by Konrad Ryan
“Shield!”
Gruff appeared, his shield impossibly big as he diverted the tree trunk arms of the bug-beast hybrid. Rage and effort shone from Gruff’s face as he used all his might to deflect the giant arm. The force of the impact sent Gruff hurtling across the floor as the boss flew past Tad. Tad blinked.
He was still alive.
Suddenly the reality of the situation hit him like a truck. He was ready for death? Was he insane? The image of Bunta’s and Gruff’s faces flashed before his eyes. Desperation had been there. They’d been desperately trying to save him, even though he had given up. His life mattered, in that moment, to both of them more than it had to himself.
Scar waited in the mosquito’s path, his comically big two-handed weapon comical no longer. The mosquito didn’t even see Scar, its head turned backward toward Tad, its fury still raged. Scar spun his blade in a vast arc as he smashed his two-handed sword into the head of the mosquito. A sickening crunch reverberated through the air as 10% of its health disappeared in an instant from the brutal blow.
Tad lost sight of Bunta, but many wounds opened across the back side of the mosquito as it struggled to fly, unable to get off the ground with a shattered wing. Spectral arrows rained from the sky and punctured holes through the mosquito’s tough carapace. With the slimes now dormant, Gruff charged, one-handed mace in one hand, shield in the other. He bashed giant holes into the underside of the grounded mosquito. Tad looked around helplessly. He was out of mana and didn’t have a weapon of his own to attack the boss with. What was he supposed to do in this situation? How could he help?
The grounded mosquito was desperate as the team’s focused destructive force descended upon it. Its health dropped rapidly. Thirty, twenty-five, twenty. It scrambled across the ground and scratched with chipped-yellow fingernails, but Gruff’s shield blocked the swipes. The mosquito stabbed its jagged needle-nose with deadly precision, but it was useless. Scar’s sword deflected it. All while Bunta caused mass destruction. Without its green aura of speed, it was helpless to catch Bunta. Finally, the mosquito’s health dropped below ten percent.
With dominant force, the mosquito punched downward into the ground. Dust, slime and dirt launched into the air, a small crater formed from the blow. The shock wave knocked Scar and Gruff from their feet, they rolled backward away from the attack. The jarring impact threw Bunta to the ground from his perch as the mosquito flew unevenly next to the giant red slime. Its needle-nose stabbed deep into the slime’s center as it slurped its fluids. Everyone watched with horrified eyes as the entire twenty-foot red slime disappeared into the swollen abdomen of the mosquito’s belly.
“Behind me! Everyone now!”
Instantly, the whole party dove behind Gruff as an ocean of fire erupted from the maw of the mosquito.
“Magic Shield!”
A blue film enveloped Gruff’s shield as it grew three times larger than Gruff himself. Gruff lifted the shield, then smashed the bottom of the shield deep into the ground below.
“Everyone! Push!”
The wall of fire smashed into the shield as it almost crushed them against the floor under its immense weight. The next moment they rallied as they pushed against the shield, forcing it once again upright. All around them fire blazed, burned. It was as if they pushed through a tunnel of fire, which closed instantly behind them. The surrounding air scorched as sweat dripped down Tad’s face.
“Hold on! It has to end soon!”
Tad watched as his health bar slowly started depleting. Even directly blocked, the tremendous heat of the dry air cooked their flesh. Health bars all around him drained, but Tad’s was the lowest, and drained the fastest.
“Heal!”
Blondegirl had dropped her bow and was holding her own healer’s crook. She took turns healing everyone. It didn’t seem to take health like Tad’s spell, but must have drawn from her mana pool. Or however it worked for other people. The burns on Tad’s arms painfully knit together. He could feel his insides repair themselves by force, as if needles and thread pierced his gut, then ripped them back together. The pain was even worse than when he used his ‘heal other’ spell. And that spell ripped the life from him to give to others! How could healing be so painful!
But Blondegirl’s healing did the job; the torrent of fire finally died down. Gruff dropped the red-fiery shield with a curse. His arm was charred and burnt. Everyone scoured the room to find the boss mosquito. They found it drinking the blue slime. It was already half gone. Tad looked around at everyone’s health bars. Scar, Tad, and Bunta were all under twenty percent. Tad wasn’t sure they would survive another blast like the last.
