The descent into the deepest parts of the abyss took over six days, as Pestilent Nova regenerated a dozen times throughout their journey. Caesar continued studying how best to fight Flesh Abominations and Monstrosities, noticing their extreme durability against physical weapons. If his party tore open small wounds and unleashed a Pestilent Nova, combined with a few seconds of his Kelpie’s Pestilential Breath, it weakened each flesh monster enough for the fight to become more manageable. Two Novas and a few more seconds of breath quickened the monsters’ deaths but consumed much more resources.
Shrieks from the boss continued to ring through the abyss while he walked. His feet continued to tap stone as the slope began to level off, ending in a small obstruction to indicate another floor in the abyss. He threw a torch forwards, revealing two Monstrosities and two Abominations, all at Level 25. They charged at him, extinguishing the light under their feet, but he managed to catch a glimpse of completely flat ground in that single second. A brief smile flickered on his lips, and he clutched his Spear of Slaughter.
Caesar’s Draugr stood there like a wall and fought them off, slamming its Siegebreaker Greatmaul into the horrors to drive them back. The two bestial horrors reached the stone barricade first, tendrils attempting to pull them over. Black blood already coated them, signifying the presence of Sanguinary Aberrations, who must’ve finished falling here. He thus knew this had to be the bottom-most floor, and eagerly awaited the sight.
An Abomination managed to pull itself over, only for the Draugr to roar. It called the Kelpie to charge, who rammed the humanoid horror back over the stone and unleashed a second of plagued breath before retreating. Caesar’s lunges had torn open many wounds on his foes’ bodies, making it much easier for the Stygian Pollution to infect them. With ease came speed, and the liquid sludge of the Draugr’s Pestilent Nova flowed into those wounds too. The monsters began to slow.
He jabbed at the horrors until his arms began to droop, and exhaustion settled in his waist and legs. The roars of his Draugr provided a smooth rhythm for him to press onwards, and when the last of his Kelpie’s Mana trickled away, he stepped back and sighed in relief. That had done it.
Four masses of black blood began to coalesce into bestial and humanoid Sanguinary Aberrations, but they wouldn’t attack him as long as the Draugr stood between them. Thus he felt safe and yielded to the force that wanted him brought low. His Kelpie stared at them from a distance, a little sorrow in its dim black eyes. It shook its mane and turned away.
When the Level 26 aberrations finished forming, they eerily turned their heads to face Caesar’s direction before shambling away. Hesitation was in their steps, but once they left a suitable distance away, their speed increased. Something else had stolen their attention, and he refused to approach. Instead, he unsummoned the Kelpie for the Skeleton Mage and allowed its Fireballs to illuminate the final area.
A red mass the size of human structures appeared, shrouded in the blackest of nights inside the pit it called home. Tendrils of variable lengths writhed around the places Caesar could see and cupped the eyes of insects. Some turned to stare into his eyes for a brief second, before moving away.
Greater Flesh Elemental – Level 29
[Rarity]: Epic
There it is, he thought. As the Sanguinary Aberrations cut and tore into the mass of flesh, it squirmed and separated into a new pair of Flesh Abominations. A cascade of blood poured from the split, only to heal a few seconds later.
Fists smashed forwards and tendrils thrashed, but the blood monsters were unfazed. They held the advantage until the Greater Flesh Elemental spawned another two Flesh Monstrosities from its own body. Although it took damage from these two new summons, he saw its flesh already beginning to regenerate.
Caesar watched them fight and began to think of a plan. Clearly, the fleshy horrors would exceed the aberrations in might, although not by much – blood flowed more easily around their attacks, and their strength only appeared lacking by a small amount. There was certainly a way to take advantage of this.
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Over the course of a few days, he stayed in that dark pit, studying how he could make the Epic monster kneel. Killing it early would not help until he opened up a space for a new essence core, but he wanted to inspect the auction first. If they sold an item able to sublimate his ability, then he would spare nothing to secure it.
