Magic Made Simple

Chapter 13: A Real Boss Fight

Welcome to floor 5: Introduction to Bosses

Floor 5 is the first semi-instanced floor within the tower, and second to contain a system recognized Boss Monster. A semi-instanced floor can contain upwards of 10 individuals per instance. Boss monsters are recognized by the system as a being that is significantly more powerful than their level would indicate. They tend to be larger, stronger, and overall much tougher than their non-boss counterparts.

Floor Goal: Defeat the Boss monster.

I read through the description of the floor, finding it to be quite different than any of the previous floors. This one could be completed pretty damn quickly if one was able to defeat the boss. I say that because standing across the large field from me appeared to be the very boss I needed to take down. It didn't seem to be attacking me, probably waiting for me to show some sign of hostility. That was good, as it gave me some time to think.

First of all, there had apparently been a boss monster somewhere on the previous floors that I had either not recognized as a boss or had not encountered. I was leaning more towards the latter, as I feel pretty confident the system would have let me know if I had slain a boss monster. Another supporting fact of this was the fact that nothing I had seen up to this point filled me with a sense of danger like the one I got looking at the boss before me.

The seven foot tall skeleton that was on the other side of the large grassy field was an intimidating figure. Its eyes burned with a purple glow that cut through the darkness of the night. Its bones were thick and also had a subtle glow to them. The only weapon it wielded was a large black claymore which it wielded with both hands.

I almost wanted to call it quits right then and there. There was a reason this floor allowed up to ten people to fight something like that at once. I was just one person, there was only so much I could do. Another part of me was practically screaming to go fight that thing, to prove that I could best it. I was pretty damn strong for my level too, so why wouldn't I be able to kill that thing?

The biggest issue I had was that I didn't know exactly how strong that thing was. I wanted to gauge its power, but I really had no way to know if it would be a close fight, or one where I would end up getting slaughtered. A small spark of an idea entered my head, and I turned around to go right back where I had come from. I was going to need a little bit of help learning the skill I had in mind.

Three hours later, I returned to the fifth floor. Upon seeing the large skeleton again, I infused my eyes with mana, trying to copy the pattern I had memorized. A small bit of magic left my eye, and a second later I got a small blue pop-up.

Skeleton Sentinel (Level 25)(Boss Monster)

You have unlocked the identify (common) skill

I let out the breath I'd been holding as I get the notification. Convincing Blair to try and teach me the skill had been hard at first, as she was extremely reluctant to turn her attention away from her work, but when I had told her that I could bring back the bones of a very powerful monster, she had not let me left until she felt that I could recreate the skill perfectly.

Even though I was a much higher level than Blair, it had taken a while to get the pattern of mana down. Some skills were inherently pretty difficult to recreate if you didn't pick them during skill selection. She had been able to do it instinctually, while I had needed to try dozens and dozens of times before I could get it down.

Now though, I knew I was ready. The skeleton was only four levels higher than me, and with the multipliers from my title my stats were more similar to if I was level 26. That didn't even include the 15 to each stat granted by the titles as well. Of course, the monster probably also had something boosting its stats beyond their normal levels if it was strong enough to be labeled a boss. I wasn't too worried about that though. If the worst case scenario happened, and I got gravely injured, I could escape to the exit and get back up to the camp where I could be healed.