THE UNDEAD BOSS FIGHT (a.k.a. Kiryun part 1.5)

  Michael expected to face a big boss in the end of a Dungeon. He heard a few stories that told of several dangerous dungeons around Kiryun that had a Boss at the end of the Dungeon but most of the levels were said to be around 100-200 - Levels were estimated since no one had a high enough identify skill coupled with the combat skills to get close enough to touch it - and Bosses were usually tackled as a group. Michael though, had felt rather full of himself when he entered the Dungeon. He had beaten the level 256 Inutian and Michael added another 50 levels in order to compensate for its annoying flying abilities. He did not forget about the use of a Sculpture free for all but he was pretty sure he could take down a Boss monster between the levels of 100 to 200.

  “Stealth.”

  The skill was activated barely above a whisper and Michael relaxed when Franky didn’t move from the sound. Michael was pretty sure he wasn’t prepared for the fight so he backed out of the room and then ducked into the hallway.

  Pressing his back to the cold wall, Michael breathed in a bit and the foul air woke him up a little more. Sweating and breathing hard, Michael stared at the opposite wall for a few moments before heading further down the hall to avoid making too much noise and attracting unwanted attention. The soft sliding of the doors behind him said that the room was being resealed.

  Opening his pack Michael took out his high quality equipment. This time he would face a Boss fight with his better items unlike before. Michael took out his Wolf Pelt Armor which he refined with some pieces of Mithril and Gold.

  He also took out a Mithril enhanced Sword and his regular offhanded Dagger. Lastly he equipped several Throwing Daggers that were made in a set.

  Lastly Michael took out ‘Agiel’s Band’ and secured it in an easy to reach pouch at his waist. Should the worst happen he would be able to take it out and equip it.

  When he was inside the city, Michael took long walks during the busy hours of the day. Since every being there had a tiny bit of mana that the Band could siphon off it wasn’t a big hassle for Michael as he concentrated on his steps and money pouch. Walking through a crowd with it could recovered much more mana than just hiding it away and Michael was satisfied with the Mana count he had gathered inside it. In the worst case scenario he would use it to create a large amount of Earth Walls to trap Franky as he ran.

  Taking a deep breathe, Michael calmed himself down. He removed his rings and restraints and his body relaxed itself without the strain. He put on his Twisted Mithril and Devouring Fenrir Ring and could feel the subtle shift in mana since he had ‘IA’ on 4:1. Furthermore he equipped all of the items and felt the power welling up within him. It wasn’t anywhere near what he had experienced in the Arena but he felt it should be enough to fight a Boss.

  Switching his sight, Michael reached inside himself and pushed Dark Mana into the Franky’s room. Michael heard nothing stir in the distant room as the Dark Mana covered every inch of the space between them and the ‘Space of the Night’ activated. He managed to also get an accurate picture of the room. 40 metres in length, the room was an uneven round space with a moderate high ceiling of 50 feet. There was one other exit in the room and Michael didn’t bother trying to find where it led to. Franky was in a large hunched bundle located in the direct center of the room and didn’t move at all as the Dark Mana slid under him.

  Feeling every bump in the mana, Michael could make out the different physical aspects of the room. Attached to the ceiling was an array of chains that surrounded the room. He didn’t know what they were attached to but the tension and strain of the chain hinted at a heavy object. Oddly there were various holes in the ceiling besides the chains and if they were filled with chains inside then it would have made a complete circle around the room.

  The sides of the room didn’t have any hangings but that was expected of an old Prison. The walls of the room was much more smoother than the rough stone at Michael’s back which said that the room was properly made unlike the halls. Michael focused on finishing his spell and watched as the entire room became covered in his Dark Mana. Michael released the Mana and watched as it was supposed to solidify.

  Eyes widening, Michael watched as his spell wavered and then get absorbed into the walls of the room. A further shock came when the walls themselves darkened and soon the ceiling of the hall displayed a starry sky that caused a creepy atmosphere to envelope Michael. Being trapped inside a corridor with the starry sky above him was rather disconcerting. Michael noticed a new information box was waiting so he focused on it.

