The living plant barely missed him and struck the concrete floor. Chunks of brick showered him as he scrambled away. He backpedaled as the roots underfoot squirmed and tried to ensnare him. Apparently, his opponent, the Wizened Milbark, could control the vines and the roots covering the room. As soon as he’d approached a vine hanging from the ceiling, it had sprung to life and tried to impale him.
Glancing down at the broken handle of the knife again, he tossed the useless weapon aside. His original plan had been to attack the living tree while Kassandra kept its summoned minion occupied. But with his weapon gone, he’d have to wait until his energy recharged enough to cast the Blade of Deimos.
While he was tangling with the vines along the side of the room, Kassandra was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the carnivorous flower. He watched her for a second, her nimble movements easily dodging the creature's attacks. She moved with a suppleness that was strangely hypnotic.
Kassandra ducked under a tendril and slashed the creature with her dagger. Unlike Warren’s knife, it sliced through the vine-like appendage. A second later, the severed limb dropped to the floor, while the creature screamed with rage. She followed up her attack with a roundhouse kick, her foot nearly folding the flower in half.
Warren tore his gaze away from the battle and glanced back at his energy. It usually took about two minutes for his energy to refill and it was almost half full now. Another sixty-seconds and he should be able to summon his sword and get back into the fight.
Not that I did much with that crappy kitchen knife.
His thoughts were interrupted as the flowering plants on the ceiling began to writhe like a pit full of vipers. Before he could move, nearly a dozen vines with sharp points dived at him. He’d been able to dodge the attack before, but there was no way to avoid so many.
He threw up his arm and braced himself for the impact. But instead of spearing him, the vines struck an invisible barrier and bounced off. The shield rippled as the vines coiled back like angry snakes.
I guess it works against melee, he thought, his heart hammering in his chest.
Breathing a sigh of relief at his shield holding, he didn’t want to stick around to test its strength. He needed to keep moving if he was going to stay alive. It seemed like the vines only activated when he stayed in one place for too long.
Stumbling back, he moved until he was out of range of the attacking vines. Once he was a few feet away, the flowering plants slowed their movements before curling back up into their previous position.
After he reached the back of the room close to where they’d entered, he pivoted to face the Wizened Milbark. The creature was watching him with its empty eye sockets, which was deeply unsettling.
Checking on his energy again, he estimated he only had to wait another 15 seconds until he could cast another card. He took a deep breath and then ran toward the enemy summoner. If he timed it right, he should arrive right when his sword was available to summon. But then again, it also meant the treant could summon something else at the same time.
He checked on Kassandra to see the summoned flower creature had lost most of its limbs and the petals from around its tooth-filled maw. However, it stubbornly fought on, which meant he was on his own.
Warren broke into a sprint as he neared the Wizened Milbark. When he was only a short distance away, the last of his Energy refilled. As he ran, he cast the Blade of Deimos and the dark sword materialized in his hand.
At the same time, a storm of energy appeared in front of the enemy summoner and another carnivorous flower appeared. The creature lurched forward, its limbs unravelling and shooting toward Warren.
He lurched to a stop and barely had time to bring up his sword to deflect the flurry of attacks. The blade hacked off one thorn covered tendril, but another slipped past his guard and shattered his shield. The creature’s sharp limb continued forward and stabbed him in the stomach before bursting out his back.
Grunting in pain, he swept his sword down and hacked through the limb piercing his belly. With his other hand, he ripped the severed appendage free. He then scowled with disgust as he tossed the thing aside.
“Warren!” Kassandra cried out as she redoubled her attacks. “Hold on!”
It didn’t take four years of medical school to know he was in trouble. The creature’s attack had undoubtedly punctured his liver, and most likely, his upper intestines. Without surgery, he was as good as dead.
Though strangely, his health had only been reduced to 1/2. Did his health work differently now that he had a combat deck? But right now, he didn’t have time to figure out all the mysteries surrounding his new stats.
“I’m not getting killed by a stupid flower,” he muttered through gritted teeth as he raised his weapon. He leapt forward and swung the blade wildly. More attacks slipped through his guard, but his reckless attacks hacked off petals and carved deep gouges in the creature’s stem. After only a few swings, it attempted to retreat.
