Part One Hundred and Three

Twelve hours can go by so very quickly. After training for a few hours, and then getting some shut-eye, my alarm oh-so rudely awoke me. I quickly redressed and re-equipped myself, then set out for our meeting point.

We’d decided that meeting in the conference room would be the most inconspicuous way to meet up a second time. Bringing dozens of people into an unknown situation might sound like it would give us a better chance of winning, but it might actually just cause more casualties. Depending on what awaited us, we could even just get in each other’s way.

It’ll depend on how big the room and the monster are whether we’ll have an easy fight or not. A small room will inevitably leave us less room to fight, especially if the monster is huge. Haaah, there’s no point in speculating about it. Not until we actually enter the Lair.

“Ah, Michael’s finally here. Looks like we can begin. Let’s head to the basement. We’ll discuss this further there.”

I was somehow the last person to arrive, even though this was the exact time we’d agreed to meet. Snide comments aside, finally being able to put this little side quest to bed was well worth being up at this hour.

Alicia fell in beside me as we walked to the basement corridors. I quickly preempted the snark I was sure was coming.

“Before you say anything, I was on time. It’s you guys who were here way too early.”

“I wasn’t going to bring it up. I’ve actually got something to tell you. Do you remember a few days ago when I told you I was working on something?”

Do I? That was quite awhile ago, back just before Finnél made that giant mess. I think she was experimenting with Imbuement then. Huh, I wonder what she came up with.

“Yeah, we were in the training grounds, and you said you were working on your rapid-fire. Then you said you had an idea you wanted to pursue, and I left to do other things.”

“Wow, I’m surprised you remember it that clearly. Well, I’ve finished my first prototype. I’ve only got the one arrow, though I prepared several Grenade, Blitz, and Lancing Arrows as well. I’m well prepared for anything.”

“Huh. You know, if you keep this up, I feel like you’ll eventually be in danger of violating some copyrights. Though I’m not sure if that actually matters at this point.”

“Uh, what are you talking about? Why would I be violating any copyrights?”

“……Not a fan of superheros, I take it? Haaah, never mind. So what did you come up with?”

“That’s still a secret. And since it’s the kind of thing that will only work in select situations, I may not get the chance to use it here.”

“Seriously? You’re still keeping it a secret? Haaah, fine, keep it to yourself for now. We’re almost there anyway.”

The walk to the hidden door leading to the Gate ended as quick as you’d expect, and we soon found ourselves standing before it. All of the NPCs had already been respawned by now, so the Gate was inert for the moment.

I hadn’t noticed the other times I was in here, but there was a switch to close the door inside the room. Braddock threw the switch while the rest of us grouped together. He then turned to address us, or actually, the others.

“Alright. First, while I’ve already agreed to go through with this, the rest of you should think hard about whether or not you actually want to participate in this fight. I want to stress that this is going to be an extremely dangerous fight. We all need to full-.”

“Braddock! I, I think we’re all aware of how dangerous this will be. We’ve all thought long and hard about it, and have all come to gripes with the situation. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Holy fuck! Did Kalia just tell Braddock off!?

I wasn’t the only one shocked by her outburst. Braddock looked absolutely astonished to see her tell him off so suddenly. I felt a tiny bubble of amusement pop up inside of me, and I took all my willpower not to snicker.

“Well? Let’s get this party started!”

Wow. Where’d this assertive side of hers come from? It’s almost like she’s a different person now.

“Eherm. While I appreciate your enthusiasm, we do have two things to talk about before we begin. Since the eight of us have never really fought together, we should decide on a formation ahead of time.”

Now I was the one getting odd looks. For whatever reason, no one ever thought that I knew the bare minimum of strategy. Do they all think that I’m some brainless musclehead or something?

“What? I’m more than capable of strategizing on occasion. Just this much is nothing. Anyway, Cameron, Braddock, and Grant should probably take the role of main tank, swapping in as needed. Alicia and Kalia should focus on providing their particular brands of support from a distance, while Brad, Tavin, and myself will act as damage dealers and mild distractions. Basically, we’re going to turn our enemy into a pincushion. Oh, and Braddock, it would probably be best if you issued any orders once we get into the battle. I’d imagine that you have more experience at that than me.”

And again, all I got in return was blank stares and silence. Only Alicia and Cameron seemed to be fine, as they were more used to the way I issued orders. The others didn’t need to get used to it, as this was only going to be a one-time thing.

