Fuse
Watching Skeletron Prime rapidly approaching towards me, I decided to check the stats of Skeletron Prime.
Skeletron Prime
Status: Undamaged
Stamina: Without Pause
Mana: None
Race: Mechanical Boss
Title: Mechanical Boss
Ranking Setting: Universal [Change]
Overall Ranking: B-
Power Rank: B- [Expand]
Magic Rank: F- [Expand]
Social Rank: F- [Expand]
B minus, great. I'm literally an ant compared to this guy.
Hey, can I get a quest for beating this guy?
Quest Created:
[Mechanical Bone Zone]
Description: Skeletron Prime is attacking you, and you must pay him back in kind.
Objective: Defeat Skeletron Prime.
Reward: Treasure Bag, 3 gacha tokens, 5 major rank points.
Nice.
California beeped as he seemed to be preparing an attack, so I decided I should start my boss fight routine.
I told California, "Hey, I have an ability called monologue boost that boosts my skills whenever I explain them to people."
[Monologue Boost has activated on [Monologue Boost].]
This is why friends are awesome, because I'm not even telling Skeletron Prime about them, but I get a boost anyways.
"I also have an ability to use a bunch of my souls to fire a really powerful arrow at somebody,"
[Monologue Boost has activated on [Soul Ballista].]
"And I have a domain expansion that shoots a bunch of bullets at anyone I shoot. Or maybe attack, I haven't used my domain expansion with a spell yet."
[Monologue Boost has activated on [Domain Expansion: Revolutionary Battlefield].]
"Oh, and my guns, well, they shoot people."
I didn't get a notification from that, so I guess my items aren't affected by [Monologue Boost], and that would probably mean it has to be some type of perk or skill that I have.
Shame.
After that, I pulled out a few souls from my inventory and started to devour them for extra stats.
[You have gained an increase in: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Magic Power, Magic reserves, Control.]
And now, I am at the peak of my current strength.
Skeletron Prime shot a laser beam and a bomb at me, but I'm fast enough to dodge them both, and as Skeletron Prime's saw and arm came down towards me, I saluted, "Domain Expansion."
The usual gunfire, trumpets, and cogs sounded out as Skeletron Prime became trapped in my domain.
Dodging the two melee attacks, California shot a beam of electricity at Skeletron Prime, which activated my domain effect and caused my guns to shoot at Skeletron Prime.
It all landed, of course, but it only made a dent.
I decided to use [Soul Ballista] straight away, using most of my B-class souls to fuel it.
I didn't take into consideration the cast time, so Skeletron Prime ended up getting my leg with his laser while his other limbs were fighting California, completely tearing it off my body. I was half-slime, so the pain was dulled out, but the sensation of not having a leg anymore was just wrong, but I was still able to stand.
Then I was able to cast my spell.
The Soul Ballista launched itself directly at the laser limb which hit me, and upon landing engulfed the limb in a flash of light.
Upon clearing, the laser limb was half-broken, still working but on its last legs.
Just a moment later, the bullets from my domain landed on the laser limb and broke it completely.
Skeletron Prime roared a guttural and mechanical cry as all 3 remaining limbs focused its attention on me and ignored California, who had only taken some hits but was otherwise still healthy.
"Hey! I can create a wall using the ground!" I shouted out, triggering [Monologue Boost].
[Monologue Boost has activated on [Create Wall].]
A massive wall of concrete forms in front of me as I jump with my singular leg to try and avoid the attacks of Skeletron Prime.
Skeletron Prime breaks through the wall, and I decide to pull out my new gun, the Ar-15, nicknamed Biden, and just start shooting at the grenade launcher.
I only have 200 bullets in my gun, but apparently, all of the guns in my domain are also all automatic, so I could confidently multiply that 200 by a few dozen.
A tidal wave of bullets hit every single part of Skeletron Prime's body, creating hole after hole in its body.
But Skeletron Prime was sturdy, and it didn't falter for long as its melee weapons came closer and closer to me despite the bullet storm and California's constant electric attacks.
As Skeletron Prime crashed down upon me, I activated my Anemo Delusion to give me the speed to dodge Skeletron's strikes as I jumped towards a taller building, as I regained my aim.
It was a pain in the ass trying to do that with only one leg, and I was starting to really regret not getting any healing classes and instead taking a mostly useless melee class.
