Free Web NovelMatt stepped out of the rest room.
Not with enthusiasm.
Not with bravery.
Just with the resignation of someone who had already slept, bathed, repaired his clothes, modified a weapon against all logic, and now had no decent excuse to keep hiding in there.
The door closed behind him.
Grrk!
Matt looked back for a second.
The rest room disappeared behind the black stone.
Matt went still.
"I'm going to miss you."
The door, of course, did not respond.
Matt sighed. Then he turned toward the new room — wide, with dark grey floors, low columns, and several stone platforms floating at different heights.
Matt furrowed his brow, and barely had he taken a step when one of the floating stones lit up.
A white line appeared at its center.
Matt's eyes went wide.
"Ah."
ZAAAP!
A bolt shot toward him.
Matt threw himself to one side on pure instinct.
BOOM!
The bolt hit the floor where he'd been, leaving a smoking black mark.
Matt rolled, got up, and looked upward.
A stone floated above one of the platforms.
Not very large.
It looked like a fragment of red rock with a white rune at its center.
And it was already charging another bolt.
Matt gritted his teeth.
"What a warm welcome."
Matt looked around — there were more floating stones.
And on the floor, golems.
But no trace of flying demons or serpents this time.
Just stone.
A lot of stone.
Matt felt his expression dim slightly.
'Nothing here to drink from.'
That was bad.
Very bad.
Last time, as revolting as it had been, the demons at least served as emergency fuel.
Here there was none of that.
If he lost too much blood, he'd have no easy way to recover it.
Matt looked at his weapon.
The modified bow rested in his hand, longer, heavier, with red lines running along the golden wood.
Matt channeled mana.
Hmmm!
The weapon extended. The string retracted into the side groove. The tips elongated and the sharpened ends formed a double-bladed spear.
Matt smiled just barely.
"Good."
The floating stone finished charging its bolt.
Matt bent his knees.
"Let's break this in."
The bolt fired.
ZAAAP!
Matt lunged forward.
Not to the side.
Forward.
He passed under the bolt by very little, feeling the heat above his white hair. Then he leaped off a low rock, pushed his body upward, and raised the spear.
The floating stone tried to move.
Too late.
Matt spun the weapon with both hands and cut.
CHAAK!
The stone split in two.
Both halves fell to the floor, going dark before they landed.
Thud! Thud!
Matt landed on a platform.
He looked at the spear. Then at the split stone.
His eyes opened slightly wider.
"Wow."
The cut had been clean.
Not perfect.
Not like Eleonora.
But clean.
The spear's material had held up far better than he expected.
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Matt shifted the weapon in his hand.
"So you do work."
A golem advanced from below.
Thud!
It raised an enormous arm and tried to strike the platform where Matt was standing.
Matt leaped before the blow landed.
BAM!
The platform shattered into several pieces.
Matt fell toward the ground, spun the spear, and landed to one side of the golem.
The golem turned slowly.
Too slowly.
Matt looked at it.
"Slow."
The golem raised its other arm.
Matt slid under the swing, spun the spear, and cut its right leg.
CRACK!
The blade went through stone and runes.
The golem lost its balance.
Matt spun and cut the other leg.
CRACK!
The enormous creature dropped to its knees.
BAM!
Matt jumped onto its back, ran up to the top, and drove the spear directly down into the red core at its chest.
PCHAK!
The red light flickered.
Then went out.
The golem collapsed forward.
Matt leaped off before going down with it and landed on the floor.
For a moment, he just looked at the dead body.
Then he started laughing.
A low laugh.
Disbelieving.
"This is ridiculously easy now."
Another bolt passed right next to him.
ZAAAP!
Matt tilted his head and dodged it narrowly.
"Okay, not that easy."
But it didn't feel the same anymore.
Since the fifth room, every enemy had felt like a death sentence. Now he could move. He could keep his distance.
He could even cut.
He could change the rhythm.
Matt lunged at the next golem.
The spear spun in his hands.
Clumsy sometimes.
But each movement felt better than the last.
He cut a leg.
Then an arm.
Then drove through the core.
CRACK!
BAM!
PCHAK!
The second golem fell.
Matt ran toward the third.
A floating stone fired a bolt.
Matt used the golem's body as cover.
ZAAAP!
The bolt hit the stone back and cracked it.
Matt smiled.
"Thanks."
The golem tried to turn.
Matt drove the spear into the crack the bolt had opened and channeled mana.
VMMM!
The blade vibrated.
Then pushed.
CRAAACK!
The stone split from within.
The golem fell.
A floating stone descended toward him, charging another bolt.
Matt raised the spear.
"You too."
He leaped.
Twisted his body in the air.
Cut.
CHAAK!
Another stone split.
One after another.
The golems, which had once been a nightmare for their endurance, were now slow targets.
Dangerous if they hit him.
Yes.
But slow.
And Matt, for the first time since entering the cave, had a comfortable way to punish them for it.
When the last golem fell, the room went silent.
Matt stood in the middle of the stone debris, breathing hard.
He wasn't hurt, but he was tired.
Matt rested one end of the spear on the ground and leaned on it slightly.
"Phew…"
He looked at the weapon.
The red lines glowed softly.
The sharpened tips were dusted with stone powder.
Matt smiled.
"This is incredible."
He said it quietly, as if he didn't want the cave to hear.
Because every time something went well, the place seemed to take it personally.
Two doors opened at the far end.
Grrk!
Matt lifted his head.
