Dungeon Core Online 51 Chapter 51

"So, uh, what's this area?" Oak was walking hesitantly into the arena, with the others following. They were all on high alert as they looked around, and Z's honey badger was sniffing the air hesitantly. It was definitely showing it was unsettled, but the group could not see by what.

"Is it a PvP arena?" Med Ic offered up, as the cleric glanced around the area, noting its high walls formed from the fallen sky sc.r.a.pers.

"Nah, if that was the case, there would be seats. People love to watch PvP matches after all." Elm motioned towards the walls, showing there was no possible area for people to watch from. Whatever happened in the Terminus Pit, stayed in the Terminus Pit. But they couldn't know that just yet.

"Well, I don't see B.L.U. anywhere, so let's turn" Z looked toward the entrance they had walked through and paused. The leader of the Knights had just noticed the entryway was blocked off. "That's not good." He whispered silently, and suddenly the group grew tense. They knew what closed off areas meant, either a boss fight or a ma.s.sive trap.

"It's a traaaaaaaaap." Oak called out, causing the others to chuckle, but their guard stayed up. Slowly the group advanced to the middle of the arena, investigating the fallen cars, looking for clues. The only area that didn't appear to be blocked off, was the ma.s.sive overhang, clad in shadows, where the Terminus rested.

"Z, how about you send your little buddy into that deep dark area, and see what happens?" Oak motioned towards the Terminus's layer with his sword. It was obvious the tank had no wish to enter that area.

"You know, he serves more purposes than just investigating things." Z grumbled, but he motioned towards the darkness, and diligently, his honey badger ran towards it.

However, as the honey badger neared the darkness, it suddenly stopped and let out an angry snarl. The badger kept its eyes focused on the darkness, staring into the darkness, as it hopped back a few times, before snapping forward once. From within the darkness, two red orbs came to life, fixing upon the honey badger.

"Hey look, the darkness is staring back at them." Rue commented offhandedly, before chuckling. James paid her no mind as he watched the scene unfurl. It was time. The king had awoken.

"Maybe we should get ready." Z commented as he headed towards one of the wrecked car husks, drawing an arrow back as he did. "Spread out and prepare to fight."

The others obeyed his command, with Elm taking cover by another car, and Faust and Med Ic seeking cover even further back. The mage had a longer range, and James knew Med Ic had a longer range heal on target spell that he could cast on Oak. Speaking of the warrior, he let out a sigh, and took up a position behind the honey badger, but in front of the darkness. Whatever was about to emerge, the tank was in position to taunt it.

"Let's go B.L.U. It's round two." He taunted into the darkness, and James couldn't help but chuckle. The group still thought they were facing his level 21 mini boss. Oh boy.

"They're so going to die." Rue whispered excitedly, as she poured what appeared to be chocolate candies into her hand. Was she eating Milk Duds? Seriously. James was suddenly very jealous of her ability to snack in game. The developers had given him tentacles, but no mouth.

"Well, they might stand a chance." He pulled up the Terminus's information as it began to stir within its home, preparing to step into the arena.

Tier 2 Boss Mob

Steampunk Dino King Terminus Rex

Lvl 26

HP- 2500

MP-1500

ATK- 250

DEF- 200

Unique Abilities

King of All- Emits a roar every time it loses 20% of its HP. This roar has the chance to stun adventurers for 10 seconds, and cause a debuff that decreases adventurer stats by 15%

Big Head - Utilizes its large mouth to completely consume an adventurer, trapping the adventurer in its mouth for 20 seconds, and dealing 25% of their health in damage. 1min CD

Little Arms - Utilizes cannons on its arms to launch small grenades in bursts of three. Grenades will detonate on contact with solid objects, or after 5 seconds. Grenades will deal 150 damage in a 5-yard radius, and 50 damage in a 15-yard radius. Damage from explosions penetrates 20% of armor. 30 second CD per arm after three grenades have been fired

"Oh man this boss is a beast." James hadn't paid much attention to the Terminus since he had created it. He had forgotten just how fearsome it was. James decided to check Z's stats, just to see what type of chance they stood.

