Izuku's eyes followed the [Great Mole] as it finish pulling itself out of the dirt fully, a screech tearing out of its mouth.
It was surprisingly humanoid, with what looked like metal-tipped hands instead of paws like a regular mole, and had long, light-brown fur that hung out of the back of what looked like a helmet made from bone over its head.
It almost looked like a Demi-human, just with more emphasis on the 'demi' and grown in size until it rivalled the height and width of an elephant. It actually made Izuku pause for a moment, as it was the most humanoid opponent he had faced yet, and it made him hesitate for a moment.
A moment too long, apparently, as the [Great Mole]'s tail slammed down next to him, only just missing its mark, the wind it kicked blowing Izuku off of the metal platform. He rolled for a bit, but luckily it wasn't enough to do any real damage.
He was about to push up off the ground when he heard the soft ding of a bell to his right, and he rolled away in time to avoid one of the [Great Mole]'s claws stabbing out of the floor. 'The bells!'
Izuku dove out of the way of another swipe of the [Great Mole]'s tail, this time retaliating with a slash from [Steelbringer]. He didn't cut it very deeply, but it was enough to make the [Great Mole] pause, letting Izuku dash towards one of the tunnels on the walls.
7 Damage Given!
He almost tripped a few times on the uneven, shaking dirt, but managed to make it over to the wall. And just as he did so, he heard another ding coming from one of the tunnels to his left, as well as one coming from the floor behind him.
He dove to his left, rolling away from the paw that slammed down where he had been standing, and heard another, slightly louder ding from the tunnel he had seen. Hopping to his feet, he cut the side of the [Great Mole]'s paw as it pulled back, getting a much better hit in than the last.
19 Damage Given!
The [Great Mole] let out a screech, and Izuku winced as he ducked into the tunnel that was more than large enough for him to fit in. Sprinting down it, Izuku kept his ear out for the bells that seemed to be guiding him.
'Ding!'
There! He had almost passed by the small offshoot tunnel to his right, but he turned abruptly, running through it until he came to a cavern about the size of his bedroom in the Inn. 'Guess I've found one of the [Rat Nests]...'
Sitting on the floor in the middle of the cavern was a small wooden bowl, filled with black water that made Izuku's nose crinkle just smelling it. As he watched, a group of rats materialised, pulled themselves out of the bowl, and sprinted towards Izuku, trying to gnaw on his boot. It didn't last very long as Izuku kicked them, moving over to the [Rat Nest] itself.
How was he supposed to destroy it, exactly?
His question was answered a moment later as the far wall of the cavern exploded, the [Great Mole]'s paw slamming down, trying to grab him, and inadvertently crushing the [Rat Nest] in the process.
[1/3] Rat Nests Destroyed!
Unfortunately for Izuku, it was also successful in grabbing him, pulling him from the wall of the Boss Chamber and back into the arena. Its hand wrapped around his torso, but its claws seemed to get in the way of it squeezing very hard. It still hurt quite a bit, though.
19 Damage Taken!
As it yanked him out of the [Rat Nest] cavern, Izuku reached down, Izuku pulled the [Ratbone Dagger] out of its sheath, and slammed it into the [Great Mole]'s wrist as hard as he could.
42 Damage Given!
[Great Mole] is now under the effect [Crippled 1]!
[Great Mole] has increased difficulty moving through the dirt.
A grin grew on Izuku's face as he read that, but was quickly wiped off of him when the [Great Mole] screeched, throwing Izuku at the far wall of the Boss Chamber. Panicking, Izuku flew through the air, trying to stop himself from spinning wildly. He was able to get himself facing the wall he was going to slam into and readied [Steelbringer].
"Lunge!"
The world blurred again, a little less than usual because he was in the air, but when it came back, [Steelbringer] was stabbed halfway to the hilt into the wall, and he was dangling from it a couple of metres above the ground.
Letting out a relieved sigh, Izuku pulled [Steelbringer] out of the wall and dropped to the floor, rolling to dissipate some of the force. As he pushed up to get back on his feet, he heard the soft ding of a bell behind him and jumped to his right.
But apparently, it had been the wrong kind of warning? He had to slam himself into the wall behind him again to dodge a swipe of the [Great Mole]'s claws, and even still it clipped him, sending him crashing to the ground.
18 Damage Taken!
Izuku coughed as he struggled to suck in a breath, only just getting out of the way of another of the [Great Mole]'s attacks. He stumbled to his feet, running as hard as he could towards one of the tunnels nearby.
He ducked under the [Great Mole]'s tail as it slammed into the wall next to him, and ran into the tunnel, his breath slowly coming back to him and he slowed down a bit. The bell from earlier must have been trying to show him another of the [Rat Nests], not warning him of an attack.
He was confused if this was normal or if it was another strange thing the dungeon seemed to be doing for him, but right now wasn't the time. Following the bells, his breath eventually evened out again, and he slipped through the tunnels until he found the second [Rat Nest].
Would he have to wait for the [Great Mole] to destroy it again? He had [Crippled] it, and the menu had said that it would make it harder for the [Great Mole] to tunnel through the dirt walls and floor.
