NOVEL SIMPLE V1 Chapter 20: Beast Cave
- 1st Person POV (MC)
-Present Time-
“Gahahahahahaha...” -Siegfried-
His boisterous laughter rings in my ear as I lay on the soil. It felt heavenly! Superb! Comfy! Ahhh... I wish I could take this leisure at work...
The glimmering coat surrounding me dispersed once I whispered the ability’s keyword.
Though... It felt like I was forgetting something.
My eyes go wide in shock after remembering the archer who ran.
“Wait! The archer!!!!”
I jolted upright to look around and before I could reactive my glimmering coat.
Siegfried raised his hand to stop me as he had a reassuring smile.
“He’s gone... we’re safe for now.” -Siegfried-
(“Then... that means it is over.”)
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....”
That’s the longest sigh I have uttered while I’m back sitting on the ground mentally exhausted.
“Haha... Still up for the beast cave?” -Siegfried-
Taking a deep breath.
“Yeah.....”
Siegfried has a good one or two seconds of pause before he smirks and says.
“Shall we?” -Siegfried-
“Hey! That’s my line!!!”
He just snorted as I followed along.
...
...
...
Ah.. yeah, I think this is the direction. I remember vaguely the description. There will be a gathering spot for ores there... Aha!
-Arriving at Beast Cave-
“Whoa! The entrance looks nice.”
Siegfried nods along. The mouth of the cave is incredibly wide adorned by stalagmites and stalactites. Overgrown moss and vines twist and turn adding a patch of green to everything.
“Oh! I got the notification, are you ready?” -Siegfried-
“All checked and ready.”
With a single flick in mid-air, my view of the beast cave’s entrance changed.
Now we are inside of the cave and behind us is the outside as I can see bright white light from the sun shining its rays upon the mouth.
While walking within the cavern walls... I got curious and asked.
“Siegfried??”
“Hm?” -Siegfried-
He replied while looking around while my [Light] spell illuminated the area.
“Uhm...uh... Do you have some questions when we *ehem* fought back?”
(“Gosh this is awkward... I am not sure if he has seen my {Spell} go off in a different direction. But I reallllly want to confirm. Plus he saw my glimmering coat.)
He stopped in his movement then I could visibly see him taking a deep breath. He seemed to understand where I was going with this question.
“Look, I’ll be honest with you. Yeah, I saw *it*. But! I wouldn’t say anything, everyone has their trump card after all.”
He said it while raising both his hands in a gesture of surrender still keeping a forward look regarding creatures spawning in the dungeon.
“Aha..ha.. that is a relief then. With this, I can be honest.”
“What do you mean?” -Siegfried-
He asked, a bit curious but otherwise confused judging by the tone.
“I mean, I can tell you that I’m not a human race player.”
He whipped his head in an instant straight towards me taking a second or two to digest before giving out the widest grin.
“You too???!!!” -Siegfried-
He has an excited smile while speaking incredibly quickly unleashing a barrage of questions.
“Whatkindofraceyouare?Howdidyougetit?Igotanuglyracebutmanitwasfuntodo.Butwhyisyouravatarlooksveryhuman?Imeaniamthesametoobutitsbecauseihaveanabilitytodoso.” -Siegfried-
I can only stare in amazement at how he can speak so fast. He’s probably a good rapper as it seems Siegfried realizes what he’s doing.
“Ah... *Ehem* *ehem* it is quite rare to encounter others whose not a human race so...” -Siegfried-
“Hahaha... I think I can understand that. Well, I am what the Devs called a Primordial Race.”
He nodded while we were still travelling into the depths of Beast Cave.
“Ooooh! What does it do? Any kind of Sub-Race?” -Siegfried-
He then turned his head to glance at me with an excited smile.
(“Well, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to that enthusiastic expression.”)
“Hmmm... I don’t know much about it besides the description telling me it’s one of the oldest races embodying an aspect. In my case though, my Sub-Race or ‘Aspect’ is an Aspect of Creation. They are kind of hyperbolic in terms of flavour text... I mean it said I’m able to create worlds and universes. What about you? What’s your race?”
Siegfried flexes his fist while muttering under his breath as his hand visibly changes sizes from incredibly muscular then turn slimmer with long slender fingers. With a grin on his own seeing the changes.