After I decided that the best thing to do was ignore them, I pulled out the gold disks and medallion I needed, and slotted the disks into place, completing the contraption.

Once I placed it into the panel, the room seemed to shake as the ambient mana went crazy. I took several quick steps backwards to stand beside the others, as we all prepared for whatever might happen.

The pedestal beside the Gate sunk into the ground, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. Once it was gone, the room's mana began to flow into the Gate, creating a swirling vortex of light that soon faded to reveal a dark staircase within the archway.

Whoa, that was more elaborate than I expected. This is getting me excited despite myself.

“Um, Michael? Should I cast [Bless] now or later?”

“Hm, now. Buffing ourselves before a fight is standard practice. There might not be time before the Boss shows up.”

“Alright! Give me one moment!”

Approximately one moment later, a wave of energy washed over all of us, boosting our abilities. We then grouped up like I instructed, before entering the Gate. Only for us to come to a sudden stop mere seconds later.

::Individual is now entering Lair: The Fleece's Chamber.::

Fleece? Uh, that can’t be what I’m thinking it is, can it? There’s no way that something like that would be in here. It’s a bit too cliché.

I took a quick glance around and it seemed like everyone had gotten the same message. However, only Kalia and Brad were reacting differently to the others, who all had furrowed brows and confused expressions. Kalia’s eyes had widened and she appeared to be on the verge of yelling eureka! Brad, on the other hand, was looking more and more annoyed by the second.

“It can’t be. But, but it makes sense. If it really is that, then, then-!?”

“Quit it! We don’t have time to worrying about the System’s nonsense!”

“But, but, Grant! If that means what I think it means, then it’s a major clue as to what’s down there!”

“That may be so, but it’s no reason to putter around up here. We’ll find out what it is just by walking down the stairs. There’s no reason to try and figure out unnecessary problems.”

Grant’s harsh retort killed Kalia’s enthusiasm. Honestly, she started to look like a kicked puppy, making even me feel bad for her. Her expression was so sad that I felt like I had to cheer her up. And so I fell in beside her and Alicia, who was already trying to do that.

“Don’t worry about him. I’m pretty sure he’s just a big sourpuss. Just don’t let it get to you.”

“We-well, okay then. But uh, I wonder if it really means that. It’s too conspicuous to be a coincidence, right?”

“Yep. It has to be that. It even connects to the Gate of Rebirth. Which means that the Sub-Boss is probably one of those. I’m not sure how surprised I should be here.”

“Well, we’ve already seen Minotaurs, so why not? It’s not too much of a stretch after all.”

“Uh, could you guys stop talking about things that go over my head. Please, explain this incomprehensible conversation between the two of you.”

“…I think it’ll explain itself soon enough. Look, we’re there.”

The stairs emptied into a large circular room that was almost completely empty. There were only two things of note inside. The first was a large metal cage affixed to the ceiling, surrounded by an opaque barrier. Glimpses of something golden could be seen within, indicating that this was exactly what Kalia and I had suspected.

The other thing was the massive figure on the other side of the room. A figure which was quickly rising to its full, towering height. Bright teal flesh covered bulging muscles, with only an overly large loincloth for modesty. A single, fist-sized, bloodshot eyeball glared at us from the middle of its head. A gash of a mouth sat below, filled with tombstone teeth.

Cyclops

Rank: C

Archetype: Sub-Boss

Description: A member of one of the most powerful Demi-Human races. Cyclopes possess immense strength, and their skin is resistant to both physical and magical attacks. However, their rudimentary intelligence and solitary nature often leads them to be used by more intelligent Demi-Humans as heavy laborers or disposable soldiers.

“Mrr? Mrakra? MOROOOKO!”

The second the creature saw us, it screamed something incomprehensible before grabbing the massive club beside it, and then charging straight at us. We all scattered in different directions, avoiding the two-handed, overhead swing the Cyclops unleashed. And it was a good thing too, as that attack probably would’ve left any of us as a stain on the ground.

“Fan out! Focus your attacks on its legs!”

A good, solid opening order. I took advantage of the missed blow to get in close and slash at what should be its Achilles tendon, but its skin was too thick, and my attack barely cut into the muscle underneath. And since I was now vulnerable, the monster took a swing at me with its club, which I barely managed to jump over. I started backpedaling away the second I landed, avoiding further retaliation.

S-shit! That was like having a telephone pole swung at me. One hit will leave me done for. But I can sure see why this is a Boss. Its skin is stupidly tough. I doubt anything I have short of the white sword’s ability can cut deep enough to truly wound it. But I wonder how magic will fair against it.