  Well whoops. Michael didn’t expect this kind of reaction but now the cave would be even more dangerous for adventurers than usual. Next, Michael opened up his status screen to add the stats into what he needed. Every little bit would help in the fight, even if everything was still halved.

  “Show Status.”

  Either way, Michael got the stat boost he needed so he canceled ‘Stealth’ and readied his weapons as he stepped lightly towards the closed doors. The doors opened and Michael took a deep breathe once more before forcibly expanding his presence.

  The doors were wide open and Michael saw the outline of a huge mass inside. All of a sudden the mass shot forward and Michael took an unwanted step back. Stopping himself and cursing, Michael changed ‘IA’ to 10:1 and started analyzing Franky himself. There were some things that ‘IA’ just didn’t do and describing something was one of them.

  At 30 feet tall, Franky didn’t touch the ceiling for a good distance but it was still larger than anything Michael had seen before. Mostly white in colour, Franky had a total of 6 limbs, four of which he was running on. The length of the ‘legs’ was about twice Michael’s own height and the ends had bony hands instead of feet. The last two arms were attached in the general area a shoulder would be in an upright man and the ends of those had 3 metre long blades that seemed sharp enough to cut through stone. Based on the description, Franky should have even more than that set.

  The reason why it was ‘general area a shoulder would be’ is that there was no obvious human bone that Michael could see. The rib cage was replaced with a shining mass of fused bone that rose and fell with each heartbeat - which to Michael’s mind was extremely slowly - and the legs were to the side like an insect more than a horse. Imagine an extremely boney four legged spider with a upright bony torso wielding large blades that were supposed to be extremely sharp.

  Franky was distinctly lacking a head of any kind. Instead there was a writhing dark array of lines that was moving all across the body and was initially unseen in the darkness. The lines crossed in some places and those areas took on a deep glow that accumulated across Franky’s body to develop a disconcerting effect. Basically it looked like several areas of Franky’s body looked like it was glowing black.

  Behind Franky hanged the chains Michael had scanned before. Huge, thick, and circling around the room, the Chains ended with large heavy cages that were completely empty of anything inside. The creepy aspect was the half eaten cage to the left of the room and Michael knew that Franky had taken to consuming the Cages for the metal. The top of the room also displayed a starry night but this time a large full moon was placed in the direct center of the ceiling.

  As fast as he could, Michael moved forward and to his right as Franky swung down onto Michael’s left. Michael lowered ‘IA’ to 5:1 and barely made it into the room before he raised his tiny Dagger to deflect the blade. With a screech the blade was successfully turned and drove itself behind Michael’s moving back. Michael’s hand ached from the strain though and he doubted he could successfully guard against that monstrous strength for long.

  Michael’s quick thinking worked though. He was inside the round room and now had the space to maneuver himself. If he had stayed by the door for any longer he would have been pushed into the hallway and would have had to face Franky in a confined space. At least this way he couldn’t be backed into a corner the room didn’t have.

  As Michael reoriented himself in the wide area, Franky rushed him once more with his arms slicing the air in fury. The onslaught was met by Michael’s sword and dagger and the furious duel began before between them.

  Blocking a slash to his side with his sword, Michael lept into the air to twist his body away from the strike approaching his feet. In the air he deftly used his dagger to hit the blocked sword and he pushed himself to the right. Unfortunately, Franky’s left blade had already returned from his low hit and he used it to strike Michael’s temple. Michael blocked it with his dagger instead of dodging this time and then he swung his sword at a chip in the blade. It wasn’t a very large chip but if Michael could break it…

  Backing away from Franky, Michael tried to change the battle around and go on the offense but Franky was too fast. The slashes at Michael allowed for a few gaps in his defenses and only the use of ‘IA’ allowed Michael to keep his reactions up and deflect them. The occasional low attacks made him either back up and lose his stance or jump in the air and become susceptible to attacks. The third jump in and Michael decided to switch things around.

  As he jumped, Michael blocked a strike to his midsection and brought his legs up. Feet on the huge blade, Michael propelled himself towards the top of Franky’s body. Stepping on the spot where a head should have been, Michael lightly pushed himself to different areas of the large skeleton as he ran on top of it. Michael swung his sword as many times as he could but the damage he did was negligible and Franky didn’t even get incensed at the scratches. Michael needed a better plan so for the next while he only dodged the oncoming strikes and moved in the air as much as he could.

