Week 3 (4)

The air sinks heavily. The soil underfoot is cool, but it almost seems to be quietly pulsing.

Tree roots and vines intertwine, covering the interior of the cavity. The space they've formed resembles a cave in structure, yet it oddly evokes the image of an empty church left to rot.

Amid the thinly spread tension, Basiliki murmured.

"It's mimicking an old, abandoned church. This discomfort... it feels strangely familiar somewhere."

Raising the hand holding the Embers slightly higher reveals the damp moss clinging thickly to the ceiling with a bit more distinction. Even the vines occasionally dripping down between them sway limply.

It wasn't exactly pleasant to begin with, but as they draw closer to the Floor Boss's lair, the surroundings are noticeably growing more gloomy.

It's only natural for Basiliki to feel uneasy. After all, this floor's master is an existence that opposes her divinity.

"From this point on, it seems to switch to a stone structure."

Ray, who had been leading, paused briefly, bent his knee, and lightly brushed the ground with his gauntlet-clad hand. Brushing away the thin layer of soil revealed a stone floor. A trace that some artificial structure had once existed.

"It's true. From up ahead, the walls are all stone too. Is it a building?"

Kali's insight was spot on. Adding more wick to the Embers, she said.

"Let's head inside there."

The group pressed forward without hesitation. With about four mercenaries now, it finally starts to feel a bit like an Expedition Team.

I stared piercingly into the darkness beyond what the Embers could illuminate. With each step, stone walls and floors wrapped in vines gradually reveal themselves. Proof that they're smoothly closing in on the bastard.

Suddenly, an impulsive thought crossed my mind. What if I set fire to those vines wrapping the walls? Who knows, but at the very least, this place would turn into a hellscape.

Not a rational judgment. Self-destruction—or mutual destruction at best—isn't the goal.

"Front, unidentified structure spotted."

Ray signaled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in his cold voice. A moment of silence fell. What lay before them was a massive statue plopped in the center of a chapel-like structure.

"Master, your orders."

To the curt request, I steadied my breathing with effort and said.

"Same as before—ambush won't work. Best to advance straight in."

All Floor Bosses can't be ambushed; that's the basic premise. And in a way, it's only natural.

The Floor Boss's lair itself means a space perfectly under its dominion, so how could it not notice intruders entering its domain?

We slowly walked into the chapel interior.

Calling it a chapel is generous; with nothing left inside, it was more like an empty lot. Only the statue standing tall in the center drew attention.

The massive statue, over 3 meters tall, took the form of a devout cleric.

"—It's moving."

The next development was one everyone could have easily predicted. The blatantly suspicious statue everyone eyed suddenly began writhing and twisting grotesquely.

It contorted and squirmed with such flexibility that it was hard to believe it was made of stone, and then its interior opened up.

Soon after, crimson Thorn Bushes began overtaking its white, glossy surface. From between the Thorn Bushes, distorted human faces creeped out.

Before long, vines descended, wrapping around its limply drooping arm, twisting and coiling wildly—forming the shape of a massive sword.

With that as the finale, the statue raised its arm with a inorganic giiik grind.

The 2nd Floor Boss, Calabria. The statue covered in vines levels its sword at them.

Once again, Valerie was the first to charge in.

In an instant, she gripped her dagger in reverse grip and rushed like a streak of storm, slashing across its surface at a speed the sluggish statue could never react to.

With a brutal cjeojeok sound, part of Calabria's body was destroyed.

—But that's not the end.

Kali aimed her staff tip at Valerie and muttered something. Then, a beam of light shot out from there, seemingly sucked into Valerie and vanishing.

The next moment, the storm blew back from the opposite direction.

This time, though, it was a bit shallow. Having sliced a particularly tough spot, Valerie switched the dagger to her other hand and lightly shook her wrist.

Soon, it began to move.

Raising its vine greatsword, vines suddenly crept from the chapel walls, wrapping Kali's wrist and twisting it with a uuduk crunch.

"Krgh...!"

She managed to shake it off by swinging her staff just in time, but already quite wounded, she staggered slightly, steadying herself from the shock.

So it ended up like this— a bit different from the desired scenario. I quietly clicked my tongue.

Calabria's signature keyword, 'Vine Synchronization.' The faint leaf pattern etched on Kali's arm was exactly that. The effect: a nasty debuff where the marked ally takes damage every time it does.

