Dungeon at the End of the Universe

“Hah, this is too easy!” Ram exclaimed after defeating the last construct of the most recent group.

The others, while less vocal about it, also agreed. They’d managed to fight their way up to a dozen constructs at once, but the difficulty stopped growing some while ago. As soon as they learned how to deal with more enemies for each of them, it became a breeze.

In addition to that, they’d also grown in level. Witch each one they felt stronger, as is mostly the case for Ram, and faster and nimbler, as is mostly the case with Dittillapp. Only Prshky didn’t feel too much different, but they surmised that whatever attribute he was using to cast magic must’ve been improving instead.

Now, at level nine, they felt invincible.

“Hey, by the way,” Ram continued, “when do we get another class ability?”

“What makes you think you’re getting another one?” their guide replied playfully.

“Other than the fact it’s labelled as ability 1 and that there’s clearly an empty spot in this status thingy?” she answered pointedly.

At that, Faellen smiled a smile just ever so slightly too wide for its face. “Alright, yes, you will get another one. In fact, you’ll get one every ten levels.”

Ram’s and Prsky’s eyes lit up. They were only a single level away.

“Come on then, let’s hurry to the next fight,” Prshky urged his teammates.

And so they went, crossing through a doorway that had, like usual, appeared after the previous fight. Except that once they entered the next room, no constructs were in sight.

In fact, the only thing in the room was an old gnarly tree. It had no leaves on it and for all intents and purposes looked completely dead. The only slightly unusual thing about it was the shiny metallic orb cradled within its branches.

Confused at this change of pace, the three adventurers approached.

Prshky, ever the scientist, was the most curious. Now that he’d mostly gotten over his fear and gotten used to the strange situation he found himself in, he wanted nothing more than to study all these weird new phenomena happening around him.

He approached, almost entranced by the strange specimen before him. He reached out his hand, about to touch the bark of the tree, when a loud creaking rang out throughout the room.

Only Ram’s quick instincts saved him, as she pulled him back and away from the tree.

The tree, in the meantime, revealed itself to not be quite a tree. Before the trio’s eyes, its bark lost the wooden look and transformed into something almost resembling flesh. Then it’s roots and branches unfurled, revealing a humanoid figure.

Its legs, made of roots and a split trunk, were wide and powerful. It’s arms, woven together out of numerous branches, numbered half a dozen. And the metallic orb had taken the place of a head, partially covered and cradled by smaller branches.

It somewhat resembled a Sipalian, if only due to the six arms.

I stared at the screen that appeared before me, shocked and surprised. Nobody had told me that this was a thing, and yet somehow, to some deep Dungeon part of myself, it made sense.

Congratulations!
You’ve made your first Boss monster!

Boss monsters are creatures more powerful than their peers. From rare variants, through elite monsters that reach the status through skill, to the most abhorrent of chimeras. All of those can be called Bosses. They are great challenges for any who dare delve into your Dungeon, but they carry similar rewards as well.

First Boss monster boon: Bound and Lasting
When this Boss perishes, you may remake it just like you would Create any generic mob. It retains all its memories and most of its growth.

Boss status:
Category: chimera/aberration
Type: fae/slime
An unholy fusion of the unbound fae and restrictive enchantments, controlled and powered by the simple mind of a slime.
[further information waiting for Boss analysis]

Would you like to name this Boss?

Would you like to name this species?

I- I think I should be happy, but… what if it’s too much for them?

It was too much for them, Ram thought. Only shortly after she’d thrown Prshky back to safety, the monster had swung one of its heavy arm-branches at her, knocking her back a few meters.

While they both recovered, Dittillapp tried to keep its attention off of them. They circled around the creature, never staying in spot for too long. But the monster was too fast for its size.

Strength combined with speed, a deadly combination. The only saving grace was that that speed didn’t translate to mobility.

As soon as they all made some distance from it, it began walking towards them with a slow lumbering gait.

Which was when it revealed another surprise.

It pointed one of its arms at them. Said arm became a hollow tube right before their eyes, and then something shot out. Only a timely warning from Dittillapp, and Ram once more throwing Prshky out of the way, saved them from being bathed in the caustic liquid.

The same could not be said for the rock where they had just been standing. Before long, a puddle had formed there.

Seeing this, all of them knew how serious this was.

Well, all three of them. The fourth one, their guide turned spectator, was having a blast. For once, they weren’t just breezing through the fight.

For the first time, Dittillapp spoke up proactively.

“Ram, help me keep its attention off of Prshky. We’ll take turns, stepping in when the other is getting overwhelmed.” Barely even waiting for her to nod, they continued. “Prshky, keep as far as you can and bombard it with as many mana bolts as you can. You’ll be our main damage source.”

The other two didn’t even have to chance to be surprised at Dittillapp’s orders in the heat of the battle.

Prshky only gulped, and Ram said, “Alright Ditti.”

It was time for their first proper fight. And this time? If they lost there would be consequences.