The Ruby Magician

The snake monster didn't have to go far to reach John as the Fighter nearly sprinted to the enemy. They clashed immediately, the creature's axe deflecting off John's enhanced shield for its first blow with John following it with a stab of his own weapon.

Wyn trotted behind, waiting for an opportunity. John could likely take the enemy one on one, but he might not come out unscathed, and he needed to be in the best condition possible if they still had three more similarly powerful enemies to defeat.

The clangs and rings of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the room. Wyn could see small gashes on the creature where John had made some contact, though no major blow had been dealt. John was lucky that the axe was large and cumbersome, and with his aura enhancing him he was able to dodge or create glancing blows so far, though Wyn knew he couldn't forever.

When he was closer behind the Fighter, Wyn held his palm up and stepped to the side. "Flash!" He yelled, and a bright light overtook the dim portion of the room. The monster reared back and hissed, dropping its axe and covering its eyes with its hands. Wyn placed a hand on John's shoulder and pushed him to the ground. "Get down!"

John listened and allowed the Red Mage to push him into a crouch, though kept his eyes on the enemy. He wasn't sure why Wyn took his chance of performing a counterstrike, and opened his mouth to yell at him when an arrow flew directly over him and struck the monster.

The arrow exploded when it struck the creature's chest, and blood began to pour out of a large hole.

Wyn let go of John and sprang up with his spear ahead of him, piercing the creature's lower torso with the entirety of the spearhead. He held it in place like skewered meat, using all of his current strength to prevent it from moving despite it lashing about and clawing at the weapon.

John stepped forward and slashed horizontally in a fierce swing, yelling in ferocity.

Wyn felt the beast slump to the ground and heard the thump of its head hitting the floor.

John took a deep breath. "One down."

The pillar stopped glowing except for the axe symbol, and one of the bars covering the exit portal disappeared.

Wyn yanked his spear out of the snake's body. "Three to go. Let's regroup."

The two warriors worked their way back towards the middle of the room, waiting for whatever came next.

"Are you hurt?" Tasha asked. She looked John up and down, but the Fighter didn't respond.

Another pillar lit up in the chamber, and another enemy burst from stone. This one wore leather armor over its torso and held its halberd away from it, slowly slithering along the ground towards them.

"Not good," Wyn said. "It has more reach than the others. Your sword isn't a good match."

Marcy stepped forward and fired a regular arrow, though the monster swatted it away with its halberd and slithered its body away in case it missed.

Wyn's eyes widened, and he heard a hitch in John's breath.

"That's also not good," Marcy said. "It's smarter than the others, too."

"So we constrain it and kill it," Wyn said. "Trap it, and strike it down while its chained." Wyn checked his mark on his forearm and saw that he still had three quarters of his mana. No point in saving it - he needed to act now.

He began slowly walking towards it, matching its speed. The halberd and its snake-like body - along with just being plain large - gave it the advantage of reach, even though Wyn also had a weapon longer than most. But Wyn had magic at his disposal, and he felt confident he could handle it by himself.

"Wyn, you aren't defended well enough against it!" John yelled.

Wyn didn’t bother answering. John was right, of course, but Wyn had a new spell he wanted to try out.

When the creature came close enough to attack, it dropped its halberd and stabbed towards Wyn quickly. Wyn lunged to the side, staying on his feet. He then stepped towards the monster hoping to close the distance. While the monster had good reach, the halberd was not a great weapon to fight up close.

“Feeble,” Wyn said, almost at a whisper. A large black rune appeared in front of his hand, and at the center was a human skull. That same symbol and runic combination draped over the creature like a cloak, and the skull hovered above its head in the air.

The monster visibly shrank by several inches, and the armor it wore suddenly looked like it was a size too big. It brought the halberd back around for a sweeping strike as though nothing happened, but its moves were sluggish as though it was moving through water.

The swing was pitiful and Wyn easily ducked under it. He brought his spear up in a quick stab, finding purchase under the armor at its lower torso.

Blood flowed from the puncture, and the monster recoiled from the pain slower than Wyn would have guessed. He followed up the attack with two quick jabs of his spear, making two more smaller but still effective holes in its scaly hide.

The spell worked far better than he hoped.

The monster repositioned to the side, writhing its body to find another angle to attack. It lunged upwards in an arc with its huge weapon and Wyn jumped backwards to avoid it. An arrow suddenly pierced its neck, and another jutted out of its shoulder quicker than Wyn could take a breath.

Marcy's ranged strike distracted the creature enough for Wyn to continue his own attacks. He slashed across the creature once, then again in another direction, using the momentum from his weapon to maximize the time he had available. The wind element in his spear afforded him greater effectiveness than a standard attack, and likely even better than a base magical one.

Both slashes cut through the monster's armor and opened up its chest, causing blue blood to pour from the wounds. It roared in anger, though its roar came out in a deeper pitch and was drawn out, as though the spell worked to slow every part of its being including its speech.

Wyn drew his spear back and struck it forward hard, grunting to add any ounce of strength possible. The scaly body attempted to slither out of harm's way, but the Feeble spell caused it to move too slowly to avoid Wyn's spear. The weapon pierced the monster's neck, enough for its eyes to widen at the realization it was bested.

