Chapter 513 - Some Things are Hard His mana pool felt the loss immediately as the storm that hadn’t dissipated above the boss grew darker and the air became noticeably colder. Thunder rang out, matching the sound of the boss’s steps, right before bolts of blue lightning descended upon the insect. Max could feel the electricity in the air, and his vision had afterimages of light. He tried to watch and not stare at the destruction being rained down upon the boss. The storm assaulted the insect for thirty seconds, and when the last bolt struck, Max raced to see what it had accomplished. Barely more than a few darker areas… Quickly try to attack them! Max moved as Bob directed him toward the areas of the chitin shell that looked worse for wear. All three attacks struck, causing a chip the size of his foot to come free, yet Max already knew this shell was much thicker. Nothing… it did nothing. He continued to hack at the same spot repeatedly, the rage of his berserker filling him as the boss bucked and moved beneath him, unable to attack the person on its back. When his ability ended, Max shouted, upset and angry that no matter what he did, they couldn’t cause any real harm. We can’t injure it, and I doubt it can catch us unless it has some ability that makes it considerably faster… I’m going to try using my dimensional vault. Repositioning himself, Max moved to hover before the boss’s face. Those dark eyes seemed to radiate anger or something else, and it moved forward, the long black pincer opening and closing as it prepared to bite the pesky human in front of it. [ Dimensional Space ] [ Dimensional Space - Blocked ] The message surprised him, and Max had to teleport away to avoid getting caught in the pincers, having waited until the last moment to try to summon his vault. The tower learns… You cannot expect the same trick to work over and over. You were cheating in the eyes of it. One shouldn’t have that kind of power. Words came from Max’s mouth that would earn him a lifetime of soap had children been present as he backed up, leading the boss toward the opposite side of the room. Hovering near the large black shells that lined the two-hundred-high wall, Max felt his stomach and head hurting the closer the boss came. Each step seemed to make the wall of fused shells vibrate, and he struggled to keep his eyes open, his Sonar skill suffering from some sort of vibration attack. Flying upward and away, the sensation that had been assaulting him quickly vanished and Max shook his head, clearing the cobwebs that lingered inside. The walls… they amplify its steps. The closer it got and with you between them… I would not try to fight it near them again. You don’t have to tell me twice. My head is still hurting. Racing to his friends, Max landed and shook his head. “That didn’t look like it went as planned,” Fowl said. “Are you serious about me letting myself get bit?” Sighing, Max shook his head. “No… Even with all your defensive skills, I’m unsure how much damage it would do. But I’m also unsure how we can defeat this boss as we can’t even pierce its protective layer.” Cordellia started to open her mouth, and Max waved her off. “One second, I need to draw it away again.” After leading the boss away and giving them about fifteen seconds to talk, Max motioned for their ranger to continue. “What if you do like the wurm? Go inside it? Avoid the outer shell?” “Like the clockwork, boss?” Batrire asked. Cordellia nodded. “Max is the only one who can survive that, and it would give him access to the softer insides.” Max groaned as everyone began to nod, luring the boss away, leaving them all there to discuss his potential move. Upon arriving, Batrire cast her 25% stat increase buff and the individual one she had gained recently. “I take it, you all decided I’m doing this,” Max muttered. “Alright. Fowl be ready. When I’m gone, it may attack you all. Stay away from the walls, and just lure it away.” Max raced toward the boss without waiting for a reply, unsure how this might go. Aim for its mouth, phase inside it, get in its throat, and then we’ll attack from there. Hopefully you’ll be able to do something. Max transformed his weapon into a curved sword and flew at the boss’s open mouth. It shrieked as he came near, closing its pincers as he flew toward the black opening. Having done this trick before, Max created a ball of flame, the light illuminating what his sonar told him was there. A thick mucus covered its throat as he passed through the mouth full of teeth that seemed to grind like stones together. There would be no better spot to attack from as it was almost as wide as he was. Curling up as tightly as possible, Max created stone and ice walls inside the warm pipe. It pushed the flesh apart and gave him space to unphase without seeing whose body would win the contest if being stronger. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The boss jerked as it began to choke on the two walls and Max felt the flesh starting to press down, crushing some of the walls as it did. His weapon cut, digging into the flesh and splitting the windpipe with ease, causing blood to immediately appear, beginning to fill the cavity he was in. Taking a deep breath, Max hacked away, recasting his walls before taking the next step. It’s all yours after this. The tearing sound that came as he grew signaled that the cut he had made had spread, and Bob began to take the next part as Max summoned his shield, forcing flesh upward with his left hand while his weapon continued to hack away. Lighting arched through the boss’s body as wind blades flew in different directions. They didn’t cut more than a few feet, but the nonstop barrage of them began to turn the area Max was in into a slurry of flesh and blood. The boss bucked and shook repeatedly, causing Max's position to shift. Throughout it all, Bob kept them as stable as possible. Stone, ice, fire, lightning, and wind assaulted every part of the soft tissue inside the hardened shell. Max could sense the quickened pace of the boss. Its flesh was trying to heal itself, but the barrage of spells inside it could not keep