“Mine is called Morphling Race and its Sub-Race is called Biological. It is said to be a race that focuses on mimicking things around it. The biological thing described mimics living beings and morphs their body. A bit gorey in the flavour text though...” -Siegfried-
I took a sigh of relief eliciting a questioning reaction from Siegfried as I explained why.
“Haaaa! What a relief, I thought my eyes were going bad when I saw your legs or body changed sizes during our battles.”
He laughed while rubbing the back of his head with the malformed hand as it turned back to its usual size.
“I kind of tried my hardest to minimise the use of this ability. It would be awkward wouldn’t it?” -Siegfried-
“True~ but we know we are both non-human.”
“I can go all out on my transformation!” -Siegfried-
He said it with great enthusiasm as he led the way deeper into the cave.
--
We continue trudging through the Beast Cave, so far it is a simple straight path until we encounter a split road.
“Huh... Left or Right?”
Siegfried rubbed his chin deep in thought as I also ruminated on which direction.
(“I always choose left in terms of exploration. But I don’t know what he’s going to choose.”)
Before I can voice what I decide...
“Let’s go left, right always leads to the objective. What do you say?” -Siegfried-
“I completely 100% agree. Shall we?”
“Haha....” -Siegfried-
-Left Route-
“Careful, I sense 6 enemies up front.” -Siegfried-
“Got it!”
Clutching my staff I aimed it at the cluster of green-skinned creatures.
“[Icy Burst]!!!”
Once the cast bar was full, a blast of unbridled cold shoot from the tip of my staff and engulfed half of the goblins in sheets of white ice. The original target of mine has crumbled from the spell while others beside it survived.
Like many of the ‘Burst’ spells, they deal higher damage akin to upgraded ‘Bolt’ spells but they also have a little bit of splash to the ones caught up. Haaa... I wish I could cast [Fire Ball] and a higher AoE spell but I’m limited to this at the moment.
Thankfully, they are quite close to each other so I can get a few of them.
“KIEEEEEEE!!!” -Goblin-
It shouted upon discovering my intervention as Siegfried grumbled under his breath. Since we’re close I can hear it faintly...
“[Morph: Monstrous Speed]”
His originally lanky legs turned slimmer and became a digitigrade as he quickly dashed in the blink of an eye. He’s already in front of the goblin's group.
Even though I couldn’t hear what he was saying from this far, I could tell he was ‘Morphing’ again as his build changed.
“Siegfried!!”
“Yeahh!!???” -Siegfried-
We needed to yell a bit from this distance as I could see several more goblins spawned from the tents.
“More Goblins!!!!!!! I’ll give you these [Regeneration] [Fortify] [Resistance]”
I shouted as I aimed my staff at Siegfried, his body glowed in myriad lights applying the buffs.
(“It is not just him that can show off! Hehehe...”)
“Thanks!” -Siegfried-
He smiled happily dealing with the waves of goblins while I started to shoot the tents with [Fire Bolt] preventing more goblins from spawning.
After a while of constant spells slinging and Siegfried displaying his prowess in martial arts. We managed to eliminate all the goblins.
“Fiuf... done, it could’ve gotten hairy with that many goblins.”
Using my staff as a cane for me to lean on. I tiredly closed my eyes for a bit, after all, some long-ranged goblins managed to slip past Siegfried and aimed at me.
If not for my [Star Shield] I would’ve taken a chunk of damage. But I don’t want to waste my mana potion, so in return, we’re sitting here recuperating.
“True... hmmmm. Wait... Magie, so you can use other classes’ {Spell}?” -Siegfried-
(“Oh! He noticed it too...”)
“Yes, my ability described that I can use {Spell} without restriction. Kind of vague but I discovered that I can cast other classes’ {Spell}.”
“Oooohhhhhhhh... that is pretty handy. We wouldn’t need a priest member than with this.” -Siegfried-
He nods to himself, seeming to be deep in thought with a small smile on his lips.
(“I’m glad I can be of help.”)
“All right! I’m full in SP I think... Let’s go?” -Siegfried-
I checked myself and the sensations of drowsiness. I feel normal at the moment unlike what I was moments ago.
“Yup!”
-10 minutes passes (Left Route)-
“Ah! It’s a dead end. Shall we turn back?”
In front of us is just a wall of stone adorned by countless stalagmites and stalactites. Constant water dripping from the top echoes in the tunnel.
