Liam left out a long winded breath of air as he felt his body relax while the vines that were wrapped around his legs released him. The test he had just did turned out much better than he had hoped for. The last time he used this ability was when he faced the Zombified Hobgoblin and the object he used was the boulder he was hiding behind. Comparing that object to the dagger he used this time he was able to gain some better understanding of the ability and its current capabilities.
“I’ll have to make notes about the differences and the discoveries I made between both times later,” Liam muttered to himself, trying to stop himself from diving in too deep in his thoughts over the matter. He recalled his dagger using his Mana Manipulation and sheathed it before looking at the Electro Orchid Mantis.
Blood pooled out from both the open mouth and the back of her head. The impact the dagger had made from his Gravity Force Push was terrifying. The other terrifying thing about it was it needed precise aiming. If the aim was off it could miss the target completely and could possibly hit a teammate or areas he shouldn’t hit.
Before he went to loot her, he pulled out his Spectral Lantern and activated his Soul Harvest ability. After he collected the Soul Orbs of his fallen prey a few chimes suddenly echoed in his mind, bringing with them a few notifications.
“Congratulations! Focus Point Gravity ability – Gravity Force Push has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 0%!”
“Congratulations! Focus Point Affliction (Lunar) has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 12%!”
“Congratulations! Focus Point Affliction (Lunar) ability – Epidermis Luminescence has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 12%!”
“Congratulations! Focus Point Utility (Shadow) ability – Shadow Step has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 24%!”
“Congratulations! Focus Point Affliction (Shadow) ability – Shade’s Corruption has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 12%!”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skills – Throwing Weapons has reached level 17! Progression to level 18: 9%!”
“Congratulations! Chef Craft has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 17%!”
“Congratulations! Chef Craft Section - Butcher has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 17%!”
“Congratulations Chef Craft Butcher ability – Cleave has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 17%!”
“Congratulations! Main Class: Spirit Weaver class ability Soul Harvest has reached level 21! Progression to level 22: 6%!”
Liam smiled as he read each notification. His two affliction spells were slowly growing more and more. Even his class ability, Soul Harvest, finally grew a level. Even after he had harvested so many soul orbs, it finally leveled showing that levels after twenty were going to be harder to raise going forward.
He closed his notifications and refocused on the boss monster’s corpse. He placed a hand over her and waited for the loot notifications to appear.
“You have received War Scythe of the Electro Orchid Mantis.”
“War Scythe of the Electro Orchid Mantis has been sent to your inventory.”
“You have received 25 copper coins.”
“25 Copper Coins have been sent to your inventory.”
Liam pulled out the new weapon he had received to inspect it. As it appeared in his hands he noticed the weight and the design of it. The snath or handle of the weapon was made out of thick tannish brown vines that were tightly woven together all the way up to the top connecting to the serrated blade that curved outwards. Above the blade part was a hard carapace shell with several Orchid flower buds running along the top.
After looking over the design of the weapon he assessed it.
“War Scythe of the Electro Orchid Mantis. Item Type – Weapon (Scythe). Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Poor. + 10 damage. + 5% to Lightning Magic. + 5% to Plant Magic. Effect – Solar Flash. Solar Flare – By feeding Lighting Mana into the Orchid buds, the flowers will bloom and create a blinding effect. Excess Lightning Mana that does not feed into the Orchid buds will transfer to the blade, creating a chance to paralyze the enemy when striking.”
“Warning! User must be able to manipulate Lighting Mana in order to utilize Solar Flash!”
Liam’s eyes widened in surprise. He now knew what that creature was doing when the static electricity was coursing down her body and towards the flower petals. It was a move called Solar Flash. That could be a great addition to some tactics if used properly. Now he had another weapon he need to learn and practice wielding.
He placed the weapon back into his inventory and looked down, back at the boss monster. He let out a sigh before he got to the task before him. Harvesting this creature and the other two that weren’t eaten.
It didn’t take long for Liam to harvest the two Static Clawed Mantises since he had some practice. He thought it would be the same with the Electro Orchid Mantis, however, she proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Especially when it came to the petals.
