A moment before the shadowy figure emerged from the whirlwind kicked up from the impact into the ground, panic sliced through my chest as keenly as if a dagger was plunging toward my heart. When it was a hand that materialized from the cloud and not a plunging sword shock must have surely been plastered all over my face. And it was a bony hand! This wasn’t Gilgamesh coming to coup de grace me. Accepting the proffered aid, I locked wrists with Ripley with eager intensity. With her high strength attribute, she easily pulled me to my feet.
The haze of dust and sand obscuring my surroundings lilted to the ground as I sought to locate our dangerous opponent. Turning my head back and forth to locate the boss, I found him standing about thirty feet away. His bulk of a body was in the process of reorienting where we stood as if he only decided to pause his mad rush so far away from we stood. Why would he run all the way over there after realizing he missed me with his second charge?
From what I could gather in the next few seconds as I contemplated what our best course of action was, it appeared Gilgamesh made two rapid lunges back-to-back, if the falling sand from his passing had anything to say about it. Seeing the ruts in the dirt, I gathered both of his charges were in perfectly straight lines without any deviation. Surprisingly, when Gilgamesh first struck me with his sword, his headlong dash carried him over two dozen yards away for some odd reason. Then, after finally stopping, the towering Ogre repeated the move, this time aiming where I landed painfully in a sand dune. It was as if Gilgamesh couldn’t veer once his imitation of the Flash was triggered.
It was only thanks to Stella’s warning I hadn’t ended up as a pink streak across the barren ground. Thankfully, the boss could only estimate where I landed thanks to the dust cloud I kicked up. Gilgamesh nearly got it right. He missed me by less than a foot. Had we been fighting anywhere other than the desert Cicero’s magic created, I wouldn’t be left standing trying to figure out best how to fell a leviathan. Those pounding impact tremors from before had been Gilgamesh careening past me. When I rolled at Stella’s warning, I must have moved closer to Ripley who then rushed forward to help me to my feet. We stood shoulder to shoulder, facing off an as-of-yet pissed-off Ogre.
With nearly all of my DoTs already applied and ravaging the freak of nature’s health pool, I settled on what would give us the best chance of surviving the rest of this encounter. Every six seconds, my spells took large chunks away from the blood-red bar hovering under Gilgamesh’s nameplate. It was time enough to transfer as much direct damage as possible and wipe out what health he had remaining. It was time to overwhelm him with elemental power.
There was the briefest moment of stillness as we faced each other down. I was surprised Gilgamesh hadn’t immediately followed up with another blistering charge, but perhaps we were fortunate enough that his ability had some inner cool down. That or something else prevented him from leaping forward with the speed of a nimble gazelle. Narrowing my eyes with renewed determination, arcane phrases filled the air around me as the words to Lightning Bolt drew upon my core. My fingers twisted in zig-zagging lines, the spell weave nearly complete when Ripley stepped forward.
Without the need to communicate the obvious, we both came to the realization Ripley would need to be the shield if there was any hope of us slaying this brutal monster. She would defend me until her last breath, if it came to that, while I toppled what health still flowed in Gilgamesh’s veins. Ripley side-stepped, imposing herself for whatever the boss did next, though she allowed me a clear line of sight to complete my casting. If it wasn’t for the skeleton’s astounding Silvern Dwarven shield, the thick slab of metal embossed with the likeness of a cheering Dwarf greedily gulping down a mug of ale, and combined with a matched-set of Battlelord armor, my friend would have little hope of following through with her stance’s implied threat. Each piece of her Dreadnought armor contained a battalion’s worth of defensive value.
It is evident to everyone across our impromptu sand and dirt-covered battlefield I stood no chance against the robust Ogre, should he come calling. Until one of us fell, Ripley was steadfast as she became my shield against this agent of darkness. With my friend’s support, we had a chance. The incalculable split moment in time stretched on for what seemed like hours. There was no way Gilgamesh was about to try to parlay with us, so why not use the brief intermission to get the party started?