My [Light] spell illuminates the whole area coupled with goblin-made torches.
Siegfried stays behind as he rubs his chin while I’m also looking around if there are any secrets.
“Magie! Hold!!” -Siegfried-
“Wha- What!?”
I just stopped moving like a statue as he said that.
“Try to step back and move to your right.” -Siegfried-
Following his suggestion, I didn’t see anything until Siegfried said it.
“AHA! There you go, a part of the wall has a different colour...” -Siegfried-
He pointed in the direction as I stole a glance at it and indeed this one has a lighter colouration compared to the others.
“Hehehe... Let’s break it!” -Siegfried-
He has an eager smile on his face, spawning a pickaxe on the other hand.
*CLINK* *CLANK* *CLINK* *BAM*
A part of the wall caved in after handling an onslaught from me and Siegfried. Although a bit small, I can peek through it as I lean my head to see what’s beyond.
Then I felt a pressure on my head as I looked up and saw Siegfried followed along but put his chin on my hair.
“Haaa... I am not a chin rest you know!”
“I just want to take a look too!!!” -Siegfried-
--
Beyond the small crack is a dark and dingy chamber. From here I can hear drips of water falling from the ceiling and-
*CRASHHHHHH*
“WHOAAAAA...”
“Watch out!!” -Siegfried-
I felt a strong force pulling me away. Before the entire wall caved in.
“Ugh...”
“You’re okay?” -Siegfried-
“Yeah, thanks for the save!”
“Don’t mention it. But! I think we discovered a hidden area.” -Siegfried-
We entered the hole and I could see everything in its entirety. Lights from the goblin-made torches reveal a shadowy figure in the middle of this large cavernous chamber.
“This... 100% a boss battle.”
My gaming instinct is screaming at me. Big open spaces like this almost always lead to a big battle.
“Agreed... Hmmm is that the boss?” -Siegfried-
He stepped forward while staring at the front...
“GRRRRRRR....” -
A growl coming from beneath the earth echoes and Siegfried assumes his stance while I step to the side readying myself to what’s coming.
Glancing at our front, I can see a large hulking figure as big as a mammoth but the shadows hid its appearance. Ominous music began to play in the background and the previously broken down wall rebuilt itself sealing ourselves here.
“Welp. There goes our escape route.”
I jokingly mention that Siegfried's smile gets wider and wider seeing the creature in front.
“Looks Amazing... Wow....” -Siegfried-
He said in amazement while I stared at the emerging creature.
Four-legged beast, its claws resemble those of a lion albeit supersized. And... are those... heads?
My eyes aren’t tricking me, the creature has the front head of a fearsome lion complete with its magnificent mane then on its back sprouts the head of a goat alongside a change in the colour of the golden fur into a black one. At the end, I can see a tail. No... It looked like a tail covered in scales and...
“*HISSSSSSS*” -Chimera-
The tail’s end is the head of a snake hissing straight at us.
(“Oh? The tail is a snake, a live one at that. Suffice it to say this creature has 3 heads.”)
Soon enough, a ping in the system can be heard.
-System-
Congratulations, you have discovered ‘Hidden Boss’
Many dungeons contain secrets one of which is a hidden boss. Upon conquering the hidden boss, it will be counted as completing the dungeon.
There will be extra rewards for the ones who find secrets in the dungeon.
[Chimera (LV10)] HP: 100%/100%
-System-
It seems Siegfried has also read the system’s notice as his smile gets wider showing off his pearly whites.
(“Now that I think about it, I haven’t met up with my dentist for a year... It’s so damn expensive.”)
“GRAAAAAAAWWWRRRR...” -Chimera-
My attention was taken away by that particular roar. The cavern’s walls tremble from its resounding voice. Several dangling stalactites fall to the ground with Siegfried dodging some of them and I cast a [Shield] spell to protect myself.
“[Weaken]”
“[Vulnerability]”
The image of the chimera is enveloped by a multi-coloured aura then accompanied by the sounds of glass breaking.
Siegfried muttered something under his breath and changes on his body were fully visible in my eyes. His usual lanky built bulges to tightly fit the standard tunic and breeches.
I guess that’s why his clothes were tattered...
Before I can cast an offensive {Spell}, Siegfried’s already up close and personal with the lion’s part of the chimera.
