“You will need to keep the fight away from everyone.” The prince said as they headed towards the kitsune. “There are a few of us here that could kill the kitsune in single combat. Me and Patrick could both do it in a fairly quick manner but that doesn’t mean we are immune to the illusions. We won’t risk it getting to them and killing them.”
Ajax could only nod. It was an extra restriction he had to play by. Unlike with the chimera he would also have to use both of his opening spells in a wide area to ensure they actually hurt the kitsune and that it didn’t miss simply because of one of her illusions.
The nobles themselves weren’t thrilled about the Floor Boss being a kitsune. As far as they saw it it simply wasn’t something that would provide a good boon for them. None of them complained however, they had all been told numerous times that this was a possibility.
“There it is.” Frank said as he nodded past a tree.
It was hard to see anything too far out clearly. The illusion Mana presented as fog and Ajax found himself having a very hard time clearing it away with [Mana Syphon]. Not to mention that since the fog was an illusion and not actually there couldn’t clear it away with Wind or Water spells.
Ajax was glad Frank had such good scouting Skills, he wasn’t at all affected by the floor’s fog, so much so that he was barely even aware it was there. The one upside Ajax could see in all this was that the fog affected the kitsune just as much as it did them. This would mean it wouldn’t be able to see them preparing the first attack.
“Channel as much Mana and Stamina as you can.” Ajax ordered the nobles present. “Don’t try to keep some in reserve just in case you have to fight. If you end up fighting you will die and you won’t even be aware of what killed you.”
There might have been an argument about keeping some Stamina to get some distance from some other Floor Bosses but against a kitsune twice their level none of them would have even the slightest chance of seeing the Floor Boss before it ripped them apart.
With twenty people being boosted this meant that there were ten people to power the both spells, more than there had been with the Collectors. On top of that since most of these people had access to their Mana and had invested in their Mana stats it meant the spell was much more powerful since less of their resources had to suffer the three to one transformation.
Ajax started the fight with a massive earth spell. Knowing the general location of the kitsune he caused the ground in a two acre area around it to snap shut on it. He knew this might not damage the kitsune too much since it would have time to react but it would give him a nice flat area to fight on, this would mean that anything else he found there would be an illusion.
“And now to find where you are.” Ajax whispered the words to himself as he launched a massive wave of fire on top of the area.
The fire was there to not only damage the kitsune but pinpoint its location for Ajax. If this kitsune was anything like the last one he saw its first instinct when faced with a wave of common fire was to use Spirit Fire to combat it.
Ajax didn’t wait and sprinted straight towards the kitsune’s general direction as soon as he launched the massive wave of fire. His prediction quickly turned out to be true as he felt the foreign but somewhat familiar feel of Spirit Fire with his [Mana Sense]. Thankfully the fog had also been washed away by the fire wave, through the sheer density of Mana Ajax had pushed into it it also pushed the illusion Mana out of the way.
“Three tails.” Ajax’s eyes sharpened as he caught sight of the Floor Boss for the first time through the sea of flames and the fog that was rushing back in .
This kitsune didn’t wield a spear like the last one he had seen but instead held two knives, both of them sporting a large gem on the handle. The three tails were spread majestically behind it though Ajax could already see bruises starting to form as well as burn marks on the Floor Boss.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Ajax didn’t try to chance another ranged attack with his bow. He had already used up five hundred Mana with the opening two spells and he knew for all that his arrows had great range they would be extremely Mana intensive for any powerful attacks.
Ajax’s first move as soon as he had gotten into range was to latch [Mana Syphon] on the Spirit Fire. Much like last time he found himself slowly smothering the fire but just like Lexi’s flames he felt something pushing back hard against his Skill.
With kitsune being known more for their agility and speed Ajax took out his axe and his sword. He would have ideally wanted to slowly wear it down with his shield but he didn’t want to chance a defensive position just in case it realized where the group of boosted were and target them instead.
Ajax brought his axe down hard, infusing the blade with Magma as he hoped to make the burns the kitsune already suffered from worse. Sadly the kitsune managed to dodge out of the way but he still managed to connect his follow up Lightning infused slash.
Then came the illusions. Ajax could see they were even more resistant to his [Mana Syphon] than the Spirit Fire, he was barely making a dent in them with his Legendary Skill. In that moment he was grateful for [Illusion Resistance] and [Impervious Senses] as he was able to still see through the illusions well enough to keep the Floor Boss locked in melee combat.
