Chapter 20: Dungeon Clear
Nox's head was still spinning a bit, and his HP bar was hovering somewhere around 30%, maybe less. Yeda was slumped against the wall, looking completely drained, her silver aura gone.
'Okay, this is bad,' he thought. 'But also... kind of fun.' His blood was pumping, that familiar cold clarity mixing with a raw excitement he hadn't felt since he first got the system.
One clean hit. That's all he needed. If he could just get this overgrown dog to make one stupid mistake.
He grinned, a bloody, swollen mess of a grin. "Hey, ugly," he called out, his voice hoarse. "You call yourself a boss monster? My grandma hits harder than you, and she's been dead for ten years."
The monster, still shaking its head from where he had punched it, snarled. "You're still talking, insect? I'm going to enjoy pulling your tongue out."
"Oh, I'm terrified," he drawled, taking a shaky step forward. He still had the pipe, though it felt heavier now.
"Seriously though, your breath smells like something crawled in your mouth and died. Oh wait, that's probably just your personality rotting from the inside out."
The monster's eyes narrowed. "You dare insult me?"
"Insult you? Nah, just stating facts. You're slow, you're predictable, and honestly, you're probably the weakest boss monster in whatever crappy game this world turned into." He took another step, a bit unsteady. "I've seen scarier poodles."
"I will tear you limb from limb!" the monster roared, its voice shaking the already damaged gym. It stomped a foot, clearly losing its cool.
'Good, good,' he thought. 'Almost there.'