Chapter 61

Mausoleum of the Arsonist, Etson - 11:41 AM

I stood outside of Mathias Gray’s boss chambers, but didn’t enter. The charcoal ghost remained hanging on the tree just as it had when I first saw it. It hadn’t moved an inch, nor would it until I attacked or entered the room.

In preparation I removed my Straw Hat of the Seer and Krinkee’s Bandolier, throwing them into my inventory. While the glass vials were sturdy enough to survive the Scorched Skeleton’s heat, this fight would be different. It wasn’t just heat that I would have to contend with. With my more flammable items in my inventory, I pulled out a bottle of water and chugged.

One more thing to prepare. I pulled out the special tusk I had cut free from the oversized Tuskgutter Ghost the same night I had helped the Alurne siblings. Thanks to the creature being in its incorporeal state, the tusk could now hurt creatures that didn’t fully exist on our plane. As just a tusk it was a poor weapon, though, and I was looking forward to visiting the Monstersmith down the line to get it forged into something better. For now I took my Vague Stick and willed it to snake around the tusk, turning it into a makeshift spear. I still had nine doses of the Ectoplasmic Grape Juice left, but it would be a waste to use it here.

I was ready. Taking in a few breaths, I took the only blunt arrow I kept out and pushed it towards Mathias Gray’s head as I walked into the room. It flew true, appearing as though it was going to collide with the ghost’s face. Predictably, it flew through the enemy without causing any damage. As it passed, the wooden shaft of the arrow suddenly went up in flames before piercing into the tree behind it.

Mathias’ eyes slowly opened to reveal orange orbs of fire. It was hard to tell where he was looking without pupils, but I felt a shiver run down my spine despite the ever growing heat. Around its neck, the noose began to smoke and went up in flames that quickly traced the rope back to the tree. Behind me, the door slammed closed. By the time the fire reached the tree, I was at the ghost’s hanging feet.

The thrusts of my weapon came hard and fast as I lashed out at Mathias. The ghost’s eyes widened in surprise the first time I pierced it, leaving a hole in its body that quickly filled with flames and returned to the charred, fleshy look it had taken on. Another hole replaced the first as swiftly as it was filled, and I continued to jab at the hanging ghost. I needed to deal as much damage as I could now while it was stuck, waiting for the system to go through the motions and release it.

I wasn’t disheartened by how quickly Mathias seemed to be healing the damage I inflicted. While it certainly looked as though my strikes weren’t doing anything, it was far from the truth. Ghosts had properties that kept them in one shape until they had taken enough hit point damage to properly die. You could cut one in half, blow it up, or create as many holes as you wanted and Mathias would always snap back into shape in a hurry.

Once the flames on the rope reached the tree, the dry bark took to the fire incredibly fast. Instead of orange, the flames burned with sickly black and gray hues that seemed to stymie all color in the room. I managed to stab Mathias upwards of thirty times, several of those in the face, before I was suddenly pushed back. The tree became a raging inferno, adding to the already brutal heat stifling the room. Sweat poured down my forehead, and I thanked my hearty constitution for allowing me to breathe as the oxygen levels in the room dropped.

The fire shot from the tree in all directions. I dove to the ground, covering my head as I activated Shield. It shattered far too quickly for my liking, but it did prevent the bulk of the damage. The flames licked at me, evaporating the sweat from my body and leaving my skin an angry red color. Mathias would be free from the tree now and, knowing this, I rolled to the side.

The burning noose flung itself like a whip and slammed into the ground where I had laid. I continued rolling as it followed me, slashing along my trail until I used Lift to pull myself up by my jacket and onto my feet. Mathias floated above me, holding the flaming rope in both hands and laughing soundlessly. He very well could have been making noise, now that I thought of it, but the sound of the roaring fire drowned out anything else.

I threw the tusk into the air and Pushed it towards the ghost. It attempted to dodge out of the way, but was surprised enough that it couldn’t in time. The spear ripped through its side before I Pulled it back. Twirling the weapon, I threw it again though the ghost was ready for it this time. I checked the tree; the flames were slowly building back up.

Pulling the spear back to me, I jumped up to reach it. I activated Air Step and jumped even higher. Mathias wasn’t out of reach anymore. Instead of skewering him again, I used one more step to get above him and dropped. The tusk pierced through from the shoulder down and I twisted the Vague Stick. Instead of pushing fully through, which would have dealt damage but not much else, the ghost was forced downwards to the ground.

My landing was graceful, though I couldn’t say the same for Mathias’. It flew off of my weapon and into the ground, and the heat lessened considerably without the ghost’s presence. I wheezed, sputtered, and coughed; the oxygen levels were getting far too low. It was very unfair, but the black ghost flames would continue to burn even without oxygen. This dungeon boss was meant to be taken down by a well prepared team, and I felt that in my lungs.

The heat intensified behind me and I spun, holding up my Vague Stick in preparation for an attack. The rope slid off of my weapon instead of wrapping around my neck as intended. Knowing that this was the best chance I’d have, I roared before reaching out. This was going to suck.

Ghosts, as creatures, were very abstract. Mathias Gray was an arsonist, so as an undead he was bound to the element of fire. The method of his death was by hanging and thus the rope around his neck was a part of him and yet its own separate item. If it weren't on fire then it would make a great weak spot for the ghost.

