"Let me go! Let me go!"
A wretched wail echoed from the humanoid cloud of smoke.
Ting-a-ling
Ting-a-ling
Kael rang the bell twice more, and the spirit's struggles finally subsided.
[System]: You have captured a specter. It seems to be related to the secrets of this cavern.
Quest updated: [Delve into the Secrets of the Abandoned Mine].
Seeing the notification, Kael finally relaxed. He remembered the story of how this dungeon came to be.
In his past life, the world of Godpath hadn't had a single dungeon under level 15. It wasn't until the third year of the game's release that a Necromancer, just messing around in a starting village, had sensed a specter deep within this very mine.
After using his skills to subdue the spirit, he unexpectedly received the quest to delve into the mine's secrets. Upon completing it, he unlocked the entire server's first-ever level 10 Dungeon.
The server-wide announcement had stunned everyone. Players flooded back to the starting villages to unlock the dungeon, discovering all sorts of interesting items in the process.
Originally, only Necromancers could trigger the event. But then a legendary player known as Nightmare, the self-proclaimed "Ghost King," developed a method that any player could use. For a long time after, the starting zones were insufferably crowded, and new players complained nonstop.
This discovery kicked off a server-wide craze, with players everywhere trying to unlock new dungeons, unearthing countless other hidden quests in the process.
Seeing that the specter was no longer resisting, Kael spoke. "Who are you? Why does your spirit linger here?"
The specter replied, its voice a hollow whisper. "My name is Greg. I was once the captain of the village guard. I was betrayed by a wicked man and murdered in this place."
"Then why don't you pass on?" Kael asked.
Greg's spirit sighed. "It is not that I do not wish to, but that I cannot. A fragment of my soul is imprisoned within the belly of a Putrid King. I can never know peace until it is freed."
"Where is this Putrid King?" Kael asked. "How do we find it?"
"That is the easy part," the spirit whispered. "Remove the Sigil of Repose from my form."
Kael reached out and peeled the sigil away.
Freed from its binding, Greg's spirit shot into the air. It hovered for a moment, then plunged violently into the cavern floor. The ground began to shake, and a dark fissure split the earth. A moment later, a colossal zombie clawed its way out of the hole.
[Putrid King]: Level 12
HP: 50000
Phys. Attack: 502
Phys. Defense: 322
Mag. Defense: 122
The Putrid King roared at Greg's spirit, which now floated near the cavern ceiling. A wave of gut-wrenching stench washed over Kael and Hazel, nearly making them gag.
Remembering something, Kael initiated a trade with Hazel.
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"What's up?" she asked, confused.
Kael traded her ten pieces Prime Steak. "These heal for 500 HP. Use them if you get in trouble."
"Okay!"
The Putrid King was now fully upright. Kael didn't hesitate, drawing his bow and letting loose a Double Shot.
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The massive creature looked down, its dead eyes registering the two tiny humans before it. It roared in fury, and with a flick of its wrist, a fifteen-yard-long iron chain materialized in its hand, lashing out toward Kael.
CLANG!
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The chain was intercepted by shield, sending sparks flying. Even with Hazel's 240 defense and her 10% physical damage reduction, the hit still took off over 200 of her health. If that had hit Kael, he would have lost half his life.
Hazel drank a health potion and stood firm.
[Health Potion]: Restores 200 HP. Cooldown: 3 seconds.
The boss's attack power was high, but its swing speed was slow, striking only once every three seconds. The healing from her potions almost perfectly offset the damage.
On the rare occasion it landed a critical hit, she would eat a piece of the steak Kael gave her. The fight was tense, but they were never in any real danger, though she was burning through her potions quickly.
While the Putrid King's damage was staggering, Kael's own damage output was just as impressive. In the three-second window between the boss's attacks, he could fire three arrows, dealing between 1,000 and 1,300 damage. He fired methodically, keeping a close eye on the boss's health bar.
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To avoid pulling aggro, Kael occasionally had to stop attacking altogether, letting Hazel build more threat while her skills were on cooldown. Luckily, the Putrid King's initial attack pattern was simple, and the fight proceeded smoothly.
When the boss's health hit 30,000, it suddenly stopped attacking.
"Hazel, listen!" Kael shouted. "It's about to spawn adds! Do not try to aggro them!"
The Putrid King raised its hands above its head and held the pose for five seconds. Suddenly, four Zombie Overseers clawed their way out of the ground around it. For a Normal party, four surprise elite mobs would be a death sentence. But with her high defense, Hazel wasn't worried. The 210 attack power of the Overseers couldn't even scratch her.
However, as the first one struck her, she realized it wasn't that simple.
[Lash]: Reduces target's movement speed by 10% and physical defense by 20.
The seemingly minor debuff had a hidden property: it stacked.
As all four Overseers hit her, her armor was suddenly reduced by 80 points. The next blow from the Putrid King's chain ripped away over 300 of her HP.
"Help!" she yelled. "My defense is tanking!"
"Don't worry, I'm pulling them now!" Kael said with a laugh. "Just don't use any threat abilities!"
He fired a single arrow into each of the four Overseers, and they immediately turned their attention to him. He began backpedaling, kiting the four elite mobs away from the boss. His movement speed was 6.2, while the Overseers' was 3.5.
With the 35-yard gap between them, he should have been able to handle them easily. However, firing an arrow forced him to pause for half a second. To maintain maximum damage, his average movement speed would drop to 3.1, slower than the zombies.
This meant that every few seconds, he had to stop attacking entirely just to reposition and regain his distance.
A fight that should have taken one minute dragged on for nearly two. For Kael, the extra time made little difference, but for Hazel, alone with the Putrid King, it was an eternity.
When Kael was there, his Heart of the Ocean lit up the entire cavern. Now that he was gone, her small torch was the only light source, making the hulking boss in front of her seem even more terrifying in the flickering shadows. She didn't dare look at it, focusing only on drinking a potion every three seconds to keep her health topped off.
Thankfully, the Putrid King didn't use any new abilities, sticking to its basic attacks.
When Kael finally finished off the last Overseer and returned, the cavern once again became bright. The moment he re-entered the fight, the Putrid King roared, gripped its chain tightly, and spun in a full circle.
[Putrid King Lash]
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"Ah! That hurts!" Hazel cried out as half her health bar disappeared in an instant.
This was the boss's phase-two ability, an AoE that triggered after the four Overseers were killed, dealing massive damage to all enemies within a 20-yard radius. For most parties, that range would hit their archers, mages, and even their priests. Without anticipating it, a team could wipe in a single hit.
Kael, of course, knew all about the ability and wasn't concerned. For him and Hazel, it wasn't a real threat.
He resumed his assault, and the Putrid King's health began to melt.
25,000…
18,000…
9,000…
As the boss's health approached 5,000, Kael stopped firing. "Fall back!" he yelled to Hazel. "Now!"
Hazel didn't understand. The boss was about to die; why weren't they finishing it off? But she didn't hesitate, slowly backing away with her shield raised.
Just as she reached the entrance to the tunnel, Kael fired one last arrow.
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The Putrid King's health dropped below 5,000. It froze, let out a deafening roar, and the solid rock floor of the cavern began to churn as if it had turned to soft mud.
"RUN!" Kael screamed. "Turn around and run!"
Hazel quickly unequipped her shield to move faster and sprinted after him down the tunnel. She didn't dare look back. "What's happening?!"
Kael glanced over his shoulder. "The boss is going berserk!"
