A Tamer’s Adventure

When facing monsters, many adventurers would recommend not being stagnant; as attributes rise, so does the difficulty of increasing them with physical training.

Martyn rolled to the side, avoiding a giant stone bat. Swiping at him, he swung his blade, clashing with a greater stone lizard.

Amber grunted, taking the horn attack from another greater stone lizard with her shield.

The two monsters were different in appearance; the one Martyn was facing was slimmer and stood on two legs, hissing and brandishing its claws at him.

The one Amber faced was what a general greater rock lizard looked like; she charged at the monster; they crashed into one another, and she hacked at it with her spear.

Martyn felt the shiver in his spine, a warning from his extrasensory, but he did nothing as the stone bat dove at him, his confidence well placed as an arrow cut through the air, piercing the monster in the neck. It choked on its blood, flying back as Martyn exchanged slashes with the beast in front of him.

Jade focused on the flying monster. She drew back her bow, and with a calm breath, the tip ignited with flames. The arrow went off, but the bat avoided it and charged at her, letting out a sharp screech.

She felt Martyn's slight worry as he jumped over his opponent's mana-charged claw swipe, but she reassured him through their link.

She kept firing, but the stone bat avoided each arrow. It got too close for her to shoot, so she pushed her palm forward, and mana surged out of her as a wall of flames erupted beneath the flying monster.

It cried out, charging out the flames to lunge at her, but was met with a fireball to the face, killing it.

Martyn swung his blade, clashing with the bipedal stone lizard monster’s claw; it was just as fast as Martyn but not as agile, and in terms of strength, he had a slight edge. The monster hissed, lashing its tail on the ground.

Martyn hissed back like a cat facing a snake before engaging in another exchange. He didn't use his blink spell because then the fight would be easier; he chose the challenge to push himself in battle.

A claw swipe cut his side, drawing blood. ‘Fucker,’ he jumped back, but the monster lunged, preparing to spew a blast of acid. Before it stopped, evading a flaming arrow.

“I’ll support the both of you,” Jade said, firing a flaming arrow towards Amber’s fight, giving her some breathing space.

They both nodded and charged back in. Martyn got in close, avoiding a claw to the face. He sent his scimitar to the inventory and, with a mana-coated fist, punched the beast in the centre, sending it flying back into the walls.

The wall shook as it forced itself out of the crack, hissing at him.

Mana surged from Martyn, illuminating the space around him in a blue light. The aura covered his body as he raised his fists. ‘Bring it.’

Words were not needed as his opponent’s stone-scaled exterior seemed to have taken on a shine of its own. They charged at each other, engaging in a brawl.

Amber grunted, grabbing the greater stone lizard by the horns as it charged at her, pushing her back. With a surge of mana, she held her ground.

“Rah!”

A cry left her as she threw the beast into a wall. It landed with a hard thud but recovered, shaking its head as arrows flew towards it. Some bounced off its scaly exterior, but one landed right in its eye, forcing a painful howl.

At that moment, Amber charged, coating her spear in a twisting body of water. She leapt and brought the weapon down.

The monster, at the last moment, covered its horn in a layer of mana, ignoring the arrows Jade fired at it as it swung upwards while unleashing a giant green plume of acid.

Its horn and Amber’s blade clashed, and exploding air pushed the acid smoke away. The force was near even, but Amber sliced through its horn.

She turned, avoiding its open maw, and thrust her spear up its jaw. The bone cracked as its body fell limp. She huffed before turning to Jade with a smile.

The two faced Martyn as he exchanged blows with the bipedal greater stone lizard.

“Shouldn’t you jump in there and help?” Jade asked.

“No, he’s got it covered,” Amber answered.

Martyn swerved beneath a claw swipe, landing heavy blows on the monster’s body. Its scales cracked, and it slashed at him more. He blocked it with his hands, delivering a mighty kick to its chest. It went tumbling back, and Martyn charged with an axe kick to its face.