“Oh, hell no!” Bunta’s usually friendly voice was deadly sharp.
Suddenly, Bunta was no longer beside them. Tad found him next to the swelling abdomen of the greedily drinking mosquito boss. He turned toward the battered party. The shadows and mirages dropped for a second, revealing a pleasant smile on the determined man’s face. His smile faltered for just a moment before his twin daggers disappeared completely, plunged deep into the frozen belly of the insect.
Chapter 8
An explosion of ice enveloped the cavern. Gruff just got his still-glowing shield up in time to defend against the random shards of ice shrapnel. No one seemed to take any damage, but everyone was silent. Tad couldn’t imagine the fury of that explosion being targeted at them. Steam filled the room as the ice shards found white-hot rock and newly formed glass from the fire blast.
*Congratulations! You have slain the dungeon boss!*
*You have leveled up!*
*You have leveled up!*
*You have leveled up!*
A warning sound like an air-raid siren blared inside Tad’s head.
*Warning! Boss defeated. Dungeon destabilized. Ten minutes until dungeon collapse.*
Tad gasped as healing magic pulsed through his body, his health and mana replenished fully. The burns disappeared in an instant as the soothing pulse shot from head to toe. Tad swiped notifications out of the way as he ran. He only had ten minutes. Where was Bunta? Dread filled his search as the steam slowly revealed the room. Bunta would be okay, right? Bunta had the highest health since he was a warrior rank slayer. His health bar was under 15% before the explosion. Was that enough?
The steam cleared fully as Tad reached an immense sphere of solid ice where the blue slime had been. Inside the crystalline sphere, Tad could see the frozen body of Bunta. Pieces of the boss were visible within. The ice was at least ten feet thick with Bunta at the dead center. It would have been an impressive sight if his friend wasn’t trapped inside. Peering over Bunta’s head, his health bar contained only a sliver of red left.
He was alive! And conscious! Tad could heal him! Tad placed his hands on the ice. ‘Heal other’ would work, right? He needed to touch a creature to cast it. Would contact with the ice count? Please work! Tad wanted nothing so badly.
“Heal other!”
Tad poured his health into Bunta, frozen and immovable. To Tad’s great relief, Bunta’s health bar filled. Tad fell to his knees as the pain sent him into a coughing fit. Blood spewed from his mouth and nose at the rapid healing. As Tad’s health bar dropped below 10%, his vision blacked, until he vomited an enormous pool of blood at his feet. All that healing and Bunta’s health barely reached 30%. Man, Bunta had a lot of health.
“Bunta’s alive! We need to get him out, but he’s alive!” Tad got the words out as he spat out more blood.
Another alarm blared inside Tad’s head.
*Nine minutes until dungeon collapse.*
Gruff and Scar cheered as they hacked at the ice with mace and sword. Tad once again wished he had a weapon to help. After they got out of this dungeon, Tad would buy his own weapons. He wouldn’t be this unprepared ever again. What had he been thinking? Tad watched as Bunta’s life slowly decreased. They were on more than just one timer.
“Oh, no.” Gruff sounded troubled.
Tad soon realized why. Gruff’s and Sca
r’s weapons crashed across the ice but caused no damage. No chips, no scuffs, nothing.
“That’s magic ice… Just like the slimes, it’s immune to physical damage. There’s nothing we can do…” Gruff dropped his weapon on the ground. He looked defeated. “Let’s go, we don’t have time to dawdle. The dungeon will close soon.”
No! Bunta was alive. He was right there! He survived the fight, and the explosion had saved them all in the process. Tad looked at his own stats. He still had full mana from leveling up. That had to be enough! Tad cast firebolt. His voice echoed through the empty arena. Tad imagined a concentrated stream of fire as it gushed from his glowing hands.
“How…! How do you still have magic left?” Scar was incredulous.
Tad ignored him. His mana drained as the spell continued. It was an odd feeling; it felt strangely similar to emptying your bladder, but inside his head. Somewhere inside his mind he could feel his mana, almost like a liquid, but with each spell cast he could feel it drain to his arm where he cast the spell and then disappear. Until it was empty. Tad looked at the ice with dread as he heard the alarm blare in his mind.
