“Dungeons that follow a set pattern are highly sought after. Fewer adjustments make the dungeon more approachable for the general farming population. Steady gains and repeatable patterns matter more than excitement and variety among the players that desire to improve. Explorers might seek the new but dungeoneers seek measurable progress.”

  From “Dungeoneering as a Profession”

  Year 1, Month 1, Day 29, 02:00

  The advance through the dungeon proceeded without surprises until after the sixth boss was cleared. The skeletons in the following rooms didn’t advance in level but instead level 10 spectral assassins randomly appeared in the corridors and fights. These incorporeal ghost-like apparitions floated from the wall, ceiling and floor of the room to attack the group. They kicked off a mad scramble and forced everyone to be on their guard at all times.

  Only about 15% of the groups in the dungeon were still advancing towards the seventh and penultimate boss. The remainder had turned back, clearing out respawns to get back to the entrance of the dungeon. Everyone needed to be in place for the ambush of the Young Master’s alliance army that was gathering outside. It would be at least another six hours before they emerged for battle and in the meantime, they cleared respawns for loot and experience.

  Dusty and Ed maintained their position at the front of the group while Simon brought up the rear. Lillian moved in the middle, poised to intercept any spectral assassins that tried for softer targets. The change in the dungeon’s attack patterns helped shake away the mental fatigue of the past six hours. None of the bosses had respawned for any group which made the plan easier to execute for all involved. Everyone stuck at level eight inside the party had reached level nine during the hours of fighting and clearing.

  Their practiced formation handled the thirty level 10 skeletons with ease. Allestor and Ovarrix rapidly moved to the spectral assassins that appeared. The thick necrotic energy of the miasma belabored their breathing and caused the party to burn through stamina at a higher rate. All the regeneration rates of the party were reduced, making the recovery from each fight take an extended amount of time. They paused before the boss chamber, peeking inside to see whether it was a caster or a warrior skeleton.

  They let out a collective groan when neither were readily apparent. Instead, a large patch of inky blackness floated in the room surrounded by several smaller blotches. Ovarrix turned to face everyone, “Alright, it’s a Shadow boss. It’s showing as a spectral lord and has at least 10 spectral assassins with it. We’re guessing on the boss’s abilities, but drain attacks and debuffs are likely. The spectral assassins can reduce strength and endurance over time, and the big guy should have a few different abilities up his sleeves. Don’t let anything stack too high before calling for a heal or drinking a potion.”

  Dusty and Ed took the front position and advanced into the chamber followed by Simon and Lillian. Dusty pushed into the spectral lord, hitting it with a quick double strike to grab its attention and turning it away from the party. The other three tanks grabbed as many of the spectral assassins as they could while Allestor, Ovarrix and the rest of the melee dashed to help. Torgon eyed the health bars of those fighting the specters and dumped arrows into their primary target.

  The first spectral assassin dropped within thirty seconds and the focused fire of the dps swapped targets. Torgon double cast healing spells to top up the non-tanks and shifted back to firing arrows into the targets he could safely attack. The dozen spectral assassins died within the first five minutes of the engagement leaving only the spectral lord to fight. With Dusty positioned at the 12 o’clock, Ed tanked at the 3 position, Simon at the 6 and Lillian at the 9. They built aggro and kept a taunt prepared for any necessary tank rotations.

  Everyone within about fifteen feet of the boss suffered a slowly stacking debuff to their health and endurance along with a minor health drain. Healing spells removed the affliction which made the fight possible. No one had the necessary skills to remove curses or poisons yet and such a debuff would render the boss unkillable until they acquired them. Allestor, Ovarrix, Mark and Steve fought in melee range between the tanks, swapping with four other melee fighters when the debuff stacks rose too high.

  The Spectral Lord used its first major ability when it dropped to 80% health. Four spectral assassins materialized and attacked the party. They were disincorporated after a quick scramble leaving the damage to be applied to the boss once more. At 75% health the blob of darkness fired a tendril into Dusty that caused her to spasm and collapse. Ed quickly taunted the boss to shift its attacks to him and Torgon spammed his ranged heal to bring Dusty back up.

  She yelled, “It’s a combination stun and strength debuff. It went away after four heals. I couldn’t move or defend at all and I am still freezing. Not temperature cold but it was like all the warmth and joy in the world was leeched away.”

  “Spawns every 20% and a stun every 25% with bigger surprises at different points I think,” Ovarrix said. “Prepare as much as you can be ready to tank swap after the stun at 50%.”

  The spectral lord again summoned four spectral assassins at 60% health, and the team handled them flawlessly. Everyone edged back as the health of the boss fell towards the 50% mark, ready for a surprise. They were not disappointed. Two tendrils shot out, one paralyzing Ed and the other paralyzing Simon. Dusty tried to taunt the boss, but it ignored her and Lillian used hers, spinning the creature away from Ed and forcing it to attack her with its shadowy appendages.

  Ovarrix cursed lightly the boss ignored any attempts to reestablish aggro from the tanks that had been hit by tendrils. “Next time we do this, we need send in only one tank at the time. When it fires off a tendril at 25%, a non-tank is going to have to grab it and none of us have taunts.

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  Allestor scoffed, “Taunts, who needs a taunt. I have a badass sword, and I can save my abilities until right after the next tendril wave. I’ll dance back at around 27% so I’m not hit.”

  The boss spawned 8 spectral assassins at 40% health, forcing more of a scramble before damage could be reapplied. The tanks that the boss ignored were able to pick up the shadowy creatures quickly while Lillian kept her focus on the boss and kept it firing attacks at her or the wall behind her with any directional spells.