Bones crunched beneath his boots, and he went to grab the monster by its tail as it squirmed, trying to escape. He swung its body around, slamming it into the wall and ground continuously until its body went limp.

Martyn let go of its tail, his muscles burning from fatigue. “Hah.” He glanced at Jade and Amber.

“That was awesome,” Jade said, walking over to him and offering a potion.

Martyn refused, as she saw him sit on the cold floor. “Thanks,” he smiled.

Amber formed a magic barrier around them as they recovered. “Why don’t you guys take potions that often?” Jade asked.

“For one, it’s for our healing factors to level up, and also, taking potions right after any sort of exercise can diminish any gains you can make. Healing baths are different as you’re not ingesting them,” Amber said with a smile.

Jade nodded. “Shame, I don’t have a fast healing skill,” she muttered, pulling out skewerers from the inventory and sharing them. They sat down and took a breather before they got back to venturing into the dungeon.

On the 8th floor, the difficulty had increased; the monsters were close to their level of strength, which made fighting hoards a challenge.

The trio slowed their movements as they entered the next catacomb. Martyn’s ears flickered hearing the echoes in the cavern, and as they marched in, they saw two adventures being overwhelmed: a knight and a mage, facing a group of five monsters.

Three bipedal rock lizards and two flying rock bats are moving in coordinated attacks.

No discussion was required between the three. Martyn disappeared using his “blink” spell, flashing next to the tired knight and slicing the head off one of the unsuspecting monsters.

“Huh?” The knight said it in surprise.

“We’re here to help,” Martyn said.

“We?” The mage, a woman said between breaths, leaning on her staff.

Arrows flew by stabbing into the circling rock bats, making them shriek in pain; seconds later, fireballs slammed into them in mid-air.

The heat wafted down, illuminating the cavern. As Amber charged, tackling one of the bipedal rock lizards with her shield, the monster skidded back, hissing.

The knight let out a cry, and Martyn and Amber felt it in their bones—a fear skill. He charged at the monster in front of him as Amber handled hers, Martyn followed the knight, and the mage unleashed a spell.

Martyn felt lighter as a golden aura covered both him and the knight. The knight bashed the monster, and Martyn followed with a thrust of his scimitar as the knight finished with a clean cut to the head.

Amber covered her body in water, exchanging blows with her opponent. The monster hissed, seeing its dead comrades, and jumped back as the charred remains of a rock bat fell between them.

Amber conjured a spear of water and Martyn a mana bolt, both firing them off at the monster as Amber shot a flaming arrow and a fire bolt at the remaining rock bat.

Their spells collided with their targets, shaking the air around them and ending them. The smoke cleared, revealing the corpses.

“Haha, thanks so much.” The knight walked up to Martyn, removing his iron helm. He wasn’t wearing a full set of steel armour; it was leather armour with a silver guard, leggings, and a chest plate similar to Amber.

The young man greeted Martyn with a smile, brushing his auburn hair aside as Amber and Jade walked up.

“Huff, thank you; we appreciate it. May the goddess smile upon you.” The mage said who Martyn recognised as a healer. She leaned on her staff, shaking with beads of sweat and sticking her dark hair to her forehead.

“No problem, though I think you guys need a rest,” Martyn said, looking at the healer.

“That’s true.” The knight nodded, walking to the priest and giving her a potion, which she took eagerly.

“These guys just ambushed us all of a sudden, fucking bastards.” The knight smiled.

Jade, recalling their organised movements, spoke up.

“That’s not a good sign, right? I’m not the only one thinking that, right?”

“That’s true, and that probably means,” Amber began, but was silenced when a heavy thud entered the cavern.

All five turned to the pathway; their bodies were clenched; it was tall; another bipedal greater rock lizard, this one thrice their size; followed by five regular greater rock lizards; and three rock bats.

