Chilly skidded across the stone floor; his iron boots granting about as much grip as a pair of fluffy socks. He struggled to escape the looming terror chasing after him, casting Flame Dash on cooldown simply to maintain his minor lead.

He collided headfirst into a smaller level 9 voidling. Smaller only in relation to the Void’s Last Embrace; it’s main body still dwarfed Chilly’s own. Barbed tentacles whipped out and wrapped around him as he immediately started channeling the one second cast time for Flame Dash; not even bothering to try and kill the voidling in his desperation to escape. A fraction of a second before he teleported, a much larger tentacle slammed into his back, slicing several long cauterized wounds across his back.

He vanished in a flare of bright fire, appearing in a pool of dim light. The voidling and the sub-boss invisible through the dark.

This wasn’t working. Fighting the sub-boss head on was a bust. He could barely tank a couple seconds of the high leveled monster’s attacks before having to retreat. That was before it had gone and eaten half the voidlings in the area, growing stronger and tougher with each one. Running was an option. Leaving the Abyss and leveling up until he could simply out-stat the encounter was an option, but left a sour taste in his mouth. He had been so close to killing the sub-boss.

He had leveled up. That had given him a bit more life and a skillpoint. Wait. The skillpoint.

Chilly dodged around another voidling, abusing Flame Dash’s low cooldown to make even more distance as he heard the hard pitter patter of weighty tentacles behind him grow near.

Desperately he pulled up his menu. It blocked his vision but luckily the floor was smooth and flat without any appreciable obstacles.

Choose an Augment for Starfire Aegis. Costs 1 skill point.

Maximum 3 Augments.

Solar Prominence

To be one with the stars is to become acclimated to the heat

60 fire resistance

Coronal Mass Ejection

Your starfire burns ever hotter

Deal 6% of maximum life as fire damage to melee attackers

Star Fuel

Your very blood burns to sustain the inferno.

While at full life, consume excess life to burn enemies within 4 meters for 85% of the life recovered as fire damage

Body of Plasma

Infuse your very being with the matter of stars.

25% increased fire resistance

Solar Flare

The power of a star is not so easily avoided

Reflected damage also applies to ranged attackers

Gravitational Center

A star may be moved, but only at a steep cost.

150 knockback resistance

With the milestone granted at level 10 he had the option of choosing another augment. Solar Prominence and Star Fuel were his current augments. They had served him well, but currently he was taking massive amounts of fire damage from the sub-boss’s lava spikes. Something that Body of Plasma solved neatly. An extra 25% increased fire resistance would go a long way to protect him from the hateful barbs. He dodged around another voidling that burst through the gloom, then slammed his remaining skill point into the augment.

Immediately he felt a rush of power flow through his cape. It snuggled lovingly around his back, caressing his thighs and tickling his ankles. A connection formed between him and his cape that had not existed before. A familiarity with the heat. A welcoming embrace that would protect him.

In an instant, the sweltering heat in the Abyss became just a hair more comfortable.

A penguin gave warning, and Chilly responded by swerving around a voidling laying in wait. His lack of grip combined with the fractional time to react meant that he careened into the darkness monster. Its tentacles thrashed around, catching him by the ankle, tripping, and causing him to crash to the floor. He snarled, turning on the voidling with a concentrated beam of flame.

He watched his life carefully but the low leveled voidling didn’t do enough damage to tell if the increased fire resistance was doing anything; his life flickered from full to mostly full rapidly, but never decreased below that.

The voidling vanished as its life vaporized in the heat, but was replaced by a massive tentacle from the sub-boss, crashing from above. Chilly instinctively cast Flame Dash to avoid the crashing tentacle.

Chilly stumbled to his feet where Flame Dash had deposited him. A faint pool of light hid the world, but his ears informed him that the sub-boss was close and only getting closer.

He needed to test and see how much the augment helped against the real challenge.

Chilly carefully jogged backwards away from the sounds of the rampaging creature. The moment he felt that Second Wind was off of cooldown, he halted his measured retreat and allowed the Void’s Last Embrace to approach him.

Instantly, he was engulfed in thrashing tentacles and sharp barbs, and his life plummeted as he flared Incinerate. The goal was to gain information, not necessarily deal damage, but it seemed wrong just to stand there and take it.

