Tunnel Rat

Gorbel yelled out in a loud voice that echoed down the cavern. "I'll draw the big one off to the right; it’s in the lead. Asti and Fangrim, sorry mates, you can at least taunt, and you each have shields. It’s up to you to draw the other two to the left. Keep them busy and let people gain some room. We have to split the damn things up and get away."

Milo felt things slowing down. Or rather, his thoughts sped up. This happened when he concentrated on a problem with multiple variables that he needed to assess. This is what made him and his family able to hack so easily into systems. They processed information far faster than a normal human, creating algorithms and finding solutions that let them work around the protections on corporate databases. And right now, Milo had a problem to solve.

Split up; the miners weren't going to be able to take down the monsters; the best they could do was slow them down and keep them split up. If a Lurker scored a direct hit, that person would die. But the true danger was if the lurkers followed them as a group to the more populated mines.

They could try to delay two and fight one, but with just a shield, sooner or later, Fangrim or Asti was going to get a broken arm or knocked down. Gorbel, on his own against the big one, had the same problem. No matter how he looked at it, people were going to die.

Spectral Spine

Miner Milo seemed to sprout a long, glowing, bony tail that whipped around him as he moved. Milo yelled out. "Keep to the plan, but I'm with Gorbel." Between the two of them, they might be able to kill one. But Gorbel, on his own, was a dead man.

Several of the miners paused to look as the new guy, Milo, cast a spell and glowed. His entire stance changed as the spell formed his tail. Bone covered his hands and feet, forming claws. He ran quickly to where Gorbel was already taunting the largest of the monsters and began to draw it away. Several people shook their heads sadly. Two people couldn’t kill a lurker, let alone a boss. Then they concentrated on their own problems, knowing it was going to a long hard fight, and that was if things went well.

***

Racing away from the fight, the halfling was a hundred feet up the tunnel already, followed by the stumbling ranger. The healer pauses and looked back, guilt and determination on her face. "Elvarion, I'm staying. No one but us is running away, and they’ll need a healer. Go keep our rogue out of trouble." The ranger didn't bother to argue; he knew that look in her eye. "Good luck Belinda."

Belinda had hated the plan to explore in the dark, looking for monsters. But she had played with these people online since she had been twelve years old and running around in EOQ2 killing bee-pixies and womp rats in the newbie zones. Normally, she could put up with them. She hated their crazy ideas, but sometimes things worked out, and they had a great time. This wasn't one of them.

GENESIS seemed a lot more real, and when NPCs died, it just felt wrong to her. Losing two of their group was bad enough, but they'd limp back after a day, and they might even get their gear back. She wasn't sure about the NPCs. They seemed so real.

Belinda had very few friends that she gamed with online and none in real life. Some of the NPCs were so friendly once they got to know her, and they remembered her. It almost felt real. But not everyone in the group felt the same way and still treated them as disposable. She hated it. They had come to Shadowport after a failed raid on a goblin cave had led the raiders back to the village of Roseblossom. Lots of people had died, and the village was half-empty a week later, with harsh looks and harsher words thrown at them when they came into town. She’d insisted they move somewhere else. And now the guys had done it again!

Rufus and Frosty were already dead, and Elvarion was wounded and had lost his bow. So, they weren't gaming the rest of the weekend anyway. She lost nothing by helping, although she'd miss her Healer's Staff and Robe of Twilight's End if they couldn’t recover their graves. But she valued them less than she did the lives of the miners she had met. As she moved closer to one of the groups of miners, she saw one of them begin casting spells. They felt a lot more powerful than hers. He must be dumping a ton of mana into them. It looked like a debuff on the Lurker and a magical weapon. The way the long bony whip moved back and forth made him look like he was wagging a tail.

She didn't have long to ponder the strange mage as the stone lurkers left the tunnel, the huge one that had killed Rufus in the lead.