Brad and Grant took advantage of the monster's distraction to attack it from behind. Both of their attacks only dealt superficial damage, but succeeded in drawing its attention off of me. With its back now to me, I was able to land two [Rots] back-to-back on it. But unfortunately, neither spell managed to do anything significant, aside from cause some mild discoloration in its skin. And in the meantime, the Cyclops retaliated against them with a backhand that sent them across the room.

“G-Grant! Hold on, I’ll be there in a second. [Heal]!”

Kalia sprang into action the moment they were hurt, as did Braddock and Cameron. Those two rushed forward, Cameron sinking his axe into the Cyclops's knee, while Braddock used his shield bash to knock it off balance. The combined attack was enough to ruin the monster's stance, causing it to fall on its butt.

*Boom! Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!*

Alicia had been circling around the room, waiting for an opportunity to appear. And boy did she capitalize on it once it did. A half-dozen of her Grenade Arrows impacted it all over, causing a few dozen burns and scorches. And as it reeled from that attack, Tavin moved in and unleashed that same full bore punch he’d used before. The attack, aimed right at the Cyclops’s face, struck it hard enough to send the beast’s upper body backwards.

“Mrrrrrrrr…….. MRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

That combination was potent enough that lesser monsters would’ve died at some point during it, but the Cyclops merely let out an enraged roar, before swiping its club at us to create room, and lumbering to its feet. The culmination of all our attacks had barely fazed the beast, leaving only superficial wounds.

Crap. All that effort, and it barely hurt the damn thing. We’ll need to bring out the big guns to end this.

There was one good thing though. The Cyclops seemed unsteady on its feet. Tavin's attack had probably concussed or stunned it, leaving it disorientated and confused. But that also meant that its attacks would be harder to predict.

“Hermph, anyone got any other ideas? This beast doesn’t seem to want to play.”

“True. My full-power punch barely did anything. I even mixed in all of my Skills as added insurance. I must admit to feeling inferior.”

“I can probably cut it pretty deep if I use one of my swords' abilities, but it’ll eat my mana up quickly. Once or twice won’t hurt too much though.”

“My regular arrows don’t seem to have much effect on it. They’re just like poking it with a needle. Enough pinpricks might hurt it, but it’ll kill us before then.”

“That club's a pain in the ass. A single hit’s probably enough to kill any of us.”

“Actually, I’ve got an idea about that! Michael, its club is made of wood. Wood!”

“What are you talk-? Oh, oh!”

How the hell didn’t I realize that sooner!?

“Okay, I’ve got a way to deal with its club if we can just keep it distracted for awhile.”

“Distract it? Hm, I think we can manage that. Cameron, what say you?”

“If Michael’s asking me, then I’ll do my hardest.”

“Ha, as if I’d ever back down from such a challenge!”

“Do we really have any other choice here?”

“Yeah we do. We could give up and die. The door closed after the Cyclops’s first attack. We have to win here if we want to keep living.”

I blinked at Alicia’s statement since I hadn’t even noticed. I’d been too focused on the monster before us. Also, that remark was just a little bit darker than I’d expect from her.

“Alright! You all heard what he said. So keep the damn thing off of him. Michael, I’m trusting you not to hit anyone else, okay?”

“Got it.”

Leave it to Braddock to figure out what I was planning. Though I guess anyone even remotely familiar with how my Magic works could’ve figured it out.

“RRRRRRR! JOCKTA CRACKA! MRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA!!!!”

The Cyclops, having recovered to a degree, had seemingly become fed up with the way we were simply standing around it, and decided to break us up by charging at Cameron. And so the battle began again, only we had an actual plan this time.

From that moment on, Braddock, Cameron, Grant, Brad, and Tavin took turns harrying the monster by attacking it whenever its back was turned, and retreating whenever it targeted them. The Cyclops quickly began to grow infuriated with their ploys, and soon began wildly kicking and punching at anyone in range, giving them even more openings to exploit.

Meanwhile, Kalia was focusing on healing anyone who got caught by an errant attack, bringing them back to fighting ready within a minute. Alicia was constantly on the move, firing arrows from nearly every angle she could manage. The Cyclops started to resemble a giant porcupine after awhile, and the rivulets of blood flowing across its skin showed that her efforts were paying off.

As for me, well I was taking any opportunity to fire off [Rots] at the monster's club. This was actually harder than it looked, since I wanted to utterly destroy the club, not just break it in half. And since a single misplaced spell could irreparably harm one of my allies, I needed to be completely certain about where I was aiming.

