Back at the second-floor entrance was where they finally stopped running. The sounds of the Brawn Imps were still coming but much farther away thanks to the Party's longer stride. Larry used some HellRime to form some chains, which he wrapped and bound around the handles. The Incubus tested them to make sure they were taut before stepping back and shaking his head at his own work.
"That will not hold a group of Brawn Imps for long, Master," he stated.
"Why not just cover the whole thing in HellRime and we go down another corridor?" Colin asked, pointing out the other four corridors.
"Would you like the simple, the normal, or the extensive explanation?" he asked.
"Normal," Colin answered.
Taking a breath, Larry started. "The normal answer is that my skills, attributes, abilities, and everything else is based on your Summon Familiar Subskill. The higher the level, along with your Intellect and Wisdom Attributes, the more of my power I can access. This does not remove any true skill that I already possessed, I can still swing a sword straight, and I still know where to hold a shield to deflect a blow. But that means that I lost most of the numerical bonuses I had until your skill level rises. Makes sense?"
A boom rattled the doors that Larry had chained shut, the HellRime ice holding firm against the blow. The wood fared less well with the small body pounding against it, the wood held by metal bracing starting to splinter with the attack.
Colin quickly told Larry that he understood and moved on to the task at hand. His Demonology-based knowledge of Brawn Imps told him that they weren't inherently weak to anything, in particular, just divine damage like the rest of Demon kind. They were just green, midget gym rats who had masculinity issues. The only real bonus to their weaknesses being almost none was that they absorbed only Concentrated Infernal energy, like spells.
Another resounding boom of tiny but strong fists impacting the door rang through the hall. It was followed by several more in rapid succession all along the large double doors, even in places much too high for the little green bastards to get to due to their height. A small area of the upper left door caved in and cracked as a high-pitched roar came through it.
"So, got any bright ideas?" Larry asked, his voice collected as the door rattled and broke.
"I got some spells that can slow them down, but Brawn Imps tend to have a lot of Health, and their muscles can act as armor. It's unlikely to kill them," Colin concluded.
"I can take a lot of them as long as I don't get swarmed," Paladin said, wincing at the sound of the door splintering again. With that particular attack, a bolt from the bracing that reinforced the door popped out with a particular 'pling' sound that made Paladin cock his head. "Huh."
"What?" Colin asked, trying to think of anything he could do to make this easier for them. There were some Demonic-based rituals that he could perform, in theory, but none were swift. Maybe an enchantment or two but that required time and a lot of mana.
"Oh, nothing important. That just kind of sounded like a guitar string snapping when a guitar is being broken, didn't it?" Paladin shrugged. "I have a spray potion or two that might be handy if we get them clustered together; it's nothing super deadly but might soften them up to be more easily… Uh, Walker, What's with that look?"
"I'm just annoyed," Colin grumbled, pulling up his skills list and looking at one of his most underutilized skills. Given his increased Attributes and skills, he could get a little more use out of it than when he last used it. Hell, the damned thing was still only level one. "Before all this Golem Apocalypse thing happened, I had plenty of time to level up one of my skills in particular. Shit, I even forgot I had it."
He pulled up the skill, trying to get a sense of its range before using it, pulling out his banjo while doing so. He mentally triggered the skill to show him all of its details instead of the very simplified versions he usually saw.
Bleeding Ears Subskill, level 1. By actively using Bardic Magic in conjunction with this subskill allows you to deal sonic damage to everyone (friend or foe) within a small radius around you. The area of effect is in a perfect dome around the skill user but may not travel well through some types of matter, such as stone, wood, or metal.
-This skill's damage is equal to your Charisma Attribute (15) plus your Bardic Magic Level (4) every ten seconds.
-This subskill can only be maintained for a number of seconds equal to your instrument mastery skill (Banjo: 7) times 5. After stopping this subskill, the Instrument will need a short fifteen-second cool down before resuming.
