Rex and Luna had spent quite a few hours conversing, the time passing by without their notice. What finally brought them out of their own little world was the sound of door opening, a few loud yawns resounding through the small hall leading to the room of interest and then, the form of miniature Luna coming through, yawning more and stretching her arms out.
"Mornin mom." she spoke up in habit, greeting her mother and failing to notice Rex's presence at the same time. Then again, in her defence, Rex was not a constant existance in her life. Luna though, would not allow her daughter to be so rude to guests, instantly pointing out her daughters shortcomings, even if the mistake was made due to her still being half asleep.
"Lyra. I taught you better young lady. Show the respect and courtesy our guests deserve."
"Dont be so hard on her. She did my party a solid by watching over one of our numbers. How is she by the way?" Rex spoke up. He recieved the slightest of nods of apreciation from the young dryad, followed by the creak of the same door, revealing Ria, just as half asleep as Lyra.
"I am fine Rex." Ria spoke "But I doubt I am the one that needs to be worried about. How are your injuries? And better yet, how did you get them. I sure as hell know it was not the work of cultists."
"I suppose that should be discussed with the rest of the girls present, no? Though I am rather touched by the concern you have shown. Thank you." His words earned a nod, followed by a light blush creeping on Ria's face, something she quickly hid by rushing past Rex and Luna, leaving a few words behind.
"I will get the rest of the team then!"
"Well. I suppose I will be busy for some time now." Rex shrugged and said, his gaze focused on Luna. "Though if you need anything, you know where to find me." A slight smile on his face as he rose from his seat and stretched. He had been stuck more or less in one position for hours as well, and unlike his meditation ones, this did not feel nearly as relaxing. In just a few minutes, the entirety of his party was donwstairs and crowding the lobby, questioning looks on all their faces.
"Breakfast?" Rex asked, a light smile on his face.
"And are you sure you should be moving around after the condition you reached yesterday? Ria emphasized it was real bad." Alurial asked, 'suspicion' written all over her face.
"Yes, I am more than fine to do that much, though I suppose a day or two of rest for full recuperation would be apreciated."
"Well then, we are in luck if that is the case. From what Mamon told us during our return here we will have to stay put for a couple of days anyways. The guild doing some pretty heavy sweeping to ensure no other loose ends regarding the damn cultists remain unsolved." explained Samanta.
"A win- win it is then. So, whats with the breakfast?" Rex asked once again.
"Yes, yes. Lets go then. We have quite a few questions for you to answer in the meanwhile."
"So long as I dont mind sharing." Rex added with a slight smirk.
Their breakfast passed by quickly, the group would have been done in less than thirty minutes, all eager to hear Rex's explanation and whatnot, if not for the person in the center of all this himself extending their stay in the small and cozy diner they had deemed acceptable for their current needs. Rex, like an enourmous black hole, continiued to order all kinds of different dishes, devouring them almost as fast as they were brought over. IT was only after Rex had dealt with more than nine servings did he finally finish, having caused a couple of girls to stare with their jaws hanging.
"I suppose we can start now." Rex sighed contentedly, his voracious appetite finally sated.
"Sooo? Care to explain?" Veena did not mince words, going straight for the heart of the matter.
"Whats there to explain? Tracked hostages, messed with the ritual, big bad demon came, gave a helping hand there and it went poof. My helping hands were rather unpleasant and with power drawbacks, resulting in me in the sorry state i was back yesterday."
"Does that mean that the peak of your abilities leaves you in that condition?" Alurial asked, clearly a phantom pain passing her body at the mere thought of going through something similar, even if only once.
"Well, yes and no. Yes, for the current me, but In the future however, that is not neccesarily the case." Rex explained quickly, not going into too much detain and leaving quite a bit out.
"And how much of what happened in the mine was your doing?" asked Meru, ponderous expression on her face. "Aand with that level of power, what could you take on at your full capacity?"
"Well, not much truth to be told. You saw my condition at the end. I needed help heting back, on acount of me passing out, not to mention all the healing Ria used on me. Obviously that kind of self harm is not a viable strategy in a long term. Sure, as a desperat measure it works suprisingly well, but that is about it."
"Lets get it straight. It was you who took out that demon right? Mamon has asumed it was your teacher vampire lord or something, not willing to lose his precious disciple, or experiment on account of you being as battered and destroyed as you were. He reasoned the tracking spell and the power you showed on the way there was you overexerting yourself with blood magic. And as far as we know, your special skill was kept secret, only us, guild master and the guy whose companion you tracked knowing otherwise. But I doubt you have to worry about that guy either. Seeing how thankfull and happy he was when we managed to save his girl, I am sure he will keep quiet. There are some legends about the good monsters- people cursed to become monsters, dirrectly opposite their nature."
