Ultimate Level 1 - 204 - Boss Floor Blues (Patreon)

The moment they started moving down the ramp that led to the portal in and out of the tower floor, a light snow began to fall.  

Each of them groaned slightly as the viewing distance decreased to about half.

“Three of them,” Fowl said, pointing at the three blue giant creatures before them.  Each wore some chain armor and carried massive clubs.  Long white beards ran down to their chests, and blue horns jutted out of the white hair on their heads. Their blue skin only showed where the armor didn’t cover it, yet other than their size, it was the one thing everyone had commented on first.

“If my math is right, their top stats should be around one hundred and fifty,” Max reminded Fowl. “That means you should be okay, but remember those clubs are going to create more damage from the size.”

“I hear you,” Fowl replied. “While a refresher is good, are you that worried about three of them?”

“Just be smart.  Tanila, do you think Root would work on one at all?”

“I’m going to try and see.”

Max nodded and checked to make sure everyone was ready.

“Alright. On your root.”

Tanila cast her spell on the one on the left, watching vines and roots attempt to push up through the frozen ground.  The cracking and popping noise of ice breaking carried across the distance, and the other two charged at them while the one whose massive leg was being surrounded roared, trying to rip off the roots with one hand.

“Fire!”

Holding the blazing club, Max unleashed a fireball at the one on the right as Cordellia sent fire arrows.

Soon, a firebolt came from Tanila, joining the race to attack the fifteen-foot-tall giant.

Fowl scurried toward his target, yelling and shouting as the one in the middle lifted its club and prepared to hammer him into the ice below.

Flames billowed over the giant, which the other three were attacking, and Max raced toward it, holding his club back and off to the side.

The giant that was hit with fire arrows and spells was stumbling, crying out as its beard was burnt off, massive burns showing across the blue skin, creating an ugly portrait of ruined flesh on its face.

Fowl’s target attacked. The club came downward and was deflected to the side as the dwarf angled his shield. The impact against the ground sent out a spray of ice fragments for ten yards.

Running at the weakened one, Max saw four more arrows reach the giant before he got there, swinging his club at the unprepared foe.

The strike struck the legs, hitting right at the kneecap. A crack sounded as the bone snapped, causing the giant’s leg to buckle.

“It’s free!” Tanila shouted, alerting Max to the one she had tried to lock down, the sound of its footsteps creating thuds that echoed in his sonar, telling him the giant was on its way before his friend had even called out.

Leaving the giant on the ground, Max dashed toward the third one, seeing it raise its club and prepare to attack him.

His short sparring match with Dexic had taught him a few tricks, and seeing the club that was coming toward him, he dodged the overhead strike, moved to the left, and counter-attacked against its leg. 

The knee buckled inward, sending the giant to the ground as the momentum from its swing and the loss of its right leg toppled it immediately.

Without waiting, Max began delivering the second attack, twisting his body and using the momentum of the first strike that he had created when swinging through the entire attack.

Jumping and coming down with the club, he smashed into the monster's back, sounds of bones breaking under the impact and a low groan as his weapon connected.

The flames of the hammer were spreading along the giant, causing it to burn on both its leg and back.

Letting bounce back from the blow help him bring the weapon back into position, Max drove forward, this time slamming the club onto the creature's head, earning him a satisfying crunch as the skull broke.

A much colder thread ran through him, and Max shook for a moment, unsure if it was the gain of something or the tower floor temperature.

[ Consume has successfully Consumed a skill ]

[ Would you like to learn [Ice Resistance]? ]

[ Yes / No]

Selecting yes, he ran toward the first giant he had attacked, seeing it was trying to stand up, the fire that had ignited on its leg beginning to go out.

The monster was dead two swings later, and another chill ran through him.

[ Skill Consumed is Equal to Rank of Current Skill ]

[ Power stored for future use ]

Fowl was doing exceptionally well. He held the giant's attention, landing the occasional hit with his weapon while allowing his thorn aura to keep it focused on him. Each of his blocks was significantly better, learned through the beating he took yesterday.

Coming up from behind, Max’s Stealthed, delivering a blow so powerful it shattered the giant’s hip in a single strike.  After that, it was a mercy to kill it with one more.

“Gods, those things are huge,” Fowl groaned as he stretched his arms and shook them out. “They hit hard, but nothing like that minotaur boss did.”

“What’s your thoughts on roots?” Max asked as he watched Tanila and the others approach. 

“It works, just not long at all. Maybe fifteen seconds if we’re lucky.  Probably five if we aren’t.”

“The good news is I can aim for their eyes, and those fire arrows really pack a punch against them,” Cordellia said.  “I think we can blind and disable one with her fire magic and my arrows, which will help against larger packs.”

Everyone looked at Batrire, who rolled her eyes.

“I healed, Fowl lived.  Seems that everything worked out fine.”

Their dwarven warrior chuckled and pointed at the corpses.

“What are we going to farm from them?”

“Maybe the horns?” Max replied. “Unless you’re wanting to check for something a bit more personal.”

-----

The snow grew a little more regular, and they continued to deal with each pack of giants they encountered. One had five, and Max had to use his root spell, cursing when his was the one that broke first.

None of the giants stood a chance against his new weapon, Cordellia’s pinpoint accuracy, and the damage that Tanila’s fire spell was doing.  Each group of monsters fell in moments, burnt or bashed to death.

I hate needing to wait for mana, Tanila said as everyone stood near her familiar.

“Part of the mage's life,” Fowl said as he tried to take a drink, frustrated at how quickly the water in his skin started to freeze.

Looking at the skill he had picked up, Max wondered why it was so low.  

