Chapter 59: Boss battles are easy (1/2)

Five hours had passed and as time went on the contestants reduced their boasts and some of them even managed to pull off what they had claimed. Ilea was quite sure at that point though that she could crush this expedition’s members with ease were it one on one battles. The only people she wasn’t sure about were the three leaders.

Warriors, rogues and rangers had joined the bets and tried different skills and challenges against the healer. People lost and won money and soon more than half of the expedition’s adventurers owed Ilea a favor or two. Of course she wasn’t sure what that meant to them exactly but what she was really happy about weren’t the favors but the skills she had gained and strengthened.

Shroud of Ash had leveled three times, reaching eighteen. Many resistances had leveled while some more were gained.

Corrosion Resistance – lvl 3

Many substances can be corrosive. Even the strongest stone will be cut through by the right combination of chemicals. You have been exposed to more corrosion than many others and with this skill your resistance to many substances will be heightened.

Light Magic Resistance – lvl 2

The power of the sun harnessed and enhanced by magic. You have experienced the burning heat of light and pushed ahead. This skill will help you be more resistant.

Mist Magic Resistance – lvl 1

Mist magic is a rare talent, found in students of the arcane adept in both wind and water magic. It is an elusive power, difficult to wield yet ultimately destructive and impossible to avoid. You have faced it and lived. This skill will help you do so again.

Additionally Ilea had learned that pure warriors on a similar level were as strong if not stronger than her with all her buffs active. One of them even managed to make her skid away for more than five meters upon a blocked hit. ‘Guess they have their own way of enhancing their strength...’ Ilea only had a base Strength of 111 but with State of Azarinth that was increased to over 250.

‘Guess I’ll increase that at some point to at least 150...Edwin was probably right but I can’t be losing arm wrestling so easily...sucks that Form of Ember doesn’t increase my Strength anymore...’ she thought.

“It’s time guys.” Agor had entered the trap room. “We’re going for the last door.”

“God finally.” someone said while others got up and prepared themselves.

“Half an hour and we go in, prepare yourselves, it will likely be the hardest trial we’ve faced thus far.” Agor said and left the room.

“The boss then...” a mage said and a ranger next to him nodded.

“Likely, let’s go and prepare then.”

Ilea also followed and got some food from the cooks. The others started preparing as well but most of them seemed to just want to get it over with already. They had been waiting for hours already and finally the leaders had decided to tackle the last obvious route in the dungeon. They had already found a lot of gear in the dungeon so a good pay was a given at this point.

Ilea overheard an adventurer questioning going into the last door, saying that they had already fulfilled what they were contracted to do and then some. Jasper apparently didn’t agree to that though and led the adventurers forward.

“Whatever lies beyond this door we’ll be prepared to tackle it.” he said and then went on for twenty minutes ordering people into groups and explaining different roles and possibilities.

‘Is this what those games like WOW felt like...glad I’m not the leader here...’ Ilea thought. Her role in her group of five was to get the attention of whatever enemy was waiting for them inside the door. If it got overwhelming she should distract it and then move out after the others had fled. It made sense to her. She was pretty good at being an annoying punk to stronger enemies, especially slower ones that couldn’t teleport.

Her healing ability might save one or two people’s lives but like this she could both output her damage and protect the mages and other ranged or slower adventurers in the expedition.

They had lost quite a high number of capable people so far and Jasper wanted to make sure to keep it at a minimum. Though considering the otherwise successful expedition the Forkspears would likely not care much about the lost people. At least considering what Ilea had heard about Bjorn specifically.

“So what do you think we’ll face in there?” she asked Agor who was standing next to her. “Faced anything bigger Taleen made than a centurion before?”

He shook his head and looked at her through the thin eye slit in his helmet. “We’ll see soon enough. Just follow Jasper, he’s a good tactician with this amount of people at least...”

‘There seems to be more there...’ Ilea thought but focused on the task at hand.

“So everybody knows what to do then. We’ll start with groups one and two. Three and four will follow closely after, fifteen seconds between entering. Scouts ahead of everyone. Make sure to dismantle as many traps as possible. Tanks ahead of each group.

Ilea apparently was considered the tank of her group, especially after her resistance training just hours before. ‘Why doesn’t he send in scouts before, without all the groups...’ she asked herself but was sure the man had a good reason to do what he did.

And so they entered. The door opened to Jasper’s touch and his mana flowing into it. Ilea was in group two so entered right after the first one. There was a small hallway spanning only about ten meters in length and five in width right after the entrance. Beyond that was a big hall. One of the biggest she had seen yet in the dungeon. Even bigger than the hall they had entered from and where the whole expedition had made their camp.

Inside the hall there were pillars on each side. In the middle and far back of the room stood an empty throne. It was a very simple thing, quite free of any complicated carvings, runes or designs. ‘Cold...’ was what came to Ilea’s mind as she entered the room and spread out to the left with her group as planned. Group one had spread out to the right and soon the more range oriented groups three and four would enter behind them and cover the ones who came in before.

‘There’s nothing here...’ Ilea thought as she looked around. The same green lamps as always were lighting the room in an eerie green. There was no moss here and the sound of gears and pipes only came from the hall behind them, much more subdued now as they had entered the throne room.

As the group advanced closer to the throne a large amount of the adventurers tensed up and immediately signaled for retreat. Ilea too, felt an ominous presence that made her hair stand up. Behind them the door shut again and with it closed as well the corridor that led into the throne room.

‘Another trap...’ she thought as everybody prepared to fight. The ground in front of the throne slowly opened up and two machines slowly came into view, lifted up by an elevator below. The same green metal as the centurions and the guardians made up their armor. They had the same heads and the same legs but they were bigger by quite a bit.

‘Different weapons as well...a mace and...two scythes?’ she looked at the two machines and in that very moment their eyes started to glow green.