Spoiler :

>

>

His motion slowed then stilled as the tentacles robbed him of the ability to move. That did not matter to Chilly as he watched his life still plummet far faster than was necessary to defeat the sub-boss. A second later he vanished in a flare of bright fire, and began sprinting away.

Spoiler :

A little bit more fire resistance was not enough to withstand the enraged sub-bosses' fury. He would need something more. The penguins guided him away as his mind raced for something to turn the tides.

He didn't have any more skill points, but had looted several Essences of Regret from the cleared voidlings along the way. He desperately stuck a hand into the inside of his plate vest. He pulled out a handful, messily dropping spare essences everywhere; they tinkled brightly across the stone floor forever lost in the darkness. He winced at the loss, cursing at the loss of his ring, but held a handful up to the light of his cape as he continued to run. He chose the Essence of Regret and shoved the rest back into the plate vest. He grasped the Essence of Regret and willed it to be used.

Like the other essences that Chilly had used up until now, the Regret cracked, melted, and coalesced into a semi-liquid state that floated in front of him. Then it melded into his chest. A strange white power flowed into him, evoking a powerful desire to select an augment to lose. The menus flashed before his eyes, and he instantly chose Empowered Flames; the first augment he had ever taken for Incinerate. In this fight it would be far better to rely on Starfire Aegis for damage then it would to wait on Incinerate.

162>

He felt a sense of loss as Incinerate diminished, but immediately smashed the extra skill point into Troll’s Blood; the Vitality augment that granted more life regeneration.

193.79>

(AN: this is after taking into account the degens from dehydrated and starving)

He felt a coursing energy rush through him, his limbs reinvigorated and his blood pumping hard, as he felt his life regeneration jump massively for the first time in several days. He grinned, flickering into a burst of fire for a fraction of a second as he used Flame Dash once more to make some distance from the sub-boss.

When he landed, he once more turned towards the sounds of the sub-boss’s rampage and jogged backwards; waiting for Second Wind to go off cooldown.

Four seconds later he allowed the sub-boss to grab him. The barbed tentacles ripped into his skin, leaving grooves that quickly filled in.

Spoiler :

With both the additional life regeneration and the additional fire resistance from Starfire Aegis's augment the damage was back at the level it had been before the unfortunate enrage.

He grinned at the revelation, flickering out of its grasp on a trail of fire.

He sprinted away, dodging voidlings and giving himself both space and time to think. There was one final modification that he needed to make to ensure this fight went smoothly. His gaze swept through the list of augments, scanning for additions and modifications that could optimize this fight, make it easier. He had already sacrificed some damage when he lost Empowered Flames. What could he shuffle around to make up for that loss?

His eyes caught on Star Fuel. The augment that had got him so excited the first time he had opened Starfire Aegis's menu. It was now even more powerful with the addition of Troll’s Blood massive increase to his life regeneration. The issue was that against voidlings it was practically useless. Their constant damage consistently pushed him below full life, and therefore shut off the ability. This issue was only more prevalent against the sub-boss, where there weren’t even tiny opportunities for the augment to shine. One option was to kite the boss around as Star Fuel burned it, but that tactic seemed doomed to fail. He couldn’t see far, so maintaining the proper distance was difficult.

There was however a second augment that could buff his damage. The one that increased the reflected damage inflicted by 6% of his own maximum life. Coronal Mass Ejection. He was out of skill points, which meant he would need another Regret to enact the change.

Chilly dashed away once again, becoming flame then human in the blink of an eye. He dodged around another voidling that manifested from the gloom like a specter from a horror movie. As he escaped, he shucked off his right gauntlet to feel at the various essences he had stored within. Essences tumbled to the ground, getting lost in the gloom, as he hurriedly searched for another Essence of Regret.

This would have been so much easier if he still had his essence vault.

Chilly grumbled as a half dozen Iron and Azurite essences tumbled to the floor as well as a single Essence of Steel. They all vanished into the dark and he lamented the loss. Still he managed to find an Essence of Regret which he used immediately on Star Fuel, opening an augment slot for Starfire Aegis. Before the white glow could fully manifest around him, he jammed the gauntlet back over his hand, recouping the stats that it offered.

