Fool's Gold (III)

"The passageway is only in the beginning part. The rest, you will be able to fit your original body with no trouble," reassured Bob. He was excitedly bouncing around at the thought of seeing Zero in full form again.

Zero felt a sharp tingle in the back of his neck; he whipped around and noticed Agnis dangerous gleam in her eyes. Already he could feel what Agnis might do. He gulped, and the nightmare from his past self replayed over in his mind. "Stop!" He held up his paw towards Agnis.

"What? Why?" Agnis halted.

"We don't have time to dawdle. I only have a short amount of time to stay in this form, and we don't know how long it would take before we come across a larger tunnel. So I don't want to be stuck in a-" He was scooped up in seconds.

Agnis went in first with Zero in her arms. Zero couldn't escape her tight grasp. Bob leads the Zero group through the tight entrance. Jack followed, Alan next, and Zeraph, who had to bow low, so he did not hit his head against the ceiling.

You are the first one to have found an unexplored dungeon.

+100 fame

In the next ten minutes, they tracked through the muddy ground. The ceiling slowly opened up, allowing Zeraph, Alan, and Agnis to stand straight. Throughout the walk, Zero's head was lightly massaged by Agnis's hand. He was turning into mush, purring away like a happy cat. He forgot one benefit of being in her arms when she was not torturing him. The head massage. The holy head massage made his mind go blank. Her long soft fingers brushed through his fur, tingling his head like electricity.

"We're almost out of the tight area and will soon arrive at a large open space," Bob replied.

"Really?" Alan asked gleefully, "I can't stand hunching over for too long. I thought my back would break." He complained.

"We're th-," Bob's voice was cut short. Out before them were humanoid lizard-looking monsters with blind eyes called Earth Lizards. They were crushing, digging, and even expanding the cave walls, making them larger and larger. "The evil magician's guard dogs!" He said in alarm.

The heads of the Earth Lizards turned towards them. They rushed towards them with a hiss. Bob squealed and ran behind the group. Zero jumped out of Agnes's arms while Agnis pulled out her bow and arrows. Zeraph and Agnis were each firing arrows one after another. When the Earth Lizards came too close, they switched to close-quarter combat with their swords. Each clang of their swords sliced through skin and bones.

On the other hand, Alan was grabbing the attention of Earth Lizards that ganged up on Jack. He drew them away, so Jack had an easier time dealing with the mob, while Jack spammed skills that did devastating damage.

Zero zipped through the Earth Lizards, protecting Bob as best as possible. He slashed, tore, and blew the fire that crackled and sizzled the Earth Lizard's flesh. They screamed and gave chase to Zero.

Zero easily brought the two Earth Lizards crashing upon each other by ducking underneath their legs. His claw weapon, at times, gave him an added bonus of a bleeding effect that slowly drained the enemy's health. It took longer for Zero to destroy the Earth Lizards than the others. He was mostly dodging, trying not to get hurt, and added a couple of jabs here and there.

Five Earth Lizards rushed towards Zero; Zero noticed Agnis was finishing off one of the Earth Lizards and was just about to move on to the next one. "Agnis!" He called out towards her, bringing with him five Earth Lizards closely behind his heels.

Agnis stashed away her sword and pulled out her bow. She knocked an arrow and fired continually toward the Earth Lizards. Each hit squarely in their forehead as they faltered and fell. Zero took this chance and bolted over towards the fallen Earth Lizards. He slashed furiously upon the Earth Lizards and bounded away with a finishing touch of the blazing inferno of red fire.

Zero did a simple strike and maneuver tactic trying to keep alive. There were two minutes left till Bob's magic wore off. The group of Earth Lizards working was dwindling down to five, but then loud, heavy footsteps could be heard coming towards Zero's group. An Earth Lizard three times the size of a regular Earth Lizard appeared before them. Two windows popped up in front of Zero.

Mini-boss King Earth Lizard has entered the field.

