Chapter 73. Another Boss fight
Looking at the floating Vampire lord, Michael felt his back break into cold sweats.
The creature was over three meters tall, and it exuded a type of invisible pressure simply by staying in place and calmly glancing at the Necromancer from afar.
It wore a long, black, full-body robe with red accents, while its body was a rotted human corpse. Its head was already nothing more than an empty skull, with few patches of necrotic flesh here and there.
As the Elite didn't move from its place, Michael advanced carefully, leading the attack with his minions.
Since it was a creature that could randomly teleport, he decided to keep Pathfinder behind while the three Accountants would cover his back and sides.
"Since they are ranged minions, they could attack from afar like I usually do. Let's hope Lord Berlium isn't ridiculously overpowered with his attacks. Hmm!?"
As he was musing to himself, Michael noticed three huge red circles appear on the ground, quickly adding more lines onto themselves as strange bloody inscriptions were continuously ingrained in them.
Remembering the Terrifying modifier of the Elite, he quickly escaped the area affected while ordering his minions to do the same.
Unfortunately, it appeared that Lord Berlium was expecting this. It teleported behind Michael and the broken minion formation, ambushing him.
"Fuck! Blood Mist!"
Five red stripes passed through his misty body, allowing the Necromancer to easily avoid getting damaged by this Vampire.
Now, it was time for a counterattack.
"Bone Prison!"
Happy he didn't succumb to temptation, Michael watched as long bones pierced from the ground and entangled the Elite.
"Is it just me, or is the skill much stronger than before?"
Watching as the bones aggressively caged Lord Berlium, Michael ordered a full-blown attack from his minions while using all skills available in his repertoire.
His guess about the Bone Prison being stronger was also correct, as the bones locking the Elite in place remained even after the six seconds had passed.
The effort put in by the Vampire to free himself was much higher compared to when Michael used the skill outside this Dungeon.
"Well... it is an ossuary, after all. Maybe it has something to do with that? Shit! There he goes, teleporting again!"
The Necromancer and the Elite kept exchanging blows, and Michael realized how valuable the Reapers were due to their chance to generate Corpses after every attack.
Using the Corpses to revive his minions or to empower and heal them, as well as using them through Corpse Explosion, Michael grinned happily while keeping an eye on the Vampire lord and its sneaky teleportation ambushes.
"The new passive skill is also incredibly helpful, generating more Essence than the Bone Splinters could. Oi! Where do you think you're going!? Bone Prison!"
Overall, Lord Berlium fell much faster than the other Elites, not managing to stick around even for as long as Lord Avitus did.
Michael calmly collected four blue item boxes from this very generous yet shameless Vampire, fully satisfied with the harvest.
He also eyed the corpse curiously and kicked it away, wanting to see if any more bloody parchments were hidden underneath.
"I guess there could only be so many intrigues in a Dungeon. Now let's see what these puppies have to offer."
[ Focused Apprentice's Wand
Magic Wand
167 Item Power
-----------------
80 Damage Per Second
* [54 - 80] Damage per Hit
* 1.20 Attacks per Second (Very Fast Weapon)
* +3.0% Lucky Hit chance
-----------------
* +5.5% Critical Strike Damage ]
[ Remedial Pants
Magic Pants
135 Item Power
--------------------
132 Armor
* +1.0% Healing Received ]
[ Wise Two-Handed Sword
Magic Two-Handed Sword
168 Item Power
-----------------
162 Damage Per Second
* [130 - 194] Damage per Hit
* 1.0 Attacks per Second
* +5.0% Critical Strike Damage
-----------------
* +28 Intelligence ]
[ Fundamental Makeshift Wand
Magic Wand
146 Item Power
-----------------
72 Damage Per Second
* [48 - 72] Damage per Hit
* 1.20 Attacks per Second (Very Fast Weapon)
* +2.0% Lucky Hit chance
-----------------
* +3.5% Basic Skill Damage ]
"The two wands and the two-handed sword are useless to me, while the pants are not as good as what I have equipped. Overall... *Sigh* I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Let's see... the Bloodstone should be somewhere around here."