It spat out sickening blood as it slumped down to the stone floor, and the respective pillar dimmed except for the halberd symbol.

Wyn took a few deep breaths. He was foolish to be so cocky thinking he could take it on his own. There was a strong chance he was going to win, though just like he was wanting to prevent with John, he might've taken too long, used too much energy, or been damaged himself. Marcy's attack dealt enough damage and distracted the beast the perfect amount for Wyn to continue maintaining the upper hand.

Before he was able to mentally refocus, the last remaining pillar glowed, and the last snake statue crumbled to life. Similar to before, the monster shrugged off the pieces of stone that encased it and began stretching its body as though waking from a deep slumber. There was no armor on its slender body except for a necklace it wore similar to the one they found currently around John's neck.

Wyn watched in horror as it held its staff out to the side and smiled wide, its scaly mouth stretching to reveal nasty fangs and a darting tongue.

A rune formed at the top of its staff and below the creature, and a magical green aura began to envelope it.

Gods. It was able to use magic.

Wyn took several steps backwards to his group, his heart racing. He knew enemies could cast magic based on the power of the witch he met in the caves, but he assumed he wouldn't have to deal with that power until higher floors. The mushrooms that used them in the caves last season were stronger than normal, and Wyn assumed he wouldn’t find an enemy like that again for sometime. This was too much too soon.

"Magic user!" Wyn yelled. He didn't know if the others saw the same display as he did, but he frantically tried to warn them regardless.

A glowing arrow whizzed by him towards the creature. Marcy obviously wasn't going to wait. The arrow was going to hit the monster directly in the chest, though it harmlessly bounced away, the green aura around the enemy lighting up where the arrow hit. The aura that enveloped it was obviously a protective shield as Marcy’s enhanced arrow was deflected. It wasn’t too strong, though - it had a visible crack from the impact. It could block magical attacks, too, but likely not for long.

The snake-hybrid slithered away from them unexpectedly, only being able to be seen by the faint green aura around it. Wyn wasn't sure what it was doing but he didn't want to find out too late. It likely had the ability to cast longer ranged attacks similar to Cedric but there was no tell until it actually used its magic.

Wyn tracked the monster and maneuvered himself beside the others, not taking his eyes off the enemy. "John, how well does your shield work against magic?"

John huffed, almost in a laugh. "Well enough. I'll be fine, let's just kill it before it casts too many spells!" He inched forward carefully, Wyn right beside him.

The monster worked its way on the outskirts of the chamber towards the statue of the other creature with dual swords they didn’t kill. It raised its staff as a large circle of runes appeared under the stone statue and a similar runic circle appeared on the corresponding pillar.

Wyn and John froze. They looked at each other with a quick glance, worry plastered on their faces.

The pillar lit up with green light and the statue monster came to life yet again, stone pieces falling around it. It twirled its sword in the air and slithered beside the enemy mage. The previous wounds it bore began to close, its scaly skin reforming in a flash of green light. Where its left arm was limply hanging by its side it now twisted and moved it just as well as the other, and another sword appeared in the free hand. It looked as menacing as before, newly rejuvenated.

Worse, Wyn thought, was that the two enemies were hissing and clicking as though they were communicating.

"Definitely not good," John said, taking a step back. "They bastards are planning something!"

Wyn's mind scrambled. Their group wasn't ready for this. Challenging the tower by overcoming puzzles, killing basic enemies, working together as a group - these were doable at this point, but he had no idea the level of capabilities he'd be up against. He thought it would be more than a few days before the difficulty would ramp up so quickly. Enemies who could cast magic and strategize were incredibly more dangerous. To make matters worse, they didn’t have a full group and one of them wasn’t even a Climber.

He shook his head. No. He wouldn't let Alistair outsmart him. He was a strategist, too, and this was just another obstacle to go over, around, or through.

"Stay beside me," Wyn said, quiet so only John could hear him. "We take down the sword-wielder first, then pin down the mage."

John nodded quickly, exhaling audibly to slow down his breathing. The red aura around him was dimmer than before, his skill nearly finished.

"Marcy," Wyn yelled, "distract the mage. Cal, protect Tasha!"

"I'm fine!" Tasha yelled back, her voice cracking. "I don't need protecting!"

The sound of swords clashing together rang throughout the room followed by sparks visibly flying about. The monster signaled its readiness, and it shot away from the wall's edge with impressive speed, slithering across the floor while twirling its swords.

A volley of arrows flew through the air just over Wyn and John, covering both enemies. The approaching monster's swords where a whirlwind as it cut down the arrows threatening to hit it. The mage monster simply shifted to the side, avoiding the attack easily as the arrowheads scraped against stone.

"Speed Up," Wyn said, stepping to the side. He was hoping to pinch the enemy, letting John take the initial attack so he could cut it from the side or back. The Fighter recognized the maneuver and yelled in distraction and readiness, holding his shield high and preparing a swing of his sword.

The threat didn't work.

The monster kept rushing forward, using the now-open space ahead of it to push past the two warriors. It lashed out with a sword against both Wyn and John as it snaked between them in glancing blows, and both Climbers parried with weapon and shield respectively.

