Capítulo 145: Testing the mages' respite
I thought Vespasian was the pyromaniac among the dungeon masters but it seems Hades likes to makes things burn too.
<What are you going to do now? Enter the tent?>
How about no. I think just standing here already shows a big weakness of this boss room. If I don't spring the trap it doesn't do much.
I carefully circle around the middle tent and continue towards the entrance of the next floor. There's no rule in this dungeon forcing me to fight, right?
<I wouldn't be so sure about that.>
Right as Navi speaks up I find that a barrier protects the stairs to the next floor. The barrier doesn't seem to be the usual type since it looks to be powered by seven blue gems inlaid into the right eyes of seven skulls.
Seven skeleton mages to beat, huh?
I wonder if I can kill those monsters while they are pretending to be inanimate bones. Cracking their skulls should suffice right?
Before I can make my way back a fiery explosion rocks the boss room and the trap tent goes up in flames. From the looks of it seeing the barrier also actives the trap even if there's no one in it.
Three fireballs are launched at me from somewhere in the shrubbery. I can't see the skeleton mages that cast them but since the projectile path of fireballs is fairly straightforward I know where to look.
After frantically dodging those three fireballs and getting a few slight burns from splash damage I catch my breath.
Now all I need to do is choose which one of the three fireball trajectories I want to follow first.
Scratch that. Four more fireballs zoom towards me from the camp area as the main force of the skeleton mages joins the fight. A sudden epiphany causes me to throw out four rock needles to meet the fireballs.
Despite the obvious difference in size and destructive power the fireballs explode after the rock needles hit their centers. Making the explode upon impact for splash damage had some downsides it would seem. Very exploitable downsides!
While the mages are probably on cooldown I pick a random trajectory from where I remember a fireball being launched at me and dash into the shrubbery. I enter the cover of the greenery and keep going in a straight line. Here's hoping the skeleton mages don't know that they should keep moving.
Turns out they don't. A few meters into the shrubbery I'm met with a skeleton mage wearing a tattered robe. He's holding a wooden cane with an inlaid crystal while staring at me with empty his empty eye sockets.
He looks a bit lost as to my sudden appearance and my daggers make quick work of him. His bones are so brittle that I feel like they could be broken even by a level one human without skills.
Does the specialization into magic make their physical attributes deteriorate? If so that's a really bad trade-off. Without a vanguard to protect them the skeleton mages aren't much of a threat.
I realize that I've been zoning out thinking of the boss room's flaws when two fireballs hit the edge of the shrubbery not far from where I am. The other two skeleton mages in the shrubbery must have completed their cooldowns.
<You do know that this isn't a cooldown but casting time right?>
It's the time it takes to launch the next spell. Does it matter how I call it?
<Cooldown is a gaming term and you don't even play such games regularly!>
Who cares!
Four fireballs hitting the shrubbery from the direction of the camp abruptly end my mental conversation with Navi and I sprint out of the shrubbery in the direction of the camp.
This is only the eighth floor! How can I have difficulty with only this much?
I charge out of the shrubbery like a raging bull. The scene before me has something cataclysmic as the campsite has been reduced to a burning hell with flames devouring everything they can reach.
The mages are standing at random positions all holding their canes while zeroing in on me as I enter their sights. From the way they sometimes move to avoid the blazing tongues of fire coming their way they also aren't immune to fire.
A glaring weakness if you ask me. Setting an ambush like this with monsters that can't endure fire is meaningless. The trap will restrict both sides equally.
I throw out four rock needles that shatter the skeleton mages' skulls upon impact. They are so fragile that I don't even need a second volley.
Heading into the shrubbery again I begin the exhaustive quest to fin the last two skeleton mages hidden in there. They have lost sight of me and thus stopped launching fireballs. This makes it hard to find them and puts me in a slight bit of danger.
Thankfully I'm prepared.
The moment I come across one of the skeleton mages my eyes meet the gaze from within its empty eye sockets. The next second it launches the fireball it has been preparing straight at me.
Since I am prepared I dodge to the side as the shrubbery around us goes up into flames. I dash away from the newly formed inferno as I hear the crackling of bones.
The skeleton mage has been caught in its own fiery blaze. The tattered robe is burning and the bones are becoming brittle from the heat before breaking under their own weight.
The last skeleton mage reveals its position as it launches a fireball at the burning shrubbery. Using the fire to infer my rough position shows a certain level of intelligence but thinking I'll remain stationary is a little shallow.
I boldly walk up to the last skeleton mage fully aware that it won't be able to muster a spell before I reach it. Despite having every opportunity to retreat and get some distance between us the undead monster holds its position.
As I enter the melee range it defiantly attacks with its cane. The swing is simple and holds very little force. These things really aren't capable of close-quarter combat.
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