  Switching sights, Michael tried a Fire Tornado on Franky’s leg and saw as the inferno struck the limb. With a frown, Michael dodged another strike as he saw that the leg wasn’t even blackened by the Fire Tornado. Dodging the next two blows, Michael landed back on the head area of Franky and tried to figure out his next move when he was struck from behind.

  ‘Wha-’

  Rolling across the room, Michael raised ‘IA’ a bit and took a look at Franky. Behind Franky rose a third arm with a large metal club attached to it. Counting quickly, Michael saw that he now had only 3 ‘legs’ holding him up. ‘So the hands weren’t for show…’ Trying to figure out how this may prove a problem, Michael stood up and steadied himself. He calmly watched Franky’s rush as he took out a few Mana and Health vials and downed them. The last attack had severely depleted his Health and he didn’t need the stress of worrying if his health went below half.

  This time Michael kept his distance in order to come up with a plan. Sheathing his Dagger, Michael used a few throwing ones to test out a theory. Aiming for the dark patches, Michael’s throws were accurate and each dagger stuck into the black patches. Michael’s hope was short lived as the patches drew the daggers into the body and Michael remembered that Franky could absorb weapons. With a curse he stopped his throws and just kept his distance.

  The skeletal body was too tough for him to slash apart so it was desirable to pierce instead. However if the weapon that pierced was also absorbed then Michael would be a Dagger short and that might be rather worthless in the long run. Michael wished he had brought a Cleric or Paladin to help since he lacked any holy skills…

  Michael nearly tripped when he remembered something. Quickly he righted himself and ran again.

  “Show Elemental Manipulation!”

  “Hahaha!”

  The laughter that bubbled out of Michael’s mouth would have made any ordinary monster back away in concern, but Franky was unrelenting and Michael had to jump to avoid becoming crippled and soon to be dead. Quickly he took off again and kept a piece of his mind on the battle. The rest of it was on the task ahead.

  Since Elemental Manipulation hit Expert he gained access to both Dark and Light elements. Both were hard to find in the surroundings and the only real spell he had for either was ‘Space of the Night’. Still…

  Hightening ‘IA’ to 6:1, Michael searched inside himself for the Light Mana. He bypassed the constantly conflicting four elements and searched deeper. Finding the two sources he watched the two for a while. The source of Light still gave off a warm feeling, a glow that was very close to how he felt when he was held by his mother a long time ago. The source seemed to give off life and emotion itself. The Dark source would have been the opposite. If he had to put a memory to it, it would have to be the feeling of success and weariness he got after a good spar with his Father and Serena. Being beat to the point where you couldn’t move but you still got the feeling that you were just a little bit stronger. That you would keep on going. The Dark source seemed to prize power itself and take instead of give. Drowning in either would probably be a bad idea. The Light source would have given Michael life and emotion until he exploded with both while the Dark source would have kept stripping him until he became a husk of himself.

  Ignoring the Dark source this time, Michael pulled a bit of the Light Mana into his right hand. The Sword in his hands glowed with the telltale light of the Mana and Michael used his left hand to direct the Mana and wove it around the sword. He etched the light across the blade in thin nets and Michael even needed to use his Tailoring skill to accomplish this. The Light Mana was slowly sewed onto the blade and soon not a bit of the Blade wasn’t covered in that Mana. Michael tied it off at the tip and watched as the Mana tried to unravel itself. When it failed to do so it slowly contracted on itself and solidified around the blade. Michael could still see the individual strings of Mana when he switched his sight though and he knew he was successful.

  The Mana cost was rather high so Michael took out a few Mana vials and downed them. He needed to keep an eye on that just in case.

  With the newly Light ‘sheathed’ blade, Michael equipped his Dagger, pivoted on the spot, and rushed Franky. Not even hesitating, Franky swung all three blades at Michael, aiming for his legs, chest, and head. Jumping forward, Michael went over the low strike and used his Dagger to deflect the blade aimed at his chest to the left and behind him as he spun under the last blade. He continued the spin and raised his Sword to strike at the arm.