The second skill of his mind reading ability brought up the information of the Mini-boss.

King Earth Lizard

Level: 165

The King Earth Lizard has various poisonous attacks that could fatally poison its prey. It has a knack for using its tail to trip and hinder its prey so it can dive and drive its fangs into its prey. Powerful tail strength needs to be watched out for. When his health is in the red zone, he will call upon more Earth Lizards to protect him.

"Watch out for its deadly poison and his tail," shouted Zero, who was finishing off one of the five Earth Lizards. In actuality, he knew the King Earth Lizard was more of a boss character for lower-level players, but players who were level 150 and up had a much better chance to handle the mini-boss character without too many players. The only problem was the calling on backup from other Earth Lizards that could hinder the mini boss' defeat.

"What?" Jack was too late and did not see the King Earth Lizard's tail coming towards him from the side. The tail swept Jack off his feet and onto his back in a sickening thud.

Zeraph ran forward with sword in hand and slashed down upon the King Lizard's back. With a roar, the King Lizard turned around, sweeping its tail like a hook towards Zeraph. Playing hopscotch, Zeraph hopped over the tail and scaled its back as if he was walking on the King Lizard. "Black Storm!" he shouted, activating one of his many hidden job skills.

In a whirlwind of attacks, Seraph's speed of his sword draw attack increased by ten folds as ten continuous strikes made their mark on the King Lizard's body. This allowed Jack to roll over before he got trampled on.

Alan ran around agitating the four Earth Lizards whenever they shifted their attacks towards the group. This allowed Zero's group to focus on the King Earth Lizard, while Zero helped Alan get rid of the Earth Lizard till one minute was up. Every second felt like an eternity for Zero; his eyes darted back and forth, watching the timer count down and fighting the Earth Lizards.

It wasn't that his attacks on the Earth Lizards were too slow; he was just antsy to have his full power back so he could join in on the mini-boss fight.

Agnis swept Zero off the ground. Zero had made a mistake in aggravating three Earth Lizards by accident when he sliced through two and the last one he bumped into. By Agnis' quick save, Zero was able to jump back into the fight with barely a scratch.

"Three. Two. One!" Zero shouted with joy. Bob's magic gave way and released the pent-up strength that Zero was holding back. He could feel his power and strength coming back like a gushing tsunami. His fingers, toes, tail, neck, and body extended to their original size. No more was he a small fox-looking creature; now, he was all claws, teeth, and fire.

With a sweep of his armored claws, Zero cut through the remaining life of the two Earth Lizards. His claws dug into the ground springing him forward into a dash, and he went after the third, fourth, and fifth in under a minute. Shortly after, he joined in on the fight with King Lizard.

Zero could see that the health of the King Earth Lizard was halfway down. The speed of the King Earth Lizard increased as he dashed around the open cave, trying to maneuver away from them. Agnes and Zeraph took out bows and arrows instead of giving chase; their archery skills were considered the best because of their species as Elf. So their mark hit every time without the need to give chase.

"Damn Lizard," Jack was breathing a bit too hard. "What do you take a dwarf for, a marathon runner?" His stubby legs and the heavy armor made it difficult for him to give chase.

Alan only helped at certain times; he was a merchant, not a fighter. He knew he did not have the strength, speed, archery skill, or defense to fight a mini-boss. All he had was a sling and a dagger. "I'll be here next to Bob and protect him." He called out. Bob turned towards Alan, a bit untrusting in Alan's words. Zero could understand why, though; Alan was the one who was the first one trying to strangle him for his money and items that were stolen. So why wouldn't he use him for a possible shield a couple times?

Dashing forward like a hell hound, Zero matched speed with the King Earth Lizard. In actuality, he knew he could run faster than the rate he was going now. With each strike with his claw weapon, damage on the mini-boss had begun to fall rapidly along with Agnes' and Seraph's attack.