-This subskill costs 15 mana per second to keep active as well as constant use of the Instrument.
-This subskills range is equal to the Instrument Mastery Skill with the Instrument wielded (Banjo: 7) plus the Bleeding Ears subskill level (1) in feet.
It wasn't great, but with the damage done to the door, Colin hoped that the skill would go through the door and weaken them up. Also, since the skill was level one, he hoped it would level up a few times and get more efficient.
"Stay back!" Colin told them as he dismissed the skill prompt and rushed towards the door. He heard Paladin ask Rielle and Larry why he was holding a banjo, but none could answer. The banjo was from the time before he met Rielle, and the last and only time used the subskill was before he died in this Dungeon.
Colin slowed to a stop a few feet to the door and used his Musical Link ability to link his mana to the banjo before he started playing. The tune wasn't anything special, and the subskill didn't say anything about it having to be. He just focused on playing the Instrument and channeling Bleeding Ears into it as a gray aura pulse out of the banjo.
At the ten-second mark, a wave of sound echoed from the banjo and passed through the door. The pounding on the door paused for a second, and the Brawn Imps grunted their dislike of the sound before resuming a few precious moments later.
With the next pulse of sonic damage, Colin got the awaited prompt.
Your Bleeding Ears subskill is now level 2. The range of this subskill has increased by a small margin.
He was hoping for the skill to get a little cheaper, but that was fine too. Colin kept playing until the next pulse and then stopped playing. According to the skill, he could only use it for thirty-five seconds before needing a fifteen-second cooldown. This was actually a good thing since it gave his mana regeneration the time to give him more time with the skill. Those three waves actually cost him four-hundred and fifty out of five-hundred and twenty-five mana to use.
He would have to figure out later how low-level bards could actually use this skill. The Imps were still trying, and succeeding, to break through the door.
In the meantime, Colin took out of his vials of mana restoration and chugged it down in one swallow. This tiny vial of concentrated mana added two hundred mana directly into his mana pool. This, combined with his normal mana regeneration speed gave him enough to repeat the skill more.
At the end of the third pulse, Colin put away the banjo and started to jog back to the group when one of the little green imps broke through. With a splintering crash, an Imp had managed to finally break a section of the door and rush after Colin.
"Rawr!" it roared in its high-pitched voices as it gorilla ran over and leaped towards his head.
The Antagonist ducked, and an Arrow found itself in the tiny Demon's torso, the kinetic force of the arrow knocking it back. The breach in the door allowed the Brawn Imps to stream through it, but only one at a time. Most with dark red blood oozing from their ears, the muscular green Imps weren't waiting for the rest of their horde to come through either. As soon as they landed and got to their feet, they ran towards the group, roaring their little heads off.
Rielle fired off a few arrows, knocked a few away as soon as they started their charge. But after a few shots, she paused and looked at her dwindling arrow count. It wasn't getting low yet, but they still had the rest of this floor to explore and another floor to defeat. It would not be a good idea to run out of arrows now. Putting away her bow, She drew her sword and waited next to Paladin.
Colin looked around the room and gestured around. "Spread out, try to maintain an equal distance-" Colin started, drawing his Voracious Mythic Xiphos from his hip and cutting a leaping Imp before continuing. "From each other and the door. Let's see if we can get them to come to everyone somewhat equally!" he suggested, with Larry and Rielle following his lead.
Paladin took an extra moment, but not because he thought the plan was a bad one. It seemed like he was still trying to figure out something, and it was distracting him from the task at hand. A two-foot-tall green Imp launched at his face and, giving him both a left and a right-handed punch, got some sense back into him as he slapped it away, adding some ki to the blow to kill it.
The only one in the group that had any issue with the dozens of Brawn Imps was Rielle, with her lower Strength Attribute. But her speed, Dexterity, and actual weapon skill let her step out of the way of a leaping Imps punch and attempt to slice it. Even when she didn't see it coming, her Otherworldly Steps Skill gave her the chance to dodge the attack by sheer luck. She still took several blows, but she just kept moving and swerving around her attackers.