With the spare skillpoint, he allocated Coronal Mass Ejection. A sense of loss came from his cape as the far-reaching solar flares faded inwards but were replaced by a brighter form of plasma. Streaks of flame, so hot that they even made Chilly uncomfortable at the proximity.

He slowed his mad dash away. Glancing into the gloom and using the penguins as a way to determine the location of the Void’s Last Embrace.

Once more he stalled for time, as he waited for Second Wind to go off cooldown, then jumped headfirst into the sub-boss’s rising tentacles. He grinned maniacally, spraying fire as he watched his life dip steadily, but slowly, due to the sub-boss’s attack.

>

Still, he only managed to last a couple seconds before his life fell significantly enough that he was forced to retreat in a flare of bright fire. He vanished, appearing several meters away, once more surrounded by a small bubble of flickering light.

Instead of running this time, he cast Incinerate towards the direction that the sub-boss had been. Fire arced across the space, struggling to push back the constricting darkness, but managing to dimly illuminate the sub-boss. It’s surface was pock marked and uneven. Cinders floated up from smoldering wounds that spread steadily across its skin. It trembled, seemingly considering its options before it settled on attacking Chilly once more. Tentacles flashed through the dark almost entirely obscured as if they were figments of his imagination. Chilly dodged back, careful to avoid another entanglement before his life had fully regenerated and cooldowns refreshed.

He couldn’t think of any other modifications to his build that would be helpful, but there was still one last thing that he had to do to take down this sub-boss.

Last time that the boss had gotten to low health it had run, consuming other voidlings, healing, and growing in power. Chilly couldn't risk that happening again. If it did, he would be forced to retreat. He had no other augments that he could shuffle around to match the boss if it became stronger. This was as high as he could go.

Stopping the retreat was impossible. He could barely keep up, even with Flame Dash to close distances. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t counter the action. He would simply have to take care of all the voidlings beforehand.

Chilly jogged backwards away from the sound of the sub-boss, careful to keep out of range while channeling Incinerate for a fraction of a second to grant light. Every time he did so he noticed that the sub-boss was slowly recovering from its injuries. Chilly resigned himself to taking down the entire enemy life pool in one go. The recovery in between engagements was simply too high to do anything else.

Chilly turned to the penguins at his side. Somehow they had managed to keep up despite his random teleportations and abrupt changes in direction. Truly magical beings.

“We need to clear out the rest of the smaller voidlings,” he said to them, “can you show me the way?”

The penguins nodded happily scattering into the winds as several stayed beside Chilly to point the way. Chilly gladly sprinted in the proffered direction, and barely a couple steps later he smashed headfirst into a wall of thrashing tentacles. Instead of blipping away with Flame Dash he embraced the monster, grabbing onto tentacles and molten barbs with enthusiasm.

>

He embraced the suffocating stillness that came with being surrounded by the void tentacles. Channeling Incinerate despite its vastly weaker damage output, as he watched Starfire Aegis flare brighter than he had ever seen it before. The prehensile cape wrapped around the voidling. Blinding it with white hot streams of superheated plasma. The voidling screeched. It tried to recall its tentacles from around Chilly but he would not let it. His fists grabbed tightly onto the very things that were ripping him apart, holding them close, and forcing them to hurt him.

With the proximity assured, Chilly let out a gleeful chuckle as Starfire Aegis ate the monster alive. Barely a second after its initial attack, the voidling lost cohesion; its structure falling apart and shadowy flesh dispersed.

Chilly rolled to his feet, grinning widely. He cast Flame Dash and used the penguins to avoid the sub-boss.

“Take me to the next one,” Chilly called out. The penguins happily obliged, pointing out the direction with raised Realm Walkers and clapping flippers.

Chilly followed the penguins to the next voidling and leapt willingly into its burning embrace. He bore it to the ground, crushing it under the weight of his heavy armor.

The hunted turned hunter.

A second or two later Starfire Aegis swallowed up the voidling. Level 8, Level 9, it didn't matter. The unparalleled power of Coronal Mass Ejection against rapid attacks was simply too much. The best part was that by the time they realized that Starfire Aegis was eating them alive, their tentacles were too tightly wrapped around Chilly to disengage.

Chilly rolled to his feet ignoring the glittering essence that tumbled out of the fallen voidling’s form. It hurt deeply to leave it behind but he simply didn’t have a place for it at the moment. Reluctantly, he vanished in a flare of bright fire as he continued to keep his distance from the main sub-boss.