Poison spit was shot towards Zero's face; Zero had to swerve at an unnatural angle to get out of the range of the Poison spit. He did not want to be at the butt end of the poison spit and get a deadly poison.

His teammates' health was already down by a quarter; the damage the King Earth Lizard gave was serious, but his attacks were slow, so it was easier to dodge them. The health of the Mini-boss finally became dangerously red. Then, with a sudden halt, the King Earth Lizard breathed in deeply, filling his belly with air.

"Stop him! He's going to call for reinforcement!" Zero yelled; he bulldozed his way towards the mini-boss with outstretched claws. Agnes and Zeraph followed suit with blades in hand; Jack was nearest to the mini-boss. With his mighty hammer, just like ringing a gong, he swung his hammer towards the King Earth Lizard's belly.

"Hammer Falls!" The pent-up air that the King Earth Lizard had was let loose in that one impact from Jack, but they were too late. The ground shook from impact, and the King Earth Lizard was pushed to the wall. The King Earth Lizard's voice also erupted while calling for backup. Simultaneously Agnis and Zeraph rushed in with their swords and yelled out their skills. "Black Storm!" "Holy Wrath!"

Seraph's whirlwind of attack and Agnes' dual sword attack encased in blazing blue fire repeatedly attacked in one spot, creating critical damages stacked upon each other. Zero followed with his claws shredding through the skin, and with a torrent of fire, he encased the whole lizard in flames.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

Zeraph, Agnis, Alan, and Jack also received two levels up. Unfortunately, they did not have time to rejoice. Fifty Earth Lizards stormed towards them, cornering Zero's group and making escape difficult. Zero quickly snatched up the loot from the ground. He could already tell that the monster parts were rare items. With a quick inhale of breath, he spewed out flames in a circular path around them, creating a fire wall. The flames kept the Earth Lizards at bay as they paced back and forth like prowling animals ready to pounce.

Bob and Alan safely got in the fire circle before being shut.

"We can't stay here forever," Zeraph replied hurriedly. He and Agnis were firing arrows quickly, one after the other like a machine gun. So many fell, but the crowd was still thick with Earth Lizards.

"I know," Zero replied. He was still spitting out the fire to keep them at bay. "I'm still thinking!"

Some of the Earth Lizards became brave and tried to cross over, but instead were completely engulfed in flames. When they crossed the barrier, Jack rushed forward with his large hammer and played baseball with them. Then, they were sent flying back out the firewall and back into the crowds.

"Sir dragon! Up there!" Bob yelled, jumping up and down. He was pointing towards another entrance that they could fit in.

Zero understood in seconds. "Everyone scale or I'll throw you up there!"

Zeraph and Agnis strapped their bows back on and pulled out two daggers. They both gracefully scaled up the wall and climbed into the tunnel. Alan was having a difficult time climbing up the wall like Zeraph and Agnis, so Zero came over and grabbed him. He tossed Alan into the tunnel, where Zeraph and Agnis caught him with one throw. Alan was cussing up a storm while he was in the air.

"Wait." Jack held out his hands. "You're going to throw me too?" He squeaked. "Wait. Wait. Let me be ready first." He breathed in and out, trying to calm his nerves.

"I'm the type of guy that likes to stay on the grooooouuuuuuunnnnnnndddd!" Zero snatched him off the ground and threw him as well. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury to dally when the firewall was about to go out any minute.

Zero followed, using his claws to pull himself up into the new entrance. The Earth Lizards broke through and were right behind him, hissing with anger. Some jumped and snapped at Zero's tail, but he was able to smack them back before they could bite into him. He crawled into space. "Let's go."

"Hey Zero, I got a bone to pick with you." Jack was shaking his fist at Zero.

Zero was already ahead of them and went forward, following after Bob.

"Why that little," Jack grumbled under his breath. Agnis patted his back.

"At least you're alive," Agnis replied.

"Alive is a matter of opinion."

Zero's group continued forward towards their destination while Jack was grumbling with disapproval, kicking rocks around.