Too Stubborn to Die

Book 4: Chapter 32

From their perch atop the temple, Aaron eyed the other pyramids as they waited for the final step of the third floor’s dungeon quest to start.

Moments later, a fourth temple was aligned, as a group of thal’kesh led by the ink-controlling commander, Ikran Teshk Ungari. Tentacles lashed about as the barnacle-dotted squad of squids scanned their surroundings.

“More thal’kesh, huh?” Aaron muttered as she watched with interest.

Interestingly, as time ticked by, there was still no sign of Raksha, or Johan, for that matter. And Darius was still completely missing from the floor rankings.

The only thing that makes sense is that he didn’t enter the dungeon…

If Darius wasn’t around, it made completing the dungeon easier. But it also meant that he was likely the only top ranker remaining on their world…

Shit. Who knows what that bastard is up to? I really hope this thing doesn’t go on for too long.

Distracted as he thought about sending a fist through Darius’ face, Aaron barely noticed when the self-proclaimed goblin queen, surrounded by men in black gimp suits, reached the top of another temple moments later.

Aaron blinked at the unusual sight.

“Huh. That’s that, Erdek? I remember her from the trials. That is some interesting choice of company.”

The distance between them was vast, but with their impressive Perception, it was like he was looking right in her beady little eyes as she turned her gaze on him.

Erdek Foulbreath: @Aaron Dober, I see you there, blondie. There’s a spot in my gimp guard for you, sweet buns.

Aaron gulped and took a step backward as he softly shook his head. There was something about Erdek. She reminded him of someone long ago. His late mother’s eccentric friend. She had looked like a wrinkled-up old teabag, and always had a cigarette hanging between her fingers. And had a penchant for being a little too friendly and saying slightly suggestive things whenever he was about. It made his skin crawl.

“What are you doing, Soohyun?” Talia said.

Soohyun turned with a smile. She had been typing something, no doubt using the System as no keyboard was in sight. But since no chat messages popped up on the global chat, it was a little odd.

“Oh, nothing. Just had a strange thought,” she flashed an unconvincing smile.

“A thought?” Talia said.

“Hey, look! That’s Joseph!” Aaron said, pointing to a temple that had just been aligned. “Remember him from the trials?”

“Oh yeah,” Talia said. “I do.”

The huge man with impossible thick thighs stood before the temple console with a fierce look in his eyes. He had an odd squad following him. Two rough-looking humans and a goblin. None of their names were recognizable from the rankings, and they didn’t have much of an air about them. In fact, it kinda looked like he had picked up a few strays along the way.

With Erdek and Joseph aligning a temple each, that brought them to six temples, with three to go.

And so Aaron was hardly surprised when the next thing he saw was Raksha, leading several humans and thal’kesh to the top of the seventh temple. There were more than five, so she must have convinced others to fight alongside her despite not having a chance of reaching the next floor.

Then again, that wasn’t too surprising. She was their world’s second-highest-ranked, and getting in her good books was no doubt something many valued.

A short moment later, the eighth temple was aligned as a thal’kesh group led by Akrush Vivek Lordak ascended.

“Looks like things are about to start,” Aaron said. “Get ready, everyone.”

Talia and Soohyun were already in position, preparing themselves, and Zero was strutting around sniffing at things.

Aaron’s gaze was fixed on the final temple, waiting. But he probably shouldn’t have been too surprised when he spotted the last group arrive, led by Johan.

Immediately, his gaze shifted to Ernest, who tensed up and glared at the other temple. It was beyond obvious that Ernest was far more concentrated on taking out the undead spawn than he was on fighting whatever monster the quest threw at them.

He didn’t blame him. Aaron had already decided that taking out Johan was a side quest he’d like to resolve if possible. But now wasn’t the time. They needed to focus on taking the boss out and reaching the next floor.

Raksha Tiksus Vakmal: @Everyone, Let’s all put our differences aside for now. This is a serious boss. The System doesn’t often give out warnings, and we should take that seriously. Defeating it will determine our strength on the next floor and our world’s position in our universe. There are bigger things at stake than petty rivalries, got it? Whatever problems you might have with one another, save it until after the fight.

Aaron mostly agreed with the message. But doubted it would help. Raksha could say whatever she wanted, but if there were people who wanted to take some quick, cheap shots, they likely would. And he had a feeling Ernest would take the opportunity to strike at Johan if he got the chance.

Johan Svensson: @Raksha Tiksus Vakmal, Well said, Raksha. I quite enjoyed our chat. Though I doubt others are as clear-minded as you. Listen to Raksha. Let’s not be stupid. Let’s not allow little men with short fuses lead us to our own destruction.

Ernest Sheridan: @Johan Svensson, Little men, huh? Can’t say I ever liked you all that much, Johan, but somehow you’re even more insufferable dead. You should’a stayed six feet under.

“Yep, sure looks like they’re getting along with each other,” Aaron said. “Watch out for those two.”

