Chapter 28 – Spectre

“What’s happening?” Rave asked and John looked up from the window.

Thick shadows bubbled from the floor, swirling and converging. A swirling mass of darkness, flowing through the trees. What light of dusk still peeked over the horizon was smothered, as the strands of black interwove, growing into one large gathering.

“It says a boss monster spawned, a Spectre – and that we can’t get out until it's dead,” he explained quickly.

“Oh?” The techno lover grinned broadly. “Let’s get to it then.” The black mass gathered above their head now. Rave blasted it with a laser that lit up the forest. The gathered darkness rippled under the impact, but did not seem harmed. “Welp, that didn’t do anything.”

The ripples intensified, then suddenly smoothed over. Eight needle-like fingers tore out from the inside and then ripped the cocoon of blackness open. A face pushed out. A hideous face, with no eyes nor hair. A toothless maw parted wide and the Spectre screeched. Unlike its lesser compatriots, the boss monster could be heard. Its scream was like nails on a chalkboard. Its green form emerged fully from the dissipating spawning point.

‘Oh great, there are Elites in this game’ was John’s first thought.

Rave’s first thought was a bit more sensible. “Dodge!” She screamed and tackled him. They tumbled over the forest ground, escaping the Spectre’s landing. It caught itself, tattered form hovering, and immediately turned to chase after them. Long, gnarly claws reached out for them.

Rave blasted the hand with a wave of light and heat. Her MP, barely taxed after taking care of schmucks the whole day, rapidly decreased from this onslaught. A cascade of primal, angry sneers accompanied the Spectre flinching back. It used its hands to shield its face from the light.

John got on his feet quickly and helped Rave do the same the moment she stopped channelling her spell. Then they ran. Taking deep breaths, Rave kept slow to be at his side. Her MP recovered in small bursts.

Once they got to a basic, comfortable distance, they looked back at the Spectre. The monster was thrashing around, splintering wood and scattering earth. “This is bad,” John stated. The physical power the creature displayed was worrisome even for Rave and if the description was to be believed, this monster was stronger than the Wall Shadow.

“Ya don’t say.” Rave answered with a big grin. “Ain’t that what makes it great?”

John could not share her immediate enthusiasm. He had been this close to achieving something and now he was staring at a new face of death. “It is level 25 and Elite, whatever exactly that means,” John told Rave quietly. His agitated breathing was contrasted heavily by the controlled in and out of his party member. “We might die here.”

“Ain’t no use worrying about it. If it happens, it happens – let’s just fight until we win,” Rave rolled her shoulders. The bursts of mana regeneration became a bit larger. She was almost back to full already. She stared at him for a couple of seconds. “Hey, Gamer, are you afraid?”

John stared back. “No – I just don’t want to die.”

“Then we’re in the same boat, tiger,” Rave slapped him on the back. “Come on, ya can come up with a plan, right?”

John’s mind moved rapidly. His thoughts were smoother than ever, with the improved Intellect and Wisdom. The Spectre was slowly recovering, but it hadn’t spotted them yet. Grabbing Rave by the arm, he dragged her towards a nearby trench. The two of them pressed tightly to the ground. “Can you do that flash attack repeatedly?” he asked. Rave nodded. “Alright, basic kiting strategy then. I’ll throw Mana Power Attacks at it, you can throw some lasers in there too if you are confident you have the mana. We let it chase us for a bit while using more attacks. Then, once it's close, you blind it. Then we hide again, regenerate mana, and position ourselves for the next attack. Rinse, repeat, victory. Sound good?”

“That’s my language;” Rave grinned and kissed him on the cheek again. Rather than tingles, it filled him with a grim determination. He refused to die in the tutorial.

They jumped out of the trench. Its back towards them, the Spectre only noticed them when the laser hit it. A Mana Power Attack followed immediately. Rave shot a couple more times, while John only got a second shot in. The projectile missed, the Spectre storming towards them as quick as its flight allowed. ‘Can’t be missing these, every shot might count!’ John scolded himself. ‘Man, I would love an HP bar for enemies.’

They started running, keeping as much distance between them and the monster as they could. Rave’s mana decreased, then jumped up again. The pattern to her regeneration was too irregular for John to understand.

