Guardian of Four Deaths

Sumei dug her manicured nails into his back. Jacob's shoulder instinctively contracted at the pain. But he held on and didn't utter a word.

Meanwhile, Bob remained still and monitored the approaching goblin archers. They were more cautious than the goblin warriors. The goblin archers stopped about 10 meters from the trees that shielded the trio. They kept looking around, trying to find them while talking to each other.

As Sumei finally caught the broken arrow and pulled it out with force, a small sprout of blood hit her face. Jacob grunted but remained still while Sumei quickly wiped off the blood and placed the band-aid. Jacob turned around, and she didn't get to see the results of her action.

But the band-aid immediately stopped the bleeding. Jacob began feeling an itch again, but it was bearable this time.

"I've had enough pain today. Let's end these ba*tards and get the hell out of here!"

Sumei nodded. They quickly planned to deal with the archers, and she shared it with Bob. The trio used the cover of trees, traveled in a semicircle, and went behind those goblin archers. Jacob counted them and noticed they were only seven. He grinned.

'Another easy win… but I will not be careless.'

They rushed out, and Jacob used a palm-sized stone to hit the closest goblin archer, knocking it down. He ignored their screams and began attacking them. Sumei and Bob were equally efficient this time. Bob used his bulky size and massive strength to his advantage. Sumei used her technique to make the goblin archers suffer. As they had reached a close enough distance, the goblin archer's arrows were not lethal anymore.

Sumei and Bob still remembered Jacob's request and left him the last kill. Five minutes later, they were done.

[Level Up!]

The trio quickly collected some useful loot and went out of the forest.

"Hah."

They instantly relaxed after appearing in the open.

"He didn't mention everything!" Sumei complained. Bob nodded while Jacob had a thoughtful look.

"But he didn't expect us to go that deep. The guide covered enough information to clear one path, get to the end, and defeat the boss with a strategy. I guess these dungeons are not simply there to make us stronger. Did you notice the level of coordination of those goblins inside this forest?" Jacob asked.

Sumei nodded while Bob murmured, "Nasty buggers."

Jacob saw the small cuts on Bob's lower body. It would be a challenge to attack quick monsters with a bulky frame. He knew they had much more to learn about combat but felt this dungeon run was already fairly dangerous. He didn't want to complicate things further.

"Let's finish this," he said. The others held no complaints. They were about to suggest the same. They already had such a dangerous battle with the goblins. What was the point of going to the kobolds and getting themselves in unnecessary danger?

The team walked back to the treasure chests and opened them. After pocketing what they found, they stood in front of the massive stone doors two stories high. They gulped and mentally prepared themselves for what was to come. There was an actual monster ahead, and there was no room for mistakes.

Sumei looked at the other two and took a step forward. She placed her hand on the door and gave it a light push. It instantly began moving as they heard various cogs twist and turn. Then it stopped with a thud.

The interior was covered in darkness, but they were unafraid. As they walked in, the door once again began closing. It was now a choice between killing the boss or getting themselves killed.

"Follow the plan!" Sumei reminded her teammates. Her gaze landed on Jacob more than once, and he calmly nodded. He was not stupid enough to think he could overcome what was present here with brute strength. This was even with the recent level-ups. Despite that, he didn't deny his updated stats would help him follow the strategy.

…

[Attributes]

Strength: 26

Stamina: 21

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 18

(Available points to distribute: 0)

…

As the stone doors closed behind them, the room lightened up. They were in a massive throne room, and a gigantic humanoid gargoyle sat on the throne. It was at least 5 meters tall, and a rapier leaned on its throne. Its eyes lit up as they approached it, and it stood up. There was an oppressive feeling as they gazed at the monster.

[Guardian of Four Deaths (Boss) Lv. 10]

It looked like just being gazed at by the monster was enough to induce terror. It was the highest leveled monster Jacob had ever seen. He gulped again and tightened the grip on his bronze sword. He had to complete this battle before his bronze sword shattered.

The gargoyle walked down a short flight of stairs from its throne. Its stony wings began opening up, covering the sky, making them feel even more oppressed. The air itself felt stagnant as they began feeling suffocated.

[You have been affected by 'fear'.]

[Clearing the abnormal condition]

[Cleared]

Jacob was the first one to snap out of it.

"Wake up! It's just trying to scare you!"

His roar woke the others up, and they looked frightened while being grateful for his reminder. If they had remained like that while it reached them, the battle was as good as over.

The trio got into position with Bob in the lead and the other two at the sides. Sumei and Jacob looked at the four black gems placed in the joints of the monster and nodded to each other.

"I'll take the right," Sumei said.

