by Aleron Kong
Snarls, bestial squeals of pain and a cackling laugh echoed through the cavern. Through Alma’s eyes, Richter could see that the last sound was coming from the six hyena-dogs. She was perched, unmoving, against the stalactite half of a broken red column. Her constant visual feed let him keep track of the battle. The Dungeon monsters were obviously outclassed but, at least for now, they were making up for that in numbers. The hyenas were bleeding from multiple wounds and one was actually buried under a pile of eight jenit prowlers. The Dungeon’s beast defenders were getting the worst of it by far, but at least they were making the invaders feel the pain. Richter silently hoped it would be enough. He did not want to lose his Dungeon!
The beasts, though completely ineffectual against the larger monster, did keep all seven Labyrinth creatures occupied, so the party was able to make their way to the edge of the battle without being detected. Heaving one last sigh, Richter adopted Stealth. Then, poking his head around a pillar, he saw the monsters with his own eyes. Somehow, it was always worse than when Alma sent him mental images. He used Analyze on the smaller ones first.
Name: ChupacabraDisposition: Amused
Chupacabras are pack monsters that are known for their speed and ferocity. They are said to feed on pain as much as blood and flesh. The spines on their back and claws on their feet can rend even plate mail. As a Labyrinthine creature, they have grown to massive size and power.
Special Attack: Piercing Quill – Can fire the quills on their backs at high speed at distant enemies.
Level: 42
Health: 1879/2076Mana: 87Stamina: 3513/4180
Strength: 65
Agility: 88
Dexterity: 79
Constitution: 210
Endurance: 418
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 5
The other four had roughly the same stats, give or take a level. The insane amount of health these things possessed was mind-boggling! It wasn’t only their health and stamina that made them dangerous. The high Agility and Dexterity they each had explained why they were able to dart around so quickly. More than one jenit prowler bit only air while attacking. The chupacabras’ counterattacks never failed to rend flesh.
Richter’s jaw firmed. He’d heard of chupacabras in stories from time to time back on Earth, but all he remembered was that their name was supposed to mean “goat licker” or something like that. The fangs on these things were terrifying though, so he was pretty sure he’d gotten something wrong in translation.
As unhappy as he was with the stats of the smaller monsters, his heart dropped when he examined the larger one.
Name: Tovuut MaulerDisposition: Hatred
???
Level: ???
Health: 5772Mana: 15Stamina: 3554/3608
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Dexterity: ???
Constitution: ???
Endurance: ???
Intelligence: ???
Wisdom: ???
Charisma: ???
Luck: ???
The thing had such a high level that his Analyze skill only let him see its name, disposition and the insane amount of health and stamina it had! This was the kind of creature that would have been a raid boss when he’d thought The Land was just a game. Entire guilds, hundreds of high level players, would have burned through millions of gold crowns’ worth of potions, spell scrolls and equipment to take something like this down. This wasn’t a game though, and if any of his comrades died, the Life masters might not be able to bring them back. If Sumiko and Hisako died… the consequences of that could mean the death of everyone in his village.
Sweating a bit, Richter shared the info he’d been able to glean. Everyone’s faces grew grim at hearing how strong the monsters were, but they all just held their weapons tighter. Seeing their courage made it easier for Richter to deal with his own fears. He focused on the matter at hand and told his best friend to target the closest chupacabra. It was the one that had been buried in the dogpile and had the lowest health. It had already killed half of the prowlers that were attacking it, but for now it was still occupied and distracted. Sion nodded back and Ulinde said he would do what he could. The two Companions both downed a mana potion and began to imbue.
A golden light surrounded Richter’s arrow. Sion waited a three-count before doing the same. The sprite’s superior skill in Imbue Arrow let him invest mana faster than his friend. Because of that, they had practiced their attacks and found that a three-second delay in Sion’s imbuement would let them finish draining both of their mana pools at the same time so they could fire simultaneously. Black flashes appeared around the chaos seed’s arrow while a blue aura surrounded Sion’s. They poured more mana into their shots, ignoring the pain that came from being swiftly drained of magic. Yellow lightning began to crackle around Richter’s arrow, and blue-white lightning danced across the sprite’s.
