âNice work!â Max shouted as he spun back to face Cordellia behind him. âYou do put out some damage out with that bow!â
Cordellia blushed a little, still struggling with the knowledge that one of the elven princesses was in her party.
âAre you all aware that gems donât normally drop like this?â Cordellia asked. âI mean usually itâs one or two at most for a normal pack of five.â
âEverett told us,â Tanila replied. âAnother thing we like to keep a secret.â
Nodding quickly, Cordellia smiled and pointed in the direction they were headed. âYou all really think the rare spawn might be up there?â
Max shrugged. âWe need to level up and kill stuff anyways. Why not aim for the special ones? Especially if we are going to try and reset our tower level every chance we get.â
Cordellia had no response other than to bob her head.
âPack of five up ahead, we ready?â
âI am,â Tanila replied. âSame plan? Root one, freeze other, blast third, you two each tank and kill one while we watch Cordellia pincushion the other two?â
âSounds good to me,â Fowl replied.
âYou all are crazy,â Cordellia muttered. âI mean⊠Iâve been in a few groups but you four act like this isnât anything. Most new tower climbers would be struggling.â
âWeâre not most people,â Batrire replied sweetly. âReady here!â
âPulling!â Fowl shouted.
The pack of five lizardmen came rushing at them, each holding a spear and a shield.
Tanila rooted the furthest one and then Ice Prisoned the next one in line.
Cordellia immediately started firing arrows, already hitting her target twice before the other lizardmen were crowd controlled. As Fowl rushed toward the final two, his aura forced them to target him, Max came up from behind, choosing not to reveal his Stealth skill yet. Two quick strikes killed the first one and within a few more moments the second was also dead.
Tanila and Cordellia had finished off their original targets and the first lizardman that had been ensnared was already on the receiving end of arrow after arrow.
Less than a minute later the last two were dead.
âSeems so easy after having been just the four of us,â Fowl joked as he collected the gems that had dropped from the back two.
âHow did most of your fights go?â Max asked Cordellia. âSimilar to this?â
She shook her head, frowning for a moment. âWe had one mage, a healer, two tanks and me. Yet at no point did anyone do the damage that you and Pri⊠Tanila are doing. I donât doubt we can easily reach the fourth floor without a problem.â
âLetâs take our time and keep working together to get all the kinks out,â Max suggested as he pointed at the next pack in their path. âIâd rather know we have things down and know how to respond if something goes wrong instead of finding out the hard way we arenât prepared.â
Cordellia bobbed her head.
âLetâs go!â Fowl shouted as he moved ahead of the others.
The next two hours was a steady stream of cutting down packs with relative ease and no problems. Even when the very rare resist came against one of Tanilaâs spells, Max picked up the one that resisted while everyone else focused the others, letting Fowl continue to easily tank the lizardmen, who continued to hurt themselves every time they hit him.
âHoly elf tits,â Cordellia cursed, sending Fowl into a fit of laughter.
âI take it that's the rare spawn?â Max asked, ignoring their dwarf warrior and his childlike behavior.
âYes, and Iâve never seen it before, but I know what it looks like⊠I mean⊠this isnât possible.â
Shrugging, Max studied the group with the rare spawn and considered their options.
âSo the boss is twice as tall, meaning what⊠fifteen or sixteen feet?â
âAt least,â Fowl replied, having recovered from his laughing fit. âDoes it really have a spear and a shield?â
âThat shield is taller than you are Fowl,â Batrire teased. âThe spear is taller than it is⊠how are you going to fight that reach?â
âTwo archers in that group,â Max pointed out. âHow fast can you two drop them?â
âAs long as the big one doesnât aggro on me, I should be fine killing the first one before it gets more than one shot off. Iâll use my skill on it.â
Max nodded. âThe ten minute cooldown one?â
âYeah, but it will easily kill it. If I hit the boss with it Fowl would have to taunt right after.â
âDonât worry about using that on the boss. Weâll manage fine,â Max replied. âTanila, you want to root the other two and then burn down the last archer?â
âWorks for me,â she replied.
âUh⊠Seth, arenât we going to talk about that massive spear? I mean the metal head of that weapon is at least as thick as Batrire.â
Unable to help it, Max chuckled and nodded. âIt is⊠so donât get hit with it.â
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Groaning, Fowl gave Max the finger before pulling a rock out of his storage.
âReady here,â their dwarf warrior muttered.
âYou all arenât worried about any skills it might have?â Cordellia blurted out as Fowl started to rotate his shoulders.
âWeâll be fine, provided it doesnât kill Fowl in one shot,â Batrire replied.
âPulling!â
Fowlâs rock hit the boss, and Max couldnât help but chuckle at the dwarf's ability to strike a target that big from seventy yards away.
The boss roared and raced toward them, quickly leaving its allies behind as each step ate up the distance with ease.
Cordelliaâs shot flew over the cracked stone floor and put a hole through the archer on the leftâs chest, killing it as it drew back its bow.
The two melee lizardmen were locked in place and soon a large ice spear impaled the remaining archer that was shooting at Cordellia who dodged its arrows with ease.
Max saw the boss coming. Its body looked like a mountain of muscle. Its scales were thicker than the other lizardmenâs and Max wondered what difference it would make in getting through its defenses.
The bossâs spear glowed red and came at Fowl the moment it was in range.
Holding his shield out, Fowl braced for what was coming.
A loud clashing of metal on metal rang out across the area and Fowl was sent flying, tumbling across the ground while the boss roared in agony.
Max watched as his friend's health bar dropped half way, surviving the creature's strike and dealing back a percentage of the damage it had caused.
His own weapon flashed red as he ran forward, and hacked at the bossâs left leg.
