[???'s subordinate (Epic-Boss)]
[Details:] A powerful being, he had been waiting in this room for the past hundreds of years, waiting for a person worthy of his Emperor's Forsaken Legacy.
Looking at the boss's stats in front of him, Arthur gulped loudly.
"Five...hundred...health points." He muttered.
"Honestly... Why don't you make him immortal, because what in the world am I mean to do with my damage," He said, in frustration glancing at his own stats after levelling up to level three.
[Talent:] Primordial Summoner (SSS), Lucky (SSS)
[Damage Resistance:] 7
[Attributes:] Strength 4, Agility 7, Vitality 7, Intelligence 11
[Attribute Points:] 2
[Equipment:] Dagger (Rare), Backpack (Uncommon), ...
"I can only do 4-8 damage to him after every attack depending on whether it's a critical hit or not, and I need to land at least 100 of those attacks to kill this skeleton." He muttered silently, as he looked at the cat in front of him grimly.
'Is she going to make a move?' He thought.
Looking at the cat, he hooked his head.
'Doesn't seem like it...'
He decided to ignore her for now and focused on what was in front of him.
Hank was on his shoulder, his eyes focused on the skeletal monster in front of them.
"Hank, I need you to do the same thing as usual."
"We will both attack at different intervals, we will keep making him change aggression so he wouldn't be able to hit one of us directly. Okay?" He said his voice urgent as he realised they didn't have much time before the skeleton was going to start attacking.
"You think I will wait for you to power up like some idiot?" He mused as he darted forward, his dagger flashing in an arc as it struck the skeleton's side.
"Nice one, Hank!" he called as Hank swooped down, slashing the skeletal figure with his talons before taking to the air again taking its aggression away from Arthur.
The skeleton swayed, turning its hollow eye sockets toward Hank in what might have been an irritation.
Arthur smirked, his confidence growing with every successful attack they did.
They were working in perfect sync, alternating their attacks and keeping the boss off balance.
The skeletal figure's bony hand swung out in a slow attempt to retaliate, but Arthur easily sidestepped the attack.
"This is almost too easy," Arthur muttered under his breath, feeling excited about the reward he was going to receive.
He tightened his grip on the dagger, waiting for another opening as Hank circled above, waiting for his next strike.
The boss's Health Points dropped under their constant attacks.
-7 HP -6 HP -10 HP (Critical)
Its health bar ticked lower and lower until...
"Nice Hank, we are halfway through his health bar. Just repeat the same steps again, and we can enjoy the rewards." Arthur couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.
He felt unstoppable. "You are nothing compared to me and Hank, you little piles of bones!" he taunted, circling the skeleton with a swagger that hadn't been there at the start of the fight.
"You can act all mysterious on that dusty throne of yours, but when it comes to fighting? You're nothing but an old bone."
Hank let out a triumphant shriek, diving down for another hit as Arthur stepped in close to land another blow himself. The boss staggered back under their assault, its frame rattling with each strike.
But then...everything changed.
The ground beneath Arthur's feet trembled violently, the tremor filling the whole room.
The candles lining the walls flickered and swayed, their light bending and twisting in erratic motion.
Pebbles fell from the ceiling, clattering against the floor as the room seemed to collapse.
"What's happening?" Arthur muttered, his grin vanishing as his confidence turned into unease.
He instinctively took a few steps back, putting some distance between himself and the boss, his eyes darting around the shaking room.
Even Hank faltered, flapping his wings hard to stay in the air.
A notification appeared in front of him, the words glowing ominously.
[???'s subordinate (Epic-Boss) has entered an enraged state.]
[Some intelligence has been restored! Attack power has doubled, and Health points have been reduced by half.]
Arthur's heart sank as the skeletal figure began to move differently.
Its motions were no longer sluggish and predictable.
It carried a sharpness and power that hadn't been there before.
The hollow eye sockets that had once felt empty now seemed to burn with a faint, eerie light as if a fragment of the being it once was had stirred awake.
"What is that light in its eye sockets," He thought, as he glanced at the faint, black flame in the boss's eyesocket.
"Oh, no. No, no, no!" Arthur exclaimed, clutching his dagger tightly as he backed away further.
"This wasn't part of the plan. It was meant to be an easy win, and an amazing reward."
The skeleton slowly straightened, standing taller than before, its bony frame exuding an aura of menace that made the room feel colder.
It turned its head toward Arthur with an unnerving motion, the faint light in its eye sockets locking onto him.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed that Arthur hadn't seen coming, it lunged.
Arthur barely managed to leap out of the way as the skeleton's massive, bony hand smashed into the ground where he'd been standing a moment before. The force of the impact cracked the stone floor, sending splinters of debris flying in every direction.
"Hank! Keep it distracted!" Arthur shouted, his voice filled with panic.
"10 HP lost, and I haven't even been hit directly. I don't want to find out how much I would have lost if I was hit directly... I might be even dead."
The hawk let out a sharp cry and dove at the skeleton's head, claws slashing at its exposed skull.
The skeleton didn't flinch.
Instead, it lashed out with a speed that caught even Hank off guard, its bony hand narrowly missing the hawk as he swerved out of reach.
Arthur felt his stomach churn at the evolution of the boss.
"This… this isn't good," Arthur muttered, gripping his dagger tightly as he tried to come up with a new strategy to counter the enraged boss.