Path of the Slayer B2 C1. Dungeon Boss Battle

We hit our first boss minion like it owed us a blood debt.

I expected major resistance. We were in a Rank 3 Dungeon with a Rank 4 Dungeon Boss, and all the boss minions were getting empowered by that boss.

Destructive green magic lanced through the air above my head from the crown of the legless Emerald King. Merlin replied in kind from the air with fire, ice, and lightning magic blasting forth. His flying dragon ship kept unloading its cannons with repeating thunder that fell upon the army of boss minions. His ten-foot golem knight smashed its stone-cracking hammer into the legs of another boss minion to the left of me and Sabretooth, the golem rushing along with us.

This type of fighting at the center of the ancient temple maze would’ve killed me months ago.

My giant hunter autocycle cushioned the impact for me with her advanced suppressions while smashing into the chest of a twenty-foot warrior statue. The collision sent the boss minion stumbling backwards with heavy steps, but not quite off its feet, until a sweeping blast of tundra magic turned the floor slick.

Sabretooth clung to the front of the boss minion with her stone-tearing claws she extended from her large tires. As she rode the falling statue down, I swung my greatsword with only my left hand while my right prosthetic held tight to the handle of the autocycle.

I cleaved halfway through the statue’s face as it crashed down under us. Again, Sabretooth’s Legendary designs cushioned the fall’s impact for me. I barely felt a thing even with the statue’s back hammering a wide crater the into the ancient hieroglyph-covered floor.

As for the sword-on-stone impact, it vibrated up the blade and into my left arm, leaving an impression. The Fallen Slayer Greatsword was Rank 3 and empowered by cursed magic, but the damage wasn’t to my liking, which made sense.

I was trying to split the Aether-infused stone with a single blade.

The boss minion raised its gem-lined sword and swiped it down the front of its body, right toward us.

Retracting back my weapon, I prepared to swing again when Sabretooth reared upward with little warning. As I readjusted my grip to keep from launching off, she caught the gem-line edge with the claws extended from her front tire.

She switched gears.

Back wheel spinning, she out-muscled the boss minion and rammed its own sword down into its throat. Her tundra magic froze the sword in place. More tundra magic covered the statue with ice as her metal tail, tipped with a flanged mace, smashed down on the legs, removing the statue’s base.

Secured in my seat while the boss minion was stuck to the floor, I swung down again and cleaved aside most of the statue’s face. I followed up with a third and fourth swing, ignoring the harsh vibrations.

Once the entire head was destroyed, I noticed the magic inside of the statue wink out, leaving the stone creature completely inert. Sabretooth was quick to move on and drive us toward the next boss minion.

There was no notification. This creature was like the ones we’d faced in the third puzzle. That struck me as dissatisfying, but there was still plenty to gain even if the minions didn’t count as kills.

For one, Sabretooth could feast on their Aether-soaked bodies. For two, I could use a different weapon and push more of my powers to the forefront.

As Sabretooth stalked our next prey while dodging around stray magic blasts, I returned my greatsword to my back where it magically stuck there. I switched my Icy Storage Ring from my right to my left before summoning the weapon I used to fantasize about.

The Obliterator Morningstar landed heavily in my hands, all hard magic steel with a pole topped by a large ball that extended a dozen spikes as long as my forearm. Someone much larger than me should be wielding this big Rank 4 thing, with how it was seven feet long and weighed a lot.

I didn’t care.

Path magic activated: Path Magnetism and Path Lightning.

Great Skills activated: Energized Body Conservation, Striving Elementalist Mastery, Massacre Dancer Delight, Gaining Lifter Focus.

Path Energy: 77% to 46%.

I kept my magnetism and lightning magic separated as I launched up from my seat and landed on top of Sabretooth like she was a board, one foot on the handlebars, the other one on her back. No matter how she swerved and dodged emerald bolts from statue mages, my magnetized feet kept me glued to her.

The magnetism in my hands transferred into the morningstar without removing its weight – the heavy thing was necessary for my lifter skill. I combined lifter, dancer, body conservation, and lightning to enhance my physical prowess. My body became a conduit of so much raw greatness, I felt more like a god than ever before.

My next swing took the legs right off a boss minion as Sabretooth did a rapid drive-by. The statue mage slammed down hard, and before it tried to push up, Sabretooth circled around with a predator’s grace.

I swung down again and obliterated the gem-tipped staff in the statue’s hand. Sabretooth lunged forth with her body flexing, her front wheel raising to reveal a mouth filled with long fangs where the radiator should be.

