part, wasn’t really sure what to make of it. The monster was clearly terrifying but was not of the horrible, mutated mess variety. If anything, this monster looked far more cohesive than any of the others he’d fought so far.
The monster’s body was lizard-like in its appearance, though it would have to be the largest lizard Keith had ever seen. Its body was some sixty feet long – not including its tail – with dark blue-gray scales covering its hide. Twin rows of spines traveled along its back, lining either side until they joined at the tip of its thick muscled tail that added another thirty feet to its overall length.
The monster’s three heads turned, multicolored eyes examining its surroundings. Then, flames burst to life around the heads. It was colored blue on the left-most one, purple in the center, and red on the right. Though all three heads were similar in appearance in that they all sort-of resembled the dragons in the stories Keith had heard as a child back on Earth, there were a few distinct differences between them all.
The blue-fire-headed one appeared the most like a dragon, with a squarer snout, flaring nostrils, and a row of gleaming teeth that made Keith shudder just looking at them. The head flickering with red fire, on the other hand, appeared most like a snake, with a diamond-shaped head, slitted nostrils, and a pair of large fangs sitting to either side of its mouth.
The centermost head, the one with purple fire flickering around it, was the most unique, a blend of the two, but with the addition of a curved horn jutting up on the end of its snout.
The flickering flames didn’t seem to be affected by the storm at all, nor did they seem to care whether the monster’s heads moved or not. They remained burning steadily, no matter how the monster turned its heads, casting all three in an eerie light.
“Care to enlighten me as to what the hell that thing is?” Cayla hissed, making Keith realize that he had yet to analyze it.
Once he did, it made him feel even worse, as its name, highlighted in bright silver, appeared before his eyes.
Sola, the Triblaze Wyrm
Raid Boss
Level: 58
HP: 550,000/550,000
MP: 680,000/680,000
STA: 298,900/298,900
Str - 4,750
Agi - 2,295
Lck - 112
Skills: (P) Armored Hide, Tri-Heart, Massive Power, Brute, Leveler, Destroyer, Blaze, Massive Resilience, Magic Collider, Triform Mastery (A), Firefly, Tri-Burst, Ravage, Elemental Eliminator, Tri-Cloak (AOE), Tri-Hail, Colossal Triblaze, Backfire, Sacred Roar
“A level fifty-eight raid boss?” Cayla exclaimed when Keith told her what they were facing, though he didn’t know why she was so surprised.
Just looking at the thing should have told her they were screwed.
“So, running away is out of the question,” Keith said. “Is there any way we can survive this encounter?” he asked, silently cursing the system for landing him in yet another impossible situation.
As though to answer his question, a light ding sounded in his mind as the quest finally updated.
Quest Update: Conspiracy
I told you so! Now that the big scary monster is here, all hope is lost, right? Well, probably. But you might still miraculously survive, and that’s all you really have to do. Survive. Good luck…
Difficulty: S
Current Objective: Stay alive until backup arrives
Current Rewards: 10,000 XP, 1 epic item, 5 epic monster parts, 1 large gold bar
Time Remaining: 60 minutes
Bonus Objectives: Deal 10,000 damage, Deal 25,000 damage, Deal 100,000 damage, Deal 500,000 damage, Kill Sola
Bonus Rewards: Deal 10K damage and receive 5 epic monster parts, 1 legendary monster part
Deal 25K damage and receive 10 epic monster parts, 2 legendary monster parts
Deal 100K damage and receive 25 epic monster parts, 5 legendary monster parts, 1 crystallized wyrm heart
Deal 500K damage and receive 100 epic monster parts, 50 legendary monster parts, 3 crystallized wyrm hearts, 1 monster ore, 1 wyrm totem
Kill Sola and receive 1 legendary title, 1 legendary skill, 1 world-level quest
“Well, there’s some incentive for us to do a whole bunch of stupid things,” Keith said after closing the update.
The timing for the quest’s completion had changed to sixty minutes, which told him that backup would most likely arrive by then, though he asked Bob just to make sure.
“Yes, the timer of the quest changed because you completed the main part of it,” Bob replied, still staring wide-eyed at the massive monster as it continued looking around, as though trying to decide which direction it wanted to go. “All you’re going to have to do is stay alive for the remaining time, and you’ll automatically complete the quest.”
“We’re going for those bonus objectives,” Cayla said.
The fear was gone from her eyes, and in its place shone the light of greed.
“You’re insane,” Keith said. “The bonus objectives are there to entice us enough so that we’ll get ourselves killed.”
He had no idea what rewards she was being offered, as her quest was different than his, but he had the feeling it would be something similar.
“We don’t need to go for all of them,” Cayla said. “Just kill it, and maybe try to do ten-thousand points of damage. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”