  Gaping, Michael watched as the sword cleaved straight through the bone covered arm and split it apart. A thick black liquid poured from the wound and Michael dodged it just in case. The black lines covering the body seemed to act like a sort of blood and Franky roared a silent cry of pain. For the first time during the battle, Franky backed away from Michael to try to get a sense of the situation or to get away from the man with the Light Sword. And for another first time, Michael rushed Franky eagerly.

  Franky stood on only two legs this time and wielded his three weapons with the intent to defend. The new weapon was another blade that was much longer than before but was also slower. Unlike the bone covered arm, Michael wasn’t able to slice through the metal and Franky used that to his advantage. Michael’s strike to Franky’s arms and legs was met with a defending blade and the counter attacks were quick and fierce. Franky adapted to the situation well and with growing horror, Michael watched as Franky’s cut arm started to regenerate. Only this time it was covered in metal instead of bone. Even the chip he made in one of the blades was starting to reform itself. Michael needed to end this sooner rather than later. Michael blocked one more strike before turning around and started his run from Franky once again.

  Splitting his awareness, Michael sheathed his Dagger and gathered Light Mana into his left hand and tried to think of a way to use it. Right now, Michael was disadvantaged in terms of number of weapons he could attack and defend with. If Franky used four limbs to fight with then Michael would probably lose. He needed to figure out a way to stop Franky and take the chance to cut off more limbs.

  Looking back at Franky, Michael examined him all over. Large and encompassing, Franky’s movements were slow but his travel speed was relatively quick. Michael was still able to run without even breaking a sweat though and that meant he had an advantage in distance. The problem was that Franky’s battle sense was rather high and he used his weapons to full advantage. The black lines around his body were still intact and didn’t seem to weaken at all. The regenerating left arm of Franky had a large mass of the black stuff and it was slowly creating a fully metal limb to replace the bone. Michael found himself staring at the blobs of black that could frequently be seen on his body. The last time he hit there the weapons were absorbed…

  Making a decision, Michael jumped onto one of the cages in the room and leapt from chain to chain in order to get higher and higher. The heavy cages kept the thick chains from moving during his jumps and it was as if he had a platform to jump off of each time. As he did this he took out several throwing daggers and concentrated on ‘sheathing’ each of them. The mana cost was lower this time but he was losing too much still. He needed to do it quickly. Once Michael almost hit the end of the chains he pushed himself towards the center of the ceiling and looked down. As he thought, Franky was directly below him and waiting for gravity to bring him down. All of his limbs were ready and even the cut limb had fully reformed to an extremely large metal blade. Michael’s feet hit the ceiling and he crouched upside down.

  When he felt he was about to go down, Michael pushed himself off the ceiling in a huge burst of strength. He didn’t fall to the ground, he flew towards it and after 10 feet passed he threw the light sheathed daggers at Franky. All four pierced the center of different black patches and Franky’s movements stopped. All of his limbs seemed to lose control and fell, including his legs which became disabled and Franky had no way to defend or retreat. Smiling, Michael held his sword in front of himself with both hands and aimed for the center of Franky’s body.

  With a mighty slash, Michael’s dive-forced slash cut Franky’s body from the top to the bottom with as little resistance as the limb once had. Bones split and black blood oozing, Franky tried to right himself but failed. It was almost comical as Franky didn’t seem to understand he was dead and soon he tried to stand on both legs and slash at Michael. Only both sides slid from each other and Franky scrambled on the ground before finally becoming still.

  Breathing deeply, Michael slumped to the ground and turned to his back. The Light that was on his Sword still glowed for a bit but he cut off his mana and the room slowly darkened as the Light Mana dissipated. He faced the ceiling - which now had a huge crater from his jump, the moon had moved to a different area - and took out a few Health and Mana potions to recover his losses. He didn’t have many cuts on his body but that was mainly due to his diligent defending and running away. His hands had been strained constantly and the Health potions relieved the pain and filled his Health bar. His mana was incredibly low and Michael was actually grateful the cave absorbed ‘Space of the Night’. At 20 mana upkeep per square metre it would have taken a huge chunk of his precious Mana during the fight.