Should he take this moment to rest? Probably not, if he let himself cool down too much he could end up underperforming for the rest of the fight. He sighed. "Alright then, back to basics, I guess."
He pulled out the [Ratbone Dagger] and slammed it into the bowl on the floor, trying his best to ignore the smell from up close, and smiled to himself as the bowl shattered.
[2/3] Rat Nests Destroyed!
The room started rumbling a few seconds after that, and this time Izuku was able to dodge the claw that reached into the room because it took a second for the [Great Mole] to shift over from digging to attacking.
Tightening his hold on [Steelbringer] and his [Ratbone Dagger], Izuku slashed down with both of them.
"Double Strike!"
Izuku yelled out as shimmering images of the two weapons, a pink glow around the [Steelbringer] double, appeared on either side of his hands, and all 4 blades slammed into the forearm of the [Great Mole], digging into it almost 2 thirds of the way through it.
Critical Hit!
79 Damage Given!
The [Great Mole] is under the effect of [Bleeding 2]
[Bleeding 2]: [Great Mole loses 20 HP every 20 seconds]
The screech that the [Great Mole] released was deafening, but Izuku slammed both blades back down again into the gash he had created, and with a yell of effort, [Steelbringer] sheared right through the remaining part of the arm.
36 Damage Given!
The [Great Mole] has been [Dismembered] and lost its [Left Hand].
[The Great Mole] is now under the effect [Crippled 2]
[Great Mole] can no longer dig through the dirt.
[Bleeding 2] has become [Bleeding 4]!
[Bleeding 4]: [Great Mole] loses 40 HP every 20 seconds.
The roar that resulted from the attack shook the earth around him as the [Great Mole] flailed. Izuku felt a pang of guilt shoot through him as the [Great Mole] locked eyes with him, but he pushed it down as best he could.
Tears sprung to his eyes as he darted back into the tunnels, searching for the 3rd [Rat Nest]. He hadn't gotten the chance to use [Identify] on the [Great Mole], but if his math was right, it only had 77 HP left.
And because of [Bleeding 4], that meant that Izuku only had 40 seconds to find the 3rd [Rat Nest] if he wanted the optional rewards.
He could hear the [Great Mole]'s pained screeching as it tried to follow him, but he knew it was no longer able to dig its way through the ground anymore, with its arms so mangled. Another twinge of guilt shot through his chest as he heard it yell out, but he pushed it down and kept running.
The [Great Mole] would respawn, good as new, at midnight tonight. Even if Izuku killed him, he wouldn't actually be 'killing' him. It was ok. It was just a dungeon monster, like the goblins. Right?
'[True Name Unknown]'
Izuku's steps stopped slowly as his brain was sent into overdrive. It had a name. A proper name. That meant that it was sentient, that it interacted with things that called it something other than the '[Great Mole]'.
Turning around, Izuku cursed himself.
If it was sentient, it was truly alive, not just a brainless construct of the dungeon. Izuku couldn't think of a single thing alive that he would condemn to a slow death like that, bleeding out on the ground, unable to move.
He sprinted back to where the [Great Mole] was lying, the dirt under it damp with blood. Izuku checked its stats to see how long he had.
The Great Mole
[True name unknown]
Floor 1 Boss, UA Dungeon
Commander of all living [Rodent]s in the depths of the [UA Dungeon]
HP: 77/250 | Mana: N/A | Stamina: 65/150
Izuku gulped as it thrashed around at him, but with its arms completely crippled, it struggled to attack him. He walked up to it and stood beside its head, his [Ratbone Dagger] out and ready.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to leave you in such a painful state. I can end it quickly if you want?"
Izuku paused for a second as he saw the [Great Mole] stare at him with disbelief before its trashing stopped. Another moment later, there was a spurt of blood from the [Great Mole]'s arm, and Izuku checked its stats again.
HP: 37 | Mana: N/A | Stamina: 60/150
"I know you'll respawn so let me just stop you from hurting quicker, please?"
Izuku didn't really expect it to work, he hadn't even been sure that the [Great Mole] could understand him, let alone want to give him anything, but he had tried anyway. And it had worked, apparently.
The [Great Mole] nodded its head at him, pressing its snout into the ground. A low rumbling noise came from it, snapping Izuku out of his shock at it working. "Again, I'm so sorry. But to get strong enough to be a true hero, I need to fight through your dungeon."
Izuku slammed the [Ratbone Dagger] down into the top of the [Great Mole]'s head, and it instantly collapsed, its HP at 0.
Floor 2 Dungeon Boss, the [Great Mole] has been slain!
XP gained from Dungeon Boss: 800XP | 24 Copper
First Clear Bonus: 400XP | 8 Silver
Superior Difficulty Bonus: 200XP | 2 Gold
Izuku hopped down out of the hole the [Great Mole] had made in the wall and saw that there was now a door in the middle of the metal platform of the Boss Chamber, where the podium that had started the fight had been.
He was amazed at the amount of XP he had gotten. With that much, he was sure to get to the next level, probably almost even to 13!
Congratulations!
You have reached Level [13]
+1 [Strength] | +2 [Endurance] | +1 [Intelligence] | +5 HP/Stamina/Mana
You have unlocked [2] new abilities!