Chapter Forty

  As Pinky flew into the menagerie of warped animals, Alex held her breath. If there was one way that the whole encounter would conclusively fail, it would be if her invulnerable minion couldn't pull the mass of mobs away from the Spire of Creation.

  The little brown bat fluttered over the horde, flying far enough above that nothing could hit her with a ranged attack, but low enough to catch their notice. It felt like a suicide mission even though Alex knew Pinky would survive the initial counterattack.

  As Pinky circled the area, heads rose in interest. Animals shifted towards Pinky, not yet pursuing, but her passing created a wave of warped flesh.

  Alex's heartbeat thundered in her chest. She had to remind herself to breathe as she watched her little minion.

  After Pinky made a complete circuit of the Spire of Creation, she flew to a heavy clumping of animals on the southern side. Then without warning, she dove into the mass, hitting them with a light taunt, before soaring back out.

  A host of cries rose from the area she'd attacked as the warped animals tried to get after her. While the rest of the menagerie wasn’t affected by the immediate spell, when the others shifted to go after Pinky, they were sucked in like a vacuum.

  Before Alex knew it, the whole mass slid southward as if the world had been tilted that way, quickly turning into a stampede, dust rising from the plain. When the first animals hit the southern edge of the forest, the trees shook as if they'd been hit by a bomb, and smaller foliage was trampled to colorful pulp.

  As the warped animals fled south, Alex circled north so she could make it to the white stone structure and find a way inside before they could return. She ran across the flattened plain, the rumble of thousands of warped animals reverberating through her feet like a continuous earthquake.

  But as she approached the Spire of Creation, she forgot about the warped animals. The massive stone building seemed to grow in size as she approached.

  When she reached it, she realized it had to be at least three hundred feet in diameter at the base. It hurt her neck to glimpse the peak from her position.

  Touching the stone revealed an unnatural warmth as if the stone itself were alive. Alex glanced back towards the southern forest before starting to jog around the circumference. She preferred to use a provided entrance—if there was one—rather than make her own way, but it would take time to run around it.

  By the time she was moving south, Alex realized she was going to have to use Inky. The only problem was that it meant her journey into the Spire of Creation was one way. Once she was inside, there was no way out since her minion would be stuck outside. Alex hoped that killing the Warped Mother would provide an exit, but there were no guarantees in the hardest game in the world.

  "Your turn, Inky," said Alex.

  Her minion flew close, triggering her ghosting ability, which Alex promptly stole with Misdirection.

  As soon as her body went incorporeal, she pushed through the pale wall, stumbling when it provided no resistance. Inside the stone, she had no idea which direction she was going or how thick it was, but she moved as fast as she dared, because if she returned solid before the spell wore off she'd die in the stone.

  Alex broke into the center a moment before the spell ended, returning her flesh to solid. The warm, moist air immediately choked her, leaving her gasping as if it were a jungle in high summer.

  Despite the heat, the monstrous vision at the center of the spire brought shivers to her spine. A chemical smell burned at her nose as if the creature standing but a hundred feet away was puffing off methane gas.

  Alex wasn't expecting a pillar of black goo pulsating with pseudopods as if a creature inside was trying to climb out as the final boss, but as the slick black trunk formed, extending to squeeze out a tawny muscular shape that looked like a cross between a pony and a tiger, she knew she'd found her final foe.

  Warped Mother, Boss, Level 22

  Alex watched in horror as the warped animal that had just birthed shook off the oily excess, revealing a dangerous warped animal beneath.

  Spitting Poniger, Warped Animal, Level 9

  Standing on the backside of the Warped Mother, away from the newly birthed poniger, Alex hoped that she'd avoided notice, but it made a low growl in the back of its throat as it marched towards her.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  "This should be fun," said Alex, wishing she had her minions with her.

  The Spitting Poniger trotted towards her, shaking its head as if it were trying to dislodge something from its throat.

  "I swear to Merlin if you spit bees or wasps, I'm quitting this game," said Alex as she unfurled her whip.

  She hated the idea of fighting toe-to-toe, but she didn't have a choice.

  When the Spitting Poniger reared back its head, Alex dove to the left.

  The Spitting Poniger misses you with its Acid Spit attack!

  Rising to her feet, Alex snapped the Shocking Strangler twice in quick succession.

  You have hit the Spitting Poniger for 28 damage!

  Critical hit! You have hit the Spitting Poniger for 57 damage! The Spitting Poniger is affected by Shock!

  You have gained a skill point: +1 One-handed Whip

  The poniger cried out as it lurched towards her. The newly born warped animal seemed unsteady on its feet, and since it was seven levels lower than her, she was able to dodge the next attack, once again returning twice as much as she got.

  But as good as the beginning of the fight was going, she was aware that the Warped Mother was birthing a new creature. A glance at her fatigue showed it was at 8%, which was still low, but a long fight would not be the best strategy for her as an Arcane Mastermind.