Rechecking the MAP, Michael cleared four other rooms before he was finally able to find the Bloodstone.
Upon closer inspection, though, the 'Bloodstone' wasn't blood-red in color but amber.
It was somewhat rotund, reminding him of an American football; if one strained his eyes, they could see through it.
"I wonder... how expensive would this thing be back on Earth? I'm sure that collectors would've spent a pretty penny to acquire it. Let's see, let's see... hmm... damn it! Look how damned far the Pedestal is! Ugh..."
Annoyed, Michael decided to kick the generous yet shameless Elite's Corpse a couple of times to vent, blaming it for moving the Bloodstone so far away.
Unfortunately, the Corpse disappeared by the time he returned to the room where they fought. Scratching his head and looking around in case it somehow resurrected, Michael checked every room on his way to the Pedestal for traces of activity.
"Now that's both odd and creepy... Where the hell are all the monsters? Did I clean up everything already?"
Looking at the MAP that showed the Dungeon, Michael realized that he already explored more than 90% of it, with the only hidden area being the Boss room.
The Pedestal was also right before it, so the Necromancer happily headed that way.
"My sense of time is pretty warped, but I think I spent at least four hours here. I've decided! After killing the Boss, I'll return to Kyovashad. I'm already Level 16, and there's no reason to overdo it."
Leaving all jokes aside, this Dungeon's dark and stale environment took its toll on his mental state, making him feel more tired than he actually was.
His excitement from getting new minions and new skills also dampened with every fight, making him realize that he was no longer in peak form.
Nevertheless, he kept his guard up and soon reached the Boss room entrance.
"I see both the Pedestal and a Healing Well. Nice to know that it's a common thing to find before entering to fight the Boss."
Fortunately, Michael was still at full Life, and his vials were also unused. The only exception was when Lord Avitus decided to become a suicide bomber and nearly took him out, but he had already found a Healing Orb to replenish the used vial.
Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, Michael looked at his full Life and Essence, after which he inspected his minions to ensure they were also in peak shape.
He hesitated for a bit but ultimately decided to keep the new Rare focus item equipped rather than using a shield.
"Now, let's put this baby back where it belongs."
With the Bloodstone placed on the Pedestal, the strange stone structure started glowing and shooting rays of light in all directions, making Michael use Blood Mist in fright, thinking it was a trap.
Fortunately, after seeing that his minions took no damage and the previously sealed doors leading to the Boss room were now open, he calmed down and waited for Blood Mist's cooldown to end before venturing inside.
Looking ahead and seeing a dark corridor extending downward, the Necromancer had Pathfinder scout the way forward as himself and the rest of his Skeletons followed five meters behind.
Hearing a loud BANG sound, Michael looked back and smiled wryly at the now-closed door.
"It looks like once you're in, the only way out is to kill the Boss or die inside. Well, let's rumble!"
As the small group followed behind Pathfinder, Michael noticed that this corridor was narrower and less tall than the rest of the Dungeon, making him wonder exactly how the Boss would look.
After a couple more steps, Pathfinder passed through an arch, and Michael followed soon after.
A huge health bar appeared in the Necromancer's vision, divided into five portions. The Boss was also ready to rumble!
[ Blood Bishop (Boss) - Level 21 ]
The Level was the first thing that caught Michael off guard, but the health bar partitioned into five pieces made his expression falter.
From his abundant gamer knowledge, this meant multiple Boss phases or the fact that every time a portion of the health gets emptied, the Boss unlocks a new skill.
"Anyways, irrelevant of which option it is, it's bound to be a shittily dangerous fight. Wh-What the hell is even that!?"
Michael stared at the Boss, who reached over five meters easily. The stranger part was that this floating creature appeared to be made entirely out of blood.
It did have a humanoid form, but it also had two long tentacles protruding from its back, which it used to approach Michael.
Furthermore, the said tentacles seemed to split into five thinner pieces, making it look like a strange replacement for hands.
"Damn it! This thing looks like a Lovecraftian nightmare! It also stinks in a disgusting metallic way. Fuck! It has ranged attacks!?"