Aaron raised a brow as some kind of barrier seemed to envelop Johan, and the man disappeared before his eyes.

“Right,” Talia nodded. “I’m sure this fight is going to be straightforward otherwise, though. Got any plans?”

“Me?” Aaron thumbed his chest. “Well, it’s me. I’m probably just going to jump straight down there. But you guys should probably stand back a bit and assess the fight. You know, be smart about it and all that.”

“Hmmm…” said Soohyun, looking over at Ernest.

“What is it?” asked Aaron.

“Hm?” she asked. “Oh. Nothing. Sorry. I’m ready.”

“You seem a little out of it, Soohyun,” said Talia. “Are you alright?”

Soohyun opened her mouth to reply, but was cut short as the ground began to rumble, and cracks appeared across the earth as it started to pull apart between the temples.

Dark sand began to pour through the widening fissures that spread by the second, expanding out across the land as an angry grumbling sounded out.

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Soon, a buzzing sound filled the air, like an apocalyptic locust swarm was upon them.

“Shit, that’s loud,” Aaron said.

As the rock broke apart, a huge, brown shape started to pierce through the ground, gradually rising higher as everything fell around it. Giant wings fluttered on its back, and sand poured down off of it.

The creature looked like a giant, gray locust or grasshopper. But with an oddly smooth, human face that looked painfully clenched. It even had teeth and hair, adding to the eerie look.

Mutated Cavarian Lord [ Level 180 ]

Titles: [ World Overlord ] [ Superior Genes ]

“That is some problematic wording,” Aaron murmured as he read the status window for the emerging boss.

“All that gene splicing references…” Talia murmured. “Is this what those weird aliens were building? Some giant mutated grasshopper.”

“Certainly not my idea of perfection,” Soohyun said.

“That’s one creepy-looking bastard,” Aaron said.

On its face, a level 180 mightn’t have seemed like much of a challenge for so many top rankers, but as Aaron eyed the creature, he got a feeling things wouldn’t be that straightforward.

The boss itself was no doubt an elite level 180, but of course, it didn’t come alone. A second later, the buzzing got even louder, and hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller locusts flooded out, turning the sky dark as they flew out of the hole created by the boss breaking through the earth.

In a second, they were upon them. The locusts swarmed over Superearth’s greatest rankers, and a chaotic maelstrom of carnage ensued.

There was little time for gaming a strategy. The swarm moved faster than Aaron expected and struck them near immediately.

He turned into a blur of action, dodging attacks as he countered, and quickly slaughtered a number of enemies. But it was hardly important. No, Aaron’s gaze had never left the boss. He knew what was important, and a few locust minions weren’t enough to distract from the prize.

“I’m going in!” He said and jumped off the temple, diving toward the titanic locust boss.

Aaron didn’t necessarily want to be the Superearth’s punching bag. But the cold, hard truth was that he was the only person able to survive death, and that was as good a reason as any to take on the vanguard himself.

Raksha’s warning flashed through his thoughts as he dove down. At least for now, he would do his best to help prevent unnecessary deaths.

But his foe wasn’t about to let him have an easy time of it. Dozens of locusts swooped at him as he dove, and he was forced to phase and counter.

So many attacks were coming his way that he was taken off guard when a seismic sonic wave of energy shot out from the boss, shaking his very atoms to the core as it washed over him.

The attack was sickly disorientating. So bad that even a few of the minions got in attacks before he crashed down atop the boss.

Aaron was already healing, though, and as more swooped down upon him, he phased back and forth, and then swung down at the giant carapace beneath his feet with a [ Soul Shattering Strike ], that stole the wind from the giant locust’s lungs.

“Didn’t like that, huh?”

Aaron swung again and again, pummeling into the massive beast and ignoring the tremors that still shook his body after eating the sonic beam attack.

Unfortunately for the boss, Aaron was one durable bastard, and it’d take more than destabilizing his very core to stop him from stubbornly throwing fists.

And within seconds, he had landed powerful haymakers and a [ Bombardier Fist ] that blew the beast’s carapace apart.

Flung backward by the power of his own attacks, Aaron braced, shielding himself from the hail of carapace pieces that filled the air like deadly shrapnel.

But when the destruction finally cleared, he found himself blinking in amazement. The Cavarian Lord had shredded its previous carapace and rebuilt it anew. And it looked completely undamaged by his attack.

“Nice, but I’m not done yet, mate!”

As he flew back toward the boss, Aaron glanced around at the carnage taking place. Just about everyone was fighting with everything, except Johan or Ernest.

Wherever they were, it wasn’t here. But Aaron didn’t have time to worry about that. It was obvious that the cowboy had gone looking for a fight, and he just hoped Ernest came out on top. But he was a little frustrated that the cowboy didn’t wait until after the boss fight. They could have taken Johan down together.

Meanwhile, thick, viscous ink was marked all over the battlefield, and the thal’kesh ranker, Ikran Teshk Ungari, came and went as he pleased. Stepping out through his inky Skill, the thal’kesh ambushed the biggest locusts, who appeared to be some kind of grasshopper captains, and culled them at his leisure.

