Jake continued to explore the dungeon, collecting three more dallions, one by one. Unlike the puzzle pieces, they were quite easy to find since they were not hidden but always located in chests. They all looked similar—about the size of his palm and shaped like stars. However, each was distinct from the others: one had longer ray-like protrusions, another had more of them, and the third had wavy rays instead of straight ones. Now, he had four star-shaped dallions. He had placed the very first star-shaped dallion into its matching indentation on a Dark Spirit Conduit quite so ti ago. He was also aware of the location of a second Dark Spirit Conduit, but he hadn’t inserted the corresponding dallion in there just yet.
He stashed all four dallions near the portal, intending to use them on the corresponding obelisks after finding the other three. He was aware that while he had acquired five dallions so far, there might be even more hidden in various chests throughout the second floor of the dungeon. While he still didn’t understand the purpose of summoning the ghosts from those obelisks, he was fairly certain that sothing important would happen once he powered up all the obelisks and summoned a ghost from each.
At so point, while exploring the dungeon and looking for Dark Spirit Conduits where he could use the three star-shaped dallions he had recently found, Jake ca across another elite enemy.
Ratman - Skullcrusher - Level 95 (Elite)
The chamber where the Skullcrusher resided was spacious yet mostly empty, save for a few tall, round columns that reached toward the ceiling. Aside from the elite ratman, a group of regular grunts aimlessly wandered the area, their movents chaotic and uncoordinated.
Jake took a mont to examine the skullcrusher more closely. It was larger than even the grunts, the strongest of the ratn, and wielded an impossibly large club that it held with both hands. Its massive size likely ca at the cost of speed and agility, which would surely work to Jake’s advantage. As an elite enemy, the skullcrusher also possessed three special abilities.
When used, the first ability, Battle Cry, sent pulses of power through the nearby grunts, enhancing their strength and speed. This reminded Jake of the buff spells used by bonecasters, and he realized that if he did not eliminate the grunts quickly, he would soon be facing a wave of empowered enemies. So before giving the skullcrusher his full attention, it was wise to deal with all the grunts first.
The second ability was Crushing Blow, a powerful strike the skullcrusher could unleash every few seconds. While the na alone sounded intimidating, Jake found this ability less concerning. He knew that his Feral Instincts would kick in at the right mont, warning him of any unseen danger, and with his enhanced speed and reflexes, he knew he could easily evade this attack.
The third ability, Roar, presented a more significant threat. This thunderous shout had the potential to inflict a Dazed effect on those within its range, severely hampering their speed and coordination. Jake knew that being caught in this roar could turn the tide of the battle against him, so he resolved to stay out of its path at all costs.
With a clear plan forming in his mind, Jake stepped into the room. He needed to focus on killing the grunts first while carefully avoiding the elite ratman’s Crushing Blow and Roar abilities. As so of the grunts noticed him stepping into the chamber, his instincts sharpened, and he charged at the nearest cluster of ratn, not giving his enemies a chance to attack first.
He plunged the blade of his battleaxe between the eyes of the first grunt, splattering blood everywhere. With a quick tug, he wrenched his weapon free and ducked just as a second grunt swept its sword at him and imdiately countered, taking the head from the shoulder of the attacker. He wheeled toward a third enemy and with a mighty swing of his battleaxe, split its ribcage open. Three grunts were dead in as many seconds. He continued to fight the other grunts, killing them off one by one, and soon enough, there were no more left. He had just eliminated all the grunts before the skullcrusher even had a chance to utilize its Battle Cry.
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Feral Instincts alerted him to a danger, and Jake spun toward the skullcrusher. He saw the huge ratman open its jaws and realized it was about to unleash Roar. Not knowing how far he needed to be from the elite ratman to avoid getting hit by its shout, instead of leaping aside, Jake opted for a different tactic. With a thought, he activated Gravity Leap, propelling himself high into the air just as the skullcrusher let loose its roar at the spot he had just vacated. Reaching the apex of his jump, he activated an upgrade that allowed him to hover motionlessly in midair, defying the laws of gravity. As he glanced down, he noticed a distortion wave ripple outward from the skullcrusher. Once it had moved far enough away, Jake dropped smoothly back to the ground.
The skullcrusher swung its enormous club at him, but since it was cumberso and slow, Jake had no trouble evading the attack. The club hit the floor where he had just been with a resounding thud, sending tremors through the walls. Crushing Blow was powerful, yet far too slow for Jake to worry about. Before the skullcrusher could even lift its club again, Jake was already on the offensive, alternating between deadly claw strikes and powerful smashfist punches. While the elite ratman was extrely strong, its slow and clumsy movents made it easy for Jake to dodge its strikes. The battle wrapped up quickly, ending with the lifeless body of the skullcrusher thudding heavily to the ground.
Multiple enemies killed.
25,250 XP
With the battle concluded, Jake examined the chamber for any secrets or treasures. Nothing stood out to indicate a hidden secret, but tucked away in one corner was a quality chest. Sure enough, it was trapped. After triggering the magical trap, causing a small explosion to erupt before the chest, Jake lifted the lid and peered inside. As it turned out, the treasures within the chest were quite disappointing. There were a few lesser mana consumables, a helt, and a tal cuirass. He first extracted the mana from the consumables, replenishing so of the energy he had lost during the previous battle.
As for the pieces of armor, they were of no use to him. The helt was designed to be worn by humans, so he couldn’t even put it on, as his head had a shape sowhat different from a human’s, featuring a slightly elongated, snout-like face. The cuirass had two slots for magical gemstones, but he didn’t have any spare ones on him. Even if he had them, he wouldn’t have inserted them, as wearing the cuirass would have prevented him from using so of his abilities, like Bladed Tentacles,Serpentine Form, or Spikes. Besides, his natural armor was far more powerful than the cuirass, so there was little reason for him to wear it.
Jake stepped back from the chest and reviewed his experience points.
XP: 66,175/105,000
After that, he continued to explore the dungeon.
Eventually, he located three more Dark Spirit Conduits where he could use his recently found star-shaped dallions. He returned to the portal and retrieved all four dallions. One by one, he traveled to each of the four obelisks and inserted a corresponding dallion into each. He then summoned a ghost from each obelisk and imdiately defeated it. Before disappearing in a bright flash of light, each of the ghosts scread a single word from an ancient language.
Afterward, Jake took a mont to think. He had explored quite a bit of the second floor of the dungeon but had found only five dallions and five obelisks. So it was safe to assu there weren’t any more of them. This made him ponder. There were five arcane symbols inscribed on the front surface of the portal’s arch, and five words scread by the ghosts summoned from the obelisks, each word distinct from the others. Five words, five symbols. Surely, this couldn’t be a re coincidence.
He had already tried to lead the first ghost he summoned to the portal, killing it there, but nothing happened to the symbols etched into the arch. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a connection between the words uttered by the ghosts and the symbols on the portal. With all five obelisks now located, he decided to summon a ghost from each once more and escort them all to the portal. Although leading a single ghost to the portal hadn’t yielded any results, perhaps bringing all five spirits together would alter the outco. It was worth a shot, so Jake decided to put his plan into action and see what would happen.
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