*Not enough mana to cast this skill.*
Tad only made about a foot of progress into the magical frozen sphere. The melted ice was about the size of a basketball. There were at least nine more feet to go, and the hole wasn’t big enough for Bunta to climb through. Tad slumped against the ice in defeat. His eyes welled with tears.
Gruff sat down beside him. “Kid, you’ve done your best. We’ve got to go. There’s nothing we can do for Bunta.”
*Eight minutes until dungeon collapse.*
Tad jumped to his feet. What was he thinking? He’d leveled up, hadn’t he? He had more stat points to allocate! Tad whispered the word, bringing up his stats.
*Tad Harrington
Rank: Civilian
Level: 8 (Max level! Rank-up quest available!)
Health: 10/110
Mana: 0/12
Str: 1
Dex: 6
Con: 11
Mag: 6
Cou: 5
Cha: -9
Points to Allocate: 15*
Even If Tad poured all of his points into magic, he still wouldn’t have enough mana to melt the ice. But maybe if he could strategically weaken particular sections of the ice sphere, they could force it apart. It seemed unlikely, but Tad had to do something! Bunta was the only reason they’d made it through that boss fight. Tad leaned against the ice as he dumped all his stat points into magic. A series of victorious jingles played through his head as a text appeared before his eyes.
*Magic has increased to 20! You have learned the following tier 2 elemental spells:
You learned the skill ‘Firewall’
You learned the skill ‘Ice Vortex’
You learned the skill ‘Thunderstorm.’*
Relief flooded through Tad’s chest. New spells! One of these spells just had to be powerful enough to help Bunta! Tad opened the two spells that seemed like they might be useful.
*Firewall: Consumes 20 mana upon use. A magical wall of fire twenty feet across will appear where you designate. Duration: 600 seconds.*
*Ice Vortex: Consumes 20 mana upon use. A magical pool of ice appears under one creature, decreasing their speed by 20%. Duration: 60 seconds.*
Ice vortex was useless here, but firewall might be enough. Tad looked at his mana.
*Mana: 30/42*
Another siren blared in Tad’s mind.
*Seven minutes until dungeon collapse.*
He was running out of time. It was hard to keep his thoughts straight with the siren blaring through his head every minute. Tad focused once more as he read the details of his spells. He could only cast firewall once. Bunta’s health bar slid below 20% health. Was his life draining faster? Bunta’s face through the crystalline ice was choked with panic as he struggled for air. Tad couldn’t wait any longer. He had to melt the ice now!
Tad cast his spell, envisioning a wall of fire appearing on top of the magic ice. Suddenly a green line of fire burst in front of him, but there was no heat to match the dancing flames. He looked at Gruff in surprise. Gruff focused intensely on Tad’s actions. A mixture of disbelief and dying hope scrawled across his face. But he hadn’t seen the giant green flames that appeared just a foot in front of him. A sudden realization, Tad must be the only one who can see these flames. Is this an indicator of where he can cast the spell? He tried to turn the firewall with his mind. The invisible green fire rotated as he desired. This was perfect!
“Step back! It’s about to get hot!”
Tad didn’t wait to see if they followed his instructions. Tad lined up the firewall to be right down the middle of the giant sphere of ice.
“Firewall!”
*Six minutes until dungeon collapse.*
The dungeon vibrated beneath their feet.
Impossibly fiery flames blazed to life. Tad stepped backward as the firewall roared and consumed everything it touched. The firewall curved down the sides of the frozen sphere, continuing several feet onto the scarred dungeon floor. A look of sheer disbelief sat on the faces of Scar, Blondegirl, and Gruff, their jaws dropped. The pure look of sheer dumbfoundedness caught Tad so off-guard that a chuckle escaped from his throat. This would work! His hopes soared. They could save Bunta!
Water pooled around his feet as the ice rapidly melted. The sphere of ice shrank with each passing moment. But Bunta’s health dropped faster. He was already below 10%. Tad ran around the sphere of ice furthest from the firewall. The heat was unbearably hot even at this distance, but Tad persisted. He healed himself with the rest of his mana, placed his hand on the ice sphere and healed Bunta.
“Heal other!”