Martyn appraised them; they were within their range of strength, but not the leader. A curse left him as he explained its status to the group. The knight also cursed putting on his helmet.

[Bipedal Greater Rock Lizard, Level 3, Title: Pack Leader]

» [Mana: 1,150/1,575] [Strength: 26] [Agility: 24] [Vitality: 25] [Arcana: 23] [Psyche: 25]

“The thing’s overcharging with mana,” the knight said as it hissed at them, and the monsters hissed.

“Probably trying to be the next boss of this floor. Jade, you stay in the back with the healer, Amber?” Martyn asked.

“I think I can stall the big guy while you take on its grunts.” She answered.

Martyn glanced at the knight, who nodded. “Take my shield; it’s bigger than that small round thing; it’ll help.” He threw his kite shield at Amber, who handed him her round shield.

"Alright, let’s do this!” The young knight smirked under his helm, wielding his sword.

The false boss roared, and the monster grunts charged at them. The priest mumbled a few words: “Please bless them with strength!” She gave her staff a faint golden aura, covering the three warriors.

They charged forward as flaming arrows flew above them. Martyn disappeared in a spark of light, approaching a greater rock lizard. He swung his blade into its side, forcing it to hiss in pain and vanishing with his blink spell to another slashing its back.

He kept at it while the knight leapt up, covering his greatsword in mana. He swung down at the nearest monster, which matched his strength, covering its body in mana and swinging with its horn.

The knight jumped back as another greater rock lizard approached him from behind. He turned, bringing his blade down, parrying its horn with his blade, and turned with the momentum clashing at the one he fought with first.

As he engaged with two monsters and Martyn spread between them, avoiding all hits with his blink spell and slashing at their bodies, Amber charged at the leader with a battle cry.

Rock bats came at her but were hit by Jade’s flaming arrows. Amber accelerated as the leader took a deep breath. She raised the shield coated in mana and held her breath, taking the acid breath attack.

The bipedal rock lizard roared, and the monsters changed tactics. The three surrounding Martyn each took a breath before unleashing a green plume of acid from their jaws. Martyn jumped out, but they kept it going, following him even when he jumped around them with his blink spell.

The knight cursed, rolling to the side and avoiding stone scales flying towards him. He jumped back, using the round shield to block an acid breath.

Amber grunted, bearing the full force of the tall, bipedal rock lizard. It slashed and swung at her with its tail, bashing against her shield and pushing her back a small distance.

One rock bat dove down towards her, but Amber didn’t turn to face it as a fire bolt surged across the cavern, exploding on impact, its body falling dead.

Amber focused on launching a water spear at the leader’s chest; it landed but did little to push it back.

‘A tough one.’ She frowned jumping above a tail swipe while in the air, it grinned, slashing at her with its claw, only for Amber to turn her body into water for the attack to pass through her.

She landed, launching two water bolts at the beast, both of which pushed it back a few steps.

“Thank you for helping us,” the healer said to Jade as she shot at the rock bats.

“Don’t mention it,” Jade answered, firing a fire bolt only for one of the bats to dodge diving at them.

“Repel!” The priest chanted as her golden force pushed the bat monster away, leaving an opening for Jade to fire her arrow.

It swerved, stabbing into the beast’s stomach. It groaned before diving at them again. The priest went to cast another spell, but Jade stopped her.

“Tick, tick, boom, bitch.” She said as the monster’s stomach bulged in orange light before exploding.

The battle continued, and Martyn was slowly gaining the advantage over his three opponents. ‘They use mana to harden their stone shell,’ he huffed, beads of sweat dripping down.

He appraised them, seeing the mana depleting, their movements, and their acid breaths slowing. The effect of every jab and slash that got through their defence weakened their bodies, drawing continuous blood.

Seeing they had low mana, he poured the majority of it into his blade, charging, bringing it down, and unleashing a concentrated arc of mana that went through all three of them in one go, cleaving through the three monsters perfectly. All three are dead.

