A ball of dark energy hurtled from the top of the caster’s staff. Whatever it was, it zipped through the air at an incredible speed. Jake darted to the side as the mysterious projectile whizzed past him, trailing what looked like black smoke that slowly faded away. The caster, unfazed by its missed shot, relentlessly tracked Jake’s movements with its staff, launching one projectile after another. Each one detonated upon impact with the floor and walls, unleashing a cloud of black mist that sprouted strange tendrils, reaching out in all directions.
The caster kept firing at him, launching two or three shadow bolts—or whatever they were called—within a second. For now, Jake was focused entirely on dodging those projectiles, sprinting around the ratman and biding his time until the caster ran out of energy. Once the caster was depleted of mana, he would make a beeline for it. The shadow bolts seemed dangerous, and it felt far too risky to attack while the caster was still full of energy. Jake had no intention of finding out how much damage those bolts could do to him. For now, his priority was defense. He launched several acidic globs at the caster, but each one veered off target. It was incredibly difficult to hit a target while frantically darting around and dodging incoming projectiles.
The shadow caster suddenly raised its staff high into the air. In the next instant, dozens of shadow bolts erupted from the skull-topped staff, shooting off in all directions at once. The elite ratman had clearly unleashed one of its special abilities. With that many projectiles zipping through the air like arrows, dodging them posed a tough challenge for Jake. Fortunately, the combination of his Feral Instincts and his enhanced reflexes allowed him to avoid direct hits.
However, one of the projectiles struck the floor not far from him. It exploded on impact, releasing a cloud of black mist from the point of detonation. The mist spread in every direction, and long, smoky tendrils shot out from within. One tendril managed to wrap around Jake’s ankle, throwing him off balance and sending him crashing face-first to the floor. He glanced back at the black tendril as it tightened its grip around his leg. The tendril appeared to be made of smoke, but its hold felt solid and surprisingly strong.
The tendril didn’t cause any damage to him. Instead, it simply restricted his movement. The mist from which the tendril extended and the tendril itself were slowly dissipating. Until then, it would continue to hold him in place. Unless he could sever it. Jake extended a blade from his wrist and slashed at the tendril. To his surprise, the blade passed right through as if the tendril were nothing but smoke, failing to sever it or inflict any damage whatsoever. While it appeared to be made of strange smoke, it gripped his ankle with surprising strength. Jake managed to get to his feet, but the tendril’s grip kept him anchored to the spot. He tried to wrench his leg free, but it was no use.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the caster pointing its staff directly at him, prompting him to return his attention to the ratman. In an instant, the caster unleashed three additional shadow bolts, one right after the other. Jake twisted his body, evading the first bolt. He narrowly dodged the second, but the third slammed him smack-dab in the middle of his chest with the force of a freight train. At that moment, the tendril dissipated completely, releasing his leg, and Jake felt himself propelled backward through the air.
You have been wounded for 7% by Chaos Damage.
Jake crashed into the wall, collapsing onto the floor. Gradually, he pushed himself to his knees and glanced at his chest, where he found a hole the size of a baseball in his flesh. Those shadow bolts were much more powerful than he’d expected. At least the injury wasn’t deep enough to cause mana leakage; otherwise, mana would be spilling from him like a fountain. He knew he had to do everything possible to avoid getting hit by those projectiles again. He also realized that his ethereal protective amulet was gone—the shadow bolt had slammed right into it, completely obliterating it. But in retrospect, that didn’t matter—the ratman caster dealt only Chaos damage, meaning his amulet wouldn’t have provided any protection anyway.
Jake jumped to his feet just as the caster pointed its staff at him again. He dashed to the side to dodge a trio of shadow bolts zipping in his direction. He fully expected the shadow caster to launch another barrage of projectiles, but suddenly, the enemy ceased firing. Thinking it might have finally run out of mana, Jake burst into a sprint toward the caster. He closed the distance in under two seconds and swung his battleaxe at the ratman. However, just before the blade made contact, the caster suddenly became semi-transparent, causing Jake’s battleaxe to pass through it as if the caster were nothing more than air now.
