by Aaron Oster
By the time he finally snuck around the back of the oversized creature, it had managed to ensnare Barry once more, and both Emma and Gordon were fighting for their lives. They couldn’t even take the time to curse him for not supporting them as he’d promised, though he was sure they’d forgive him once he sprung his trap.
Stopping right behind the monster, Sam timed his attack just right. The spider swayed to the left, knocking aside Emma’s hammer and swinging a serrated leg at her head. Using Speed Boost and burning away most of his Stamina, Sam closed the remaining distance between him and the spider.
His hand slapped against the open wound, and he activated Mage Bolt.
You deal: -400 Damage (Base 50 X8) to Cree Pee (Mage Bolt)(Massive Critical).
Cree Pee is Stunned! Duration: S 29
“Now’s your chance!” Sam called, shoving his staff into the open wound and using Mana Burn. “It’s down for the count, finish her!”
Though Barry was still tied up, the other two weren’t. They dashed around back, Sam moving out of the way as they tore the wound wider and wider. Massive chunks of the Boss’s HP began falling off, and soon, she was at the brink of death.
“Get back!” Sam yelled, holding his staff out.
Both Gordon and Emma did so gratefully, collapsing against the far wall as Sam’s Over-Burn engulfed the Stunned Boss in a conflagration of death.
BOSS DEFEATED!
Congratulations! Your party has defeated Cree Pee!
Rewards: +9,112 XP, Hand-Cannon Holster, 75 Gold Coins
LEVEL UP!
Congratulations! You have reached level 25! You have 5 new attribute points to distribute.
Would you like to distribute them now?
Yes/No
For once, Sam actually selected yes, pulling up his status to assign the points. He had six points to allocate, including the one he always kept as a spare, but this time he used them all, assigning them to boost his health.
CHARACTER STATUS (ABBREVIATED)
Name: Sam
Race: Human
Level: 25
XP: 2,655/200,000
AP: 0
Class: Over-Mage
HP: 410/410 (Regen 4.1 Per Second)
MP: 238/1,190 (Regen 10.4 Per Second)
STA: 15/130 (Regen 1.3 Per Second)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 10
Constitution: 29 (41) +6
Agility: 8
Endurance: 9 (13)
Intelligence: 104 (119) (+3 Class)
Wisdom: 75 (104) (+3 Class)
Charisma: 56 (+3 Class)
Luck: 16
Sam closed his status, then fell back to the floor, equally as exhausted. This monster was definitely tougher than the last one, and it hadn’t even unleashed any AOE attacks. In other words, they were lucky they’d made it out alive. The spider’s body had already vanished by the time he closed his status, leaving only two small chests in its place.
“The beast has been slain! Huzzah!” Spearlittle said, doing a weird dance in the middle of the room.
“How are you holding up?” Sam asked, turning to Emma, who was still recovering her lost breath.
“Been better,” she replied, motioning down to the damaged top. “This thing lost a shit-load of Durability thanks to that monster. Think I can get it fixed?”
“Indeed,” Gordon said, cutting in. “Items can be repaired by the correct craftsman, and in a city as large as Kamellittle, you should have quite a few of those.”
Emma nodded, seeming relieved that her Legendary gear wasn’t going to fall apart.
Sam wondered if she was going to talk about what had happened during the fight, how she’d almost died. But instead, she merely pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the chest.
“Let’s see what the spider fairy left in the chest!”
Sam watched her for a few seconds as she rummaged around. It was clear by the way she was acting that her near-death had really gotten to her. But she wasn’t ready to talk about it just yet, so he’d give her space for now. He’d already had way too many close calls and knew what it was like. Plus, his Mind Over All helped him cope much better.
“Guess I ought to see what she’s left me as well,” Sam said, pushing himself to his feet and going over to examine the contents of the small chest.
Cracking the lid, Sam saw that there were indeed only two items there. A small bag of what he assumed to be coins, and an odd contraption made of a blueish-gray leather.
ITEM FOUND!
Name: Hand-Cannon Holster
Durability: 250/250
Rarity: Legendary
Quality: Enhanced
Armor: +4
Effect: Passively restores Durability to Hand-Cannon weapons
Restrictions: Deadeye Skill
Sam’s eyes widened as he finally realized what he was holding. He hadn’t really paid attention to the victory message after they’d defeated the Boss, so he’d had no idea what this was. Now that he looked, he could see where the straps would buckle over his shoulder and sit comfortably at his right side.
He briefly wondered if he’d be unable to equip it, as he didn’t know what type of armor this classified as. But when he slung it over his left shoulder, he had no issues. In just a minute, he had the holster adjusted and had slid the Flintlock Hand-Cannon into the opening. There was an almost magnetic-feeling pull as the weapon slotted into place, locking it down tight enough so that it wouldn’t move.
Sam tested this by jumping up and down a few times, but when nothing happened, other than his Stamina depleting, that was, he was satisfied. Next, he did a practice draw, finding that the weapon easily came out of its holster.
“Looks like you finally got something useful,” Emma said as she noticed the way he was moving. “You getting ready for pistols at dawn or something?”