  The tendrils that fired off at 25% caught Lillian, Mark and Ovarrix. Allestor dove back into range with a double strike from his sword, inflicting heavy damage on the Spectral Lord. He dodged its attacks and used his footwork to prevent it from hitting him often. He laughed loudly, “Pour it on! If I can dodge a wrench, I can dodge a shadow!”

  The 20% mark caused a full dozen spectral assassins to spawn, leaving Allestor alone with the boss for a couple of minutes while the party whittled them down. Torgon guzzled mana potions to clear the debuffs and the party resumed a focused assault on the Shadow Lord. Just a couple of minutes later it collapsed, leaving the group exhausted and with a numbed feeling.

  “Congratulations! You have defeated the Shadow Lord! This is the first time this boss has been defeated so rewards are doubled!”

  Color slowly returned to the world, and they quietly gathered the loot left behind by the disappearance of the incorporeal undead foes. Torgon tossed a skillbook to Ovarrix. “It’s a protection from evil aura. It can combine with your leadership aura to give us more buffs. You’ll have to spend mana on it to maintain it, but you should have plenty to spare.”

  Allestor laughed, “We need to get him a really nasty looking helm, and he can dive headlong into the paladin class fantasy.”

  Ovarrix turned up his nose at his friend and guildmate. “I am far too humble and hardworking to have such crass things as a class fantasy.”

  Mark affected a decidedly less than aristocratic accent saying, “Forgive us yer Lordship.”

  Torgon rounded them all up and started to usher them towards the passageway. “We need to clear this last hall and tackle the final boss. I want to have plenty of time to prepare for our attack on the interlopers outside.” They reluctantly left the comfort of their resting positions and fell into formation once more.

  They weathered the attacks by random spectral assassins and cleaned out the skeleton rooms one by one. The final boss chamber lay ahead, separated from the party by an archway over twenty feet across and fifteen feet high. Inside the room, an undead figure, clad in bronze armor, green with age, knelt in front of an altar that pulsed with necrotic energy. Gray and withered flesh could be seen in the gaps of the armor. The helm rose and the wight lord glared at the party with malevolent red orbs inside his eye sockets.

  The wight stood and addressed the party, “Mortals, flee now. Return to the surface. Do not interfere with the working. Enjoy the life you have remaining before you too embrace the eternity of undeath. You meddle with forces beyond your comprehension. There is no hope, no escape, only the inevitability of rot and decay.”

  Torgon screwed up his face in disgust, “How about we grant you the peace of eternal rest instead. We’ll free you from the shackles of eternal slavery and help the Forgotten Empire stay forgotten.” He waved the group forward and they charged into the chamber. Dusty grabbed the boss’s attention while the others spread around, firing at the wight when the opportunity presented itself.

  The wight lord swung a massive two-handed sword that connected with Dusty, flinging her across the room. The undead creature smashed into the others around him, inflicting massive damage and breaking the formation of close-range fighters. He strode towards Torgon, intent on crushing him for his insolence. Torgon nimbly retreated while firing arrow after arrow into the towering figure. The armor proved surprisingly effective in mitigating the damage from the physical weapons, but Hyperia cast flurries of force bolts that tore into the energy animating the foe.

  Torgon spent several minutes desperately avoiding the wight lord’s massive sword before the tanks could stabilize aggro on the monster and the fight settled into a less chaotic pattern. Dusty and Ed used their shields in combination to block the blows from the oversized sword. No single person was strong enough or heavy enough to deal with a strike. Torgon fired arrows at the boss’s face, his own irritation causing him to try for strikes that would enrage the undead.

  Kate led the other children to find safer spots to attack. When the boss’s attention was fully focused on a strike, she would dart in to slip her short sword between the gaps in his armor. Their powerful foe couldn’t deal with them all at once. The energy of the altar pulsed to restore some of his unlife, but the group showed no mercy. A few attempts to damage the altar were made but it was untouched.

  Dusty nimbly ducked under a wild swing of the sword and danced back to strike underneath the wight’s arm where the armor was thin. “The altar is protected until we kill the boss. When he goes down, we can break it and stop all the spawning.”

  The angry armored figure yelled, “I will devour you all! I will consume your souls and digest you for eternity!” He shoulder checked Ed and tried to splatter him with the sword. Simon and Lillian crashed into the wight lord’s arms, making the sword throw a shower of sparks and stones from the impact with the ground. Steve rammed his sword through the undead figure’s ankle, pinning him to the ground momentarily. Dozens of strikes landed before he could break free.

  The boss’s health dropped inexorably towards 0%. His anger and struggling proved futile against the power and skill of the party arrayed against him. The boss stumbled, collapsing to a knee and Kate took the opportunity to leap on his back. She scrambled atop his shoulders, grabbed the helmet and rammed her sword through the eyeslits. Red and black fire erupted from the socket as her sword stuck fast. The wight lord slowly tottered and fell forward onto his front, no longer among the unliving.

  The altar pulsed rapidly with the connection to its guardian severed. Arrows, spells and weapon strikes shattered the now fragile stone construction and severed the energy flow inside the room.

  “Congratulations! You have defeated the Wight Lord, Knight of the Forgotten Empire! This is the first time this boss has been defeated so rewards are doubled!”

  Torgon queried the system, “System, how long will the chest for finishing the dungeon last before it despawns?”

  The system replied, “The chest will remain until opened or until everyone inside the dungeon leaves.”

  Torgon passed the word to all parties actively trying to finish the dungeon in every mode. “When it’s time to exit the dungeon and attack the Young Master’s Alliance, every group that finishes needs a designated looter. Those waiting at the entrance and everyone else will commence the attack then the looters will grab the chests, and the first clear announcements should give us some extra distractions. For now, we wait.”