Jacob nodded and looked at the two black gems in its kneecap and elbow. He knew this would be a close battle but had more confidence in his teammates. They didn't have a system like his that allowed them to grow efficiently. But the dungeon's mana and their battles had strengthened their bodies and courage.

Roar!

The gargoyle rushed toward them while keeping its wings open. Bob roared back and held his broadsword while running towards it. The gargoyle swiped its rapier, which was more like a greatsword because of its massive size. Bob just focused on parrying it. His face held a look of seriousness and concentration never seen before.

Each parry pushed him behind, and the immense force strained his arms. But the others weren't standing around eating popcorn. They had already moved aside and were locked onto their targets. With each attack the gargoyle made, Sumei and Jacob slashed at the gems. This was the loophole they could take advantage of in this dungeon.

While it looked like the gems were a part of the monster's body, they were not. They were simply connecting its joints. No matter how often the gems got damaged, its health wouldn't reduce.

After 3 minutes of repeating this, Bob was finally flung away. The others quickly stepped back since they couldn't take a single hit from the monster. Bob's arms trembled, but he stood back up with a stone face and rushed at the monster.

Jacob knew this could not continue. Even though the gems they were attacking had cracks, they would still need 2 minutes to shatter at this pace.

"Take my place! Pass your sword!"

Bob looked at Jacob and nodded. Jacob felt he had seen gratefulness flash in his giant friend's eyes. The monster's speed was slower since its knee gems were damaged. Each step it took made more minute cracks in those gems.

Bob and Jacob quickly exchanged their swords and exchanged positions.

"Come here, you ugly ba*tard!" Jacob roared to catch its attention and readied himself for the battle ahead.

Jacob's shout successfully attracted the humanoid gargoyle's attention. It locked its eyes with his small figure holding a massive sword.

Roar!

It lunged forward at him. Jacob didn't step back. He also roared and jumped forward. Bob's sword was big enough to look like a greatsword in his hands. He used all his strength and swung it at his enemy's rapier.

Clang!

The ground shook from the collision, sending pieces of broken ground flying away. Even Bob and Sumei were thrown back from the shock wave. But they didn't bother about their condition and stared at Jacob's standing figure in shock. Because…

"H-he pushed it back!" Sumei didn't know what else to say. The gargoyle had moved back just a few steps. But it did nothing to lessen her shock. She looked between the giant Bob and average-sized Jacob. His small size didn't hinder the enormous strength he held.

But Jacob wasn't pleased at all. He had figured out some rules about his stats from fighting different monsters. It was slightly difficult comparing their levels with his level and stats. But he did what he could and had even reached some conclusions. But the result of this clash upset him.

'If it's not supposed to have over 20 attribute points in each stat as a peak E-rank boss, how is it still okay? I even put in all my 26 strength!'

Jacob remembered the feeling of crossing a small barrier. It happened when his strength reached 21 at the Demonic Cows. He had simply thought it was a feeling brought about by his significant increase in power. But now he knew he had crossed a barrier back then. But his 26 strength still wasn't enough to overpower the boss before him.

"So these bosses might have more attribute points in their stats. Or this one's got an advantage in size and weight. That's most likely why I cannot simply overpower it," Jacob murmured thoughtfully. But he didn't get more time to think.

Roar!

The gargoyle ahead of him seemed to be humiliated. Its wings spread wider as if it was about to fly. The stone on its body seemed to get darker suddenly, as if it became coated with mana.

"Now!" Jacob shouted. He had no time to admire its transformation.

Sumei and Bob were also waiting for this moment. They unleashed all their strength in their attacks on the knee gems. The gargoyle's transformation ended, and it was about to move. At this moment, two distinct cracks resounded.

Jacob grinned. He held his greatsword and focused on his opponent. Sumei and Bob immediately stepped back.

The gargoyle awoke from its transformation and felt something missing. It tried to move its body and didn't feel its legs. But when it looked down, they were still there. Just as it was about to get confused, its gaze landed lower and saw the obsidian gem's shards on the ground.

Roar!

Its rage seemed to grow even more. It looked at Bob and Sumei, knowing they had shattered its gems. Since Bob seemed tougher, it moved its wings and jumped at Sumei, eliciting a cry from her. But Jacob ran towards Sumei at the same time.

"Move!" he roared.

Despite nearly being frozen by fear, Sumei jumped back. She narrowly missed the gargoyle's rapier that pierced through the hard ground. The boss retrieved its weapon and was about to pursue Sumei.

Clang!

It was pushed back by Jacob's attack and fell to the ground. A little dent formed on its thigh. Jacob went back to Bob's old job and kept the boss occupied.

Since the boss was no longer using its legs, the fight became much easier. But it constantly used its wings to change locations. Thankfully, it was too heavy to fly with them. But even the occasional jump it made increased the difficulty of the battle.