Somewhere in the abyss a party of five could be seen walking across the open plains. The large crystal on the ceiling of the cavern was as bright as ever, and the large patches of grass swayed, although Cassius didn't know where the breeze was coming from.
Looking forward Cassius saw a steep incline going up towards the ceiling. Dotted all across this wall were hundreds of tunnels and caves. Each one containing who knows what. While most of the lower tunnels had been searched by some of the first nameless, many of the upper ones had yet to be explored. More often than naught only creature level abyssals were found in these tunnels, along with a rune or two.
Suddenly Blake spoke beside Cassius, "Let's lay out the plan, one more time just to be sure." The party nodded as they continued forth. "The vanguard will be made up of Sarina and Cassius. Sarina will pull the aggro and tank the hits while in opportune moments Cassius will strike." Sarina pounded her shield and Cassius nodded. "I will provide support with my arrows, taking out vulnerable points and taking pressure off you two. Wayne will use throwing knives, and when the time is right, lurk in the shadows waiting for a critical strike with his poison." Wayne gulped as he gripped his short sword. "Lastly, Eleanor will use her ability on Cassius, improving his attacking ability. The hope is that Cassius will make quick work of creatures without extending the fighting time." Everyone nodded in agreement as they made their way to the wall.
Cassius felt assured in the plan, however he disliked the lack of backup plans. What if a large group of creatures attacked? What if a monster showed up? What if the tunnel collapsed? Cassius could go on and on but he decided to let it go. This area of the abyss was one of the safest for newbies. However, that was not to say it was safe, the threat of death was ever present in the cruel abyss.
Cassius decided to slow down and talk to Eleanor. She looked to be the most fearful, and Cassius wanted to make sure she was prepared to fight. He couldn't afford to lug around a potential liability.
"So, are you ready Eleanor? I'll be relying on your buff!" Cassius put up a friendly front and smiled brightly at Eleanor. She looked up and silently nodded her head. That wasn't very reassuring, so Cassius continued making conversation in hopes of increasing her confidence. "Don't worry too much Eleanor, worst case we can just use one of those smoke bombs that Wayne has and flee. Hold your head up high Ellie, and just do your best." Eleanor looked up meekly and asked, "Ellie?"
Cassius grinned and nodded his head, "As a squad, going forth I believe some nick names are in order. You get yours first Ellie!" Ellie's grip on her wooden staff eased, and she finally slightly grinned, "Thanks Cassius…" Cassius responded, "Of course, now let's kill some creatures and prove all those haters in the Expeditionary Group wrong!" Cassius was internally satisfied. It looked like his attempt at improving the mood went well, as the group's tension felt at least a little bit lower.
Cassius made his way back to the front of the group, as part of the vanguard it was important that he not remain too long in the back. Their ragtag group finally reached the wall and began to scale it. The incline was not so severe to warrant climbing tools, but it was steep enough to make every step important.
For a while no words were spoken between the squad, as everyone was focusing on the placement of their feet. All that met Cassius's ears were the crunching of feet and sometimes loose stones tumbling down.
Finally they arrived at the mouth of a cave. Everyone couldn't help but feel like they were walking into the gaping maw of death. Cassius fumbled around in his pocket before taking out a small marble like object. It had a glassy exterior, with a deep darkness contained within it. [Guess I should go ahead and use this…] This was the core of the wendigo that had almost been the end of him. Supposedly the effects of a monster core on a nameless was significant, "Bottoms up!" Cassius threw the core in his mouth and began to chew. The glassy texture felt weird, but the flavor was reminiscent of char on an overcooked piece of meat. "Not too terrible, but definitely not good tasting."
Soon a heat ran through his body, filling him with strength. Looking down, Cassius noticed a difference. His muscles felt stronger, larger, and even more flexible. His eyes felt sharper as well, in fact, all his senses felt somewhat heightened. "This is definitely an upgrade…" Cassius felt as if he had taken the first step into the superhuman realm of the named.
Cassius peered deeper into the tunnel, it seemed he could also see better in the dark. Blake then stepped forward with what looked like an effigy of a bat-like creature. "I'll scout ahead." All of a sudden Blake strained a bit before the effigy magically turned into a living creature. The bat flew ahead and disappeared into the darkness.
"How far can your utility go?" Cassius inquired. "It can go about 100 meters before I lose connection to it, so we'll move in with it." Blake explained. The party continued, weapons at the ready. An eerie silence befell the group, as everyone strained their ears to hear even the smallest inclination of an abyssal.
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"So far nothing's been spotted. That isn't right though, no one's checked these tunnels in a while. There should at least be one or two creatures…" The nervousness of the group reached an all time high. The disturbing silence, mixed with the increasingly deep darkness had everyone on edge.
At some point Eleanor pulled out a lantern, as the cave had nearly been pitch black at that point. After a few hundred meters of mindless walking, the first inkling of something being there appeared. Wayne called out to the cohort, "Look, there's scratches on this wall…" Indeed, a set of scratches had been carved into the wall, along with some scorch marks.