up. Once again, Max used his defensive and offensive abilities as they carved a path through the boss, inching their way to where its heart was. It took one more resetting of his skills to reach the organ as big as Max, and after the duo assaulted it with blade and magic, a cold sensation washed over him. [ Bonus Stats Consumed ] [ 100 Strength Consumed ] [ 150 Constitution Consumed ] [ 5 Abilities Consumed ] [ No Ability Matches Entity Type ] [ Power Stored for Future Use ] Gasping for air, Max tried to blink and see where he was, unable to until he summoned a towel and wiped away the gore that covered his face and entire body. Thick black blood dripped everywhere as he hovered in mid-air over the boss. You did it. Well done. We did it. And… that stats… those skills… what– A chuckle came, and then Max felt himself spinning like a top. Before asking why, he glanced down and saw that most of what had been covering him had been flung off. I guess that’s one way to do it. For a moment, I had considered warning you, but… I figured, why not have some fun? We can talk later about the fight's gains. For now, they are waiting. Laughing, Max shook his head as he descended towards his friends, glad that his skill and friend were back and continued to surprise him. “Great plan,” he said after touching down on the ground. “I’m sure I would have gotten there eventually.” Cordellia beamed at the praise, grinning from ear to ear. “Sometimes you just need a woman’s opinion.” Fowl groaned and chuckles came from the other two. “So… I’m guessing you didn’t harvest anything?” their warrior asked. “Bah, I wasn’t going to be able to break off a piece of its shell. Still… I’m surprised the tower sent something so hard like that at us. How would one defeat that without your ability?” Max shrugged and was about to reply when he noticed his friends' mouths start to open at the same time. Turning around, he saw what they were looking at. The giant beetle corpse was gone; instead, Chromie stood with its hand behind its back. “Uh… where’s the chest?” Fowl whispered. “Do not worry about the rewards,” the metallic being called out. “Come, we need to talk.” The sound of his fingers snapping rang out, and a portal appeared, silver in color and just as tall as Chromie. Max and the rest glanced at each other. Seeing that they had no other option and that the being could easily hear them from hundreds of yards away, they moved toward it. All five sat on the gold seats that had been present when they moved through the portal. Their host had taken his seat and was silent for a few seconds. “I must congratulate you five on accomplishing a task that most cannot. The creature you faced is the first test to prepare for what is coming. Had you failed to defeat it, going any further would have been impossible, as what comes next will test you in ways like never before.” “Wait, what?” Fowl asked. “What does that mean?” “If you will give me a moment, I shall get there,” Chromie replied. “There is much to discuss and you need to learn to listen before asking questions.” A snort came from their healer and ranger, leading to Fowl grunting as he crossed his arms. “The next ten floors will be different than you can imagine. Every other floor will possess a boss. The floor before it will have an opportunity to trade and acquire things for that fight. You must decide what is worth trading for to help with the coming battles. “Many things will be available for trade, and not all will be useful for the next fight, but some may have value in the coming ones if you continue to climb higher. Do you understand?” Everyone looked at each other, and most had furrowed eyebrows or slight frowns. “So you’re saying we will not be able to defeat the bosses unless we trade for the right items?” Tanila asked. “No… though it will be easier to defeat them with the right tool, weapon or other item. I am saying there will be opportunities for you to acquire things you normally wouldn’t be able to acquire. Beyond that, I shall not say anything more as I am forbidden. Part of this journey is preparing for what comes next. You must learn the path of growth you desire. Choose one path and you may grow quickly yet falter later, falling behind or being lost forever. Another path may take you longer to grow, but it will lead to true success. Yet there are countless paths to travel and you must also learn to choose your own or be led down one by others.” A groan came from their warrior as he rubbed his eyes. “Someone promise me you’ll tell me what he just said later.” Trying not to laugh, Max tapped his chin. Do you have any idea what he is talking about? No… my memory of that is gone. What he says makes sense, though. I’m more interested in what we will face. I cannot imagine the power and potential things that can be gained. Our biggest concern should be what the tower prevents us from doing. Like my dimensional space? “I have a question,” Max said as he leaned forward. “Does the tower choose to block certain skills for any particular reason?” The reflective face stared at him momentarily, and the metallic being shook after about ten seconds. “I… cannot answer that question. The tower and the system do what they must. You must learn to work within the confines of what is allowed.” “What about our rewards for the boss we just defeated?” Cordellia asked. “There wasn’t a treasure chest.” “You and your dwarven friend are both alike,” Chromie replied. “It shall be given to you upon the arrival of the next tower floor. Fear not. You have earned a great reward.” Max chuckled as their ranger and warrior both smiled at each other. “I have one last thing to instruct you five on, and then it shall be time for you to venture forth. These next ten levels are nothing compared to what comes next. You must decide if defeating the tower and the next step after is what you desire.” “Why is that?” Batrire asked. Shaking his head, Chromie held up his hand. “I cannot say more. Just know that in time, you will understand.” Max started to open his mouth when the sound of two fingers snapping rang out and the world around him shifted.