Sam thrust his hips forward, sticking his thumbs in his belt and speaking with a horrible southern accent.
“Ol’ villain man is comin’ to take my town. And as Sheriff, it’s my duty to bring him to justice.”
“A villain, you say?!” Spearlittle boomed. “Show me this cretin, and we shall fell him together! Huzzah!”
Emma snorted out a laugh as Spearlittle wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulder and began forcibly marching him towards the room’s now open exit. The piteous look he shot her as he struggled in vain to escape the powerful man’s grip was almost enough to erase the sheer terror of the last few minutes.
Almost.
Emma knew it would take some time before she got over what had happened, and that she would need to talk about it eventually. For now, though, she had something else to focus on. The end of this quest and taking a few days to relax.
43
Sam managed to extricate himself from Spearlittle’s grip just as they neared the top of the stairs. His release had less to do with the fact that he’d suddenly become strong enough to break the knight’s grip and more to do with what they were now facing.
Instead of finding another hallway or dark room, they now found themselves standing in an open circular room with a tall, domed ceiling. Tall marble archways lined the walls, opening into other rooms, and stained-glass windows lined the space in between. On the far end of the massive room, stood a pair of oversized, heavy-looking doors.
The room was entirely empty, aside from four people dressed in various styles of armor who all stood guarding the doors. Sam didn’t even need to Inspect them to know that they were also knights, and judging by the grandeur of those doors, he could guess that the throne room – and the final boss – lay behind.
“I see that the witch has turned thee all against me!” Spearlittle boomed, his voice echoing throughout the oversized room.
The other knights didn’t say a word, all drawing their various weapons and moving forward to intercept.
“I shall stop these villainous traitors, here and now!” Spearlittle yelled. “Go, my comrades in arms. Go save our king! Huzzah!”
�
�You think he’ll make it out of this alive?” Emma asked as Spearlittle charged to meet the other knights.
“No clue,” Sam replied. “At least we don’t have to fight through a whole other floor to face her.”
“It is nice to simply go straight for the Boss,” Gordon commented, as they began their trek to the far side of the room. “I tire of all this violence.”
“Yeah, same here,” Sam replied, surprised to find that he agreed with the dog for once.
He was tired of all this fighting and wanted to take a freaking vacation! The past couple of weeks had been a disaster of sneaking around and nonstop fighting.
“Does Somerset have a vacation spot?” Emma asked.
“Indeed, it does,” Gordon replied, tail wagging. “There is a spot on the border of the West Kingdom and the Grempire. The weather is lovely all year round, and it has an abundance of activities and areas of leisure for those of means.”
“Just how much are we talking?” Sam asked.
“The cheapest resorts will run between ten to twelve gold a night, while the more expensive can cost as much as five platinum.”
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of money!” Sam exclaimed.
“But we’re still going, right?”
Something in Emma’s voice told Sam it wouldn’t be a good idea to disagree. But still, spending between one and five platinum per night was a ridiculous amount of money!
“I’m so excited!” Emma gushed when Sam nodded his agreement. “Which resorts are the best? I want to hear all about them, Gordon!”
“You know I’m still here, right?” Barry demanded from his spot on her shoulder.
“Yeah, but Gordon always explains things so nicely, and without calling me a bitch every time.”
Before they could start arguing, Sam cut in.
“How about we discuss this after we’ve defeated the scary enchantress lady?”
Barry looked as though he wanted to argue, but seeing as they were now standing before the massive double-doors, he decided to keep his beak shut.
“So, any idea how to get in?” Sam asked.
“Push?” Emma replied with a shrug.
“I can’t open that thing, so it’ll be entirely up to you.”
“Aren’t men supposed to do this kind of grunt work?” Emma complained.
“Hey, I’ve always believed in women’s rights. You can do anything I can,” Sam replied cheekily.
“Apparently, chivalry doesn’t exist anymore,” Emma muttered as she placed her hands against the doors.
“Let’s be realistic,” Sam replied as she began to push the massive doors open. “Chivalry hasn’t existed since the advent of the internet age and smartphones. But, hey, who am I to judge? I’m the least chivalrous person around. In fact, if any cop saw my list of skills and abilities, I’d be arrested before I could blink.”
Emma merely grunted in reply, leaning forward as she pushed the door open. Inch by inch, the heavy doors parted, revealing a massive room similar to the one they were currently standing in, only with the addition of a long red carpet and a raised parapet on the far end.
“That’s as far as it’s going to go,” Emma said as she managed to get the doors open wide enough for them to squeeze through.
“Ladies first,” Sam said, gesturing to the opening.
Emma responded by grabbing him and shoving him through the gap, presumably to use as a shield in case of attack.
“My, my. It appears we have some uninvited guests.”
The room wasn’t very well lit, so Sam had had trouble making out any detail past the basic outlines from outside. However, as soon as he entered, rows of torches along the walls were suddenly lit by flickering blue flames. They lit themselves one by one, traveling down the length of the room and finally illuminating the figures on the far end.
