by Wolfe Locke
Everyone raised their hand, and for a minute, Seraph thought this might have been a good idea.
Chapter 10: Teamwork
* * *
To everyone’s surprise, Erin jumped at the opportunity to step forward and lead the way. According to Seraph’s plan, she didn’t need to do much. She just needed to be the first one out, so she could use her ability and then maintain the ability in a pending state as the rest of their group did their own parts, waiting for the signal to release it.
“Alright, guys. On the count of three, everyone needs to go. Remember your roles, stick to the plan, and you’ll be just fine,” Seraph said as he looked at each of them, waiting until he got a nod in affirmation that they understood what their role was in the takedown of the Gigas. One after another they gave him the acknowledgment he was looking for.
Satisfied, he began the countdown. “One, two, three, go,” Seraph commanded in a low voice.
They ran out into the exposed danger of the gymnasium from their hiding place, each of them shielding their eyes as Erin pulled upon the innate power of her passive ability, Starcall. A white light barely the size of a tennis ball blinked into existence at the feet of the giant monster, though the monster seemed not to notice as it stood passive and unmoving near the exit. The light blinked and pulsed, but if the Gigas noticed, it refused to look, completely unconcerned about the thing at its feet.
Alexander was the first to strike. He ran up the wooden bleachers to give himself a chance to strike at the unprotected side of the Gigas. With the noise in the room as loud as it was, his footsteps landing heavy on the steps as he ran up them did nothing to alert the monster that he was coming. The monster's attention focused completely on Seraph as he ran toward it.
The elven man pulled his spear from his pocket—extending it as he leveled it—and charged, bracing the spear with his body and shoving it into the side of the Gigas, who screamed in rage as it counter-attacked and brought a fist down, breaking the bleachers where Alexander had seconds previously been standing. The attack only missing due to Seraph’s instructions to move backward immediately after striking, having informed the group of the Gigas’ attack patterns.
The monster, seeing Alexander still alive, bellowed in rage. The scream threw everyone into a short state of fear. A fear that stopped Alexander where he was in paralysis as the Gigas gave chase. Its attention fixated on him with a terrible look. Eyes of the deepest gray bore straight into him, full of pain and anger. They all knew that if Alexander got caught, the thing would be merciless and take its time relishing killing him.
“Uh, guys, I got its attention!” Alexander yelled, his voice cracking as it betrayed his fear as he tried to pretend to be more confident than he really was. “I need help, though. I can’t move. I’m stuck. I can’t move at all, guys. I’m really stuck.”
“I have you, Alexander. Just breathe and be ready to move when you get the signal,” Seraph replied as he ran behind the Gigas into the monster’s blind spot. He tightly gripped the mace in his hand and aimed his strike at the back of the monster's ankle, bringing all of his strength against it, hoping the effort would shatter the bone and cripple it.
The Gigas roared in anger as it quickly turned its hulking body, its arms swinging out in all directions to catch and kill the man that had tried to harm it. “Alexander, that’s the signal! You need to move, move, move!” yelled Seraph as he worked to dodge the blows that were coming his way. Every strike the Gigas threw was devastating. If even one of those punches landed, Seraph knew it would kill him in a gory end.
“I wasn’t able to cripple it like we planned. It’s still mobile! Careful, guys!” Seraph shouted, giving everyone else a clear warning.
Alexander ran out of the way, jumping around the bleachers, barely staying ahead of the monster. As Alexander moved, the Gigas followed. Its oversized fists caught on pieces of the bleachers, tearing off boards and planks with a glancing touch, the remaining parts pulverized instantly into dust. When Alexander finally realized the Gigas was no longer following him, he panted, out of breath, sweat rolling off his body as he looked at the path of destruction that had followed him.
“Get back into position, Alexander! While I’ve got his attention, just be ready to go again!” yelled Seraph. Alexander swallowed hard and forced himself to push his fears down as deep as they would go as he tried to find a foothold on the broken wooden planks. He needed to maneuver himself back toward the Gigas and the weak point that Seraph had exposed by holding its attention—the back of the neck. One step after another, running as fast as he could over the broken patching, he shot forward, thrusting his spear with all the force he could use, and he jammed the spear into the monster’s neck. But it was not enough; the thing was barely harmed. A thin line of blood was the full extent of the damage he had caused the monster.
This time, the Gigas screamed as it brought both of its fists down as Alexander scrambled to get out of the way. Both Seraph and Alexander immediately realized he wasn’t going to be able to run to safety.
“Just jump!” Seraph shouted as loudly as he could.
Alexander heard it and jumped off the bleachers, just as the Gigas’ fists crashed down, destroying the remaining portions of the bleachers that Alexander had been just been standing on. The Gigas, not to be deterred, picked up a piece of the shattered boards and went to throw it at the man.
Seraph, hesitated for a moment wondering if maybe he should let the Gigas kill Alexander to get a larger share of the loot before dismissing it and moving in to attack. Though he had been unsuccessful in his first attempt to try to cripple the giant—the bones too dense and sturdy for Seraph to damage at his current level—he believed he could still damage the creature if he shifted the focus of his attack, and in doing so, he might be able to save Alexander.
