[Before You Go Charging Ahead, You Should Distribute Your Attribute Points. You'll Need All The Strength You Can Get If You're Going After The Dungeon Bosss]
Joe was prepared to move but stopped when Syr dropped another notification. "Oh right, I leveled up didn't I?” Joe didn't have time to focus on his notifications when they first appeared, so it was a good thing Syr reminded him because he had forgotten about them. “Ok let's make this quick, show me my updated attributes."
[Updated Attributes]
?? Mana Pool:2,965 /4,640
? Skill: 89 → 93 (+2 Class Boost Attribute Points)
? Strength: 84 → 88( +10 Black Gloves Passive Boost Points)
? Speed: 84 → 88 (+10 Black Boots Passive Boost Points)
? Defense: 66 → 68 (+18 Black Sheep Passive Boost Points)
? Mental Strength: 62 → 64
?? Additional Attribute Points: 6
Joe blazed through the text, as he did. Bella said, “what's the hold up? Let's get this over with?” Her voice sounded agitated.
“Just give me a moment?” Joe said, having finished analyzing the window. “Alright Syr, give all of my additional attribute points to my defense attribute.”
Joe made this drastic choice purely because of the situation he was in. If for any reason Shelly could no longer maintain her skill, Joe would be poisoned. He needed to make sure his defense was the strongest it could be for when the unforeseen happened. He was confident in the rest of his attributes and based on the skill sets the mana plants posseessd, Joe didn't foresee being attacked with any psychological skills, so not upgrading his mental strength for the moment was probably a solid gamble.
[Updated Attribute]
?? Defense: 68 → 74
Joe nodded. Now he was ready.
A surge of mana enveloped Joe and his mana tool. It coursed through them both, revitalizing them with its energy. Joe's muscles tensed up as they absorbed the power. [Outsider’s Enhancement] “Alright let's go princess.”
[-215 Mana Pool Points]
[Current Mana Pool: 2,750]
[Total Speed: 98 → 178]
They both jolted forward simultaneously, Joe measured his steps slightly, allowing the princess to overtake him as he sprinted from her right side. As he studied the princess closely, he was surprised by her mana signature. It was small, really small. That was probably the reason it took him a while to register her signature when she first attacked them. Her mana was even lower than Franklin. Joe couldn't belive his eyes, the princess had to be suppressing it somehow. That's the only thing that made sense, because the power of her skill was way too powerful for a mana signature that low.
Sure enough, Joe was correct.
The princess's mana signature flared to life. It shone brightly, its azure glow was reflected in Joe's eyes. In just a few seconds, the princess's signature grew to match Joe's own.
The source of this revitalization seemed to be the princess's golden bracelets. They glinted sharply, moments before her mana signature skyrocketed. They must've been mana suppressors of some kind. And even with the mana the princess was displaying, Joe wasn't convinced. He believed that the princess had more mana in the tank than what she was showing. He had no way to confirm this due to the bracelets regulating her mana, but his gut instinct told him this was the case
From the princess's palms a bright blue light gathered. It started as flashing sparks before igniting into something fierce. Crackling with intensity, two rotating plates of fire lay suspended on top of the princess's palms. [Skill Activation: Flame Wheel]
As the speed of gyration increased, so did their size. When an army of plants came charging towards them, the princess hurled both her spinning plates.
They sizzled as they zipped through the air. The plates spun in unpredictable trajectories, they severed anything they came into contact with engulfing it in flames. More than 15 Mana Plants had their heads bisected as the plates soared through the air. But the princess wasn't done. She snapped her fingers and conjured a whip made of fire. [Skill Activation: Flame Whip] The whip was 5m long at first, but when the princess swung it, it grew to double the length. It hissed as it crashed into multiple plants, incinerating all of them on contact. With a smile on her face, the princess annihilated every plant in sight.
Joe was left to watch in awe.
He hated to admit it, but it was a sight to be hold. In just 30 seconds, Bella had slain all the mana plants.
But something went wrong.
Bella released an unhinged screech, the whip in her grasp suddenly whipped back and wrapped itself around her arm. It scorched her skin, causing her to cry out in agony as she collapsed to her knees.
But that wasn't the end of it.
The twin plates Bella threw made a sharp U–Turn. They swung back around to face their master. They were quicker through the air, and their size seemed to only increase as they got closer.
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“What the hell?” Joe was lost for words, they were both going to die.
Gritting his teeth, Joe threw himself in front Bella. He raised his blade and swung it twice diagonally. [Mana Tool Skill: Mana Slash] This produced two black arcs which collided with each other to form a massive X formation. With this, they zoomed through the air and they slammed into the incoming plates of fire.
[-400 Mana Pool Points]
[Current Mana Pool: 2, 350]
[Total Skill: 95 → 283]
There was a struggle as both skills pushed each other back and forth. Sparks flew and scattered, but eventually both skills ended up canceling each other out. Creating a momentary cloud of white smoke.
Joe whipped around to check on Bella. She winced as she clutched her arm, her sweat drenched her body. The grimace on her face said it all. She was in a world of pain.
Joe reached out his hand, then quickly pulled it back. He then did this again, as he was caught in two minds. He didn't want to see her burn like that, but he also didn't forget what she said and did to them. But ultimately his good side won out. He stepped closer and reached out trying to offer her his help.
“Don't touch me!” Bella shot back, before his hand even got close.
She closed her eyes as she tightened the grip on her arm. Her scream intensified, and a blue glow shot out from her golden bracelets. The glow concentrated around her arm, and seconds after it touched it, the flames dwindled and the flame whip lost its shape as the fire flickered out.
Bella opened her eyes, her chest was wheezing and caving in as she took deep breaths. Her body trembled as tears streaked down her face. Her head hung low, as she sat there—paralyzed.
