"Floor 5 Boss: Sliðr, the Blade Warden of Hel. Level 25"
"Floor 5 Boss: Fimbulþul, the Shield Warden of Hel. Level 25"
Dragging itself from the slumping and moulting flesh of the corpse, a beast covered in bloody sinew and visceral rose to its feet
In front of them, stood a pair of bipedal demons with a distorted humanoid appearance, dressed in hoods made from the maw of a lion and sprouting white fur with black accents and the previously grey spots now stretched into raw and visible muscle and scarred flesh. With six arms and three heads and thick clawed feet.
The creature wore what looked like its white fur that was blood drenched and charred against its waist as a skirt with bone plates formed around its various parts mimicking crude armour.
One beast carried a shield adorned with images of tortured beasts while the other brandished an elegant silver sword. The sword's spine was bonded to the backbone of an unknown victim as the bound steel was glimmering through the sinewy binds. The guard was wrapped with white and black tufts of fur. The shield bearer possessed a tool of horrifying detail , as though the very face of the leonine beast, Fimbulþul was burned into the surface of red steel.
They stood in front of us, waiting for them to act. The party wondered what they could do against the beasts that they had to face at this moment, to know that with what resources they had left, would there be any reason in trying to face them, but Ari and Galdor didn't hesitate, rushing in to strike them, both unmoving. Their blows landed simultaneously on the towering giants.
The creature's HP was slightly reduced, with the attacks being the catalyst for their retaliation. As if they were statues brought to life, their initial movements were stifled and jittery, which only added to the sense of dread they were giving off. The mechanical jerking became more fluid when the monsters stood at the ready as a hazy mist steamed out from their beastly jaws.
The might of the demon beasts was extraordinary as they raised their weapons aloft and turned to strike each other, surprising the party, with the blade striking the shield, the force from the clash blew up the entire area ,spreading ghostly flames that lit the scene with fires of blue and grey.
The same cave opening was now in the ghastly shape of an arc bound with the worn and dried flesh of the damned, still screaming and thrashing in silence.
"Aura of Death has been used. All players' HP has been reduced to only 20% of their total HP"
A single use of its skill instantly reduced most of our HP to almost nothing , bypassing any defences or buffs we possessed or the items we had to afflict us all with the curse. Putting some distance between us and the beasts, Thane Lyria and I leapt back after receiving the indefensible attack.
"That shouldn't be possible" I didn't want to believe it, but the more times I found myself in this situation, the more I was faced with the reality. This dungeon had something very wrong with it.
Forcing the pair that went ahead of us back into a corner with its sudden burst of speed, Sliðr sword carved through the air, and landed squarely against them, launching away. With that single blow, what remained of the party I encountered were all but willing to give in during the fight
Trying to stop them from moving, I froze over the path in front of us with the "Frost Effect" skill, hoping to buy us some time to recover.
But the beasts were not slowed in their approach, walking over the frozen path, it quickly began to evaporate, with each second the ice retreated in spite of the mana that I was using to maintain the skill, they overpowered it with sheer brute force. With the remaining I had left, I tried to catch the sword-wielding beast that stood the closest to us off guard. Using the "Spear of Glacias" skill, a massive ice-shaped spear ripped past me with impressive speed and into the beast.
The splash of ice shards covered most of us after the bolt landing. The frost and showering snow covered Sliðr, hiding it from view but with only a few moments passing, the surrounding winds washed over the scene clearing away the snowy veil, revealing Fimbulþul guarding Sliðr with its shield pouring out waves of heat from its reddened steel.
"Ice won't cut it either…How am I supposed to get close to it?" The thought of coating my blades with either the Burning or Frost Affinity didn't seem viable anymore, not what was happening, it felt like it was all happening too fast.
Our opponents were not willing to allow us a moment to make sense of the situation. From the shield-bearing figure's shadow, Sliðr leapt into the air to deliver a vicious slash.
Its gaze focused entirely on me. Driving me back with each attack, I could only avoid its attacks. Each of its slashes would cut through any of my defences, with my only hope resting in my senses and agility, putting me just out of the way of each incoming attack.
But its relentless assault did work out, drawing its attention and leading it away from the rest of the party may have given them a chance to act.
Looking back them, Fimbulþul encroached on them, its shield negating each of the light spears that Lyria desperately launched at it while Thane tried his best to protect her from the rubble the beast was throwing out each time it swung its shield into the ground, letting out a massive wave of dust and debris.
Using the "Rush of the Rimelord" skill, I dashed beyond Sliðr's range in time to avoid its towering blows that sent a cloud of ash into the air.
"It hits hard and fast, with defenses against most of my attacks, not to mention its Aura abilities…and the fact that there's two of them now. This isn't a battle I've prepared for…"
"How long are you going to keep staring off into space?" A cloak of darkness covered me as soon as I heard that voice, with the sensation of a sudden breeze rushing over me. The mass of darkness pressed on ahead, heading straight for Sliðr . The sword bearer raised its blade into the air, waiting for the cloud of darkness to draw near.
