I grip my shiny black dagger in my left palm while igniting the flames of my sword in my right.
With a grin ear to ear, I jump through the dark swirling mass of energy in front of me. A mutant boss, this is just what I've been waiting for.
My body materializes on the other side, spawning me into the boss room.
The air is thick. Much thicker than the air outside or any of the previous boss rooms I've been in. I let out a few muffled coughs as the steam and smoke around me fills my lungs with hot fumes.
Using a constant gust of wind magic, I manage to keep the large particles of dust and ash from my mouth so I can concentrate on my surroundings.
The dense mana in the air is close to unbearable. It almost feels like it's about to materialize from the sky and fall to the floor...
Activating enemy detection, I sense the usual two waves of monsters approaching and take care of business. With a few swift air steps and the occasional use of teleportation for better positioning the High Ogres, and their mutant counterparts burn to piles of ash.
They're definitely a little stronger, but nowhere near what I expected. It's kind of a letdown...
"Have I already outgrown this labyrinth? Is it-"
My mumbling gets cut off by heavy footsteps approaching.
*THUDDD*
*THUDDD*
*THUDDD*
I see the familiar sight of large steam clouds instantly turning blood red as a beast emerges.
It has similar proportions to the previous boss, but the wave of even denser mana that fills the air as it approaches is rather off-putting. The beast's skin is much darker red, and its eyes glow with a fiery rage.
The huge Mutant High Ogre King lets out a roar as it readies both of its silver and gold blades staring me down with an intensity hard to match.
I use inspect and appraisal while gritting my teeth. A grin creeps through my clenched jaw.
[Lv. 387]
Active Items:
[High Ogre King's Sword] +55% Strength
[High Ogre King's Sword] +55% Strength
[High Ogre King's Armor Set] +750 Defense +350 Speed +350 Agility
[High Ogre King's Ring] +60% Mental Strength
[High Ogre King's Pendant] +60% Mental Strength
Active Skills:
Dual Wielding [Special Grade]
Combat Magic [Advanced Fire Summoning]
Buffs:
[High Ogre King's Resistance] +70% Magic Resistance
[King's Body Raised in Fire] +70% Extra Fire Resistance
[Blood of a Mutant] +25% All Stats
[Mutant King's Fit of Rage] Hidden Ability
I scan its stats and take into account the subtle changes.
Some of its armor and weapons have increased in strength by a few percent, its fire summoning skill has upgraded to advanced, and there's a brand new buff that adds 25% to all of its base stats...
I gulp but know I'm stacked with overpowered gear as well. If anything, our base stats are close to even. I have the advantage because of my abundant list of skills.
I lunge forward and the battle begins. I glow with dark golden crimson flames, and the boss burns dark red swinging its swords with cool calculated precision.
We clash blades as I air-step and teleport around the battlefield. My All-Seeing Eye picks up on its fine movements, and I stay one step ahead at all times.
Hit after hit, the mutant's flames grow hotter as I cut away at its thick flesh with wind slashes and occasional hits from my sword.
The monster stays calm and does not make this battle easy on me. I only land one out of every six or so hits. Even with my perception boost, it's quick on its feet and skilled with those shining blades.
I take a page out of its book, and stay cool and collected myself. The sound of clanging metal rings out in the boss room as both of our fire burns bright and the mutant defends its throne.
About 5 minutes pass and I've landed a number of hits on the beast. It's not slowing down, and for some reason, doesn't seem worried in the slightest. For now, I take advantage of every perk I can get and carry on filing down its defenses.
Clash after clash, blood drips from the beast and sparks fly in the air as our battle continues. Finally, I can sense its movements slowing down as my successful attacks grow in numbers.
Gashes pile on up its arms, legs, and gaps in its armor. The beast begins to breathe heavily, and I do not slow down. I drip with sweat counting to slash away at my opponent.
With a final barrage of attacks, I let out a yell, and the beast falls to its knees with a loud grunt.
*CLANGGGG*
"It... dropped its swords?"
I pause for a moment mid-stride in a state of confusion. The boss breathes heavily and stares me in the eyes as I cautiously inch closer to it with my weapons in hand.
It doesn't move, or even try to grab the swords by its knees. The monster just grunts and sways side to side while staring into my soul.