On the other side of the battlefield, impressive fireballs rained across the land. As they hit their targets, they burst with power, exploding outward with impressive heat, flattening and burning everything in their path.

Behind it all was Erdek Foulfreath, waving her shamanic staff through the air, calling down more firewalls and bursts of lightning from the sky, alongside a giant eyeball she commanded in the clouds above.

Her gimp guards seemed to be entirely defensively postured. But they were no slouches, quickly cutting down any grasshoppers dumb enough to attempt a frontal assault on Erdek.

The sound of a supercharged engine roared so loudly it was heard over the terrifying cacophony of buzzing, and through the dust and debris, Terry came flying, slamming into a group of alien locusts and blasting them into pieces. The collision didn’t even slow him, and bits of insect went flying all over the place as he raced straight through them, and slammed straight into one of the boss’ ginormous legs.

In the air above, bubbles were floating all about. They seemed almost harmless to the untrained eye, but any careless locust that touched one of the many bubbles was quickly captured within, and within seconds, there were dozens, and soon hundreds of captured insects floating through the sky.

Purple tendrils slithered along the ground and through the sky, as if they had a mind of their own. Reaching their targets, they shot out like hundreds of snake heads, stabbing at countless locusts and injecting deathly toxic venom into their veins. Barely a second or two later, the poisoned locusts fell from the sky, hitting the ground and twitching until their last breath.

Explosions rattled all around as missiles crashed into the ground, and bullets splattered unlucky locusts. Dozens of shields had appeared the moment the chaos ensued, and they flashed and flicked as countless attacks were consumed, and explosive abilities and Skills lit up the sky.

The battle had quickly devolved into a chaotic mess, with Skills and attacks going every which way. It was hard to tell who was even attacking, enemy or ally. It was immediately obvious to Aaron that if their world was ever to fight in a unified manner, they had a very long way to go.

Luckily, that didn’t matter too much to him. His purpose seemed clear, and he clenched his fists as he reached the boss once more, throwing down with empowered attacks against the near indestructible locust.

Aaron’s attacks cracked the carapace once more, and the Cavarian Lord responded with powerful flaps of its wings that sent shockwaves blasting outward.

Aaron phased through the attacks one after another and grinned heartily as he continued punching.

This was what he was made for. The others could continue their rampage, and he could continue tanking this bastard for as long as was necessary.

[ Bombardier Fist ] and haymakers rained down relentlessly. Attack after attack was sequenced into combos, and [ Soul Shattering Strike ] led the way, breaking down defenses as he kept punching.

But as he broke through one and into another, the boss burst open its carapace against, sending another wave of shrapnel shooting out as it rebuilt itself.

A moment later, several of Erdek’s fireballs and Raksha’s poison tendrils landed against the boss, rattling it fiercely, and the irate locust gave a shrill shriek.

The sound was absolutely terrible, and shot out across the entire area, and figures fighting the locust minions could be seen dropping from the sky around them as they were shaken to their bones.

It even staggered Aaron. It lacked a physical component and didn’t necessarily wound him, but his phasing didn’t work against the attack, and it got him to stop punching for a moment.

Above them, Talia had created a deathly fog of shadows. Any locust that had entered the shadows was left in pieces. But the shrieking sound had shaken her, and the shadows dissipated as she held her hands against her head.

“Shut up!” Aaron shouted and focused his way forward to land another punch.

The punch wasn’t about to change the tides of battle, but it did get the locust to stop shrieking for a moment.

A moment that Soohyun seized.

With both her hands, Soohyun aimed her massive blade down and swung.

It was tremendous. The most unapologetically raw power Aaron had ever seen.

This was his new companion’s true strength.

Soohyun looked so tiny and petite against her massive blade, but the energy coursing off of it was nothing short of amazing. And the moment the blade slammed against the Cavarian Lord’s carapace, it showed its power.

Unlike Aaron’s powerful punches, Soohyun’s blade cut straight through the carapace, showing them in alien blood as it cut deep into the flesh beyond.

The massive, and extraordinarily hardy boss was exactly what her Skill set was made for.

She mightn’t have been the fastest or most accurate fighter on the field that day. But her power was immense. And when leveled against a near-impenetrable, but relatively easy to hit foe, its might was on full display.

The Cavarian Lord shrieked once more, and Aaron realized it was really pissed now, and the power of the shriek seemed to literally rock the entire world, and in the process broke several barriers, and anybody still flying was knocked out of the sky.

Aaron snorted, pushed back by the agonizing pain of the shrieking, blood trickling down his nose as he called on the strength of his soul itself to resist the incredible force pushing down upon him.

His brow bent, and his jaw clenched as he forced himself forward, like trudging through thick mud.

“Didn’t like that, huh?”

He clenched his fists and turned to wink at Soohyun, who herself was struggling against the might of the acoustic attack.

It was time to crush a bug.