Opting to only dual cast my spell, Lightning Bolt’s final trigger phrase split the still air the precise moment Gilgamesh beamed a gleaming smile our way. Before the twisting line of light could touch his body, a heat bloom rushed away from Gilgamesh’s thick frame as another of his hidden abilities was triggered. Sadly, unlike when battling other Hunters, there was no way for me to tell what tricks this monster had up his sleeves. Nothing for it, my ravaging bolt of electricity blasted past Ripley, missing her by scant inches, before slamming into the boss’s chest. The burning smell of ozone pervaded the air in the spell’s wake before drifting away with a heavy gust of wind.
Seeming to shrug off my Lightning Bolt without much ill effect, Gilgamesh ran towards our position. Remarkably, though, the Ogre was moving at only a fraction of his top speed. His legs pumped no faster than a light jog. It was as if he was in no real hurry to pulverize us. The effects of Gilgamesh’s ability struck my awareness as the destructive magic ravaging the Ogre’s inside came into focus. It gave me pause. Widening my eyes, it was as if every drop of mana from my spells became far less effective in that instant. Whatever the visible distortion had been, every one of my DoT spells now only delivered half their full damage potential. It was a staggering defensive ability. Hopefully, the effect wouldn’t last long as that single ability pushed a difficult battle far harder. The longer he lived, the less likely we would. Gilgamesh’s ability doubled his weakening lifespan.
There was nothing we could do about it. It didn’t change what we had to do. It only made our jobs harder and, hopefully, not fatally so. Waiting for the one-second cool down to elapse, my fingers twisted in the same pattern as another Lightning Bolt was summoned. I debated waving a Lesser Fire Ball between lightning blasts but swiftly decided against it. As a lesser-tiered spell, it dealt a significantly lower amount of direct damage.
Additionally, coupled with the fact Fire Ball had a two-second cast time and my depleting mana reserves, I didn’t want to waste the extra mana to speed it up via a Quick Cast. Not unless it became absolutely necessary for our survival. Instead, I was better served tossing out as many stunning bolts of electricity until the battle morphed into something new.
“Stella!” I called out between evocations. She hurried to my side and waited patiently for my next words as I tossed out yet another Lightning Bolt. Taking an extra moment to ask my question before winding through another bolt, I hoped Stella could shed some light on Gilgamesh’s impressive ability. “Any idea what that defensive haze was or how long it will last?”
I hoped to get a better understanding of what we were up against even as Gilgamesh neared Ripley’s defensive position. The whole time the Ogre began his run, Ripley and I backpedaled to draw out as much time before he got into range with his hefty sword. All the while, I kept glancing at Gilgamesh’s feet for the telltale sign of his speed boost triggering. If we didn’t see his blitzkrieg coming, we wouldn’t have enough time to react and dive out of the way.
Stella responded swiftly and succinctly: “It cuts all magical damage by fifty percent!”
As she answered, Ripley had to duck beneath and turn aside several savage sword cuts from the boss. So close, it was astonishing the size difference between the hulky Gilgamesh and my skeletal friend. Ripley planted her feet and stubbornly kept her armored body between me and the boss. Her entirely defensive maneuvers, perfectly executed parries, and evasive dodges seemed to frustrate the powerful giant to no end. He seemed to want nothing more than to mow past here and scythe me wheat in a field. “It has a long cool down, but I’m unable to see how long it lasts—maybe an extra thirty seconds, but I can’t promise that.”
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
I nearly made a fatal mistake when I stepped further to the side to open a lane for a constant barrage from my Lesser Flamethrower. My error in judgment was dashed purely on the sudden gleeful look that overcame the perturbed look across Gilgamesh’s face. He seemed giddy at the prospect my new position afforded him. Halting my spell mid-cast, I stepped back behind my skeletal champion. There was potentially room for my flamethrower to hit the boss’s face at an upward angle, but it would also cause Ripley to take fire damage from the spell as well.
Reverting to my Lightning Bolts once more, I asked another question to the hovering Stella at my side, “What can you tell me about his charge?” I was required to shout the question for any hope of clearing the constant clash of metal on metal as Gilgamesh doggedly attempted to overcome Ripley’s defensive posturing.
