Hollowfang Broodmother (3)
1260 Words
[SYSTEM WARNING]
Boss Phase: Berserk Mode
Entity: Hollowfang Broodmother
HP: 2,800 / 12,500
Special Trait: Egg Sac Cataclysm
Timer: 00:30 seconds
(voice-over) The cavern groaned as the Broodmother squirmed violently, her segmented body scraping the ceiling, vibrating rocky spikes onto the party. The egg sacs glowed red, pulsing with ominous intent. Every pulse made the floor tremble.
(inner thought) Fantastic. Thirty seconds left on the clock, one angry Broodmother about to nuke the cavern, and me, the guy whose heals come with a blast radius.
(voice-over) Darius staggered to his feet, still yelling his opera-style battle cries.
Darius: ‘FOOORM UUP! EVERYYYONE, KEEP THE LIIINE STEEAADYYYY! DOON’T LEEET HERRRR BREEAK THROOOUGH!’ [T/N: Form up! Everyone, keep the line steady! Don’t let her break through]
[SKILL: Iron Bulwark - Incoming damage reduced by 40% for 15 seconds]
(voice-over) His shield glowed once more. Each swipe of the Broodmother’s tail against the cavern wall sent tremors like earthquakes, but Darius held firm, absorbing the brunt of the poison cloud and tail strikes.
[SKILL: Shield Charge - Charge forward, knocking back a single enemy and absorbing incoming damage.]
(voice-over) Darius slammed forward, forcing the Broodmother’s tail aside and giving the party a narrow window to breathe. Sparks flew as armored plates scraped against steel.
Selene: ‘We can’t out-heal this. Kaien! Think! Now or never! Focus your energy!’
[Skill: Mana Infusion - Reduces spell cooldown by 50%]
(voice-over) Selene channeled her mana into the party. Blue arcs of energy flickered over Lyra, Torren, and even Kaien, momentarily stabilizing them amid the chaos. Her eyes glinted calculating.
Lyra (releasing arrow after arrow): ‘Target her weak points! Eyes and underbelly!’
[Skill: Piercing Volley - Fires a rapid burst of arrows that ignore part of enemy defense.]
Torren (gripping axe, muttering): ‘One more swing, ye monstrous centipede-bug…’
[Skill: Overhead Smash - Heavy single-target attack, chance to stun.]
(Kaien’s Pov) (inner thought) Okay. Error Crystal is spent. Heal… misfire… explode… probably works again. Let’s… do it.
(casts) “Heal MAX”.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Critical Bug Triggered: Catastrophic Reversal (Extended)
Effect: Area of Effect Detonation
Side Effect: Random Party Buffs Triggered
(voice-over) A wave of glitch energy erupted from Kaien, distorting reality around him. Spawn crawlers were vaporized in digital sparks. Egg sacs sizzled. The Broodmother screamed, her legs twitching uncontrollably.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Party Buffs Activated
- Adrenaline Surge: Attack +40%, Attack Speed +30% (Darius)
- Berserk Fury: Cleave damage doubled, minor accuracy loss (Torren)
- Critical Focus: Critical Hit Chance +20% (Lyra)
- Arcane Resonance: Spells deal +25% damage (Selene)
(inner thought) Well… somehow… that actually did something.
Darius (still singing opera): ‘LEEETS FIIIINNNIISSSSH THIIIISSS. FUUULL OONN AAATTAACKK.’ [T/N: Let’s finish this. Full on attack.]
Selene (panting, mana flickering): ‘Finally. Something we could use. Everyone, cover me. I’m going full power!’
[SKILL: Arcane Cataclysm - Fires a concentrated beam of pure magical energy.]
(voice-over) She pointed her staff at the Broodmother. Blue fire covered around her rod, ready to strike, but Kaien’s aura glitched.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Skill Glitch Detected: Output Inverted.
(voice-over) Instead of a deadly beam, the Arcane Cataclysm transformed into… a torrent of sparkling candies, raining down in perfect arcs. They struck the Broodmother with… negligible damage, but Kaien wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
(Kaien’s Pov) (inner thought) … Yep. Definitely dying. And on top of that, we now have confectionery raining on us.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: [Sweet Disaster]
- Description: Turned ultimate attack into snack rain.
- Effect: +2 Party Confusion
Lyra: (ducking a flying chocolate) ‘What is WRONG with this dungeon?!’
Torren (catching a gummy in his mouth mid-swing): ‘… Eh. Tastes fine.’