Z

Level 20 Archer

Sub: Ranger

26,792 xp

3108 xp to next level

HP: 185 (120+30+35)

AP: 170 (120+30+20)

Currency: 31 copper 59 silver 6 gold 0 platinum

Atk: 184 (95+30+10+24+25

MAtk: 0

Def: 80 (36+20+9+15)

MDef: 0

"Yeah, they're doomed." James closed out of Z's stats shaking his head. It seemed Z was getting boosts to his stats from his sub cla.s.s. However, even with these bonus's, and the new bow and arrow increases, the archer couldn't even do damage to his boss with basic attacks, though he knew the archer cla.s.s had abilities that could guarantee armor penetration of certain amounts. The ranger cla.s.s also utilized its pet for skills, meaning the honey badger, ironically enough, likely would be able to damage the Terminus, if in small amounts. It Z was the same level as the Terminus, James was sure his basic attacks would be able to do small amounts of damage too.

On top of that, the Terminus's attack rating meant it had the ability to nearly one shot the archer, though James doubted the Terminus would ever get close enough to the veteran DPS. However, a direct hit from Little Arms would deal 70 damage after Z's armor rating was applied, which was still a decent chunk of damage. James just hoped the group would put on a good show.

"Oh, where's your faith in your favorite group?" Rue raised an eyebrow at James and motioned towards the chat room. The chat was going off the charts, and James noticed he now had 90% of all dungeon cores online watching his stream. It seemed word got out that a boss fight was about to take place, and everyone was tuning in. Heck, the Terminus hadn't even-

-A loud roar caused James and Rue to jump up, and it seemed as if visible sound waves rolled out from the dark lair of the Terminus, was.h.i.+ng over the adventurers, causing them all to stiffen.

"Uh, guys, I don't think that's B.L.U." Oak said as he regained his composure, and James watched as the warrior took a hesitant step back. The only one who had stood its ground against the roar was the honey badger. Who was viciously growling back at the darkness. The glowing eyes seemed to flash brightly, and the Terminus took its first step towards the exit of its lair. Its ma.s.sive form caused a slight tremor in the arena, followed by another as it took another step.

"You don't say." Faust said dryly, as the mage started casting a spell. Based on the hand movements, the mage was preparing his multi-magic missile spell. James knew for this fight; the mage was going to be key.

"Alright guys. We've fought many unknown bosses before. Just play it safe and lets figure out how this thing fights." Z was calling out commands, and the others were all nodding. The archer looked at Oak, and offered him a small, sad smile. "Guess you're going to be soaking up a lot of damage my friend."

"I hate you." Oak grumbled, as he readied himself. His entire body began to glow, and James glanced at his sheet. It seemed he had chosen the s.h.i.+elder subcla.s.s for Warriors. From what James had read, the cla.s.s had an ability that could mitigate damage, applied after defense, by 50%. However, while this ability was active, the tank's damage output was decreased by 90%. In short, Oak could stay alive and tank longer, but he was going to offer absolutely no damage to this fight. James had to feel for the poor guy, sometimes being a tank was not fun.

"Don't worry man, Badgy will help you out." Z grinned as his honey badger let out another snarl. The little critter was fierce, and James wasn't sure if it was simply foolhardy, or really didn't seem to care that it was facing a boss.

"You named your honey badger Badgy?" Oak made a face towards Z, and turned back, his eyes focusing on the darkness. The form of the Terminus was finally beginning to appear from the darkness, in all of its glory.

"At least I didn't name my pet after a kids movie about dinosaurs." Z retorted, drawing his bow back. James watched as Elm pulled back his own bow, his arrows glowing. The arcane archer was going to out damage the Ranger this fight.

"Hey, leave Cera out of this." Oak hollered back, and his little Tricercog pet let out a roar of its own. For a second, the tension in the air was lifted with their joking.

Only for a second though, as a moment later, the Terminus stepped fully into the light of the arena, and let out another thunderous roar, as if challenging the adventurers.