But finally, after an excruciatingly long ten minutes, the Cyclops’s club shattered when it missed an attack, sending splinters and chunks of wood everywhere.

“Alicia, now!”

With its club now destroyed beyond repair, we put a secondary attack into action. In the moments where the Cyclops was confused, Alicia fired a single Lancing Arrow into its eye, destroying the organ.

“MAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

The Cyclops roared in pain, and began thrashing about. We’d talked about doing this during the fight, but had ultimately waited until its club was broken, since a blind, pain-stricken monster was likely to lash out in a blind fury. Destroying its club deprived it of most of its reach, giving us an even better chance of killing it.

We also took this chance to regroup and re-strategize, since it wasn’t like the fight was quite over yet.

“Alright, now what? It’s blind and weaponless, but I doubt any of us can deal with even now.”

“Hm. Michael, can you still do what you said earlier?”

“Hrm? Oh, you mean my swords' ability? Yeah, I’ve still got about half of my mana, enough for a few deep slices. As for whether I can get in or not. I think so.

We were taking care to whisper so the Cyclops wouldn’t notice us that way, though I wasn’t sure it had the wherewithal to take particular notice of what it heard. It was just blindly swinging its arms around at the moment.

“Alright then. I’d like for you to disable its legs for us. Bring it to its knees. And while he does that, can the rest of you prepare your strongest attacks for when it’s disabled? We’re going to hit it as hard as we can.”

“Ohoh! A most excellent idea, and one that speaks to me. Very well! I shall prepare a most exquisite attack for it.”

“Hmhm🎶! Guess it’s time for me to break out my new toy. Hehehe. Ah, I should be the last one to attack by the way. I don’t want to get anyone else caught up in it.”

What the heck has she created!? I’m almost afraid to see what it is.

With our course of action set, we began our attempt to end the battle. However, I had to ensure I had a easy route to get to the Cyclops, as it was still rampaging around the room. But I always made sure I had a source of rather, shall we say, explosive, distractions?

*Fwoooooom!*

The Cyclops immediately turned towards the explosion, showing its back to me. I raced towards it while infusing mana into the white sword. Then, griping the blade in both hands, I slashed the backs of both of the Cyclops’s legs. My attack didn’t cut down to the bone, most likely due to using it on both legs, but it did succeed in severing the monster’s tendons, causing it to fall to its hands and knees.

“MRAAAAAAAAH!”

The Cyclops roared in pain yet again. However, we were only just getting warmed up this time. Cameron rushed in with the full might of his Charge Skill, and brought his axe down on the back of the Cyclops’s neck. At the same time, Tavin had rushed in from the other side and delivered his now patented Mach Punch attack, dazing the Cyclops.

The two attacks left the monster moaning in pain, but didn’t inflict any fatal damage. Its blood was oozing from both wounds, but only trickles. Which was exactly why we had more attacks prepared.

Brad and Grant then moved in, both of them wrapping their weapons in mana. I wasn’t sure if the four of them had choreographed their attacks earlier or not, but each one was remarkably suited to where they struck.

Brad used his spear to unleash a destructive thrust at the same spot Tavin’s attack had cracked, while Grant swung his claymore down on the Cyclops’s neck. Both wounds were worsened, but still weren’t quite enough to be fatal. It would probably die of blood loss before long, but a monster's vitality was something to be feared. There was a chance it might recover enough to keep fighting.

“You’re mine!”

Except that Alicia had yet to attack. She drew an arrow from one of her bags, before nocking and firing it at the Cyclops. The arrow, which had odd white and yellow stripes along the shaft, sunk into the same spot Tavin and Brad had struck, finally piercing the damn thing’s skull. Then there was an odd crackling, buzzing sound, before the Cyclops began convulsing.

W-what!? What exactly was that arrow? I think I may need to have a little chat with her after this.

“Quick, dog pile on it! It won’t be able to move for a few minutes!”

We wasted no time after hearing that, as everyone began stabbing and cutting at every part of the monster we could reach. Even Kalia pulled out her shortsword and took a few stabs.

And then finally, on the umpteenth swing, Cameron’s axe broke through the Cyclops’s spinal cord. He and Grant had been taking turns at hacking away at it, and they’d finally severed it. Moments passed in hesitant silence.

::Death of Sub-Boss confirmed. Individual has cleared Lair: The Fleece’s Chamber.::

Victory. Sweet, sweet victory.