Then he made a turn, and the chamber opened up before him. He saw the Boar at the other end, its dim coal-like red eyes narrowed at him. The thing was massive, hulking, and covered in a tortoise shell of giant crystals. Its tusks stood out to him most—like those old Japanese curved swords. If one caught him in the belly, he imagined it'd go right through him.
No minions though. Apparently the boss was challenge enough.
It let him take his place in the chamber, just watching, snorting crystal plumes. The chamber was narrow as though it were built for jousting.
Crystalback Boar (Monster)
Essence Level: 38
Skills:
Crystal Carapace (Passive) [Uncommon]
The Crystalback Behemoth is covered in a natural armor of shimmering crystals, strongly shielding it from physical and low-level magical attacks.
Quake Charge (Active) [Uncommon]
The Behemoth charges at its targets with tremendous force, its crystalline spikes causing additional piercing damage. Each step induces a shockwave; when stacked one upon another, these can induce an earthquake.
Gemstone Rampage (Active) [Uncommon]
When its health falls below a certain threshold, the Behemoth's crystals glow intensely, entering an enraged state. In this mode, its attacks become more aggressive, and it occasionally shakes off crystal shards that scatter and damage those in a radius.
Its belly lit up red in Zane's eyes—its weak point, a circle right in the middle of it. That was where he would try to land—where he'd put a Titan's fist if he could.
Still it stood there, snorting at him. What was it waiting for? Shrugging, Zane went first.
His Chains dropped in air. Instantly, he twirled them, and threw up Chain Cyclone.
Then he dashed straight at the boar, chains swirling.
Only when he got within ten paces did the thing charge him.
It took a step, then another, and each shattered the ground, rippled it as though it were water, not stone. But Zane had seen that Skill. He leaped right over the fiercest of the waves. Man and Boar collided.
And Zane was tossed nearly halfway across the room; his Cyclone sputtered out. The moment it met the boar's Quake Charge, it was like a bubble popping; it lost all integrity, was rent apart. Then Zane was at the mercy of the charging Boar.
It was all he could do to throw his Chains as hard as he could at the thing—then dive the other way, like a matador. The Boar went barreling past, shedding crystal dust like snowflakes; the ground shattered in its wake, spitting clouds of dust.
Zane sucked in a breath. That thing was strong as hell! He’d just put himself against it—his chains were an extension of his limbs, an extension of his strength, and it had just blasted him easily.
He considered its build as it wheeled back around. It must be a little like him, but even more extreme: huge strength, huge vitality, but it ponderously slow. Its turning reminded Zane of a cruise ship slowly wheeling around a port.
Didn't matter. Not in this cramped space. It charged him again, and he barely scrambled out of the way; he tried throwing his chains at it, but the full force of them could barely throw the beast off one hoof. The problem wasn’t wasn’t his Chains. His Chains were heavy as hell, but that thing wore a mountain range on its back.
If he couldn’t get it off its feet, how was he meant to get at its belly?
He saw why it had let him get close now. It was so slow that was the only way it could hope to hit him. But he was so weak he couldn't scratch it either. Couldn't even move it—you just needed a little more…
Hmm .
This was probably a bad idea. But just the thought of it made his blood run hot.
The next time it charged, he charged too. And this time, when it rammed at him, he punched right back—right up its nose.
Predictably, this did nothing.
Predictably, it gored him clean in the midsection. He was right—its horns did cut straight through him with a wet squelch. He made a kebab of himself. That had at least three organs going through. The pain was blinding. Its vibrations shivered through him; his bones felt strangely brittle; his teeth chattered intensely. He was so close he could stare it straight in its fist-sized eyes, feel the billowing heat of its breath pouring over him, fluttering his hair, shrieking by his ears.
Warning! Health under 75%.
Well under 75%, he imagined—
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Then his back struck the wall hard.
Warning! Health under 50%.
And then—
Savage Body activated!
Strength increased 25%
Speed increased 25%
Vitality increased 25%
Exactly what he’d been waiting for.
It pulled back, rammed him again, and he shoved himself right off, blood trickling from his grinning lips. Now, let's try again. He lashed it with a chain, and this time he got it off two feet—just enough for him to whip the other chain under—
The Boar roared and blocked it with its tusks.
It wasn't enough? Are you kidding?
Don't tell me I’ll have to… Zane sighed. Oh, well! He was in this deep already. Might as well go all the way!
It was coming at him with another Quake Charge, but he probably couldn't take another head-on and live. He'd have to soften it some.
He rushed the beast again. This time, as it charged, he ripped at its legs with a Chain, trying to trip it; it leapt right over. He caught its hind legs with the other Chain—again, he could barely make it stumble. But he’d thrown off its aim; it bulldozed into him.
Warning! Health under 25%!