"Thats good to hear." Rex nodded, happy with the outcome of their little adventure. "So, can I assume I have a couple of days to rest and recuperate before we dive in the dungeon yet again?"
"Yup. We will take the time for ourselves and get some well deserved R&R as well." Samanta explained.
"Thats good to know. I suppose I will see you in a couple of days then."
"What do you mean with that? It's not like anyone is changing inns, are we?" Meru asked, dumbfounded by Rex's words.
"Ah, no you misunderstood. I am most likely not leaving my room, with the super rare exception to get something edible. Meditation is one hell of a help in recuperation."
"Should have started with that." scoffed Alurial, earning eye rolll from Rex.
THe coming few days were hectic in the city, with the guild running back and forth, searching for any remnant pockets of the cult, capturing a few townsfolk in the process. As it turned out, there was quite the information network developed here, connecting quite a few other, small villages and trading outposts, converging information here and then forwarding it further, enabling the damn madmen to expand and strenghten their influence on the world.
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Rex was also asked to visit the guild, Mamon and guidmaster Ruta awaiting him. Similarily to his own party, the two higher ups from the guild asked Rex about his involvement with the demise of the demon as well as the probability that his master might have some designs for the city. Rex denied any such notions, pointing out that his presence here was a mere coinsidence, the place chosen only for its relatively manageable dungeon nearby. A perfect place to train and grow stronger, without subjecting oneself to unreasonable levels danger.
Quite a few questions later, assured that Rex supposed master did not care about the place, most likely having already left, Ruta and Mamon switched to the last part of the days agends, at least as far as Rex's was concerned. It was time to reward him for the risk taken, as well as the invaluable assistance he had provided during the rescue. Without him, they would have found the place weeks, if not months later, way too late to stop the ritual from happening.
Almost fifty gold richer, Rex left the guild building, spending a few additional hours to walk through town, buying several different foods to stock up. He would not leave his room that long after all. He had every amenity neccessary to do so, and there was no reason not to utilize the time given to strenghten himself even more. With his recent recovery, he could dive back in the grind with twice the size of his smile, reaping the lives of whatever was unlucky enough to stand in his way.
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"So? How do you feel?" Samanta asked, a couple days having passed since they last spoke, just as Rex had predicted.
"Ready and willing. Is a dive planned, because I am more than eager to go right back to it." Rex replied with conviction.
"Good to hear. I have been itching to go and break some skulls as well." Meru enthusiastically spoke up. The warrior having felt quite bored for the duration of Rex's recuperation. A few more eager nods later, they increased the tempo with which their breaakfast was dissapearing from the table and soon after, a group of eager and enthusiastic adventurers left the diner. A few dozen minutes later, a couple of cariages left Vixiera, Light's Oak within, on their way towards the dungeon.
A short while later, they all stepped through the swirling curtain of otherworldly substance, once again returning the dungeon. The previous eagerness was still shining in their gazes, even as their grips tightened on their own weapons ever so slightly more and their focus on surroundings increased.
"I know we have had a couple of days off and that this is the very beggining of the dungeon, but I will not have us getting jacked simply because we were relaxed due to the relatively low danger nibblers possess." Samanta spoke up with a commanding tone in her voice, recieving a chorus of 'Yes Mam!' from the rest of the group. A visible twitch of her eye later, she commanded the group to advance, starting their slaughter of any unlucky nibbler that became an obstacle in their path.
The group saw a notable change in Rex already. Whatever he had gone through during his relatively short fight with the demon, or whatever he gained from its defeat had changed him significantly. His movements were more precise and deadly, as if an unseen weight holding him down had been lifted. Now, with much greater freedom he was a monster incarnate, single handedly manhandling whatever they encountered. Sure, he still left masses of twitching and half dead creatrures in his wake, all ripe and ready to be culled by the girls, the sight in and of itself was somewhat chilling. And to top it all off, the happy smile that had found its place on his face made it doubly so. Sure, Meru loved herself some solid skull bashing every now and then, enjoying the light soreness after a day of hard work, but not even she had a smile of a lunatic adorning her features during the combat itself. Only true battle maniacs, or psychoes for that matter, loved the process of combat itself to such an extreme.
"So? Thoughts?" Questioned Veena as they followed the carnage in the form of a single man, finishing whatever sad excuse of monsters was left for them, collecting whatever loot they dropped after their deaths as well. Since they had little to no actual combat to focus on, they could have some light conversations as well.