An explosion followed as the final rock bat was slain.

The knight let out a grunt as he stabbed his sword through the rock lizard’s temple, twisting the blade and eliciting a snap ensuring its death.

All that remained was the boss, which Amber was taking on with growing fatigue. Martyn appeared next to her and disappeared from the spot with her, avoiding an acid breath reappearing next to the knight.

Amber fell on her knees, huffing. She pulled out a mana and fatigue recovery potion. Her status lit up but she silenced it.

“You can teleport?” The young knight said in wonder.

“No, it’s just a short-distance spell,” Martyn said.

As Amber calmed her breathing, a golden aura washed over her. They turned back, seeing the healer with her staff raised.

The monster roared, witnessing its underling’s deaths; its tail lashed heavily, and mana erupted from its body. It didn’t take an appraisal to know it was using a large quantity of mana; its claws sharpened, and its form bulged increasingly.

A flaming arrow flew above them, bouncing off its scales like nothing.

“It drained half its mana,” Martyn said, marching forward.

“Probably boosted its defence,” the young knight said, walking next to him. “After this, let me treat you to a drink.”

“No problem, now let’s end this bastard.”

“Amber?” Martyn called to her, and she rose, rolling her shoulders.

“Let’s do this.”

The bipedal rock lizard roared, charging forward. The healer raised her staff and said, “Haste!” A golden aura covered their bodies, soon replaced by a blue one.

They kicked off charging; Martyn ahead; he blinked, vanishing and reappearing next to the monster’s head; Amber raised her shield, blocking a claw swipe; and the knight swung his sword at its tail.

Martyn unleashed a magic bolt, which it countered with an acid breath.

The knight went skidding back but leapt up, swinging at its tail. Amber dove beneath the claw swipe, launching a water bolt at its body, as Martyn teleported around, slashing at its body with as much force as he could muster.

‘Tough prick!’ The knight swung, clashing with its tail, the blow heavily cracked the floor beneath him.

Amber blocked and parried its claws before thrusting her spear into its palm. It hissed and continued to hack at her, but all its attempts were either blocked, parried, or she managed a counter while taking a cut or two.

“Martyn!” Jade yelled.

Martyn appeared next to her moments later, huffing, ‘running out of mana,’ he groaned, drinking a mana potion. “What?”

“We can’t kill it from the outside,” she said, watching the knight and Amber fight on, slowly running out of steam.

“You have a plan?”

Jade giggled, and the healer nodded. She showed Martyn what seemed to be regular rocks, but with a quick appraisal, he caught on.

“You don’t have to do much; just when that bastard opens its mouth, feed it these and boom.” She said it between breaths.

Martyn paused before accepting that he saw the sweat dripping down her face. Her enchantments weren’t always a success, so she used a lot of mana.

Martyn grabbed the stones, kissing her on the cheek. He left right after appearing next to the monster’s face; it hissed at him, opening its jaws. Martyn was ready to throw the boom stones, but he flickered away as the boss unleashed a thick plume of acid.

It aimed at Amber, pushing her back, and then aimed at the knight, he cursed forming a magic barrier, and was struck with its tail, breaking it and sending him flying back.

The three grunted recovering quickly and gathered together, as the boss charged at them, inhaling a massive pool of air spewing out green-charged acid smoke.

The three formed a barrier, Jude and the healer ran to them, joining in as they all defended against the attack. Once it passed, they rose and the warriors charged for the final time.

Amber leapt up, followed by the knight; the tall bipedal rock lizard roared while charging; Amber avoided, and bashed its face with the shield; the knight followed, his sword coated in mana; he swung down at its body, leaving a heavy gash.

It howled in pain as Martyn zipped right up to its face, throwing the stones into its mouth. It gulped before hissing not knowing what it ate as the three landed, Jude walked up, snapping her fingers with a grin.

“Boom~”

The monster hissed before its stomach bloated and exploded.

 

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