The ratman caster had just taken on a phantom form, which was its second special ability. This form not only rendered it immune to most types of damage but also made it significantly stronger and faster. The elite enemy immediately countered by swinging its staff at Jake like a mace. He managed to dodge, but not completely, and instead of striking his head, the staff slammed into his shoulder. Immediately, a burst of Chaos energy erupted at the point of impact, blowing a baseball-sized hole in Jake’s shoulder.
You have been wounded for 14% by Chaos Damage.
In contrast to shadow bolts, the hit from a staff didn’t send Jake flying back, but it inflicted twice the damage instead.
Just great, Jake thought with frustration. While in its phantom form, the caster couldn’t be harmed, yet it itself could deliver blows to him, and surprisingly powerful at that. Since there was no point in battling it under those conditions, Jake quickly darted away. He intended to keep his distance while the caster remained in its phantom form. For several minutes, the ratman pursued him, and Jake did his best to evade its attacks. Luckily, he managed to avoid taking any more hits. Although the caster was quick in its phantom state, Jake’s speed and agility allowed him to stay one step ahead.
Finally, the spell faded, causing the caster to revert to its physical form. Jake wasted no time dashing toward the enemy. Unfortunately, before he could reach the ratman, it raised its staff high into the air. Jake braced himself, expecting another volley of shadow bolts and prepared to dodge. Instead, the caster unleashed its third special ability, called Shadow Wave. Dark mist surged from the tip of the staff, quickly rolling outwards in every direction. Before Jake had a chance to react, the mist engulfed him. His movements immediately felt sluggish, as if he were moving through water. Disorientation set in, too, as the supernatural fog obscured everything beyond a few feet in front of him.
Just as Jake wondered where his opponent was, the ratman suddenly appeared on his right, emerging from the darkness of the mist. Unable to move quickly, he took another hit as the caster struck his shoulder with the staff. Just as he prepared to retaliate, the caster spun around and vanished into the black mist once more. Jake attempted to chase after it, but he quickly lost all sense of direction. He whirled around, desperately searching for his enemy, yet all he could see was the black mist. He continued to scan the area, wondering where his foe would show up next.
As it turned out, the ratman struck from behind this time. Jake heard the movement, but the mist impeded his speed, preventing him from turning around and dodging the attack in time. He suffered more Chaos damage, but before he could retaliate, the caster vanished into the black mist once again. Unlike Jake, the ratman seemed unaffected by the supernatural fog. This was becoming increasingly frustrating. Jake resolved to do whatever it took to end the fight once and for all. He scanned his surroundings, waiting for the caster’s next appearance. When the elite ratman emerged from the shadows on his left, Jake was ready.
As the ratman charged at him, Jake hurled his battleaxe toward the approaching enemy. Just as he predicted, the battleaxe was affected by the black mist, slowly flipping end over end and giving the ratman caster plenty of time to react. The ratman struck the battleaxe with its staff, triggering an explosion of Chaos energy that shattered the axe into thousands of jagged fragments. The caster was already moving toward Jake. However, this momentary distraction provided him with the opportunity to employ Gravity Jump. By the time the caster reached the spot where Jake had just been, he was already airborne, well out of reach of the caster’s staff.
Just before activating Gravity Jump, Jake had sprouted three long bladed tentacles from his back and lashed out at the unsuspecting ratman. While the caster managed to deftly dodge two of the tentacles, the third one found its mark, opening up its throat and causing a torrent of blood to pour from the gash. Jake continued to ascend, and as soon as he escaped the clutches of the black mist, his speed increased dramatically. He soared close to the high ceiling, reaching the apex of his jump. Instantly, he slowed his ascent, hovering in place for a brief moment, defying gravity itself.
As he began to drop, the black mist below him finally started to quickly dissipate. By the time Jake touched down, it had all vanished. He saw the caster sprawled on the floor, a pool of blood spreading beneath the creature. The dying ratman clutched its bleeding throat with both hands, glaring up at Jake with its evil red eyes. A moment later, the caster drew its last breath. The fight was finally over.