Withering Roots B1F…

Tristan [Shadow Stepped] to the side of the disgusting dung beetle’s acid spray attack and slammed a [Shadow Spear] through its head, killing it. Beside him, Rommie finished off the other Defecator, ending the confrontation.

You have acquired 8x. Hardened Beetle Shell, 6x. Petrified Dung, 3x. Minor Earth Source, 1x. [Burrow Hole Blueprint], 1x. [Stink Cloud Blueprint].

You are unable to gain more [Apprentice Perkshards].

He collected the loot and strode further down this titanic hallway he’d entered. The ceiling was easily 25 feet above him and twice as wide. The sheer sense of scale of the place was starting to mess with his head.

Another batch of [Withering Roots Larvae] popped out from underneath, but they were easy enough to dispatch with Rommie to help.

He collected the loot and strode forward confidently. These monsters were strong, yes, but he was a formerly Transcendent-rank cardbearer. He definitely could’ve cleared the Dungeon by himself…

No, he forced himself to think. This isn’t a game, and this will be my first time facing an Adept monster, much less an Adept boss. I can’t let myself get overconfident. He eyed the dimensions of the hallway. Especially if the boss is what created these tunnels.

From what he remembered of this Dungeon, the boss was some sort of beetle that grew abnormally large and powerful off the Earth energy flowing through the Great Oak. Again, he cursed himself for not paying attention to the game’s lore, or really paying attention to anything in the game that didn’t result in new cards or increasing his rank.

Then again, he thought wryly, who could’ve predicted I’d actually end up in the game?

He exited the hallway and was about to enter into a smaller, oval room when he paused. He peered inside and saw that the space had the distinctly crafted appearance of an elite room. Every chamber I’ve been in so far has looked natural, like it formed over time, but this looks almost artificially made.

Though it stung him to do so, he backtracked into the previous room, where the entrance of a saferoom had formed after he cleared all the mobs inside.

The saferoom was a smaller vestibule, about the size of a living room, but veins of clean green Earth energy arced all across it.

When he entered, a message appeared.

You have entered a saferoom. Combat has been disengaged. You are able to swap cards and equipment within this space.

There, Tristan dismissed his deck and waited the painful eight minutes for his casts to refresh.

Once it did, he returned to the elite room. As he passed the threshold, roots burst to life across the entrance and exit and glowed with dark energy, trapping him in.

Knew it, he thought, as the ground at the center of the room exploded outward in a spray of dirt. The figure landed with a solid thump, shaking the ground, then slowly stood up.

[Apprentice | Elite — Withering Roots Mycelium Lancer]

The monster was massive, almost eight feet tall. Its head was a pustulent, overgrown black mushroom that sponged out from plate armor fashioned out of the Great Oak wood. In its right hand, a wicked lance even longer than the monster wielding it, also formed from Great Oak wood. Its other hand held a large shield emblazoned with a sigil of a blackened tree.

Its elite status indicated its strength was on another level. Tristan grinned, readying himself, as the Lancer bent down.

It suddenly rocketed forward in a burst of speed. But even as Tristan’s mind struggled to keep up, his body reacted; he pulled [Shadow Step] and cast it to the side.

He spun around in a swirl of shadow, wide-eyed, as the Lancer slid to a halt, digging large grooves into the dirt. It immediately bent and burst towards him again, its lance suddenly glowing white.

Tristan barely managed to cast [Wooden Shell] before the Lancer stabbed at him with the weapon; both his base shield of 40 Armor and the 20 Armor from {Second Layer} crumpled under the force of the lance, sending him flying backwards. His {Shatter Stun} activated, and a shell of green energy formed over the monster, [Stunning] it in place.

Tristan bounced on the ground painfully a few times before coming to a stop. Gasping, he quickly cast [Healing Juice]

and downed it. The healing effect kicked in, a tingling rush flowing through his body, setting his body right. Though his Armor had blocked most of the damage, it couldn’t block all of it and some pain had gotten through, not to mention from hitting the ground so hard.

That one attack wiped out 60 Armor.

He didn’t have time to think further on what had just happened. The [Stun] effect faded from Lancer, and it bent down once more.

What happened next was a blur of movement.

Tristan curve-cast Rommie high into the air. As the Lancer burst forward again, Tristan cast [Stonehold], followed by [Nightmark]. The first card flew through the air and landed on its rushing body, materializing as a sudden skin of stone that forced it to stop. The cancelled momentum of its rush, however, resulted in a gust of wind that blew away his [Nightmark], making it fizzle out.

