Ed walked further in and as he did he was subjected to increasingly more pressure, the passage he was walking down also became increasingly wider. He couldn't help but feel that this boss room was extremely peculiar for a multitude of reasons. One was that it didn't conform with his limited knowledge of video games or the one in the crypt.
'I guess that's why you need a large sample size.' He continued to think as he scoured the walls occasionally covered with crystals of mana.
There was also the fact that he hadn't faced a gate yet and was still being subjected to so much pressure which could only imply that there wasn't one. This unfortunately meant that he probably wouldn't be able to get whatever he wanted by annoying his opponent as he did with the lich, the restrictions on this particular boss were likely much looser.
Ed then heard a reverberating sound, he froze for a second before realizing what it was.
'Snoring?' Ed tilted his head.
'Do all bosses just rest a lot?' Ed thought about it for a bit before deciding that it was fairly reasonable.
'It doesn't seem like they get to eat so this must be how they recover both health and energy' This rocky mountain didn't seem to hold any living creatures or plants that could serve as food either.
It was something that he didn't think about too hard last time since the undead naturally didn't need food to maintain themselves. This boss however was very likely a living creature as the snores had made evident.
The rocky path opened up into a wide cavern section. The room was extremely clear, as clear as day. Many crystals on the cavern's ceiling were illuminating the area below. This however was an afterthought. What Ed really cared about was the large creature that laid belly up in the middle of the large chamber.
'A pale green giant…' That was Ed's first impression of the fat creature before him. But as usual, why take guesses?
[Ogre (Sleeping)]
A monster with tremendous vitality, known for its voracious appetite.
'An ogre?' Ed tried his best to recall his memories of the fantasy creature. It looked like the deduction skill could dig a bit into his memories better than himself as it took Ed some seconds to remember some details on ogres.
'They usually eat… humans' Ogres from folk tales were giants that liked to eat humans, especially children. In games and novels, however, they were more well known for having regenerative capabilities although it was at times inconsistent.
'That would make for a tough opponent, I don't think it will kill me since the lich didn't but I'll tread on the side of caution and just look for the knowledge.' Unlike the lich, Ed didn't think he could learn anything from an ogre. They weren't known for their intelligence either so he wasn't sure if it was worth potentially irritating the sleeping giant for a couple of trivial questions.
The other reason was that the ogre before him seemed to emanate a much more violent aura than the lich. Although the lich's pressure could be described as deathly and suffocating, the ogre somehow managed to match it with animalistic intent and bloodthirst. It suggested it was a more ruthless killer than the lich which all things considered seemed a bit ridiculous.
Ed carefully went around the ogre which allowed him to see an unusual rock in the distance. It was a large boulder situated far into the back of the room. It seemed completely out of place, almost as if someone or something had carried it in. As he slowly grew closer, Ed spotted what seemed to be carvings, he hurried over with a hint of excitement and expectation.
But for some unknown reason, or maybe even by chance, he heard a furious roar from behind him, it sent shivers down his spine. Ed had a ghastly look as he turned around and spotted the tall humanoid pale green beast.
"Who is there!!" The ogre yelled as it scoured the large dome-like room. Its gaze eventually landing on the ghastly Ed.
It let out another roar as its humongous body and sluggish body ran forward. Ed managed to reel in his fear and his eyes turned sharp.
'I already died today! It won't happen again!' He resolutely yelled in his mind. Although given all the time he had spent it was already another day.
Ed used his trusty manipulation skill and made the earth obstruct the giant's feet. The thing was at least twice the size of Ed so it took him more mana than usual, not to mention that manipulating the hard rock was a much more difficult task. Nonetheless, the rock was also much sturdier, it did its job and the large ogre fumbled in its steps.
"You will become my snack!" It yelled furiously as it quickly regained its balance. Its large body seemed at the very least somewhat accustomed to battle no matter how sluggish it seemed.
Ed couldn't help but smile wryly as he saw the ogre lugging its large body towards him, soon to reach his position. It looked fairly comical but it definitely carried with it a lot of strength as the shaking earth made clearly evident with every step the green giant took.
So Ed decided to change to a more offensive approach, the ogre's large shadow was already nearly touching him.
'I haven't used this in a while, let's give it a go!' Ed quickly chanted the earth shot spell, the hard rock in the surrounding carved itself out and turned sharp. His control had significantly improved since the first time he had used it back in the crypts leading to the quick response.
Ten or so sharp pieces of stone flew towards the ogre's face who was now in front of Ed reaching out for him. With its sluggish body, it didn't have much time to react as its face was impaled by the sharp pieces, two even hitting one of its eyes. Nonetheless, other than feeling pained. The ogre didn't stop its attack. Since it was temporarily blinded however it couldn't help but swipe its hand aimlessly.
Ed instinctually used the earth to jump over the thick arm. The thick arm broke through the rock wall but by that time Ed had already jumped to the other side.
'Truly a versatile element' Ed couldn't help but praise the earth element, especially after he felt the sharp wind that passed underneath him. The hard rock was also broken through without putting up much effort.
Ed landed on the ground and proceeded to immediately run away from the wrecking ball of a body the ogre held. He then heard it roar out in anger as it sent a murderous stare towards the fleeing Ed.
'This might not be too hard after all' Ed's expression was starting to perk up, his mouth forming into a smile. The ogre's slow speed was an extreme disadvantage, other than the fact that the battle might be a bit time consuming, Ed felt that there was no way for him to lose.
He took a look behind him towards the ogre, his face twitched in response. If it wasn't for the ogre's blood which had splattered after the initial attack Ed would think the ogre was unscathed!
'Its regenerative capabilities were beyond just great!' Ed thought and cursed inwardly.
All of the sharp stones had fallen off its bodies including the injury on its eye. Although that one seemed to have taken some more effort to heal than the others judging by the fact that the corresponding sharp stone rod had dropped a bit further ahead than the others.
Ed decided to change his strategy once more...
"Hey! calm down for a second!" Ed yelled hoping that the ogre would listen to him, the dungeon wouldn't let its bosses harm him, right? Even though he couldn't win he was confident in being able to run away. He couldn't do that however as he needed to find out what the carvings comprised.
"My prey can't-! uh?" The already dumb-looking ogre had a stupefied expression on its face as it seemed to have realized something.
The earth stopped trembling as the giant slowed down its assault It scratched its cheek a bit puzzled.
"Champion?" It asked unsurely.
'Yes!' Ed rejoiced internally.
"That's right, I didn't mean to intrude… uh, sir?" He asked unsurely as he didn't know how to address it, calling it ogre would almost certainly be offensive after all.
"I am Blurak! I terrorized the human lands!" Declared the large ogre as an introduction.
'Hm?' Rather than focusing on its name, Ed was much more puzzled by the mention of humans. It implied that there were humans in the dungeon to terrorize or that the ogre didn't come from here. The former was naturally an extremely dubious point as the boss was likely stuck inside of the large cave.
The ogre was awaiting his own introduction however so Ed had to curb his thoughts.
"I am Ed, nice to meet you" Ed said with a smile. He wasn't smiling because it was indeed nice to meet Blurak, he was smiling because now that the ogre had become friendly he would be able to take a look at the ancestor's knowledge.
His heart throbbed excitedly in anticipation.