CHAPTER 134: REFLECTIONS IN ICE

The colossal elemental creature emerged from the portal, nearly ten feet tall, its body crackling with blue lightning that shimmered like a living shield. The swirling currents of energy never stopped expanding, and its form shifted through colors as though its very essence had not yet stabilized.

"Insolent mortal! Surrender the wretched thief, or face the wrath of the mighty Eldris!" The thunderous voice shook the underground passage. The crystal veins embedded in the rock walls, once glowing steadily, shattered under the pressure, plunging the chamber into darkness broken only by the faint, eerie light of bioluminescent plants.

"I must use this power to save my tribe! I am sorry, but I cannot return it!" The cry came from behind, the voice of Agu, the Nyman shaman. His tone was ragged with fear and grief, as if he had already accepted that there was no escape.

"The great Elemental Deities are enraged by your theft! You, corrupted by the traitor Cinder, dared to steal the very substance the Deities used to forge the Elemental Font. You have brought down the fury of the Elemental Plane itself!"

General Eldris’s words carried no hint of mercy. "If you perish now, your tribe may one day birth shamans again. But if I cast you into the endless abyss, your people will be erased forever!" His resolve was absolute. The shaman’s fate seemed sealed—until Agu defied him.

"Never! Once I construct a minor Elemental Font, our tribe will give rise to shamans of our own, just as the orcs and minotaurs do. We will no longer be slaves to you bastards!" Agu raised his staff and hurled a bolt of Fire Shock straight at Eldris. The attack struck, and the elemental’s unstable form roared with fury. The battle had begun.

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General Eldris

Boss

Level: 32

Health: 82,150

Type: Elemental

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Thank the heavens, Ryan thought, exhaling in relief when he saw the health bar. Eighty thousand was still a monster of a number, but it was less than the hundred-thousand-plus pools that dungeon bosses usually carried. At least this fight wasn’t hopeless.

"Mortal, burn in the madness of fire!" Eldris bellowed. His body warped, flames replacing lightning until he stood in the form of a blazing fire elemental. A spectral hammer of molten red appeared before him, swinging with relentless force under his will.

Flame Empowerment: One of General Eldris’s elemental blessings. Attacks deal 40% additional fire damage.

"Fire, recede!" Agu cried from behind. The Verdant Lyre’s water totem vanished in an instant, replaced by a new totem rising out of the earth behind Ryan. Its surface pulsed with a crimson glow, and a wave of protective energy washed over him.

Flame Ward Totem: Absorbs 1120 fire damage. This effect can trigger once every two seconds.

Ryan’s chest lifted with a surge of hope. Eldris’s hammer blows struck for around a thousand damage each, but with the Flame Ward Totem shielding him, only the secondary fire burn from Flame Empowerment would pierce through. He stole a glance at Agu. The shaman looked transformed, his body almost trembling with the Elemental Cores he had absorbed. Even the Elemental Interruption Zone, which should have demanded his constant focus, still pulsed steadily though he no longer channeled it, leaving him free to pour his strength into keeping Ryan alive.

"Looks like this quest won’t be easy," Ryan muttered under his breath. He knew the rule of thumb with dungeons: the more an NPC helped, the harder the final encounter would always be. General Eldris’s attacks weren’t overwhelming, and the shaman at his back kept his health topped with ease, yet the fight already felt unlike any group quest he had taken on before.

"Mortal, behold the power of the wellspring of life!" Realizing that his Flame Empowerment barely scratched the paladin’s defenses, General Eldris abandoned fire entirely. A new wave of magic swirled around his core as he invoked a different ability.

Ice Mirror: Each time General Eldris attacks an enemy, a block of ice forms before them, replicating their form and dealing damage. While this skill is active, General Eldris’s attack speed is reduced by 200%.

"Damn it!" Ryan cursed as Eldris’s blow landed. A slab of ice erupted before him, and from within stepped a perfect replica of himself. The icy copy lifted a weapon that looked identical to his own and unleashed a familiar Divine Storm. The skill was unmistakable. Somehow the creature had stolen his very identity.

Thankfully, the mirror was only Level 32, with health equal to a normal monster at that tier. Though its skills matched his, its damage lagged far behind. Ryan gritted his teeth, chose to ignore it, and continued hammering Eldris. But his confidence quickly faltered. Each time Eldris struck, another replica appeared. Within moments, four, then five mirror-images surrounded him, each capable of using his own arsenal. His health bar began slipping lower and lower, and even Agu’s frantic healing could no longer keep up.

Ryan considered unleashing his wide-area skills to wipe them out, but a grim twist revealed itself. The mirrors didn’t just fight. When their health dipped, they immediately cast healing spells on themselves. Between that and the self-healing baked into Divine Storm, only one mirror had shattered so far. The others stood at near full strength, undaunted. At least, Ryan thought bitterly, they weren’t channeling their healing into Eldris himself. If they had, the boss would have been impossible to damage.

He shifted tactics. He couldn’t simply turtle up and rely on Agu. Timing his Radiant Glory carefully, he began singling out the mirrors one by one. Each time he cast Avenger’s Shield, its silencing effect cut them off before they could heal, leaving them open to destruction. Slowly, the icy clones crumbled, and the battlefield thinned. With fewer distractions, Ryan pressed the offensive once more. Empowered by Agu’s totems, he steadily carved Eldris’s health down, watching the number drop by over ten thousand.

Then came the snag he dreaded. His mana bar, despite the paladin’s low costs and the benefits of his Holy talents, was draining fast. The constant stream of skills left him with barely a third remaining. Without hesitation, Ryan pulled a mana potion from his belt and downed it in one gulp. The blue light surged back into him, but the decision left a cold weight in his stomach. He couldn’t drink a health potion now—the cooldown locked him out.

"Mortal! Feel the fury of the hurricane!" Eldris’s voice rose to a roar as his body began to shift once again. A new storm of power gathered, ready to tear the cavern apart.