He was only able to harvest two of the petals and that was after he had accidentally damaged the others trying to figure out how to properly do it. The claws on the monster was a bit tough as well, but he was able to do it after being careful and meticulous. After all that was done he ended up with new materials to practice with in his Blacksmithing and Tailoring.
“Orchid Mantis Petal. Item type – Crafting Material (Blacksmithing, Tailoring). Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Crude. Description – A solid material when not coursing with any form of elemental type mana. If elemental mana is channeled into the material, material will soften. Materials has absorption properties which allows it to absorb a certain amount of mana or magical attacks. Absorption depends on quality of the material.”
“Orchid Mantis Serrated Claw. Item Type – Crafting Material (Blacksmithing). Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Crude. Description – Serrated claw from an Orchid Mantis.”
The Orchid Mantis Petal was something he found to be interesting. The absorption property it held in it had many different possibilities. He wanted to get more, but he also didn’t want to waste any more time than he had already. He still had another floor to clear out. After he finished his business in this room, he made his way to the portal that lead to the final floor and prepared himself.
The final floor was just like the last two he had taken on. The Elite Floor Monsters were both the Static Fanged Macrovipera and the Electro Orchid Mantis. Their levels were higher by one this time around, but Liam was able to defeat them again. This time Liam learned from his mistake against the Electro Orchid Mantis and made sure he didn’t cut it close.
The loot the Static Fanged Macrovipera was the same as the floor boss dropped. So now he had two of the Static Macrovipera Chest Pieces. The item the Electro Orchid Mantis dropped on this floor was different.
It was a pair of bracers called Orchid Vine Bracers that when he first took them out were two Orchid flowers. However once you placed them on your wrists, vines would grow out from the bottom and wrapped around his forearms. They had a similar function to his Askith Pharaoh Hand Wraps where he could shoot out vines from them that could wrap around objects or targets.
He kind of forgot about that feature with his own equipment. However, with these items he needed to have Plant Magic to at least level ten. He figured he would give them to a certain plant mage he knew of.
The other differences on this floor he noticed though were the number of normal monsters that roamed the tunnels. Instead of one monster separated, they were starting to travel in groups. Thanks to the amount of monsters increasing, he was able to get more Twin Fanged Adder Venom and other crafting materials. He was also able to try out his newest weapon, the War Scythe, on majority of the enemies to get a better feel for it. He was able to level it up to five while getting his two affliction spells up another level, almost reaching level ten.
After a long hour making his way to the final boss room, Liam found himself standing and staring into the room from the open doorway. His body was covered in shadows thanks to his Veil of Shadows.
The room this time was much bigger than the last two boss rooms on the previous floors. The ceiling walls and floor weren’t as smoothed out like the others were either. Jagged and misshapen rocks cluttered the room in an odd way. As he stared at the boss monster he understood why. Standing the middle of the room on all six legs was a giant burnt yellow with Black stripes beetle that looked to be seven feet tall and 10 feet long. Long whip like antennas stretched and reached just a bit farther than its whole body.
If the size of this bug didn’t give Liam pause, the lightning that sparked along its antennas and off its wings every time it opened them did. He assessed it to get a better understanding of what he was dealing with.
“Longhorn Static Whip Beetle. 350/350 HP. 120/120 MP. Level 10.”
“Static Whip?” Liam quietly muttered to himself. “Why the hell is it…”
Suddenly, one of the creature’s long antennas snapped forward, cracking like a whip right into a decent sized boulder not too far away from it. As soon as the tip of the antenna crashed into the stone, a thunder like bang echoed throughout the room, causing Liam to cover his ears. A couple seconds later he refocused on the rock that was struck and saw a decent size was destroyed off of it.
“Note to self, do not get whipped by that antenna…or the other,” Liam stated as he started formulating a plan.
He took in what he was watching and thought about what he could do, what he needed to avoid, and what abilities could be used. The mouth looked to be two strong solid mandibles. He had to make sure they were even there because when he first looked the creature’s face just looked like two eyes and no mouth at all due to the shape and how close they were when closed.
