Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 430: Death

Thane didn’t get an answer to his question. Not, at least, a verbal one. The group had a dungeon to delve after all.

With Arwin and Olive at the lead, the four of them pressed deeper into the darkness of the Expert Ranked Dungeon. Even though it had been some time since Arwin had last been in a dungeon himself, the experience was a hard one to forget.

It was something like riding a bike. After he smashed enough monsters on the head with his hammer, it was pretty easy to pick back up again after a break. Caldera certainly helped. The hammer practically swung itself in its impatience to be used.

Smithing weapons was only one half of the powerful hammer’s desires. It had been far too long since it had been fed blood, and the weapon was making it abundantly clear that it enjoyed both parts of its purpose equally.

The monsters in the dungeon were far from weak. Most of them were toward the upper tiers of Adept, with a smattering of Expert ones throughout the rooms as they descended. They faced a few more of the shadowy panthers, but the vast majority of the monsters that lived within the dungeon seemed to be huge, 5-foot tall bats called Nightfangs with wingspans easily twice their height.

But it would have been lying to straight out say the fights were easy or relaxing. Arwin had to put every single scrap of attention he had into making sure he didn’t mess up. There were so many different things that had to be tracked and that he was responsible for. Even though he could hit considerably harder than the monsters, he couldn’t afford to tank their blows any more than they could take his.

Even with [Indomitable Bulwark], the creatures that lurked within the dungeon’s halls had claws sharp enough to cut clean through his defenses — and that wasn’t even to say what they would do if they managed to get onto any of the others.

So he and Olive just made sure their enemies never got a chance to strike back. Her cursed arm absorbed blows without so much as flinching, the wood simply healing over as it drank in the blood from the monsters she killed. She and Arwin positioned themselves before the monsters that rushed at their faces and lurked in the corners of the room.

The first several rooms of the dungeon passed without incident. If anything, the hardest part of Arwin’s task was avoiding accidentally killing too many of the enemies. He got no benefit from splattering the creatures against the walls. It was far better to let Olive take them out herself.

It would have been even more ideal if they could leave any of the monsters with just a breath of life so Thane could have fought them for his class. Unfortunately, there still needed to be a challenge, and any Adept or Expert Tier monster with even the faintest ability to fight back would slaughter Thane easily.

Damn it.

Arwin suppressed an annoyed grunt as the four of them descended deeper into the dungeon, growing ever closer to the treasure that [Dragon’s Greed] pulled him toward. They were making good progress through the dungeon. Definitely much better progress than the Blacktongues could have ever predicted... but Thane was no closer to getting his class now than he had been when they’d stepped into the dungeon.

Thane’s parents really did everything they could to screw him over, all at the price of getting a bit more bragging rights at whatever fancy party they’re going to. Idiots.

Arwin didn’t voice his frustrations. It wouldn’t have done them any good. He didn’t need was thinking that they were disappointed with him. That would push him to doing something stupid, which was the last thing Arwin wanted.

He threw a glance back at the boy as they walked, only to find Thane staring at him like he’d just shit a golden brick.

The boy’s eyes were wide in disbelief and awe. He barely even seemed aware of the dungeon around him. As soon as Thane noticed Arwin looking back at him, he hurriedly averted his gaze.

Well, at least I don’t have to worry if he’ll listen to what I tell him to do.

They turned a corner in the hall they were heading down and purple light spilled out into the path before them. Arwin slowed, his eyes thinning, as they approached a solitary door flanked by two flickering torches.

“Boss room,” Olive said, cracking her neck as they came to a stop before the door. “Thus ends the easy fights. Any boss in a dungeon of this level isn’t going to be easy. You think this is the main one?”

Arwin shook his head. “No. I can tell there are magical items deeper below us… but there are some in this room as well. There are probably two bosses in this dungeon by my best guess. There could be more if any of them don’t have powerful items on them, or if the dungeon was deeper than the range of [Dragon’s Greed]. But there are at least two.”

“Noted,” Olive said. “So what do we do?”

“You’re not going to make me fight the boss, are you?” Thane asked, his face suddenly going pale.

Arwin nearly choked. “What? No. Absolutely not. That’s like handing you a shovel and telling you to dig your own grave. Why would you think we’d do that?”

The boy’s cheeks reddened. “Well… it would be impressive if I managed to do it. My parents would be really happy. That’s even better than getting my class just through doing an Expert Ranked Dungeon.”

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Those idiots better pray I never get anywhere near them. If I do, they’re both getting throttled.

“There is no just about anything in this dungeon. It is deadly beyond compare, and the only reason we’re still alive is because Olive and I have very extensive experience with things like this,” Arwin said, making sure his words weren’t coming off as anything more than stern. He didn’t want to scold Thane — but they couldn’t have the kid sprinting into the fight like an idiot and getting himself killed for no reason. “And your parents are wrong. The monster you fight doesn’t affect your class. What matters is how you do it. It’s the challenge. But there’s no challenge if you literally have zero chance of victory. And I can assure you, there is no chance you defeat an Expert Tier Boss Monster. That isn’t a slight against you, Thane. It’s just a fact.”

