Chương 47: The Boss Room

"What's the plan?" Adolin asked as he stared at the corrupted general. The being had opened its eyes and started staring back at him. It was sitting in the center of the circle in a meditative position. Something about it felt wrong to him, though he couldn't describe what that wrongness was.

"The smart thing would be for us to get the hell out of the dungeon," Edrin said.

"Though I don't think it would let us." He rolled his sword arm once.

"And…" A smile formed on his face.

"I think this is the perfect opportunity for some growth." Adolin agreed with him. It was a good opportunity to have some fun with a powerful enough enemy. The corrupted stood, pulling its blades free from their sheaths before taking the halberd strapped to its back. The halberd had an axe head on one side, a pick on the other, and a spear tip at the top. It grinned and motioned for them to enter.

"Do we try to get some information out of it?" Adolin asked. Edrin chuckled.

"If we are alive, we can try." That was good enough, he thought. The corrupted was much stronger than he had expected. He couldn't rely on his eyesight during the battle. His body was too weak to follow the general's movements properly. But he didn't need his eyes to defeat it. There were enough spells that could do that for him. There was nothing else to think about, so he stepped inside the room. The heat hit him immediately. He poured more mana into the mana barrier.

Since the heat was enough to hurt him, the barrier started protecting him from it automatically. If it had been a few degrees colder, the barrier wouldn't have worked. It stank of rotten eggs and burning metal. The flowing lava gave the place a warm orange glow. Barely any other light came from above. Edrin stepped up beside him.

"Try not to die too fast." Adolin tightened his grip on the staff.

"You too." The corrupted stopped only a dozen steps away from them. It looked similar to the others, aside from the single horn protruding from its forehead and its massive size. The creature stood nearly three meters tall. Its weapons were different as well. Every corrupted they had faced so far had only used swords, yet this one carried a halberd alongside two massive blades. The swords were as large as two-handed weapons, but in the creature's hands, they looked almost like short swords.

The corrupted grinned as it stared at them. Adolin considered trying to speak with it, to get some information out of the creature, but quickly gave up on the idea. The general was waiting for the fight to begin. Or it would simply start it itself if they took too long. Maybe later, once it was weaker. Assuming they were still alive by then.

"What are you waiting for?" it bellowed. Its speech carried a broad, rough accent, but the meaning was still clear enough. Adolin wasn't sure how he wanted to start the fight. There were countless things he could try, but at the same time, he wasn't certain any of them would actually work against something like this. He was confident he could win. What worried him was the cost. The best outcome would be letting Edrin hold most of the general's attention while Adolin supported him from the back.

His body still wasn't strong enough to freely fight creatures of this caliber head-on. The general scoffed and released its killing intent. The air around Adolin thickened instantly. Killing intent crashed down on him with full force. But it didn't affect him. He glanced toward Edrin. The man's knees were shaking. His entire body was trembling under the pressure. The killing intent was trying to force him to his knees. Resist. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He cast the spell around Edrin, mana pushing against the killing intent and forcing it out of the isolated space around him. It was the same spell he had used on Revel, but now the spell struggled to keep the intent out. Edrin took a deep breath and nodded toward him. Adolin could still feel the intent pressing down on him, but not nearly as much as before the spell. The corrupted chuckled and took a step toward them. Then it vanished, just like the other corrupted had done before.

But this time, Adolin didn't feel any mana from the creature. It didn't use the skill the other corrupted used. It was simply that fast. There was no time to think it through; he had to act. Before the corrupted was upon them, Adolin cast Speed on Edrin first, then on himself. Steel collided as Edrin parried the sword descending toward him. The sheer strength behind the attack threw him backward. The axe head of the halberd descended toward Adolin. Blink. He reappeared ten meters behind his previous position.

The halberd struck the ground and shattered the black stone beneath it. A moment later, Edrin crashed down somewhere behind him. Adolin poured mana into Mana Sense and Mana Vision. The instant the halberd struck the ground, the corrupted moved again. He couldn't rely on his eyesight anymore. So he closed his eyes and focused on the image forming inside his mind. He saw the entire room as though he were observing it from above. Colors disappeared, replaced by shades of grey, black, and white.

Grey represented the surfaces his mana mapped. Black was empty space. And white represented life. He saw himself, Edrin, and the corrupted that was charging straight toward him. Strength. He cast the spell on both himself and Edrin. The man needed the additional strength to properly fight against something like this. Adolin wanted to cast Endurance as well, but he didn't have the time. Blink. He vanished again. The black stone where he had been standing exploded apart. The corrupted didn't stop there.

It immediately charged toward Edrin instead. He felt mana surge inside Edrin as their blades collided. Then Edrin vanished from his vision. Adolin could only track the mana moving through the room. Edrin reappeared a few steps away from him.

"It's too fast," Edrin said.

"I barely have time to react. We'll die if this continues." Adolin agreed with him. Even with Mana Vision, he was barely able to follow the corrupted's movements. And the general still hadn't used a single skill. It was relying purely on speed and strength. It was coming toward them again. Edrin immediately stepped in front of Adolin, his blade rising to meet the attack. The white shape in Adolin's mana vision blurred. The corrupted was moving even faster than before. Ice Wall.

A wall of ice erupted in front of Edrin. The corrupted crashed through it using nothing but its body, shards of ice scattering across the battlefield. Its halberd was already descending toward Edrin. Edrin parried the strike while ducking beneath the blades that followed immediately after. Even with his enhanced strength, the impact still forced him three steps backward. He continued defending against the relentless assault as the corrupted kept driving him back. Adolin retreated every time Edrin was pushed back.

They were getting closer and closer to the edge of the platform. He took a few more steps back, and suddenly, part of his foot was hanging over the edge. It was time for him to act. Edrin blocked another strike. Adolin touched his shoulder and cast Blink. They reappeared near the center of the platform, and Adolin immediately turned toward the corrupted. The general was already pivoting in their direction. Edrin had promised to keep his secret, so Adolin no longer saw any reason to hold back. He raised his staff.

Gravity. Inferno. Gravity crashed down on the creature. Its speed dropped instantly, slowing it back to roughly what it had been at the start of the fight. Enough for Adolin to properly track it with Mana Sense. Violet flames erupted around the corrupted. Wind. He fed the flames with wind mana, causing the inferno to surge higher. A moment later, the creature stepped out of the spell. Its skin was slightly blackened, but there was no real damage. Honestly, Adolin had expected that.

It would have been disappointing if the fight ended that quickly. It stopped just outside the range of the spell, a grin spreading across its face.

"Is that all you've got?" Its high voice echoed through the room. Adolin smiled. Earth Bind. The ground beneath the creature surged upward, swallowing it up to its shoulders before hardening like solid stone. Sever. Concentrated mana with a razor-sharp edge shot from his staff, invisible to the naked eye. A barrier appeared around the general, and the spell struck it harmlessly. It was the first skill the general had used.

Still, one of Adolin's most commonly used spells during his time as a High Mage had failed against it. He would have to be more creative if he wanted to kill the thing. Edrin wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Do it again," he said. The general rolled its shoulders, the grin on its face widening.

"My turn." Mana began to gather within the core of the corrupted. The amount was far greater than even Adolin possessed. Corruption spread from its body in black wisps of mist, slowly spilling into the room. The creature licked its lips. Shit.