by Aaron Oster
“I don’t like this place,” Aika muttered as they rounded the next bend, only to find the same thing over again. “It feels like the walls have eyes.”
Roy knew what she meant. Despite not seeing a single thing, he felt as though he were being watched. Of course, that could just have been the Dungeon itself, but he had a feeling that things weren’t that simple.
By the time they’d rounded the sixth bend, Roy felt as though his body might snap from tension. His muscles were taut, preparing for the attack he knew would be coming. He and Aika were just rounding the eleventh bend when a spindly creature with craggy gray skin pulled itself from the wall and moved to block their path. It was tall, its head nearly brushing the ceiling, and carried a heavy-looking club.
No, Roy realized, its arm is the club.
The creature’s torso was quite short, most of the height coming from overly long legs that seemed entirely too thin. Its arms hung almost to the floor as well, and a small half-dome served in place of a head, with two green spots glowing within.
Roy had sensed nothing and as soon as he saw the Beast, he understood why.
“It’s suppressing its core!” he exclaimed an instant before the creature unleashed its full might.
Roy whirled as he felt not one but two sources of power and saw that a second Beast had pulled itself silently from the wall behind him, cutting off any possibility of retreat. These creatures were definitely using Earth Essence and the power that blazed from their Cores told Roy that they were both in the mid-Blue range, about 3rd Dan, maybe even 4th.
“Guess we’re taking one apiece,” Aika said, reaching back and drawing her staff before rushing forward to engage the creature.
Roy examined the spindly thing before him, wondering why the Dungeon would create such a monster in these tight confines. It wouldn’t be able to move very well due to its height, and those long clublike arms wouldn’t really do them much good if they didn’t have the room to swing them and build up momentum.
He got his answer as soon as the Beast attacked, pulling its arm back and shooting it forward, thrusting instead of swinging.
Roy yelped, dodging to the side as the club arm extended farther than should have been possible, slamming into one of the tunnel walls and leaving a noticeable crater as it yanked it back. Roy was forced to leap into the air as the arm came back to avoid being cracked on the head.
The creature roared then, a jagged mouth opening at the center of its short torso and revealing a fleshy gray tongue, in addition to dozens of jagged, gray, stone-like teeth.
“Oh, crap,” Roy muttered, as the second club-arm shot out, forcing him to dodge once again.
But, in the narrow confines of the tunnel, he didn’t have much room, and when the first arm came flying back, aimed for a collision with his skull, Roy began to understand just how dangerous this monster was.
Dropping to his stomach, he rolled to his left, avoiding the front and back-swing of both arms as they shot at him. It wasn’t just the danger coming from both sides either, as the Beast seemed to be able to adjust the angles of the swinging arms, even when they were extended far from its body.
Essence blasted from his hands and feet as he threw himself into the air, avoiding the club that streaked along the ground. He threw an arm to the side, ejecting another blast of Power Essence and throwing himself into the wall, avoiding the second. Its arms were speeding up, the blows coming faster and faster, and Roy couldn’t even close the distance, let alone retaliate.
Behind him, he could hear Aika fighting as well, though he didn’t dare look back to see how she was doing. The Beast roared again as Roy evaded another attack by tapping into his Qi and using his Shockwave Airstep, keeping himself from landing and throwing himself forward. His head scraped the low ceiling on that one, and he winced, realizing that as bad as hitting the walls would be, he was in just as much danger of smashing his head if he jumped too high.
Both of the Beast’s arms streaked back, and Roy twisted in midair, throwing a leg up and blasting himself into the ground. His Qi Armorer technique, Trace Hex, flared around him, hexagonal lines of golden light tracing over his body and taking the brunt of the impact as he landed.
Roy was on his feet in an instant, his hand extending as he used his Void Sphere Pulse, sending out an interweaving blast of condensed Qi. The Beast snapped its mouth shut, just as the blast of displaced air slammed into it, throwing it back a few steps. Then the actual technique hit, drilling into the Beast and leaving a scorching crater in its wake.
The Beast roared even louder, and when its mouth cracked open, Roy could see the damage. One of the jagged, outer teeth – or lips, Roy wasn’t sure what they were exactly – fell from the creature, landing with the sound of stone grinding on stone and piercing the ground.
Roy winced as he thought about how sharp that tooth had to be to deal so much damage, and almost missed the club as it came speeding through the air. He slammed into the wall, groaning as his Armorer technique was strained by the force in which he’d impacted. The Beast had missed, but his own Movement technique had betrayed him.
In this small space, moving forward or backward were his only real options because trying to dodge to either side would take him directly into a wall. Going up, as he’d already noted, was also a bit of a risk due to the low ceiling.
The Beast howled again as Qi blasted from his body in all directions, Roy trying to lock the Beast in his Containment technique, Overflow Plus. Roy managed to snag one of the arms, but the other, shockingly, managed to streak around the bubble as it expanded to fill the tunnel and slammed into him, center mass.
Roy gasped as he was driven back into the wall, his Armorer technique straining to mitigate the damage and starting to show some wear. His concentration was destroyed, and his Overflow vanished, dissipating into the air.