It was this danger that I disregarded.

My hand grabbed the flaming rope, causing my roar of determination to be replaced by indignant grunts of pain. The ghost seemed to laugh harder at this until I began wrapping the rope around my arm. The noose was still hanging from its neck, and I used that to my advantage. My Windbreaker of Warmth began to smoke and light on fire from the flames covering the rope, but I persisted.

With my other hand, I started stabbing even as the pain intensified. The rope wrapped tightly around Mathias’ neck was its main mode of attack aside from the fires that came off of the tree. It flailed, trying to free itself from the tool of its demise, but couldn’t. It was a victim of its own creature type, bound by the rules that allowed it to exist in the first place.

My arm continued to burn, but I couldn’t stop. It was me or the ghost in a situation where I had forced myself to take the hard road forward. The only way forward, I corrected myself. Anything else would have taken too long and I would have had to win this fight while holding my breath, and by then it would be too late. Any damage I caused would be insubstantial in front of the incorporeal foe before me.

I stabbed and I thrust. When Mathias got too close, I switched to swings to beat the ghost into submission. It tried to lash out at me, swinging its arms but I barely felt it. The heat in the room was too great, what was a little more? Mathias attempted to dip back into the ground, but I pulled it back up from the noose. Pain began to blind me, but I didn’t stop. I continued to wail on the boss as best I could.

Suddenly, mid-thrust, the burning sensation in my wrapped up arm lessened. I slowed down and looked it over. The rope was no longer on fire. At the other end, the ghost no longer existed. The Windbreaker of Warmth had been burned away all the way to my shoulder and I could see that the Seven-Tenner Bowling Shirt had also been burned underneath. Those could both be fixed on the train.

My arm, however, was going to have to painfully wait for the Writhing Belt Whip to do its job. The whole appendage had been seared black with blood and pus oozing out of the charred skin. I gingerly tried to let go of the rope, but my fingers didn’t move and protested as I tried. Sitting down, I took a deep breath. Now that the tree was no longer burning with ghostly flames and the door had opened, the room was filling with that sweet, sweet air.

[[Victory!]]

You have slain the Dungeon Boss [Ghost of Mathias Gray]; +400 points.

I wouldn’t rest for long, though. While I didn’t have a watch or anything, I felt like it had been over an hour since I told Thomas that it would take me about that long. Having had less than a minute to catch my breath, I stood back up and gathered the goods.

At the foot of the tree were the drops from Mathias Gray: a thin choker, a wand-length stick from the tree, and another red skill book. I looked through the items first.

[[Item]]

Choker of the Arsonist

The Choker of the Arsonist gives the wielder 10% resistance to fire damage. If the wielder is on fire, they gain the Blowback skill.

[[Skill]]

Blowback

When on fire, expel the flames consuming you in the direction of your choice. This deals as much damage as the skill that lit you on fire would have done normally.

[[Item]]

Tinder Twig

When using the Tinder Twig as a conduit for any fire based skills, increase the power of those skills by 25%. This item is immune to fire damage.

The Tinder Twig was going to be a great addition to Francis’ arsenal. It was similar to the Heavy Strike passive from my Seven-Tenners Bowling Shirt with less restrictions on the damage boost. Between this and the Charred Bone Breastplate, his fire damage was going to be terrifying.

Jess would be getting the Choker of the Arsonist. Because she had the Carbon Cutter class that changed the composition of her skin, she would soon be able to take fire from allies and coat her body in it while taking no damage. The Blowback skill was perfect for her. All she needed was that necklace from the Felician Firebird that made her clothes fireproof and she’d be able to fling flames with reckless abandon.

I didn’t bother learning the skill from the skill book. It was for an attack buff called Flaming Sword that, despite the name, worked on all sorts of weapons for a moderate class resource cost. However, the more I thought about Corwin the more I wanted to convince Jeff to turn him into a Cerberus and a fire based skill book would help that. Doing so would be a great way to safely dispose of the Demonic Resistance skill book, as well.

If I had to admit it to myself, I was biased. Cerberus Evolution Hounds were great dogs. That could be said of nearly all Evolution Hounds, of course, but especially this demonic branch. Loving, playful, and excellent guard dogs, they weren’t afraid to do what it takes to keep their master safe. It would also make Corwin nigh unkillable due to a ludicrously high constitution stat.

I sighed. That would have to wait until after Kayla berated me over the Serranras situation, I supposed.

Tossing the Tuskgutter Ghost’s tusk back into my inventory, I used the Vague Stick to sweep the other three items in after and began heading back to the entrance. I carefully tried to remove the rope from my arm again, but it wasn’t time yet. I headed back in an unhurried fashion, giving my arm more time to heal. The pain was excruciating, but I was dealing with it.

The people upstairs would just have to be okay with the gross sight. Charlie excluded, though; he was probably clinging to Jess by now. Francis did say that she was going to get him once the door opened, and that would have happened when the dungeon boss fell. Despite my pace, reaching the entrance of the dungeon was a lot faster than reaching the end. Thomas and John stood at the bottom of the stairs and Charlie was, thankfully, nowhere in sight.

“Jesus Christ, what happened to you?” John asked as he caught sight of me. I shrugged. It was business as usual.