----
[Notice]: Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 28! +2 Free Stat Points
Vitality: 30 -> 32
[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Kelpie has leveled up to Level 29! +2 Free Stat Points
Magic: 24 -> 26
[Notice]: Congratulations! Your Tomb Hippo has leveled up to Level 29! +4 Free Stat Points
Magic: 36 -> 40
Caesar returned to his rented house above with a faint smile on his face. Nothing had disturbed his time in the dungeon, and the place remained safe, although he expected it to not remain so after the auction. The guards had only stopped investigating the massacre because they chose to prioritize the safety of the city instead.
Alta had spoken with the Pax Society on what she could do to secure access to the auction. They offered her a single auction pass, exchangeable for twenty-five merit points. Expensive, but it was a good chance to see the wider world for team leaders such as themselves. However, that meant Caesar could not enter.
It did not faze him if he lacked the opportunity. His Doppelganger knew what to do without him physically present. Though he would be lying if he said he felt no curiosity about the items on display.
Thus, he began preparing for the big event. Those leftover items from the Black Market Massacre began to quietly shift underneath a neighbor’s house, courtesy of his ant queen. It buried the tunnels behind as it dug, leaving no traces once he unsummoned it.
“I’m not sure you should do this, lord,” said Alta in an attempt to dissuade him from danger. “Simply wait near the dungeon and the commotion will tell you when to go.”
“The Order of the Fox’s rank three Divination spellcaster won’t target me specifically,” Caesar said. “I trust my ability.” He had decided to see if there were any other items worth noting and understood that Masquerade would not work if he truly wanted to enter without incident.
“But your true face should ideally never be shown.”
“I’m willing to take the risk. This is rumored to be the biggest auction in a while, after all.”
----
When the day of the auction came, the populace became bustling. Hordes of people walked around the streets, engaging in banter and purchasing many discounted items. Barters became less ferocious, with both vendors and customers backing off a little from what they could truly achieve.
Caesar waded through the crowd and spotted the auction’s location, a grand golden banner floating in the sky above an incandescent building. Although not tall in comparison with some of the others around it, a menacing aura seemed to warn others of danger and subdued the surrounding populace. Many city guards dressed in enchanted equipment displayed their own power around it – a small show of force, for rank three people had already arrived. Their presence alone could turn any threats into naught but empty air.
Other flags raised around the area showed the various factions participating. Alta had gone ahead first, and he spotted her face in the distance with the others in the society. His eyes moved to the side and glimpsed a fox as well. It seemed the two groups might taunt one another.
A smaller event usually took place before the main event, held by people who lacked the connections to join. Here, they traded simpler items, such as rank one artifacts or Skill books. He’d sell off his less important items before trying to find somebody with an auction pass.
Caesar walked up to one of the larger groups of people selling spells and said, “I have here a spellbook – creating Undead Chimeras. Who wants it?”
“I’ll take it. What do you want in return?” Gaunt in appearance with a cruel smile, a burnt smell emanated from the speaker. Black robes with tints of blood-red swirls covered his body, and two pointed ears appeared on his head.
“Kalakas the Grim!” A man with a goatee seemed familiar with the elf who just spoke. “Best not get too involved with him. All who have, disappeared.”
“Nonsense.” The elf chewed on a burning thumb, revealing soot-stained teeth. “Those fellows just ran into trouble, that’s all.”
Caesar did not care about the man’s potential threat. “I offer the book in return for an auction pass,” he shouted over the crowd. A few turned to look but returned to what they were doing soon after.
The elf hacked out some phlegm and shrugged.
“You’ll have better luck over there,” the helpful man said. He pointed at a small group wearing colorful clothing. “They specifically sell those passes, although at an exorbitant price, like multiple rank two artifacts,” grimacing as he said it.
“Thank you.” But Caesar wanted to save money and thus continued moving and shouting, sometimes adding other items as well. He was not the only one doing so.
----
Half a day later, most of the crowd had left, including those shouting with him. He glanced around and sighed, before finally making his way towards the colorful group of people. But midway, a cough interrupted him.
“I see you,” Kalakas said. He grinned and waved a little golden ribbon. “Want to make a deal?”
Caesar narrowed his eyes before nodding slowly. “Talk.”