Grand Game 238: The Statue Garden (Patreon)

Door closed. To unseal the chamber, slay the final sector boss.

Panting heavily, I took a moment to recover as the crystal barricade slid shut behind me. I was trapped in the compound now, and there were only two ways out: death or victory.

The good news was that if I died, I had a quick trip out of the dungeon. The bad news? The Game’s messages made clear I would get only a single shot at this. I will just have to make the most of it.

Swiveling my head from left to right, I searched for a threat. At first glance, nothing appeared to have changed in the compound.

But then, I noticed a fine crack in the nearest sculpture.

Narrowing my eyes, I focused on the statue in question—one of a ratman. A second crack formed. Then a fine haze of white powder fell away from the face, revealing a patch of brown fur beneath.

A mindglow, dull and weak, appeared in my mindsight. But second by second, it strengthened. My gaze jerked away from the statue to the next.  It, too, was cracking. As were many others.

Damnation! The statues were coming alive.

Hefting ebonheart, I advanced on the awakening ratman, intent on killing him before he became a threat.

A wisp of movement drew my eye.

Whipping my head around, I fixed my gaze on the half-caught glimpse. At the far end of the compound, something was already moving.

It was a savant.

Reaching out with my will, I analyzed him.

The target is a level 191 savant grandmaster.

Immediately, I altered my course. Lurching away from the ratman, I made for the savant. He was assuredly the sector boss. The grandmaster was already encased in a flickering multi-hued shield and was scanning the compound intently—for me presumably.

He must know I am here.

This just keeps getting better, I thought morosely. Racing flat-out, I made for the boss.

The other hostiles didn’t matter, not as long as I could kill the savant. And with my enemies multiplying by the minute, playing the long game—using stealth—would only make the encounter more difficult.

Nearing a stone wyvern, I cast two-step.

Striding through the air, I landed on the statue’s marble head. Not pausing, I leaped off again and onto a yeti’s broad shoulders. Another jump and I was on a stone fire slug.

A savant grandmaster has awoken the first of his minions! A level 120 ratman brute is no longer petrified.

At the Game message, my brows crinkled. I’d been mistaken. The boss hadn’t been searching the chamber earlier; he’d been awakening the statues.

Raising my head, I surveyed the compound again. While all the statues were cracking, most were still inert stone without mindglows. I had some time before I was mobbed, then.

Up ahead, I spotted the newly awoken ratman. He was a few yards away and shaking himself free of the last flakes of his marble prison.

Racing down the fire slug’s back, I shadow blinked to the brute and, before he could react, two-stepped onto the next statue.

I was halfway to my target.

But the savant grandmaster wasn’t standing idly by either.

Clapping his hands together, the sector boss fired a beam of light in my direction. Somersaulting forward, I let the attack pass beneath me.

You have evaded a savant’s magical projectile.

I dropped back to the ground, landing lightly on all fours. Another ray of energy was already flashing towards me. Diving sideways, I threw myself towards the nearest statue.

You have evaded a savant’s magical projectile.

The beam blistered the air only a few inches from my nose but, crucially, missed. Huddling behind the statue, I opened my mindsight and spotted a still-weak mindglow up ahead. It was en route to the savant.

Perfect. Spinning psi, I readied shadow blink.

Light flashed three times, and the statue sheltering me detonated, showering me with loose rocks.

A savant has killed a petrified yeti.

You have taken minor damage from falling debris.

Yikes. Flinging my hands up, I covered my head. My ears were ringing, and dust from the expanding cloud clogged my eyes and mouth. But I held onto my spell I was weaving, a second later, blinked out.

You have teleported in the shadow of a wyvern.

The half-awakened wyvern tried to swat me with its wings. The blow was slow and easily evaded, though.

Another beam flashed.

I tensed, but the attack passed me harmlessly by. The sector boss hadn’t realized I’d repositioned and was still targeting the dead yeti’s remains.

I couldn’t stay where I was, though. Hurtling forward, I resumed my charge. At the blur of movement, the savant’s cloaked head whipped around to face me. Knowing another attack was inbound, I readied psi.

A savant has cast a frost ray of doom.

You have cast two-step.

You have evaded a savant’s magical projectile.

Once again, the savant missed as, running atop a cushion of air, I leaped over his attack.

Frost ray of doom, eh? That doesn’t sound very pleasant. Still airborne, I cast again. My target was finally in range.

You have teleported into the shadow of a savant.

I emerged from the aether behind the savant and with ebonheart already in motion. Snaking out, the black blade struck the multi-hued bubble dead center.