He needed to focus on a different target—something weaker than the bones of the ankle had been. He quickly realized the top of the monster’s foot was likely what he was looking for. It should be less protected and less durable. With time running out, it would have to do.
Gripping his weapon in his hand, he manipulated his thoughts to boost his strength, focusing on his anger—and the targets of his anger—to activate the Dark Heart - Aspect of Wrath ability. As new power flooded into his veins, he knew he had succeeded.
With a yell, he smashed his mace against the top of the Gigas’ foot. A snap could be heard as the tiny bones just beneath the surface broke against the pressure of the blow. As the bones broke, and the soft tissue was destroyed from the impact, the Gigas dropped the board it had been getting ready to throw.
Now was the moment of truth. The monster howled in extreme pain—each scream drastically improving its reflexes and exponentially increasing the danger it posed to the group—and though Seraph had been prepared for the pain, he was still caught by the force of the vibrations as the monster smashed its fists into the ground, causing the floor to cascade like a wave.
Seraph landed sprawled out on the ground near Alexander. Though he had dodged the bulk of the blow, he was unable to completely evade the damage the monster caused. With no further plan to play, Seraph shouted, “Now!” hoping the situation with the balls figured out.
Erin saw Seraph fall and knew that to be the first signal. Seraph had explained that once the monster was fully immersed in chasing down one of them, she would need to release her ability, and she did so as a blinding light filled the room as monster glaring down at him as it moved in to finish the kill, just as Seraph called out, “Now!”
They all shielded their eyes to not be blinded by the effects of her ability. It didn’t do any damage; it just inflicted a status effect—an effect that even worked on bosses, as long as they looked in the direction of the Starcall spawn. It was an effect that had clearly taken hold as the monster clutched at its eye, unable to see as it roared in anger and confusion as it flailed its arms about.
This is what they had wanted. A single moment of vulnerability as it screamed
to the sky, its anger heavy in the room as Seraph ran over to Alexander and dragged him out of its way. Just in time, as it began to rampage indiscriminately. Paul jumped from the rafters, knife in hand, and performed a swan dive, directly into the eye of the rampaging Gigas. He had used his ability to reach the rafters of the gymnasium—the highest point that he could reach—and then did as he had been instructed: wait for the right moment, wait for the signal, and then unleash himself on the monster.
Paul threw his body like a spear, and the knife he carried on his person was the tip of that spear. He easily cut through the soft tissue of the eye, and rapidly cut through the fleshly membrane and sinew, finally embedding himself to the hilt into the monster’s brain. The force of the blow knocked the monster backward, killing it near instantly. As it fell to the floor with a loud thud, Seraph ran over to assist.
“Alexander, your ankles should be healed by now. You and Erin get over here!” Seraph yelled as he ran toward his father's unmoving form. His body was partially obscured and broken, embedded in the skull of the Gigas. “We need to get him out of there now! Alexander, give me a hand! Erin, try to brace his body when we pull!” Each man grabbed a leg and steadied the body with a hand underneath on the stomach as Erin, noticeably pale, waited to hold the body steady as it was pulled out.
Both men grunted as they dug their feet into the monster’s back to pull Paul out, and with a sickening wet popping sound, they were able to pull him free. His chest rose shallowly; he was clearly severely injured. Likely from a punctured lung and broken ribs. He would likely live, though.
Seraph took it as a good sign to see that he was still breathing. Bit by bit they pulled more of Paul from the monster's skull. His torso had jagged bloody strips of flesh dangling and torn in thin pieces, ripped by the fragments of the monster’s bone that had torn through his flesh. It was difficult to see, even for Seraph. Seeing the other two start to falter, Seraph spoke, “Keep moving. We have to get him free. This is the dungeon; he’s going to be OK. We just need to get him free so that he stops taking damage long enough to heal.”
However, as they pulled his body out, it was hard to see how he was going to be okay. His dominant hand that had held the knife was now gone. Not cut off in that sense, but it had multiple breaks and was shredded as if all the force of the blow had been channeled through the arm. Upon hitting the back of the monster's skull, it had released into the arm and caused it to explode, unable to contain the kinetic energy. His face was bleeding badly, his forehead was cut, and bones showed through his face in multiple places from a whole host of deep lacerations and abrasions. Those kinds of injuries in the outside world would have likely already resulted in Paul’s death.
“Keep his neck stable, Erin!” Seraph yelled as they finished getting him out of the Gigas’ skull, laying him on the unbroken portions of the floor. Paul was unmoving and unresponsive. Seraph thought it was a small mercy that his dad was unconscious. He didn’t need to be awake for this.
“Shouldn’t we move on and try to find some medicine or something for him?” Erin asked. “I mean this is a school, or was, or is, I don’t know, but maybe they have like a nurse's office?”
