Core of Knowledge

The report provided by the Viaggia Adventurer Guild stated that each adventurer had an hour to complete a one-thousand-piece puzzle in the Lake Room. This room, whatever it would be called in the future, was different. For one thing, there was only one puzzle.

One big jig-saw puzzle that all four members of The Young Nobles would need to complete together. Looking at the puzzle in front of him, Alessandro estimated that there were about three thousand pieces, and The Young Nobles were only given two hours to complete the whole thing.

Three thousand pieces for one puzzle. Considering that there were four of them doing the puzzle, the additional pieces make sense. Given time, Alessandro was certain his party would complete it. Time was the problem.

Alessandro looked up at the image above him, and the time left. He shook his head, there was only half an hour left. The leader of The Young Nobles looked at his friends. Simone and Roberto look to be enjoying themselves, and Bellino was still working hard at the puzzle, but it was clear to Alessandro it would not be enough. Before they came in, The Young Nobles did not believe they had the right Skills and Spells to complete the puzzle on time.

It seems that they were right.

“Let’s abandon this.” His friends looked up at Alessandro who pointed at the image above them. They looked up and saw the time remaining.

“Yes, we have more than a third of the puzzle to go. We are not going to complete it in time.” Bellino sighed in acceptance.

Simone looked ready to argue, but a shake of the head from Roberto told the [Mage] he would be on his own on this.

“So, what do we do? Just wait here for the time to go down?” Simone frowned in annoyance.

That was a good question, and Alessandro took a moment to consider it. The Young Nobles could wait here, but that could be what the dungeon core wanted. The Young Nobles were in a big clearing in a strange forest, and Alessandro would rather not fight in such a location if given a choice. The enemy could come at them from any direction.

“Let’s take the path to the end of this room.” Alessandro finally said.

“Why?” Bellino asked.

“Because this clearing is not defensible.” Alessandro indicated the bamboo trees surrounding them, and his point was quickly accepted. “If this room is anything like the Lake Room, then we would be facing a Boss, and it could come at us from any direction. Let’s see if we can find a better location at the end of the floor.”

The Young Nobles picked up their weapons and began to walk. The path out of the clearing was narrow and uneven, and the party soon found themselves having to step over several large stones. However, with the slight breeze and the magical lights from the ceiling, Alessandro would have called it a relaxing walk if they weren’t in a dungeon.

Eventually, the path came to an end, and the party walked out of the forest. The Young Nobles found themselves in another clearing, standing in front of a large, stone door. It was the end of the floor, and along the stone walls of the room was the door. The Young Nobles knew this door was the exit and approached it carefully. They examined the door but could find no indication on how to open it.

“Must be magical,” Simone finally said. “It will only open when we complete the puzzle or defeat the Boss.”

“Well, completing the puzzle is out. That leaves the Boss, and it won’t be long before the timer runs out. We won’t be able to find a better spot. We’ll need to make our stand here.” Roberto said as he looked at the forest behind them.

“This is as good a place as any. At least the door will protect our backs, and the Boss will need to come at us from the forest.”

Alessandro agreed and stepped up alongside Roberto. Simone and Bellino stood behind the two [Knights], both knowing their roles in the coming fight. Simone would oversee defence, casting defensive and buff spells on the [Knights], while Bellino have offensive duties.

Time stretched but before long, Alessandro heard sounds coming from the bamboo forest. From the report of the Adventurer Guild, Alessandro knew this should be a Boss, and he felt his muscles tensing up at the coming battle. The monster, the Boss, appeared. Alessandro thought it was a troll at first, but it was not. It was more than that. Stranger than that. Weirder than that.

Cuter than that.

The Boss of the room was around two meters tall from its feet to the top of its head. Walking on two legs, it was furry, with contrasting patches of black and white throughout its body. Alessandro could see black patches of fur at its ears and eyes, and its legs, shoulders, and tail were also black. However, the rest of its body was white.

