Chương 46: Calcium Crunch

Recap: You interrupted the Bone Weaver's necrotic blast with a Slam. The Boss summoned minions and is now reaching for your Sub-Core Fragment. You voted to BITE THE HAND (DUEL). It wanted the fragment inside me? Fine. Come and get it. But the price of admission was a limb. The Bone Weaver's claw descended. Five fingers made of fused femurs, sharp as spears, glowing with green necrotic fire. It aimed for my lid. It wanted to pry me open. Wrong keyhole, buddy. I lunged. Not away. Into the attack.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Skill Used: Bite Cost: 2 Stamina Current SP: 17/24 Target: Bone Weaver (Level 5 Elite) Defense: High (Magical Bone) My teeth sank into the wrist. CRUNCH. It was like biting into a diamond-encrusted loaf of bread. Hard. Gritty. But my Ironband strength (7) held. My serrated teeth (Tier 2 bonus) sawed. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Damage Dealt: 4 HP Effect: Digestive Acid Applied HP Regeneration: +2 (Bone Marrow Consumed) Current HP: 14/19 XP Gained: 10 XP (Boss Damage) Current XP: 150/210 It tasted… old.

Dusty. Like licking a tombstone that had been left in the rain for a century. But the marrow… that was pure energy. My HP ticked up. The Bone Weaver shrieked. It wasn't a human scream. It was the sound of grinding millstones.

"THIEF!" It yanked its hand back. I held on. My base lifted off the ground. I was dangling from the Boss's wrist like a gruesome purse.

"LET… GO!" It shook me. Violently. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Damage Taken: 2 HP (Blunt Force) Current HP: 12/19 Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I couldn't hold forever. My jaw muscles were screaming. But I saw the damage. The wrist was half-severed. Acid was eating through the magical sinew. One more bite, I thought. Take the hand. But below us, the battle was turning. Torin had cleaved two minions. Kara's light magic was dissolving another.

Renn was kiting the last two. They were winning. But they were tired. Kara was leaning on her staff. Torin was bleeding from a shallow cut. If I took the hand, the Boss would be crippled. But I'd be exposed. If I let go, I'd be safe on the ground. But the Boss would heal. The Boss raised its other hand. A spike of bone formed in its palm. It was going to stab me while I hung from its wrist. Nope. I released my bite. I dropped.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Stamina Cost: 1 SP (Drop Maneuver) Current SP: 16/24 I landed on my base. Clang. Safe. The Boss stumbled. Its severed hand dangled by a thread of magic. It was distracted. Pain blinded it.

"Torin!" I creaked. Literally creaked.

"NOW!" Torin didn't question the talking box. He saw the opening. He raised his sword. He charged the crippled Boss.

"NO!" the Weaver roared. It tried to raise its staff-arm. Too slow. SLASH. Torin's blade bit deep into the Weaver's chest. Ribs cracked. Green blood sprayed. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Assist XP Gained: 15 XP Current XP: 165/210 Boss HP Estimate: 20% Remaining The Weaver fell to its knees. The minions froze. Without the Boss's will, they were just piles of bone. They collapsed into dust. Silence returned to the chamber. Torin pulled his sword out. He breathed heavily.

"Is… is it dead?" The Weaver twitched. Its green eyes flickered.

"Core… Fragment… Must… Return…" It wasn't dead. It was desperate. It began to glow. Brighter. Hotter. SYSTEM NOTIFICATION Warning: Boss Self-Destruct Sequence (Necrotic Explosion) Timer: 10 Seconds Radius: 30 ft Damage: Lethal"Oh crap," Kara said. She sensed the magic buildup.

"It's going to blow! Run!"

"There's no time!" Renn yelled.

"The exit is too far!" I looked at the Boss. It was curling into a ball. The energy was concentrating in its chest. Where the Core Fragment used to be. Where my fragment was… calling to it. It's trying to pull the fragment out of me with the explosion, I realized. A magnetic detonation. If I stayed, I'd die. If I ran, the party would die. But I was Core Touched. I could… absorb the explosion? No, that was suicide. I could eat the explosion? Also suicide. I could interrupt it? I had 16 SP. 3 MP. 12 HP. One idea.

Stupid. Dangerous. Mimic-perfect. Current Stats (Level 3 - Ironband Mimic): HP: 12/19 (Shaken) Mana: 3/14 (Low) Stamina: 16/24 (Moderate) Inventory: 2 Pebbles, Metal Items (Fused). Mage Staff (Loot). Status: Core Touched, Boss Detonating, Party Panicking. What do you do? A) EAT THE BOSS (FINAL MEAL) Lunge into the glow. Swallow the Boss whole before it explodes. Contain the blast inside your stomach. (Cost: 10 SP (Gulp). Gain: Massive XP, Loot. Risk: Stomach Rupture (Death).) B) TAUNT THE EXPLOSION (DISTRACT) Use Taunt on the magic itself. Draw the energy toward you, away from the party. Tank the hit. (Cost: 3 MP. Gain: Party Safety. Risk: You take Full Damage.) C) REGURGITATE CORE FRAGMENT (BARGAIN) Spit out your Sub-Core piece. Throw it at the Boss. Satisfy its hunger. Stop the detonation. (Cost: 5 MP (Force Eject). Gain: Stop Explosion. Risk: Lose Evolution Power.) D) SHELD THE PARTY (DEFEND) Slide over the party. Open lid. Use your body as a shield. Hope Defense 13 holds.

(Cost: 0 SP. Gain: Party Safety. Risk: You take Full Damage.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 45! Option A (Bite Hand) was successful! You crippled the Boss and helped Torin land the killing blow, but the Boss is initiating a Self-Destruct Sequence!