"Such... an odd battle..."
I gulp and continue inching toward the behemoth in from of me.
This monster fought long and hard, but my abilities were too overpowered in the end, it never stood a chance.
"So, you admit defeat? I'll end it here."
With a smirk, I concentrate my mana into my sword storing up wind and fire magic more powerful than anything I've ever attempted. I have to make it flashy after all.
With my right foot, I launch myself forward and ready myself to release my new all-powerful attack. I soar forward at the beast while it stays still, presumably frozen in fear, or dumbfounded in defeat.
Then, less than 5m before impact, I see a shift in its eyes. A deep crimson fire burns deep within them, especially with my All-Seeing Eye active, the depths of its mana pools are beyond my wildest imagination.
The monster's HP can't be more than 10% right now, and it still has this much power.
"How could it...?"
I mutter a few words, while reflexively shielding myself with body-hardening crystals and bracing for impact as I watch its mana stores triple in size before my eyes.
I let out a gasp as its entire body begins to glow bright red, erupting into a magnificent display of fire.
I'm struck with a burning hot wave of dark red flames that are even hotter than my own. My entire right arm is engulfed in the blast before I activate Dungeon Walker and teleport to the far side of the boss room.
I blip 100m away, breathing heavily while watching a wave of flames roll towards me. There's a searing pain in my arm that was caught in the blast.
"H-How-"
Then I remember one of its unique buffs. The "Mutant King's Fit of Rage", must be it. A failsafe when it's on its last breath, a self-destruct skill.
I grit my teeth while using my blade to break apart the rock floor below me. After I dig down 3m or so, I jump in and take cover, holding the rocks above my head with all the telekinesis I can muster.
The earth around me rumbles as the wave of flames passes over me. Fire seeps in, but I hold strong and keep the bulk of it out. About 3 seconds go by before the extreme heat clears.
Then a familiar ringing sounds in my head.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
I let out a sigh, relaxing for a moment, then feeling that sharp hot pain in my right arm.
While moving the rumble out of the way, I get back up to the surface and deactivate my skills.
My flames die down and my buffs vanish, but the fire on my right arm does not go out... It continues to burn deep into my bicep, forearm, and is creeping down to my hand.
"This is the advanced fire summoning at work.."
The flames from this skill don't go out unless nullified by one of equal level, I would assume water magic is a viable cure...
I let out a sigh, then teleport myself over to the monster's corpse while managing the pain.
I flinch, as the dark flames start burning my hand, and creep up to my shoulder.
The boss is in pieces and hasn't dissolved yet, I look around hastily. The fire doesn't hurt too much, but this could get bad...
I gulp, put my dagger into my item storage and switch my sword over to my left hand...
With a deep breath in, then out, I close my eyes and swing downwards to cut off my right arm in one swift slash.
Letting out a grunt of pain, immediately, I begin regenerating my lost limb while eyeing the fallen monster's corpse eagerly.
"This better be worth it..."
My heart pounds in my ears as my wound fully heals and I grab a few mana crystals to regain my MP.
*CLINK*
Time slows down as I watch two crystals fall out of the King's dissolving corpse.
One is a large pink mana crystal, but the other...
"Is that... an element stone?"
A palm-sized crystal, red hot with flames hits the hard rock floor echoing throughout the boss room. My gaze is glued to the flaming stone as it rolls to my feet.
It's semi-translucent, with a dark red base color. I can see the ground right through it. The hand-sized gem gives off a flicker of intense flames, giving off a lot of heat.
For a moment, I just stare. Then, I carefully open my item storage, placing it inside with the tip of my blade. I'm not taking any chances, there's no way I'm touching those flames again.
I take the mana crystal and throw it in my storage as well. This is not what I expected when I thought I'd fight a mutant, but with a reward like this, I can't complain.
The bright white transfer magic begins to glow and I'm transported to the narrow tunnel leading to the Labyrinth's final boss.
The ominous portal spins at the end of the rock-lined hallway and my thoughts run wild. The dense mana in the air doesn't help me think straight. All it does is add more pressure to the situation at hand.
I've gotten much stronger since I challenged it last time. With my new skill upgrades, I can just teleport out in an instant if things are going downhill. There's always more time to train if I need to.
"Am I... really ready for the labyrinth's final boss?"