“What are—” Joe's words were cut shot as [Outsider’s Perspective] jolted his senses. He quickly swung around and found giant roots crawling along the surface. There were more than 5 of them.
The Dungeon Bosss was finally attacking. [Skill Activation: Root Barrage]
The roots shot up and looked to bash into Joe's body from multiple angles. Joe used his mana tool to cut and deflect every root that came his way. His shoulders shuddered everytime he made contact with them. Everytime Joe countered, an even larger swarm of roots came his direction. Wave after wave, they had no intention of stopping.
Joe's black blade glowed as an inscription etched itself to the handle. The power of the rune coursed through the blade amplifying Joe's cutting power.
[You Have Released 1 Seal From The Mana Tool - The Black Blade.]
[-20 Mana Pool Points]
[Current Mana Pool: 2,330]
[Total Skil: 179 → 199]
This allowed him to cut and shred the roots much more easily. He kept this up untill all the roots were severed. Finally it was over.
At least that's what Joe thought,
But when Joe glanced down he could see lines of mana as roots traveled underground. “Shit!”
He immediately turned around, “Get up!” He shouted, but the princess didn't respond. A part of him wanted to just leave her out to die but ultimately, he chose another alternative. He grabbed her by her dress and flung her back as far as possible, she shrieked before she rolled and tumbled for a great distance. Joe couldn't be sure if bones weren't broke but someone Ike her didn't deserve gentle treatment. He then swung around to track the roots again, sure enough they had arrived.
Joe sheathed his blade before he performed a series of calculated back flips. The earth caved in as multiple roots shot out from the ground. They had pointy tips, acting no differently to blades. [Skill Activation: Piercing Roots]
Joe avoided all 8 of them before skidding across the earth.
All 8 roots contorted and wrapped around each other. They then spun around at rapid speed, cloaked in green mana the tip of the root glinted. They had formed what looked to be a giant wooden drill. [Skill Activation: Root Drill]
A gust of wind was formed as the roots spun. They then propelled themselves towards Joe looking to pierce right through his figure.
Joe did not turn back, he unsheathed his blade still coursing with the power of the rune. He channeled his mana through it and dashed forward, raising the blade he swung it with his all might. [Mana Tool Skill: Mana Slash]
[-200 Mana Pool Points]
[Current Mana Pool: 2,130]
A dark crescent arc raced through the air, it crashed into the incoming root drill. A massive shockwave rippled through the air on contact, the two skills pushed each other back and forth as they fought for supremacy. Ultimately Joe's skill won out, it carved into the drill, splitting the wood into two halves. The ground vibrated as the roots fell to the surface. Joe was left taking measured breaths, but even he knew there was no time to stop. He had to go all the way.
Joe blasted forward, his form a blur to the untrained eye. His eyes were solely focused on the Dungeon Boss.
[Skill Activation: Charge] All the mana covering he black blade was sucked into the mana tool. Joe's pace quickened as the 10 second charge began.
[10 Seconds Before The Charge Is Complete]
The Big Oak's trunk widened, the gaping hole gathered mana. After a few seconds a flurry of thorns were unleashed. The white thorns soared through the air, glinting sharply as they made their way to Joe.
Despite the thorns being bullet sized, Joe could see them all. He maneuvered his mana tool accordingly as he deflected the thorns that came his way.
But just because he could see them, didn't mean he could react to all of them. A few thorns found their mark, piercing Joe's thighs and arms. Each thorn drew out blood but Joe soldiered on through gritted teeth. He survived the Big Oak’s onslaught and kept going.
[5 Seconda Before The Charge Is Complete]
[You Have Been Poisoned.]
[The Big Oak's Poison Has Infiltrated Your System]
[The Skill (Cleansing) Is Assisting You To Flush Out The Posion From Your System]
[Your Body Is Developing A Tolerance For Poison]
Shelly's skill still flickered around Joe's form. It allowed Joe to keep pressing forward despite being poisoned by the Big Oak's thorns.
But that didn't last for long.
With Joe only 5m away. The Big Oak unleashed its signature skill. [Skill Activation: Cloud Of Death]
A purple smoke cloud surged towards Joe, it blew past his body, devouring him completely.
[The Skill (Cleansing) Has Been Disabled]
“Dammit”
With the smoke blocking Shelly's view, her skill became obsolete. The yellow glow around Joe flickered out. And he was left to fend by himself.
[The Black Oak's Poison Is Rapidity Spreading.]
A purple color slowly plagued Joe's cheeks. He came to a stop and his legs wobbled. His breathing was labored and his arms trembled. Even so, Joe pointed his blade forward. His eyes were blurry but he could make out the Dungeon Bosss's position via [Outsider’s Perspective]
All the mana from the black blade surged forth at double the quantity. [Charge Complete] It coalesced and concentrated at the tip of the blade. It formed a dark orb that only seemed go grow as the seconds went by. “Eat this you asshole!”
[Mana Tool Skill: Black Orb]
[Total Skill: 199 → 289]
The orb blasted forward, it blew through the smoke cloud dispersing it instantly. It whisked through the air as it approached the Big Oak.
But once again, the Dungeon Boss countered.
From its gaping trunk, green mana concentrated, the Big Oak then fired its own ball of mana and the two skills clashed. [Skill Activation: Nature Ball] They pushed each other back, and Joe watched on with one open eye. If his skill was overpowered. Then his fate was sealed.
The shockwave intensified but fortunately Joe's skill won out. It destroyed the Big Oak's skill before going on to collide against the Dungeon Boss
A huge blast occurred, and as the dust settled. The Dungeon Boss was reduced to nothing but dust.
Joe had won.
