Miri and Anne trekked carefully through the dark corridors, heading towards the origin of the sounds until they came across a wide-open rectangular chamber. Lined at the sides of the chamber were rows of arched columns, which was where the two women emerged from, tiptoeing from one column to the next while hugging the shadows.

  As they moved between the columns, they were able to spot the basilisk at the center of the chamber—a large snake-like creature with grayish-purple skin and a crown of spiny ridges on its head. Its size was terrifyingly big, its teeth were razor sharp, and its vertical-slit eyes frightening enough to paralyze you with fear.

  Legends had said that a basilisk’s gaze could literally petrify a person. Although the truth was not quite as fantastical as the myth, the gaze of a basilisk still possessed a hypnotically intimidating quality to it, to the point where most people would become practically immobilized with fear as soon as they stared at it. At that point, their body might as well be turned to stone.

  Basilisk

  Level: 12

  HP: 127/127

  Fuck, this thing is huge! Miri thought in her head as she studied the large, slithering reptile. How is this a 2-star monster? This seems more like a 3-star or 4-star to me.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  But that didn’t matter. They’d already come this far. There’s no going back now.

  Miri and Anne shared a look. Together, they nodded at each other, indicating that they’re both ready to take on that monster.

  Then, stepping out of the columns, Miri began the battle by casting a barrage of Chill Orbs at the large beast, the ice element of the spell particularly effective against reptilian creatures such as the basilisk. However, Chill Orb was a relatively low-damage spell, so it was unlikely that she’s going to be able to take down the monster using only that. Instead, Miri was intending on using the ice damage to slow down the activity of the basilisk with a blanket of coldness, after which she would follow up with a more powerful attack.

  The basilisk hissed with rage as it took the first couple of hits from the ice spell, slithering to the side to try to avoid more of the incoming projectiles. Even though its movements were slowed by the cold, it was still incredibly fast—able to ripple and undulate across the stone floor of the chamber with enough speed to blur out its outline, thus making it a harder target for them to track.

  Soon, it coiled its elongated body into itself before lunging its head forward, trying to snap its venomous fangs at its two adversaries. Miri quickly grabbed Anne and teleported both of them away from the incoming lunge attack using Traversing Wind. This caused the basilisk to miss its target and accidentally slam its head against a nearby wall, delivering enough force to leave a sizable crack on the stone’s surface.

  While the large reptile was briefly stunned by that head-on collision, Miri began casting one of her more powerful spells, Meteor Impact, to try to finish it off.

  “Meteor Impact!” Miri shouted, extending her staff to the sky.

  The summoned meteor descended upon the basilisk's head, colliding into it with tremendous force as it left a plume of smoke and embers in its wake.