Bone Crusher Elite Level? Stone Lurker

massive armor, massive mitigation, bone-shattering attacks

Milo saw Gorbel taunt Bone Crusher, and the huge monster started to run at him, lumbering along slowly but slightly faster than the other Lurkers. The other miners moved up to the tunnel entrance and threw rocks and taunted the two other monsters to get their attention and then turned and moved to the left, separating them from the larger one.

Gorbel was yelling at the creature and striking it with his pick. He managed to dodge one slow strike and caught the next one on his shield, angling it to avoid the full force of the blow. Milo could tell it hit harder than the others. Gorbel was driven backward a couple of feet and barely kept his balance. "I've got its attention, Milo, do what you can."

Milo moved up behind Bone Crusher, wary of its rear legs, and cast Brittle Bones. The spell cost 100 mana and took him down to 600/850 mana. His first swing with Shadowblight did the expected two points of damage. He kept swinging his weapon at the monster’s carapace over and over, doing only 2 points of damage each time.

Gorbel was having a worse time. This monster hit much harder than the smaller version. He knew his shield couldn't take many more hits. He was constantly circling back and to his right, angling his shield to deflect glancing blows and trying to dodge what he could. Dwarves in plate armor dodged poorly.

Bone Crusher was not only bigger but was also a lot smarter than his smaller cousins. The annoying dwarf was moving to the side to make him circle. Bone Crusher countered that by moving to the side quickly on his four legs and circling in the other direction. Gorbel had to adjust quickly and couldn’t avoid taking a punch from a stony forelimb that rocked him backward. His shield was dented in the middle, and Milo heard a sound like a piece of wood breaking.

Gorbel scrambled away, a small sound of pain escaping his lips as he sucked in his breath. He tried to get away from the stone lurker, but a loose rock tripped him up, and he fell flat on his back.

As Bone Crusher moved in for the kill, Milo tried to get its attention. He leaped onto the creature’s back and brought Shadowblight down onto the monster’s head. Simultaneously, he wrapped the ten-foot-long, bony tail around the forelimb about to crush the dwarf.

Nothing in the spell had said anything about how you had to hold the magical whip. Milo was using his tail. It essentially gave him a ten-foot-long extension, and he used it that way with ease, just as he manipulated his prosthetic tail in the real world. Shadowblight came down, puncturing the monster’s skull, with a lesser result than Milo had hoped for. He was finally through the creature’s armor, but just barely.

You have hit! This makes the 10th time you have hit Bone Crusher.

Mitigation is reduced from 200 to 100.

Your Critical Hit does 2x damage, x4 with Curse of Brittle Bones.

You have Critically Hit Bone Crusher for 24 damage.

Bone Crusher seemed confused by the spectral bones wrapping around his forelimb but attempted to hit Gorbel anyway. Milo suddenly found himself pulled off of Bone Crusher's back and swung in an arc that ended with him hitting the dwarf and knocking him out of the way. Both took minimal damage from the hit. Gorbel just kept rolling and scrambled to his feet.

Milo found himself lifted by his tail and swinging back and forth in front of the delighted monster. Bone Crushed lifted him up the way a fisherman checks to see what fish he caught. The other rocky forelimb was coming around.

If Milo had ever played tetherball, he might have appreciated his position more. The hit took him in the side of his head and knocked him counter-clockwise, around and around the other forelimb, unwrapping his tail. After three revolutions, his tail came loose, and he soared through the air fifteen feet, landing in a roll on the hard stone and coming to his feet unsteadily.

Evasion is negated by your inability to dodge. You have been hit by Bone Crusher for 300 points of damage. Damage is reduced by 100 points because of Shadowblight’s Curse x20. Damage is halved because of your Hard-Runed Bones. The bone-Breaker effect is negated because of your Hard-Runed Bones.

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Health 335/435

Milo was unsteady on his feet, but he did manage to stand up.