"Why is it always a T-Rex." Oak grumbled, hold his s.h.i.+eld out. He let out a roar of his own, and James saw him activate his taunt. Waves of energy rolled off of the warrior as his taunt hit the Terminus, and the Steampunk T-Rex turned its red eyes onto him, seeming to narrow. Gears spun along its legs, its mechanical tail lashed, and without warning, the beast rushed towards Oak, completely ignoring Badgy, who took the opportunity to latch onto the Terminus's tail, its claws finding purchase along the metal plates.

"Here come's another instance first." Z cried out as he let his arrow fly. The compound bow sent the metal missile flying lightning fast into the Terminus, smas.h.i.+ng against its head. The arrow penetrated maybe half an inch, but the Terminus didn't even flinch.

"Of course, it has a high defense." Z muttered as he pulled back another arrow. Elm let his own arrow fly, and the magically enchanted arrow smashed into the other side of the Terminus's face. The boss mob didn't slow its charge towards Oak, but the burst of magical damage did make its eyes wince. Yep, the boss had a high defense, but no magical defense, just yet.

"Good thing I have magical arrows." Elm laughed as he launched another arrow. The arrow once again blasted into the Terminus, but the boss didn't slow its charge. Eyes narrowed against the pain, it neared Oak, rearing back as if to strike the warrior. Oak rose his s.h.i.+eld at the ready, his body glowing with his damage mitigating ability, as he winced against the upcoming attack.

However, as the Terminus reared back, gears along its mouth began to spin, and steam erupted from around its mouth as its jaw seemed to unhinge. With lighting speed, the Terminus chomped down on Oak, completely engulfing the warrior.

"What the-" Oak started to yell even as he was swallowed, and for a moment, the entire party just froze. James knew the Terminus had just used its Big Head ability, meaning for the next 20 seconds, Oak was out of the fight, and was going to lose 25% of his health. James was curious how that ability would act against Oak's damage mitigating abilities, but the thought was quickly pushed from his mind, as the battle was still raging.

Mouth closed, due to it being currently filled with an adventurer, the Terminus turned its red eyes toward Elm. The arcane archer let fly another arrow, doing another small burst of damage, before cursing. He had so far done the most damage, meaning he had just drawn aggro.

"Kinda glad I can't out damage you right now." Z called out to Elm, even as Elm drew back another arrow.

"Hey Z." Elm let his arrow fly, and pulled back another, his eyes fixed on the Terminus. "Do those look like cannons on its arms?"

Even as Elm spoke, the Terminus angled its little arms, equipped with grenade launching cannons, towards Elm.

"Definitely look like cannons." Z called back to Elm, as he started moving in a large arc away from the Terminus. Faust and Med Ic were doing the same, moving away from Elm, whom had the full attention of the boss.

"Of course it has cannons." Elm drew back his arrow and started running just as the Terminus let a burst of grenades fly from its left arm. Thunk, thunk, thunk. Three grenades launched from the cannon, flying towards the car Elm had just been beside. Even as the archer moved away, the grenades impacted and burst into explosions. The archer had managed to get out of the 5 meter kill radius of the weapons but was still in the 15-meter radius of them.

"That had to hurt." James knew the arcane archer had over 50 armor, but the 20% that ignored defense still took a small chunk from the archer's hp. What's more, James knew the Terminus had another three round volley it could launch.

"Better keep running." James whispered, noticing that Elm had paused near another car, his eyes glancing down at his screen briefly, likely checking how much damage he had taken.

Thunk, thunk, thunk. The sound betrayed the attack, and the archer's eyes opened wide as he leapt away. However, this time, the three bursts. .h.i.t on the other side of the car, and Elm was protected from their blast. A quick look at the Terminus's right arm showed why the rounds had been so off. Badgy was dangling from the Terminus's right arm, his sharp claws digging into the cannons, pulling the arm down. The little honey badger had likely just saved Elm's life.

"Hey Z. I think I love your badger." Elm called out, and the party started laughing, even as they continued to move around the boss, doing their best to stay away from it, and out of the line of sight for its cannons.