She took the statue’s head in one crunchy bite.

Through my enhanced perception, I glimpsed a strong current of green-blue Aether flow into Sabretooth as she chewed down her meal. Her fuel gauge was rising, and that filled me with a burst of thrill. It was awesome having a Legendary autocycle.

Another statue with a magic staff aimed at us. As Sabretooth finished eating, I repositioned my feet on top of her to turn and swing.

A man-sized boulder of emerald magic connected with my Obliterator Morningstar, and I came out winning. I demolished the attack in a shower of green streaks that peppered the surrounding area, damaging other nearby statues.

Another large emerald projectile flew at us, and I destroyed it just the same with my morningstar. The impact sounded like a bomb going off inside of a room filled with glass.

My Path Energy remained at 46%.

I could barely believe it. I felt so strong. The only time I was stronger was when I willfully combined magnetism and lightning in my body.

I couldn’t do that right now because of the energy demand. But with Energized Body Conservation, I could push even further above my weight while keeping my costs down.

“Go, Sabretooth, go!” I shouted, my heart thumping with bravado.

The giant hunter autocycle roared. She shifted gears and took us toward another target, the magic-filled air whooshing by, arena shaking-powers bursting around us.

We used the same tactic on the statues I identified as mages. Taking them down eased the burden on Merlin and his flying dragon ship, stopping the statues with magic staffs from shooting up at them.

The golem knight was much slower than me and Sabretooth, but the Epic summon was doing the same, taking on the mages. I noticed the mage statues seemed weaker around the golem knight, making up for its slowness with some sort of anti-magic power.

I smashed the legs from under another mage statue. Instead of speeding away to create distance, Sabretooth circled around tight on a curved ramp of hard-packed snow and ice.

She threw us back at the mage statue before it even touched the ground. I swung around my morningstar again to destroy its entire arm and magic staff.

A powerful green laser speared through the air, coming from the Emerald King himself. He was paying more attention and would’ve caught us off guard, but Sabretooth was a wheel ahead, launching over the attack with a springy jump.

The arc of our flight took us past another mage statue that I met with a swing of my morningstar, batting away its head and the upper portions of its torso.

Path Energy: 46%.

As the boss minions dwindled, I realized my Path Energy wasn’t going down because of Sabretooth. I paid close attention when she lunged onto another immobilized statue and ate its entire head, draining its Aether to feed her all-consuming hunger.

All of that energy went into her stomach-tank, but some of it transferred into me, even if not immediately. It felt like there was a small buffer on the transfer, so instead of replenishing me right away, Sabretooth enhanced my efficiency.

We were nearly perfect together.

Would’ve been even more perfect with Hellion, but we could work on that next month.

“There’s something wrong!” Merlin’s voice boomed, enhanced by a spell to be heard over the fighting. “The Dungeon Boss isn’t going down like he should! Hells, he’s fighting back even harder! There is way too much power transferring into him!”

Before I could reply, Sabretooth swerved around so hard she whipped me off my balance. My abdominal muscles engaged as I was bent backward, my head closer to the roughed-up floor than I would’ve preferred, my boots sticking to my autocycle because of magnetism.

A statue warrior stomped close, and with little choice, I swung my obliterator while bent back like a bridge and upside down. I smashed the creature’s ankle from under it.

The boss minion fell, but not without swinging down its gem-crusted hammer toward Sabretooth and me.

With a push of magnetism and a muscle-abusing twist of my body, I threw myself off Sabretooth like a spinning top. I smashed the Obliterator Morningstar through the hammer and half of the warrior statue’s body

Path Energy: 43%.

I landed with more grace than I expected and looked up.

Sabretooth jerked away to avoid the hand of the Emerald King slamming down toward her.

The crown flashed with a sudden blinding green light before multiple lances of destructive green magic came out in a volley. The destructive beams landed near Sabretooth and threw her body-over-wheels.

Two green beams landed on Merlin’s golem knight and sent the Epic summons careening backward across the arena. One of the green beams flew at me before I could dodge, forcing me to block with the head of the Obliterator Morningstar.

My weapon absorbed some of the power, but not all, as the green beam knocked me backward, thrashed me against the arena floor, and forced me to use my most expensive Great Skill.

Pain Eater Devourer activated.

My Path Energy dropped to 33%, with my body becoming even more empowered.

My heart roared like it was an autocycle engine. Every fiber of my being became tougher and stronger.