Larry was having the easiest time. This time, his choice of arms was a large square shield in his off-hand that could cover his entire torso and a short sword not unlike his masters in size. When an Imp would fall through the hole in the door and decide to attack him, his tactic was simple. He left himself open to attack until the Imp leaped towards his chest; he'd then move his shield between them and angle his shield to knock the angry thing into the air. With one last move, Larry would spin around for momentum and slice at the Imp with as much force as possible. If this didn't kill the Imp, which was expected, the Imp would only get angrier and rush him again.
Paladin just let them run up and attack his gut. He took a point or two of damage from the little guys, but that barely made a dent in his Health Pool. When they attacked, he simply caught them by a limb and threw them with ki imbued power into a wall. Either killing them outright or maiming them.
Colin took a few hits but used the attack to know where to attack next and swung with his Mythical Sword.
You have taken 42 points of damage and now have 558/600 health remaining.
You have taken 39 points of damage and now have 519/600 health remaining.
You have taken 48 points of damage and now have 471/600 health remaining.
"Damn," Colin grunted after that last blow landed. "These things are small but hit hard."
You have taken 46 points of damage and now have 425/600 health remaining.
Colin spun around and slashed at the one that got his shoulder and bisected it across its middle. They were reducing the numbers every moment, but still more were crawling through the hole, and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. One by one, the group worked hard to kill the Imps that were streaming through, and one by one, they died.
You have taken 40 points of damage and now have 431/600 health remaining.
Grunting, Colin grabbed that one by its thick neck and threw it at the hole in the door. The Demon grunted as it impacted and tumbled back to the floor, dying as Colin fired off an Ice Shard Spell to kill it. Colin used Tremorsensing to find out how many there were left and was surprised by the sensory feedback he got from behind the door. There was still another dozen behind the door, but these ones remained in place in front of another being.
He could not be sure who it was behind the Imps, but the faint outline he got from the skill implied that the being was short, carried a staff, and wore a cloak.
"Janaxi's behind that door with more Imps!" Colin announced, wishing they had a way to say that quietly. The smooth-faced Demon was probably now getting ready for them since he knew that they knew. At the moment, Colin was just glad that his Infernal Aura, which regenerated his mana, Health, and preparing him for the Roaming Boss.
"How many?" Rielle called out, her sword almost seeming to bend and twist as she moved to attack an oncoming Brawn Imp.
"Around a dozen, not including him," Colin answered.
It was as another Brawn Imp leaped at Colin's face that the door was blown entirely off its hinges by a flash of red light. The doors flew and tumbled into Larry's shield and knocked him off his feet with the sheer weight. Fourteen Brawn Imps rushed into the room and spread around, all looking at the three still in formation.
A single word from Janaxi as he walked in stopped them from rushing. "Stop!" he ordered, the staff clacking into the ground to punctuate the order. "Fuck, you all are stupid."
"Janaxi," Colin said, readying himself to attack.
"DevilWalker," he replied through clenched teeth. He looked at the others in the room, "More than I expected you to bring with you the next time you came here. But that's why I am a little more prepared now than on the upper floor."
"Really?" Colin said, gesturing to the Brawn Imps that were merely waiting for the okay to attack. It was a weird thing given what he knew, but not unheard of for Brawn Imps. "These guys are your equalizer?"
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"No, they just help. This guy is," Janaxi stated as a Hunchbacked Wretch stepped out of the corridor behind the Roaming Boss. This one wasn't any scarier than others of its kind, but the ones that the Party fought up to this point were alone. If it got the chance to use its powers on one of them, they were in trouble.
"So, DevilWalker, tell me. Any last words before I kill you?" Janaxi asked, raising his hand and getting ready to signal his troops.
"Actually, yeah," Colin said, standing up straight and relaxing his posture.