"Man, I'm really glad I didn't get a beaver now." Z called back, causing even more laughter, as he launched another arrow into the Terminus. The arrow smashed into one of the gears on the mob's leg, and James, as well as the adventurers, saw the mob wince.

"Oy, I think I found a weak spot." Z drew back his bow and let another arrow fly. The impact smashed into the cog on the Terminus's leg, and again the mob winced. Sure enough, it seemed the Terminus had designated weak points, that he knew the adventurers were going to abuse.

"Sweet." Elm began flanking the other side, and Faust hesitantly was moving closer, his magic missiles hovering behind him. The mage was doing his best to get in range of the spells, while also conserving his mana as he observed the fight. He was their burst damage, and James knew he was looking for a good opportunity. Finding a weak spot on a mob was likely a really good one.

"Time's up." Rue commented just as Faust got in range for his magic missiles, and sure enough, it seemed it had been 20 seconds for Big Head. The Terminus's Jaw unhinged as steam rushed around its maw, and out tumbled a cursing Oak, covered in oil and grease.

"I hate being a tank." He cursed, dusting himself off as he looked up at the Terminus. The Terminus, appearing just as unamused as him, spun rapidly, its tail sweeping towards Oak. The tank didn't have the time to roll out of the way or dodge, so instead he planed his feet, his s.h.i.+eld glowing. The Terminus tail smashed into his s.h.i.+eld, impaling the tail on the spikes. Oak was lifted off the ground, but the warrior clung fast to his s.h.i.+eld. Because the spikes were caught on the boss's tail, the warrior was too.

"That's a first." James chuckled as he watched the Terminus complete its tail swipe, the mob noticing the warrior clinging tightly to the s.h.i.+eld that was stuck on its tail. A moment later, just as one would see in a cartoon, the Terminus began smas.h.i.+ng its tail into anything it could, trying to free itself of the warrior.

"Do something." Oak called out, while hanging on for the ride. James could see his life bar slowly depleting, even as Med Ic was casting his healing spells on the warrior. The boss just had an extremely high damage output.

"Let's try this." Faust raised his hand in the air even as he rushed forward, and just as he released his lightning bolt, he entered the range of his magic missiles. All the spells flew straight towards the Terminus and smashed nearly at the same time into one of the cogs on the boss's right leg. James saw its health plummet, just below the 75% mark.

"That was a poor life choice." James commented, and sure enough, the attack activated the Terminus's final ability. The boss raised its head to the sky and let out an ear shattering roar. Sonic waves rolled away from the dinosaur, catching Faust, Elm, and Oak. Z and Med Ic, who were behind cars, luckily did not get hit by the attack.

"I can't move." Faust cried out in panic as a red glow surrounded him. A similar red glow surrounded Elm and Oak, and James guessed that glow denoted the debuff. Their stats were now decreased by 15%. That was not good for them.

"I'm guessing that had a stun and it looks like a debuff." Med Ic called out. The cleric clutched his holy d.i.c.ken claw pendant around his neck and began chanting. His body began glowing, and a similar glow enveloped his allies. As the light subsided, the red glow surrounding the three subsided. It seemed Med Ic had a party cleanse.

"I can only cast that once every three minutes." He called out to his team. "Make sure you are behind cover the next time he roars."

"Got it, thanks." Faust replied even as he ran back towards cover. Elm and Z continued their attacks on the Terminus, even as it whipped towards the retreating Faust.

Thunk thunk thunk. Three more grenades were launched, the 30 second cooldown on the left arm having subsided. Once again though, the weapons landed short, though this time the lesser blast still hit Faust. It seemed Badgy was doing his best to keep the boss from using its long-range attack. Smart little guy.

"If this is all there is, I think we can handle the-" Z's words were cut short by Med Ic's scream. James turned his attention to where the healer had been standing, and his eyes went wide. B.L.U. had apparently just entered the arena and leapt down on the poor healer. James could see Med Ic's hp was nearly gone from the attack, but instead of finis.h.i.+ng off the healer, B.L.U. was rus.h.i.+ng towards the Terminus.

