Chapter 412

The first option James had to decide upon, with regards to his boss for his sixth floor, was what type of option to choose from. As he’d experienced on previous floors, no longer was it just a ‘boss option.’ For the sixth floor, in fact, he had the option between a singular boss, two bosses, a multistage boss, or, a boss with two mini-bosses. James, wanting as much content and variety possible for his sixth floor, had gone with the boss and mini-bosses option.

That was totally the only reason, and not because Rue was super hyped about how many options would appear with each roll of the slots…considering the mini boss options rolled at the same time as the boss.

Steve, ever the helpful, while being completely unhelpful, developer, had offered James the smallest bit of advice, in this endeavor. The developer, who could obviously see all of the options available, had informed James that the Boss with mini-bosses option, would give him the best options with regards to labyrinth styled bosses. However, that was all Steve would offer up, meaning James had to just trust the developer’s word, and go with it.

For the first time ever, while James had been silently grumbling, resigning himself to spending who knew how much, to get the perfect boss, he was mistaken. All it took was a single roll, and of the options presented to him, he had the perfect boss. Right then and there. Hands down. And the look of surprise on Steve’s face, when the rolls had been complete, confirmed that fact.

After all, of the three boss options he got on the first roll, one of them, just seemed perfect for a monster in a labyrinth. And, James actually knew enough about mythology, to recognize this one. Or, at the very least, recognize what it was supposed to be a play on. Because, until he selected it, he wouldn’t fully know what exactly it’s ‘monster mash’ effects were. But, it was hard to not recognize something that said Jormun-grander, as a play on Jormungandr, which was the World Serpent from Norse Mythology. James had seen enough movies to know about that specific monster.

What did surprise James, upon selecting that specific boss though, was that unlike before, another set of slot machines did not appear. Previously, when selecting an option for a boss and mini boss, he’d gotten to roll first for the boss, and then roll again for the mini-boss. That, was what he knew Rue had been banking on as well.

However, upon confirming his selection, a prompt appeared instead.

Congratulations- Unique Mini Bosses Unlocked. Select (2) of the following. Additional Options available, upon further upgrade of this boss monster.

“Uh, Steve? What’s going on?” James asked, closing out the menu. Steve’s face was an unreadable mask for a moment, as it seemed the developer was debating on how much to tell James. It was also clear; Steve had not intended for this to be the boss James selected. In fact, James was pretty sure Steve had winced, when James selected it. But come on, giant serpent in a labyrinth, just seemed perfect.

“Well, first,” Steve said, clearing his throat, “congratulations on a five-star rarity boss mob.” James’s heart jumped at that. Finally, he’d done it. Patches was a four-star rarity. He remembered that much, but now; he had a max rarity boss mob. Take that Gatcha system!

“Nice,” James said, his heart pounding with the good news. Steve, offered him a half smile.

“Yeah, you may think that…” Steve trailed off.

“What’s wrong with it?” James asked hesitantly.

“It’s, well, technically nothing is wrong with it, per say.” Steve continued. “Like, it’s an awesome boss, and really, he’s super cool. But, I feel like you’re going to regret choosing him, given you’ve already designed your floor.”

James’s heart sank. “Why?”

“Well, you uh, know how Jormungandr is the World Serpent. Massive, snake, eating its own tail, causing Ragnarök type serpent. Ouroboros, and all that?”

James nodded. He understood most of that.

“So, yeah, this boss is a snake. A really, really, really, powerful snake. And, just, your labyrinth might make things get a little cramped, in certain situations.”

“Is it too big for the floor?” James’s heart continued to sink. Would he have to spend resources to revamp the floor? It may be worth it, given the five-star rarity. But, that was going to be a lot of extra work. Still, it’s not like he had anything else going on…

“Initially, nah.” Steve shook his head. “The boss has a unique mechanic of its own. I’ll, uh, paraphrase it all, so you can unlock what you need, and look over everything yourself. To save me time, you ever played that old ‘Snake’ game?”

“Snake?” James asked. And Steve sighed.

“I’ll take that as a no.” He waved a hand, and a black and white screen appeared. On it, a small line of lights went around, grabbing small orbs of light, and with each orb, the line got longer, taking up more space.

“Pretty much, the boss plays off the basics of the game. It starts out with a certain size, and as it roams about, it consumes things, and gets bigger and bigger. Depending on what it consumes, it gets stronger, and gains different effects. There is, essentially, no end to the growth rate of the boss, meaning, if the floor weren’t a labyrinth, it could grow terrifyingly massive. In your labyrinth, well, it’s going to get cramped.”

“What does it consume?” James asked. Were those the options he had, with regards to mini bosses?

“Objects, mobs, players, and the mini bosses. The mini bosses you choose will be the special types of things it can consume, to gain buffs. Though, they do still count as mini bosses, and will be formidable in their own right. Its growth rate is dependent on what it is consuming. Weaker players and mobs, won’t do much for its growth, but if it consumes something especially powerful, it’s growth will be noticeable.” Steve explained.

“Alright,” James could see how his floor would affect this type of a boss mob, but right now, as his mind was playing with the concept, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited. If it had been any other floor, this would be catastrophic, but considering the sixth floor was immediately after the fifth floor, which was the home of the safe zone, this was actually not an issue. In fact, in his mind, it could serve as a great jumping off point for his players. A big, hurdle of sorts, for the players as they pushed forward in his dungeon.

“So yeah, like. I love this monster, but I really wanted to see it on a, you know, open field. Like, imagine Oak running away from something triple the size of your siege snake.” Steve chuckled. “It would have been epic. And oh man, combine it with some of the world boss options with this mob type, and you have no idea what you’re missing out.”

“Well, be that as it may,” James started, “I will need a little more information on this, but I think you’re getting a little caught up in the what could be.” James said. “Like, Steve, think about it. This is the sixth floor. Players will come here from the safe zone. And the first thing they encounter, is a labyrinth, with a boss that is essentially its own wipe timer, if I’m understanding things properly.”

Steve’s expression changed rapidly, from pondering, to stunned, to twisted and excited. His eyes gleamed, and he licked his lips. “James,” Steve said after another moment, “truly, you remind me of a younger me at times.” He laughed, and with a flick of his wrist, the mini-boss options appeared before James. “Allow me to further explain everything about this boss, so you can get started, you twisted, evil, brilliant kid you.”

James could feel his own grin growing to match Steve’s, as he eyed over the Mini-boss options. It was, extremely evident, that the awesomeness of a four-star rarity boss, was infinitely dwarfed by the five-star rarities. Seriously, this was the best thing ever.