[Skill Description - Ice Resistance]

*****

Ice Resistance—Rare Skill: Reduces all damage and effects of cold-related attacks or environments by 40%.

*****

I guess legendary would be seventy or eighty percent, meaning godly would have to be close to ninety or one hundred percent.  

Lost in his thoughts, Max saw Fowl waving his hands and turned to see what was up.

“We’re ready unless you need a moment.”

Shaking his head, Max moved a few steps away and pulled out his flaming club.

“Nope, just doing math in my head.  Thankfully, I have a high enough intelligence that my brain doesn’t hurt when I attempt it.”

-----

Within two hours, they were finally at the entrance to the giant ice castle. Massive ice walls rose up two hundred feet tall, with a single entrance point. A huge pair of doors that were seventy feet tall, also made of solid ice, were cracked open. Standing outside the door were two giants, both twenty feet tall and holding two clubs the same size as the previous monsters they had faced.

“Those are going to be a lot worse,” Fowl muttered as he studied their next target. “Their skin is a deeper blue also.  Think there will be any inside the gate that join them?”

“Only one way to find out,” Max said as he waited for Batrire to finish casting her buff.

Two fireballs roared through the air toward the giant on the right while Cordellia released her arrows.  Red and orange streaks traveled across the open area.

Cordellia’s fire arrow struck first, striking the left eye of her target and causing it to howl in pain. However, as the two fireballs were about to strike, a massive ice wall rose from the ground, protecting the injured giant.

“Shite!” Fowl shouted as he raced toward the pair.  “One of them is a caster!”

Max ran toward the pair, unsure what was about to take place as the appearance of the wall had been totally unexpected.

“Go!” Tanila shouted as she summoned another fireball, letting it grow in size and waiting for the target she and the ranger were working on.

Charging them, the giant on the left covered the ice with a speed that seemed almost impossible compared to the previous ones. Its feet suddenly had a blue shimmer around them. Both of its massive eight-foot-long clubs shimmered with a blue aura, and ice shards dropped from it as they swung with its stride.

“Careful!” Max shouted, realizing now that the battle on the boss floor had just increased drastically.  

The sixty yards they had been apart was gone in seconds, and the giant came at Fowl, preparing to swing.

Planting his feet, their dwarven warrior prepared to block when a pillar of ice rose up under him.

The sudden appearance of the ice formation raised the dwarf off the ground about ten feet in a second, only staying stuck to it because of his armor's natural ability to stay rooted.

Max cursed silently, knowing that everything was going sideways in a heartbeat.  

[ Demonic Teleportation ]

[ Power Strike ]

Max moved through the portal he had created, and as he did, he felt an arrow pass over him.

A roar came as the arrow struck an eye, causing the swing of the giant to miss slightly.

Instead of both clubs coming together, smashing Fowl between them, one went low, destroying the ice wall it had created, while the other smacked into Fowl, who twisted, bringing his shield to block at the last second the one that still hit him.

He was sent flying across the air, thirty yards to the right, tumbling and rolling.

The portal above the giant opened up behind its head, and Max slammed downward with his weapon, pissed at the monster that had just abused his friend.

A squelch and crunching noise filled his ears as the hammer grew brighter, the flames rising slightly more, and the giant fell to the ground, crashing against the frozen floor.

Flames licked the edges of the massive hole in its back where its spine and neck had been, now pulverized into the ground.

Turning his attention to the first giant they had tried to take down, Max saw it was moving, not near as fast as the other one.  Holding a club up, a cloud formed over Cordellia and the others standing together, ice shards starting to rain down like daggers.

Max raced toward the monster, casting his air shield and seeing that Tanila did the same. The three support people hunkered under the protective covering as three-foot-long ice shards rained down upon them. 

The fireball she had been building up roared toward the giant.  She had put so much magic into the spell that the size of it was almost five feet wide.

Seeing the incoming spell, it raised both clubs, partially blocking the fireball as flames billowed around the glowing weapons. When the fire passed over them, both arms looked scorched, and part of its hair was on fire. Even the blue glow that surrounded the clubs had lessened, appearing ready to disappear.

Creating a fireball as he ran, Max let it form and sent it toward the monster, watching as Fowl charged the giant, having managed to get back up on his feet.

Another howl of pain and agony came as Cordellia found the other eye with her arrows, the training that Tom had put them through paying off in massive ways.

Blind and injured, the giant found itself dead on the floor like the other in a few moments, both legs shattered and its head bashed in.

[ Skill Consumed is Equal to Rank of Current Skill ]

[ Power stored for future use ]

Huffing, Fowl winced as he waited for Batrire to heal him once more.

“That wasn’t fun,” he grumbled. “When the hell did these things get smart?”

“You mean, when did we run into something with enough brains and brawns to give us a run for our money?”

Nodding, the dwarf checked his shield, obviously glad to see that it was still in working order.

“Though that is a good trick to remember,” Max said with a grin.  “We never considered that, did we?”

Snorting, Fowl nodded, and they watched as the others joined them.

“I guess we just learned something valuable,” Tanila said as she approached the pair. “Walls have other uses than blocking and shielding.”

“Seth was just commenting on that,” their dwarven warrior replied. “But don’t forget scaling walls either.”

Laughing, the four of them all enjoyed a moment, then realized Cordellia was looking at them, not knowing the joke.

“Sorry… Seth used them once to climb a wall so we could skip a part of a dungeon.”

Bobbing her head, their ranger grinned, seeing the intelligence of such an action.

“Well, now what?” Batrire asked, motioning to the open gate that was not that far from them.

“I guess we go in,” Max replied.