Once when they opened to make a weird noise, Liam added a couple possible attacks to this fight. However, he would need to make sure it was open for that spell to work. He couldn’t use Grasp of the Shadows right off the bat in case the monster decided not to open its jaws so now he needed to create a new opening.
The body looked sturdy and hard, which told Liam that he would need powerful impact attacks if he wanted to do damage around those areas. The legs looked like they would be easy to cleave, but after the resistance he felt when trying to sever the Electro Orchid’s legs, he needed to be prepared that it could happen here as well. The only real threat Liam was able to see was the lightning that sparked around the creature as well as those long whip-like antennas. He needed to avoid those at all costs.
After looking around the room he figured out a way he could start this fight. It would not only allow him to make the first move, but it would also give him the few seconds he needed to start the next spell or two afterwards.
Feeling confident in this plan he had made, Liam slowly approached a boulder that came up to his neck, close to him. As he approached it, he placed a hand on it and started to whisper a chant.
“Hinderances and obstacles blocking my path, weighed down by the law of Gravity. Reverse and move away from me, allowing the way to be clear. By the law of Gravity, I forcibly reject you. Gravity Force Push!”
Liam felt the mana that had coated him wash over the stone rock in front of him. His stealth cover had lifted, but to his luck the boss monster didn’t notice him. That was until the rock suddenly raised off the ground and float for a second before flying at a high speed right for the giant beetle’s face.
Liam began his next chant as he watched the object slam right into the sturdy face of the Longhorn Beetle. The impact not only caused damage, but it also pushed and lifted the front end of the creature up into the air. It let out a loud screech of pain and surprise as its body involuntarily moved from the attack.
As the creature did this, Liam had finished the chant to his next spell causing a thick cloud of black smoke to explode out from underneath it and race to cover its whole body. Liam didn’t waste any time and continued with his next spell.
“Radiant and majestic, we admire you in the night. Deadly and poisonous, many don’t know your terrible might. Caress my target with your light like a gentle kiss. Remind them why you’re as dangerous as the abyss. Epidermis Luminescence.”
Liam watched as a flash of pale light illuminated a spot on the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle’s body. He was about to start up another chant until he felt his Danger Sense flare up along the front end of his body.
Abandoning the chant, he was about to say, Liam jump to his left right in time to dodge a long whip-like antenna that had cracked down where he once stood. A loud boom shortly followed as the antenna shot back behind the beetle. The smoke that had covered its body disappeared as its massive front end came back down.
Liam could see its massive black eyeball lock on to him the moment it landed. It didn’t waste any time as it whipped both of its antennas right for Liam once again. Liam jumped twice to his left and heard two more cracks of thunder as a flash of lightning sparked with each hit against the ground he was once at.
Liam didn’t stop after jumping away. He started running forward, trying to get away from the front end of the monster. He wasn’t sure how flexible the antennas were or if it could whip them in any direction other than in front of it.
As he ran, he watched as the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle’s health started to drop from both afflictions running its course through it. It wasn’t doing a lot of damage, but the amount it was doing was still helping him in the end.
The giant bug turned its body trying to keep up with Liam but failed to match his speed. Liam took note of that. If this creature couldn’t keep up with his speed then it could be his biggest asset in this fight.
The Longhorn Static Beetle continued to move its body to try and keep him in its sight. Liam believed he was far enough ahead and changed directions, running straight towards the back leg.
He believed his speed was going to get him there before the boss monster could do anything, but then watched as it opened its wings, fluttered them as quickly as it could and shot out sparks of lightning that flew out and bounced a few times across the ground right for Liam.
Liam cursed as he activated Shadow Step right in time to dodge the incoming attack. He reappeared on the other side of the monster, right within striking distance. Liam positioned his body as fast as he could before activating his Cleave ability and executing the Crescent Moon dagger skill.
Liam felt his body move with the motions as his body spun. However, right as his dagger was about to strike, he felt a strong resistance that stopped the movement of his hand and suddenly bounced back, causing his body to stop its forward momentum.