One hundred, two hundred, three hundred, Richter counted silently as he prepared his attack. It wasn’t just a mantra, it was a communication with Alma that let her know how much mana he had invested in his attack. When he reached five hundred, she silently launched herself towards a second chupacabra. Her body glowed yellow a moment before a bolt of lightning shot from her snout directly into the eyes of her foe. It did not cause much damage, but it did elicit a howl of anger and pain. The monster immediately dashed towards the direction of the attack, bringing it next to Richter’s target. Bringing it within the AoE of his imbued attack.
Flawless, he thought as he released his shot. A black-and-gold torpedo swam through the air with a brilliant blue brother beside it. Ulinde’s own arrow flew through the air as well, invested with his Drill Shot subskill. After crossing half the distance, all three arrows were copied into three more versions of themselves. The overlapping imbued lights were almost beautiful for the split second they lasted before contact and detonation. The BOOM drowned out even the roar of the tovuut mauler. Richter let the combat information wash over him.
BEGIN COMBAT LOG
Chupacabra suffers from Mind Fog.
Chupacabra resists Stun.
Chupacabra suffers from Psi Crystallization.
Richter strikes Chupacabra with Enhanced Imbue Arrow for 396 points of varied damage with primary arrow: [(+15 Recurve Bow of the Wood Sprite + 8 Moonstone Arrow + 34% for level 17 Archery + 76% for 38 points of Dexterity) + (601 Mana/5 + 85% for level 17 Imbue Arrow + 42% familiar level)/4 Arrows – 14 Armor] x 3 Critical Hit for Pierced Lung.
6-foot radius AoE Damage (not including modifiers): 68
Richter strikes Chupacabra with Enhanced Imbue Arrow for 204 points of varied damage with copied arrows (48 Piercing Damage +272/4 Magical Force Damage – 14 Armor): … x 2 arrows
Total Damage: 600
END COMBAT LOG
One of the copies of Richter’s arrow had struck a pillar, exploding harmlessly. Despite that loss, the damage of his opening attack was massive! Using Imbue Arrow with a Multishot enchantment decreased the individual magic force damage of each hit, but the cumulative effect of overlapping fields of force more than made up the difference. Ragged and bloody wounds appeared in the chupacabra’s body, its blood feeding the Dungeon once more. The area of effect from the shot spilled over onto the other monster and the three beasts that had still been attacking Richter’s target.
Less than a split second later, all five of Sion’s multishot arrows struck at the same time as Ulinde’s. Two more deadly salvos comprised of ten more arrows wreaked havoc on the chupacabra’s body. The attack had emptied the mana pools of both Companions, but it was worth it. Coupled with Ulinde’s Drill Shot, nothing could survive that attack.
Except, the monster did.
One of its legs was mangled and great bleeding rents pockmarked its body, but the damn thing was still alive! It screamed in pain even as the quills on its back began to quiver.
“Cover!” Richter shouted, ducking behind a red stone pillar.
Twenty spikes flew through
the air like spears, shot from the backs of the two chupacabras. The pillar Richter was hiding behind shuddered when several quills hammered the other side. The party couldn’t see it, but two of the projectiles had sunk deep into the stone column. A horrible howling echoed through the cavern, a call to battle and a promise of retribution from all six of the quilled monsters. The mauler roared as well, stuffing more beasts into its ever-hungry mouth.
“The beast is mine! You kill the dogs!” Hisako called out with gleeful savagery. The Hearth Mother was not daunted in the slightest by the fact that the opening attack hadn’t claimed a life. Instead, she was flush with the thrill of battle. Even though Richter had seen the sprite in battle several times, it still took him aback when he saw the other side of his ally’s nature come out. Sprites might delight in the tranquility of nature, but they happily embraced the violent and merciless side of it as well.
