The Lich's Master

Chapter 20: Topple The Mountain Lord

With each hit of the scythe he blocked, he felt his whole body shake. He couldn’t stand his ground anymore, nor did he feel like he could dodge the boss’ strikes anymore. They were too fast, too swift, and Kyle felt too sluggish, as if someone had lined his clothes and filled his boots with lead.

He wanted to steal a glance of Igna, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off of his enemy. He was already at enough of a disadvantage as it was. One misstep, one single strike that passed through his defence, and he was done for.

Distant shrieks sounded again, and Kyle gritted his teeth. His shoulder still hurt. His now cauterised wound was making it quite difficult to properly use his right arm.

“Get down!” Igna’s shout echoed. Kyle didn’t hesitate, he blocked the boss’ next strike, then threw himself to the ground just at the nick of time as a wave of flames passed over his head. He heard the boss shout something, but he couldn’t quite make out the words over the sound of roaring flames.

As soon as the flames vanished, Kyle forced himself to get up and scurry away from the boss.

When he looked back at the boss and Igna, he drew a sharp breath. She was on the offensive. Her blade glowed with the power of the sun god. Every swing of her blade left a trail of flames behind it. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the crater as the distant shrieks only grew closer with each passing second.

Kyle watched with his heart racing as the Igna’s strikes whittled down the boss’ health. She chipped away at him, one strike at a time. Her motions were graceful, and every move she made was deliberate.

Kyle looked up as a shriek sounded from right above him. His eyes widened as he noticed a griffin descending. It’s wings folded halfway, it’s gaze and attention was focused solely on Igna

“Look up!” He shouted at the top of his lungs as he forced himself to run towards them. The boss had only a tiny bit of health left. A few more strikes and she’d kill him!

Igna looked up, then threw herself aside moments before the griffin touched the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Kyle drew a sharp breath as the cloud obscured his view. He looked around, his gaze desperately searching for the top ranker. Where was she?

His heart felt like it could burst out of his chest at any moment. They were so close to killing the boss! If she died now…

A low scream sounded, then some cursing before something dashed out of the cloud. It was the griffin, who had Igna in between its front paws. The top ranker held her sword in a weird way as they flew out of the cloud, then plummeted to the ground with a loud thud.

Kyle shot the Boss a quick glance. Only a sliver of health remained on his health bar – a single hit. He would die if someone so much as sneezed at him.

Igna grunted, and Kyle quickly turned to look at her. The griffin had pinned her to the ground from her shoulders. He could see the damage marks all over her. She was clearly not in pain – players weren’t supposed to feel pain after all – but she couldn’t shake the creature off of herself. As he watched, her gaze focused on the boss, and she grumbled something and threw her blade at him.

Kyle ducked under the blade and heard a low clunk as the boss blocked the attack with his scythe. His heart sank as the griffin screeched again, and clawed Igna’s chest, finally depleting the last bit of her health.

Kyle gritted his teeth. Her body had begun to dematerialise already. Soon, her weapon would fade away as well. He dashed at the sword laying on the ground, ducking under the boss’ strike, grabbed its hilt and swung it towards the armoured boss with the last drops of strength he had left.

He felt the searing blade hit the armour, his heart skipped a beat as he felt it press against it. He feared it would bounce back just like his own, ordinary blade had, but then he felt it cut through the metal armour and pierce the skin and flesh below.

‘Orelon, Lord of the Beasts and Mountain, Summoner King of the Old World, Defeated’

The system message appeared in the air just as Kyle collapsed on the ground. Not a moment later, he heard the rustle of clothes.

“What the fuck?” Igna shouted at the top of her lungs. “You killed him?!” She exclaimed.

Kyle flinched. How was she alive? He had just seen her die! “Wait, how did you…?”

“I revived myself with the sword.” She muttered, quickly opening her interface. “Oh, phew, I got the experience, but not the achievement.” She pursed her lips in disappointment as she raised her hand. The blade laying on the ground flew to her hand, which she then sheathed.

“You survived.” She stated.

Kyle nodded. “I did.” He muttered. His head was spinning. He had lost a lot of blood.

That thought quickly gave birth to another; why on earth was he even able to bleed? He reached for his shoulder and carefully touched the cauterised wound.

“Yeah, about that.” Igna said with a cautious tone. “Are you sure you’re a player?” The dark undertone of her voice sent a shiver down Kyle’s spine. “Because as far as I’m concerned, players don’t bleed, nor do they feel pain. You seem to be the exception.” She stepped closer, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade.

“I’m human!” Kyle insisted with a desperate voice. “Look, my interface is the same as yours!” he swiped his fingers in the air, and the interface appeared before him. Igna placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned down to see better.

‘Achievement Gained: Topple the Mountain Lord’

‘Special Class options unlocked: Summoner’

‘Level up’