“What the hell?! Liam yelled as he jumped backwards away from the creature before another arc of lightning sparked out from its wings.
He looked down at his daggers and felt a slight tingle vibrate from his grip. He figured the monster would be harder to cleave through than the regular monsters, but he didn’t think he’d get as much resistance as he just did.
If the joints around the legs were this hard to cut through, then was that the same for the antennas? Liam thought. I’m hoping that’s not the case, but in order for me to see, I’m going to need to distract it somehow.
As Liam sprinted in between the rocks on the ground to keep out of the line of attack from the monster’s antennas, he tried to think of things he could use to distract. Most of his abilities required a chant, but he couldn’t keep moving as fast as he could while chanting and keeping an eye out for the fallen or destroyed rocks scattered around the room.
Maybe I can blind it? Liam considered.
He then shook his head as he thought about the two spells he had that could blind the creature. They too required him to chant in order to use them. He could try and hide behind one of the bigger rocks, but then he would be a sitting duck. After remembering seeing the creature break a rock easily with a powerful crack of its whip-like antenna, Liam knew it was a bad idea.
If only I had an ability that I could just charge instead of chant… Liam was thinking.
As he was thinking this he realized he did have something that could be used like that. He quickly changed his daggers for the War Scythe he had received back on the second floor and felt the sudden weight change. He had to grip the weapon a little harder, so he didn’t drop it.
Not wanting to hesitate, Liam focused on channeling his Lightning Mana. As he started the process, he felt the mana course along his hands. Instead of it remaining around his hands, he felt it being sucked into the scythe.
Liam activated his Mana Sight and saw the Lightning Mana, that was trying to coat his hands, course onto the scythe and up towards the blade then into the first Orchid bud. The Bud glowed that familiar color that represented Lightning Mana. After a certain amount of it had filled the bud, the mana then shifted to the next one.
As this was going on, Liam also tried to focus on not tripping over or running into any loose rocks or boulders. He was also trying to maintain his current running speed, making sure not to slow down even the tiniest of bit. He also had to dodge the random arcs of Lightning the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle shot out from its wings.
He could feel the stress accumulate as he continued to do this. Both his mana and stamina bars drained at a significant pace. As these two resource bars were falling, Liam felt both a headache and his muscles start to tighten. He pushed himself to the best of his abilities and was finally rewarded as the final Orchid bud glowed. A notification suddenly appear in front of him, almost causing him to trip.
“Solar Flash is fully charged. Would you like to activate Solar Flash? Yes No?”
Now that he had gotten this far, it was time for him to do the most dangerous part. Get in close enough for this ability to have a better effect without getting killed by those antennas or hit by those Lightning attacks.
Liam came to a stop and took this brief moment to catch his breath. He was waiting for the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle to fully turn its body in his direction before he rushed in. When the head of the creature was almost lined up with him, Liam sprinted forward.
His Danger Sense flare up as soon as the giant beetle had righted itself to face Liam. A second after he felt the sensation, Liam pushed off his back right foot to jump diagonally to his left.
As soon as his body got out of the way, the creature’s left antenna cracked forward bringing forth the tip of the antenna coursing with Lighting down right where he had pushed off from. A loud thunderous boom echoed the room as the ground beneath rumbled a bit.
Liam wasn’t out of the clear yet as his Danger Sense was still flared up. As soon as his left foot touched down, Liam bent his knee and then pushed his body to the right while hunching his upper body a bit. He did this to dodge the antenna that was making its way back to the beetle’s body.
A second attack from the monster’s right antenna struck down where Liam had pushed off from. Liam held his weapon tightly against his body as he dodged both strikes. However, after he landed this second time, Liam skidded to a halt since he was within the distance he wanted to be.
He then pushed the war scythe out far enough away from his body while making sure the Orchid buds were facing the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle and mentally accepted the notification and swiftly closed his eyes.