One on the left.
One on the right.
Same as always.
Matt took a slow breath and waited a few seconds.
Nothing else appeared.
No traps.
No bolts.
No stones.
Matt stretched slightly.
Then chose the right door.
Not out of being in a bad mood this time.
But because he felt confident.
In hindsight, that was probably a bad sign.
Matt went through.
The door closed behind him.
Grrk!
The new room was enormous.
Much larger than the previous one.
The floor was dark blue stone, damp in places, with shallow puddles scattered everywhere.
There were broken columns.
Curved walls.
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Something moved.
Matt went still.
A giant crab appeared from the darkness.
Not large.
Giant.
Its shell was dark red, nearly black, with several golden lines glowing along it like cracks. It had enormous claws, thick legs, and small eyes that stared down at him with a ridiculously offensive expression.
Matt looked at it in silence.
Then looked around.
No demons.
No golems.
No serpents.
Just him and the crab.
Matt switched the weapon to bow mode.
Hmmm!
The spear contracted.
The string extended again.
"A boss?"
The crab raised one claw.
CLACK!
The sound echoed through the entire room.
Matt took a step back.
"Yeah. A boss."
The room was large.
That was good.
Very good.
If the enemy was slow, he could keep his distance.
And if it was a giant crab, odds were it couldn't fly.
Unless the cave decided to hate him in a new way.
Matt decided not to give it ideas.
He drew the bow.
The string went taut.
He gathered mana.
A lot.
More than usual.
The weapon's core vibrated under his fingers.
The arrow began to form.
First thin.
Then denser.
Then heavy.
The air around the string curved slightly.
Matt felt pressure at his temple.
"Here we go."
The crab started advancing.
Slow.
Heavy.
Each leg struck the ground with a flat sound.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Matt aimed at the center of the shell.
Breathed.
Released.
FWOOSH!
The arrow shot out with brutal force.
It crossed the room like a dark line.
BOOM!
It hit the crab's shell and tore off a massive chunk of carapace.
Red fragments flew in all directions.
The crab stopped.
Then screamed.
Not a roar.
Not a shriek.
A horrible, sharp, metallic sound.
"KRAAAAAA!!"
Matt covered his ears.
"AGH! Why do you scream like that?!"
The sound made the floor vibrate.
The puddles rippled.
Then something started moving beneath the stone.
Matt's eyes went wide.
"Oh no."
Small crabs began emerging from the floor.
One.
Ten.
Twenty.
Many.
Too many.
They were the size of dogs, with dark shells and small claws — but fast.
Matt switched the weapon to spear mode.
Hmmm!
The string retracted.
The tips extended.
"Gross."
The small crabs launched themselves at him.
Matt spun the spear.
At first the movement was clumsy.
Then the mana ran through the weapon.
The red lines glowed.
Matt spun again.
Faster.
The air around him was cut.
FWOOSH!
The spear formed a whirling ring of blades around him.
The first crabs entered the range.
CHAK! CHAK! CHAK!
They were sliced apart.
Matt kept spinning.
Not perfectly.
Not elegantly.
But enough.
Every crab that got close was cut before it could touch him.
"Now this I like."
The giant crab surged forward all at once.
Matt saw it too late.
The beast charged with its whole body, raising its claws.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Matt's eyes went wide.
"Oh."
He spread his black wings.
Shrrrk!
The repaired fabric on his back suffered again.
That was becoming a tradition.
Matt leaped upward.
FWOOSH!
The giant crab passed below him and slammed into a column.
BOOOOM!
The column cracked and fell.
Matt stayed suspended in the air.
He looked down.
The giant crab turned slowly, clearly annoyed.
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Not my fault you can't fly."
The crab responded by slamming both claws into the floor.
BAM!
More small crabs started emerging.
Matt sighed.
"You never learn."
He switched to bow mode in midair.
Hmmm!
He aimed downward and started firing.
One mana arrow.
Then another.
Then another.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
The small crabs exploded or were pinned to the floor.
The giant one tried to shield itself with a claw.
Matt shifted his angle in the air.
He fired at the gap he'd already opened in its shell.
FWOOSH!
The arrow hit.
CRACK!
The crab screamed again.
Matt gritted his teeth.
"Stop making that sound!"
He kept firing without stopping, like he was in a match where the boss couldn't reach him and he had enough mana to exploit the design flaw indefinitely.
Fwip! Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!
Each arrow struck the shell.
The carapace cracked further.
The small crabs couldn't reach him.
The giant couldn't fly.
And whatever ranged attacks the crab might have had, if any, never appeared.
Matt smiled.
"This is just sad."
He fired another charged arrow.
FWOOSH!
The arrow entered through the crack in the shell.
The giant crab went still.
Its legs trembled.
Its small eyes moved erratically.
Then it fell.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact sent dust and puddle water flying.
The small crabs dissolved into dark smoke all at once.
The room went silent.
Matt slowly descended to the floor. He folded his wings, rested the bow on his shoulder, and looked at the massive body. Then he looked at his weapon and couldn't help smiling.
"Not bad at all."
Two doors opened at the far end.
Grrk!
Matt stood there watching them.
His breathing was slightly elevated, but his body was holding up fine.
No serious wounds.
No blood lost.
Nothing revolting to drink.
That was progress.
A lot of progress.
Matt walked toward the doors with a confidence he absolutely should not have had.
'With this weapon…'
He looked at the bow-spear.
'This cave is going to be a walk in the park.'