Sharp claws of the lion swiped at Siegfried and he blocked it!? I’m pretty sure that’s a skill. I think. His HP didn’t decrease, so I don’t need to worry then.
“BAAAAAAAAAA!” -Chimera-
My attention changed to the source of that sound, right towards the back of the chimera where the goat’s head is.
It bleats and its menacing voice echoes within the cavern walls. Beside the glowing blue sparks coming from its mouth. In my eyes, I can see a cast bar and a name after squinting my eyes a bit to focus on what I’m seeing.
(“It says... [Lightning Strike].”)
“Sieg! It’s gonna cast a [Lightning Strike] watch out!”
Shouting at the top of my lungs, I sidestepped and began casting a spell of my own to retaliate. I don’t know what kind of {Spell} it is but I believe it is a higher form of [Lightning Bolt].
“[Fortify] [Resistance] [Regeneration]!!!”
It is now Siegfried’s turn to have his avatar clad in various colours signifying the buff has been applied.
Aiming my staff at the head of the goat, I began casting a spell. Hoping to interrupt the boss’ spell casting.
“[Flame Burst]!!”
Coincidentally, the goat’s head shining mouth began to spark electricity while my staff accumulated fire.
“GRAAAAAAAA...” -Chimera-
The lion’s head of the chimera roared once more and their? Yep, their body glowed in golden lights. From the boss’ status bar, there’s a buff added and it swiped to Siegfried’s waist.
“GUHHH! That kind of stings.” -Siegfried-
Lacerations visual effects emerge from where he got it.
“Siegfried!? You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” -Siegfried-
He retaliates by giving some jabs and kicks. Including dodging the boss’ swipes and bite attacks. Keeping the attention on him.
I can’t exactly cancel my {Spell} to weave in healing spells.
Once my cast bar is completed.
*WHOOOSH* *BOOOM*
I hurled a condensed ball of orange fire and it hit the goat’s head. Upon making contact with it, the fire explodes engulfing the head with orange flames and promptly disperses leaving behind small scorch marks.
“BAAAAAAA...” -Chimera-
It echoed once more and in my eyes, its cast bar was also filled.
(“Figures... I can’t interrupt a boss’ {Spell}”)
In a split second, the ground below me sparks electricity and...
*BZZZZZTTTTT* *BLAAARRRRR*
“MAGIE!?”
Siegfried's panicked voice echoed in the cavern walls but...
I cannot see anything because my vision is pure white, besides the ear-splitting sounds of thunder rumbling in the cavern.
My body stings as if I got zapped by static electricity. Then it dissipates as quickly as it comes. Allowing me to see Siegfried still maintaining the boss’ attention while I quickly analyse the situation.
I see now... It seems the spell [Lightning Strike] called forth a bolt of lightning from above to ‘strike’ a target and its surroundings.
I’m glad that I am not near Siegfried.
“Mag? You good?” -Siegfried-
He is keeping the boss agro and asked that question out of worry. It is strange though, that he deals minuscule damage to the boss even if his legs and arms have turned bulkier.
“Yeah, I have resistance to magic attacks so I’ll be fine.”
Similarly, it seems my spell didn’t cause too much damage to the boss...
“Odd... I didn’t deal that much damage as I expected.”
“Me too, this is strange. Hmmm... Wait! Could it be!?” -Siegfried-
He dashed back and changed the shape of his legs into a lithe form before jolting in.
“Hap!” -Siegfried-
With quick movements, he used the body of the chimera as a jump pad to reach the goat’s head and made a heavy axe kick to its skull.
“BAAAAAAAA!!!” -Chimera-
It screamed and the boss’ HP got downed in a hefty amount.
“GRRRRRRR.... HISSSSSSS” -Chimera-
The snake’s head opened its mouth of spewed a cloud of poison mist covering the chimera.
“Siegfried!???”
“I’m okay!” -Siegfried-
He propelled backward but in the party system, he’s been inflicted with poison.
“TCH! That’s a bit annoying.” -Siegfried-
Damn it! I forgot to bring antidotes. Hold on a minute...
“[Cure]!!”
I copied what the PKer Priest did. Even if it fails, it is worth trying after all unlike my other {Trait} the light element has reached Tier 3.
The de-buff poison from Siegfried vanished quickly as I weave in [Heal].
“Thanks!” -Siegfried-
“No worries~ Now we know each of the heads has their weaknesses.”