As soon as he closed his eyes he felt something light lick his skin and press against his equipment. Then as quickly as the sensation touched him, it dispersed. It was so sudden that Liam wasn’t sure if anything had happened. As he pondered this, a confirmation in the form of a loud screech washed over him, causing him to open his eyes to see what was going on.
Liam’s eyes widened as he watched the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle thrash about violently as it waved its head around. Liam jumped up in the air as one of its antennas swept across the ground. He barely dodged it as the motion was swift and clean. The loose stones that were scattered around him were caught up and flew towards the other side of the room.
After he touched down, he had to jump again as the antenna was violently brought back. As he was in the air his attention was snapped towards a flash that sparked over the monster’s back, where its wings were.
Mana Sight still activated, Liam saw Lightning Mana start to channel and build up. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he had a hunch it wasn’t going to good. His other issue was the antennas it was swinging wildly.
Each swing swept away more rocks around it. He wanted to reach the giant boulders that were farther back, but with the speed of each movement of its head and the mana charging up, he believed he wouldn’t make it in time. Instead, he decided to try something else out.
As soon as he touched down, he jumped up as high as he could while recalling his war scythe to his inventory and reaching an arm out above his head. He focused on a thick hanging rock on the ceiling and willed the bandage wraps he had on his hands and forearms and shot a stream up to wrap around it. As it wound around it tightly, he focused on pulling himself up into the air as close to the ceiling he could get.
He was happy with this decision because the moment he reached the top he watched as the boss monster stopped thrashing its head around and let out a mighty war cry-like screech, spreading its wings out. The Lighting Mana it had channeled had reached full capacity as it exploded out in a wave that sparked across the ground all around it and towards the walls.
He noticed that the rocks big enough for him to hide behind and still intact cut the wave of lightning off. Behind the rocks no signs of lightning existed.
So those rocks are there for that reason. Liam thought to himself as he pulled out a Minor Blueberry Mana Potion and a Minor Orange Stamina Potion and rank them. As his resources replenished he took a look at the creature’s health and was slightly disappointed.
“Longhorn Static Whip Beetle. 243/350 HP. 97/120 MP. Level 10.”
The only damage he had been able to cause was from his two affliction spells and his Gravity Force Push. While his two affliction spells were great to tick away as much health as they could while he fought, they weren’t permanent spells. The timer was almost gone.
He organized his thoughts as he tried to prioritize what he needed to do. He needed to do more damage, take off those antennas and disrupt the lightning attacks caused by its wings. He had spells that could do that, but he didn’t have time to cast them. He needed to find a way to…
He blinked a few times before he realized where he was. He also remembered that he had blinded the creature as well, so it didn’t have any idea where he was unless it looked up. A wicked grin formed on his face as he formulated another plan.
He looked at his Mana Bar and noticed it was almost full again. It would have to do. Without any hesitation, Liam started chanting.
“Hidden within the dark, I call upon you to bind my target. Grasp them with the tendrils you possess. Remind them why they should fear their own Shadow. Grasp of the Shadows!”
The shadow underneath the giant beetle started to quiver before tendrils sprang out and wrapped themselves around the creature’s body, neck, the two antennas, and even around the wings preventing them from opening up. As the tendril pulled down, the two antennas were pulled over the beetle’s head and under its head, making an arched look side by side from the head to the ground.
He didn’t stop there as he went right into the next chant.
“Radiant and majestic, we admire you in the night. Deadly and poisonous, many don’t know your terrible might. Caress my target with your light like a gentle kiss. Remind them why you’re as dangerous as the abyss. Epidermis Luminescence.”
A pale white light flashed around the creature’s neck as it let out a painful shriek. The timer that was about to hit zero refilled. Once more, Liam went straight into the next chant.
“Shadows so dark come forth, pierce through this pour creature’s sight, temporary blinding it with a pain it never knew existed, Blanket of Darkness!”
Another tendril of shadow snaked out from underneath it and made its way over to the creature’s big black eyes. After wrapping around them, they stabbed right into them, causing another painful yell, making the creature jerk its body violently.