After a moment, the Roaming Boss got impatient and spat out, "well, what is it?!"
"You should know that I am here to destroy the Dungeon," Colin told him. He knew that this might be the one thing that would take the Demon off-guard. He'd told Colin that this was something he wanted way back when Colin had killed him and took the Channel Effigy Skill Gem from him.
Janaxi actually stiffened at those words. "What?"
"Oh, yeah. I want to free all of you to get the reward from the Inferno for freeing Zagan from this place. That is something you want, right?" Colin asked, trying to help his Demonology skill along. Something about this Demon in front of him was tickling something in his mind. It just needed a nudge forward, and it wasn't like Janaxi wasn't still going to attack him.
If that were the case, he would have gotten the EXP for the combat they just completed.
"Of course it is," he answered, unsure of what was happening. "Why are you doing this now instead of weeks ago when I tried to make that deal with you? You fucking killed me and took the Skill Gem."
Shrugging, Colin answered, "wasn't strong enough yet. Now I am much more prepared for doing this. Not to mention, I leveled up that skill a few times, and now it is much more useful to me," Colin explained, hoping that his deception skill was high enough for this. To help it along, Colin activated Loki's Effigy power by muttering, "Loki bar flærða tíma," under his breath and letting the trickster god's power take hold.
"Besides," Colin added on before he could stop himself. "It's unwise to enter into deals with demons, trust me. I made a deal back at level two, and I still have it hanging over my head."
Janaxi was tapping a finger on his staff as if he was unsure what to do. It was a bit of body language that Colin could understand and could work with. If the Demon decided to let bygones be bygones, then Colin could work with him.
"I suppose I can understand that," Janaxi answered, his mouth curving into a pained smile. "We're all creatures our own vices, and yours is simply not being very trusting of others. Even if I am a demon, my offer was good and simple. Instead, you let greed blind you and-"
Then the information that Demonology wanted clicked into place, and Colin spoke, "Oh, I'm sure we both have that in common. I mean, you are a Demon of Greed and Envy, am I right? I highly doubt that you would have just given me that skill gem, even if I did destroy the Dungeon. How close am I, Janaxi of the Faceless?"
Stunned yet again, Janaxi looked at Colin in confusion before scowling. "Pretty close actually, the only thing wrong here is that I would have given you the Skill Gem in my possession if you had done as asked. I-"
Colin raised a hand to stop Janaxi, "Larry? What do you know about Faceless?"
The Incubus coughed into his fist to clear his throat before speaking, "Faceless are known to only hold one thing truly sacred, and that is Mammon himself. They will lie, cheat, murder, and do anything else needed to impress him. They are universally in the top five most disliked Infernal species in Hell. They are only trusted if Mammon tells them to cooperate. I'd wager that the Skill Gem you took was going to be an offering to Archdemon Mammon as a trophy for his Halls."
"Master, the only way I'd trust him is if he swore on Mammon himself. Did he?" Larry asked, giving Janaxi a glare.
"That's rich, coming from a demon species known for Lust and Pride," Janaxi spat.
Colin shook his head. He had been second-guessing his decision to kill Janaxi to take the Skill Gem instead of just working with the guy. It could still be a good idea to side with him in theory long enough to get some stuff he wanted. But he would either get buried in debt to the Demons and be in a bad position later, or they'd use him until he broke in the process.
It was better to not start down that path, not again. He still had two favors he owed the Demon masters, and they were something he would immediately take back if he could. But since he couldn't do that, he would simply avoid making that mistake again.
"Rielle?" Colin said, breaking the argument that Janaxi and Larry were both having.
"Y-yes?"
"Would you mind lighting the Undead up for me?" Colin asked. He then rushed towards the nearest Brawn Demon and brought his Xiphos down onto its head like a guillotine. His attack sunk halfway into its head and came free with a wet sucking sound a moment before Rielle covered the Hunchback Wretch with Heavenly Blight.