He was flung spinning away; he landed in a coughing, bloody mess. His health was almost, but not quite there… What if he could just—
He dug a hand into his open insides, grabbed something squishy, and flung it out. It kind of looked like a sausage—small intestine, maybe? Whatever it was, a lot of blood came out after it.
Warning! Critical health
There we go.
Savage Body activated!
Strength increased 50%
Speed increased 50%
Vitality increased 50%
Now for the finale, hopefully. This time, when it came at him, he had both chains at the ready. It got within ten meters, eight, five, three—
He swept both chains straight up with all the force he could muster.
It was like an on-ramp for its momentum. This time, the big bastard was thrown up, squealing, and at last, Zane got a look at that soft underbelly.
And all his essence gathered in his fist.
Gotcha.
Titan's Fist!
He lunged into it with the coordination of a drunkard, but the hit was clean. Beautiful, even. Right at the weakest point. The boar went tumbling, rolling awkwardly over itself, wedged to a halt by its own rocky back.
Skill up!
Titan’s Fist I -> II
…Did that mean it was dead?
A heartbeat passed.
Then, groaning, it stumbled to its feet. That thing did not look dead. Not even close to dead. It did look very, very angry.
Just how ungodly high was its vitality?!
It charged again, and he barely had the wherewithal to swallow his Moon Fruit.
Level Up!
Essence Level 32 -> 33
Not a moment too soon. This time, he lunged a hair too late. The tusk ripped clean through his side.
Warning! Health under 75%!
Shit.
As it wheeled, he ran to the other side of the chamber, put some distance between them, and tried to think, hunched a little, clutching at the gaping bloody hole in him.
So after all that, nothing had changed. They were still in a weird stalemate. It was too slow; he was too weak. Only now, he'd burned his trump card on a stupid idea.
It was stupid, wasn't it? He was too focused on what his skill told him—on its weak points. It might be weakest there, but its weak point was also its most protected. And he was going at it striking—but in a space this cramped, his Chains could hardly build any momentum.
…They were Chains . Why was he using them like whips? Why was he trying to beat his way through stone?
He took in the Boar again—really looked. With his eyes, not his Skill. And he saw a beast with impenetrable skin, skin clustered with crystal chunks like plates of armor.
But armor had chinks.
Not small enough for a fist to slip through, maybe. Not small enough to target with a whip’s lash. Too small to strike at…
It roared at him again, rocking the earth, sending gravel popping off the ground. It seemed a challenge, like it was saying, ‘I can go all day. Can you?’
Then it burst at him again. But this time, Zane leapt. He didn't whip at it or punch at it. Instead, he slid his Chains over it almost gently as it passed underneath, slid until he found the place where the plates on its body met the plates on its head—that little chink in the armor.
A chink you could fit a noose through.
He yanked it tight. It stuck.
Then a monstrous force jerked him forward; jerked him through the Chain. He went flying, struck a wall so hard he nearly blacked out; he blinked black craters out of his vision, but he held on. As the Boar turned, he yanked—he flew at it and crash-landed painfully on its back. It reared, trying to get him off, but it couldn't, and there he looped another Chain around its neck, and grinned bloodily.
Then he pulled with all his might.
He felt that huge body jerk under him, tense up in a sudden panic. It thrashed, it bucked, but it couldn't get out; the Chains were locked in tight, strangling it.
It went buck mad. It charged straight out of the wall, smashed its head against it, threw itself at the ground, at the ceiling, and it hurt like a motherfucker; huge gashes rose up on his arms, his legs. A spearlike crystal took a chunk out of his belly. But Zane kept his grip through it all.
He rattled in a hacking breath. He tried throwing a Soul Bind at it, but the Skill lasted all of a half-second. It was back to thrashing.
Then the crystals on the boy's back started to glow.
Zane blinked, then the thought flooded back to him, that skill—
Gemstone Rampage (Active) [Uncommon]
When its health falls below a certain threshold, the Behemoth's crystals glow intensely, entering an enraged state. In this mode, its attacks become more aggressive, and it occasionally shakes off crystal shards that scatter and damage those in a radius.
He wheezed out a laugh. This is about to get interesting!
And the boar bucked him harder than it ever had, so hard Zane was shocked his arms hadn't been torn clean off. He'd barely fallen back when the crystals surged, shocking yellow, and exploded.
One by one, it felt like he was stuck in a hailstorm, only instead of hail what struck him was scalding hot.
Don't let go . He told himself, gritting his teeth. A simple, stupid, brutally effective strategy— don't you fucking dare!
Then—
Warning: Health under 50%.
And new power surged into his limbs. He wrenched hard, laughing, feeling hundreds of rivers of blood gushing off of him.
The boar bucked one last time.
Then it shuddered, and was still.