“He needs a clear line of sight and at least five feet to trigger it,” Stella answered as swiftly as she could as she waved a paw through one of her interfaces. Her voice carried a bit more cheer a moment later as she gleaned a little more information from the System about the boss’s lightning-fast charge. “Also, he has to travel at least fifty feet when it’s used. If used back-to-back like earlier, the cool down is increased significantly. I bet he hoped to end you as quickly as possible back there and is now waiting for the right moment to use it. I can’t find anything else about it.”
It was helpful information, so I thanked Stella for the insight soon after. From the continuous blasts of electrified energy, Gilgamesh was clearly frustrated at his inability to reach me with his broad sword with Ripley holding firm against his onslaught. It was as if the boss’s only goal was to kill me as quickly as possible, and everything else was only a hindrance to accomplishing that end. Ripley was taking damage, of course. Even her potent dwarven armor was no match for the sheer strength disparity between her and the behemoth waylaying her. Weaving in another refreshing Lesser Regen upon her between lightning blasts was simplicity itself. Healing magic coursed through her body and the dark tendons holding her together. With the ongoing healing from my earlier cast of funeral pyre, I was able to keep Ripley slightly above fifty percent health.
Ripley’s ability to hold her own against the raging giant was compromised when Gilgamesh enacted another ability. In an instant, he sent a blisteringly fast series of sword strikes, each aimed at different parts of his foe’s body. The move was so fast it reminded me of his blurred legs during his charge. Ripley''s health plummeted into the red! Yet, an instant later, her health soared back over the halfway mark.
I knew what Ripley had done the instant it happened. She had been sitting on a life-saving item for days since we first purchased it back in the High Thicket. It was her marvelous Vial of Replenishment.
{Vial of Replenishment (Health & Stamina)}. This sealed glass capsule was carefully constructed to contain a self-replicating concoction capable of restoring both health and stamina. With a thought, the contents are magically injected into the user’s bloodstream. Over time, the potion will fill automatically, growing denser in potency as more time passes. Quality: Superb. Rarity: Rare. Type: Potion. Durability 500/500. Effect(s): Restores 100 plus 50n Health and Stamina, where ‘n’ equals the total hours since the item was previously used. Current restored quantity: 6,250 health and stamina.
Relief flooded into me as her health stabilized. While it dropped dangerously low, Ripley proved she could withstand what was likely the boss’s most potent attack. Sadly for us, my hopes of the stalemate continued as my spells wore down Gilgamesh’s own health pool vanished immediately after. Another wave of force rippled away from the giant, quite unlike the one which increased the boss’s magical resistances. This time, all of the energy released honed in on the only target in range; Ripley. Thankfully, I was outside of whatever the boss just used. For Ripley, it caused her to falter for a second as the energy hammered into her skeletal body.
A debuff icon appeared next to Ripley’s name in my party menu, and I allowed the System to pass the information directly to me. Oh, no, I lamented. The effect might as well be a death sentence.
Notice! Debuff Added: [Punishment of Weakness].
[Punishment of Weakness]. Weakness destabilizes your body and spirit. All healing effects, along with your maximum Strength and Constitution, are reduced by 30%. This status ailment will persist until you have been fully healed.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I screeched in exasperation.
Unfortunately for our entire party, this single ability from Gilgamesh effectively put a timer on Ripley’s inevitably collapsed under his withering assault. Even with the combined regeneration from my Funeral Pyre and Lesser Regen, with this debuff, it was only a matter of time before her health dropped to zero. My spells simply couldn’t keep her standing any longer. Once she fell, there would be no one standing in the boss’s way to take me down in the next instant. It was a startling realization. If we didn’t finish the fight before Ripley was slain, it would be all over.