"Paladin! You mind keeping the Hunchback busy?" Colin asked, just as he braced himself for a Brawn Demon that leaped at his chest. He deflected the blow with his arms only mitigating the damage.
You have taken 26 points of damage and now have 548/600 health remaining.
"Sure!" he answered back, hurrying to keep the Wretch from casting spells.
"That leaves only you and thirteen Brawn Imps for me and Larry here, Janaxi," Colin announced.
"Only?" Janaxi grinned, then started issuing orders. "You three go help the Wretch. Go after the girl, not the big one." The three that were pointed out turned and roared as they ran towards Rielle.
"You ten will attack the Incubus," the Faceless ordered, pointing Larry out to them. "Keep him busy while I deal with him."
"Rah!" one of them proclaimed. The group turned and started pounding their fists into the ground several times in a threatening display before they rushed Larry.
"And you want me all to yourself, is that right?" Colin asked, thinking through the best way to kill this guy quickly.
Janaxi turned to face Colin, his eyeless gaze somehow disturbing the way he could feel his glare at him. "Of course, you took something from me, and I want the pleasure of killing you myself. Mammon's Coi-"
"Choking Darkness!" Colin announced as the Demon started his own spell.
A five-meter area around the pair immediately burst into a cloud of misty shadows that reduced the breathable air around them. It was a strange feeling being immune to that effect since he could still feel the effects but was not hampered by them.
"Darkvision," Colin intoned, activating one of his few utility spells. Now able to see in his own spell, Colin walked towards the faceless Demon that was leaning onto his staff and holding his neck.
"Mammon- Mammo-" Janaxi choked, unable to finish the spell's invocation. "Fuck this!" he wheezed, slamming the butt of his staff into the ground. Red light pounded and pulsed out from the butt of the staff, and Colin rushed over.
Your spell, Choking Darkness, has been dispelled.
"Damn it," Colin said, swinging his Mythic Xiphos at him the second he got within range. The blade connected with the weird writhing staff of his, and Colin pulled back to attack again. Janaxi held the staff out in both hands and used it to deflect Colin's every stroke and slash. What made it worse was that there was no visible damage being done to the supposedly wooden weapon.
"Ignition," Colin spoke between breaths, pointing a finger at the robes that Janaxi wore. Colin watched his MP plummet as the Fire Magic Subskill attempted to ignite the robe. After a hundred and sixteen MP did, the fire started on the robe and remain lit. Colin attacked faster, trying to keep Janaxi from noticing the fire yet.
"Burning Breath!" Colin announced, opening his mouth and feeling flame pour from his throat as it engulfed Janaxi.
This only lasted for a moment before the Demon jabbed his staff into Colin's gut, causing him to go to his knees, close his mouth, and end the spell.
You have taken 67 points of damage and now have 481/600 health remaining.
Taking a deep breath, Colin raised a hand and gritted his teeth at Janaxi, "Force Bolt! Shadow Bolt! Burning Marble!" he announced, firing all of them at close range. The first spell hitting him squarely, the rest were dexterously avoided with a simple sidestep.
"You know," Janaxi started, his smile evident and present. "I thought you were tougher than this. You managed to kill me once already, and I really am starting to think that it was a happy accident on your part. What do you take me for, Demon Lord Candidate, A simple named Demon? I'm a fucking Roaming Boss, meaning that I am strong here in this Dungeon. What can you do?"
Janaxi swung the butt of his staff down onto Colin's back and knock him all the way to the floor.
You have taken 71 points of damage and now have 410/600 health remaining.
"What can you do, DevilWalker?" he reiterated, growling.
Janaxi raised the staff up again and brought it down towards Colin's back. The Demon Lord Candidate rolled to the side and quickly scrambled to his feet. He squared up against Janaxi again, rolling his shoulders as he looked over the Demon.