Once darkness was circling it, the blade was brought down, splitting the dark veil for a moment, at the same time, Ari leapt into the air, with twin daggers in hand to drive them into the beast, her blades carved out its cheek.
"You're still alive?"
"You sound surprised, after all Galdor was watching my back" She responded while avoiding its barrage of random attacks, as Sliðr tried to split her with its blade.
"Then that means…"
"Looking for me kid?" The dwarf appeared just as suddenly with a firm pat on my back as I mentioned that I wasn't sure what we could actually do against them.
But Galdor was quick to remind me:
"Right now, what we need is a plan, not self-pity. If you really think that we have no chance, then say so and we'll try our best to retreat. If not, then you better start thinking of something." Galdor took off towards Fimbulþul, whom Thane was struggling to fend off. Leaving me with Sliðr and its new object of focus, Ari.
Her speed allowed her to tear away at the beast, though she clearly wasn't doing enough damage. At the pace she was setting, all it would take is one mistake for Sliðr to land a fatal blow.
"Wait a minute" My eyes thinned and my focus drew to a point as I followed Ari's rapid assault after Sliðr who seemed to be lumbering against her impressive speed. Her daggers struck several times even though not very deep, the accumulating number of wounds were beginning to add up.
"Speed." Stowing away my longsword as I continued to watch their exchange.
"I need to be faster" My mind began to race with possibilities once again. Pulling out and drinking a Basic Lesser Healing Potion , I took a deep breath before pulling out his new weapons: the Duellican Razors. Looking down at the edge of the blades that hissed with a strange green glow.
"We can be faster" Rushing the beast and aiming for its legs, the venomous blades carved at the heels of the beast, causing it to stumble during its chase of the panther-girl.
As if she could feel the rhythm of my strikes, her attacks followed my own, in a delicate trade of aggression and attention from the beast. The glancing blows became more frequent slashes that tore into the beast deeper each time, until.
"The Poison Status has been inflicted. The opponent will now receive 3% of HP damage for the 15 seconds. Additional attacks with weapons possessing the Poison Affinity will prolong the status effect" The prompt appeared, in tandem with the beast's stumble.
Falling to its knees in exhaustion with its festering wounds draining its strength…Ari tried to take advantage of the situation to end the beast, when her daggers sparked with golden steel remnants when she clashed against the Fimbulþul's shield…the Shield Warden dashed to Sliðr's side as its HP had fallen below 50%.
Thane and Lyria caught up, with her immediately casting a Healing Spell on the group. It wasn't much but it meant we weren't on the brink of death anymore.
"All right, Winn. I know you have a plan, so do you mind filling the rest in?" Thane's words carried a sense of urgency despite him maintaining his cool tone.
"Eh…I'm not entirely sure you could call it a plan but I have been taking some notes" Summoning a scaled back "Spear of Glacias", small enough to wield in my hands, I tried to launch it at the pair of beasts only for the bolt of blue-glass ice shattered against the redsteel shield.
"All right, my boy. Spit it out" Galdor's stature helped him sneak up on us, quickly turning to Lyria to check on her and if she was okay. While still shaken she was ready to continue.
I gave him a nod before I went over everything I had seen, emphasising the most significant points:
"Duo fights are challenging but there is always a balance to them. Attack types, aggression, passivity, weapon choice, etc. Generally you would want to split them up before advancing on them. The only problem is that if we spend too much time on one, the other will come to the rescue."
"But that's also an opening that we can exploit. Fimbulþul's defence can't be beat no matter what we throw at them, but it never protects itself when shielding Sliðr .
Sliðr on the other hand, is fast and aggressive, striking with fierce strength, but it is just as vulnerable during its attacks. If you can strike as fast, it won't be able to retaliate"
"So what do you suggest, in terms of speed we only have two players that can have a significant impact, you and Ari, will that be enough?" Lyria asked with her gentle expression showing some worry for her friend, who came landing in between us in a cloak of darkness that quickly dispersed.
"We'll split them up again. I'll draw Sliðr away and Galdor you'll watch my back"
"Sounds good to me" The dwarf readied his weapon with an excited expression before charging forth ahead of me. His eagerness was starting to grow on me, better than resigning himself to the idea that we stood no chance.
Vanishing from the beasts' sight using the "Cruelstalker" skill, I landed an hidden strike on the gigantic demon:
"The Poison Status has been inflicted. The opponent will now receive 3% of their maximum HP damage for the 15 seconds. Additional attacks with weapons possessing the Poison Affinity will prolong the status effect" The prompt appeared again. The beast began feeling the venom burning away at it, causing it to stumble..