“Yeah, man,” interjected Alexander. “He looks like he’s in bad shape. We need to try to get him some help.”
Seraph shook his head. “This is the dungeon. You need to throw away the idea of finding help here. As soon as we step through the doors, even if it's to look for help, it’ll trigger whatever is next, or whatever monster is out there is going to start up or come our way. Are either of you prepared to help me fight another monster? Who's to say what we're going to find in those halls. It is best to wait and go as a complete and fully-healed team.”
Erin looked at him in horror. “What do you mean wait. Paul is going to die. He looks like he’s going to die. Isn’t this your dad? How can you do that? How can you just let your dad die?”
Seraph looked down at his dad, worry evident on his face. “I don’t want him to die, but if we step through that door unprepared, he will definitely die, and we won’t be able to defend him if we get attacked. You're forgetting, and I keep telling you, this is the dungeon. So long as you’re not dead, you will be OK. You will heal, so long as no monsters are around. It’s why Alexander is able to walk right now.”
“See, this is what I mean,” Seraph said, pointing to his father.
Erin gasped, and Alexander called out “No way!” in shock at what they saw.
The bone and bloody pulp that Paul’s arm had been reduced to began repairing itself, as blood and muscle tissue spawned within the arm, filling it out and restoring it, piece by piece. Gashes in his chest started to close up, and where there had been large wounds, they quickly became angry welts, and those welts eventually faded away to smooth skin. The flesh on his face repaired itself, and the bleeding soon stopped as his entire body rebuilt itself.
Within minutes, the damage to Paul’s body was completely repaired, and with a gasp, he woke up. “Oh, wow, I’m still alive. That was the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” he said, looking around at all of them. “Wow! I hurt all over. Why are you guys looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost? I couldn’t have been that bad off, right?”
Seraph answered, “It's just amazing seeing how quickly the dungeon can heal wounds, that’s all. We did it though, thanks to you. Our plan to cripple it beforehand ended up not working out so well.”
Alexander cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was hardly able to do anything.”
Erin looked at him, her face still pale. “Are you guys sure he’s OK? What if he’s a zombie, or a ghost, or a monster? That’s possible, right?”
Seraph frowned. He knew it was possible, but not in the sense that she implied. To become a zombie one had to be infected by a zombie, to become a ghost one needed to die while under a cursed effect, and to become a monster, one must renounce their humanity and be accepted by the dungeon. He answered simply, “He’s not any of those things. He’s alive, and this is a good reminder to all of you that so long as you don’t die, you can survive pretty much anything the dungeon throws at you. We just watched his arm regrow in a matter of minutes. That’s not an ability of his, that’s the effect of the dungeon. It restores your health after each battle, so long as you’re not around monsters or other enemies.”
“That’s interesting to hear,” Paul said, “but do you guys mind helping me get my knife back? I’m kind of fond of it.”
Chapter 11: The Infernal
* * *
The body of the Gigas started to smoke and bubble as soon as Paul mentioned looting the monster’s corpse. Monstrous flesh rapidly rotted away as the nearby floor and bleachers quickly reassembled and rebuilt themselves from among the dust and rubble. The body rapidly decomposed until only an oversized grinning skull remained.
Everyone in the group looked on in awe as the dungeon rapidly repaired itself of the damage it had sustained until no hint of the recent carnage could be seen. To Seraph, for whom this sight had been far more common, it was not so amazing. It was just a fact of life within the dungeon. But for the rest of them, even after all they had seen already, it was still mesmerizing to behold.
With the corpse of the Gigas mostly melted away, the only thing remaining was its skull. Leaving the group free to collect the drops. But as they combed the area, all they could find was Paul’s knife—a knife that had been badly chipped and was bent in places with signs of catastrophic failure near the hilt of the blade. It was clear the weapon had suffered major damage and would no longer be useful. But as for the drops, they found nothing. For all the danger the group had put themselves in, and with the loss of a weapon, they had nothing to show for it. Each of them, even Seraph, had an expectation that the effort to kill the monster would be rewarded. Everyone looked at the handle of the broken knife and shot each other dirty and resentful looks.
The looks erased in mere seconds as the skull of the Gigas began to crumble into dust before their eyes once the b
roken knife had been removed from the eye socket of the skull, and in response, the entire group received a prompt.
Notification: Reward – To Kill A Gigas
Details: For defeating a monster beyond the average level of your party, each member is granted 2 stat points to use, and 3500 Sol to purchase abilities directly from the shops in Hometown. This monster gives no experience.
Seraph mentally summoned his status screen to appear before him and instructed the other members of the group to also do so. He then went ahead and applied the two points he had just earned as a reward—one point to strength and one point toward endurance. He would have liked to put the points elsewhere, but the overall weakness of his body demanded that he devote the points toward strengthening core weaknesses. Seraph refused to fall behind.
Name: Luca Fernandez
Race: Fallen
Aliases:None
Passives Abilities
Body of Mana
Abilities
Thousand Handed 22-1000
Level:4 of 999