The nineteenth floor is another boss. Maribelle tells us it will be leagues different from the giant experimental branti but refuses to go into detail.
As we enter the similar looking boss room and see hundreds of ordinary branti surrounding one special looking one, I begin to understand.
True branti lv. 30
Skills:
Mental peck lv. 3; gauze chitin armor lv. 7; suicide sting lv. 1; hive dominion lv. 1; advanced earth magic lv. 3; mana blast lv. 8
What even is this thing? I can't see its body due to the ordinary branti around it but it must be of similar size as the ordinary ones. It's head is that of a crow with brownish orange eyes that seem filled with liquid amber.
"Greetings guests, I am Karatastromoint of the true branti.as a representative of the true branti collective and a boss of the dungeon, I humbly ask you to turn around and leave. We of the true branti are enlightened minds and have no agenda outside the dungeon which prevents any conflicts with you outsiders. Leave us, NOW!"
Surprisingly, the true branti can speak and form intelligible sentences. It also knows how to put on a good show. The moment it yells now, a sharp pain hits my mind but disappears after a few moments. If I didn't know about its mental peck skill, the attempt at intimidation might have succeeded.
"Sorry, Guy, I can only protect myself and one other person. Pascal is especially vulnerable to mental attacks and you have a resistance, so…"
"Don't mind it. Now, mind telling us your game plan?"
"Pascal and I work on reducing the number of ordinary branti, you force any of its magic down to the ground, Peter will harass it so you stand a chance to do that. Once we clear out its minions, this becomes an easy fight."
Hearing Maribelle calmly relay a plan of attack with no intention of backing off, the true branti whose name I refuse to remember, appears greatly vexed.
The crowd around it clears as it angrily stomps one of its legs. I was expecting some exotic insect body but it has the body of an ant. Not a normal one of course.
The true branti is standing on just four legs with the frontmost ones being held in akimbo. It's body is covered in a strange gauze like substance that covers the chitin that seems otherwise normal. However, due to my instructor's assessment skill I know that the gauze like substance is part of the chitin. Its skill gauze chitin armor makes the gauze appear.
The material that the gauze is made of is also chitin but due to the weave and distance from the main armor, it will soften any blows that hit the branti. It also looks like it is wearing some weird dress made for ants. Coupled with its mental and magic orientation it's like some kind of ant bird sorcerer.
"You instigate conflict without reason! Savages! We won't succumb to you or your savage ways! Get them muddled ones, defend the dungeon to your last breath!"
With the true branti's scream, hundreds of ordinary branti surge forward. Another painful peck momentarily distracts me before I feel a ridiculous amount of mana being used by the true branti.
The dungeon floor is flooded with mana. I use instructor's assessment to take a quick peek at the true branti's mp stat and the number baffles me to no end.
I look at its other stats and most of them are pitiful. For a boss this thing absolutely can't hold up except when looking at its mana. And I'm supposed to stop its spells?
I watch as large cuboid blocks of earth rise into the air. The blocks have tunnels in them and ordinary branti immediately swarm into them. Those cuboid chunks of earth have become floating fortresses that allow the branti to easily maneuver and attack from more directions, making the most effective use of their numbers.
"Guy! Bring those blocks down!"
Right, right. I got so absorbed in letting myself become intimidated by this true branti's mana that I completely failed to do my part. Pascal and Maribelle are already having trouble taking on those ordinary branti when the pests can hide in the tunnels and use the cuboid earth chunks to gain height and attack from above as well.
I quickly build up a pattern with the sole focus to pull those earthen blocks down to the ground. Since the true branti is trying to go against gravity by lifting them and is also expending mana to make them move, I reckon I have a chance.
My mana shoots out and initiates a tug of war with the true branti's. My mana reserves are already draining and the blocks are only barely losing altitude.
The true branti seems to take a while to notice but it doesn't seem at all concerned. More mana gushes out of it and the blocks cease their descent and instead slowly return to their initial altitude.
I really can't send more mana or I will be drained within a few minutes. Is there anything I can do?
Suddenly the mana resisting my pull weakens drastically and the blocks shift into a visible descent. I venture a glance over at the true branti but see no reason. Only that the true branti seems to have closed its eyes. As the crow head suddenly begins to wheeze and sputter I can only think of Peter.
He must have snuck up on it and used his lachrymator breath to disrupt its focus. Safe to say the components of his breath attack are magical since they can affect a bird.
While the true branti still struggles with the unexpected effects of a breath attack it has never experienced before, I manage to ground some of the lower altitude blocks.
Things are already looking better as the ordinary branti have much less room to maneuver and their perfect environment for three dimensional attacks has been completely disrupted.