The chamber was made of pure Titansteel. Gray-brown streaks arched wall-to-ceiling. The floor was a cross-section of the Tree itself—you could see dozens of huge rings spread across it, silver lines circling one after another. Deep finger-width fissures spanned its length.
The air was musty. It smelled of old wood. Strips of glowing vines sprawled over the ceiling like stadium lights.
At the center stood the Monster. If the Bark Sentinels were lightweights, this thing was a heavyweight. It towered nine feet tall. Its face—if you could call it that—was a smattering of coarse bark ridges. Its mouth was a stark line. It had no eyes. Little mosses fuzzed its lanky limbs. Its arms looked like spiked clubs.
𝔹𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕊𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕝 𝕆𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕕 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟟
𝕃𝕒𝕨:
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕎𝕠𝕠𝕕)
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕎𝕠𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝔹𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕎𝕠𝕠𝕕)
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕌𝕟𝕕𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕄𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝)
𝕄𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 (𝔼𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕒𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝)
𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕤:
ℝ𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪. 𝔻𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕤.
𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝔹𝕠𝕕𝕪 (ℙ𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝔾𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝. 𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕠𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕦𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖. 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝.
(!) 𝕀𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕨𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕊𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕙 (𝔸𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖) [𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕔]: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕝𝕪 𝕡𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕕-𝕦𝕡 𝕡𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕙 𝕚𝕟𝕗𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕝. 𝔸 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕧𝕖.
So it was another boxer. Like normal Bark Sentinels. Though this one seemed to be more of a brute—no 'martial arts master' type Skill. Just a really strong smash.
Zane hadn't gotten a good test of his new body yet. So far, nothing could even move him. This was a good chance. He gave Evan a look.
At this point Evan got the drill. He scampered off to the side. There he gave a little wave, ready to cheerlead. "You show 'em who's boss!"
Zane smiled a little. He found himself smiling a lot this dungeon raid. Maybe it was being around Evan with his new empathy Skill. It was like being around a bonfire of feeling; you couldn't help but feel warm.
Zane got his Chains out. No Axes. He just wrapped them around his fist like boxing wraps, then mashed them together to test them. They made a thick deep CLUNK. Good weight.
Then he set his arms on Stormfire and put on maximum density. Instantly he started sinking into the ground. It was a lot of weight, even for him. It took some effort to put his arms up.
The Monster began to stir. It seemed to react to the Stormfire. The lines on its face creased thicker. It let out a crackling groan, angling to face him. It put up its arms in turn.
He took a step. And sank half a foot into Titansteel. The whole chamber trembled; puffs of dust shook out from the ceiling.
The Overlord stepped too. The chamber shook then too. The ground sagged under its weight. Zane grinned.
He took another step, then another. So did the Overlord. And they were charging each other now full speed, sending quakes rippling down the chamber, clashing, rupturing in splintering splashes.
The Overlord struck first. It lunged; its arm swung like a baseball bat. And Zane ducked it. He uncorked his answer—and his fist landed clean.
𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 ℙ𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕙!
It sank into the belly of the beast, sank through the steel surface layer, then the crunchier, softer, stringier stuff underneath—and just kept going. Dense Steel Laws tried desperately to keep him out. But Zane was so heavy, so powerful now there was something undeniable about the punch—it kept breaking layer after layer, crunching and crackling as it went. It wasn't even that fast. But the momentum was monstrous. It finally ground to a halt the way a freight train pulls into a station.
By then he was elbow deep into the Monster's body. He blinked at it. The Overlord's body was reinforced Titansteel—woven through with Steely Density and Undying Might. And it felt like wallpaper. Huh.
Then it all erupted.
A grenade of Stormfire went off right in the middle of its body. He felt the energy blossoming up and out, ripping through everything it touched.
The Overlord's mouth gaped wide, and Zane saw a white-red glow steaming out of it—the Stormfire licking up its throat. This thing was done. That fast. It surprised even him.
Well—it was done for. Not quite done. He let down his guard a little too soon.
It raised that steel pillar of an arm, and the whole thing flared with Law, with essence. It had to be that smash Skill. He tried to pull his arm out. He couldn't manage it in time.
And it clobbered him in the head. CLUNK—CRACK!
It swung like a baseball bat. It hit like a baseball bat too. But with spikes on the end. Which felt just as unpleasant as he expected. It was the single hardest shot he'd ever taken straight to the face, and that was really saying something. His head whipped nearly all the way around. Blinding pain spiked up his temple; blood spattered out, blinding one of his eyes.
But somehow the Overlord felt in more pain than he was. Frowning, he looked up.
The thing hit him so hard it shattered its arm on his head. Huh.
It seemed to be a pattern with these Bark Sentinels. He finally yanked his arm out its body—just in time for the other spike-arm to smash him in the face. CLUNK-CRACK!
This time he face-planted straight into the ground.
His ears rang awfully. His head spun. His whole face felt like it was on fire. His skin was pretty cut up; he was dribbling blood all over his face. He was pretty sure his nose was broken. His cheekbone might be too.
𝕎𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘!
ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕙 𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝟟𝟝%!
That sucked.
But on the bright side, the Overlord's essence was an ebbing puddle. And it now had no arms—they were broken off at the elbows; a shattered halo of splinters and spikes lay strewn on the floor.
It'd just chucked its two best shots at him, by the looks of it. And he ate them head-on.
Other than his face being broken—which happens so often he kind of expected at this point—he was pretty okay. Better than okay—he felt good. He felt warm. He licked his lips.