Our only saving grace was when Gilgamesh’s health tipped below the one-third mark. Small chunks were torn from his health pool with each major tick of my DoTs, not to mention the concussive blasts from my generous use of Lightning Bolt. My mana ticked below twenty percent. Unfortunately, if I ran out of mana, we would certainly lose the battle of attrition now turned in Gilgamesh’s favor. Regardless of the ceaseless barrage of cantankerous arrows from Tallos or the repeated slaps of barbed tentacles from Lowki, it seemed we were running out of time. The contest was fast coming to a close, and we were the ones standing on the precipice of oblivion.
Then, at long last, we got lucky.
“Stunned for five seconds!” Stella’s words were a balm we all desperately needed. Absolute glee was so deeply entrenched in her voice it was as if she had only now seen her first sunrise. She, exactly as I had, made the same awful conclusion of our contest with Cicero’s guardian. Without this perfectly timed stun, we would have been dead.
“Kill him!”
“Go for the killing blow!” We bellowed at the same time.
Springing forward and past Ripley’s side, my mind rapidly cemented my next course of action. We wouldn’t be given a better opportunity in this fight. This small window in time would be the deciding factor of who lived and who died. We would not become the former!
My mana reserves were dangerously low, and, given the boss’s now face-planted position, I opted to end the fight with some good ol’ muscle power. Frostrend materialized in my hand and was swiftly heaved end over end at the bald crown of Gilgamesh’s head as I chewed up the last remaining feet between us. Ripley likewise swapped out for more firepower, urgently pulling her greatsword into her bony grasp as her sword and shield hit the ground. Without hesitation, Ripley wreaked devastation across the side of Gilgamesh’s massive neck. Every hack brought gouts of bubbling blood spewing to the surface and, with each backswing, sent the blistering liquid flinging across the sand around our feet.
Too focused on my own task, I failed to notice as feather after feathered arrow slammed home into Gilgamesh’s corded neck. Lowki, for his part, leaped atop the Ogre’s back without hesitation before sending repeatedly his hammering poison-filled quills into the stunned boss. Forgoing recalling Frostrend to one final swing, I instead called my dueling pistol to hand and touched the tip of the barrel to the back of Gilgamesh’s skull. He still wasn’t dead and was beginning to stir as the stunning effect wavered. Without compunction, I pulled the trigger.
A concussive BOOM blast roared across the countryside, but I was not finished. Stowing my gun, I triggered a ring on my finger, recalling my magnificent weapon to hand. Then, while Gilgamesh planted his fists on the ground, I activated one of my least-used skills: Execute. Faster than even my heightened senses could follow, the bladed head of my axe blurred into motion like a diving Peregrine Falcon. My target? The bleeding hole just created by my enchanted bullet.
Pieces of skull, a shower of blood, and what could only be gray matter exploded outward as my weapon tore so deep inside the boss’s head that I lost sight of its leading edge. Afraid the boss still wasn’t dead, I let go of Frostrend’s handle and instinctively channeled Lightning Bolt with both of my hands. The words speed from my lips too fast to be recognizable as I pumped as much speed into the spell cast. Stepping a foot closer, I moved my palms an inch over the gory mess that had become the back of Gilgamesh’s head. A series of earsplitting cracks reverberated from the blast point, sending sonic booms out in all directions. Dust, sand, and caked blood were sent hurtling into the air as my cracking lightning continued to hammer into the boss’s skull as one endless jolting stream.
With every ounce of my will, I held the channeled spell for as long as possible. I could not risk Gilgamesh, the fearsome Celeritous Behemoth Ogre, ever rising again. All I could see in front of me was blinding streaks of brilliant light as I pulled upon my core to deliver what remained in my dwindling mana pool. It was several seconds before I realized I was kneeling in the dirt no longer blinded by my spell. My breaths came out in ragged gasps. The ringing in my ears was so loud that I feared I had ruptured my ear drums. With every drop of strength sapped from my body, I collapsed onto my rump and felt the comforting embrace of warm sand underneath me.
It’s over, was one of my last conscious thoughts before exhaustion overcame my senses completely and darkness stole my vision. A System chime assured me of that. As I drifted into a dreamless slumber, I was not afraid. We’d won.