BXBX NOVEL Chapter 43: Ender (4)
[You have taken off the wolf boss armor.]
[You have taken off the wolf boss greave.]
[You have taken off the wolf boss boots.]
Although Odin had become stronger and his bond with Jake deepened, this alone wasn\'t enough to justify Jake\'s Human Traitor\'s title evolution. He couldn\'t have become a misfit with just that in such a short time.
Ender should at least suspect that Jake had found another trace of the legendary existence and made a contract with it, which would explain his change of sides.
\'Think a few moves ahead… predict what he can do!\' Jake fought the legendary boss, whose third phase wasn\'t even mentioned on the game\'s forums. No one had written about him or shared a guide for a seamless victory against him!
It wasn\'t like Jake would have read any of that… but he understood that he had to strain his brain and muscles to win this battle.
Taking into account that Ender was an intelligent and prideful individual, Jake did his best to read him while preparing plays that would surprise even the legendary eagle.
\'His speech told me he doesn\'t know much about players… he shouldn\'t expect the inventory!\' Jake thought as he put on his monkey equipment set. Because of the game\'s realism, Jake couldn\'t swap the equipment through the game system but had to remove it and put it on like he\'d do normal clothes.
Jake finished changing his clothes with the monkey leather mask slapping his cheek.
He also put his quiver into the inventory and took out another one with the wooden arrows. Previously, he used arrows with bone arrowheads, which stood out in the darkness.
Ender\'s eyes should be used to that one particular part, just like Jake kept his attention on the eagle\'s white beak to locate him without Death\'s Lock.
At last, Jake finished his preparation for the last struggle by fishing out the long wooden pole from his inventory and screwing it into the hole in his bow. It felt especially cool as Jake imagined himself as a hitman from movies putting on a silencer onto his gun—it was a similar scene.
\'Time for you to meet Joker, Ender… I can\'t squat or tumble… only jumping and running around is possible for me.\' Jake reminded himself about his current weaknesses, which stemmed from the imbalance of his stats in the monkey set and the stabilizer protruding from his bow.
After that, he was ready.
Inhaling deeply, Jake slowly and carefully distanced himself from the shining pillar. His focus and new equipment allowed him to blend so well into the darkness. Even his bow and quiver were on the same page here.
Jake didn\'t lag behind.
He knew that Ender would soon grow suspicious.
That said, the eagle couldn\'t afford to escape into the darkness now. If he did, he would be risking way too much, as Jake had already proved that his perception skills were on a high level.
\'I see you…\' Jake whispered from the hidden spot in the darkness. He entered the soldier form to release a single and decisive arrow.
Ender was perched at the highest point of the cave, glaring at the pillar where Jake should have been hidden. Darkness oozed out from his feather and swirled around him like the mantle of the dark knight. He was more than ready to instantly answer anything Jake was cooking up.
But was he really?
\'The distance is fine… my accuracy shouldn\'t be a problem from here, even if I have too much dexterity now,\' Jake said while locking Death\'s Lock on his arrow. It was like the cold but gentle hand of the grim reaper that paved a path for him to see his prey from the other end.
Ender couldn\'t have been more exposed. Despite his dark feathers, he was like a dove to Jake.
\'Fly,\' Jake said, letting his arrow fly. His lips were widely curved, as though Joker\'s persona took over him just after the soldier form was discarded. Jake was already on the move.
Meanwhile, Ender picked up the unnatural whistle. He turned his eyes to the side, seeing nothing. The dark wooden arrow harmonized well with the darkness, but only for a second.
With his dark eyes, Ender quickly noticed it.
Nonetheless, he could only at most protect his white beak from Jake! Using his wing as a shield, Ender successfully protected his weakest spot. Alas, Jake\'s arrow did more than a dent and deeply lodged itself within his flesh!
[-371 HP!]
\'It was way faster than his previous arrows! What has he done?!\' Ender screeched inwardly.
Before he could fix his position at the top as the apex predator, Jake released three more arrows. Their whistles were like cackles of demons lurking in the shadows.
He also shot them from a different angle as he constantly moved, with his Joker Form facilitating his recklessness.