[Connecting Vines] prioritizes the backline, so Kali getting hit was more inevitability than chance, but if Basiliki had acted first, she could have used Taunt to pull aggro sooner.

At least Basiliki has plenty of Life Tokens to spare, so I'd been hoping for that.

While Basiliki healed the previously wounded Valerie, Ray swung his greatsword.

[Schneiden] is an attack that pierces defense. Breaking through its tough exterior, her greatsword lodged satisfyingly into the statue's waist.

At that exact moment, a pained groan came from the back.

"Ah— kugh...?"

Kali, clutching her chest and staggering from the sudden shock, looked down at her arm with puzzled eyes. The ominous glowing leaf pattern. The pain must be transmitting directly from there.

Already the physically frailest, Kali—if whittled down like this, danger would come in a flash. Just from allowing two hits, her Life Tokens were down to 6.

Moreover, Vine Synchronization damage is fixed and can't even be evaded with Evasion Dice. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At least Calabria itself lacks strong backline attacks, so they'd just have to reliably heal her each turn.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Valerie took a step back. Having used [Skill] and [Breakthrough] last round, she lacked suitable skills this round. She needed to rest for a turn.

As if to cover her spot, Basiliki, slightly apart from me, gently clasped her hands.

From her clasped hands, the priestess weaves a prayer. Beams of light extend from Basiliki's fingertips, grazing the vines.

Carrying physical force, it struck somewhere deep in the heavy form covered in Thorn Bushes, erupting in a dull rupture.

The shell splits, vines burst out. Viscous sap scatters like moss onto the ground.

Even though it doesn't seem like the type to bleed, inflicting 'Bleeding' always makes it bleed. As if asserting that's the law of the world.

Meanwhile, Kali's shoulder convulsed again. Her labored, pained breathing reached even here.

As if pulled by something, she jerked her waist back, then soon slumped her head forward. A fishy breath, like she might cough up blood any second.

Her appearance looked so agonizing that my reason nearly shook for a moment, but I had to steel my heart alone.

Against the solo entity Calabria, drawing attacks with Basiliki's Taunt was actually the safer way to protect Kali.

Besides, the other mercenaries wouldn't know about its gimmick.

Even skilled mercenaries might hesitate in their strikes the moment they realize attacking the statue hurts Kali.

Hadn't we just experienced firsthand in the previous expedition how a mercenary's state can intervene more strongly than the 'system'?

Now that it's no longer just on a screen, we couldn't over-rely on Tombstone's rules.

The Thorn Bushes sway languidly. A squelching sound as something bursts from deep in its torso. The next moment, short, thin thorns scattered into the air.

One of those thorns pierced Basiliki's shoulder with a puk. Her body, which no attack had touched until now, staggered slightly.

Cloth tore, flesh parted. Yet as if unbothered, Basiliki simply closed her eyes and opened them again. An eerie expressionless face, as if she felt no pain.

Incongruous with the situation, the thought flashed that the ever-smiling her could make such a grim face too. In a way, it resembled coldly honed fury.

In the meantime, Kali slowly brought the back of her hand to her mouth. A short prayer or incantation. Faint light spread from her fingertips, flowing along her veins.

In a boss fight, Kali applying Poison is high-value damage. Normally, she'd avoid spending turns on heals, but reducing risk was right now.

Fortunately, the heal amount wasn't bad, so she caught her breath for now.

In the meantime, Ray dragged his blade forward, closing in. A thorn floating in the air grazed her shoulder, but her gaze unwaveringly tracked the target.

The first strike dives in without warning. Short step, low-drop slash. Calabria's lower body split vertically with a cjeojeok sound.

From ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the depths, something boiled-like, a horrific noise, and the thorn stems contracted all at once.

Not missing the gap, Ray twisted her wrist. Not an attack meant to end in one hit.

A motion beating down like a gel, carving through thorns and flesh in a diagonal arc.

The second slash etched into its lower body. Two lines of wounds left by the combo swept through, and its stiff movements suddenly halted.

—The next moment, the statue shell, looking like it had taken massive damage, began collapsing all at once.

Naturally, the 1st Floor Boss Mirenheart had a Phase 2 too. Of course Calabria has a hidden trick up its sleeve.

In the end, what needs doing is always similar—most monsters reveal their true, insidious nature when wounded.

In other words, now's when the real game begins.