Corrupted boss

Hearing Ritsu's warning, Yuki and Ren started to run to where Nagi was, ready to attack the boss.

The way there was rough, since the room was filled with spikes that could put them in danger if they were not careful.

A single misstep or wrong turn could result in them being impaled."

Arriving at the spot where the boss monster was, they found nothing—only an empty clear spot where not a single spike grew.

"Ritsu!!!" Ren roared out, "Where's the boss now?" he questioned; the view before them was not normal.

For a place that had spikes growing endlessly, finding an area where none grew was not a good sign.

Ritsu couldn't understand what he meant by that. The boss should be where it crashed. Taking a breath, Ritsu prepared to answer.

As the words formed in his mind, his passive [Scared prey] reacted to the incoming danger before him. Looking up, he found the head of the boss sticking out from the ceiling.

The emerald-colored eyes of the boss were locked on him eye to eye, its long armored body colored in a combination of red and black.

And its horn that impaled the tame monster of Nagi was coated with its blood.

Looking at it, Ritsu's instinct, body, and mind were telling him one thing only: "Jump."

Right now, he was on top of the pillar, reaching around 40 meters. Although jumping would lead to him getting hurt, he knew it was the safest option, so he did.

With no better option, Ritsu hurled himself off the pillar. As he met the ground, the air below him joined together, creating a giant ball of wind that acted as a cushion.

As Ritsu's body touched the air, it threw him to the side, breaking his back.

Looking to the side, he found Mio gasping and sweating in the corner after casting the skill for him to fall on.

"BAM!"

The sound of the boss crashing down near Ritsu echoed loudly through the room.

Looking at the boss, who willingly fell from the ceiling to get him, Ritsu's body was paralyzed, completely unable to move.

The boss looked at Ritsu for a second before launching an attack at him.

As the horn of the boss approached him, a ball of flame came forward toward the boss's face, shifting the attack to Ritsu's side, completely avoiding the attack.

"Run!!" Koharu yelled out after casting her skill. Yet Ritsu did not move from his position; he was still paralyzed, but now worse after almost getting impaled.

The boss pulled out its horn from the ground and pulled it in front of Ritsu, looking at the paralyzed hero before her. She growled and charged at him again.

"Shield bash!" Nagi screamed, running toward Ritsu, reflecting the attack from the boss at the last moment.

"Bam!"

The boss's body echoed with a loud noise as it fell to the ground.

Nagi quickly used [Tame] on Ritsu, pulling him back to their side. Nagi looked at him and said:

"What are you waiting for!? Run!" Grabbing Ritsu's magic item and him, they ran away from their position.

The boss was not happy about this; all her attacks so far had either failed or stopped.

She looked at the two running away from her. Looking at them, she charged to bite them instead of impaling them.

Ritsu's skill triggered once again, telling him the boss was at their back. Hearing this, Nagi looked back and used his item skill [Shield bash] against it.

This gave them a bit of time to run away.

Again, her attack was stopped by the hero. In this very moment, she couldn't care less whether she won or not; right now, she just wanted to kill one of them, even if it meant dying in doing so.

With a guttural roar, the boss launched herself forward—not down the safe path the heroes had taken, but straight through the forest of spikes.

Blood sprayed as the blades tore into her, but she didn't stop.

She had only one goal left—to tear them apart before her body gave out.

As the two figures came into her sight, she leaped from the ground straight towards their heads.

[Dash] [High leap]. Ren and Yuki activated their skills, leaping above the boss's body, with their blades and spears ready to attack her.

Hearing the voice of the two heroes, the boss dove into the ground, disappearing right before the two's eyes.

"Clang! Ring!"

The two weapons echoed, hitting the ground floor.

Seeing that the boss could dive into the ground liit weret's water, the two ran off to where the girls were.

"Mio!!" Ren screamed. "Use your skill, now!"

Mio, with the girls in the corner of the room, was confused.

Why did she need to use her skill if the boss was nowhere to be seen?

The next second, the wall behind them began to shake. Without asking any questions, she activated her skill [Reflection], creating a sphere of barrier around them.

"Tang!"

The barrier echoed like a bell after being hit by the boss. It glared at them for a bit before diving back into the ground.

•••••

"Not many casualties yet," Clark said with a smile, looking at the tired and confused heroes below. He was in a lotus position up on the ceiling, watching the entire thing happen below.

Honestly, from his perspective, the heroes were doing well so far. If one were in danger, the rest would be there to help.

If something happened, they wouldn't hesitate to yell it out to others, and if danger approached, they could adapt to it.

"I guess her ability did change. Her skill, Dirt Eater, gained another description: the ability to swim within the Earth."

But then it's not much different in danger level... Also, this is good since they might awaken their first trait as a hero.

He sighed. Seeing it hang near him a while ago caught him off guard.

Chapter 20 end.