This was more dangerous. But vulnerable to attack.
Nightclown turned his legs into coiled spring again. And jumped over the rolling Bomb Bouncer.
The black sphere became a wrecking ball. Smashing against the walls. Tearing chunks of stone loose.
The hare toon used his spring legs to create rapid, short bursts of speed. Darting toward the BOSS that was stuck to the walls. Evading the scattering chunks of debris.
Nightclown extended his arm. Swinging his nunchaku from afar like a whip. The blunt end struck the body of the BOSS. Several times in a row.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
A faint crack appeared on the Bomb Bouncer's black shell. The BOSS shrieked. A high-pitched metallic grind. It immediately reverted to its blue, Bouncing Form. Bouncing erratically. Seemingly enraged.
Nightclown kept his distance. Trying to find a chance. To hit its single eye. Only that part was vulnerable when it was in this Bouncing Form.
The battle raged. Similar to the Bouncing BOSS, Nightclown also rebounded all over the place with his spring legs. He used the walls to his advantage. Not just for evasion. But for launching himself into positions where he could strike.
When a chance appeared, he struck the Bomb Bouncer's eye. Forcing it to turn into its Rolling Form.
When the opponent was in this form, Nightclown would stretch and climb high to evade its charge. Then drop, dart, and deliver a series of powerful attacks.
He often used his nunchaku not just to attack. But to deflect smaller, stray debris from the crumbling walls. Protecting himself.
He learned to anticipate the transitions. When the blue Bouncing Form missed several consecutive attacks, or got hit in the eye, it often shifted into the black Rolling Form. When the black form completed a particularly destructive charge or got enough damage, it would revert to blue to regain mobility.
Each form had its vulnerabilities. The blue form was soft and not too dangerous. But it was also highly mobile and guarded. The black form was hard. But it was slow on the turn and vulnerable to blunt attacks.
He managed to crack the BOSS's shell in several places. Each successful hit. Each crack. It made the monster shriek and accelerate its attacks. The blue form bounced with more ferocity. And the black form rolled with more terrifying speed.
Nightclown was sweating. His toon muscles started to ache from the constant stretching and impact.
He saw an opportunity. The Bomb Bouncer was in its black form. Furiously charged at the toon hare. Nightclown gracefully evaded with a jump. Then, he stretched one arm. Latching onto the far wall behind the BOSS.
He pulled the arm taut like a slingshot. He aimed. Then released. Launching himself directly at the opponent. Mid-flight, he whirled his nunchaku. Preparing a powerful move.
Zooming to the Bouncer, he extended his nunchaku arm to deliver a precise strike.
CRRAAACKK!
He hit it. A powerful impact of nunchaku's stick to its most damaged section. The BOSS staggered. Its black color flickered violently. Its movements became sluggish. He had pushed it to the brink.
Then, a blinding flash of light erupted from the BOSS. Its blue and black forms dissolved. Replaced by a radiant, pure white form. The cracks in its surface mended themselves.
Its movements had previously been faltering. But now, it became smooth and powerful again. The white light pulsed. And disappeared. The Bomb Bouncer was back to its Rolling Form. But a completely unscathed one.
Nightclown groaned. He knew that the BOSS had used its [One-time Full Recovery!].
"Are you kidding me?" Nightclown swore. His voice was raw with frustration. All that work. All that precision. All that exhaustion... gone.
The BOSS was back to full health. Still massive and hostile. It was like the battle re-started from the beginning.
He ground his teeth. This was a classic game tactic. Designed to wear down players. He wouldn't yield. The BOSS had no more recovery. At least.
The Bomb Bouncer shifted back to its vibrant blue Bouncing Form. Full of renewed vigor. Nightclown gritted his teeth and restarted his assault.
He knew its patterns now. He knew its forms. He knew its weakness. The fight, though longer, would follow a similar path.
He adopted a more aggressive stance. Pushing the BOSS harder. He wasn't just reacting anymore. He was dictating the flow. Forcing it into its less advantageous forms.
When it was blue, he used his stretched arms to pull himself in close. Delivering rapid nunchaku strikes to its single eye.
When it was black, he would strike from a distance as it charged at him. He only evaded the charge when it was very close. And he wouldn't move too far for evasion.
He would always ready for a counter-attack as it crashed the wall. Hitting the impact points multiple times before it could fully recover.
Little by little, the cracks in the Bomb Bouncer's body reappeared. Then deepened. The BOSS shrieked more frequently. Its movements becoming more desperate.
