Chương 76: (B2 Chapter 27)

The knight's helmet turned towards me slowly and eerily. I knew it was going to target me now, and my mind raced with what I could possibly do. The only thing that came to mind was using magic, as I couldn't move my body in any way right now. However, even mana doesn't have any effect on the boss in this state, so I have no clue what to do. I tried using my ability again to somehow change the ground, but it didn't work like last time.

The knight started walking towards me, but there was one positive thing now; it was limping. The leg we had all been targeting since the start of the fight finally seemed to have gotten damaged enough to start having an effect on the knight's mobility. It seemed like it could no longer run, and instead it was moving forward at a slow pace, limping badly with each step. Other than the limp, its movements seemed smoother and faster once again, showcasing its constant improvement each time it devoured our stats.

I was just about to try using my ability in a different manner to somehow make a distraction, when a sudden multi-coloured light spread from behind me and covered the entire cavern for a brief moment. A rush of energy spread within me when the light passed through me, and I found myself completely re-energized. I found that I could move my body again, and slowly got up from the ground. A thud sounded out from behind me, and I turned to look at Marcus lying face-down on the ground, unconscious.

Understanding dawned on me; Marcus had just used his ability to regenerate our resources! But wait... couldn't he only heal using his ability...? I was confused, and I quickly opened my status to confirm that all three of my resources were now full, which just increased my confusion. I thought Marcus could only heal allies using his ability, but here he had somehow regenerated all our resources. Had he been able to improve his ability somehow...?

My thoughts were cut short by the knight resuming its movement towards me. The multi-coloured light had caused the knight to halt in place for a few seconds, with it tilting its head from side to side in confusion. But now, it had resumed its limping walk towards me. I stepped to the side so that I could lure it away from Marcus, but the knight ignored my movement and continued advancing in the same path. It's actually coming towards Marcus!

That pause might have been the knight getting confused by my resources going back up again, and it had stopped to re-evaluate which one of us to target. Marcus's ability dropped him down to 1 each in health, mana, and stamina, causing the knight to target him instead. The knight was limping ever closer, and I had to get him out of here.

I knew that he would be unconscious for a while after he used his ability, so I picked him up and ran away from the knight towards the place where the rest of the group had congregated. Lucas and Sam had already been rushing towards me to protect me from the knight, so I didn't have to go far.

"Did he use his ability?" asked Lucas as soon as I neared. I nodded in answer.

"Couldn't he just heal with his ability?" asked Omar in confusion.

"I don't know what exactly he did, but we'll probably find out when he wakes up. For now, let's keep him safe," I said, pointing at the knight looming ever closer.

"I'll keep the knight away; you guys try and find a way to take this thing down," I turned and started running away again, moving at a comfortable pace as the knight wasn't moving as fast due to its injured leg. As I ran holding Marcus, my mind worked through what we had been doing till now. Clearly, it wasn't working, and if not for his ability I would have wound up dead. It was the first time I had come close to dying when faced against a puzzling encounter instead of against an immensely powerful monster.

In fact, the tutorial hadn't had any encounters even close to this, with the hidden ogre inside that hut being the only thing that could come slightly close to being called a puzzle. Yet now, I was drawing a blank. I just couldn't seem to find a way to solve this puzzle. The only thing I could think of was to damage it so much during its inhaling phase that it would be helpless when it became invulnerable, much like we had finally managed to do by injuring its leg. However, I think our group as a whole lacked DPS.

Apart from Omar, there was basically no one else who could dish out serious damage consistently. My attacks were dependent on there being vulnerable weak points to target, and if there were none, then I also became a normal damage dealer, especially since I hadn't put many stat points into strength. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Then there was my wind bolt, which was amazing when targeted inside a mouth or any other opening, but against a heavily armoured opponent like this knight, it wasn't of much use. I hadn't been able to take some time to work on a new spell yet, in fact, I remembered that I had thought being in this dungeon would give me a great opportunity to work on a new spell.