The first person he saw was the owner of the voice. She had pale grayish skin and pointed ears, and she was wearing a flowing white dress. Clearing her throat, the tall woman rose from the throne. When Sam looked closer, he saw that it would be more accurate to say that she rose off the lap of a man who was sitting on said throne with a stupefied expression on his face. Now that he looked around a bit more, Sam could see that this room was a bit more elaborately decorated than the one outside, contrary to what he’d thought a minute ago.
Towering winged statues stood high atop marble pedestals, all held up by tall columns. In each alcove stood a suit of armor, each holding a sword with the blade pointing down. Tapestries hung behind each suit, depicting some great battle, and small glow stones illuminated them from above, giving the entire room an extremely eerie caste.
“Um, yeah, we’re here,” Sam said awkwardly as the others filed into the room after him. “Can you, like, leave or something?”
The woman looked shocked for a moment, then a look of outrage crossed her face.
“No! I cannot just leave! I worked hard to take over this kingdom, and no one is going to stop me so easily!”
Sam shrugged.
“Guess it was worth a try.”
The enchantress glowed with a bright green light then, floating up into the air. Her hair began waving behind her in wild strands, and she raised one hand, gesturing them forward. There was a rushing sensation, and suddenly Sam and his entire group found themselves less than ten feet from the foot of the stairs leading up to the throne.
“Yeah, I’m not really cut out for this, so…” Emma said, turning to run away.
“No one will escape me!” screamed the enchantress, her eyes growing wide and manic, veins standing out all over her face.
A violent wind kicked up, blowing past them and sending the torches flickering and flaring. The wind reached the doors then, and with an ominous boom, they were forced shut.
“Shit. Well, there goes my idea of running,” Emma muttered, as she turned back to face the enchantress. “You got any plans on how to defeat her?”
Sam raised a hand and used Mana Shot, but the shots never reached their intended target. Instead, when they reached a point about a foot from the enchantress, they suddenly veered to the sides, slamming into the marble columns.
“Do you think such paltry magic can defeat one such as I, pitiful human?” boomed the enchantress.
“Well, now I don’t,” Sam replied, suddenly feeling not so good about this situation.
He realized he’d forgotten to inspect the monster and did so now. However, what he saw when he inspected her wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting.
SILVER BANSHEE
Name: Borgana the Frayed
Gender: Female
Class: Sonic-Arc-Mage
Level: 30 - HP: 650/650 - MP: 1,640/1,640 - STA: 250/250
Status: Annoyed
Greatest Threat: Enchanting Mist (Ability)
Highest Attribute: Intelligence (164)
Silver Banshees are a subrace of the banshee race. While similar to Sirens in many ways, the main difference between the two is in their intelligence. While sirens prefer to seduce their prey, sucking the life force from them, banshees prefer to enchant and are far less aggressive.
Silver banshees gain +2 to Intelligence and Wisdom with every level but suffer penalties to Strength, Agility, and Endurance.
“Wait, you’re not the Dungeon Boss?” Sam asked.
“Me, a Dungeon Boss?” Borgana screamed. “Just what do you take me for? A monster?!”
“Well, aren’t you technically a monster?” Sam wondered. “I mean, seeing as the palace is a Temporary Dungeon and you’ve enslaved the entire kingdom to your will, it was just a rational assumption.”
“Hey! I may have enslaved the kingdom, but I’m no monster!” Borgana yelled, seeming more indignant than angry.
Sam and Emma shared a confused look as the enchantress dug into the pockets of her billowing dress, producing a glowing red orb.
“See!” she said, holding the orb up for them to see. “This is how I created the Dungeon. Destroy this, and the Dungeon will fall
.”
Sam’s Flintlock flashed, and with a sound like shattering glass, the orb fell to pieces. There was a rumbling sound from deep underground and a moment later, a notification flashed into Sam’s vision that the Dungeon had been cleared.
“Hey! What the hell, man?” screamed the enchantress. “Do you have any idea how expensive that was to make?!”
“Not my fault you were stupid enough to tell us how to win,” Sam replied with a shrug. “That’s on you.”
Borgana screamed in rage, hurling the remains of the glass orb at him, but seeing as she had a pitiful Strength score, the glass didn’t even reach them, tinkling to the ground just two feet away.
“Damn my pitiful Strength!”
“Are you sure that this is the main bad guy?” Emma asked in an undertone as the banshee raged about expenses and profit margins.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Sam replied.
“Um, excuse me, enchantress lady,” Emma called out.
“WHAT?” she demanded, her voice echoing with power.
“Why exactly did you enthrall the kingdom, if I may ask? Also, why kidnap the princess and drag her back here? By the way, where is she?”
Borgana rubbed at her temples, drifting down to land on the ground. She seemed a lot less like an unhinged maniac right now and more like a tired woman.
“Business, obviously,” the banshee replied. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to take over an entire kingdom? All the work and preparation, all the bribes and whispering in the right ears? Making sure to recruit the correct people and getting a good reputation as a villain? It’s exhausting! It’s literally been taking every ounce of my power to keep everyone under control, and I’m honestly sick and tired of it!”
“Um, so that means…?” Sam asked, not at all having expected this to be happening.