  But it was hard to be a mastermind without minions or even other creatures to play against.

  The Ghastly Crocagoat proved to be an easy kill, as its stubby legs couldn't catch up to her as she kited it around the room. The only problem was that by the time she finished killing it, a Giant Porcudillo squeezed from the Warped Mother's oily pseudopod.

  After the porcudillo rolled after her, it prepared a shot of spikes from its quilled back. Alex managed to steal the attack, misdirecting it to the Warped Mother.

  You have misdirected a spine shot attack to the Warped Mother for 6 damage!

  You have misdirected a spine shot attack to the Warped Mother for 8 damage!

  You have misdirected a spine shot attack to the Warped Mother for 6 damage!

  The amount of damage was disappointing, but anything she didn't get hit by was a win.

  As Alex dodged the mobile porcudillo, she watched with frustration as a new creature emerged. Rather than continue to spar with the level 9 quilled mob pursuing her, Alex shifted her focus to the Warped Mother, hoping to disrupt the birth.

  You miss the Warped Mother!

  You miss the Warped Mother!

  You hit the Warped Mother for 23 damage!

  When a Growling Firetoad emerged from the glistening black trunk, Alex decided that either it couldn't be interrupted or she was too low level to deal enough damage. She was currently level 16, while the Warped Mother was level 22. The difference in levels was six, which Alex had found to be enough to significantly decrease her hit rate and damage. It seemed like five levels was the magical number that allowed her attacks to more consistently hit. Even some of her spells referenced the five-level difference. The only way she'd grinded through the early levels when the mobs were so much higher was by exploiting the physics of the game.

  A Giant Porcudillo hits you for 9 damage!

  Alex extended her arm, cracking the whip at the Giant Porcudillo before the Growling Firetoad reached her. She made three successive attacks before circling around the Warped Mother to avoid her pursuers.

  While the firetoad lacked mobility, it made up for it with a ranged attack that arced towards her as a wad of lava saliva. She had to throw herself out of the way to avoid being hit by the fiery loogie.

  As she whittled the Giant Porcudillo down, a third creature emerged from the Warped Mother—a Flailing Archhound. The new addition provided danger as it had enough mobility to catch up with her. Lacking a defensive strategy, she started taking hits from the three warped animals, wearing down her fatigue and hit points.

  When the firetoad launched another flame spit, Alex waited until it had almost reached her before casting Wind Gust, blowing it right into the archhound, which lunged in with its snapping jaws.

  The Flailing Archhound has been hit by flame spit for 34 damage! The Flailing Archhound is affected by Burning!

  The hound yelped, bounding away as it coughed out bits of flame as if it'd eaten a bucket of ghost peppers.

  Down to the two mobs, Alex cracked her whip again, catching the Giant Porcudillo right in the soft spot beneath its chin.

  Critical hit! You deal the Giant Porcudillo 67 damage!

  You have slain a Giant Porcudillo!

  You have gained experience: 750 XP

  As her experience bar flashed across her vision, Alex was reminded that she was almost to level 17, which would help her against the Warped Mother. The only problem was surviving until she reached it.

  As the flametoad repositioned itself to launch another volley, Alex realized the Warped Mother was no longer birthing a new warped animal. This pause either suggested that a new phase of the combat was beginning, or that the Warped Mother had to rest before the next birth.

  Alex used the opportunity to make a strafing attack on the Warped Mother, snapping her whip with an overhead flair.

  You have hit the Warped Mother for 18 damage!

  In the moment Alex turned her head to check on the flametoad, a pseudopod in the shape of a fist extended from the Warped Mother, knocking her across the ground.

  The Warped Mother hit you for 67 damage! You are affected by chimeric acid!

  Alex climbed to her feet, shaking off the violence of the throw. Her shoulder had hit first, jarring her bones right through her teeth. A DoT icon formed near her hit point and faez bar, indicting she'd be taking damage over time for an unspecified time.

  She was already down 30% of her hit points and had a fatigue of 38%, and she’d barely touched the Warped Mother. This fight wasn't going as she'd hoped, but she hadn't seen many opportunities to turn the tables.

  With no time to massage away the ache in her shoulder, Alex was squaring off against the approaching firetoad when the ground shook violently. The firetoad stopped in its tracks a mere two dozen feet away.

  Alex rocked on her feet as the ground swayed. She couldn't determine the reason but it kept coming in rolling waves.

  An ear-splitting crack behind her flung dust across her back. Other cracks formed in the white stone spire at intervals, filling the air with concrete booms, forcing Alex to throw her hands over her ears.

  As dust billowed into the air and hunks of rock as big as basketballs fell from above, the Warped Mother extended a second glistening black trunk, and Alex watched in horror as two more warped animals were given birth in the Spire of Creation.