The Lich's Master

Chapter 18: A Rude Interruption

His mad dash soon came to a screeching halt as he arrived at the peak of the mountain. Strong winds blew all around him as he stepped into a large crater atop the mountain.

“Ran out of places to escape?” Igna shouted as she approached. Kyle gulped and quickly tried to put some distance between them. “Not exactly,” he muttered as he stepped closer to the centre of the crater. This place had all the signs of a boss arena. Now, things were mostly up to luck:

What kind of boss would appear, and how could he take advantage of it? Those were what would seal his fate now.

“I can’t convince you not to kill me, can I?” Kyle asked as Igna stepped onto the charred surface of the crater. She paused, looked around, then smirked.

“Nah, I doubt it.” She said,  tightening her grasp on the hilt of her blade. “I do like the venue though, that run up the mountain wasn’t a waste!” Her upbeat voice almost made Kyle forget the danger he was in. Almost.

He continued stepping back as she approached and considered telling her about his rather awkward situation. Would she believe him? Technically, he could prove it to her. he bit his lower lip, if nothing else, it would let him buy some time until the god damned boss arrived. He had nothing to lose after all.

“Say, Igna.” He shouted as the wind began to pick up. “Can we, uh, resume after I tell you something?”

The crimson haired young woman tilted her head. “If you’re going to blurt out something stupid, save it.” She warned him as her grip on the hilt of her sword relaxed. “Well, what is it?”

Kyle took a deep breath. “Uh, so…” He shook his head. “I can’t-“ He then paused as he looked down, at the shadow that rapidly grew larger. “Wait.” He pointed at the ground, then looked up.

“Oh shit!” Igna exclaimed as she threw herself aside. Kyle didn’t waste any time either, he threw himself back, away from her and the shadow as a large beast landed right where they were standing just a split second ago.

“You dare disturb this sacred place!” A booming voice filled with power sounded. Kyle rolled on the charred rock ground, and as soon as he could, he raised his gaze to take a look at the boss.

“Oh, we are so dead.” He whispered.

A griffin had landed on the ground amidst a cloud of smoke and broken rocks. A man sat atop the beast, armoured from head to toe, and wielding a scythe almost comically large. He was only about a head taller than Kyle. If he had met this man anywhere else, he could have mistaken him for a human player and not a boss.

“I condemn you to death!” The boss shouted, and swung his scythe at Igna, who had just gotten back up on her feet.

“Hell no, I’ll kill him!” She responded with a grin on her face. Kyle had to do a double take. Igna was happy?

She was! Her eyes glimmered with excitement, and she tightened her grasp on the hilt of her blade before rushing at the boss. Kyle watched wide eyed as she ducked under the swinging scythe, then hit the griffin with all her might. As soon as her blade buried itself in its flesh, she shouted at the top of her lungs. “The sun god’s flames!”

The blade burst into flames, and so did the griffin’s fur. The beast screeched and roared as it reared on its hind legs, throwing its rider off its back.

“You dare hurt my mount?!” The man clad in armour shouted.

“You tried to kill me!” Igna replied with an upbeat tone. She then shot Kyle a quick glance. “Hey! Whatever you want to say will have to wait till we kill this guy!” She shouted with a grin. “You keep the animal busy, I’ll take him on!”

Kyle hesitated for a split second. “Sounds good!” He finally replied and ran after the still burning griffin.

Igna raised her blade again as soon as she noticed the boss swing that rather deadly looking scythe. She blocked the curved blade, and immediately felt her feet slide back somewhat. Barely hanging onto her balance, she took a few steps back.

Her arms hurt a little from the strength of the boss’ hit. Normally, she’d need a tank for this fight. Either a paladin or a tower knight, or the help of a buffer mage to help enchant her blade with defensive properties. She had exactly none of those right now though. She would need to rely on her speed and ability to dodge for this fight.

Kyle, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel like he had the advantage. The griffin was already burning, and he could see it limb and struggle just to walk away. The health bar above its head was already halfway depleted, and the burning effect didn’t seem like it was about to end any time soon.

He dashed at the creature and swung his blade at its throat. It tried to retaliate as he drew some blood, but its motions were slower, and not very accurate. Still, he needed to be wary. He was much lower level than both this beast, and the armoured boss. A single hit could probably bring him to his knees, and he didn’t intend to die here. Not today.

He waited for the creature to stagger, and quickly moved in for a few more attacks. It took a few hits, but the creature soon succumbed. As its body collapsed and fell to the ground, Kyle turned his attention to the top ranker.

“Flame strike!” Igna shouted as she swung her blade. She had whittled down the boss’ health by a quarter by now, but as he watched, Kyle noticed she wasn’t going to win this fight.

She was already wounded. He could see the cut marks on her arms, face, and a rather deep wound on her shoulder. Naturally, because she was a player, she didn’t feel any real pain, but she did suffer any disadvantages such wounds would cause.

If he had to guess, she couldn’t take more than maybe ten superficial hits. Even with the free resurrection of her sword, she wasn’t going to be dealing enough damage to kill the boss.

Unless he helped her.