  A long screech attracted Michael’s attention and he turned his head to the door on the opposite side of the room. The round room held only 2 doors; the entrance Michael entered from and then the door at the opposite side. That door was opening up and the door hinges were obviously rusted with age. The screech got louder as the door slowed its opening and soon it was wide enough to allow 4 men to walk through side by side. A large door but nothing that Franky would have been able to go through. Only the entrance Michael came through was big enough for that.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Still lying down, Michael decided to just check the Information boxes as he rested.

  A much better reward than what Inutian gave. Pleased, Michael stood up and went over to Franky’s body. This time he would scavenge every piece of Franky. Inutian was a disappointment since Michael wasn’t able to get the treasure inside him or the material from the body but Franky was a different story. Michael used ‘Light Clad’ on his knife and cut away at the body. With piles of empty vials he poured the blood in and made sure to scavenged the entire corpse.

  Harvesting all of the items and returning his throwing daggers to their sheaths - all of them were still intact- Michael stored the treasures near the door so he could retrieve them later. The Bones could be sliced - with ‘Light Clad’ - and used to make beautiful scrimshaws or he could try to make a few defensive equipment from it. Shields popped into his head and he added it to the list of things he would make with it. He already knew how tough it was personally so he was hopeful of the end results. For the Blood and Heart he had plans to test small bits of each in his Alchemy experiments. He had been taught how to test for poisonous and cursed materials from his mother and he had a large heart to work with. The blood filled the 200 vials he had with him so he quickly made a large bone container to hold the heart and blood in. Lastly was the Steel blade. Virtually useless to Michael he decided to keep it and use it to reinforce the future equipment he would make. He found a larger metal cache inside the body and since he couldn’t identify it he just added it to the pile. All in all he had about 200 kg of items. Way too much for him to haul himself.

  Putting the thought aside, Michael turned around to gaze at the open door. If his idea was correct then the door probably held the treasure for the Dungeon. It should be adequate and reflect Franky’s strength so Michael’s thoughts flared to ideas of treasure hoards and the like. With a light step Michael walked towards the inviting door.

  Walking through, Michael saw a short hallway leading to a lower level. The cave itself was just a random entrance in the middle of the plains and everything was below the ground. Michael forced himself to slowly walk through the hall and then down the stairs.

  The stairs went on for a few minutes but eventually opened up into a large room. The inside was completely empty except for the center and Michael wondered if he took a wrong turn somewhere. There was nothing that remotely resembled Gold or weapons. The room was incredibly spacious and all of the walls were covered in cages. There were no platforms at all which begged the question of how they put and moved prisoners at all... if they even did that. The most noticeable cage was the one on the ground at the far wall and the hole it was obviously ripped from in the middle of the same wall.

  Walking to the center of the room, Michael constantly turned and examined the various cages, watching for anything that might pop out. Reaching the center, Michael made sure to always keep a part of his awareness on his surroundings and he started to examine the ancient desk set.

  Made of a standard set of chair and table, the desk only had a few items on top. The top right corner held an ancient scribe set. The pens were cracked and the inkwell was dried up. The extra papers were actually still fresh looking but Michael felt he shouldn’t touch it yet. To the left was a few vials of some dark liquid that seemed to be moving by itself. Another thing to not touch yet.

  It was the center of the table that held an item that Michael was most interested in. A large bound book was placed in the direct center and Michael read the title: ‘Draanuk’s Diary’. Michael tried to cut the lock away but it resisted all attempts to do so and Michael resorted to using ‘Light Clad’ to cut it apart. Like Franky, ‘Light Clad’ just went through the lock as if it was butter and Michael opened the book to the first page.

  That was the last timeline that Michael read and the rest of the book was given over to necromantic teachings and techniques. The man seemed to live up to his name in the history books and maybe even beyond. Some of the stuff in the book was particularly dark even if mostly done as theory. Once Michael got through all of it he decided to burn it.

  Focusing on the fire within himself, Michael shot it out of his hands and had it consume the book. When the book stayed the same he tried to increase the temperature by adding in more air and changing its aspects but no matter what he did the book didn’t burn. It didn’t even catch on fire and even felt cool to his touch. Michael decided he needed more information about it and focused on the corner of his vision.

