The tunnel widened into a cavern, its walls lined with jagged crystal growths that pulsed in rhythm, like a heartbeat. The air was thick and metallic, blood, fresh and strong.
Kazuo raised his greatsword in a silent signal. "Mid-boss chamber" he said quietly, almost reverently. "Stay sharp. This is where it gets ugly."
"Ugly is subjective" I murmured. "Some people said that about me in high school."
Reina shot me a glare but didn't reply.
The crystals dimmed.
A low, dragging hiss rolled through the cavern.
Then it lunged out of the darkness, a Chitinback Stalker, twice the size of a man, its carapace ridged and black, its forelimbs ending in bladed hooks.
It moved faster than something that size had any right to.
The first swipe was aimed at Kazuo's head. He blocked, the force rattling his arms.
"Spread out!" he barked.
I circled left, staying just outside of range, waiting for an opening. The Stalker's head snapped toward me, mandibles clicking, and then it was coming, faster than I could backpedal.
Rift Step.
Space tore and I appeared behind it, sword slicing down across the softer plating at the joint of its leg. Black ichor sprayed. It shrieked, spinning and one bladed arm slashed across my chest.
Pain flared white. My armor took most of it, but the cut bit deep enough to send warmth trickling down my ribs.
It pressed me, blow after blow, forcing me backward. I ducked under one swing, rolled aside from another, but my breath was coming harder now.
I can't keep eating hits like that.
I waited for the next swing and Rift Stepped again, reappearing above it, blade first. The sword punched into the gap in its carapace between neck and shoulder.
It screamed, thrashing, throwing me off like a rag doll. I hit the ground hard, vision swimming.
Kazuo was there a moment later, greatsword slamming into its side, staggering it.
"Move!" he shouted.
I did, barely.
We traded aggro back and forth, Kazuo anchoring the front while I cut in from blind spots, each strike aimed at joints and softer tissue.
Finally, I saw my opening.
It lunged for him, exposing its underside. I charged, driving my blade up under its chest plate.
The scream this time was wet, ragged and final. The Stalker shuddered once, then collapsed in a heap.
The system chimed.
SkillAvailable: Rapid Healing - Passive. Gradually regenerates non-lethal injuries over time.
PassiveSkillSlotsFull — Replace an existing passive skill?
I glanced at my list. Steelhide had saved me a few times, sure, but a little extra armor didn't seem nearly as valuable now as not bleeding out between fights.
"Goodbye, armor bump. Hello, survival plan."
Steelhide removed.
RapidHealing acquired.
Warmth spread through my body, the wound in my side already starting to itch as it began knitting shut.
Kazuo offered me a hand up. "You good?"
"Better than I was thirty seconds ago" I said, sheathing my sword.
He gave me a small, approving nod. "Still half a dungeon ahead. Don't relax yet."
"Oh, don't worry" I said with a grin. "I'm too paranoid to relax."
We pushed on, deeper into the crimson crystal-lit dark.