Before the destructive beam ended, I returned to my feet and shoved the rest of it out of my way. Then I lunged across the arena, covering the distance from where I was knocked back and much more in one jump.

“What?!” the Emerald King’s stony face shifted into surprise while raising up a large hand to catch me.

Ice javelins flew from below and crashed into the Emerald King’s hand and face. The attack struck with stone-piercing impacts, catching the Emerald King’s attention, bringing its eyes away from me as I slipped past its hand.

My Obliterator Morningstar landed short of the crown, smashing straight into the Dungeon Boss’s forehead. The impact blasted away plenty of stone and gem pieces while rocking the Emerald King back some.

The Dungeon Boss roared as I fell with the rubble. A sweep of magnetism and my heightened perception picked out Sabretooth underneath me.

I pushed against her with a magnetic pulse and sent myself flying back to the Emerald King. This time, I reached the crown on his head.

I grabbed hold of the edge with my right hand while I focused all of my buffed-up power into my left arm.

I brought down the morningstar with a one-handed swing like I was a primitive fighter. The move worked. My smashing-hit sent large chunks of the crown flying away, so I smashed down so more and the Emerald King roared from under me.

“Yes, that’s it!” Merlin shouted from his flying dragon ship. “You’re doing more damage physically than I could with magic. Keep the Emerald King distracted while I cut the currents feeding him power. My Tyrant Sentinel will back you up soon!”

Easier said than done.

The Tyrant Sentinel, the one I’d called a golem knight, was far across the arena after getting blasted back by the Emerald King’s destructive beam barrage. My Pain Eater Devourer was going to deactivate soon, taking away a lot of power with it. And I could see the Emerald King reaching for me.

Even with all that I had going for me, I felt nervous. I felt like I could use another boost.

Path Magic activated: Relentless Surge.

Great Skill activated: Crazy Underdog Luck.

“Once I have you, I will crush you like the little peasant you are!” the Emerald King threatened.

His hand came down over me.

I turned away from hitting the crown and swung my morningstar at the hand itself.

I wasn’t sure if I was as effective as Merlin claimed, since the crown remained a thorn in our side. Then I watched my morningstar obliterate the Emerald King’s hand like it was made of glass, the pieces scattering to the edge of the arena.

Meanwhile, I sensed Sabretooth doing work down below, freezing the place under the Emerald King with tundra magic. As the boss monster roared with anger and brought down his wrist, a mound of slick ice rose to meet the stump.

The wrist connected with the ice mound, crushing most of it, but not without losing stability. With no legs and only one working hand, the Emerald King sprawled forward in an undignified fall.

Pain Eater Devourer deactivated, and so did Relentless Surge. The loss in power and the Dungeon Boss’s crash landing threw me off.

I ended up in the air until I found Sabretooth with magnetism and yanked myself to her. With a flip, I landed feet first on her back before looking up and seeing where we were heading – the face of the Emerald King.

Sabretooth sprung up, and I launched off of her while midair.

She struck the crown first, her tire claws digging deep. The telltale crunchy bite of Sabretooth’s radiator jaws resounded for all to hear.

An immense current of Aether flowed into Sabretooth, and by that point, I was landing my morningstar with both arms. The hit was decent, but definitely not my best.

Sabretooth wrapped her tail around my waist, stabilizing me, and I went to work with repeated two-handed swings. The Emerald King roared with pain and half-assembled threats as the crown flickered and cracked under me and Sabretooth.

Before I finished a thought concerning how much Aether Sabretooth could drain, tundra magic exploded out of her. It circled around me, leaving me unharmed, and fell down like an avalanche over the Emerald King.

She kept pouring more and more out of her, and at the same time, I noticed Path Energy entering me more forcefully, going past the buffer. It still wasn’t as fast as the energy from Hellion, but I could do a lot with this. I could risk more than I should.

“I will not be defeated!” roared the Emerald King, forcing his crown to shine with threatening magic.

“Shut up,” I said, packing magnetism and lightning into the Obliterator Morningstar.

I focused on keeping the costs down while fusing the two Path elementals for a specific effect. The spiky head of my conduit shone like a star of many colors – green, blue, and purple. Powerful electromagnetic magic hummed and crackled through the weapon as I swung to the side away from Sabretooth.

I squeezed my elementalist mastery skill for all it was worth, directing the inevitable EMP magic blast through the Emerald King and away from my companions.