As Hisako began to cast, Richter risked another glance around the corner. To his delight, the second monster that had been in his AoE had been afflicted with Mind Fog, a secondary effect of his imbued arrow attack. It served the same role as Confusion, leading the creature to act in unpredictable ways. After it had fired its quills at him, it had fired a second volley at the mauler. The giant monster had suffered damage for the first time, which was a relief to the chaos seed. For all he knew, it could have been invulnerable.
The injured chupacabra was being targeted by another wave of Dungeon beasts now. With the mauler distracted by its dog’s treachery, the animal defenders were able to focus on the smaller Labyrinth creatures. That still left three rather large problems, however, namely the other chupacabras that were speeding towards Richter’s party!
The chaos seed dropped his bow. Reaching back, he drew his elementum short sword and Named Weapon simultaneously. The lights dimmed momentarily and the air cooled as Black Ice was released. Named or not, he wasn’t sure what even his newly enchanted blade could do against the monster that was only seconds away from attacking him.
Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.
While the three archers had fired their volley, Quasea had been chanting a long spell. The voluptuous gnome finished the incantation. A pool of inky blackness flowed from her hands and into the path of one chupacabra. It tried to jump over it, but the darkness just moved to where it would land. When it did, the creature partially sank into the Dark magic.
The gnome noctimancer had cast Sucking Tar. The enhanced rank spell was one of the strongest that she knew and had cost five hundred and twenty-eight MPs. Even though the cost was steep, both in mana and the headache she was now having to endure, the fourth-tier spell was powerful. It would consume any creature that was caught in its clutches, slowly swallowing them in a black morass from which they’d never escape. It should have removed one of the party’s enemies from the board. The only problem with Quasea’s plan was that she had never fought a Labyrinthine monster before.
The chupacabra’s feet were sucked down until its knees were covered in the black magic, but it didn’t keep sinking. With massive strength and pure malevolence, it fought against the spell. Its muscles were not the only thing that protected it. Nothing survived long in the Labyrinth without developing resistances. As strong as Quasea’s spell was, it was still powered by a Basic Element, one of the most common magics in The Land. With a 43% resistance to Dark magic, the noctimancer could not hope to overcome such a fiend. Even as it fought to get free, it stared death at the gnome and fired five quills at her, each moving at the speed of an arrow. Death raced towards her, and her eyes widened in fear.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone.
Caulder was always free with a laugh, but in battle, he was all business. He was the type of man you could rely upon. When Richter had charged him with defending the party’s casters, he had decided that all the party’s mages would live through the battle or he would die trying to make it happen. While Quasea cast her spell, the sergeant had stood ready with his massive wardoor shield. The heavy slab of metal was more bank vault than shield, which was probably the only reason it held.
Before the quills even left the monster’s back, Caulder had braced himself in front of the gnome mage to take the five blows. They hit with the force of a heavy crossbow bolt fired from point blank range. A great gonging reverberated through the chamber and massive dents appeared in the wardoor. The sergeant couldn’t keep a wail of pain from escaping as his arm broke in two places. He still stood though, ready to accept the charge of a monster that was more than twice his own level. Caulder knew he couldn’t defeat it or even defend himself from its attacks for long, but by the banished gods he would stand!
Thankfully, he wasn’t alone.
Sumiko began casting healing magic on Caulder as soon as he cried out, and then it was Zarr’s turn to make his presence known. The caster finished a spell, his voice sounding like rocks grinding together. Green light flared on both of his hands before winking out. A moment later, the ground behind the ensnared chupacabra broke apart and a granite golem began to pull itself out of the ground. The geomancer hadn’t held back either; he’d cast the only potent level spell that he knew. Sweat had beaded on the caster’s brow and the words of Power had felt like sand and honey in his mouth as he had performed the fifth-tier magic, but he was not about to be outdone by a gnome, no matter how good her tits looked in a black robe!
