Since Sofie joined the party, we’d been making steady progress clearing floors with her. We were nearly back to floor 21, where we’d lost Jin. The last hurdle before that was conquering floor 20 again with our current team. Then we could avenge our fallen friend and, moreover, update our floor record for the first time in over a year. Clearing floor 21 would be a huge deal.
We just had to get through floor 20 first, and we were nearly on the verge of doing that. We were currently facing the strongest mob on the floor—the boss. Its chamber was uniquely shaped like a winding maze. And the boss itself, a giant green serpent, freely slithered about the dark passageways. The pit organ between its eyes and nose allowed it to track us even from the shadows—but the boss wasn’t the only one here who could follow enemies in the dark!
“This way! Hurry!” I ran after the great snake with all my might, Neme hoisted over my shoulder. With one glance back to confirm everyone was following, I yelled, “Sofie!”
“I know!”
She activated her spirit magic before I could even finish giving the order. The corridor we were currently in was about two meters wide and tall, and Sofie conjured a wall of earth to close it off, sealing us into dusty darkness.
“How are we doing, Note?!”
“About 80 percent of the way there! We’ll have the boss soon!”
Floor 20 was a massive labyrinth. Back when Erin and I were stranded here, the complex system of passageways had actually worked to our strategic advantage—and the boss was making full use of them as well. As a giant, mobile serpent, it had the upper hand in this vast maze. It would strike, retreat into the tangled web of hallways when threatened, and then strike again from the shadows as soon as you let your guard down. It was too swift to chase after too. It’d be gone in an instant.
The last time the Arrivers were on floor 20, we’d struggled so much against this boss that we’d had to withdraw at first. We were eventually able to take it down thanks to Jin, who was sadly no longer with us... But the Arrivers had new strengths now, meaning we had new ways to fight too.
“All right, Erin! Seal all the hallways we just passed!” I called.
“I’m on it!” she called back.
Our strategy this time around was extremely simple. We were using Sofie’s earth spirit arts and Erin’s earth magic to close off various passageways of the maze as we went. Then, once the snake had nowhere left to run, Force would square up and fillet the thing. It was a gutsy plan that capitalized on our resources and combat prowess.
We’d already sealed off most of the passageways in the boss chamber too. In another few minutes, we’d have the boss cornered. See, I already had all of floor 20 mentally mapped. Knowing both the layout of the floor and the boss’s position, I could figure out which hallways we needed to block. That left me to call the shots, since I was the only one who could keep abreast of every hectic element of this plan.
“The boss will appear soon. Stay on your toes,” I warned.
Our preparations were about ninety percent complete now. A fight was imminent. Would the boss catch us first, or would we be able to corner it before then? The complex and shifting game of cat and mouse continued.
“Progress at ninety-five percent! Just one hall left!” I shouted.
No sooner had those words left my mouth than I spotted a pair of red eyes in the darkness. The boss must have realized that any more slithering around was pointless. Instead of letting us corner it completely, it had decided to face us head-on.
That was pretty smart for a reptile, but it was picking a fight with the wrong people. The battle was already decided. There was only one escape route, and in the remaining narrow hall, the boss would have to face the strongest swordsman in the country—Force. With us as backup, of course.
If the snake tried to get away, Erin would open fire. If that didn’t work, Roslia and Sofie were prepared to head it off. And with Neme on our side, the snake would have to kill Force in one shot to get him off its tail. Meanwhile, I was waiting in the wings for my chance to finish it off with Spell Shot.
The boss was well and truly surrounded. Unable to flee, only defeat awaited. Floor 20 was nothing to the new Arrivers. We already had our sights set on our real opponent—floor 21.