Using the "Aura of the Reviled" skill, the beasts were ready to give chase, only for the shield bearer to meet the steel of Ari's blades as it cut through its unguarded side, with their attention split, everyone else moved on it, Thane and Galdor tanked the beast's attacks, allowing Ari and I to move in close.
When the beasts rallied to strike back, Lyria was ready to rain upon the divine bolts of light on them.
Unlike the Fimbulþul before, Sliðr could summon an eruption of ghost fire from its body. The blast showered the scene with the unearthly flames that burned with a chilling touch.
Fighting with the knowledge I had before me, I tried to move against the opponent, this Boss having traded its speed and agility for insane destructive power managed to rip apart any cover I tried to use. Thanks to my enhanced resistance to heat and cold, the ghost fires didn't do as much damage as they should.
While my brawl against Sliðr felt like a desperate attempt to resist, my struggle had the opposite effect on the rest of the party. In spite of having several chances to escape during the battle, they instead pushed on, picking themselves up each time, having been inspired to keep up the fight.
Seeing Ari almost stumble to avoid a slam of Fimbulþul's shield, I used the "Drakeblood Whip" skill to send out long range slashes, carving up the beast's arms that were holding up the shield, knocking them off balance and interrupting the attack.
Returning my focus onto Sliðr, my mind pulsed with a singular focus.
"I have to be faster…." I rushed in, meeting Sliðr's blade head on, only for a burst of ghostfire to erupt from the edge of the sword, throwing me back, but I would not be deterred, as I corrected my footing, before launching myself at him.
"Even faster—"
This time, I was propelled by my "Rush of the Rimelord" skill, allowing my poisoned blades to tear through his right shoulder. But the beast was quick to react, switching sword arms to land a crushing overhead swing, an attack that I managed to slip past.
"Even faster…" Each time the mantra filled my mind, my senses narrowed. My senses of taste and touch dulled with only a cold, heavy feeling in my hands acting as a reminder that I was still armed. But in this void that my mind was drawn into, I found the strength to push back.
Though to call it strength did not feel right, it was more of a clarity, as though I had begun staring at the waters of a raging river that finally fell into a calm, what I saw and how I saw all changed. Through that clarity, I saw it. In a moment shorter than any breath I could take, our sword swings clashed, knocking each other away, and by doing so, Sliðr was left completely open.
"Drakeblood Slash.'' With my second dagger, I unleashed twin slashes across the beast's throat, ripping through the dense nape with a thick spray of blackened blood that crackled with a menacing buzz. Landing in the tumble, I tried to gain my footing, so I could prepare my next attack, but my legs ended up buckling as I turned to face down its colossal form. Seeing the beast hadn't moved since it received my blow.
I was preparing to launch another "Spear of Glacias" when my eyes flickered for a moment to my HUD's HP indicator, I left with only 5 HP. When I received a surprising prompt…
" Floor 5 Cleared"
"Defeated: Fimbulþul, the Shield Warden of Hel."
"Defeated: Sliðr, the Blade Warden of Hel."
Rewards:
• Fragment of Hvergelmir(x5)
• Sparkbeast Claws(x4)
• Sparkbeast Hide(x3)
• Sparkbeast Bone Plates(x6)
• Ghoststeel Longsword(x1) ?? Rank. Appraisal Required.
• Skill gained: Storm Rend. Level 1(Active: 2-minute cooldown)
"Channelling the raw power of the violent Sparkbeasts, call upon several arcs of red and black lightning to cut down your targets. The longer the skill is charged, the greater the number of arcs will erupt to scorch the scene. The range of the skill is 10 metres"
• Skill gained: Sparkbeast Bolt. Level 1(Active: 1-minute cooldown)
"By condensing the lightning of a storm within yourself, you can launch a volley of ice coated in vibrant electric sparks, the lightning can spread when the project explodes upon contact."
• Skill gained: Static Feedback. Level 1(Passive)
"By holding an attack, you can cause a build-up of static that can be discharged for a devastating strike. The longer the attack is held, the greater the charge. The charge dissipates after an attack or dodge."
• Skill gained: Bolt. Level 1(Passive)
• "After sprinting or dashing continuously for 12 seconds, an aura of static develops around you, further increasing your speed and can inflict the Lightning Affinity status effect on an opponent for a short period of time"
• Skill gained: Last Night Level ??(??)
"You must reach Level ?? to access this skill"
• Skill Level Up: Rush of the Rimelord. Level 2
• Skill Level Up: Drakeblood Slash. Level 2
• Skill Level Up: Drakeblood Maw. Level 2
• Skill Level Up: Curse of Ash and Blood. Level 3
• Aura Level Up: 0 —> 1
"All Aura-based abilities have increased in strength. Aura-based abilities now have a greater effect and range during use."
Level Up —> Level 25