The Boss was huge, with a wide upper body that would not be out of place on a troll. It had a big stomach, but Alessandro had no doubt it was brimming with power. The Boss’s face was strange. It had the face of a bear, but with contrasting black and white fur, it looked more cute than fearsome, and even gave Alessandro a sense of nobility. A sense that was assisted by the colour of its eyes. They were alien, nothing but orbs of emerald green.

In fact, almost everything about the Boss was strange. So strange that it took Alessandro a moment before realizing the Boss was wearing clothes. The Boss had a pair of brown pants and was wearing a wide brimmed conical straw hat. It even had a reed in its mouth.

No wonder they said this dungeon was a strange one.

As strange as the Boss was, it was impressive, and it was more to it than just looks. Alessandro could feel it. The Boss may looked fat and furry, but it had power, a force so powerful it just overshadowed almost anything the knight had felt before. A power that was just waiting to be unleashed upon him and his friends. For the first time, Alessandro regretted entering this room.

They were going to die to this Boss.

For a moment, no one said anything as the Boss eyed The Young Nobles. Then, it smirked and started to walk towards them. Alessandro did not know why, but he just knew there was something abnormal about the Boss from the way it walked. He thought it may be the fact that the Boss was walking on two legs, but Simone noticed something else.

“Look at the grass beneath it’s feet.”

Alessandro’s eyes glanced downwards at the whisper, and he saw that the Boss was walking on the grass without bending the blades. Something that should not be possible.

Just as Alessandro thought this, Bellino raised his staff and took aim at the Boss. The Boss raised a hand almost immediately. Alessandro saw a layer of tough bark materialized on the body of the Boss, and a colossal wooden staff appeared in his hand. Levelling the staff like a knight in a joust, the monster began to sprint toward The Young Nobles. With every step, the grass beneath the monster’s feet grew.

Seeing the Boss, clad in bark armor, sprinting towards them, Alessandro immediately moved to intercept it. At that moment, his feet got caught, and Alessandro tripped. He fell to one knee, and from the corner of his eye, Alessandro saw that although the Boss was more than twenty metres away, the grass on the ground around The Young Nobles had reached a height that would cause them problems with their footing.

A bolt of lightning streaked above Alessandro’s head. Bellino had shot a spell at the Boss, but it was undeterred. The Boss did not dodge or evade. It simply swung the spear in his arms, spinning it at speed in front of its body, creating a swirling circle as it continued its charge. The spell hit the swirling spear, and broke. Alessandro saw it happened and felt a chill.

The Boss has a way to negate spells.

Something broke. Fear engulfed him, despair threatened to overwhelm him, and his body froze in response. Alessandro knew he needed to stand, he wanted to stand, but he could not. Something told him the other members of his party felt the same. They were no match for this Boss.

Then, a circle of light appeared around Alessandro. He blinked, turned his head and saw that Simone had cast a spell on him.

“Get up!” Simone shouted.

It was a spell! I was bespelled by the Boss! The Boss is a spell caster!

These thoughts sprinted through his mind as Alessandro struggled to stand up. Relying on the strength and pride of his class, Alessandro finally shook off the effects of the Boss and stood up. A quick glance told him that the others were still struggling to do the same. Alessandro stepped forward to meet the Boss’s charge.

The Boss saw Alessandro, but it did not stop. However, it did turn slightly to charge directly at Alessandro. Alessandro was taken aback. He was surprised that the Boss had come straight at him. Did it not know he was a [Knight]? Did the dungeon core not inform the Boss of what a [Knight] could do?

Three metres away, the Boss suddenly jumped in the air. It raised its staff above its head and swung it downwards towards Alessandro. Alessandro angled his shield to meet the swing of the staff.

[Meet The Challenge]. [Reflective Shield].

Activating his skills, Alessandro effortlessly turned the staff aside and seized the opportunity to counter. As the Boss landed, Alessandro took a quick step towards the Boss. His sword lit up with a brilliant yellow glow.

[Strike of Honour]