I succeeded, if only barely, as I suffered a backlash that made my Rank 2 prosthetic explode. The Obliterator Morningstar flew from my grasp in the eruption. My own magic powers became frayed for a second, my energy crackling over me madly.

I feared the worst, until things reverted to normal, my Path Energy and powers restored. My Energy was down to 6%, but one-third of the Emerald King’s head was blown to smithereens.

A geyser of green power sprayed free from the smashed portions of the crown.

On top of that, the boss monster stopped moving, falling completely at the mercy of the EMP magic I’d unleashed. Might be temporary, but it definitely left us with an advantage.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much else I could think of doing to abuse that advantage other than what was happening now.

“Sabretooth?” I called.

She was okay. She was still feasting and unleashing tundra magic, turning the Dungeon Boss into a glacial mound, freezing him down.

I had no idea how long he’d stay stuck like that, but things remained stable, if becoming more favorable. If only I wasn’t short of a hand and forced to redraw my greatsword from my back.

The icy mound below us trembled. A deep and throaty roar reverberated from the top of the mound beneath me.

The Emerald King was active again, and he was clearly mad.

With Sabretooth’s flanged-tail still wrapped around me, I swung my greatsword. I chipped at the source of the boss’s power, which seemed unexhaustive even with most of the crown heavily damaged.

Then the Tyrant Sentinel finally arrived, climbing up the mound of hard-packed snow and ice Sabretooth had laid down over the boss.

Immediately, the Emerald King lost some of his fervor. I moved aside, and the Tyrant Sentinel brought down its hammer with a massive blow. The Epic golem released a burst of anti-magic that made even my Path Energy waver weakly.

The sentinel struck again, and the Emerald King roared with anger and shook furiously under his tundra-locked imprisonment.

I joined the assault with my greatsword, and Sabretooth kept feeding and releasing tundra magic that weighed heavier and thicker on the fallen boss monster. But no matter what we did, the damn creature wouldn’t go out.

Hells, we even had to endure smaller but quicker beams shooting up from the crown. I dodged them. Sabretooth and the Sentinel braved them directly and kept working over the boss.

“Wait, what am I doing?” I asked myself. “I have cursed stakes for this!”

I summoned a dozen ten-foot stakes that were formally metal support pillars as thick as my chest until I modified them to a new purpose. Each one was Rank 2 and covered in cursed magic and reaching spikes.

With magnetism, I drove them all down into the crown. Then I pointed at the Tyrant Sentinel.

“Hammer these!” I shouted.

Merlin’s summons, which I thought of as a guy, followed my request. He raised his hammer and smashed down on a stake.

The Emerald King roared with more fear than fury. Flickers of cursed red energy entered the endless green magic inside of the broken but still-empowered crown. Something chaotic was happening down there. Something that was going to settle this boss fight for good.

“Again!” I told the sentinel.

Down came the hammer. Down went another cursed stake into the crown. Down came the hammer, again and again and again. The stakes kept getting buried. The crown kept getting even more cursed.

The tundra mound beneath shook like we were on top of a volcano about to blow. The Emerald King tried to emerge, to break free, but Sabretooth’s magic kept the Dungeon Boss locked down. The sentinel struck another stake down, and then another, and then some more after that.

“NO!” The Emerald King’s voice boomed so loudly it was a surprise that I could hear past his voice.

My enhanced perception picked up trouble, and I turned in time to throw my sword with magnetism and intercept a gem-tipped arrow. I used magnetism to send my sword flying back into my hand and observe the new threat.

There were more boss minions entering the maze arena now. They all must have come from the walls outside of the arena. The entire ancient maze must’ve been filled with them, with them all making their way to the center. 

The odds were so stacked against us I wasn’t sure what to do next. My Path Energy was only back to 13%. The sentinel stayed focused on his task of hammering the cursed stakes deeper into the crown.

The boss minions drew closer, with gem-empowered weapons drawn, charged, and aimed at us.

I didn’t want to, but I might have to waste all of my supply of bombs. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.

“Okay!” Merlin shouted, flying back into the arena on his dragon ship.

I turned to him, expecting some genius rescue maneuver, as the Tyrant Sentinel hammered the last stake fully into the crown.

Many of the boss minions shot magic up at him, connecting with his magic shields as Merlin shouted over the noise. “There was another part of the maze! A secret stage with a gem power source linked to the boss! I removed the power source, but it comes with a trick. No worries! Everything should be alright as long as we stop damaging the crown!”

“Crap,” I said before the crown exploded.