Chapter 1255 – Taking Turns

The Labyrinth Master regarded Casper for a moment as he shifted the gunlance in his hand before lifting it up and pointing it at the Risen. It instantly erupted, releasing a massive shockwave as it shot out a bullet that Casper barely managed to avoid with the help of Lyra.

He was still mid-dodge as the boss shimmered, displaying the same kind of movement skill as the Marksmen as he appeared right behind the Risen. Stabbing forward, Casper had no other choice but to simply take the hit, allowing the weapon to phase through his body. It still dealt noticeable damage due to the energy infused in the gunlance, but it remained manageable.

Trying to counterattack, Casper erupted with curse energy as dozens of chains appeared from empty space, trying to wrap around the B-grade; however, his body released a shockwave of disruptive energy that tore the chains apart before they could fully manifest. Even the half-summoned cursed stakes were blown into splinters as Casper was forced back with a groan.

Before he could stabilize, another bullet from the gunlance struck him, once more phasing through his body, but as it was halfway through, it exploded into a sea of flames that sent the Risen reeling.

Pure energy attacks were still very effective when he was in his ethereal form, and the flames were incredibly dangerous, forcing the Risen to retreat as he summoned traps in his wake.

The Labyrinth Master chased after, making all the traps activate at once. Curse magic erupted from all around the B-grade, some of it trying to attack him, while other parts only sought to delay. Seemingly unable to merely erupt with a shockwave again, the boss was forced to wrest himself free in a more manual fashion.

In the hand not holding his gunlance, the Labyrinth Master summoned a sword and proceeded to cut through the web of chains and cursed energies, quickly freeing himself, but fortunately for Casper, he still took enough time for the Risen to create some distance.

Making a few hand signs, magic circles appeared behind Casper as dark walls of curse energy began to surround the boss. With another yell, the boss released a second shockwave of mana that disrupted Casper’s magic, allowing the B-grade to easily cut apart the half-formed walls and charge toward the Risen again.

Casper was being completely and utterly overwhelmed as the boss unleashed a barrage of attacks that the Risen could do little more than endure. What few counterattacks he attempted were nullified or failed to do any damage, making it evident who the eventual winner would be.

Of course, that assumed Casper was fighting alone. He had purposefully engaged the boss solo in an attempt to make him overconfident and not even consider the presence of another opponent. When Jake was finally ready to unleash his arrow, he subtly let the Risen know, making Casper “desperately” try to unleash an attack.

Summoning a massive amount of curse energy, Casper flooded the B-grade with a torrent of small stakes that the boss easily blocked as he conjured a barrier of blue mana. A bit of the curse energy still made its way through, but all it could do was slightly weaken the defenses of the Labyrinth Master. Something that wouldn’t be a problem under usual circumstances, seeing as Casper could barely do any damage either way, but it would soon prove to be quite impactful.

The Labyrinth Master didn’t even know what hit him.

Too focused on fighting Casper and the stream of curse energy surrounding him, he failed to detect the Arcane Powershot launched from the hidden hunter far behind him. Only a fraction of a moment before it struck his body did he realize that he was facing two adventurers and not one.

Jake’s Arcane Powershot struck the Labyrinth Master in the back, aimed right below his right shoulder, as that was one of the places on his body with flesh and not metal. The Eternal Hunger arrowhead easily pierced into the B-grade’s body, and because of the design of the Protean Arrow, it purposefully lodged itself there, as the rest of the arrow collapsed into it.

All the energy and poison infused into the arrow slammed into the B-grade’s back, sending blood and metal flying out as the Labyrinth Master let out a loud yelp of pain. His entire back had been torn up in an instant, and seeing this happen, Casper didn’t sit idly by.

Without any hesitation, he leapt forward while summoning a special cursed stake from his inventory. He used all his power to slam it into the Labyrinth Master’s shoulder through the wound Jake’s arrow had already created, and right as it did, a torrent of curse energy was vacuumed through the stake and straight into the deeply lodged Eternal Hunger.

The mythical weapon gladly accepted this extra fuel and was energized as it began to rapidly drain the B-grade’s energies from within. Jake continued taking advantage of the moment and aimed to activate Rapid Fire while still taking advantage of the increased damage window of his Supreme Stealth Attack, intent on doing as much damage as possible.

However, despite the wonderfully pulled-off combo attack from the two C-grades, the B-grade dungeon boss was still a B-grade dungeon boss. Casper, who had just used his stake, wasn’t ready as the B-grade reached up and grasped him around the shoulder, now that he had made himself corporeal to attack.

Casper tried to quickly wrest himself free, but the vice grip of the boss tore into his flesh, the fingers digging through his skin until they held straight onto bones. The Risen had no way to resist as he was dragged down in front of the boss, who proceeded to launch a laser beam out of his robotic eye.

The beam passed straight through Casper’s temple and out the other side, the boss not caring in the slightest, even as another arrow slammed into his back, getting nothing more than a grunt in response. He was fully focused on finishing off the annoying Risen and didn’t waste any time.

While still holding on to Casper, the Labyrinth Master skewered him on the gunlance and lifted it above his head as he pressed the trigger. Rather than a single bullet, the gunlance released a barrage of shrapnel that exploded through the Risen’s body, tearing it apart completely.

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Jake watched as Casper was utterly blown to pieces, his limbs and flesh sent flying everywhere. Even as two more arrows struck the boss, pumping in more poison and dealing more damage, the Labyrinth Master took his time to even throw a grenade into the air, blowing up the pieces of the destroyed Risen.

As the smoke cleared, the boss was revealed as he stood there with his back completely torn up and with more than two dozen arrows sticking out of him. Jake’s rapid fire had been going all throughout, and gone quite a number on the guy.

Only now, with Casper seemingly gone, did the boss spin around to address the hunter. He summoned a barrier of energy to block Jake’s arrows, but they simply curved around it as two more struck the boss. He stumbled back in pain, groaning as he spoke once more.