The colosseum with its high ceiling and stone bleachers appears once more. Marcus is the first to step inside, and although visually everything seems the same, the crunch beneath his feet is the first sign to stay alert.
Marcus looks down, frowns, and kicks the splintered femur toward the center of the arena. Balto, Pit, and Harris advance with him to the middle of the colosseum, and although everyone searches for the monolith to place their hand on and summon the enemies, the arena lacks one.
Marcus decides to give the order to continue toward the final chamber, but falls silent when he hears a hiss inside the arena. The four soldiers stand back-to-back.
«This is it.»
Jimbo rubs his imaginary hands and leans forward, hanging on every detail. Hilda remains in the secret shortcut, spying through hidden holes and cracks in the dim light.
A skull peaks out from the sand and rises, revealing the upper body of a skeleton. Unlike other undead that have appeared in the dungeon, this one wears no rags or rudimentary weapons. The monster stands perfectly still about 15 paces from Marcus's group, with streams of sand trickling down between its bones.
The soldiers exchange glances. Everyone seems to agree it's just a lesser undead.
"I'll handle this," Pit says, bashing his shield against his iron mace. Being a blunt weapon, it's ideal for dealing with these kinds of monsters.
"Wait a minute, Pit. [Lynx Eyes]!" Balto says, activating a technique.
-Technique: Lynx Eyes.
Requirement: None.
Cost: 10 Ki.
Description: For 60 seconds the user's vision sharpens, allowing them to see in the dark and detect hidden elements and traps.
Balto's irises widen and turn gold, while his pupils sharpen. Balto sweeps his gaze over the setting and, after drawing his conclusions, reports there are no traps in the area.
Pit nods and advances toward the skeleton, picking up the pace with his mace ready. He swings the iron at the bone, but the undead, moving with an agility uncharacteristic of its kind, steps back and moves away.
The sand hisses again. The skeleton gains height and the soldiers tilt their heads up to track it. The creature reveals that its torso isn't attached to legs, but to a sequence of ribcages. What is hissing and constantly shifting the sand around are dozens of ribs acting like centipede legs, following the undead's movements.
"Pit, fall back!" Marcus shouts.
The skeleton lunges forward like a whip, circling Pit to block his retreat, and constricts, trapping the large man between its ribs.
"[Body Temple]!" Pit exclaims with a booming voice.
The bone acts like a dozen spears, stabbing at the man, splintering against his steel plates and forcing its way into the joints and less covered areas. But instead of piercing flesh, the bone tips shatter as if they had struck a wall.
-Technique: Body Temple.
Requirement: None.
Cost: 10 Ki.
Description: For 60 seconds the user's body gains a hardness that can range from stone to the finest steel. The degree of hardness varies and depends on the user's mental fortitude.
The skeleton does not cease its attacks and moves forward, spinning Pit between its ribs. Marcus jumps to the left, dodging a swipe from the undead. Pit dodges to the right. Harris blocks the charge with his shield, but his legs fail to withstand the blow and buckle. The skeleton wraps around him and lifts him up.
The soldier and the undead ascend. Harris tries to utter a word of power, but his mouth shuts tight when they slam hard into the ceiling. The stone cracks and pebbles rain down. Harris, with blood slipping past his lips, uses the pommel of his sword to repeatedly strike the skeleton's skull without much success.
"[Max Power]!" Pit exclaims, bulging his muscles and planting his feet firmly on the ground. He is too dizzy to see; blindly, he grabs the ribcages of the skeleton centipede enveloping him with both arms, and pulls with all his might.
The undead and Harris are separated. Balto positions himself underneath and catches the boy's battered body. Pit spins the length of the undead about three times, gaining more speed with each rotation. The effects of [Body Temple] no longer apply; the bone begins to pierce the man's skin.
"Now, Marcus!" Pit roars.
Marcus leaps toward the undead's main body, his sword held high above his head. The blade lights up with a golden glow.
"[Sacred Slash]!" Marcus says.
-Technique: Sacred Slash.
Requirement: Level 10.
Cost: 30 Ki.
Description: Imbues a bladed weapon with vital energy to increase damage. Sacred-style attacks are usually highly effective against undead.
The sword strikes the undead, causing it to burst into a cloud of ashes and glowing particles. The light spreads to the rest of the skeleton, covering the bones in a golden sheen and turning them to dust.
Marcus lands panting, dropping to one knee. Pit falls onto his palms in the sand, also bathed in sweat. Balto leaves Harris sitting and jumps to help his friends.
«...»
Hilda flashes a half-smile of pride toward her troops and shoots a glance at the Dungeon Core's presence. The captain questions Jim about his silence.
«So many hours of work down the drain,» Jimbo says, letting out an exaggerated sigh.
In reality, it's not that bad; he already has the basic blueprint of the skeleton centipede saved. Hilda was very impressed when she saw the undead, and commented that it's the first one she has seen of that style—which makes sense, considering it's an original creation by Jimbo.
Since his summoning catalog is limited, Jimbo doesn't have the option to create a level boss. The closest thing he has to that is Dowmy or Hilda, but the former would barely pass as an exotic enemy, and Hilda is above his authority. That's why Jimbo came up with the idea of taking multiple low-level undead and stitching them together to see what would come out.
He was proud of the result.
«Even so, the competitive part of me finds it hard to accept they beat my creation on the first try.»
The soldiers exceeded his expectations. Although Jim doubts the men can continue with the trials in that state; injuries aside, they look exhausted. This was the reason that prompted Balto to raise his hand and ask for something impossible to demand in a conventional dungeon.
"Hey, Dungeon Core! We can't continue, we're done for now!"
"Balto, wait—!" Marcus lifts his face to complain, but Balto gives him no choice.
"Shut up, Marcus. We know our limit. Instead of banging our heads against the wall, it's better to survive and fight another day."
Marcus bites his lip.
Jimbo opens a path to the bleachers, and from there an entrance to the secret shortcut where the soldiers meet Hilda. Pit and Balto show an awkward smile, expecting a scolding. Harris keeps his eyes on the floor.
"Marcus, Balto, Pit... Good work, especially your adaptability to danger," Hilda says with a stoic expression, which is enough to leave the soldiers speechless. "You can take the rest of the day off."
As soon as the soldiers get over the shock of Hilda being nice to them, they perform a military salute and head for the exit. Marcus follows his friends but stops for a moment to look back toward the colosseum.
"Someday I will earn the honor of facing you again," Marcus murmurs, and leaves.
The promise was meant for Jimbo, but he was too distracted looking at his stats. A wide, ethereal smile forms on his face upon discovering a blinking message. There is nothing better than real battle experience to polish a warrior. In turn, there is nothing better than high-tension situations to produce valuable ether.
-Jimbo the Dungeon Core LV 1
-Ether: 100/100
Ready to level up!