How could I have known we would be in an environment that actively suppresses mana regeneration, and more importantly, doesn't allow arcane comprehension to work? A few shouts sounded out from behind me, and I looked back to see that the knight had stilled again, and was about to change once again. Laying Marcus gently to the ground, I sped towards the knight, not having come up with anything new to do yet. Instead, I vowed to get rid of its mobility, so that it won't be a threat any longer.

Once the drain from the knight's mouth started, all of us started laying down on the knight's leg. Even Hannah was slicing away with her dagger, while I kept unleashing repeated piercing strikes and wind bolts on the same spot on its leg. Meanwhile, with renewed resources, Sam and Lucas also drove and slashed their swords, aiming for the exact spot I was damaging, while Omar also managed to unleash his light lance spell twice.

Soon, the phase ended, and we all backed away, breathing heavily and anxiously waiting to see if our desperate attempt had worked or not. We saw the helmet appear on the knight, and its head slowly turn towards Marcus once again. My heart sank with the realization that it hadn't been enough... was it because our stats were just too low after being repeatedly devoured? Were we not able to do much damage now?

However, as soon as the knight took its first step, its leg gave way and it crumpled to the floor with a crash, shaking up dust all around it. With excitement coursing through me, I saw it repeatedly try but fail to get up. An excited shout of elation went through the cavern as we cheered at finally having something go right with this fight.

Omar and Madelline then went beside Marcus to keep an eye on him while the rest of us surrounded the downed knight in a loose circle as it repeatedly tried and failed to get up. From there, the fight was pretty straightforward. We waited for the knight's phase to change before we started damaging it in a single spot; this time on its neck to try and deliver a fatal blow. There was nothing but darkness above its mouth, so we didn't have a brain to target as a weak point.

And its chest was covered by a very heavy breastplate, making it not viable as we were still against the clock. Therefore, the neck became our choice to target. We continued to become weaker as the knight devoured us repeatedly, but we persisted in doggedly attacking its neck. In the end, it took three more phase cycles before the knight's mouth suddenly stopped devouring and the knight stilled, before the entire armour crumpled to the floor.

Whatever force had been animating it was now gone, and we let out a massive but exhausted cheer. A wave of energy spread through all of us; which we realized was all our lost stats coming back to us. Moreover, all of us also managed to level up. I got two levels and reached level 20, which I was sad to discover didn't make me reach the next threshold. But I was hopeful that it would be level 25, purely going off of what I had read in stories.

Then again, this system had been weirdly all over the place with following what I consider to be tropes, so I wasn't exactly sure of myself. Hannah had gained a whopping four levels, even though she hadn't contributed much in terms of damage. However, I think her taking the massive risk of having the knight follow her around leading to her becoming helpless, coupled with her already low level, caused her to jump in levels. She finally managed to reach E grade, and got an ability that sounded quite amazing.

Her ability was called 'Adaptation', and simply put, it allowed her to adapt to something the longer she experiences it. It was similar to Omar's resonance ability, which allowed his understanding of something to grow the more he used it. The ability would probably not be of much immediate use, but I could see it becoming devastating in the future. I think it could allow Hannah to become increasingly resilient to things like poison or hexes if she repeatedly experienced them and as her body 'adapted' to it.

I wasn't sure if it was exactly how the ability would work, but time would tell. The end of the fight also resulted in a chest being spawned right at the centre of the cavern. And this time, it wasn't a silver chest. Instead, it was a bright gold chest about three times the size of the silver chest, and Omar had already made his way towards it to open it. I was looking forward to the rewards from the fight, and for finally getting out of this dungeon. As with the chest, something else had also appeared.

Exactly like the one we had entered from, a portal had appeared about 15 feet away from the bright gold chest, and I was pretty sure it led back outside. I honestly couldn't wait to get back out, because this dungeon had proven to be surprisingly deadly in design. It wasn't a straightforward danger like the tutorial had been.

Instead, it had been something that could prove to be deadly for someone like us who had no idea about this dungeon, but would be much simpler and easier the second time around with some preparation if we ever attempted it again. If we could attempt it again, that is, as I didn't know if dungeons disappeared after clearing them or if they stayed in place. I looked longingly at the portal leading out, but then focused back on the more pressing matter: Loot!