novelraw Chapter 114: Fours
Chapter 114: Fours
Although it was tough, Quentin's method of training worked. He pushed us to our absolute limits and only allowed us to rest and recover when there was no more juice to squeeze out of our bodies.
It was Friday, and we were finally on the final floor of the dungeon.
After I went home on Monday, I did some research on the dungeon and discovered that it was an undisclosed dungeon that belonged to my family.
Who permitted Quentin to use the dungeon? I could only assume that it was my older brother.
The final floor was different from the others as there was no longer a corridor for us to traverse.
It was a short but wide hallway that led to double gates that we had to push open.
Because defeating the boss meant the dungeon would shut down, we asked Quentin if he was sure that we were allowed to do this, but he reassured us that it was fine if the boss died.
Although I was confused, I didn't ask questions.
I'm Bell Agnus. I won't get punished if I fuck up and cause the dungeon to close. Quentin, on the other hand… I hope he has insurance. I'll lend him a buck or two if he needs it.
An image of him dressed in rags with a cup in his hands, asking for spare change, flashed across my mind.
"Spare change? Spare change, anyone?"
Then someone would pass by and offer him a sum of cash in exchange for his services. Although he had dignity, dignity wouldn't fill his stomach, so he chose to—
"Bell, are you okay?" asked Sarakit, pulling me out of my daydream.
Once we pushed the double gates, we were inside the boss room.
At the center stood theboss. It resembled the monsters, the Seamwalkers, but it was refined and perfected. It stood on two feet as a bipedal monster. Its proportions mirrored those of a human's almost exactly.
Its plating was much smoother and cleaner than the other monsters, and it sort of resembled muscle.
Its head had the same shape as a bald man's head, except where a face should've been, there was a single vertical slit that glowed white-gold from the very top of its head down to its neck.
Behind it stood three guardians. Each one resembled the base monster that is a Seamwalker, except they had these minor details that made each one unique from the others.
The presence released by the four monsters made my skin feel a little prickly.
Four opponents. Four of us.
"What the—" Merlin uttered as he looked down.
The rest of us copied and noticed that our feet were trapped in place by this magical chain.
Then, the place we were standing on began to shift. Each one of us was placed in one of the four cardinal directions and walls made of the dungeon material began rising, dividing the room into four separate arenas.
In an instant, all four of us were isolated and forced into a one-on-one battle against the monsters.
Was it good luck or bad luck that I was alone with the boss?
If I had to pick one, this is what I would've picked to face. But if I look at it from the perspective that I received the hardest challenge, my luck was terrible.
❖ ❖ ❖
[Sarakit]
The guardian in front of me was tall and slender whose body was riddled with these translucent plates. Through them, I could see liquid mana flowing inside its body.
Reaching for a potion, I threw it and the glass exploded midair, splashing the monster with the liquid.
Knowing how to read mana cells and how potions affected them, the lack of reaction or rather, how little the reaction lasted, gave me a hint.
Wanting to test it again, I rolled and dodged an attack. Then, as I straightened up, I tossed another potion.
Eyes widened, I uttered, "Just as I thought. This monster is neutralizing my potions."
What are the odds?
Grabbing a few vials, I drank them or splashed them on my body while continuing to avoid the attacks that came my way.
The effects of each potion caused my power and strength to surge.
My skin, naturally a medium tan color with olive hints, was turning red.
For the first time, all the damage that needed to be done was solely in my hands. I had no teammates to fall back on and I wasn't even sure if Quentin was in the boss room with us.
"...Crap," I uttered. Debuffing my opponents was one of my strengths, and now, that was no longer an option.
The monster seemed to be laughing at me.
Raising an eyebrow, I wondered if it was mocking me.
"You're just a monster," I said. "The audacity…"
Reaching into my bag, I pulled out another bottle and crushed the glass in my palm. The liquid soaked directly into my skin and it was absorbed within a few seconds.
If my skin had previously been partially red, I was completely the color of a ripe tomato now.
Everything around me seemed to slow down.
"I'm going to be the best alchemist to ever live someday. A monster laughing at me is unacceptable," I told myself as I dashed forward, barehanded.
Tilting my head, I weaved a mere centimeter past an attack and as I punched the monster in the chest, the energy in my fist transferred over.
A literal explosion was created where our bodies made contact.
The guardian was sent flying backwards, and it crashed into the wall.
"Surprise! Unlucky for you, I've developed these potions recently," I smiled. "First time trying them out."
After that nightmare that Quentin had showed my days before, I realized that if it came down to it, I would need to be able to defend my mother from danger that I wasn't comfortable with.
That led me to invent these new brews that made me stronger in exchange for a weakened mana circuit after the effects ran out. Of course, the side effect was only temporary and after a few days, it should return to normal.
Key word — should.
I would also become extremely fatigued once the effects ran out. That meant if I failed to defeat this guardian, I would be an easy target.
It was a race against time.
❖ ❖ ❖
[Merlin]
The monster, the guardian — it didn't move.
It just stood there with a broad frame. It looked heavy, unlike the usual Seamwalker which gave the impression of being weightless.
Its body was wrapped in these thick, obsidian-like plating that looked like scorched black soil that had just survived a fire that lasted days.
Raising my staff, I fire a standard firebolt.
The spell slammed into its chest and dispersed harmlessly.
"Zero damage? You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
The black guardian tilted its head slightly and I swallowed nervously. It still didn't move.
I tried again, casting a stronger spell this time. The fire ball was compressed, hotter, and denser in energy. The result was the same. Zero damage.
"Is it immune to fire?" I wondered as the guardian took a step forward. The ground I was standing on trembled.
Gritting my teeth, I hurried to cast my strongest fire spell while the guardian was taking its sweet time approaching me.
A roaring pillar of flame erupted where the guardian was standing. The entire arena was filled with a blinding orange-red hue of light.
The heat was suffocating and my mana reserve plummeted.
When the flames cleared, I saw that the guardian's armor had been cracked — just barely.
"...So you're not totally immune," I smirked. "Just… ridiculously resistant to fire."
That wasn't that much better, but at least it was something.
The guardian looked down on its chest and although it had no mouth, I could see it frown as it began charging towards me, no longer taking its sweet time heading over.
Boom!
I barely rolled out of the way as its fist smashed into the ground. Pieces of the floor exploded upward.
I reacted a pinch too late and my shoulder ended up clipping the floor hard. Pain shot up my arm, but I had to ignore it.
Is the only answer to defeating this thing just burning through all my mana to cast my strongest spells?!
But at that rate, I'd drain myself dry long before the monster went down.
Staggering back, I dodged. Then dodged again. And again. And again.
I continued doing this and sweat began soaking through my uniform.
Think Merlin. Think!