Dexterity didn\'t only mean Jake\'s fingers were faster. He was overall faster and more agile. He ran from one spot to another, keeping the cloud of death above Ender with his arrows as he always aimed at his white beak and head.
With that threat looming over him, Ender couldn\'t adapt fast enough to Jake\'s change.
He may have caught Jake\'s tail, but that wasn\'t enough to fight back. At most, he could take down those rapid arrows that he couldn\'t read as well as previous ones.
Because of their speed, Ender couldn\'t tell which one was boosted by Death\'s Lock! That was his main problem!
Sacrificing some of his twirling darkness, Ender conjured a few crescent blades and shot them at the arrows. He got rid of them perfectly, but his mana significantly fell.
Jake caught that, his smile widening.
\'Keep going! You also join my side now!\' Jake inwardly shouted.
After releasing another series of swift arrows, Jake matched the timing with their impact and summoned his second pet to the battle. While the arrow aimed for the beak and head like usual, Wukong appeared beneath Ender, rolling adorably with his tail whipping the air.
The tail in question elongated even more and wrapped around Ender\'s torso. It would have been better for Wukong to aim for the wings, but he was too inexperienced and couldn\'t control his skills so well.
That said, he enabled Jake more than he could have asked for.
Keeping his distance in mind, Jake released more arrows, threatening Ender\'s life. He used his darkness to protect himself and erased all of them. That, however, cost him more than seventy percent of his remaining mana!
Jake\'s next rapid release of arrows scratched many of Ender\'s health points as he was sure he\'d die if he fought without any mana!
\'Shall the death I\'ve seen in this boy\'s eyes come to pass?\' Ender questioned himself.
At this point, it was only a matter of one arrow.
The same applied to Jake—one blow from Ender was enough to kill him.
Ender\'s pride billowed from his heart, then! He swirled at the highest point, then plummeted into the ocean of darkness, kicking Wukong away as the monkey wasn\'t invited here!
Wukong bounced off the floor and stood up, shaking his head to keep himself conscious.
Jake adapted to this move. He emerged from the darkness and ran across the shining white letters. He couldn\'t hide in the darkness and wait for Ender! It was much better to use the blinding light to even so slightly lower Ender\'s accuracy!
Joker Form\'s concept was to be mobile and acrobatic, too, so Jake couldn\'t waste any of that precious dexterity and freedom.
With his perception bubble expanded, he focused on Ender\'s next move as much as possible while keeping his hands ready to draw the bowstring to release the arrow!
"Eyes around your head, Wukong!" Jake shouted to his second pet.
Wukong misunderstood that and began spinning around in search of some eyes.
Jake warmly smiled and paid more focus to his moves.
Finally, Ender\'s mana ran out. The darkness spat him out, propelling his speed. It was, in fact, his highest speed because of this momentum! He flew like a rocket with eagle screeches booming in the cave!
Jake immediately found him. He kicked off the ground and pushed himself away from the eagle\'s trajectory!
That said, it was clearly not enough, as Ender had been prepared for it and shifted his balance!
During his flight, however, Jake mixed Joker and Soldier together.
Which was what he had trained against Puffy, The Monkey Boss. At first, he only used half of his stances against him, but then he began mixing his stances because, at the end of his path, all forms are meant to become one—The Supreme Archer.
Jake drew his strongest anchor point.
His eyes met with Ender\'s glare.
Enough mana regenerated by then to use Death\'s Lock.
The skill instinctively activated itself, fueling Jake\'s arrow.
Time stopped.
\'I won.\'
Jake let the arrow go.
It tore through the white, brittle break, breaking it into shards, lodging in the eagle\'s flesh. Blood spurted like a festival fountain, covering Ender\'s face in shame and defeat.
The clutches of demise seemingly pulled the eagle to the ground…
He fell with a loud thud.
"Curse you… human… b-but… your skills won my… respect… I give you… that… honor…" Ender stuttered through magical cords before drawing his last breath.
Jake loomed over him, fighting for breath.
[You have defeated the legendary boss Ender, The Eagle Of Darkness.]
[You have hit the level cap of the tutorial island.]
[You can not level up!]
[You have found the legendary trace!]