I narrowed my eyes and cast Drain on it as it turned to pursue, drawing its attention back to me. Its health began to drop even faster as the Rot and Drain combined, the healing from Drain barely enough to counteract the damage from the Slow Death poison.
Abandoning any sense of tactics, the Sporestalker lunged at me with its mouth opened wide. I quickly jumped back, almost losing my concentration and breaking the spell. The poison continued to count down, but the myconid was on its last legs.
Negan put down the first of the workers with a mighty smash, but Rusty was so damaged he was barely able to swing his sword.
Not wanting to lose another skeleton permanently, I ordered Rusty to disengage and make way as Negan rushed over to the remaining worker.
A quick glance at my health bar and the poison duration made me smile. I’d made it past the danger zone and had enough health to survive the rest of the poison DoT if I could avoid being mauled.
My mana was running low though, so I stopped channeling Drain and rushed towards where Negan was putting down the last of the workers, leaving the cursed Sporestalker to the mercy of my DoT.
It tried to give chase, but didn’t even make it halfway to me before crumbling into a pile of mush, its body completely devastated by the twin afflictions.
You have killed 5x Myconid Worker. You have gained 50xp.
You have killed 2x Myconid Sporestalker. You have gained 100xp.
Quest Update – Mine Shaft 8 Cleared – 33%
I collapsed onto my tail, watching my hit points count down with the last of the poison as I caught my breath.
Out of combat regen kicked in and my mana and health slowly recovered. Once my mana reached acceptable levels, I called my remaining minions to me and repaired them, dropping my mana back to almost nothing.
I ordered them to stand guard while I recovered fully and then headed over to see if I could salvage anything from Big Mama’s remains.
Her skull and spine were shattered into hundreds of pieces, and my attempts to cast Mend Bone were unsuccessful, so I said goodbye to the Den Mother and collected her two intact leg bones and some of the smaller bits that I hoped to make into dust at some point and tucked them into my bag.
I headed to her killer’s… well, couldn’t really describe the pile of mush as a corpse anymore, and searched the glob with one of my clubs as a tool. I found its stomach pouch and collected a single stone from inside. The murder weapon was also there for the taking.
< Stone Shortsword >
I tucked it into my bag and continued looting, finding another twenty-four stones and dissecting the spore sacks from two of the workers and a poison gland from the intact Sporestalker.
My mana quickly refilled while I looted and dissected the various mushroom men. I worked my way closer and closer to the water, keeping my eyes out for any additional wandering mobs.
As I got closer, I noticed a small whirlpool in the lake where the water was being pulled down a hole to somewhere deeper in the mine.
I briefly considered jumping in and riding the water slide to the next floor, but when I dipped my toes into the pool, I had to cover my mouth to muffle a yelp. It burned!
I hopped on one foot for a few minutes until the burning faded, trying not to draw any more attention to myself.
Glancing towards the end of the lake, I started formulating a plan on how to deal with the devourer growing there.
Rusty had done an okay job, so I rewarded the minion with Big Mama’s place in my bound minion roster. Once that was done, I took out another goblin skeleton and created a new temporary minion and had it stand off to the side.
I took out the stone shortsword and considered if I should equip my latest minion with it. I had no clue what the sword could do and I didn’t want to sabotage my minions, but I didn’t have the material components for the Psychometry spell either.
On the one hand, I had other weapons that the skeleton could use, but the devourers were resilient to blunt damage, so cutting edges would do a lot more. The nails in Negan’s bat likely helped it, but he would likely underperform in comparison to Rusty.
Screw it, I thought and handed the stone sword to the new skeleton, naming him Fred after the Flintstones character since he was wielding what looked like a flint sword.
I took the Nailbat from Negan so he could use his claws and sent Negan and Rusty in as the first wave. Negan ended up being the lucky recipient of the Devourer’s loogie, the green sputum coating his bones like a sad imitation of his former goblin flesh but having no other effect.