The club was pulled back and Roy slumped, trying to regain his cycling rhythm, but in the middle of a life or death battle, taking a moment to catch his breath wasn’t exactly something he could afford to do.
Another club came streaking at him, forcing Roy to dive, only for another club to fly down, cracking into the top of his head and driving his chin to the floor. Roy very nearly bit his tongue off as his Armorer technique shattered, leaving him defenseless and dazed as the second arm came in for its backswing, aimed at Roy’s now unprotected head.
25
“Do something, you idiot!”
Though Roy hated dealing with the Dungeon Core’s constant insults, this time, they saved his life. A blast of Power Essence burst into the air, throwing his body a few inches to one side and barely managing to avoid having his head splattered all over the tunnel. Of course, had Geon said literally anything else, he would have gotten the same result, but that just wouldn’t have been like him.
The Beast roared in annoyance as it missed its mark, and it redoubled its efforts to beat him to death, not giving Roy the chance to recover. He twisted to one side, then tried striking at the arm, but it was oddly elastic and spongy, absorbing the blow with just a slight wobble.
He threw a look back to Aika, seeing that she was having just as hard a time with her opponent as he was, and his second-long glance nearly cost him an arm as the Beast’s club-like appendage came flying back, now spinning wildly.
“How am I supposed to beat this thing if I can’t get a moment to think?” Roy exclaimed, leaping into the air, then kicking to try and close with it again.
“Clearly you have time to think, because you’re talking to me,” Geon replied unhelpfully.
Roy slammed his connection with the Core closed and tried to concentrate on reading the Beast’s movements. The biggest problem with this creature was that the arms moved too quickly, bouncing back and forth in a chaotic fashion. But, if he could watch the shoulders, maybe predicting the lines of attack would become easier.
One of the arms swung back, the club spinning like the other and tearing a furrow in the stone floor. At the same time, the fir
st arm shot out. It was hard to split his focus this way, but now that he was looking closely, Roy could see the angle the Beast would be aiming for.
He kicked to his left, ejecting a burst of Power Qi, then up, throwing himself down. Both strikes missed as they passed through empty space, giving Roy the opportunity to close even more. Springing back to his feet, Roy dashed forward, trying to close using his Movement skill but was forced to stop once more to try and predict the angles of attack.
Unfortunately, his little trick only worked once, as the arms curved mid-swing, throwing off the predicted trajectory and forcing Roy to defend himself. His Containment technique flooded the tunnel again, not managing to completely halt but slowing the blows down enough to give himself some breathing room.
He lashed out with the Exploding Fist-Strike, hoping that the jagged Qi would be able to tear one of the arms free, but once more, the spongy arm absorbed his attack as though nothing had happened.
Still, the arms were trapped and moving slower than they should, allowing him to move in and attack. However, even as he moved, the Beast unexpectedly pulled itself forward, its mouth opening wide and looming before him. Roy dove forward, skidding between the thing’s long legs, then threw both arms up in a cross, blocking the kick that the Beast threw in retaliation.
The air exploded from his lungs as he slammed into the wall once more, chips of stone raining down from the walls.
He groaned, staggering to his feet, and wondered why his Belt wasn’t changing color as it had previously. His Qi pounded through his channels, he was clearly in a great amount of danger, and yet, the Belt remained firmly blue.
Roy pushed himself to his feet, just in time to see the Beast’s entire body rotate. Its face swiveled around, all of the joints now facing him. Had it been forced to turn around, he might have had some time to attack, but it had switched so quickly that he barely managed to get his defenses up before it struck again.
He struck, sending a lance of golden Power Qi forward, managing to score another hit on the Beast’s face, but he paid for that when both arms slammed into him. He managed to block both, but Roy felt the pain of those impacts radiate down to his very bones.
While the arms were soft and springy, the clubs hit hard. This Beast was possibly the toughest creature he’d faced thus far. He’d fought a Scion, but even that hadn’t felt as downright impossible as this fight did. He couldn’t maneuver properly down here, the walls constrained his speed, and the Beast seemed to absorb every attack he threw at it.
Roy tried to move in again, but the spinning club arms whirled in, snapping back and forth and putting him on the defensive once again. Growling, Roy set to dodging, trying to move closer as he did to get a clean shot at the Beast. He couldn’t use his Qi Containment technique again, as the creature was pressing him too hard to concentrate, and he doubted that the Essence version would even slow it down.
He grunted as one of the clubs smashed into his right shoulder, spinning him to one side. The tearing sound that came from his robes told him that whatever armor was woven into them wasn’t made to handle this level of punishment.
As he turned, Roy saw something flash into the air, spinning from the inside lining and rotating slowly in the air. It was the coin he’d received after defeating the Power golem in the Trial of Beginnings. Back then, he’d been too weak to even use it, but things might be different now.
Roy’s hand flashed out, his fingers curling around the gleaming coin. His Qi flooded into the construct, and an instant later, he was holding a gleaming golden ax. Without even having time to think, Roy swung down, catching the passing club-arm as it stretched by.
