Chapter 429

A/N Small change to last chapter to reflect that the elves did know he could use curse but didn't know he could mix it with magic. My bad on that somehow it slipped my mind that the information would have spread like wildfire.

“Hey princess, which do you think looks more gruesome?” the prince asked as Arianwyn approached Ajax and by extent the body of the fallen ettin. 

Arianwyn wasn’t squamish, she had long dealt with the gruesome aftermath of combat, despite that the crushed and burst remains of the ettin’s head still encased in its metal helmet attached to the rest of the body did remove her plans of a celebratory feast for finally surpassing the level one hundred dungeon bottle neck. 

Despite his joking mood the prince was quick to carefully pack up the ettin’s staff, sadly the because of its sheer size the item could never be anything more than a location defense artifact or a one shot ambush opening. 

“He’s still conscious.” Aranor’s voice couldn’t hide the surprise.

“A lot of good that does him.” one of the healers said with a chuckle as he inspected Ajax’s condition. “I doubt he could get one of his toes to twitch if he wanted to.” 

As invested as he was by the invisible screens in front of him Ajax wasn’t about to let that go. While the elf may have been technically correct at the moment he made the statement he hadn’t factored in Ajax’s pettiness. By relaxing and contracting specific muscles Ajax was able to exacerbate his injuries just enough that [Berserker] gave him enough stamina to get his arm to turn over and raise a single finger.

“Looks like he disagrees.” Elara didn’t even try to conceal her laughter as she watched the healer glance back towards Ajax before his jaw dropped as he noticed the raised middle finger. 

Ajax made a few attempts to talk but nothing more than a grunt made it past his lips. “I deserved that one kid, but no need to keep pushing yourself.” the healer said as he approached Ajax and started casting, once the first spell was activated Ajax could feel his body mending and a drowsiness overcome him. “Get some sleep, you'll be able to talk once you awaken.” 

With that Ajax’s consciousness finally stopped holding on and he closed his eyes. “This was a very even fight.” Aranor said as he examined the battered body of the ettin as well as the rough shape of Ajax’s own armor. “We finally have a decent benchmark to compare him to since his fighting style is so similar to the hybrid ettin.” 

“Let's get going.” The prince said as he balanced the now wrapped up staff on his shoulder. 

Not even the prince’s spacial storage was enough to hold the staff, sure in terms of volume it could easily hold ten of them, the problem was the staff was simply too tall to fit inside the cube dimension.

“Do you think this will give him a Mythic skill?” Arianwyn finally addressed the elephant in the room. All of them were silently thinking about the very same thing but nobody wanted to point it out.

“We’ll have to wait until he wakes up to find out.” Aranor said as the group continued away from the battle site in silence.

When Ajax awoke he found himself in a comfortable spot surrounded by blankets near a roaring campfire close to an arch, one he was sure would lead them to the Metal floor they had decided to head for next.

“How are you feeling sleepy head?” the prince greeted him. 

“Like a convoy failed to notice I was laid up in the road and rolled right over me.” Ajax complained as he stretched his stiff muscles as his body protested the movement despite his health being full.

“The phantom pain will pass quickly.” the healer said. “ Since you weren’t awake for the healing your mind hasn’t caught up to the fact that your body was healed even if the body acts like it has.” 

Ajax was very familiar with the process, not from having experienced all that often but more from his discussions with Kate about her studies. Phantom pain was one of the most dangerous things to consider when healing injured low level people, especially the ones who had pushed themselves well past their limits before passing out, without a solid investment in physical stats the shock from waking up could be enough to kill them. Those people had to be slowly awakened a little at a time so the brain could keep up with the body.

“So was it worth it?” the prince’s question drew a few frowns from the elves, not because he asked but because of how ambiguous an answer could be given.

Reminded of his reward Ajax was quick to bring the Achievement back up now that he had a clear mind to take everything in.

Achievement: I’m the Boss now. 

(Earned through defeating an warrior - mage Ettin)

Defeat a floor boss at more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty.

Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150.

Trait : Warrior - Mage (Stamina can now be used to power spells at a 1 : 1 efficiency of mana and Mana can be used to power Stamina based skills at a 1:1 efficiency)

Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.)

! (lesser or equal versions of the achievement can no longer be obtained.)

Achievement: I’m the Boss now. 

(Earned through defeating any floor boss)

Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you without help while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty.

Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 20. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150.

Trait : Boosted trait dependent on floor boss defeated.

Dungeon Boon : Solo collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in each floor of the dungeon, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon. Enemies must be defeated alone.)

Achievement: And you call yourself a Boss. 

(Earned through defeating any floor boss)

Defeat a floor boss more than two times higher level than you while inside a dungeon and being above level fifty. None of the entities helping you may be above half the boss's level.

Reward : Skill cap limit increased by 10. This is additive to all other increases up to the limit of 150.

Trait : Trait based on the boss defeated

Dungeon Boon : Collector. (The remains of one non -floor boss enemy may be redeemed in the floor of the dungeon one exits, the remains do not disperse into mana upon exiting the dungeon.)

Achievement: You’re not that tough.

(Earned through defeating any floor boss)

Defeat a floor boss higher level than you alone while inside a dungeon.

Requires three Discoveries to earn.

Reward : Choose a skill you possess, gain a random skill of each lesser rarity that supports said skill. (Skills received level two times faster while at a lower level than the chosen skill)

“It was.” Ajax answered as he took in the information. “Though I can’t say I’m not disappointed at not being able to gain ‘You’re not that tough.’ I could have used four more skills.” 

In truth Ajax was a little disappointed in the Rewards he did get. Doubtless a large part of the reward was focused on the 20 skill level cap increase but he had already reached the 150 cap thanks to Divine Witness.

“Did you gain a Mythic skill?” Aranor asked, unable to curb his own curiosity.

“Unfortunately not.” Ajax said, and he meant it, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe the reward would be a Mythic skill, given the same type of non-combat options he had been offered for his Legendary selection he would have taken the social one. “The rewards are very different from ‘You’re not that tough.’,I think it is treated  as one of the lesser achievements just so it won’t be awarded.” 

“One of them?” Aranor was quick to latch onto any piece of information that slipped out. 

“Yep, there is a variation for killing a floor boss in a group while everyone taking part is under half the boss’s level.” Ajax teased them, he knew that there were no records of any group ever attempting to delve a floor over twice their level, though he very much believed that with enough training and another load of dungeon floors a forty man team of people like Lexi, Anna, Xavier and Benedict would stand a chance once they all reached level fifty four, at least against a favorable matchup like a pure warrior Ettin but even then it would be close.

While he was talking Ajax also pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled down the group achievement before handing it to the prince. “What do you think?” 

The prince’s eyes bulged out as he read the rewards section before showing the piece of parchment to the elves. He knew that any attempt at gaining the achievement would have to be a collaboration by the most talented of the younger of multiple kingdoms. “It gave you a Trait and a Boon?” 

“Wait, you know that Boons are a thing?” Ajax was quick to answer back. “How come I never heard of them before?” 

“Because the only one we know about comes from the Achievement ‘Are you lost?’.” the prince explained. “You have to stay on the same dungeon floor for over half a century to get it. The Boon allows you to teleport to the exit arch.”

“If this is the lesser achievement, what did you get?” Arianwyn asked but her eyes remained transfixed on the piece of parchment as she reread the information over and over again.

Ajax took great pleasure in watching their expressions as he shared his rewards with the exception of what his Trait did.