Gorbel also managed to stand, but his arm was causing him pain, broken in at least two places. Milo yelled at him. "Get moving. I'll stall it a bit and then catch up." Gorbel didn't have to be told twice. He was no longer worried about Milo. He'd just seen him take a punch to the head that should have shattered his skull and then watched him use the momentum of the hit to escape the creature.

Gorbel unstrapped and dropped his shield and retreated, holding his broken arm. Bone Crusher turned to follow, and Milo raced up to hit for another 2 points of damage. Some of his curses had worn off. He got in two more hits before the monster decided he wasn't catching the dwarf and turned on the other small thing and was still chipping away at it. Bone Crusher turned and tried to slam Milo, but the wererat was on solid ground now and dodged.

More than dodged, he saw the hit coming and easily just stepped out of the way. The longer the fight went on, the better Milo got at not getting hit. He was learning how the Lurker fought, and he was learning how to move to minimize its chance of hitting him. Fleet of Foot increased his movement by 20% and his AGI of 9 by 9% more. The Lurker was slower than a dwarf in plate mail, and Milo could literally run rings around him. Which was what he was doing. He constantly moved to the rear and one side of the huge monster, forcing it to look for him while he hit it again and again. Each of his skills, Acrobatics, Dodge, and Sense Danger, decreased Bone Crusher’s chance to hit him. Rather than simply rely on those skills, Milo did his best not to need them, only dodging when the Lurker could maneuver to hit him.

They continued their absurd dance; Milo was sometimes unable to do more than two damage, and Bone Crusher was unable to hit Milo. If he could get in a string of hits to negate the full 120 points of armor, he could do 52 points in one hit. That happened rarely. Dodging cut down the number of hits he could string together.

Milo was relieved to finally be doing damage but appalled at how much armor and health this creature had. It was going to be a long fight, but he was growing confident. He needed to not make mistakes. No tripping, no getting maneuvered to a corner. If he could just keep hitting the creature, he could wear it down.

You have done 2 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 2 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 12 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 32 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 52 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 52 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 2 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 2 points to Bone Crusher!

You have done 12 points to Bone Crusher!

Bonecrusher has taken 25% of his total health in damage. Bone Crusher does not like you.

As Milo was calculating that his opponent has 2000 points of health, the stone lurker slammed both of his fists together. Milo easily dodged backward but, too late, realized he wasn't the target.

You have failed to dodge Burst of Stone. You have taken 37 points of damage. You are blinded by dust and debris for one round!

Milo had been too close to the monster when it used its special attack and couldn't dodge back in time. Again, he was hit hard and knocked to the side.

Bone Crusher hits you for 200 damage.

Damage is halved because of your Hard-Runed Bones.

The bone-Breaker effect is negated because of your Hard-Runed Bones.

Health 198/435

Things were a bit more serious now. He'd have to watch out for that attack. He'd gotten too confident. He went back to moving around the monster, striking when he could.

Bonecrusher has taken 50% of his total health in damage. Bone Crusher thought things over and still does not like you.

Milo had been careful this time, watching the damage notices and preparing for when he got to 50% damage. He rolled backward twice, dodging out of the area of effect of the attack and shielding his eyes. He took a few points of damage but easily dodged the follow-up attack.

A noise from the side caught his attention, and he saw the blue-robed human mage approaching with her lantern, assisting a wounded dwarf who was limping along slowly with a wounded leg, pursued by another of the stone lurkers. This wasn’t good. Another Lurker added a number of variables to the fight, and he didn’t have enough concentration to analyze the problem again. He went back to hitting Bone Crusher, with distractions and another enemy coming up from behind.

Bonecrusher has taken 75% of his total health in damage. Bone Crusher has taken you off his Christmas Card list.

Milo dodged backward, but this time Bone Crusher slammed both forelimbs down onto the ground creating a massive shock wave. A rolling Milo felt himself bounce from the ground and into the air; he landed in a heap, stunned.

Seismic slam damages you for 75 points of damage. Your Hard-Runed Bones save you from additional damage.