Nightclown was running on fumes. His an-hour-and-a-half time in the Toonworld was nearly up. But he pushed through.
Finally, the Bomb Bouncer faltered significantly. Its shell was a patchwork of deep cracks. Its movements were jerky and uncoordinated.
It emitted a distressed, grinding sound. Then, its entire body began to glow an angry, throbbing red. It stopped moving. Stationary in the center of the chamber. This was it. The [Exploding Stance!].
Nightclown knew what this meant. He had seconds. Maybe a minute at most. Before the entire thing detonated. He was too close for comfort. Running was an option. It would explode anyway.
The problem was... Would he gain EXP if he ran away? If he would get no EXP... No way! He didn't work that hard to gain nothing. He needed to finish it. He had to end it before it could take him with it.
He surveyed the chamber. His nunchaku was still in his hand. A lifeline. He spotted a high, jagged rock near the ceiling of one wall. He had no time for elaborate plans.
He stretched his arm. Grabbing the rock. Pulling himself up with a surge of toon strength. He was high above the Bomb Bouncer.
The red glow intensified. A low humming sound filled the chamber. Growing into a deafening shriek. The air crackled.
Nightclown took a deep breath. His grey fur bristling. He whirled up his [Wild Nunchaku]. Not for a direct strike. But for a throw. A precise, curving throw.
He needed to hit the deepest, most critical crack. He angled his body. Calculated the trajectory. The spinning force. This had to be perfect.
With a grunt, he released the nunchaku. It spun. A wooden blur. The chain was whipping between the two sticks. It arced downward. Not in a straight line. But curving. Leveraging the impossible toon physics.
CRASH!
The nunchaku didn't merely strike. It burrowed. It found the largest. Central fissure on the Bomb Bouncer's upper body. Driving itself deep into the core of the rapidly expanding red light.
There was a final, deafening CRACK that echoed through the entire dungeon. Followed by an immense, white-hot explosion.
BOOOOMMM!!!
Nightclown was momentarily blinded. Painful heat scorched his body. Despite being quite far from the explosion. The concussive force slammed him against the stone.
He couldn't maintain his hold on the rock. He fell. Bouncing on the ground like a ragdoll. Everything went black for a few seconds.
When he regained his consciousness, he felt his whole body was in dull pain. His clothes and fur were scorched.
Gritting his teeth, Nightclown drew a [Recovery Cabbage] and bit them. Digesting them quickly. One was not enough. He took another one and consumed it completely too.
His body glowed white. And then, due to the absurd toon law, he recovered completely. Burnt fur? Damage clothing? They were all back to its original form. Dirt and blood? Gone. Disappeared without any trace.
Nightclown was back to a fresh new toon hare. Like he was just before the fight. And then, the system notification appeared.
[Bomb Bouncer (BOSS) defeated!]
[Experience Gained: +5000 XP!]
[You have gained a Level!]
[Current Level: 10]
Nightclown stared at the floating text. His toon eyes were widening slightly. The experience gained... 5000? That was a hundred times higher than defeating a normal Bowling Bouncer.
And... level 10. That was significant. Wasn't it?
As if to answer his doubt, more notifications cascaded down. A vibrant stream of information.
[Passive Trait Acquired: Toon Speed]
[Active Trait Acquired: Shrink!]
[Active Trait Acquired: Sprint!]
Nightclown blinked. Three new traits? That was unexpected for a single level. He hadn't even fully processed the level-up itself.
He had long understood that passive traits were permanent. And active traits were activated by conscious mental command. But now, he realized one more thing. It seemed that in this toon system, active traits were connected to passive traits.
The trait [Shrink!] should belong to the same category of [Stretch!]. It should be part of his original passive trait [Toon Physique]. Similarly, [Sprint!] should be under the passive trait [Toon Speed].
Before he could contemplate further, another set of system alerts interrupted his thoughts. These were even more impactful.
[Speed has permanently increased by one star!]
[Speed: ✪✪✪]
[Effect: Increase regular speed by 50%; increase speed during [Sprint!] by 100%; reduce the energy consumption of speed-based moves by 50%.]
A permanent star increase. Nightclown felt a subtle shift in his body. A newfound lightness in his limbs. He felt faster. Even when standing still.
This wasn't just a number on a screen; it was a tangible sensation. Three stars for Speed. That was a high rating. Especially this early.
The boost on [Sprint!] needed to be tested. The energy reduction was a welcome bonus. Iy should mean that he could use his speed abilities more often. Without getting tired quickly. This was a significant combat advantage.