He mentally filed that interaction away as the Lancer broke free of the stone. Rommie landed behind him and immediately used [Shadow Slash] on its back; he saw through her eyes that the skill barely made a dent in its armor.

It was enough to activate {Imbue Bleed}. A crackle of Dark energy arced across the Lancer’s body. The monster ignored the tiny damage, brandishing its lance and running forward—it seemed to be out of its dash skill—slower but still frighteningly fast, every step of its armored feet shaking the ground.

Tristan cast [Wolf’s Grace] and ran away while commanding Rommie to distract the Lancer, not engaging with the monster fully but enough to get its attention. The wolf hopped into motion, using her superior speed to get in a few basic attacks before ducking back out.

He arced around until he was in position; then, he spun quick-cast two cards in succession, followed by a delayed third. Thanks to [Haste], the cards just appeared in his hands as he thought of them, though the buff disappeared after the third cast.

The first card spun in the air, becoming a dark shuriken aimed right at its head, but the Lancer raised its shield up to the side without looking. The weak [Darkstar] lodged itself in the shield futilely.

But because the Lancer had raised its shield to cover its head, it didn’t see the second card—[Bleeding Hamstring]--curved right at the back of its leg. It struck cleanly, gouging itself into the armor; a moment later, [Slow] and [Bleed] applied, creating inky webs that globbed down its body, along with more tendrils of Dark energy.

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The Lancer dropped to one knee with the sound of groaning wood, right as the third card—[Shadow Spear]—slammed into its chestplate, leaving a huge dent. {Sticking Shadows} activated, adding another [Slow].

Another proc of [Bleed] ticked. Cracks began to form in its armor.

Rommie caught up to the monster and used [Shadow Lunge], disappearing. A bite mark formed across its side as she reappeared and danced away.

A third stack of [Bleed] applied. The tendrils of dark energy nearly covered its whole body as it triggered, black light flashing, the cracks deepening and spreading.

Tristan activated {Sanguination}. The status effect disappeared from the Lancer’s body and his Dark Attack cards glowed bright. He cast another [Shadow Spear], the Attack enlarged and full of power. The Lancer lifted its shield, and the Attack slammed into it with enough force to break through and hit it on the arm, letting loose a shower of splinters.

He kept an eye on his [Nightmark], an indicator telling him the Lancer would become an available target soon.

Still movement impaired, the Lancer slowly hefted its weapon up. It glowed white again, some sort of buff, and then the Lancer launched it. Because of the [Slow], Tristan had time to prepare and dodged safely out of the way.

The massive weapon screamed by like a missile, slamming into the far wall on the other side. Massive cracks in the wall formed from the impact, and the whole room shuddered.

Now weaponless, Tristan commanded Rommie to attack the monster. He used two casts of [Darkstar] and ran off at an angle, trying to get at its back leg to fulfill [Bleeding Hamstring’s] condition again.

Suddenly the lance disappeared from where it’d embedded itself hilt-deep into the wall.

The lance reformed in the monster’s hand; it gave a brutal swing that sent Rommie flying through the air.

She struck the wall and immediately dispersed in a puff of Dark energy. The [Darkstars] struck the monster on its lancearm right after, dealing little damage but ticking off two required stacks for {Sticking Shadows}.

The monster stood up, the [Slow] fading away, and it bent down in that familiar pose.

It shot forward, dirt spraying in a wave behind him. Tristan [Shadow Stepped] out of the way again easily, and it halted and bent down once.

Tristan used his last cast of [Stonehold], trying to stop it in place.

The Lancer abruptly threw its broken shield in the air. [Stonehold] hit the shield and fizzled away before the monster used its dash and rocketed forward.

Caught off guard, Tristan couldn’t pull [Shadow Step] in time, instead hastily leaping to the side.

The Lancer used its lance to slow itself down, carving a line through the dirt as it spun about and then leapt into the air. Its lance glowed again as it thrust down with enough force to pierce metal.

Tristan barely managed to roll out of the way, casting [Nightmark] on its back leg as he did, but the sheer strength of the attack was enough to create a wave of force that pushed him back. The ground exploded in a cloud of dirt.

Tristan righted himself, palm scraping against the ground as he got to his feet. He sucked in a deep breath, heart thumping rapidly.