With a firm nod from Siegfried, he muttered beneath his breath and his body morphed once more.
Truth be told, it looks kind of creepy and amazing at the same time when you take a good look at it.
(“Right! Back on the battle.”)
“I assume the lion’s head is weak to magic then.”
“[Flame Burst]”
While Siegfried kept the chimera distracted, I continued to hurl a condensed ball of flame. Unlike a [Fire Ball] though, the AoE of this {Spell} is smaller so I don’t need to worry about the friendly fire.
“GRAAAAAA...” -Chimera-
The lion’s head shakes its scorched head in pain getting ‘stunned’. It’s HP down by quite a bit but this chance is important!
“Siegfried GO!!!”
“Heh, on it!” -Siegfried-
He jumped once more and gave a spinning kick to the goat’s head. Dealing more damage to the boss.
“HISSS..” -Chimera-
The snake’s head lunged at an incredible speed and bitten Siegfried’s waist inflicting a different de-buff with a similar colour scheme and icon image of [Poison].
“[Cure]!!!”
“Hah!? The de-buff didn’t vanish?”
Siegfried pursed his lips as he dunked down a Vitality Potion. It seemed to be a stronger de-buff judging by the amount of HP the boss’ had.
I think we have reached its somewhat second phase. Knowing this, I kept maintaining Siegfried’s HP by weaving in [Heal] in between offensive spells.
“BAAAAAAAAA!!!!” -Chimera-
The goat’s head bleats once more and its voice reverberating within the cavern walls. The cast bar appeared on the boss’ name but before it can finish it...
Siegfried seemed to have taken the initiative, must be because he wanted this to end as soon as possible knowing the persistent worsening de-buff.
He closes the gap quicker than expected before climbing Chimera’s body straight towards the goat’s head. He then muttered something under his breath. In doing so, his legs turn incredibly muscular as if he’s been training them for days on end.
*BAAAAMMMMM*
It made a resounding sound after Siegfried made contact while giving a spinning kick to the goat’s head.
Almost immediately, the goat’s head went silent and limp even though the boss’ still had its HP.
(“I see... they share HP but each of the heads has ‘Threshold’ when taking damage.”)
“[Flame Burst]!!”
Hurling a condensed sphere of fire, it exploded on the face of the tiger charring it and the head growls while staring right at me.
“Hey! You and me.” -Siegfried-
He called out and gave a mocking gesture. Curving his fingers he asked for the chimera’s attention.
“GRRRRRRRR....” -Chimera-
The lion sprinted to Siegfried and almost chomped at him. Yet, with a significant ‘morphing’ of his form he elusively dodges. While I begin to hurl another barrage of [Flame Burst].
“HISSSS...” -Chimera-
As if saying ‘Do not ignore me’ the snake’s neck bulges and spits a blob of icky green muck at an incredible speed as fast as a bullet straight towards-!
“[Shield]!!!”
In instinct, I cast that spell which a blue dome instantly erected and I can see the greenish-black muck splashes on the surface.
And... It melted?!
With an equally menacing hiss on its own. It is clear to me that I do not want ‘that’ to come in contact with me whatsoever.
I hurled several [Flame Burst] at the lion managing to reduce its HP to be around a quarter or less. While avoiding the continuous ranged attack from the snake.
“HISSSSS....”
Its eyes glowed including the lion’s head roaring as loud as it could as if saying a command. Then the snake curled itself and bit the chimera’s body. The neck of that snake bulges as if delivering poison yet I can see the HP of the chimera begin to recover.
“Sieg-!”
Before I could tell him that, he already morphed his bulky legs into slimmer form and bolted to the curled snake.
Upon reaching close enough to the snake, his hand transformed into a bulkier version and gripped its neck tightly almost choking the snake as Siegfried forcibly ripped the snake from biting itself.
With that, the HP recovery stopped and I still hurled a barrage of [Flame Burst] until the lion’s head was no more. Covered entirely by soot and black smoke visual effects as the whole body of the chimera fell.
Its HP is just a splinter knowing the snake’s head was still lively as ever, Siegfried simply crushed it by clenching his fist and the entire body of the chimera vanished.
-System-
You have defeated [Chimera (LV10]
Contributors;
Siegfried Calenus
Magie Magia
Giving Rewards...
Completed.
-System-