Then, just as I was about to fire, Skeletron Prime activated its spikes on his head, and then came towards me with increasing speed.
Deciding to abandon the notion of trying to shoot and run with 1 leg down, I put away Biden and decided to just run as fast as I could.
The Anemo Delusion ate away at my strength as I jumped across rooftops to avoid Skeletron Prime's path of destruction as it destroyed building after building just to get at me.
Using my telekinesis, I threw a few objects at Skeletron Prime to try and slow him down, but predictably, he ignored it and whatever I threw at him ended up being shredded by the spikes.
Finally, Skeletron Prime exited its spike form and the three limbs started to act once more.
I stopped my forward momentum on my next jump as I turned around and sent out a [Soul Slice] at Skeletron Prime, which ended up taking out the grenade launcher.
I smirked, knowing that all that was left were the melee weapons that had little chance at touching me.
Or at least, that was the plan, because Skeletron Prime got inexplicably faster for some reason, and its saw suddenly rushed at me at speeds I didn't expect, and I ended up losing my left arm before I could react.
Again, a sensation of wrongness rolled over me, but I could barely give it any thought, because then Skeletron Prime's claws got a hold of me, and I was launched directly towards the head of Skeletron Prime.
Which had its spikes out.
I was impaled on Skeletron Prime's head, which then rapidly spun me around as it launched me towards the White House inside of my domain.
There was a large hole in my body, I lost an arm and a leg, and I'm currently falling at high speeds.
I thought I was going to die.
But my body reacted for me, and my delusion activated, softening my fall with the wind.
Skeletron Prime finally took its attention off of me as it went to fight California, which was doing good but steadily losing the fight.
So now, I could question: How the hell am I alive?
I checked my status briefly, to check my health.
Fuse
Status: On the verge of death, Cursed
Stamina: Nearly fully drained
Mana: Quarter full.
Yeah, okay, that checks out.
How is Skeletron Prime doing?
Skeletron Prime
Status: On the brink of destruction
Stamina: Without Pause
Mana: None
Okay… We're both on our last legs.
Managing to stand up by sheer miracle, I made my move.
I position my arms to become a bow as I charge up another [Soul Ballista], this time using all of the non-important souls in my inventory.
Skeletron Prime was too distracted with fighting California to notice the danger appearing.
"Thank you, California," I earnestly thanked my fighting companion, for if I didn't have him, I would've been dead because there would've been nothing else for Skeletron Prime to focus on.
I smiled knowing that either way, this battle was over, "Goodbye, Skeletron Prime."
And so, my Soul Ballista fired, flying through the skies of Washington D.C and straight into Skeletron Prime's head.
Garbanag
Well, shit. He arrived too late.
He got the notification that Skeletron Prime was defeated literally a minute before he got over the hill, and all that he could find was a small crater where, from what he could guess, a bomb went off.
Likely Skeletron Prime's bomb, if he had to guess.
His boss fights usually last around a minute, and it's only longer if the boss had some sort of regeneration ability like the Wall of Flesh did. But Skeletron Prime lasted for like 4 minutes, so if he had to guess, it was that Fuse guy who fought Prime.
But how the hell did he go from beating Desert Scourge in 7 minutes to beating Prime in 4? How much did he power up?
…And why were there only a few signs that a battle even took place here? Did Fuse use his domain expansion or something? Yeah, that must've been it.
…Skeletron Prime took 4 minutes to defeat in a domain expansion where, if he had to guess, Fuse could rapidly fire bullets at the enemy with a sure-hit effect?
Damn, that Fuse guy is a weakling.
He's going to have to talk to Skeletron Prime's humanoid form later about it, and hopefully she can turn into her boss form so he could fight her for her boss materials. Though…
For some reason, Desert Scourge can't transform into her boss form. He had to guess that it was something to do with Fuse, but he can't really say for sure.
Welp, all that was left to do is to go back home, then.
And next time, he's just going to kill Fuse before he becomes a bigger problem.
Fuse
When I woke up, Dori was looking concerningly at where my leg and arm used to be, and also the massive hole in my chest, before noticing that my eyes were open and she said, "Oh, you're alive, that's good."
Also, Dori must've changed my clothes or something, because I was wearing a basic red sumerian shirt, and some shorts, and I didn't have my mask on. But since it was just Dori next to me, it was fine.