Your target’s shield has blocked your attack, absorbing its damage.

The boss whirled around, hands outflung. Ducking, I rolled away, avoiding the magical flames spewing out of his palms.

Safely out of range, I bounced back to my feet. The torrent of flames had not stopped pouring out of the boss’ hands. A persistent spell, then.  Readying psi, I charged forward again.

The savant recentered his hands on my new position, but a second before I could drop back into the inferno’s range, I blinked.

You have teleported into the shadow of a savant.

Emerging behind my target, I hammered at his shield again with one combo after the other.

You have cast whirlwind, increasing your attack speed by 100% for 3 seconds.

Your target’s shield has blocked your attacks.

You have cast piercing strike.

Your target’s shield has blocked your attacks.

It was not enough.

Turning about—his own motions much slower than mine—the boss tried to hit me with his deadly flames again. Flipping backwards, I sprang off my hands and out of range.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a charging figure on my right. A ratman was attempting to flank me. Pivoting on my heel, I lunged forward, leading with ebonheart’s point.

You have killed a ratman brute.

The black blade drilled a neat hole in the ratman’s chest. Retracting the sword, I turned back to the savant. He’d changed tactics, I saw. Muttering under his breath, the boss was preparing a longer spell.

I risked another glance at the compound. Four more of the boss’ minions had awoken and were closing in on me. The two lumbering yetis would be no threat—they were too slow. The fire slug too. The wyvern, though, would be a problem.

Spreading her wings, the beast glided toward me. Drawing psi, I prepared to meet her.

The savant, meanwhile, had finished his spell, creating a pulse of crackling white charge that radiated outwards from his position.

My gaze flickered to the expanding circle of lightning. It was fast approaching, and on the fly, I changed targets.

You have teleported into the shadow of a savant.

I landed inside the growing ring and, before the startled savant could react, struck at him again. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Your target’s shield has blocked your attacks.

The pulse kept going, not discriminating between its victims.

A savant has killed a fire slug.

A savant has stunned 2 yetis.

Out of the corner, I saw the wyvern dive. She had avoided the boss’ spell by the simple expedient of flying higher. The savant was also turning to face me.

I grimaced. Soon, I would have two dangerous foes to fend off simultaneously. Keeping a wary eye of both, I kept striking at the savant. Speed was my best ally.

The wyvern opened her jaws. The boss raised his hands.

Now.

Selecting the closer of the two stunned yetis, I dived into its shadow—leaving my two foes suddenly bereft of a target.

The startled wyvern tried to swerve. The boss tried to pull his flames back. Both were too slow.

A wyvern has been critically injured by a savant’s scorching flames. A savant’s shield has absorbed the damage of a wyvern’s dive.

The wyvern crashed headlong into the boss, shrieking as his flames burned into her. The savant himself was uninjured, but his flames cut off abruptly as he was tossed clear across the compound.

I chased after him.

The wyvern alighted on the ground not far from me. Crooning to herself, she nursed her smoking face. Ignoring the beast—she appeared out of the fight for the moment—I kept charging towards the boss.

The savant, meanwhile, had come to a grinding halt against one of the marble walls and was back on his feet. Turning around, he contemplated me for a second.

Scared you, have I?

Attempted mental intrusion detected! A savant has failed to dominate you!

Guess not.

The mental assault, coming from nowhere, had caught me off-guard, and for a moment, I was tempted to raise my mind shield.

But I had resisted the attack.

And I couldn’t afford to fight without my psi, not now. I needed to end this fast, which meant closing with my target quickly. Going airborne, I rushed across steps of air.

You have passed a mental resistance check! A savant has failed to dominate you!

I smiled grimly at the boss’ repeat failure as I sailed through the air. I didn’t want to give him a third chance at charming me, but I’d nearly reached him. Shouldering the risk, I left my mind shield down.

A savant has failed to dominate you!

I grinned in relief as I dropped to the ground. That’s it, I thought. I’m in range. Spinning psi, I shadow blinked.

You have teleported 9 yards.

Emerging on the boss’ left flank, I launched a frenzied attack on his shield. I threw everything I had at him and used both whirlwind and piercing strike to hasten and empower my strikes.

The boss’ shield had already suffered a torrent of abuse, and under my latest assault, it did not fare well.

A savant grandmaster’s shield has been destroyed!

I smiled in savage satisfaction, and before my foe could so much as blink, I rammed ebonheart through his chest.

You have killed a savant grandmaster with a fatal blow!

You have freed 36 hostiles from captivity!

Unsealing door...