There was a scream of agony from the Beast, which sounded like stones grinding together, as the ax cleaved neatly through the arm, sending a spray of black blood splattering across the walls. Its arm, now detached, went spinning away down the corridor, leaving Roy with the opening he’d desperately needed.
Not missing a beat, he dashed forward, using his Movement technique. With one arm gone, the Beast didn’t have the chance to cover its side, and Roy took full advantage. The ax, lighter than air, cleaved downward, the full force of Roy’s considerable strength behind it.
The construct slammed into the Beast’s shoulder as he brought it down, biting deep into its torso and sending up another spray of blood.
The Beast roared as Roy released the ax, twisting his upper body and unleashing a close-range attack. His Exploding Fist-Strike slammed into the Beast, sending jagged lines of Power Qi racing into it. The Beast staggered, trying to pull its other arm back, but Roy snatched the ax, ripping it from the Beast’s body, and brought it down on its other shoulder.
He didn’t waste the momentum, dropping down low and sweeping it to the side, ripping through the spindly leg and causing it to topple. Even as it fell, Roy saw Aika being backed into a corner. She was mostly unharmed but was struggling just to keep up.
“Duck!” Roy yelled, hurling the construct at the second Beast.
To her credit, Aika dropped before the golden ax slammed into the Beast at center-mass, resulting in another spray of blood and giving her the opportunity to take care of it. The drain on his Qi drastically increased as the ax sped away. Roy had pulled it back as soon as it hit, leaving the golden coin to clatter to the ground.
He turned then, fixing his attention squarely on the still-living but defenseless Beast. It tried to snap at his ankles, the rows of jagged teeth proving that it was anything but. Seeing as it was lying on the ground, though, Roy was able to avoid it easily.
Bringing his foot up and around, Roy slammed the heel down on the Beast’s head, caving in the rocky skin. That blow seemed to be enough, as the Beast finally stopped moving, its body going slack.
Leaning over, Roy placed his hands on his knees, breathing hard. He watched Aika dance around the Beast’s attempted counterattacks, but with the injury he’d inflicted, she soon managed to trap one of its arms and move in for the kill. Like him, she slumped once the Beasts went limp, both of them taking several minutes to recover before finally moving to collect their prizes.
Roy ripped the glowing brown Core from the Beast’s chest-head, the square surface smooth and slippery with blood.
“These things are hard,” Aika groaned. “Do you think the rest of the Beasts in this Dungeon will be just as difficult?”
“Seeing as this is the first level, I’d assume that this is as easy as it’s going to be,” Roy said, already reaching for the ambient Power Essence their fight had stirred up and pulling it in.
He would have to refine and purify it more later, but for now, this was good enough.
“How far do you think the first safe zone is?” Aika asked as he moved to join her.
“No idea,” Roy replied, looking back and forth.
The tunnel curved on both ends, giving them a limited view of what was ahead, and seeing as these Beasts could suppress their Cores, their walk through these tunnels was going to be hellish.
“You good to keep going?” he asked as Aika held out the coin and nodded.
“This thing was far more useful than I thought it would be,” Aika said as they started down the tunnel again.
“I have no idea how to fight with an ax, though I was told that the construct could make any weapon I imagined,” Roy said, running his fingers over the coin.
“Can you conduct your techniques through it?” Aika asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Roy said, looking to the staff she carried.
Aika summoned almost all of her techniques by using the staff as a medium. Of course, he’d known that using weapons could enhance the strength of his techniques, but he had no idea just how much. All he knew was that the fight with those Beasts would have been impossible if not for the ax. He’d had nothing that could cut through those springy arms, but now, he hoped that the future fights against these monsters would be easier.
“We’ll have to start training you then,” Aika said with a half-smile. “C
an’t say I know anything about ax-fighting, but if you want to learn how to use a staff, I can definitely teach you what I know.”
Roy shook his head, as he felt an almost immediate sense of displeasure from his Path at the very idea. Staffs were not for smashing through things. A hammer would be much better, but seeing as he’d done a decent amount of destruction with the ax, it was okay.
“I think I’m stuck with the ax,” Roy said with a half-smile. “But if I’m being honest, I don’t think I mind it all that much.”
There was a roar as they rounded another corner, and another of the rocky Beasts pulled itself from the wall. He turned, seeing the expected second creature doing the same.
Golden light painted the side of his face as he fed Qi into the coin, the ax forming once more.
No, he thought, I don’t mind it at all.
26
Roy and Aika emerged, sweat-streaked and covered in blood and dust, into the wider cavern nearly five hours later. They both sported a collection of cuts and bruises, and, in Aika’s case, a sprained elbow, from their battles with the odd rock Beasts. There had been no pattern to their emergence, the two of them sometimes traveling for over thirty minutes before running into them and sometimes having to face them again as soon as they won.
Suffice it to say that despite it only being a bit after noon in the outside world, they were both ready to collapse.
“Does this look like a safe zone to you?” Aika asked, staring around the smallish cavern and trying to pick out any hidden Beasts.
“I’m pretty sure this is a safe place,” Geon said.
“How do you know?” Roy asked.
“Because I’m a Dungeon Core, not a stupid squishy meat sack. I know things.”