I groggily lifted myself up the bed I was on, asking, "Hey, I only barely remember what happened at the end there, can you remind me?"
Dori frowned, "Well, all I know is that you told me that you got in a tough fight, but you ended up winning it at the cost of, well, this." She gestured to his body, "Don't do that again, by the way. I don't even know how you're alive right now. It probably has to do with the fact that you're half slime, though."
I slowly nodded, "Right, right."
I remember now, Skeletron Prime…
Yeah, I ended up killing it with my final attack, and because all of my loot automatically enters my inventory, I realized I was about to pass out and so I quickly made a portal to Dori's place so I could pass out there.
Then, Dori must've just changed my clothes so… Well, I don't know what she's doing with my old clothes, but I would like them back.
Anyways, I guess that all explains the menus in front of me.
You have killed Skeletron Prime!
You have gained [Skeletron Prime's Soul]
You have gained 10 major rank points.
Quest Completed:
[Mechanical Bone Zone]
Objectives: Kill Skeletron Prime [Completed]
Addendum: And so goes Skeletron's Legacy.
Rewards: Skeletron Prime Treasure Bag, 3 gacha tokens, 5 major rank points.
Achievement Unlocked x2!
[Mechanical Boss Slayer]
Requirements: Kill A mechanical boss (Terraria) in expert mode.
Description: Let all robots fear you.
Rewards: 1 extra class slot.
[Near Death Victory]
Requirements: Win a battle with just a sliver of your life remaining.
Description: That was close, wasn't it? Now become stronger, so you can ensure this never happens again.
Rewards: Totem of Undying, 1 legendary gacha token.
Honestly, I don't understand why Skeletron Prime had a soul, but I'll take it. And you know what? I'll definitely pray or whatever I have to do to get that priest class.
I pulled out my 4 gacha tokens, "Hey, Dori, wish me luck on my pulls."
Dori raised an eyebrow, "The first thing you do after being asleep for 15 hours is to gamble?"
I nodded, "Obviously, yeah? I have to see what I got."
Dori sighed, "Ugh, fine, good luck with that. By the way, I know you're a tailor, but did you want your clothes fixed by someone else or did you want to do it?"
"I'll do it myself," I answered, intending to use my stylist profession, because I rarely ever use it, "But I'll probably need the materials to do it."
"I'm already ahead of you, they're in the box over there," Dori pointed to my left.
"Thanks, Dori," I thanked, then I held up my gacha tokens in the air before breaking them.
Cursed Legendary Skill
[Imbue Curse - At the cost of one of your body parts, you can imbue a powerful curse into an item. You cannot regrow body parts lost this way. You may regain your limb if the cursed item is destroyed.]
Uncommon Weapon
[Guitar of Smashing - A guitar that can deal a tremendous amount of damage. And then it breaks.]
Uncommon Skill
[Technology Detection - Allows you to detect any metallic tech equipment within eyesight. Must be past a certain level of tech.]
Legendary Skill
[Levitate - Whenever you're in the air, you may activate this skill to stop your fall and begin to levitate. This will also break your fall. However, you cannot move from your spot during levitation unless moved by an external object.]
Okay, that could've been better. But it also could've been worse.
The cursed legendary sucks, but I can also just not use it. Never going to use the guitar. I can't imagine a scenario where I wouldn't be able to use my regular- Well, regular and cursed eye- to just look at the technology. And levitate… Well, maybe if I had to fall off another giant tree.
"You're not a good luck charm at all, Dori," I frowned, "I got garbage."
Dori shrugged, "Not my problem. Speaking of problems, how are you going to get me back my money if you don't have an arm or a leg anymore?"
I waved it off, "Ah, that's a temporary thing, let me just pray for a moment, and I can get some healing magic."
Dori raised an eyebrow, "Pray?"
I nodded, "Just watch me become the most devout person in this country for just a few minutes."
I clasped my hand in prayer and copied what my grandparents used to do, "Oh, God, wash me of all my sins and envelop me with your infinite mercy…"
You have unlocked a new class!
Requirement: Earnestly Pray.
[Priest - Use holy magic in order to smite your enemies and heal your allies.]
Beginning spells obtained:
[Light Heal - A small bout of light will heal your target. Costs a small amount of mana.]
