Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Floor 10: The Hatchling

James stared at the corpses scattered across the mall and understood what kind of weapon the snake had given him.

[ABYSSAL VENOM PYTHON]

[BOSS HP: 24,580/35,000]

[JAMES GANNER]

[HP: 421/660]

[MANA: 1,120/1,140]

[STATUS: INJURED, MINOR POISON EXPOSURE, MENTAL STRAIN]

[REANIMATED DIRE WOLF — LEVEL 9]

[HP: 460/1,400]

Elliot was dead. The ogre was destroyed. The snake was still alive with over seventy percent of its HP remaining.

James forced himself to keep moving because stopping meant dying and Elliot had not died to buy them time for James to give up now.

He moved toward three more beast corpses near a collapsed storefront while his body protested every step. His ribs ached where the snake had hit him earlier. His vision blurred at the edges from poison exposure and mental strain, but he pushed through it because there was no other choice.

[SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETON ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 50]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,120/1,140 → 1,070/1,140]

[BEAST SKELETONS SUMMONED]

[MAX SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETONS: 5]

Five broken beast skeletons rose from corpses with bones clicking together while necrotic energy filled empty spaces where flesh should be. Some dragged broken limbs. Some moved with cracked spines. They were not strong, but they did not need to be.

James sent them toward the snake from different angles while trying the same trap that worked before.

The snake crushed two skeletons with its tail before they got within ten meters. The tail moved so fast it created wind pressure that knocked debris aside. Another skeleton got smashed under the snake’s coils when the massive body shifted to block the approach path. The remaining two reached the snake’s damaged mouth area and attacked while aiming for the exposed flesh.

The snake did not bite them.

It had adapted after learning the explosion trick. It crushed both skeletons with controlled body movements instead of opening its mouth, then moved away from the debris before James could detonate anything.

James realized the same trick would not work twice against an intelligent boss.

The snake changed focus completely while its pale dead eyes locked onto James with intelligence that made his instincts scream.

It ignored Finn and Aria for a moment because it had realized James was the reason its HP kept falling. His Corpse Explosion opened the first real wound in its mouth. His Necro Blast kept damaging exposed flesh when others could not penetrate scales. His skeletons kept forcing it to move and react. His Death Chain slowed it at the critical moment when the ogre needed to save Finn.

The snake had learned which enemy mattered most.

"HISSSSSSSS!"

The hiss was louder and angrier than before.

The snake charged through the ruined mall toward James while its massive body moved faster than something that large and wounded should be able to. Broken concrete cracked beneath its weight. Venom sprayed from its damaged mouth and burned new holes in the floor.

Finn saw the charge coming and tried to intercept by throwing himself between the snake and James.

The snake’s tail lashed out sideways without the head even turning. The tail caught Finn mid-movement and sent him flying into a broken pillar hard enough to crack the stone.

[FINN HP: 488/780 → 322/780]

Finn hit the ground and did not get up immediately.

James fired Necro Blast into the mouth wound as the snake came closer while hoping to slow it down or force it to turn.

[NECRO BLAST ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 10]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,070/1,140 → 1,060/1,140]

[WEAK POINT HIT]

[DAMAGE: 1,900]

[BOSS HP: 24,580/35,000 → 22,680/35,000]

Black rot spread through the damaged flesh and made the wound worse. The attack hurt it and probably caused pain, but the snake did not stop charging because killing James mattered more than avoiding damage.

The snake slammed its head into James before he could move out of the way. The impact came so fast James barely had time to raise his shield. His shield absorbed most of the force, but the damaged equipment could not handle another direct hit from a disaster-class boss.

[CARBON SHIELD DURABILITY: 120/120 → 0/120]

[CARBON SHIELD DESTROYED]

The shield shattered into pieces while metal fragments scattered across the floor. James was thrown backward through the air. He crashed into broken concrete and felt something crack inside his chest. He barely stayed conscious while pain exploded through his body.

[BLESSING OF THE FIRST ACTIVE]

[DAMAGE RECEIVED REDUCED BY 2.5%]

[JAMES GANNER]

[HP: 421/660 → 117/660]

He was still alive, but barely. His shield was gone. His HP was critical. His body was failing.

James tried to fight back with whatever he still had while his vision swam and his body refused to respond properly.

He commanded the dire wolf to attack the snake’s damaged eye area near the jaw.

The wolf lunged forward and bit into the weak flesh that had been torn during earlier attacks.

"GRRRROWWWL!"

[REANIMATED DIRE WOLF]

[HP: 460/1,400 → 198/1,400]

[DAMAGE: 620]

[BOSS HP: 22,680/35,000 → 22,060/35,000]

Finn got back up while blood ran down his face from where he hit the pillar. He attacked the mouth wound with everything he had left.

[DAMAGE: 880]

[BOSS HP: 22,060/35,000 → 21,180/35,000]

James summoned another beast skeleton from a corpse near the snake’s head.

[SUMMON UNDEAD SKELETON ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 50]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,060/1,140 → 1,010/1,140]

The skeleton rushed toward the snake’s mouth while James waited for the timing.

The snake crushed the skeleton near its jaw with a coil movement, but the skeleton was close enough to the damaged area.

James detonated it immediately.

[CORPSE EXPLOSION ACTIVATED]

[MANA COST: 28]

[COOLDOWN: 40 SECONDS]

[CURRENT MANA: 1,010/1,140 → 982/1,140]

[WEAK POINT HIT]

[DAMAGE: 4,200]

[BOSS HP: 21,180/35,000 → 16,980/35,000]

The explosion tore through the already damaged mouth and sent black blood spraying across broken tiles. The snake thrashed violently while destroying more pillars and tearing open sections of floor.

The damage was good, but the snake was still alive and now completely enraged.

The snake rushed James again while venom dripped from its ruined mouth.

This time it did not let itself get distracted by Finn or the dire wolf. It used its body to block their approach and struck directly at James while he tried to move.

James tried to dodge using his swordsmanship footwork, but the poison exposure made his legs heavy. His injuries made his reactions too slow. His mental strain made his thoughts drag behind his body.

He raised his sword to guard, but the snake’s head smashed into him and drove him into the floor.

[SWORDSMANSHIP EFFECT ACTIVE]

[EVASION PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL]

He avoided being crushed completely, but the impact still nearly killed him.

[JAMES GANNER]

[HP: 117/660 → 1/660]

[STATUS: CRITICAL]

James could not stand. His vision was fading to black at the edges. His body refused to move no matter how hard he tried.

The snake raised its head above him for the final strike. Venom dripped from its mouth onto the floor beside his face while burning holes in concrete.

"James!"

Finn screamed his name from across the hall.

The snake opened its mouth to finish James while its fangs descended toward his head.

Before the snake could strike, James’s inventory glitched violently.

The mythic egg forced itself out of storage against all normal System rules. It materialized above his chest in a burst of dark energy that felt wrong and overwhelming at the same time.

[UNKNOWN EGG FORCEFULLY MATERIALIZING]

[HATCHING PROCESS COMPLETE]