Warren pursued the creature, chopping at it like he was trying to fell a tree. There was no finesse to his strikes—he had no idea how to use a sword—but he found if you swung enough, you were bound to hit something.
A second later, he was joined by Kassandra. She’d taken a few minor wounds herself, and her shirt was a torn and bloody mess. But she seemed oblivious to her own injuries as she launched a series of berserk attacks against the creature.
The summoned flower reeled back, dark sap spraying out of its wounds. It tried to fend them off, but they were relentless.
Warren raised the sword with both hands and brought it down with all his remaining strength. The blade chopped through the creature’s mouth, sending sharp teeth flying. With a groan, it toppled over before disappearing into a storm of light.
As he finished off the summoned flower, he felt a rush of energy. The pain in his side subsided until only a dull ache remained. When he looked down, the wound had completely disappeared. The sword really had magically healed him.
Warren turned toward Kassandra to see her wounds had been healed as well. Though her shirt was nearly destroyed and had gaping holes in the material. He averted his gaze as he realized just how badly her clothing her been mauled.
Kassandra seemed to catch on at the same time, and she yelped slightly while trying to pull down what remained of her shirt. But the firm shape of her lower breasts was completely exposed. “Let’s finish this already so I can change,” she exclaimed, her face reddening. “I don’t think the tree will give us much trouble.”
He checked on his Energy sphere at the side of his vision to see it was almost half full again. If they didn’t kill the Wizened Milbark fast, who knew what it could summon next? For all he knew, it might have a weapon similar to his. But then again, his Sword of Deimos was a rare quality card, so a level 1 summoner probably didn’t have anything equivalent.
The roots above them had started to twist and come alive, which meant they needed to keep moving. He raised his sword and marched toward the treant.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Kassandra quickly outpaced him, and she launched herself at the Wizened Milbark. She led with an overhand stab, but it hammered against an energy shield. She let out a frustrated gasp and started to pound on the shield with punches and kicks.
Warren arrived at her side and added his own attacks. Strangely, the Wizened Milbark didn’t fight back and instead simply waited inside of its protective shell. Most likely, it was waiting for its Energy to recharge.
With one final swing of his sword, the sphere of energy shattered into shards before dissolving. The treant tried to flee, but Kassandra moved almost too fast to follow. She raised her dagger and drove it into the creature’s head. She ripped it free before plunging it in again and again.
After a few seconds of her frenzied attacks, the tree toppled forward. As it collapsed, the roots and vines covering the room blackened before crumbling to dust. Then the tree itself dissolved into a pile of fine powder.
“We did it!” Kassandra cried out, jumping up and down. But her eyes widened as she nearly had a wardrobe mishap, and she placed both arms across her heavy breasts.
“You were amazing,” he said wearily. While the sword had healed his wounds, he felt exhausted after the fight. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off, or maybe it was because he’d fought two battles today. Regardless, he felt ready to fall asleep on his feet.
Two notifications appeared in his vision as the last of the roots crumbled into dust.
The Eternal Emperor sends his praise, squire. Through determination and bravery, you are the first of your faction to defeat a dungeon boss. In honor of your victory, an epic reward box has been granted to you.
Claim epic reward box? Yes/No?
He immediately selected ‘Yes’ and a long metallic box materialized on the floor. When he bent down to open it, Kassandra’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
“Do you even know what that thing is?” she exclaimed. “Are you just going to touch a strange metal box? What if it has poison inside of it or something?”
Warren smiled and touched her hand reassuringly. “This is a reward from the Eternal Emperor.”
Kassandra’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “The Eternal Emperor?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea who he is. But I received a notification about the Eternal Emperor sending his praise and a box like this one after killing the Slaviigolaris squire. I think he rules over all the different factions trying to conquer our world.”
“You could have told me that,” she complained, withdrawing her hand. “What do you think is inside?”
“Most likely, it’s another card.” He reached out and flipped open the box. Inside, nestled in folds of silk, was another card. This one had a purple border, and the picture looked like something you’d see in comics from the 1950s; it showed a scientist spilling a glowing green goo all over himself.
