20. Boss Fight

20. Boss Fight

There wasn't a perfect way to find bosses, or even know whether they were coming up on one. That said, they did tend to announce themselves; it was a rare event for an adventuring group to just bump into a boss by accident. So long as they were paying attention.

The potential boss chamber they had passed earlier was a large cave mouth appearing randomly in one of the mineshaft tunnels, the jagged opening easily twenty feet across. Scattered about the entrance were claw marks gouged deep into the stone, as thick as two fingers and several feet long. The cavern floor just inside was littered with splintered remains of wooden support beams and cart fragments. Immediately upon seeing the place, Flint had turned them around. Even Morgana had recognized the telltale warning that something fierce dwelled ahead, inside the lair.

Before heading in, though, the three of them oriented to their new abilities. Morgana had pelted off [Frost Nova] for the first time, finding that it did about the same amount of damage as her magic missile while also providing an enormously powerful locking effect—thanks to its expert rating. The mana cost was many times higher than [Magic Missile], confirming her suspicion that she would only be using it against much stronger opponents. Because why waste the mana?

Likewise, Vesper had tested her ability, finding [Sidestep] a useful skill for avoiding enemy attacks while sneaking in a follow-up blow afterward. While not as flashy as Morgana's enormous ice nova that could encase entire monsters in solid, blooming chunks of ice, the three of them had all watched her use the skill with interest. It was obvious when she activated it: her next movement would come in a blur, the [Thief]'s dodge, and then returning blow, happening so fast Morgana could barely track her.

Feeling more comfortable with their situation, they had thus arrived at the yawning cave mouth with deep gouges scraped into the floor.

Despite feeling fairly confident that they weren't in for any enormous challenge—especially since even Flint had found it an acceptable risk—Morgana nonetheless felt a swell of trepidation as she walked into the cavern, the white glow of their lantern illuminating the space further with every step.

The noise of something big scraping against the stone floor alerted them just as they got close enough for the shape hidden in the shadows to reveal itself.

At first, Morgana couldn't make out what she was seeing. It looked like a massive mound of discarded ore and mining debris piled haphazardly in the center. But then the mound started to shift and rise upward.

"Fuck me," Flint muttered. "That's a big monster."

The misshapen pile resolved itself into the bulky form of an enormous crustacean-like creature, its body encased in a mottled carapace made of fused chunks of ore and stone. As it slowly righted itself on a half-dozen segmented legs, Morgana could make out two huge pincer arms extending from its body, held forward at the ready.

***

Oremound Crusher

Boss

Level 1

***

Morgana froze in place for a long, shameful second, eyes widening as she took in the thing's monstrous shape. While she'd spent a good portion of yesterday and today killing monsters, this thing was something else altogether. At six feet in height and easily ten long and wide, it was the largest beast they had fought so far. And she knew the diminutive descriptor of only being 'level one' didn't mean much. Bosses were many, many times stronger than the average encounter. For that matter, they were head-and-shoulders the most common way adventurers died.

Primal terror seized her for that one long second, a reaction born of her nature as a squishy human staring up at a beast many times bigger than her. Beady eyes glared at her with hate, pincers snapping loudly in the air.

Morgana spurred herself into action. Holding her hand forward, palm out, she called on her spell—just as the enormous beast started scurrying toward their group of three, its chitinous legs scraping loudly in the otherwise silent cavern. The spell diagram of [Frost Nova] appeared mid-air, glowing white lines etching into the space in front of her outstretched hand, then, with barely a pause, finished activating.

A bolt of white energy shaped like a two-foot-long icicle rocketed toward the Oremound Crusher. She supposed it was lucky they had gone up against something so big, seeing how aim was one of her biggest weaknesses—not that she had poor aim, just that she didn't have many weaknesses to speak of.

Considering its bulk, it was next to impossible for her to miss. The spell slammed into the creature's sharp, slanted face, then bloomed.

***

Rich Copper Ore Chunk. A chunk of reddish-brown copper ore, highly concentrated.

***

***

Ore Crab Shell. A thick piece of an Oremound Crusher's shell. Highly resistant to physical attacks. Especially suitable for armor.

***

"There's more loot somewhere else, too," Vesper said.

"Oh?" Morgana asked. "There is?"

"Yup. Or at least probably. Usually there's a chest somewhere that unlocks after you kill the boss. There'll probably be an actual piece of gear in there, something we can wear. Bosses only drop crafting components or other stuff like that. Like these copper ore chunks and its shell." She held a hand out into the trailing white light. As always, the wisps condensed into a small glowing orb, then faded, materializing as a physical object—a spatial storage device that would need to be opened in town. "I think the shell is the real prize, though. Probably gonna make a killer piece of armor, and commissioning won't be too bad, since craftsmen love working with boss materials. Gives big experience for their class."

"The shell is resistant to physical attacks, it said," Flint commented. "Which probably means it was weak to magic. Maybe that was why the fight went so smoothly."

"It went smoothly because Morgana is a badass," Vesper said, rolling her eyes. "Stop downplaying it."

Morgana blinked.

That was definitely the first time in her life she had ever been called a 'badass.'

"Not what I meant," Flint said. "Yes, she did great. But if it was strong to physical attacks, it was probably weak to magical ones. So that helped." He nodded at Morgana. "But well done."

"Thank you?" Morgana said.

"Where's the chest, you think?" Vesper asked.

"Somewhere, I'm sure."

"Very helpful."

Together, they scanned the cavern. They found their target beneath a short rocky overhang. The chest's wood was old and decaying, its iron hinges rusted. After checking for a trap, the lid popped open with a loud squeaking noise.

They crowded around, peering in to see what the second portion of their loot would be.