Darius (still singing opera): ‘FOORR GLOOORRYYY… AAND CHOOCOOLAATEE!’
[T/N: For glory... and chocolate.]
(Kaien’s Pov) (facepalming) … This is exactly how I die. Surrounded by candy and bugs.
(voice-over) The red egg sacs glowed brighter. The Broodmother screeched again, her segmented body coiling, ready to crush everything in her path. Kaien’s hand went for the Error Crystal. It pulsed violently.
(inner thought) Okay. One gamble left. Either we survive, or my reputation as “Terrifying Healer” reaches mythical levels.
(casts) “Error Surge MAX”.
[SYSTEM ERROR]
Unstable Item Activated: Catastrophic Mode Engaged.
(voice-over) The crystal shattered in his hands, releasing a wave of white-blue glitch energy. The spawn exploded midair, egg sacs ignited, and digital static spread across the cavern. The Broodmother screamed as her HP flickered wildly.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Hollowfang Broodmother HP: 2800 → 9600 → 1200 → 3500 → 0
(dazed) …Wait. Did I just nuke the boss… again?
Selene (wide-eyed): ‘You… you killed it?’
Lyra (mouth open): ‘I… I can’t even…’ (stutter)
Torren (grinning, bloodied but alive): ‘I LOVE THIS HEALER. HE’S INSANE.’ (shouts in excitement)
Darius (panting, covered in dirt and ash, still singing): ‘FOORRR GLOORYYY… FOOR THEE MOUNTAAIIINSS… AND NOOW… FOORR BREEEAAAKFAASTT?’
[T/N: For glory… For the mountains… And now… For breakfast?]
SYSTEM: ‘Congratulations! You have defeated the Boss: Hollowfang Broodmother. Now, according to your contribution, rewards will be distributed.’
(Kaien’s Pov)
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Dungeon Clear: Hollowfang Burrows
Rewards: +3 Stat Points, Random Drop (Error Crystal Glitched ×1)
EXP: +2000
Gold: +3500
Rare Item Drop: [Glitched Error Shard]
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: [Accidental God Mode]
SYSTEM: ‘Status Window (updating...).’
(voice-over) The cavern fell silent, save for the occasional dripping of acid and the soft crackle of glitch energy fading. Egg sacs destroyed; spawn twitched before collapsing. The Broodmother’s massive body shook to a stop and then disappeared.
(inner thought) … I’m alive. Somehow. And everything is… mostly destroyed.
Torren (chewing a candy off the floor): ‘This… was fun. Mostly. But you, Kaien… I don’t even know if I should hug you or kill you.’
(Kaien’s Pov) (nervous smile) ... Please pick one.
Lyra (dusting herself off): ‘I swear, if the next boss is anything like this… I quit.’
Selene (glaring, but relief showing in her eyes): ‘You may be a disaster, Kaien, but… somehow you kept us alive.’
(Kaien’s Pov) (inner thought) …Somehow. That’s the key word. Somehow. Somehow surviving turns into some kind of skill, right?
Darius (sheathing shield, still humming opera notes softly): ‘That was… quite a performance, healer. Quite a performance.’
SYSTEM: ‘Status Window updated. Congratulations! You have leveled up! (x2).’
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Level 6 → Level 7 → Level 8
Touch of Restoration Lv.3 → Lv.4
Bug Bloom Side Effects: Reduced by 25%
Error Surge Lv.1 → Lv.2
Skill Unlocked: System Surge (New)
Title Unlocked: The Glitched Maestro (New)
(Kaien’s POV) … Great. My class is still bugged, but slightly less catastrophic. I’ll take it.
[SYSTEM]
New Item: [Glitched Error Shard]
- Effect: Unknown. Can trigger random system events.
(inner thought) … This is either the key to the next dungeon or the thing that nukes my entire inventory. Let’s hope for the former.
Selene: (adjusting robes) ‘Let’s get out of this dungeon before anything else happens. I’m not dealing with another egg-based apocalypse today.’
Darius (still humming): ‘Agreed… and next time, healer… maybe warn us before nuking the boss?’
(Kaien’s Pov) (inner thought) … Next time. Yeah, sure. (weak smile)
(voice-over) The party left the cavern behind, battered, bruised, and alive. Kaien followed, shoulders heavy with relief and a lingering thought about what the next dungeon would throw at them.
(inner thought) … Let’s just hope it’s a fluffy bunny next time. Maybe.
- Writer