Tad poured his health out until there was just one health point remaining. Bunta’s health barely increased. Pain wracked through Tad’s body as he crumpled to the ground. His vision went dark. He wanted to keep healing the man trapped in the ice, but the spell would no longer cast. Blood dripped from his nose and ears. Even though he wasn’t touching the firewall, the blistering heat was too much. Tad no longer had the strength to move. Sweat mingled with blood as it dripped down his face, the heat threatened to claim his last health point.
*Five minutes until dungeon collapse.*
Sturdy hands lifted Tad away from the raging inferno. Gruff laid Tad gently onto the dungeon floor, a soft carrying pack placed beneath his head.
“This isn’t good.” Gruff grunted at the ice. He no longer pressed to leave the dungeon, but the worry in his voice told Tad something was wrong.
With eyes that could barely focus, Tad examined the sphere of ice, tried to understand just what Gruff saw. The wall of fire already melted a good three feet from the top, the ice sphere melting downward in a valley. The ice melted fast, fast enough. They would make it in time to leave the dungeon. Everything would be okay! In less than a minute, The firewall would free Bunta’s head…
Chills ran the entire course of his body as he understood. Bunta would cook alive.
*Four minutes until dungeon collapse.*
The vibrations turned to quakes as the ground trembled beneath their feet. Small pebbles and dirt clumps fell from the ceiling.
Hot tears sprang to Tad’s eyes. Firewall was a ten-minute-long spell, but shouldn’t there be a way to stop the spell prematurely? He read the spell over and over. But there was nothing. His tears streamed down his face. Tad had almost done it! He’d almost saved Bunta from suffocating and instead doomed him to burn alive.
“Cancel! Stop! Firewall stop!” Tad shouted with his remaining strength. Nothing. A sob escaped his throat as he turned to Gruff. Tad never felt so helpless.
“Gruff… please help Bunta!”
How could Gruff even help? They were almost out of time. They needed to leave, and Gruff was the dungeon leader. The decision rested on his shoulders. Tad was out of ideas. He’d pushed himself beyond his limits and fallen short. With one health and no mana, Tad could do nothing mo
re.
Gruff let out a loud chuckle, a giant grin on his face, his decision apparently made.
“Did you just call me Gruff?” He laughed, a deep-bellied chuckle. Suddenly Gruff was back to his confident self. “You did good, Kid. Relax, I’ll take it from here.”
Gruff deftly secured his shield to his back and in one smooth motion leapt the fifteen feet between them and the now six-foot sphere of ice. He landed next to the center of the firewall, directly above Bunta. The fire licked his skin as his health dropped rapidly.
“Magic shield!”
Gruff’s shield glowed blue as a magical film coated the surface of his shield. He gave one last look in Tad’s direction before he laid down underneath the firewall. The fire immediately jumped from the ice to the top of Gruff’s shield but burned just as hot. Gruff’s shield twisted and warped, thin and long as it fit in the valley the firewall created. And then it shrank. It shrank until Tad could hear flesh sizzling and Gruff’s pained screams as the fire consumed his flesh. Gruff’s health bar had been over half but plunged in the inferno.
Why didn’t he just make it bigger?
Tad clenched his teeth as the answer hit him. If Gruff made the shield too big, the heat of the firewall wouldn’t be able to melt the ice and Bunta would suffocate. If the shield was too small, the intense heat would consume them both. Gruff was walking a fiery tightrope of death, using his health as the rope. Tad watched in horror as both Gruff’s health bar and Bunta’s slowly crept closer to zero.
*Three minutes until dungeon collapse.*
If only Tad was stronger! If only he had any more health to heal or spells to cast, then he could help! Why did he always seem to find himself helpless in the most crucial moments? Tad couldn’t tear his eyes away as both of his friends burned alive in a fire of his making.
A loud gasp of air rang through the boss room. Bunta’s head was free! Relief cut short as Bunta’s pained screams mixed with Gruff’s. The worst was happening. Both of them would die in this fire. Tad covered his ears. He couldn’t listen to their screams any longer. Tad slumped to the ground hopelessly. He couldn’t handle this anymore. He wanted to run; he wanted to get out of there, to go home, anywhere but here. Were all the dungeons this bad, this dangerous? Tad made it worse. Gruff had been right. They should have all left. Left Bunta behind. The rest of them would’ve been safe. Would’ve made it out alive. Now Tad’s fire would claim Gruff’s life too.