Over the next 20 minutes Chilly raced around the room, kiting the unintelligent sub-boss as he cleared every last voidling in the area. He gained three points of experience from several level 10 voidlings he had encountered in the room; not enough to bring him up to the next level, but any experience was a step in the right direction.

Once the penguins confirmed that there were no more additional voidlings around, Chilly raced towards the final obstacle, standing confidently before it as its gigantic tentacles whipped out and lashed around him. Lava blades poked out of its flesh, superheated magma capable of ripping grooves into armor and leaving cauterized cuts that struggled to heal.

>

Chilly was lifted high off the ground as tentacles crushed him, causing Starfire Aegis to flare. He cast Incinerate ripping into the tentacles and pushing back the inky darkness. Chilly stared defiantly at the sub-boss as he watched his own life tick down rapidly.

The penguins around cheered, as the sub-boss began to lose cohesion. Cinders sparked across the surface of its skin, smoldering brightly, before floating up into the air, like the ash that Sooty released periodically. The boss trembled as it was entirely engulfed by the massive cape that had grown out from Chilly’s shoulders.

Its tentacles disengaged, several of them vaporizing to the high heat while others lost their magma spikes and slithered out from around Chilly. The sub-boss screeched as it used its remaining tentacles to drag its main mass into the gloom. Looking for voidlings to consume, for a way to recover.

It would find none however. They had all been slain previously. He hadn't used a movement skill in the last four seconds as he lay in the sub-boss’s embrace, which allowed him to instantly cast Flame Dash and land directly on top of it’s thrashing body. It immediately twisted its spherical body, causing Chilly to slip off the perfectly smooth surface. He tried to grab onto a tentacle as he fell but missed and instead got a faceful of hard stone.

He grunted, but rolled to his feet. Time was of the essence.

Once more CHilly caught up to the Void’s Last Embrace through a combination of running and Flame Dash. As it got into view, he used Flame Dash to teleport onto its back, seizing several tentacles to secure his hold.

The boss went ballistic. Its surface undulated as its tentacles thrashed around. Starfire Aegis began to flare bright, while more and more tentacles wrapped around Chilly to try and dislodge him.

When that didn’t work, the boss suddenly rolled over. Its immense bulk pushed the air out of Chilly’s lungs as he held on for dear life. It’s tentacles slithered around his back and restarted the meat grinder. Broken magma spikes tore into his back and thighs as he was crushed anew each time the powerful tentacles flexed.

Chilly withstood the assault, a gurgling laugh rising from his belly as Starfire Aegis rose to engulf the gigantic sub-boss, eating away at its darkness with light that only seemed to grow brighter the more it struggled.

Suddenly, the weight on his chest disappeared, as the sub-boss disintegrated in a wave of black miasma.

Chilly’s soft laugh increased in volume, turning into a great shoulder shaking chuckle as Starfire Aegis calmed around him, forming a gentle pillow of living plasma to rest his back against. After a long struggle, there was something strange about victory through hugging the enemy. He stared into the black void that had so completely blinded him during the encounter. The stifling darkness was still present despite the death of its champion.

He lay for a minute or so, relaxing and exulting silently at his victory.

“One down,” Chilly grinned, “two to go. Right, guys?”

The penguins smiled and clapped but one particular penguin waved its sword high, garnering the attention of the rest as it pointed towards Chilly’s feet.

Chilly curiously propped himself up on an elbow as he looked into the darkness, where he saw a dark lump right at the edge of his vision. The penguins eagerly rushed forwards, swarming around the lump in excitement. With a groan, he rolled to his feet and stumbled over. Despite being at full health and having extreme regeneration, Chilly felt exhausted after that fight. Not ‘Exhausted’, just tired. It had basically been a full hour of sprinting around and fighting without rest.

He stepped around and above the penguins which were staring down at the object in curiosity. A second later a blue box appeared showing its stats. It was a pair of boots.

Steel Boots

Normal

Boots

iLevel: 11

39 armor

Chilly's eyebrows rose into his hairline. Steel was new. All his gear up until now had been iron.

“Wow,” he remarked, “that’s a lot of armor for an implicit.”