Then the Monster started to freak out. Maybe from how not-dead he looked, or maybe from all the Stormfire roasting it from the inside. It came flailing at him in a panic. And he took it to task.
It swung blindly at him. Even without Sage Mind he would've seen it coming a mile off. He ducked and fed it a Stormfire fist—and this time, his fist made it all the way through, caught air on the other side. When he pulled it back out, there was a giant hole in the middle of its face.
It staggered back, flailing for balance. He leaped in and booted it in the chest. Just for fun. His foot went all the way through it—it felt like cardboard, this thing!
Then he just started blasting holes. Up its arms, up its chest, up its head. It started toppling and wobbling like it was drunk. Zane hunched in and walked it down. This was really fun; he liked this. He felt like some kind of indestructible Terminator. Other than his broken face. He was relentless; he just came on and on, brutalizing the thing. He blasted it twice to the head, taking off everything over the neck in beautiful violent arcs. Each shot sent wood chips spinning all over the place. Each shot made a new hole. CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Sometimes, he saw videos of those martial arts masters chopping wood blocks with their bare hands. He never really got the appeal of it until now. Except rather than plywood, he was hitting reinforced Titansteel. This was fun.
He was almost sad when it all smoked to white.
𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝕌𝕡!
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟝 -> 𝟡𝟞
That thing had been level 97.
He doubted anything under Level 100 could do much to him now. 100… He got the sense that was some kind of benchmark. A lot of people got stuck on 99. He got the impression the difference between 99 and 100 was not the difference between 98 and 99. Something changed there.
Hmm.
He wondered how he stacked up against those folks. Was anyone past Level 100? Maybe not. That Eze guy was World Rank 3, and he was still at 99—Reina said he was still breaking through in San Francisco, so…
'Titansteel Root', a B-grade treasure, lay in the middle of the chamber. Another Steel-comprehension treasure. Zane was picking up quite a lot of these things. First those Leaves, now this… he still had a play or two of that one Elder's recording too, didn't he? When he was ready to break through to Elemental he'd have a treasure trove at his disposal.
He picked it up and kept climbing.
***
They picked up some more Sap along the way. Soon the tunnels got tighter and tighter; the spirals got steeper too. The mini-map showed all kinds of tunnels crisscrossing around them, going out to ridges and platforms, winding back in. But theirs just kept going up.
After a while, he felt a little tug on the back of his shirt.
"Um Zane? Do you think we're past the clouds?"
He nodded.
They kept climbing, and the air started to change. You could feel it getting colder and colder—and quick too. And at a certain crispy freshness to it, like air on a snowy mountain peak. Frost started forming on the walls, on the floor…
Somewhere far above, there was open air.
They were getting close. This could be the final ascent.
Soon they started hearing thumps, crackles in the distance. He felt another little tug on the back of his shirt. "Um Zane?" It was Evan again, feeling nervous. Even more than usual. "Do you think that's the Final Boss?"
"Could be. Probably."
"…It sounds mad…"
More sounds streaming through. … Was that screaming?
Then the ground started to shiver. So did the walls. There was a deep groaning noise; it roared down the tunnel. And everything started to shake—as though they were stuck underground and an earthquake was starting. The ceiling started creaking; cracks croaked open, widening fast, spilling reams of dust.
Shit.
He scooped Evan up—Evan squealed as he did—and made sure to shield the boy with his body, so if something fell it wouldn't hit him. Then Zane ran for it. He poured in Volt Steps. Suddenly he was shooting up the quivering tunnel. In hindsight all this was kind of silly, since Evan was faster. Zane wasn't really thinking then; some protective instinct just kicked in.
Then a notification popped up.
𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕤𝕤 𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣. 𝔸 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝔹𝕠𝕤𝕤. 𝔸 𝕃𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕜 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕜 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕕𝕖𝕤. ,.
Zane only read it when he burst out onto the surface.
He emerged on a bough and saw nothing but clear dark-blue sky above, twinkling with a gorgeous spray of stars, brilliantly white. This was the highest bough of them all.
It was a plateau of firm steel leaves, matted with streaks of frost. Herds of clouds milled underneath; pinprick lights twinkled somewhere far, far below… he wasn't looking at that. He stared at the center of the bough.
It looked like a war zone. Deep craters littered all over. Spires of Titansteel twisted aimlessly out of the ground. Massive steel boulders studded the place, glowing ominously, smoking essence, smoking every single Steel Law Zane knew—and some he didn't. Angry essence lingered over the mess like blood leaking out of a wound.
Zane's mini-map showed a graveyard of X's. So many they overlapped one another, blotting each other out; so many it was impossible to count.
There were only three dots left on the mini-map. Three beings left standing.
One looked to be a warrior. He was big and burly; he must've cut an impressive figure once—except now he was missing an arm. Blood gushed out of the stump of his shredded black suit. His other arm held a flaming scimitar. He was rattling in deep, desperate breaths.
𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕛𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕣𝕠 𝕄𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕤
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟡
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝔹𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕣
𝕊𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: 𝔹𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕊𝕒𝕘𝕖
𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝕋𝕠𝕞𝕓 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤
Then there was his support, a Ranger who still had all his limbs—but he looked just as bedraggled. He was soaked through with blood. It looked to be his own.
𝔸𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟
𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟠
ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕤: 𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣
𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟: 𝕋𝕠𝕞𝕓 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤
Then there was the thing in the middle.