System Fall

On the edge of the rooftop where the escape connected to the building, Burns fingers brushed against the rough edges of a concrete barrier and rusted iron. He had to ready for anything with the Hidden Dungeon so close.

He wore somebody else’s face having discretely replaced the Healer in the group.

His unique Copycat skill, which he got after defeating and consuming the essence of a Hell-Bound Labrador during an early training session, was a perfect ability for gathering information. But this ability had a catch. It could only copy up to five skills at any given time. If he learned a sixth, the first one would be wiped out and replaced and if he copied the image of a target, it counted as a Skill.

After moving around from Nick and Kenney, he’d tried to watch as he could.

Burns was surprised the Healer had crossed over, but after Kenney had blackened his eye, the Healer had come around a bit. Burns considered adding the Body-Stitching ability but decided against it. He had other things to think about and he was positive better abilities would come along to fill those slots.

Kenney grabbed along of the fire escape and hesitated looking back at Nick too. Burns covered his right ear with his hand and closed his eyes, waiting for the mental link to activate.

Burn’s true partner had the Cellular-Pathy skill, which allowed them to talk to each other over long distances just using their thoughts, the communication was fast and easy. This was their clever way of staying in touch after they found out they would be split up after the Intermediate Tutorial. Burns connected and the old sound of a call waiting sounded until it was picked up.

"[Burns, you found anyone useful yet?]" The voice was far away but easy to hear.

"[I've spotted two potential pick-ups, and an interesting guy that we might want to scout. Of the former, there's a young one who can do some basic healing, creating stitches out of thin air. There's a nice older man he seems dependable but not the strongest. I thought maybe the groups leader, a young woman would be a good pick, but there’s something off about her, and the last guy… he’s strong. Like really strong.”

Burns stopped and didn’t say anything else, waiting for his partner to follow up. Kenney took the first step down.

"[What do you mean by strong? I need specifics, not generalities.]"

"[He's a bit of a loner. Not very friendly, but he doesn't push people away either. He's good with a sword and really fast. Seems like he's using everything he has to get faster and is pushing his extra stat points into agility. At least that’s my guess. He’s in a whole league by himself.]"

"[There's a rumor I’ve been hearing. A rumor about a guy who took down one of the bosses of the Intermediate Tutorial all by himself. Nobody has seen him yet through. Could it be him? This guy your talking about?]"

"[It's possible,]" Burns responded, his eyes returning to the group below. "[I’ve been in with them for a while. His name is Nick. He's got the right skills and attitude for our group. But we should be careful and make sure.]"

Burns' other hand tightened into a fist. His thoughts turned to the monster from the Intermediate Tutorial.  

“It was possible to kill those things?” He thought to himself.

The monster his group had encountered had massacred many within the Intermediate Tutorial. It was called the Glass Doll, and had been horrific. A bounding ghastly doll that jumped and bounced around, occasionally shattering on impact, only to reform itself completely unharmed.

Its glass fragments shredded everything in their path as they returned to the main body. The shards were like shrapnel and had left many of those who survived maimed.

"[How is it even possible to kill something like that by yourself?]" He asked, a new respect creeping into his thoughts.

His boss didn’t answer.

Both of them were oblivious to the events that unfolded when Nick and his comrades had ventured into the Hidden Dungeon. Burns just didn’t see it. While it was true that he had seen how Nick handled a swarm of Rooftop Wasps, these minion monsters were a far cry from a tutorial boss.

There was no way Nick had managed to kill such a beast.

"[Assuming its achievable, it would have to mean that guy is in a league of his own]” Came the reply from the other end.

Yet, despite Burn’s own doubts, he had to admit that Nick radiated confidence, and had backed it up. Thinking about it made Burns wonder if the man was actually capable of taking down a boss monster.

Burns gazed across the way and saw that Nick, even now was getting ready to face down another monster, his eyes scanning the monster in front of him, looking for the best avenue of approach to take it down.

"[Yeah, there’s no way,]” Burns laughed and dismissed the thought. “[Frankly, I wouldn't bet on it. He's certainly skilled but defeating a tutorial boss is another level. He's capable, but unless he's hiding some incredibly potent Items, I haven’t’ seen enough to believe he’s at the level to do something like that.]"

These thoughts swirled in his mind before he watched Nick make his move towards the Detritus Mantis

Kenney suddenly called out to him, “We need to get moving over this pipe. Nick will make it, you don’t need to worry about him, he’ll catch up.”

Burns nodded and smiled internally. Kenney still had no idea.

He turned and looked one last time at the other rooftop. Nick, stood against the animated mass of rooftop trash a small mass verse a vast colossus.

"If our paths cross again, I'll believe there's someone out there capable of taking down a tutorial boss — someone like you," Burns muttered, his gaze fixed on the unfolding rooftop battle against the Detritus Mantis.

******

 

My newest allies had already left me behind. Kenney had been the last to crawl on the pipe back down to relative safety. I was disappointed, but not surprised. The way of the front liner wasn’t for everyone, and going out of your way to defeat an enemy whose strength you couldn’t gauge well enough to ensure you’d walk away would have been crazy to most people.

I wasn’t like most people.

My opponent was a Detritus Mantis, a massive creature pieced together from the junk of the city - dead bugs, leaves, chunks of brick, and fragments of concrete. Others had been scared of it, intimated by it, but not me. I felt a rush of adrenaline, a sense of excitement. It was a challenge to face, and as a mini-boss, I knew it had loot.

With a sudden ferocity, the Detritus Mantis lunged at me. Its size made its speed surprising. But I was ready. I easily sidestepped the attack of a clawed fist made from concrete.

With Legender, in my grip I slashed out at the Detritus Mantis’s legs. The sword had already proven its worth over and over.

 

Each blow was carefully aimed, my blade slicing through the tough, trash-made exterior and as parts were cut off, they disintegrated into the air rather than falling down on to the rooftop for the monster to reabsorb.

The process had a purpose to it. It was systematic. The Detritus Mantis let out a noise, a grating sound of its parts moving against each other.

Briefly, I caught sight of some of my group trying to catch a glimpse from the other rooftop, with some climbing over vents and others on to crates and tables to look better. They learned with every attack just how far the gap was between us.

My attention remained on the battle in front of me. Blow after blow. Strike after strike.

Every time my sword hit the Detritus Mantis, sparks shot out as the blade cut through the concrete exterior. It should have been more powerful, or maybe I had just grown in power. I wasn’t sure, but Legender whipped across my body just in time to deflect a claw of rebar before I counterattacked.

I was taking this giant creature apart, piece by piece. This was a good fight. I was satisfied.

Blow by blow, I hacked away. Pieces and chunks of concrete and trash disappeared into dust in the air. The monster, hobbled as it was, was hardly a threat anymore. Finally, when the Detritus Mantis was at almost half its original size, it was time for me to end things. Compared to the Wendigo or the Obsidian Minotaur, the Mantis was hardly a problem.

With much of its shell destroyed, I was able to see a twirling Mana core deep within it. I drove my sword into the body of the Detritus Mantis straight into the core. The sound of a death keel and the shattering of the core followed. The monster gave out one last noise before it crumbled into a pile of debris.

And I was left standing there, victorious, my sword still in hand. Unlike other times, I didn’t get a notification that I’d won.

I looked over, but my group was gone. They’d already moved on. I wasn’t sure if it was because they knew I’d catch up, or if they thought I’d been defeated.

Just then, there was a flash of light and a silver coin fell to the ground. I swore when I saw what it was.

'Didn't know you could unlock these things?!' I thought, a mix of annoyance and surprise filling me. It seemed like this new life of mine still had a lot to teach me.