“Hiss” a feral hiss came from the boss and Ajax saw most of the Spirit Fire wink out, a thin sheet covered the blades of both daggers as the kitsune dashed close to slash.
Ajax couldn’t help but smirk a little as he stared straight into the thin slit pupils of the kitsune. This humanoid floor boss was certainly smarter than the chimera, one of the advised ways to beat a kitsune was to stay defensive and outlast it. Both Spirit Fire and illusions cost a massive amount of Mana, the only caveat to it was to ensure the defense was airtight against illusions or you would quickly find yourself losing people.
Ajax didn’t have to worry about being surprised. He was locked in melee combat with the boss as he and the boss both swiped at one another doing their very best to land even a scratch while blocking any incoming attacks.
[Curse Slash] quickly became Ajax’s go to move here. Unlike the chimera the kitsune had no way to deal with the stacking debuff that [Curse Slash] would apply and it would only require a minute scratch for the blow to land.
The Floor Boss gave as good as it got, Ajax’s armor was quickly set ablaze, the spirit fire latching on to the leather armor and his flesh with every slash he didn’t manage to parry. The kitsune’s tails were a very annoying part of its combat style, unlike the kitsune of Earth’s legends the Floor Boss didn’t treasure its tails nearly as much, being more than happy to see a chunk of fur be hacked away so long as it covered the angle of its blade.
Both Ajax and the kitsune were pushing their bodies hard with the amount of Mana they were putting out. Ajax tried his best to mess with the earth at their feet or lay down a patch of ice to catch the kitsune slipping but that proved to be more difficult than it usually was on account of the illusions constantly changing small details around them. More than once Ajax felt his toes snag as he went to move his feet, other times he felt his foot drop an inch or two more as the small pothole was airbrushed out of the ground.
“Damn it.” Ajax cursed as the kitsune ran to disengage the moment Ajax started pumping his body with Life Mana to heal the damage done by the Spirit Fire. He moved to launch himself after the Floor Boss when he felt the muscles in his leg tear under the exertion.
It took a moment for Ajax to realize what had happened and for him to use some Light mana to heal his torn muscles before giving chase to the kitsune. He had to admit the Floor Boss was a lot smarter than he had thought, feral as the creature seemed to be it had fooled him perfectly with the illusion spells, making them appear slightly weaker while actually condensing them, this made Ajax think [Syphon Mana] was draining more Mana than it actually was and he pushed his body harder than it was boosted.
The one silver lining was that the kitsune was retreating in the opposite direction of the boosted group. More than that Ajax was quickly catching up, his body being brought back to its peak state with Light and Life Mana while the Curse Mana was slowly strengthening its grip on the kitsune.
By the time Ajax caught back up with the kitsune they were among the trees of the forest once more. Finding himself much faster than the kitsune Ajax switched out his axe for his hammer looking to finish this.
His first hammer strike dealt massive damage. He had specifically used [Cursed Slash] to weaken the integrity of the kitsune’s body during the fight, as it tried to parry away the hammer strike Ajax unleashed a shockwave filled with two hundred Mana. The Vibration Mana traveled straight through the impact and shattered the weakened bones of the boss.
Despite being in immense pain and caught completely by surprise the kitsune still managed to react well enough as it used its illusions to hide the branches of a tree it used as footholds to try and get some distance from Ajax as it blasted him with Spirit Fire, having given up on Mana conservation.
Ajax wasn’t about to let this drag on any further however as he pulled the kitsune back towards him with [Telekinesis]. The sudden powerful jerk combined with the shattered arm meant there was nothing the kitsune could do as it watched, eyes widening in surprise, as Ajax landed a follow up Vibration blow straight in the center of its chest.
Ajax felt eight ribs snap as the shockwave released inside the Floor Boss’s body turned its internal organs to mush yet he didn’t hesitate to ensure the fight was over by swapping his sword out for a dagger a thrusting it straight through the kitsune’s eye with a Wind enhancement to finish it off.
Looking at the broken body of the dead Floor Boss Ajax took in a few slow deep breaths as he tried to use [Meditation] to lock in his memories of the fight. Despite taking numerous small hits and having used a lot more Mana and Stamina than he did against the chimera Ajax felt much more in control against the kitsune.
“Time to go back.” Ajax whispered to himself after he caught his breath, unfortunately he wouldn’t be able to keep the kitsune’s daggers but he did grab them in hopes of having them examined before they left the floor.