His halberd went halfway through the creature's leg, hitting the bone, when the bossâs body flashed yellow and the weapon got lodged in place.
It hissed, swinging its spear in an arc and bringing the long shaft toward Max. He felt it coming and twisted sideways as he let go of his weaponâs shaft, and moved to stand next to the bossâs leg.
Another roar sounded when the bossâs shield connected with Maxâs weapon shaft as it tried to squash him. The force of the blow sent Maxâs weapon flying and blood started squirting from the wound.
âItâs shielded!â Cordellia shouted, her arrows exploding upon impact with the bossâs scales.
âComing!â Fowl shouted from behind, still over fifteen meters away.
The boss stomped at Max, its injured leg seemingly unhindered even as it bled from the gash. He ducked and weaved, moving toward his weapon that lay a few yards away, almost closing his eyes as the spear came at him. Each strike from the boss was easy to read and dodge. It tried to stab, smack and bash Max with its spear and shield, but missed each attack.
Dirt and stone flew up as the spear impaled the ground next to Max, missing him by less than a foot as he stepped sideways at the last second.
Like a fool, Max grabbed the spear, wanting to test something, and found himself airborne a second later when the boss yanked it back.
âElllllfffff tiiiiitssss!â Max howled as the boss waved its spear around in the air, trying to dislodge the human clinging to it for dear life.
A quick flash of yellow came as Cordellia fired off a charge shot, hitting the boss in its right eye, causing it to roar in pain as Fowl finally reached it, slamming his shield into the weakened leg.
The boss staggered for a moment and lowered its weapon enough that Max could let go, rolling as he hit the ground.
âCareful!â
The massive rare spawn slammed its shield down towards Fowl, who held his own shield above his head. It was angled just enough that the bossâs attack ricocheted off to the side, and sent Fowl rolling a few feet when most of the power from the strike was displaced.
Max raced to his weapon as Cordellia began unleashing arrow after arrow at the boss.
âAlmost done with the warriors!â Tanila shouted.
Fowlâs thorn aura was taking a toll on the boss as every hit that he blocked or suffered reflected damage back, so blood was seeping from cracks in its scales.
âComing!â Max yelled, halberd in hand and charging toward the massive lizardman struggling to attack.
Cordelliaâs constant barrage of arrows aimed at its face required it to hold the shield upward, limiting its ability to stop Fowlâs hammer, which always connected when there was an opening.
Max ran toward the left leg, planted both feet, and swung, connecting in the same spot as before and fracturing the bone. This caused the lizardman to stumble, and when it stepped sideways. Putting all its weight on its left leg, the bone broke completely.
âTimber!â Fowl yelled as he tried to dodge the falling mass of the creature.
Arrows peppered the right leg and hip that were exposed, puncturing the scales in an impressive show of power.
âIncoming rock!â
Max had rolled out of the way as the lizardman fell toward him and saw the massive boulder Tanila had created come crashing on the bossâs back.
Bones crunched under the impact and scales burst apart, as the boss was smashed between the hard stone floor and Tanila's spell.
Knowing its life was coming to an end, Max leaped up the moment the spell ended, landing on the boss's back and jabbing the tip of his spear into its smashed head.
Scales shattered, yet Max couldnât pierce through its skull on his first attempt.
It tried to stand, pushing up with both hands, and Max used every ounce of skill and ability to reamain upright, jabbing the tip of his halberd down again and again.
As a hand reached toward him Max thrust once more, finally shattering the thick skull, and his weapon plunged deep inside the bossâs head, connecting with the brain and ending its life.
The rare spawn fell back to the ground, with Max holding onto his halberd as he was slung forward and the cold rush of power filled him.
[ 6 Strength Consumed ]
[ 6 Constitution Consumed ]
[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]
[ Power Strike - Uncommon has been upgraded to Power Strike - Epic ]
[ Consume has Consumed a Higher Rank Skill ]
[ Armored Warrior - Rare has been upgraded to Armored Warrior - Epic ]
Maxâs grip on his weapon was the only thing that kept him from falling off the bossâs body as the power from the stats and two skills upgrading to epic flooded through him.
Blinking his eyes, Max didnât waste a second once his body and mind were working again, yanking his weapon free and jumping off the corpse.
âHey, what are youââ Fowl called out, stopping when he saw Max pull the spear free from the bossâs hand and store it immediately.
âStart harvesting it!â Cordellia shouted as she ran toward the fallen body, bow put away and a knife that was almost as long as a short sword out in her hand.
The group descended upon the fallen rare spawnâs body, hacking off fingers, ears, plucking eyes and teeth while Max got to work cutting off as much of the tail as possible due to the thickness of it.
Less than a minute after they started, it began to fade, disappearing into the floor. Where it had been resting, a standard-size red boss chest appeared.
âGods!â exclaimed Fowl as he watched the finger he had been trying to cut off vanish. âThat went faster than I expected.â
Cordellia nodded. âBosses here donât last long. Most of the time a party might not get anything and they're just happy to have survived, let alone get close enough to try to cut through the protective skin or armor.â She turned and pointed at Max, who was hefting a huge six foot section of the tail he had managed to chop off over his head. âNice work on the spear and that. Iâm assuming you donât have room for the tail?â
Tossing the tail to the ground, Max nodded. âIâm not certain the spear was a great choice. Perhaps I should have tried for its shield, but I have a few ideas of what I might want to use the weapon for.â
Everyone except Cordellia started to laugh and she glanced at them that, an eyebrow raised in wonder.
âOh, donât worry. Youâll find out soon enough,â Batrire replied. âFor now, let's see whatâs inside the chest.â