Myconid Devourer attacks Goblin Skeleton (Negan) with Paralysis Poison Spit
Goblin Skeleton (Negan) has been hit with Paralysis Poison Spit!
Goblin Skeleton (Negan) is immune to poison.
The skeleton powered through and ripped into the slime mold creature’s flesh with his claws. Rusty arrived as well and started slashing as I took out some Bone Dust and put Rot onto the myconid.
The devourer lashed out with a pseudopod, knocking Negan back towards me. I sent Fred in to take his place, using the stone shortsword to good effect. The two blade wielding skeletons cut large gashes into the Devourer’s membrane while doing their best to parry its attacks.
I repaired Negan and sent a Necromantic Bolt blasting into the Devourer, adding to the damage already done by my minions and dropping its health to under fifty percent.
When my minions failed to block and were damaged, I rotated them out, alternating repairs with Necromantic Bolts.
The formula seemed to work pretty well, except in terms of mana efficiency. When it dropped below fifteen percent, I stopped healing and focused on blasting the Devourer with Necromantic Bolts.
I ran out of mana when the enemy had two percent health and sent in all of my minions in at once, hoping they could kill the slime mold before taking critical damage themselves.
It almost worked. Unfortunately, Negan didn’t have a weapon to parry with since I’d taken away his nail-bat and took a blow to the face that ended his existence, returning the mana tied up in his binding which I used for one final bolt to end the creature’s life and avenge my minion.
Goblin Skeleton (Negan) has been destroyed! Your bound mana has been returned!
You have killed a Myconid Devourer! You have gained 100xp!
Quest Update – Mine Shaft 8 Cleared – 60%
I sighed as I picked through Negan’s bones, gathering up the leg bones for later use. The mine was really costing me in terms of viable skeletons. I’d run out of goblin bones if things continued as they were going.
Shaking my head, I searched through the remains of the Devourer, finding the bones of another poor miner, this time without any identifying jewelry or accompanying quests.
There was a slight glow coming from a crack in the rock deep within the Devourer’s flesh, barely within my reach. Cringing against the nasty feel, I pushed my arm deep into the mushy slime and touched the glowing object, producing a small wooden scroll case.
You have obtained Wooden Scroll Case! You have gained 5xp!
Scavenger had paid off once again. I popped open the scroll case and unrolled the scroll, hoping for something useful.
Geomancy skill check – failed! You lack the correct school of magic to utilize this item
I had spoken too soon. At least it should fetch a decent chunk of change if the prices that the mage in the starting area had been charging were any guide.
Digging a little more earned me a small leather coin purse that was rotten so bad it crumbled in my grip, spilling the coins it contained onto the cavern floor. I watched a silver piece bounce into the scalding hot water and scowled at the lost coin, just out of reach. I tossed the rest of the silver and copper coins into my bag and sat down to rest.
My Rot spell had ensured that the corpse was too damaged to dissect, so no extra goodies there.
I moved away from the goopy puddle and animated my fallen bat boy’s replacement, keeping the name Negan and handing him his n
amesake’s weapon before binding him.
I recast Dark Shield, refreshed Fred’s timer, and headed back up the tunnel to the last fork, turning down the next hallway and deeper into the mine.
***
15
The tunnel continued downwards and eventually branched once again. To the left the passage continued deeper into the mine. The right fork had a steeper grade and bent to the right, leading back towards the surface.
Glancing at my map, the right fork looked like it would lead back up to the intersection where I’d first encountered the myconids. I decided to head down the left path and explore the right on my way back.
The tunnel spiraled downwards, limiting my visibility of what lay ahead. Not wanting to stumble into a fight, I proceeded with extreme caution, milking my limited Stealth skill for as much as it was worth and having my minions follow at a distance. It was a wise choice.
