Broken

Chapter 7

Thankfully, the path out of the Cryst-Canis' room was devoid of monsters, because we were all exhausted. On top of that, I was pretty sure that Greyson may very well have a broken rib or two as well. All three of us were limping, and despite the need to find the others, and our eagerness to be out of this instance, were were walking at a slow pace, using the walls and each other for support.

"I think I need to reevaluate my career choice." I grumbled just after stumbling over my own feet for the third time. It could be blamed on lack of energy and the adrenaline of the fight leaving me, but I was of the opinion that it was <Broken> at work. I should count myself fortunate if all that happens from getting this strengthening skill was a temporary set of two left feet.

I heard Greyson chuckle dryly behind me. "Why? It's clear to me that you're meant for this line of work."

I managed to shoot an irritated glare over my shoulder at the two brothers. "How do you figure that? I spend all my time nearly dying." I huffed, deciding I had better keep my eyes ahead, lest I fall face first.

Neither man bothered to continue the conversation, no doubt they also just did not have the motivation right then. I could easily imagine them sharing an amused grin behind my back, however. 

"What's this..." I grunted as the path abruptly switched from crystal, back to the former slate like walls we'd been traversing since the beginning of this instance.

"Must be that we're back on the main pathways." Eric murmured, running a hand over the intersection of the two textures, blending together in a way that would never happen in nature. Not on Earth at least. "We've seen this type of thing before."

"Is it just me, or is it getting warmer too?" Greyson added, craning his head up to look over my head. Given our height difference, I was pretty sure he was doing it just to bug me. He could easily see over my head without the theatrics.

"Yeah, it's starting to feel sauna-like in here." I said as the moisture in the air seemed to cling to my lungs. Since arriving in this instance the cave had felt damp, true, but it used to be cool and damp.

We continued our painful trek as thoughts of coming across various monsters- with combinations of fire and water attributes- flashed though my mind in a rolodex of trouble. Given my current luck, I wouldn't have been surprised to find a damn dragon at the end of this passage.

"Shit, do you hear that?" Greyson asked, coming to a stop.

Eric and I froze, straining our ears to hear what Greyson had already picked up. As it turned out, it wasn't hard to hear. It also had us all moving at as speedy a pace that our tired and beaten bodies would allow. It was clear that there was a major battle happening up ahead.

It seemed that we had found the other raiders, and they were clearly in a bind.

The boys and I burst forth into the largest chamber we'd seen so far (even compared to the Cryst-Canis' room), and it seemed to have a biome all on its own. There were vines and moss hanging from the walls and ceiling to go along with the ever present pointy stones, and rather than having the glowing mushrooms scattered about, there was mossy boulders and shallow pools of alginate waters scattered about. And it was hot. Hot and damp, like a jungle.

But, scenery aside, it was the living beings that were our chief concern. I immediately deduced that this was the boss chamber, and that the massive blue golem covered in glowing moss at the center of the chamber must be the boss of the instance. At least I really hoped it was, as the last thing I wanted to deal with was another sub-boss, meaning that there would be yet another arduous battle in our near future should we survive this encounter.