The level thirty-three summoned creature had a much lower level than the chupacabra, but it made up for that in size, strength and weight. Standing eleven feet tall, it weighed more than four tons and its hands could crush stone. Zarr called out a hoarse command, “Bury it!” before he collapsed to one knee from the strain of such a powerful casting.
The golem took one step forward, moving fluidly despite its mineral-heavy body. Then it as much fell on as attacked the chupacabra struggling to escape Quasea’s spell. The gnome was pouring more mana into the active spell, trying to keep the monster ensnared, but it was still almost free. One foot was already clear of the tarlike spell substance when the golem attacked.
The Labyrinth monster screamed in anger that soon turned to panic. It had great Strength and a high resistance to magic, but physics was always a bitch. Thousands of pounds of semi-sentient rock pushed down from above while Quasea’s spell pulled from below. The chupacabra yowled, spit and tried to fire the quills from its back, but with the golem hugging it close, the special attack didn’t have the room to manifest. The gnome Mage grew lightheaded as her mana started to bottom out. As her vision grew clouded, Zarr called out, “Just hold on, Quaz!” The gnome nodded to her geomancer friend and reasserted her will.
A few seconds later, the screaming monster disappeared completely into the black morass of Dark magic. The golem was still bearhugging it and sank through the miasma as well.
“Now!” Zarr shouted.
Quasea let go of the spell and the blackness disappeared. All that was left behind was churned earth. Both monster and summoned creature were gone forever. Struggling to stay conscious, the gnome downed a mana potion while she edged away from the battle. The strain of maintaining such powerful magic, against a high-level monster no less, had taken a toll. It was the mental equivalent of pulling a door closed while someone pulled on the other side for several minutes in a row. Instead of burning arms though, her mind and aura were exhausted. The migraine she was suffering meant she needed at least thirty seconds before she could cast again. If the chupacabras reached her, she would die horribly, just another once-powerful mage turned helpless without mana.
Thankfully, she wasn’t alone.
While all of this was happening, the Warriors of the Mist Village showed off their new powers. The three melee fighters intercepted a chupacabra. Two held swords and shields, while the third carried a heavy spear. Working together, they were able to hold the monster at bay and began trading blows with it. The creature was much stronger than any of them individually, but their enchanted weapons and armor went a long way to even the odds.
The chupacabra attacking the mauler had been thrown across the cavern. Getting physical distance between itself and the larger monster, its Mind Fog debuff no longer drove it to attack its ally. It just bit and clawed whatever was closest. That happened to be some of the few remaining Dungeon beasts. While those creatures futilely defended themselves and died, Yoshi stayed in front of the Hearth Mother, both ice rapiers at the ready. During the whole battle, she had been casting a long and powerful spell. The light radiating off her grew in brilliance, drawing the attention of the Labyrinth boss. It roared in defiance and began rushing towards her. The mauler was too late. With a final shouted word of Power, her spell was completed!
White light shot from her hands and turned into ribbons of force. These large streaks wrapped around the monster in an attempt to mummify it. Not only was the creature restrained, but the magic bandages burned its skin. It screamed in anger while it fought against the Hearth Mother’s attack. The air thrummed with the residual energy released by her spell. Sadly, it was not enough.
The mauler’s high resistance was coupled with an ability that Richter had not been able to see when he analyzed it. The Labyrinth boss possessed physical regenerative properties. Even as its skin burned, it repaired itself. Hisako’s spell could have bound a mountain troll and killed it given time, but the mauler was a horror of the Labyrinth. With a massive pull of its arm, one of the ribbons of white light snapped. Hisako grunted in pain. It was only thanks to her disciplined mind that she did not lose consciousness in response to the spell feedback.
She’d been confident that the superior sixth-tier spell would be enough to contain the mauler, but she had underestimated it. Just like the chupacabras, the creature had broad magic resistances. It was more susceptible to Light magic than any other basic element, but it was still able to ignore 38% of the spell’s strength. If she’d known how truly powerful the mauler was, she wouldn’t have used an active spell that was still connected to her.