  So it was near indestructible huh? Michael nearly dropped it in disgust when ll of a sudden an Information box appeared in front of him without warning.

  Eyes wide, Michael immediately called up the information.

  “Show ‘Devouring Fenrir Ring’.”

  Michael thought about this for a few moments and stopped at a decision. He would ignore the quest. This wasn’t a lazy decision mind you, but one that he put into a lot of thought. All he had to propel the quest was a diary of a madman and nothing else. He could not ask people the specifics about the quest which meant he was virtually alone as well. If he went to a library he wouldn’t be able to just ask for information but instead he would have to read every related book and search the large building for specific info. His best bet was to just continue on his journey and if something popped onto his path he would follow it. Say if the sect started targeting him, he could probably handle himself. Liera was a strong Guardian and Jemma had the racial bonus of a Statue and was learning how to fight with the Shield.

  Shoving the book into his pack, Michael looked around the prison for anything important. The only thing that caught his eye was the really broken up cage and then he wondered...The Diary said nothing about a broken cage. Just that Draanuk escaped his cage and then took over the prison. Michael went around the desk and stepped towards it.

  The cages were mainly made of solid iron with 5 cm thick bars that had 3 cm gaps. Quite extensively made and the amount of metal in the area could have been used to make a sizable quantity of weapons for an army. Inside the ruins of the cage stood a man. Michael took out several throwing daggers and readied himself only to notice that the man didn’t appear solid. Michael could see the far end of the cage if he focused and the man’s feet weren’t even there. He was either a ghost or a spirit.

  Turning, the man’s face alternated between fear, pain, hope, and sneering at Michael and he opened his mouth to speak. Only no words came out of his moving mouth.

  Michael didn’t even hesitate to send him off. If Plutys was harsher with Draanuk than he was with Michael, all the better.

  “I shall send him to Plutys.”

  A white glow surrounded Michael and words flowed out of his mouth in a torrent. Michael felt detached from his body and felt his body raise into the air. Not understanding what he was saying, Michael raised his hands towards the spirit. A staff of pure white was created and Michael gripped the stick tightly before striking with the butt of it, pushing the ghost back. Since Michael still had ‘IA’ on, he watched Draanuk’s expression turn from outright fear to calm resignation as the body was propelled skyward.

  With that done, Michael felt his body relax and saw the glow around him subside. The staff in his hands dissipated and soon he was able to control his body again. Taking deep breathes, Michael nearly fell over in exhaustion and saw that all of his stamina had been depleted. A rare occurrence and it made for an awful feeling. Almost as bad as a Mana burnout.

  Michael stepped out of the cage and laid down on the floor. Gazing at the cave ceiling - which also had a moon and starry sky - Michael read the only Information box he obtained.

  With a great sigh Michael questioned the rewards he had been getting all this time. On his 20th naming day he got an awesome class but a curse to go along with it. Saving a woman, he entered a dungeon that went 20 times slower than normal. Killing Inutian gave him only 1 piece of treasure. The fricken tournament gave him a weak shield and now this dungeon gave him an impossible quest.

  Still lying down, Michael checked out the new skill.

  “Hrmm. Show ‘Judge’...”

  Yep, bad rewards. Sighing, Michael stood up and patted away the dust from his body. He knew that it was only the first few months of his adventure but the rewards he got for his deeds did not match and he was slight despairing over it. Maybe if he did more quests? He should get lucky at least once right?

  With another sigh, Michael went over to the table and picked up the vials of black liquid and left the stack of pages - which he was sure was made from Human flesh - on the table as he exited the room and made his way upstairs. For now he had to worry about how to get all of the items out of the cave and into his inn room without attracting thieves.

  Another boss fight :P I'll be finishing his work in Kiryun next chapter. I dunno if it will be short or not so meh...

  Any questions? Please comment. I read everything!!!!

  People who were expecting Plutys to reward him well? Nope.

  He is programmed to not help members of tLotL and shes the same. Its not like they hate each other. Just the way this world works. Like if rival schools meet each other, they have to show a confrontational act even if they respect their opponents. There will be no GREAT BATTLE between the two. Just some sparks.

  Please rate and review my fic so that it stays in at least the top 20 >.> I do want to be in the top ten though...