Zane slid the pack off his back and looked down at the kitten on the floor. "Do you think this one will be a speed type boss? That last one gave us a lot of trouble."
"Meow."
"You don't think so, huh? You think it'll be a strength-based boss"
"Meow."
" I think I'd rather deal with a strength base, using my speed to avoid their attacks. Don't you agree?"
"Meow, meow."
"What do you mean? Don't be overconfident with my speed? I don't think I'm that way."
"Meow."
"No need to bring that up. It wasn't that I was overconfident in my speed, it was Gzi'om who was being smart and didn't send all of his trucks in."
The kitten had obviously had enough of the conversation and went up to the door and turned its head back at him.
"Fine, fine, we'll get going." Zane pushed open the door and walked into the boss room. At the far end of the room stood a figure in full plate armor. It even had one of those full-faced helmets that you have to close. It was standing with a wide stance and holding a two-handed sword that was as tall as it was. Even its tail had armor plate on it, with the end covered in a sharp spike. His identify told him that it was a Ratman knight.
Zane looked down at the kitten. "You keep saying that this would go faster if you were the one doing the fighting. You want to prove that to me right now?"
"Meooww."
"I wouldn't learn if you did everything for me? You realize all you've done is slept on me, eat my food, and be very, very cute." Zane sighed. "I guess I can take this one. Again."
Zane was nervous about this fight. The only one that had armor close to this was the Ratman captain, who had a metal breastplate. Luckily, the penetrate attribute of his sword had cut through that armor easily. He wondered if this one would be as easy to get through. It would be better to act as if it wouldn't.
He didn't like the fact that that large sword gave the knight an incredible reach. His own short blade would be difficult to get in to use. His usual tactic with the longer swords was to try and hit their hands and arms so that they drop their weapon. Not only could this knight keep him at a distance. It had armor to protect his hands and arms.
The Ratman picked up the sword, holding it in front of itself, pointing at Zane. It began to walk forward, and Zane started moving towards it. As they got closer, the knight darted forward, swinging his sword. Zane dodged to the side, feeling the air move as the sword swished past him.
He pounced in, trying to hit the knight on the side. The knight shifted, but it was not his sword that blocked Zane's strike. The Ratman's tail intercepted his blow and pushed him away. Zane continued to dance backwards as the knight brought his sword around, slashing.
They both settled into their combat stances, staring at each other. The knight's tale was now waving behind it. Zane watched the tail with some apprehension. The other rats he had faced had used their tails more like whips, twisting and lashing it out at him. The way this tail was moving made it seem more like an extra arm.
The Ratman moved forward to strike again, and Zane backed away from it, trying to keep his distance. He did not relish the thought of taking a hit from that large sword or from the tail. He wasn't sure how strong this knight was, but he was sure that it didn't defeat its enemies with small hits. Those strikes looked like they were meant to maim and dismember.
Fortunately, the large swings that the knight needed to use to move his sword left openings. Zane would need to use all of his agility and the advantages that the parkour skill gave him. How well could the knight use its tail? He felt that this would be a major factor in this fight.
He rushed forward and the knight responded by stabbing his sword at Zane. Zane used his shield to deflect the thrust to his side, stabbing with his own sword at the knight's chest. The tail came around and intercepted his strike, then it lashed out, slicing the top of Zane's shoulder.
Zane rolled with it, striking the tail with his shield. The armor on the tail held firm, but it jerked back at the unexpected hit. The knights swung its sword back and then around its head, slashing diagonally across its body. Zane stepped to the side, leaning as the sword passed by him.
He had to quickly lift his buckler to block the incoming thrust from the tail. The knight did not stop his sword, using the momentum to bring his sword around and slash diagonally from the other direction. While doing this, the tail struck out again, trying to impale Zane with the spiked end.
Zane had to dodge and block, keeping track of the sword and the tail at the same time. For a few moments, Zane felt he was dancing or doing a floor routine for gymnastics. Finally, Zane found an opening that he needed.
The angle of the attack from the sword was steeper than the other swings, and the tail was stabbing lower. Zane jumped, angling himself to the right. The tail stabbed underneath his feet, and the sword descended to his left. Using the parkour skill, he pushed himself up and to the left with his sword hand, leaning left and pushing off the mana platforms with his feet. This pushed him to go over the right shoulder of the knight, which he swung his sword down into the shoulder.
The knight staggered as it took the hit, and Zane tumbled onto the floor coming onto his feet and turning around into a 3-point crouched position, pushing his legs and one arm on the floor forward to propel himself back at the Ratman.
The knight twisted, using his one good arm to swing the sword at his opponent. It's tail shot from the other side, seeking to embed itself into its foe. Zane leaned back and swung his feet in front of him, sliding underneath the tail and the sword. Pushing himself off a mana platform with his shield hand, he swung his sword at the tail as he slid underneath it. The underside of the tail had no armor, and his sword cut deeply as he passed,the penetration attribute activating, allowing him to sever appendage.
Zane twisted so that he was now on his stomach and used the parkour skill to stop his momentum, bending his legs and pushing himself back toward the knight. Leveraging himself up with his hands, Zane's stance was like that of a sprinter at a starting line. The Ratman knight was on one knee and was trying to push itself up as Zane shot back at it, thrusting his sword into the knight's back and into its heart. The Ratmen jerked and arched its back before it fell onto the floor.
Zane looked down at his opponent beneath him, his eyes bright. He was feeling amazing. This feeling was better than when he was doing the parkouring outside of the dungeon entrance. If the knight's angles had been just slightly different, Zane would have been the one on the floor dead. Instead of this terrifying Zane, it excited him. The possibility that he could be the one on the floor thrilled him. His blood was pumping like never before. "YEEESSSSS!"
Zane raised his hands in the air and looked at the cat. "That was awesome! Did you see those moves I was pulling out there?"
"Meowwwwwwwww.