Thane paled and nodded. “I understand. I won’t get in your way. I know the statistics on Expert Ranked Dungeons. I also know them for teams that are down a member. They’re actually a fair bit worse—”

“Thane,” Arwin said. “We’ll be fine. Just don’t put yourself in danger. Don’t forget your Quest.”

Thane nodded. “Right. Uh… what do I actually get if I complete it? It just says to survive.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Arwin admitted. “This might be a bad time to tell you this, but I don’t know everything. The Mesh is as much of a mystery to me as it is to everyone else. But I can promise that completing the Quest to not get yourself killed is a whole lot better than failing it.”

Thane cleared his throat. “Right. Hard to argue with that.”

“I’ll be next to you,” Anna promised. “Don’t worry. We know what we’re doing. Just let Arwin and Olive handle the fight.”

“What if the monster has adds?” Thane asked. “Many boss monsters, especially in higher ranked dungeons, have other monsters that gather around them for protection.”

“I’ll deal with them while Arwin keeps the attention of the boss,” Olive said. “I’m pretty fast. Don’t worry. If something does get past me, just call out and I’ll come back you up. You can rely on Anna as well. She’s a very good healer.”

Thane swallowed, then nodded. “I know. I’ve researched her.”

“That sounds a bit weird,” Anna muttered. “No offense. I’ve just never had someone… research me before.”

“It’s okay,” Thane said. “I get that a lot.”

Anna winced. “Never mind. It’s very cool. Keep to your passions, Thane. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Unless your passions are running into stupid fights. Then maybe put them on pause for a bit.”

A laugh slipped out from Thane’s mouth. “Okay. I will.”

Arwin gave Anna a small nod, then turned to the door. “Everyone ready?”

The others all nodded.

He took a step forward and braced his hands against the stone. Then, with a grunt, he put his weight behind his arms and started to push. Stone ground on stone as the massive door started to grind inward.

Olive kept her blade at the ready, prepared to lunge forward if anything dove at Arwin while he was opening the door. But no such thing happened. The door finally swung fully open, revealing the entirety of the boss room before them.

Dull gray light spilled out from within it to overpower the flickering purple torches at their sides. It was a large cave, with massive stalactites hanging from the ceiling like the teeth of some ancient, mummified beast.

A dingy lake of murky pink water occupied the center of the room. Fallen stones and debris littered it, creating makeshift platforms upon its thick surface. Shadows lurked around the edges of the jagged walls, but they weren’t thick enough to keep Arwin from noticing the dark forms hidden within them.

And, in the very center of the room, stood a bundle of dark cloth about eight feet tall. It looked black at first. But, upon further inspection, Arwin realized that the color was actually a deep purple — and it wasn’t rough cloth he was looking at.

It was leathery wings. They were wrapped around the form of some sleeping creature, obscuring its full form from view.

There was no doubt that it was the boss monster… and it was asleep.

Arwin and Olive exchanged a glance. She cocked an eyebrow at him in an unspoken question. Arwin nodded in response, and a small grin tugged at Olive’s lips as she took a step back.

Caldera vanished from Arwin’s hands as he banished the weapon with [Arsernal].

“What is it?” Thane whispered, his words barely even audible.

“A gift,” Olive replied in the same hushed tone. “Watch this. You don’t get to see its like every day. It’s gonna be good.”

With a thought, Arwin summoned Prism’s Reach.

The massive bow materialized in his hands instantly. A thrum of hunger rolled through Arwin as the weapon’s will brushed against his mind. It already knew exactly what he was going to use it for, and it was excited.

Another thought summoned Prism’s Vengance, the bow’s massive arrow. Thane drew in a surprised breath as Arwin set the enormous metal rod against the string of the bow.

Then he activated [Scourge] and started to pull back.

There was no need for them to risk a fight against a boss when it had left itself this wide open. Life was difficult enough on its own. There were times it was shit. And then there were times when a situation just handed itself to you on a silver platter — and when life was playing nice, it was imperative that one accepted its gift.

Power poured from Arwin’s reserves and into Prism’s Reach. The bow trembled with power as the crystal within it lit. A faint crackle filled the air as crystal spread across the bow and curled from its ends.

Frosty crystals traveled down Arwin’s arm and along his body to encase his left leg and burrow into the ground. It reinforced his stance and braced him in preparation for the increasingly powerful arrow nocked within the bow.

A faint hum filled the air. Power thrummed in Arwin’s ears like a thundering heart. The crystal spread further, encasing him like he was a statue and stretching out from his back almost as if to form wings.

The energy flowing into the bow didn’t just come from him. It poured out of the skeleton of the armor that ran beneath Arwin’s clothes, pumping into the air in waves of heat from a pool of bubbling lava.

“Godspit,” Thane breathed in awe. “What kind of magic is that?”

The hum turned to a whine.

In the center of the room, the boss monster twitched. Its wings shifted as it was stirred from its sleep.

Arwin’s lips pulled back to reveal his teeth and split into a determined grin.

Thanks for the freebie.

The monster’s wings snapped open as it finally registered the danger it was in. Perhaps it had heard the hiss of the charging arrow, or perhaps it had felt the immense amount of roiling magic pouring out from Arwin.

Either way, it was too late.

Arwin released his grip on the arrow.

The deadly bow roared and Prism’s Vengeance exploded forth like the breath of a dragon, leaving only the scream of inevitable death in its wake.