The Spectre extended its hand, close enough to grab them now. “Rave!” John shouted commandingly.

“Ya got it!” the techno lover blasted the Spectre with a scattershot of technicolour and heat. The Spectre screeched, Rave followed John to a safe distance. He guided her to a hiding spot. She was dealing all the damage, he was concentrating on getting the operation to run smoothly.

The Spectre was busy thrashing around again. ‘Easy two phase bossfight,’ John thought, easing up a little bit. “We can do it. It is strong but slow and crowd control works.”

“Yep, just gotta keep this going,” Rave agreed, shifting around next to him. “Man, I forgot what danger feels like – ya gotta love it.”

John let out a slightly nervous laugh. “You’re a bit too into this.”

“Ya don’t like it?” she asked with a grin.

“I feel like I shouldn’t, but I can’t think of anything about you that’s not hot.” The words just left his mouth and they both grinned, like partners in crime.

They jumped back out the moment Rave’s mana was topped off. This time, the Spectre spotted them immediately. John aimed carefully at its centre of mass and landed both of the shots he had the opportunity to. Then they started running again. John focused on finding the next hiding spot. The creature approached quickly. There was barely a metre between it and them. “Rave!”

“Right!” Rave shouted and turned to give the Spectre a third faceful of concentrated light. Whether it was a minute difference in the execution or if the Spectre had learned, who knew. Fact was that it brought its claw down not to secure a hold of her body, but only to take her wrist.

Grabbed, her hand was forced down. The force exploded into the body of the Spectre and the forest floor underneath. Dried out branches and leaves suddenly caught fire. The Spectre screeched, in triumph and pain. Rave, screamed only in the latter. Where the hand of the boss clasped her arm, sickly green mist drifted from her skin. Her HP decreased by a tenth, then gradually drained further. Her MP was getting depleted way faster. The boss was seeping both from her form.

“No – no, no, no, no,” John mumbled, his eyes dashing around. These monsters didn’t neatly let go of their targets when attacks hit. Throwing a Mana Power Attack at the Spectre achieved nothing – at least nothing visible. It did not even acknowledge him, as it slowly drifted away from the flames.

“Let – go!” Rave growled, struggling against the firm grasp. She threw punches and kicks, but without her mana they achieved little. They just bounced off the solid surface of the creature.

‘Its tangible!’ John realized and with that the path to victory. He ran to the spot the Spectre had just been at and looked around. He found a large branch with many smaller side branches, all of them alight. It was difficult to lift, but that didn’t matter. It burned his hands as he ran, but that didn’t matter either. Dedication and adrenaline were all he felt at that moment.

The Spectre only acknowledged John’s existence when the branch was slamming into its head. The boss screeched and swiped at John with its offhand. John’s HP immediately dropped 29 points, leaving him with only a third of the 60 max he had. He flew through the air on his own. He barely even cared about his body. His mind was elsewhere.

The Possessed branch wrapped its many burning sidearms around the head of the boss monster. Like a wood Facehugger, it held on tight and pressed the fire right into the ectoplasm of the creature. There was nothing for it to see but glowing hot orange. Screeching in pain, it clawed at its face with both hands.

Releasing the techno lover from its grasp in the process.

“Alright, now ya pay,” Rave stated. Her chest rose and fell in deep breaths. Her mana ticked up in large chunks. Unmoving, too busy tearing chunks of entangled wood off itself, the boss was a prime target. Enveloped in her Aura, she rushed forwards and rammed her fist into its chest. Inside its translucent body, she opened her hand. Sparkling lights danced around her clawing fingers. Each an explosion that made the Spectre contort in pain. A hole was seared into the middle of its being, rapidly growing larger.

With one last, blood-chilling screech, the boss monster disappeared fully. The splinters of the burning branch fell to the ground. John broke the Possession that still connected him to the largest chunk of the branch. Then he ran over. His HP was decreased, but Gamer’s Body made it so there was no pain at all.

Rave sat on her butt on the forest floor. There were no outward injuries. The life energy had been sapped straight from her, leaving her unblemished. Tired, but joyful, she turned his way with a big grin. “Victory for the Rave Party,” she declared and tossed up two fingers in a V-shape.