His eyes widened slightly as he read the text. This was a very good card. If he’d had this in his previous fights, he would have easily defeated the aliens. Unfortunately, he didn’t have nearly enough energy to use it.
Thankfully, he’d also received a notification that he’d leveled up. As soon as the card text faded, it was replaced with his updated character sheet.
This was followed by more options.
Combat Deck Improvements
- Energy
- Cards
- Duration
- Summons
- Bodyguard
He ignored the bodyguard option at first, as he had already chosen that previously. And there was no point upgrading it at the moment. Though, as he thought about it, he wondered what other options it might provide.
His curiosity piqued, he opened the bodyguard improvement option. It gave him two choices.
- Upgrade the Bodyguard Perk to allow a minion that costs two energy to act as your bodyguard when your combat deck isn’t active.
- Summon a second bodyguard to protect you when your combat deck isn’t active.
While he didn’t need either of those right now, they could be useful in the future. The thought of a second bodyguard—or a more powerful one were alluring. But he didn’t want to consign Kassandra back to the void. No matter what, she was staying out here with him.
He turned his attention to Energy and Card improvements next. While he’d received an amazing card, it would be a while before he could use it. In his battle against the Wizened Milbark, he’d face two summons. And he may have faced a third if the fight had dragged on much longer.
As he thought about his energy problems, he remembered the ring he’d looted off of the Slaviigolaris squire. He’d been nervous about putting it on before, when he didn’t know anything about the system. But now, he felt fairly certain it wouldn’t harm him.
He fished around in his pocket until he found it. After a second’s hesitation, he placed it on his finger. A new prompt appeared in his vision.
Bind the Ring of Vlasiiang (Artifact) to you? (Yes/No?)
Warning: This is irreversible and will only unbind upon your death.
He frowned slightly at the mention of his death but quickly selected ‘Yes’. Nothing seemed to change after selecting it, but when he glanced at his character sheet, it was now listed under his artifacts.
Since he felt his biggest weakness was lack of cards, he chose to receive another one. Right now, he needed more minions for his deck. He wasn’t going to beat any serious opponents with only one minion, one weapon, and one upgrade he couldn’t use.
But if he received a new minion, would it harvest someone’s soul again? He didn’t like the idea of essentially stealing someone’s soul. However, he was fighting for the fate of his planet. And he assumed their soul would be released if he was defeated. Anyway, who knew if what it referred to as souls was the same as what most religions on Earth believed.
After he selected the option, a familiar notification appeared.
Harvesting Souls Commencing.
Light shot out of his wristband and down the hallway of the dungeon. A second later, it returned and poured back in. Then a card appeared in front of him.
This one had a border the color of ice and the image of a gunslinger etched into its surface. The man was wearing a black cowboy hat with his red eyes glowing under the brim. On his hips, he had a pair of six shooters holstered, while the background was a desolate plain, with tumbleweeds blowing past him.
He quickly read over the stats, happy with his choice to take a card. Energy was quickly becoming a problem, but the next time he leveled up, he’d simply choose the Energy upgrade. Plus, it was nice to have someone with a ranged attack. The Duskwalker minion would come in handy the next time he faced the aliens.
After he’d selected his new card, he turned his focus to allocating his free stat point. This one was an easy decision. Since he’d run out of ammunition for his gun, he was going to be fighting with his sword in any upcoming battles. That meant he needed to improve his Melee Attack skill.
He added the point and then dismissed the prompts. While he’d been doing all of that, Kassandra had walked over to the door on the far side of the room. It must have been buried under the roots, as he hadn’t seen it when they first came in.
“Should we keep going?” She tapped on the door with her dagger.
Warren shook his head. “My deck timer will end soon. And I don’t want to risk it running out in the middle of a fight. We can come back tomorrow.”
Kassandra simply smiled and nodded.
He searched the room with his eyes one last time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything before turning toward the exit. Once he got back to his dad’s place, he needed to bury the Slaviigolaris corpses. Then he would make a quick dinner and crash for the night.
All in all, today had been a good day.