Wyn thought quickly. Why wasn't it attacking them directly? They were the most obvious threats, but it moved past them intentionally.

A large green rune appeared on the ground under Cal and Tasha. They both looked down, unsure of what was happening. Tasha looked ahead at the monster and locked eyes with it.

It was coming for her. She was the target.

She screamed at the realization, though her voice was cut mid-shout. The runes under her stopped glowing, and she saw Cal noiselessly mouth something to her. When she tried to talk back nothing came from her throat.

Understanding hit her like a punch in the gut. The enemy cast a silencing spell, and she was the target.

Cal met the snake monster head on, intercepting its swords with his shield in a loud clang. The monster wasn't focused on him, though, and lashed out with its tail at Tasha who wasn't anticipating the attack.

The tail cracked against her chest like a whip, and the force knocked her off her feet and back several feet. She fell hard against the stone floor while her staff fell to the ground. The light continued to pour out into the chamber though it was muffled from its poor position.

Tasha tried to take a deep breath but failed as she felt the wind knocked out of her. She grasped her chest and curled up, attempting to breathe. The instant she did, a large, scaly body was lumbering over her, darting around defenses and attacks. She opened her eyes briefly to see a reflecting light from the monster's sword, and watched helplessly as the sword slashed across her stomach.

When she screamed no sound was made. Only the hushed splattering of her blood on the stone floor beside her made a noise.

A yell filled the room. John barreled across the stone floor, his feet pounding with each step and a new coating of red aura shining like a demonic presence. Pebbles and dust flew around him as he threw care to the wind and exuded unknown and unrevealed strength. He jumped towards the snake monster and swung his sword in a downward arc.

The creature threw up both of its swords to block him uselessly. John's sword crashed into it, pushing past both weapons in a frighteningly strong strike. Cracks reverberated from the creature as both of its arms collapsed towards itself, breaking from John's power. A deep, long gash from its shoulder to navel formed and began pouring blood, and it hissed in pain.

Cal followed up instantly with a blow to its back, more cracks filling the air. In seconds the beast was bludgeoned and cut down, and it fell to near pieces on the ground.

John's eyes went wide seeing Tasha's blood pool around her and her body shaking from the attack. "Wyn, we-"

Before he was able to finish his thought Wyn was beside her, his skill pushing him to cross the room in seconds. He quickly inspected the wound, noting her face was pale and sheen from sweat.

He clenched his jaw. His Regen spell would help her but he was afraid it would be too slow. In this moment keeping that spell rather than Cure felt foolish even though he was told it healed more overtime at the cost of a delay. She needed an answer now as her breathing was shallow and she was losing blood at an alarming rate.

Wyn quickly pulled out a healing potion from the side of his pack and nearly forced it down Tasha's throat. She sipped it slowly, and Wyn let out a sigh of relief as the wounds began to visibly stitch themselves back together.

"Everyone, move!" Marcy yelled.

Another rune began to form on the ground around the Climbers, though it looked different than before despite its similarly green color. Its runic circle was larger, easily fifteen feet in diameter, and the symbols looked different. Wyn had no idea what spell was about to be cast, but he wanted no part of it. He instinctively grabbed Tasha and hoisted her up, rushing away as fast as he could. Cal and John stepped out of the area as well, just avoiding the magical torrent of boulders falling from some unknown point in the air within the confines of the magical circle. The spell lasted several seconds, rocks falling and smashing against the ground in loud thuds before slowly disappearing like every other creation within the tower.

Wyn knew he and the others would've been crushed by that spell without some sort of defense, Tasha especially. He looked down and saw a bit of color return to her face and her breathing slow but more forceful. She was unconscious but alive.

"Regen," he whispered, and gently set her on the stone floor. Relief filled him as he watched the familiar white aura encase her like a protective light. His spell would continue to heal her along with the potion, though they needed to rid themselves of the source of this mayhem.

Wyn quickly checked his mark to see how much mana he had remaining. He had used several spells and his skill in a short amount of time, and it showed that he had just a bit left. More time was needed before he could use most of his spells. The time he had left on his Speed Up skill needed to be utilized well.

He stood and saw Cal gently set Tasha’s staff beside her. John's face was filled with rage, and he breathed in slow and exhaled with force like a bull. The Fighter was ready to trample and attack whatever enemy possible, and Wyn didn’t blame him.

A loud hiss filled the room and Wyn saw the monstrous mage smiling from across the chamber, shaking its staff mockingly side to side.

Wyn thought about voicing another strategy but dismissed the thought when he saw the monster throw up another shield to protect itself from one of Marcy’s arrows. This arrow glowed purple and released a violent gust of wind when it struck the magical barrier, causing it to completely shatter and the monster to block itself in vain with its staff. The smile it wore before was gone, replaced by a sinister snarl.

Marcy wasn’t holding back anymore. Wyn decided he didn’t need to either.

The Red Mage began to trot towards the enemy with his spear gripped hard. He steadily picked up his pace until he was in an outright sprint, and crossed the distance in seconds.

He only had one thought in his mind. Kill the enemy.