Just as he was inspecting the Boss and thought the creature acted in a similar manner, over ten blood spears crossed the distance between the two facing enemies, impaling the Necromancer's minions.
The damage was still acceptable, but Michael needed to fight this battle cautiously, as each spike shaved away 20% or more of a Reaper's Life.
"So, it has ranged attacks. What about its melee range? I guess those tentacles shouldn't be just props. Let's test it! Bone Prison!"
The skill activated; however, the bones barely reached the Boss's waist, looking like the latter could easily escape the minor inconvenience.
Unwilling to wait any longer, Michael ordered his Reapers to engage while the Shadow Mages attacked from a distance.
The Blood Bishop was strangely passive, but it managed to free itself from the Bone Prison after barely two seconds passed. Fortunately, the Skeletons reached its location and started vigorously swinging their scythes.
Michael threw one Blight ball after the other and returned to his tactic of spamming infinite Bone Splinters. Even if the damage was minor, he had to do everything possible to end this fight quickly.
"Why is it so passive, though? Ever since it escaped from the Bone Prison, it only kept retreating as my Reapers slashed at it."
The Boss would smack a Skeleton every now and then with its tentacles, but the attacks were so spaced out that he couldn't feel that something was wrong.
Checking the health bar above the Boss, Michael noticed that the first portion was almost gone, signifying that its fighting pattern might change.
"But what would it do? It simply stood there dumbly, getting cut and bleeding on the floor. Maybe its IQ is negative? Huh!? Bleeding..."
Michael realized something was wrong as the Boss's name was Blood Bishop, and it accepted getting cut by the scythes calmly.
Unfortunately, it was too late, as the Boss entered its second phase, hovering above the ground and shrieking loudly.
Its tentacles stabbed the floor as its hands were raised toward the ceiling.
"Fuck! I knew it was too easy!"
Michael cursed while watching his surroundings nervously, ready to use his Blood Mist at any moment.
Unsurprisingly, the new skill the Blood Bishop used was related to the blood it let on the floor. Michael looked on in horror as the blood accumulated in five small puddles, from which small blotches grew.
Looking at the disgustingly red blood spheres, Michael was reminded of the cocoons he wrecked on his way here, so he decidedly attacked the closest one to him.
It took two Blights and six Bone Splinters to destroy it, but nothing happened afterward.
Turning to look at the remaining four blotches, Michael paled in fright. They grew over a meter tall and looked ready to explode.
Sensing impending doom, he directly used Blood Mist, and just in time, as they indeed exploded, sending a blood shockwave throughout the room.
The Boss was unaffected by this, but that couldn't be said about his minions, who were wiped by the first three that reached them.
Michael glanced at the five Corpses on the ground and immediately used Raise Skeletons to revive his Reapers while carefully checking the Blood Bishop to see if it used any new skills.
About fifteen minutes later, the Boss finally fell.
"What a shameless Boss and what a shameless Dungeon! It kept repeating the same damned trick over and over again. If I didn't have my Blood Mist, I would've died 100% here. The little shit went berserk toward the end, generating a shield around it that absorbed damage. It's impossible to get more shameless than that!"
The Sanctuary also considered the Dungeon Event completed, as Michael received some notifications.
[ Dungeon Quest complete - Hallowed Ossuary
Reward: Aspect of Unrelenting Fury
*You need to clear four more Dungeons to unlock the Codex of Power ]
"*Sigh* No gold and no experience, huh? That sucks. Still, I got my first Aspect from the looks of it. I need only four more, but I'm unsure if I can clear them before reaching Level 25 with how fast I'm leveling up."
Michael calmly bent down and picked up a blue and a golden item box, smiling happily.
Thinking of how he should share his joy with Helen and 'unbox' the gifts with the girls, the Necromancer channeled fast travel to return to Kyovashad.
After ten seconds of waiting patiently, Michael turned around to look around the chamber, but there was no blue portal.
"Motherfucker! It's still on cooldown!? Shit! Doesn't this mean that I need to walk back!?"