"While his efficiency and overall capability to anihilate such low tiered monsters has risen, its not like we were unaware of this aspect of his personality." spoke Alurial, her gaze locked on Rex's back as he continiued his slaughter. "Though at the same time, we also have no choice to admit that he is far beyond our capabilities already. If he continiues to grow stronger at the pace we have seen him change in just these few short days, we will only become a hindrance to him. And I dont know about you girls, but the idea of clinging and dragging down someone with such insane potential due to our own greed does not sit well with me. Besides, its not like we can maintain a friendly relationship with him going forward, whatever he decides to do."
"I have to agree with Alurial." quietly agreed Ria. "I have shown quite a bit of my own care and interest to him as well, no doubt indicating my willingness and desire to explore the possibility of a more personal connection, and, while it is unlikely to bear any result in the immediate future, since he seems intent of keeping his more amourous options at bay for the moment, opting for more fun and no strings attached style of life, eventually I should be given a chance to capitalize on it, should I still have the same interest. Or so I believe is the message he was putting out with his actions and gestures."
"You too think there is more to him than beeing a simple orphan from a remote village in the middle of nowhere?" Samanta asked.
"Yes, of that there is no doubt. The nature and implications of said secret is anyones guess, but it does not look like a negative for us or anyone in his near vicinity, unless of course you earn his ire." Ria explained. The girls continiued their own little conversation as the group moved along, sometimes praising Rex ability to shred through monsters, his energy and zeal seemingly endless.
"Rex, where do you find the pleasure in this endless grind? Its just waves and waves of monsters that you cleave through? How can you still smile?" Samanta asked once they reached their first intersection, Rex slowing down and waiting on the groups decision where to go next. He looked at her, an empty expression on his face for a moment as his eyes slid upwards, clearly thinking on a way to better express his thoughts. He shrugged just a moment later, as if giving up on the previous, deep seated thoughts.
"The Grind in and of itself is pleasure. Doubly so when one does not have to wade through gust and gore of their quarry once they are dead. Just murder it all, claim the loot, which I have to thank you gals for doing by the way, and proceed to repeat. And to top it all off, you also get stronger in the process. Whats there not to like?"
"Men." Alurial rolled her eyes, clearly having seen and met more than one man with the mindset Rex was exibiting right now. "How long do you think untill you grow tired of it all, I wonder."
"Longer than most I recon. Personal secrets and all." Rex replied, a playfull smirk appearing on his face. "So, what do we facny today as our next course?" he asked, quite eager to continiue their exploration. Eventually the group decided on morboons, proceeding down the tunnel indicating their next enemy zone.
And, just like with nibblers, as soon as they encountered the first of the monster groups, Rex was ahead, taking them all on as if they were nothing. Gracefull and nimble sidesteps paired with deadly and merciless sword swings left every opponent in his wake a pile of paralized and worthless meat, awaiting their inevitable deaths, either by the sword of one of the girls or bleeding out. And, much to the girls suprise, Rex seemed to not be slowing down at all. On the contrary, with an opponent that Rex did not have to lower his stance to deal with, he seemed to have only gotten more comfortable and better, reinforcing Alurials belief in the steps they would have to take once outside the dungeon.
And as regrettable as it was to part with such a gem, it was necessary for his coniniued and unobstructed growth. And she was more invested than the rest of the girls, well maybe except Ria, who had been trying to sink her claws in him nice and deep. Alurial felt some odd atraction to him after all. Once even she could not explain properly. Mana resonance would be the closest explanation she could come up with, but there had not been such strong case among her people for hundreds of years, so she was not entirely sure.
Eventually, they reached the end of morboon zone, the champion once again meeting them. "Lucky!" Rex exclaimed noticing the monster
"Thats mine, so stand back!" Rex said as he charged forwards, his blood sword drawn and placed on his shoulder as he charged forward. The girls could only shrug and helplessly sigh, watching him go from the sidelines. If he wanted to, who where they to deny him. Besides, Rex was rational enough of a person, so if he would sense the danger and his inability to finish, he would call for their assistance.
In mere moments Rex was before the champion, it roaring in anger at the audacity of the smaller creature to charge at it in its lonesome. Two, stone covered arm came down in a heavy motion in an attempt to crush the arrogant creature, prepearing it to be feasted on once it dealt with the rest of the intruders. The familiar sound of it arms slamming onto rock resounded, creating a small crack on the tough cave floor. A large, toothy grin spread across the champions face. One down, five to go.