What lay at the end of the tunnel was the stuff of nightmares. The cavern was incredibly humid, and the air was full of the smell of sulfur mixed with rotting broccoli. At the far end of the cavern, water spilled out of a hole in the ceiling, likely the destination of the whirlpool in the lake above.
The hot water splashed against the wall and trickled down to fill a small pool that would probably be a great place to soak away one’s aches and pains if not for the thick coating of sickly green slime.
Walking around the outside of the pods was a large myconid, easily twice the size of the worker type. In one hand it held a long staff with a flat end like a giant spatula that it used to occasionally tend to the source of the slime: small fungal growths that looked suspiciously like cocoons.
I focused on the giant myconid and winced when the text came up orange.
< Myconid Gardener >
My first dungeon boss, I thought with a smile.
A quick scan of the room showed no other myconids waiting to help out the boss, so at least I wouldn’t have to worry about adds, unless those mushroom cocoons could pop.
Since it was a boss, there was bound to be some sort of mechanic. Going in spells blazing against an orange foe was unlikely to result in anything other than my death, so it was time to be smart about it.
The cocoons were the most obvious thing, likely to produce some sort of adds, or buff the boss or something else that would skew things to my detriment.
Dedicating a minion to taking them out was probably a wise plan. Worse case I’d waste a little time, but that was better than getting swarmed by some sort of fungal face hugger.
Partially destroyed mining scaffolding covered the walls of the room, except for the area closest to the pool. Stacks of supplies- torches, bundles of rope, shovels, and other miscellaneous gear - were piled at intervals along the walls, readily available to the miners who would have been working nearby if not for the invaders.
The supply pile nearest to the pool was bigger than the others. There were barrels, likely used to cool the water for drinking prior to its fungal smoothie infusion.
I snuck along the wall to the nearest supply pile, leaving my minions in the tunnel entrance to prevent triggering the fight early, and searched through the goods. There were several unlit torches, a coil of rope, a pile of moldy biscuits that almost made me vomit, but nothing useful to me for the battle.
There was a small satchel with four slots. It was nothing special, but my hoarding tendencies meant inventory space was tight, and four spots were four more potential sources of cash.
I grabbed a canteen and sniffed its contents. When no foul smells assaulted my senses, I took a sip and smiled at the taste of clean, if a little stale, water. I tucked the canteen into my new bag and gathered some other supplies: a coil of rope, a fire-starting kit, and a small iron pot.
Cooking was bound to be a crafting skill I could learn at some point, so I might as well grab what supplies I could for free.
My appetite for looting temporarily satisfied; I turned my attention back to the boss and formulated a plan. I had three medium minions active taking up six of my nine minion pool slots. I could raise another medium skeleton and a small skeleton, or three small skeletons, but they would only be temporary, as my rank in Bind Minion wouldn’t let me bind more than two… yet.
I opened my inventory and sorted through my bones. I had two more goblin skeletons, two human skeletons and Little Fat remaining.
At least that makes my choices easier, I thought. One medium and one small it is.
That decision made, I searched for a good place to make my stand. The scaffolding held some promise. I could likely use it to gain a height advantage on the boss and cast my spells from range while my minions skirmished with the creature.
According to the game clock, it was close to my scheduled time to log out for lunch, but I didn’t want to logout until the boss was done. I mentally adjusted the alarm and focused on my task.
I had no idea what this boss could do, or any special mechanics I needed to kill it, or really anything, but I figured it would be a learning experience either way. “Victory over the Boss” or “Discovery of the Death System.”
I laid out the bones of Little Fat and the human skeleton with one of the mining picks as a weapon, refreshed Dark Shield and animated the two new minions.
Temporary minions would last about thirty minutes at my current rank, giving me more than enough time to handle the boss.
Ready to rumble, I ordered my minions to stay put and crept through the cave towards the scaffolding I planned to use as my base.
I climbed into position and waited until the boss wandered back towards me and came into range. I opened with Cripple, using one of the late Big Mama’s leg bones to fuel the spell and ordered my minions to begin the attack.
