They cleared out the remainder of the floor in a similar fashion before finally arriving at the boss chamber. Along the way, they found two more items and Annabelle got to test [Great Mire]. She had activated the skill, and a violet shimmer spread through the air. The monsters that got caught in the expanding mire of energy slowed down, as if the air around them had thickened and resisted their movement. It wasn’t a super drastic effect, but it was noticeable and it made a difference.

  Before opening the doors to the boss chamber, Lucian took a moment to [Analyze] both new items as they rested and recovered their Spirit. The first item was a silver bangle with a slightly blue sheen to it, which they realized when Annabelle shined the flashlight on it.

  The second item was a pair of green gardener’s gloves with a coarse exterior, though the inside was softer than the outside.

  “Neither of these is specifically good for us, but I’m sure we can find people who want them.” Lucian thought to himself, handing the bangle to Annabelle to wear for the time being. [Analyze] also leveled up in the process of identifying the new items.

  “What on earth does the potency of [Analyze] even mean…” Lucian wondered. The skill itself did specify that its potency was reduced against creatures, and it revealed far more information about items than the monsters he had used it on, so he figured maybe that was it.

  Annabelle saw him spacing out and smirked, “Let me guess. [Analyze] leveled up.”

  Lucian glanced over at her sheepishly and grinned. Then they both started laughing, “Yeah, yeah, golden boy, I know.”

  The pair rested for a bit longer before getting up and stretching, then placing a hand on the boss door and pushing it open.

  The door opened into a wide circular chamber with walls that arched inwards to form a domed ceiling. In the room’s center, a giant pink flower more than twice Lucian’s height sat with its petals closed.

  The monsters had been getting stronger as they got closer to the boss room, [Analyze] had placed the first Bloomborn ripper he used it on at level 22 - the most recent one he checked had been level 27. All of that said, the underleveled enemies, even in groups, hadn’t been difficult to deal with - in part because Annabelle’s poison centric build countered them very effectively and in part because Lucian could punch above his level already, so hitting down was a breeze. But that didn’t mean he was going to throw caution out the window for the boss, at least not entirely.

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  The pair briefly spoke to each other, and then Annabelle rolled the [Lesser Trapfinder’s Stone] into the bossroom, consuming another use but confirming that there were no traps within the boss room, at least none it could detect. As the stone pulsed, the bud in the room’s center began to twitch, and then slowly its petals began to unfurl.

  Lucian stepped into the room and activated [Manifest Weapon] and then immediately followed with [Heightened Manifestation]. A large longsword shimmered into existence in his grip, and then rapidly expanded as the surge of Spirit from the second skill flowed into it. With [Heightened Manifestation] active, the Spirit draw of his weapon doubled to 4 per minute - it was a net zero due to [Spirit Recovery], so long as he remained out of combat. In combat, the recovery would be cut from 4 per minute down to 2. He also felt the strain of channeling both skills at once - he would cut the second if it became detrimental to performance, but he figured the best way to learn how to fight with two channeled skills active at once was to do it.

  As Annabelle stepped into the room and the pair moved slightly further past the threshold, the flower in the room's center pulsed with light, and opened fully.

  From within the flower, a larger than life stag woven from vines emerged. Its antlers curved up and back, made from a deep red mahogany-like wood. Flowers bloomed across its sides and back, which was covered with a carpet of moss. Its eyes were spheres of amber, and held a gentle glow within them. It hoofed the ground and looked at the pair, snorting at them. Lucian stared at it and used [Analyze].

  “Level 32… At least that means there’s a good chance we level up.” Lucian grinned and brought his blade to the side, crouching slightly as he readied himself.

  Annabelle took a breath and pointed at the stag, “[Witch’s Hex]!” She incanted, and a flare of purple light momentarily enveloped it as the skill took hold.

  The stag’s eyes flashed brighter and it stomped the ground harder. Motes of green light began to lift from the ground around it, dancing upwards and swirling towards its antlers. Lucian’s pupils dilated, “Shit. That looks like what the knight did…” He rushed forward, pushing against the ground and blurring towards the stag. If it was charging something, he wasn’t about to just let it finish uninterrupted.

  The stag reared up as he dashed at it, and slammed its head down, tilting to angle its antlers at Lucian. He swung his sword upwards and activated [Slash]. A gust of wind rushed in every direction, his sword cut through halfway up the antler, and struck against the second antler. The blade bit into the wood, but didn’t cut through. The stag pushed down, pressing Lucian’s heels into the stone tile underneath him. The motes of green light didn’t vanish, but their gathering seemed to slow as the section of horn Lucian had cut off clattered to the ground.

  A bolt of green light whizzed past him and struck the stag’s side, poisonous energy seeping into its body as Annabelle used [Poison Bolt]. The stag flinched slightly, but it was enough for Lucian to break the stalemate, pulling his sword free and leaping back.

  The stag rapidly recovered and angled itself towards him and its hooves began to shine with light, and then it charged with skill enhanced speed.

  “[Tanglethorns]!” Annabelle gestured upwards. A tangle of thick thorned roots surged up from the ground, wrapping around one of the stag’s front legs as it touched down. It staggered and Lucian leapt upwards over it, twisting in the air and using the momentum of the motion to aid a swing from above at the boss’ flank. He activated [Slash] and [Penetrating Strike], and his blade shone brighter. The oversized longsword carved into the stag’s side, cutting through vine and wood, and getting a little over a third of the way through its entire body. Lucian shifted his grip on the sword to a reverse grip as the sudden stop of his sword let him hold on and kill his momentum. He planted his heels on the stag as it let out a screeching whine and tugged his sword free and leaping back on to the floor. He ignored the feeling of both skills leveling up simultaneously and readied himself for whatever came next.

  As he readied himself, the stag reared up onto its back legs and the swirling energy around its antlers pulsed and rapidly began to swirl inwards, collecting in a bright sphere of green light that hovered between its antlers, ripping with dangerous potential.

  “Oh shit.” Lucian felt the hair on the back of his neck and the fur on his tail stand on end as the air hummed.

  The orb of light shone brighter, and then erupted.