[Smite - A small bout of light will attack your target. Costs a small amount of mana.]
Okay, that's great. Never going to pray like that again.
And just for good luck, let me dump 5 of my major points to control so I can get the control I need to get a better healing spell, 5 to speed just so I can hopefully get started on being fast enough to avoid what happened with Skeletron Prime outspeeding me, and the last 5 to endurance, because getting my limbs torn off sucked and I don't want that to happen again.
[Your Control Rank has increased to C+++!]
[Your Speed Rank has increased to C+!]
[Your Endurance Rank has increased to C++!]
Alright, anything else…
…Wait, California, where is he?
I checked my inventory, and… Ah, his pokeball is in my inventory with him still inside it.
California must've automatically returned to his pokeball at some point, that's good.
I gotta give him a high five after I'm done healing myself.
Alright, now, how did the spell creation process work again.
Inside my body, I try to visualize my limbs regrowing with light, and try to manifest it into reality.
[Holy Heal - A large amount of holy energy concentrated to mend your wounds. Capable of restoring limbs. Costs a large amount of mana.]
"Alright, Dori, I just made a spell that'll hopefully give me my slimy limbs back," I said, triggering [Monologue Boost]
[Monologue Boost has activated on [Holy Heal]]
Using my newfound spell, light came out of my hands and spread over my body, and my body started to slowly regrow itself into what it was supposed to look like.
Half a minute later, all my body parts were restored, good as new.
"Tadaa~" I grinned and showed off my newly regenerated limbs, "Good as new!"
In all honesty, I probably could've done that without becoming a priest, since I probably could've just taken slimes from this world and imbued it into me. But the ability to heal others should just be pretty useful in general.
Dori looked at my new limbs, decided to poke at it to decide whether it was real or not, and when she was done she eventually asked, "Can you do this to other people?"
I nodded, "Yeah?"
"You're going to be helping me with a few things," Dori declared. And, well, I guess I was going to do it, because I do kind of owe her a few favors.
Dori then got up from her chair, "Alright, I'm taking the rest of the day off, so feel free to ask me for help on anything."
I hummed, "Actually, I do have something I need to ask, but that can wait until I fix my clothes."
Also, I need to open this treasure bag.
Dori nods, "Alright, see ya soon."
"See ya," I replied, getting up from my bed and warming up my limbs.
First of all, I opened my treasure bag.
[Souls of Fright - The essence of pure terror.] x32
[Hallowed Bar - A metallic bar made out of the pureness of the world.] x23
[Greater Healing Potion - Heals you greatly.] x9
[Mechanical Battery Piece - When combined with the Mechanical Wheel Piece and the Mechanical Wagon Piece, it will create the Minecart Upgrade Kit.]
Alright, the souls are great, the healing potion is great, I'm not a blacksmith so I can't use the bars, and the mech pieces are kind of garbage since I don't have the rest.
Speaking of souls, I used basically everything that I had in that fight, so I'll have to go farm up some souls again… That's going to suck. But first of all, I need to fix my clothes.
Using telekinesis to bring my clothes and the stuff I need to repair it with, I cracked my neck and got ready.
Now this is American self sufficiency.
AN:
I looked at a calendar and apparently the more accurate 2 week date was the 27th or something but honestly adding more days is okay for me. I don't wanna give myself less time because of the whole "uploading on every American Holiday" thing.
Also, maybe giving Fuse a domain expansion wasn't the best idea because every major fight since then has been 'HOLY SHIT! I'M GONNA GET MY ASS BEAT! DOMAIN EXPANSION, SAVE ME!'
I like Washington D.C though, and if I were Fuse, I would definitely be spamming Revolutionary Battlefield off cooldown, even when it would put me at a strict disadvantage like when going up against someone who can break the domain.
Well, next upload will be on the 17th, which will be followed by an upload on the 19th for president's day, then I'll probably do the 2nd of March.
Also I made a funny photoshop on MS paint, but you gotta go to Ao3 to see it because FFN doesn't allow images.
[Oh yeah, I bumped up the rating to M. I should've bumped it up a few chapters ago, but whatever. It's mostly because I didn't want to tip-toe around some stuff. Nothing explicit will be written out, though. That's for other authors who are not me.]
[Someone's got to tell me how this fic has 80k words in it.]