"These scratches go about centimeters in, so we're not dealing with a monster at the very least…" That notion was welcoming but the scorch marks concerned Cassius, perhaps whatever they were following could use fire somehow.
That's when Cassius heard it. A faint rumble and vibration somewhere beneath him. Cassius quickly put his ear against the ground as the group awkwardly stared. "Do you hear something?" Asked Sarina. "Shhhh…" Cassius heard it again, it sounded almost like, chewing?
Suddenly Cassius's eyes widened, "Everyone move!" The group all got back as soon as possible, doing their best to keep formation. Cassius gritted his teeth as the once faint rumble was now earth-shatteringly loud. Suddenly from the ground an abyssal tore through. It looked like a lamprey, with its round maw filled with rows of teeth. It had two tiny eyes that did not move, and near its neck there seemed to be a little flesh pouch. Every time the thing breathed in the pouch would inflate and deflate.
Sarina took the initiative by putting her shield up, her skin had taken a marble like luster which made her body look indestructible. Blake knocked an arrow and let it loose, however the lamprey easily swatted it away. The arrows would do nothing unless Cassius made an opportunity. Cassius gripped the axe with both hands and prepared to strike.
The lamprey smashed into Sarina's shield and seemed to be a bit stunned from the impact. Cassius used that time to dash in as fast as he could, raising his ax in a smooth motion. Cassius aimed for the neck of the creature, however the lamprey managed to move a bit from the fatal strike. Cassius managed to leave a fairly large cut in its side however.
The lamprey screeched out in anger and pain and flailed trying to retaliate against Cassius, however a quick arrow from Blake bought Cassius enough time to roll away. "Ellie!" Cassius yelled, "On it!" All of a sudden a quick green light flashed around Cassius's body. His heart rate increased and he could feel his body getting warm, almost hot. However, he also felt immensely fast.
Sarina once again charged in, taking hits with her shield and retaliating with a falchion like sword. However, it was gliding off the lamprey's slippery skin. Cassius once again rushed in, this time with an uncanny speed. The lamprey this time failed to react as the executioner, Cassius, brought down his huge axe upon the creature's neck. The body of the lamprey twitched as blood flowed from its stump. The head meanwhile looked like it was still trying to bite Cassius. Cassius brought his foot down upon the lamprey's head, smashing it to a paste.
"Uhh, disgusting little creatures." The fact that he would have to eat this thing later made him feel a bit disgusted. He sucked it up and made sure everyone was fine. "Hey, is everyone good?" The cohort nodded, no one got hurt, besides Sarina's arm feeling a little sore from taking the impact of the creature's body.
Blake then smiled, "Looks like our first kill is a success, let's continue and see if we can find any more!" The group trudged on and continued to fight a few more creatures. Mostly, it was the same lampreys, and occasionally an ant creature or bat-like creature would show up. No one sustained serious wounds, with only Cassius and Sarina having the occasional scratch or cut. However, the group was getting tired, and Ellie looked pretty pale. Apparently the overuse of mystic arts would lead to mental exhaustion in the user, and it was clear she was reaching her limit.
"Alright, we should probably head back soon. Let's pack up some of the meat, and evidence of the kills before getting back to Poplis." The group nodded at Blake's words and began to dress the kills, stuffing them in the bags they had brought along. All of a sudden Wayne opened his eyes widely, "Something just hit my trap." Along the way Wayne had set up a wire to trip up anything coming behind them. It was a very thin wire that could be pulled up to about two hundred meters long. He had kept the end of the wire in his hands, so when something tripped it he would know.
Faint thuds in the distance notified them that something was indeed heading their way. A screech from a little down the way bounced off the tunnel's wall, alerting the group that whatever was coming, was doing so quickly and angrily.
The cohort speedily got into position like they had done for the past day, and readied themselves. What eventually met their eyes was a reptilian creature, with cold yellow eyes. It had little flaps underneath its front legs, and a long tail with a spike on the end. Its scales were a dark green, which made it difficult to make out in the dark corridor.
Suddenly, its neck inflated and a light source seemed to spawn from its gullet. Cassius speedily got on his stomach and yelled, "GET DOWN!" Right as everyone dropped down to the ground a burst of flames burst over Cassius's head. The heat radiating from it made him gasp in pain. Suddenly the trail of flame burst against the tunnel behind them.
Everyone recovered and got back into position. "This thing has to be a monster…" The insane power behind that fire could not be imitated by a creature. This thing was the real deal. "Everyone, get ready, this is gonna be a fight for our lives." Last time Cassius almost had his guts laid out before him when he fought with a monster. But this time, he had a team that could back him up.
"I'm tired of you bastards trying to kill me!" Cassius bellowed as hate filled his eyes. The reptile did not care, as its forked tongue licked out, as if tasting the air. "Looks like I'll be getting another monster core sooner than expected…"