Chapter 118

Of course, taming a giant snake with magma dripping from its fangs was easier said than done. Even as only a level 1 boss, the snake wasn't something to be taken lightly. While the little Crimson-sized snakes moved fairly quickly, this boss made them look slow.

Level 1+
(Magma Serpent)
Health 100%

No sooner had the door closed behind them before it darted forward, coiling around the nearest minion - Cen - and rearing up to strike. Centoo intercepted, four claws coming up to catch the snake’s descending head, claws screeching off scales with a high shriek that echoed off the enclosed chamber’s walls.

The magma dripping from its fangs pooled into its mouth instead, giving it a sinister, almost draconic glow. As the superheated stone pooled in the snake's mouth, it remained molten, and the sight triggered a memory.

“It’ll use that gathered magma to spit at us,” Levi shouted as he ran forward. “Watch out for when its mouth starts to look full, or if it seems to be playing with its tongue.”

Skarm jumped onto the serpent’s head, grabbing hold of two of its crown-spike horns with one hand and a foot, anchoring himself before driving his horn down into its head. Alas, the snake was too strong for his strike to penetrate far, his horn skittering along its skull, but leaving a nice gash in its wake.

Level 1+
(Magma Serpent)
Health 86%

The snake twisted, its coils constricting tighter on Cen with a series of horrible snaps and cracking sounds as the centipede thrashed and hissed in pain. Without warning, the boss then heaved its head sharply upward to slam Skarm into the ceiling, then did it again and again, battering the gremlin against the unyielding stone.

Ward, Three, and Henry tried to attack its coils from the ground, but its tail swatted them away as if they were mere nuisances.

Becca teleported right in front of its face. The snake’s eyes opened wide in surprise, but for once it was too slow to react. The rift cat’s claws sank in and raked down its throat. Becca snarled gleefully as her full weight dragged her claws in deeper, then clamped her own jaws around the snake’s throat. Dislodged scales plinked off the floor, leaving small scorch marks where they landed.

Levi slammed into the magma snake’s lower coils a second later, his Destruction sword slashing across three coils and leaving a thin line seared into the scales.

Level 1+
(Magma Serpent)
Health 64%

The snake’s hiss was guttural and full of rage. It reared back again and spat out its fiery glob of magma in a searing surprise attack. Levi was ready for it, his minions ducking aside instinctively, but its target wasn’t any of them.

Sticky searing magma flew upward, slamming right into poor Frosty. The impact knocked her right off the ceiling in a stunned heap. The sticky magma continued to burn, sending a smell of burnt fur. Frosty screeched and tried desperately to bat it off with her many legs, but to no avail.

“Two!”

Gremlin Two got the message and ran over to help, flicking the magma away with his dagger until Frosty’s health stopped dropping.

The snake hissed, all but laughing in satisfaction, then turned its attention back to Cen still clutched in its coils. His health was dropping slowly but steadily, the intense heat of the lava veins along the snake’s coils doing more damage than the actual constriction - though Levi saw more than a few legs bent crooked or armor plates cracked by the intense pressure.

Then the boss’s head dove down, its fangs burning right through Cen's armor plating. Henry went in for a second run, Ward and Three on his heels, and this time when the snake tried to flick them away Greg stomped on its tail with both feet.

The ogre roared in wordless protective fury, slamming his fists into the snake boss’s side. It retaliated with a quick strike, sinking its fangs into Greg’s oversized forearm, but this only infuriated him further.

Greg slammed his other fist into the snake’s head, driving its fangs deeper into his own arm, then flexed mightily and heaved. With a sharp crack, the snake’s fangs broke off entirely, leaving two splintered stubs that poured magma down, flowing over Greg’s arm and onto Cen’s head, even as the snake’s coils loosened in its shock.

Level 1+
(Magma Serpent)
Health 22%

Cen skittered free, half his legs hanging limp, but still capable of inflicting some retaliatory damage on his would-be captor. Skarm had meanwhile recovered from his temporary distraction at being slammed into the ceiling and moved on to clawing at the snake’s eyes from atop its crown.

Both Plus and Shadevine had gotten good grips on it now. The only drawback to that plan was that the snake's inherent heat was dealing passive damage to them even as they dealt passive damage to it, but Levi hoped they'd be able to outlast it.

Between everything going on all at once, Levi barely had time to get a second hit in before his team managed to drag it down into dismay range.

Level 1+
(Magma Serpent)
Health 5%

For a brief moment the fighting stilled, as everyone but the boss itself waited, not wanting to accidentally kill a new potential companion. Gordon cast Dismay, then the fight to drag its health down again resumed.

The snake, despite being on the brink of death, refused to lie quietly. It had turned its attention on Henry as the dilo chewed aggressively on its tail, but before it could bite down Cen intercepted with a vehement sparkle, clearly hoping for payback now that he was free. Greg, not wanting to be left out, slammed his fists down on the snake's center, prompting a retaliatory strike.

The ogre's attack had been enough. The magma snake's health dropped to 3%, and Levi cast Tame.

RESISTED

"Dismay," Gordon repeated, as the snake spat its magma payload straight at Cen's chest. The centipede dodged, but the missile still left a molten gash down his side.

Centoo leaped to Cen's defence, Becca appeared again behind the snake’s head and got to work clawing toward its spine, and Frosty, Two, Three, and Ward joined in attacking the lower coils while Greg held down the tail and continued pounding his fists against its side.

Between them all, their battering quickly brought the snake back into taming range.

RESISTED

"Dismay."

This time, the snake hissed and reared, flailing its middle and lower body wildly to scatter the minions attacking it - incidentally dislodging and crushing Plus in the process as Shadevine barely slipped out of the danger zone. It turned and struck out at Gordon, finally recognizing him as the source of its weakness.

Gordon was too slow to react, but Becca wasn't. She rift-jumped right between them, biting down on the snake and dragging its head to the floor as she fell.

It twisted in her grip, magma pouring from its broken fangs and searing into her neck. Becca yowled in pain and teleported away, leaving three claw-gouges down the side of the snake's face in retaliation - and bringing it back into taming range once more.

RESISTED

Gordon didn't cast Dismay again immediately, too busy running for his life from the angrily thrashing snake in hot pursuit.

He nearly escaped, but though he outran the snake itself he couldn’t outrun the glob of magma it spat after him in its fury. The missile slammed into his back as he ran, hurling him forward and knocking him to the ground.

"Dismay," he managed between clenched teeth, glancing up from where he'd fallen to target the snake boss.  Irene jumped up from her position by the wall and ran to help him, already pulling out a health restorative, and Two ran over without prompting to help with magma removal.

This time, the effect of dismay was enough that Cen's dazzling distraction finally broke through the snake's mental defences. It stopped attacking, stunned and swaying in place as it stared helplessly at the hypnotic sparkling of Cen's diamond chest plating.

That gave them the opening they needed. Levi cast Tame again, (Resisted), then Gordon cast Dismay, then the others all chopped away while Cen kept up his stunning effect.

For a moment, it looked as though the snake would break free, but Cen redoubled his sparkling and the snake remained stunned and unresisting for the short remainder of the battle.

Tame: Success!
  Would you like to name ‘Magma Serpent’ at this time?