The Lancer brandished its weapon once more, and Tristan grinned, flourishing his deck in an arc in response.

It bent down once more. Tristan felt the world narrow in focus until it was just him, the Lancer, and the [Nightmark] pulsing on its backleg.

He breathed out.

The Lancer burst forward. Tristan used his last cast of [Shadow Step] up into the air, the shadows shrouding him before spitting him back out high above the monster.

The Lancer spun around, buffed its lance, and hefted it.

Tristan twisted and cast two cards.

[Shadow Spear] slammed into its head, rocking it back and throwing its aim off; the lance screamed past, just barely avoiding Tristan’s head and colliding with the ceiling as a perfect curve-cast [Bleeding Hamstring] sliced through the air and landed right on the [Nightmark].

For a moment, Tristan seemed to freeze in the air. In his mind’s eye, he saw what was about to happen, the images flashing by rapidly.

[Bleeding Hamstring] shatters the monster’s leg…

[Nightmark] explodes, sending ruptures of Dark energy ripping through its weakened armor…

[Bleed] triggers, deepening the existing cracks…

I land, use {Sanguination}, and [Shadow Spear] for the kill.

The frozen moment ceased. He fell through the air as [Bleeding Hamstring] shattered the Lancer’s leg, [Nightmark] ruptured its body and [Bleed] carved the existing cracks deeper.

Tristan landed as the now one-legged Lancer dropped to the ground with a thunderous crash. He activated {Sanguination}. The [Bleed] on the monster disappeared, and the Dark Attack cards on his deck suddenly glowed dark.

Breathing heavily, Tristan pulled and cast [Shadow Spear]. Empowered by his Perk, [Shadow Spear] easily broke through its already cracked armor and came out clean on the other side.

Moments later, the Lancer faded away. The room flashed with light, indicating it was now a saferoom.

You have defeated 1x. [Withering Roots Mycelium Lancer].

You have acquired 10x. Corrupted Great Oak Bark, 8x. Concentrated Fungus, 4x. Earth Source, 2x. Lancer’s Spirit, 1x. [Mycelium Lancer Blueprint], 1x. [Lancer’s Gauntlets], 1x. [Exit Pass].

You are unable to acquire more [Apprentice Perkshards].

You have acquired the [Withering Roots Dungeon Map B1F-B3F].

A mini-map appeared in the top right of his vision. If he focused on it, he could enlarge it, move it around, or minimize it all together. A quick enlarging showed him that the pathway down to the next floor was just two rooms over to his right.

He quickly inspected what he’d gotten.

[Apprentice/Earth/Summon] — Mycelium Lancer: Summon the powerful Mycelium Lancer, imbued with the strength of the Great Oak. Skills: [Charged Rush], [Empowered Lance]. (CASTS: 2 | DURATION: 5 MINUTES.)

The [Mycelium Lancer Blueprint] was a powerful Apprentice Summon, but it was Earth. Unfortunately, dual-element cards weren’t available until Master, and tri-element cards not until Grandmaster.

Still, the card seemed incredibly strong, perhaps even stronger than a low-Adept summon. Even though he’d already committed to having Dark as his offensive core and Earth as his supportive, he could still use it until he was able to craft two Adept Dark Summons.

The [Lancer’s Gauntlets], however, were good right now.

[Apprentice/Equipment/Handwear ]— Lancer’s Gauntlets: Gauntlets taken from the body of a Mycelium Lancer. Made from Great Oak bark, these gauntlets are imbued with the strength of the Earth Goddess herself. Grants the temporary Equipment Perk: {Mycelium Might}. (ARMOR: 25/25).

He focused on the [Equipment Perk].

[Apprentice/Temporary Equipment Perk] — Mycelium Might: When activated, double the strength of your next Apprentice-rank Earth card. (CASTS: 3/3)

He equipped the gauntlets immediately. Unlike the Lancer’s, which were iridescent like the Great Oak, these gauntlets were a deep, almost-stone like gray with veins of green flowing through them. They molded to his hands with a flash of light, and he realized he could adjust their thickness.

He made them thin, almost like gloves, and took a deep breath.

That monster was tougher than I’d expected, he thought. It worried him; if an Apprentice elite monster was that powerful, how strong was the Adept boss monster?

Orienting himself with the map, Tristan ran off, the roots covering the entrance and exit retracting.