"What is going on?" James hated to look away, but he glanced towards Rue, who was watching wide eyed, as the fight took place.

"You're rank 5 in boss mob and mob research, right?" She wasn't looking away, and James turned back to watch, even as he saw the chat on the stream blowing up.

"Yeah." B.L.U. continued to rush past the adventurers towards the Terminus, and James could see Z rus.h.i.+ng towards Med Ic, a potion in his hand.

"And, what's your even research sitting at?" James growled at Rue's question but pulled up his research screen.

"Rank three seems to have finished." He quickly selected it and started Rank four, noting his rank three instance research was nearing completion too.

"So, you're going to like this." Even as Rue spoke and James closed his research window, he saw B.L.U. leap at the Terminus. As it did, it spun in midair, landing atop the boss mob. James could just make out gears beginning to twist and s.h.i.+ft, before both forms started to glow. Suddenly, Oak was flung free, as the tail his s.h.i.+eld had been stuck to took on a strange glow and seemed to begin moving strangely.

"What's going on?" Oak called out, and all five of the Knights stood and stared, dumbstruck, as the boss and mini bosses glowing forms seemed to merge into one. A flash of bright light caused James to look away, and as the flight faded and he turned back, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Where the Terminus and B.L.U. had been, stood a new, ferocious looking monster. It appeared to be part T-Rex, part Raptor, with long clawed forearms and ma.s.sively strong rear legs. Its tail was lined with a chainsaw type sword, just as B.L.U.'s had been. On its shoulders were two large miniguns, set on swiveling turrets. Its long clawed arms had a set of what looked like harpoons on them. Its red eyes glowed now not only with rage, but a strange intelligence, and steam seemed to be flowing from all around its body, partially obscuring it.

James started to pull up its information but was only able to see its name and level before he was forced to close the window, to watch the action.

Secret Boss

The Perfect Cognivore

Lvl 50

"Secret boss?" James whispered to Rue as the new monster let out a mighty roar. With lightning fast speed, it turned towards Oak, its clawed arm shooting out and grabbing the poor warrior. A second later, its mouth opened, and it dropped oak, s.h.i.+eld and all, into its mouth.

"Mhmm. At level 5 boss mob, mob, and level 3 event research, floors have secret boss's activated. For Tier 2 floors, if the miniboss isn't slain before fighting the boss-"

"Then the miniboss can combine with the boss and create a secret boss?" James was watching in awe as the overpowered boss turned its eyes towards Med Ic. He couldn't help but notice the Secret Boss's stomach was visible, as if it were made of a strange clear gla.s.s. Within it, he could see Oak fighting to break out from within, while what appeared to be acid slowly rained down on him. The boss seemed to be trying to digest the adventurer.

"Well, they might have been able to beat the Terminus." James started as he watched the mini guns on its back swivel, each one targeting one of the archers. A second later, the guns opened fire, tearing through the cars the adventurers were hiding behind, causing them to burst almost instantly into orbs of light. The boss was after all, 25 level higher than them. "But this is going to be a party wipe."

"You don't say." Rue said sarcastically as The Perfect Cognivore leveled its arms towards Med Ic and Faust. Four harpoons launched towards each adventurer, and even as the missiles found the targets, the two players burst into death orbs, leaving just Oak remaining. James almost felt sorry for him as he saw the tank's health slowly ticking down. While the others had been one hit killed, it seemed he was only taking a percent damage over time. It took almost a minute before he finally was killed as well, sending all five back to the first floor to resp.a.w.n.

"Well, I think everyone learned something new today." James whispered as he glanced down at the secret boss. With its prey gone, its form started to glow again, and a moment later, it separated back into the boss and miniboss.

"Mhmm." Rue was grinning from the fight, as she motioned over towards the stream instance. "It seems everyone learned something." James could see 95% of all dungeon cores online were in his stream, and chat was moving so fast he was having a hard time reading everything. It seemed in that instance, with his secret boss cras.h.i.+ng the fight against the Terminus, James's steampunk dinosaur floor had just become legendary.