The Gardener stumbled as the magic took hold, but quickly recovered and turned towards me. Rusty and Negan arrived seconds later and grabbed its attention with their attacks.
The boss swiped at Rusty with its strange staff and missed as the skeleton stepped back. The flat edge of the Gardener’s weapon cut through the air like an axe, its edge glowing slightly and leaving a faint trail in the air as it passed.
I silently directed Little Fat to make her way along the outskirts of the room and await further instructions and sent Fred around to try and flank the boss. The human skeleton remained in reserve.
Another dose of Bone Dust disappeared as I cast Rot on the boss and smiled as it settled in. I was a little worried that the boss creature would be resistant to my spells or have a counter mechanic like the shaman.
Its health bar was barely moving though. The minor cuts and tears that Rusty and Negan were able to land were doing almost no damage, but at least the slow debuff was allowing my small skeletons to avoid the creature’s massive and slow-moving staff.
A quick glance showed Fred was in place, so it was time for phase two of my plan.
I mentally ordered Fred to strike as my hands moved through the gestures for Necromantic Bolt.
The spell lanced into the Gardener, dropping its health by a disappointingly small amount. It did, however, cause the creature to become fixated on me once again, putting its back in perfect position from Fred to make his entrance.
The tiny goblin skeleton leapt in and brought its stone shortsword down into a powerful slash into the bosses back, dropping its health by six percent. Sneak attack for the win!
The gardener lurched and let out a high-pitched screech, the sound having a physical effect as it rippled outwards form the boss. When it crashed into me, the room started to spin and all I could do was grab hold of the scaffolding to keep myself from falling from the rickety structure.
You have been affected by Myconid Gardener’s Disorienting Shout! Stun Duration – 10 seconds
I clung to the wooden rail, unable to think straight and tried not to get motion sick as I watched my minions fight the boss without my direction.
It slammed its staff into the ground, producing a wave of rock that smashed into Fred and sent him flying throu
gh the air. The skeleton’s health bar dropped by half as he landed and skidded along the stone.
Rusty and Negan rushed in to attack the myconid’s back, but it turned on them before they could do much damage.
When the stun ended and I could act again, I sent my human minion to join the fray. The human skeleton rushed in with the pickaxe raised in a two-handed grip over its head and smashed it into the Gardener’s hip.
The boss’s health dropped to just under eighty percent, the massive blow a lot less effective than it looked from my vantage point. It wasn’t looking good for me and mine.
I cast another Necromantic Bolt and shot it into the boss, doing some more damage as I directed Little Fat to begin her work destroying the pods on the water’s edge.
The Gardener blasted Negan with another wave of earth, tossing him through the air into the piles of supplies and dropping him down to fifteen percent health between the original hit and the damage from the collision.
I sent another bolt lancing in, knocking off a chunk of rotten flesh from the thing’s abdomen thanks to the secondary effects of my Rot spell.
The boss’ health dropped to seventy-five percent and its demeanor changed. A progress bar appeared above his head and started to fill as he planted his staff into the ground and ignored my minions’ meager attacks.
It took a few seconds for my old MMORPG reflexes to kick in and the alarms to go off. I ordered my minions to run and watched as they shambled away as fast as their tiny legs could carry them.
The progress bar completed, and the myconid lifted its staff and slammed it into the ground. A wave of rolling earth expanded outwards, catching Negan in its effect.
Instead of tossing him through the air like the boss’ initial attacks, the wave washed over him like water and swallowed him up, leaving nothing behind but a single skeletal foot sticking out of the once again sold stone floor.
Goblin Skeleton (Negan) has been destroyed! Your bound mana has been returned!
As the bound mana rushed back into my pool, I cast another bolt and ordered my minions back in. I’d lost Negan to the boss’s ability, but my minions had managed to drop its health to seventy percent while it was ignoring them.
Extra Credit Page 12