Tower of Souls

Eron nearly missed it in his search of the area behind the entrance; It was only on a whim that he had climbed another tree to get a better look around... and spotted a gap in the bramble hedge. A gap twenty feet in, with no obvious means of reaching that spot.

After quickly relaying the information, Cam and his clone decided to search the area nearby in case there was something hidden- while there was no guarantee of finding anything, if anything was even there to find, they wouldn't know until they looked...

But finding a tunnel dug under the brambles wasn't quite what they had imagined finding.

"I mean, it's big enough for us to crawl through... but something had to have made it, and I don't fancy running into whatever it is while crawling under those sharp thorns..." Cam said slowly from where he squatted a ways off, watching the hole. "It's got to be a monster, and this is obviously part of the Floor, otherwise that hole wouldn't even be there, but..."

"We do like usual, then. I go first, with the dagger in my hand, and if something pops up and bites me... Well, I scream what it is while you figure out if we can push through and fight it or pull back and hope it chases." Eron shrugged, already used to their strategy... which, Cam had to admit, said a lot about his own mindset. "For something so hard to find, it has to either be a Relic or a Hidden Boss, and you know those are worth going for!"

"Yeah, and there is usually a good bit of danger to go with them!" Cam shot back, though he didn't disagree with the plan- it had worked for them so far, so why change it now? "Ok, we go for it, but with a slight twist; I'll follow closer, and if something does attack you in the tunnel, I can grab you by the feet to drag you backwards while you fend it off with both hands and the dagger."

"Just make sure you watch behind you. I know we've searched pretty thoroughly, but we still could have missed something." Eron replied quickly, before diving into the hole without waiting for a response.

Of course, Cam had also thought of that, but they really had checked pretty thoroughly to make sure they were clear. He hoped.

Crawling through the dirt tunnel, with the thicket of brambles just inches over their heads, Cam was glad for once at his smaller size; If he had been as big as some of the other men his age, he wasn't sure he could have fit through without scraping against the sharp points at least a couple of times- and, while that wouldn't kill him, it would certainly leave him injured for whatever lay on the other side.

The small tunnel was mostly straight, with only a few slight bends and turns, and looked like it had been dug by some sort of animal rather than with tools- and, though Cam wasn't familiar with very many animals, one immediately came to mind: Bunnicorns.

It was the only thing that made sense, as the only monsters they had encountered on this Floor were the Kawe, and the Bunnicorn trash mobs... Of course, he couldn't rule out it being something new; While it was normal for these early Floors to have only a few types of monsters- usually two or three, which this Floor had shown so far-, it was possible for there to be another... Though, if it really was a Hidden Boss, it would most likely be of a type they had already seen.

So either a Kawe Archer, Kawe Slinger, Kawe Spearbear... or a Bunnicorn. But he didn't see the tree climbing bears as having dug a hole like this.

The closer the pair drew to the expected end of the tunnel- which Cam couldn't see past his clone, but Eron had already spotted thanks to the circle of light that fell through it, compared to the diffused light that passed through the thicket-, the tenser the pair grew. Judging by the size of the clear space, if there was a monster, it couldn't be far from the hole, and they would be in the fight almost as soon as they crawled out... Which, Cam recognized, wasn't great with their usual approach.

Sure, Eron would still be engaging it first, but this time they wouldn't be able to study the monster and assess it first, before making a plan to take it down... and, if things went sideways, it would be harder for them to pull back and reengage... If Cam had to escape, his only choice would be to leave Eron behind to buy time for him to crawl out.

Stolen story; please report.

And Cam wasn't a fan of just abandoning his clone, even if it was the smart thing to do if things turned bad.

Reaching the end of the short tunnel, Eron hesitated for a second, as neither of them had considered until that point exactly what they would do. Should he just peak his head up to take a look at what they were dealing with? It sounded like a good idea... until he thought about how that would put just his head out and in the open for taking a critical hit, which didn't sound good.

