"Oy, what the fuck is that?!" The monk screamed while pointing at a wall.
There were cracks in it that were slowly but surely enlarging. Then with one loud BANG, the wall shattered to pieces, revealing the monster that lay behind.
There was a gigantic creature: it was all tentacles and eyes, nothing else!! What the heck was such a monster doing here?!
< THE Mighty Octopus Lv 50 ???>
"Woo!!" (Can that be eaten?!)
"How the hell are we supposed to defeat that?!" The monk complained.
Jack scanned the entire area until he noticed a very subtle detail. The Octopus was surrounded by water, but it was all strangely still. It was as if nothing could ever affect it.
The strangest thing was that it was looking their way, its hundred eyes locked unto them, and yet it wasn't coming over.
"I think it's sealed! Get ready. This is gonna be another mechanic fight!" Jack exclaimed.
"Another Mechanic Fight?!"
"Like in the Chicken Trials of the Tutorial. Careful, it's making a move!!"
That's when the Octopus very slowly moved its gigantic tentacles toward them. It seemed that the seal affecting it was rather effective. But it had other tricks up its tentacle!
— SCREEEEE! —
As their boss shouted, monsters started spawning again. They seemed more energetic than earlier as they charged toward the invaders!
This part was no mechanic. It was 100% pure and raw slaughter. Either they managed to eradicate the monsters, or they would die.
The worse was the water elementals, as they resisted physical damage.
"I can't kill those guys. I'm no mage!" The monk cried out.
"Out of the way then!" Jack came to his help, but his options were limited.
Fire? —> As if they cared!
He had to improvise! He used his new ghoulish touch ability! Would this even be effective? The elementals weren't technically alive even if they were moving…. The answer was yes!!
But the result was slightly different than the usual:
< Corrupted Lake Elemental Lv 15 ??>
Affected by the Demonic Energy, the elemental's body suddenly turned dark. It was as if an oil spill had happened in it!
But that wasn't even the best part! The creature turned berserk as it began attacking everyone and everything indiscriminately.
Upside —> It was now killing its brethren!
Downside —> The corrupted elementals were even harder to kill and could only kill other elementals!
Jack had to be very careful: this was a balancing game. If he corrupted too many of them, they'd simply turn around and slaughter them. He wanted to equalize both "factions":
Corrupted VS Pure Elementals
The monk was heroically taking care of the crabs. He was especially used to dealing with them after farming them for ages.
He'd always position himself perfectly, rendering their attacks ineffective. The more the fight went and the cockier he became.
"C'mon, hit me! I barely felt that! You should have eaten more veggies— or algae, whatever!" He happily taunted them.
This left a bunch of tentacles for Moon Moon and Chicky to deal with. They'd bite and scratch the wriggly pink things!
Sadly, they could do only so much with their slightly lacking power. They could survive and kill a few by kiting like pros, but it was a painfully slow process.
Jack went to help them, slashing his Cluckinator all over the place. He fought while keeping an eye on the elementals. From time to time, he'd corrupt one and return to fighting.
Then at some point, the creatures just stopped spawning.
"Did we almost win?!" The monk shouted happily.
"Oh crap, get out of the fucking way!" Jack warned.
The world had suddenly become darker as a large shadow engulfed them. Above their heads, there was now one of the Octopus' giant tentacle! It was already smashing their way!
They ran, they rolled, and even threw themselves on the ground, barely avoiding the smash.
— CRASH!! —
This tentacle was so weighty! One hit was enough to shake the entire platform as they almost lost their footing.
"Fuck! We almost became pancakes!!" The monk cursed.
"We will if we don't hurry the fuck up! Soldiers, make it regret!!" Jack shouted as he instantly ran for the tentacle.
He hurriedly began slashing it with all the power he could muster! With every slash, his blade penetrated deeper into the creature. The exterior was tough and sturdy, but the interior was soft.
"Take this, and this, and this!!!!" He was hacking at the monster as if it had stolen his girlfriend. He was venting the frustration they felt from the Water Temple!
The whole party soon began to attack too. This was even better than hitting a Pi?ata! Well, instead of the candy it was pink-white flesh.
— SCREEEEE! —
With an unpleasant scream, the creature finally seemed to realize the damage it had taken as it slowly retreated its limb.
"Woo!!!" (Careful!)
The small creatures were back! The little wolf already had its gaze locked unto a target! It was Biting time again!
"Let's do this. Make sure not to take damage and keep an eye open for the big guy's slam attack!" Jack reminded.
They all got to work. However, this time, there was a change as the water arrows from the previous phase resumed. They now had to dodge on top of dealing with the monsters!
After what felt like an eternity, the tentacle slam happened again, followed by tons of hacking! Then once they had dealt enough damage, the creature shrieked again!
— SCREEEEE! —
Could this fight get any worse? Yes, yes, it could! A new mechanic would be added with every repetition, always being a pain in the ass!
+ The Octopus started throwing large water spheres their way. It contained so much condensed water that any landing on them would have been an instant kill!
+ The Octopus sprayed water as if a shower. The issue was that the rain droplets were dagger-shaped and freaking sharp! They used the large crab monsters as cover to survive it!
+ The Octopus increased the tentacle slamming rate and speed, every other second, they'd suddenly have to rush out to survive.
But after every stage cleared, they would always beat the limbs up until they became one bloody mess, a blue one!
With one last Screee, the Boss finally gave up. No matter what it tried, the tiny creatures would always survive! If only it wasn't sealed! Sadly, regret wouldn't solve any problem.
It just wanted the annoying tiny creatures to leave it alone at this moment! The regular monsters disappeared as the Octopus stopped its attacks.
"Are we done this time?" The monk asked, hopeful.
They all held their breath as they saw the gigantic creature reach out with its tentacle. It was actually offering them an item.
It was a deep blue pearl that slightly shone.
< Cursed Pearl of the Depth!>
They glanced at one another, sighing with relief. They had finally succeeded! Irrelevant to the time spent here, this dungeon had felt like an eternity.
"Let's grab it before it's too late!" The monk urged as he approached his hand.
"WAIT!" Jack stopped him. "Chicky, you do it."
The Skeletal Chicken approached a bony talon as it took hold of the pearl.
[World-Devouring Chicken Affected by Curse of the Depth!]
Instantly a blue glow surrounded it before resting at where its lungs would have been (Had it been alive.) That's when water spawned, lots and lots of water!
"What the fuck?! This pearl drowns people that touch it?! What kind of sick joke is this?!" The monk cried out, his eyes bulging in horror.
"It has cursed in its name for a reason." Jack shrugged, chuckling at seeing his companion's expression.
"Cluck! Shriek!" (Puzzled!)
The chicken didn't seem to mind it too much. It was simply curious as to what was happening. A few of its bones were now wet….
Moon Moon was happily circling its friend, excited at seeing what it thought was a new ability. With this, they'd never be thirsty ever again: how wonderful!
At this moment, the monk suddenly felt silly for overreacting so much. After all, everything was fine.
[Congratulations on Completing the Water Trial!]
[Received Blessing of THE Mighty Octopus!]
["Please Leave me Alone!"]
[+15% Speed When Peacefully Running Away From ??]
[Completion Bonus: +450 XP!]
[Leveled up! Now level 16!!]
-[Acquired Cursed Pearl of the Depth!]
[Be Careful How You Use It…..]
That's when a portal suddenly appeared. They could finally go back to that one water mage NPC…