Health 123/435

Belinda saw the fight ahead of her and instantly regretted running this way. Her Dancing Lights spell seemed to enrage the creature, and it made it easy to keep its attention. She and Asti had been running it in circles while the others tried to kill the first one. Other miners hearing the fight had joined in.

When Asti got injured, they decided to draw their creature deeper into the mines, but the dwarf was limping hard, and her healing spells couldn’t fix the fractured bone and mangled knee.

They had actually found Gorbel along the way. He and Asti compared injuries and laughed. Gorbel had gone forward to help. He could still swing a pick one-handed. She and Asti had continued to bait the other stone lurker deeper. No one expected Milo to still be alive, and neither she nor Asti had much hope of surviving.

The strange miner who had stayed to save Gorbel was actually killing the huge creature, tearing chunks of stone from its hide. But the fight wasn't going all his way; he was bloody and battered. Even as she came upon the fight, the monster punched the ground so hard it sent him flying to land near her.

As Bone Crusher advanced, she touched Milo’s shoulder and cast the last of her healing spells. Then taking a deep breath, she took a step towards Bone Crusher and cast Dancing Lights on the spot where she thought its eyes would be. As with the smaller creatures, this enraged it. She ducked and ran away from Milo.

Milo recovered and stood up just in time to see Bone Crusher knock Belinda to the ground and then pummel her. It was a messy death, the Lurker Boss raising up its blood-covered forelimbs. Milo felt sick. That could have been him. Would have been him for sure if she hadn't drawn the creature away. Now he had two Lurkers to deal with, but Bone Crusher was badly wounded.

He ran at the boss, taunting it and not running around it. He had to keep both Lurkers in his vision. Bone Crusher struck at him again and again, and each time, an exhausted Milo took a step back and hit its forelimb with his weapon. The curses built up to the maximum number, and Bone Crusher started to take damage. The second Lurker was charging him from the flank as Milo stepped forward and threw one of the three carved bone javelins he had made. As the Boss Lurker raised both arms to strike, he cast the spell from point-blank range into its face and hoped it would be enough. The javelin penetrated the monster’s skull, doing four times its normal damage. Bone Crusher slowly crumbled to gravel. Milo took a hit from the other Stone Lurker, rolling away from it. It would have killed him without the healing from the woman that sacrificed herself.

Asti was throwing rocks at the other Lurker. Milo took a moment to cast Mend Bones upon himself. He was running low on health, stamina, and mana, but he had enough to take out the next monster. After Bone Crusher, it would be a relief to just dodge and hit.

***

Many hours later, in an inn near the docks, Belinda woke up in her room. It was too much work for her to get out of her pod, and after her death, she had not wanted to call for a nurse, so she stayed in VR and played games in the little room she appeared in. She was fond of the old arcade games that Genesis provided. As soon as she could, she shifted to the inn, waking up in her bed.

As usual, after dying, she woke up wearing beginner trousers and a tunic. She missed her fancy robe already. Her head ached as she poured water into a glass. Dying gave her the equivalent of the worst hang-over ever. She wondered if that was how drinking made you feel in real life. She had never tried alcohol outside of the game. She was on too many medications to even think of experimenting with alcohol or drugs in the real world. At least she could cast a spell on herself for some relief. She heard cursing from the room next to hers where the boys would have just respawned.

She wondered if she had lost any levels in her skills from this death. It happened to players now and then and made death feared for more than just a headache. Checking her messages, she was very surprised.

Huzzah! Your group has been victorious over the dreaded Bone Crusher, a Level 7 Elite stone lurker, and his minions.

For your part in the battle, you receive 5 Enhancement Points and 500 Boss experience.

Your reputation with the Mining Guild has greatly improved. They offer to escort you to your tombstone to recover your lost items and loot the Treasure Chest left byBone Crusher.

She celebrated at breakfast with as many pancakes and syrup as she could eat, imported fruit, and a large hot chocolate. The meal cost her 37 copper, and the others in the group looked on with envy. She didn’t feel like sharing.

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