Rushing straight out meant not having a chance to even see what he was fighting before things kicked off, which also didn't sound great... But it would at least give him a chance to relay information to Cam, and possibly pull any monster present away from the hole so he could climb out safely and hit them from behind...

Nodding his head, as he liked that idea better, Eron tapped his foot once, then twice- clearly counting off-, before, with three quick taps of his foot, he lunged up out of the hole as quickly as he could...

Only to be knocked flying with an 'Oof' by a flash of pristine white fur.

Big Bunnicorn's Horn Charge struck your clone(Eron) for 30 damage.

Cam only stared at the notification for a second in disbelief as his clone lost a fifth of his health in an instant- and it wasn't even a critical!-, before Eron's shout brought him scrambling up out of the hole.

"Bunnicorn Hidden Boss! Fuck, he hits hard!" Eron panted, frantically dodging the monsters lunging horn. Lashing out with his dagger, he grimaced as it scraped along the furred hide, barely drawing blood. "And its fur is like armor!"

Your Clone's 'Fan the Flames' burned Big Bunnicorn for 16 damage(Fire).

Climbing quickly out of the hole, the flash of fire drew his attention to the 'Big Bunnicorn'- and it really was the biggest one they had seen so far; While the others were small, ranging from one to two feet in length, and could only attack their legs... This one was actually bigger than he was! Even on all fours, it still stood a few inches taller than his clone who faced off with it, the horn on its head nearly two feet long itself and wickedly sharp...

As he watched, the Bunnicorn let out a furious shriek, its legs flexing in an instant before launching itself up and over his clone, who spun to face it... But that also ruined their plan to attack it from both sides...

"I think that was another Ability!" Eron shouted, and Cam had the same thought: that this Hidden Boss had at least two Abilities, one offensive and one for movement...

Quickly pulling out both his greatsword and the spear from his Inventory, Cam dropped the spear behind his clone before moving up beside him and waving Eron back. "Grab the spear while I hold it!"

Without question, Eron shuffled back, keeping his eyes on the Bunnicorn as Cam waved the sword in front of it to keep it back. Sliding his dagger back into its sheath, he had just gotten his hands on the spear when he saw the monster's eyes narrow, and it launched its charge again... and Cam stepped between it and its target, Eron, his greatsword swinging as his skin took on a metallic luster.

Big Bunnicorn's Horn Charge struck you for 20 damage(10 negated by Iron Skin).

You slash Big Bunnicorn for 11 damage.

While the charge knocked Cam back a few steps, it wasn't nearly as far as the initial attack had taken his clone- and, in the second its momentum stopped and the monster landed, Eron surged forward, the point of his spear sinking into its side.

Your clone stabbed Big Bunnicorn for 7 damage.

"It stalls for a second after a charge!" The pair yelled in unison as they pushed forward, hacking and stabbing at it- though Eron couldn't help smirking and taunting the original. "You're still an idiot for taking that charge!"

"Shut up and don't let it-" Cam cut off as the Bunnicorn's legs flexed, sending it leaping away from the pair before they could do more than land a few glancing hits; While the clearing was small, maybe just twenty feet across, that was still enough room for the monster to run them in circles if they didn't stay on it- and, with its Ability that let it jump around like that, as well as its charge for quickly closing in and doing damage, the last thing they wanted was to let it dictate the flow of the fight...

But the clearing was small, and he was absolutely glad they hadn't tried to lure it out to fight in the more open forest of the Floor.

"Burn mana and burn it down! Don't let it lead us around!" He shouted, already charging towards it once more... though he wasn't surprised that his clone had already reached the same conclusion.

They were the same person, after all.

Eron reached it first, having been slightly closer, his Iron Skin activating right as it charged once more, knocking him back, and Cam followed up with another wash of flames across it and a brutal downward slash of his greatsword. The Bunnicorn's once pristine white fur, now streaked with blood, added a layer of char as the smell of burning fur reached their noses- but the pair ignored the pungent stench, intent on bringing it down quickly... preferably before it could do too much more damage to them.