He didn’t stop there as he prepared the next chant.
“Hidden beneath and lying in wait, the unseen’s poison is never delivered late. Bellow out in a puff of smoke and slip into the stream. Corrupt the body, Corrupt the mind. Deliver the fear you wish to create. Shade’s Corruption.”
A puff of black smoke exploded from underneath the creature. The Shade’s Corruption timer that had just disappeared reappeared with the timer full again.
Liam took a look at his Mana Bar and saw it had dropped under half. Not wanting to risk it in case he needed to use this combination again, he pulled out a Weak Blueberry Mana Potion and drank it, emptying all of his mana potion stock.
After he replenished the amount of mana the potion gave him, he grabbed his Moon blade dagger out from its sheath and waited for the smoke to disappear. Once it did he pointed it right for the middle of its back, closer to the head where the antennas were at. Taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it so he could steady his aim, Liam started up another chant for a spell that had just gotten off of cooldown.
“Hinderances and obstacles blocking my path, weighed down by the law of Gravity. Reverse and move away from me, allowing the way to be clear. By the law of Gravity, I forcibly reject you. Gravity Force Push!”
He felt the mana wash over him and cover his weapon. After it had fully covered it, he felt the spell start to activate. He released his grip off of it as soon as he felt the push appear and watched as it flew towards its intended target.
An even louder pain cry escaped from the monster’s mandibles as the dagger crashed hard right into its hard shell. The spot where it had pierced was a bit off from where he had aimed, but it was still close to it. blood started to trickle out from the cracked shell, letting Liam know he had finally struck deep into it.
He prepared himself for this next part. He pulled himself upwards and planted his feet onto the ceiling. He then looked for the spot he wanted to land and repositioned his body. After he prepared himself, he took in a deep breath and slowly released it before he pushed himself off the ceiling and mentally released his hold on the rock. This allowed him to fly right for the back nearest to the creature’s head.
As he quickly approached, Liam pulled out his War Scythe and lifted it over his head. Right before he reached his landing destination, he flung his arms over his head as hard as he could, causing his body to spin with it. He spun once, twice, and upon the third time, he felt the blades hook under the antennas and slide against the blades towards the handle.
As he finished the spin and landed both feet onto the back of the creature, Liam activated Cleave and jerked his arms as hard as he could, severing the antennas from the creature’s head. Not wanting to find out if the creature could still send any sparks of Lightning across its body, Liam swiftly put his weapon into his inventory, gripped his dagger, twisted it, wretched it free, then jumped off the monsters back.
As he landed on the ground he felt his knees buckle under him and rolled across the ground. He breathed heavily as he pushed himself to his feet and stared at the creature’s health.
“Longhorn Static Whip Beetle. 56/350 HP. 15/120 MP. Level 10.”
Liam let out a mixture between a surprised chuckle and a cough as he felt exhilaration from what he had just done. He knew that one wrong movement could have ended badly for him. He would say he did that perfectly, but he would be lying to himself. He had taken damage from the landing he made from the height he fell from. He could feel the tension in his legs as they felt strained and tight.
“Holy shit,” Liam involuntarily stated as he continued to cough a few times. “Holy shit! I had hoped that would worked, but holy shit!”
The giant beetle let out a cry of anger and pain in response to Liam’s words. This brought Liam’s attention towards the creature again making him remember the battle wasn’t finished.
He sheathed his Moon Blade and pulled out his War Scythe again. He could feel his forearms tighten as the heaviness settled. He knew he was going to be tired after this, but he didn’t care. He was having fun. He slowly walked over to the trapped creature and said as he twisted his body to his right, bringing his weapon up horizontally, “Thanks for the learning experience. However, its time you died.”
He then swung the curved blade right into the Longhorn Static Whip Beetle’s left eye. He pulled it out and slammed it again into the eye, over and over until the creature’s health dropped and the familiar sound in his mind echoed and the notification appeared.
“Congratulations! You have defeated the Dungeon Boss of the Crackling Cave Longhorn Static Whip Beetle level – 10!”