The flame that he'd used to try and burn the Demon with had gone out sometime during their struggle, and now Colin was more willing to try other options. "Biting Breeze!" Colin intoned, aiming the line of effect spell at the Demon.
A breeze around five feet wide flew past Colin and blew right into Janaxi, the Demon being pushed back by the spell and being affected by the ice the magic formed. Janaxi grumbled as he held his footing through the spell's duration and aimed his own spell at Colin.
"Unhallowed Bolt!" he said through the breeze, a thin shaft of the infernal red energy forming in front of the staff and condensing before flying towards Colin. He tried to move out of the way of the attack, but the spell curved slightly to still connect with him—the spell impacting his shoulder and passing most of the way through.
You have taken 98 points of damage and now have 312/600 health remaining.
"I will ask again, Devilwalker! What can you do?!" he screamed, anger dripping from his tongue like spittle.
The Infernal Bolt vanished a moment later as the attack ended, and Colin simply smiled at the Roaming Boss. This thing was small, scrawny, and didn't have any eyes to see him attacking with. Sure, it probably had another type of extrasensory power, allowing him to know his surroundings but still.
"What can I do? I can keep trying, Janaxi. I am nothing if not a pain in the ass," Colin smiled, determined to see this out to the Demon's end.
Apparently, the world agreed with him. A prompt appeared before Colin's vision.
Your Determination is showing to even your enemies, and you have gained the status effect, 'Adaptive Reflexes.'
Improved Reflexes status effect. Your every movement is improved by sudden and exact actions, no matter the consequence of that action. All reactionary effects of the Speed and Dexterity Attributes are improved by 50% for the next minute or until combat is over.
"All you Candidates are," Janaxi said, swinging the head of his staff towards Colin.
Colin's arm rose up to deflect the sword stroke faster than it had been a moment earlier. Janaxi shifted his weight around, attempting to use the butt end to strike Colin instead. In reaction, he drew and deflected the attack with the drenching Dagger on his belt and tried to counter it. Their exchange continued for a few moments before Colin used the drenching Dagger on the staff to coat it in a thin coat of water.
Using the water, Colin used Frost Shaping to coat the whole staff in ice then kept the ice growing until they separated. Colin quickly struck again, and Janaxi tried to shift his grip on the staff to block it, only to have his grip falter against the attack and slip.
The Antagonist stepped in to attack the now defenseless Roaming Boss. Only to have his Mythic Xiphos meet a reverberating red and white shield issued from the Demon's left hand.
"Damn you, DevilWalker!" Janaxi screamed, moving its open right hand towards Colin's face.
"Arwhoo!" A Brawn imp screamed as it connected with the back of Janaxi's head. The bloodied Imp scrambled in an attempt to get purchase on the surface it found itself on and died a moment later. An arrow struck the Brawn Imps torso and caused it to fall down the Demon's front. A moment later, an arrow sprouted from Janaxi's back, followed by a smack by a HellRime Maul wielded by Larry.
The Incubus did not stop there. He dropped the Maul and immediately formed gauntlets as he advanced on the Faceless; Colin did the same with his Xiphos.
"Mammon's Coils!" Janaxi announced.
Larry jumped into the line of sight between Colin and Janaxi, the burning barbed wires latching onto him instead.
"Kinetic Vigor! Aligned Strike! Empowering Mana!" Colin announced, activating as many buffs as possible. The glowing red blade slashed into Janaxi's thin frame just below the rib cage, slicing Janaxi in half with the blow.
The top half of the Faceless hit the floor with a pained and confused groan as the prompts appeared.
Congratulations! You have killed 2 Hunchback Wretches and have gained 694 EXP. You now have 105,073/256,914 until level 21.
Congratulations! You have killed 39 Brawn Imps and have gained 6,240 EXP. You now have 111,313/256,914 until level 21.
Your Bardic Magic Skill has increased to level 5. The volume produced, and relationship points gained increases a small margin.
Your Bleeding Ears subskill has increased to level 3. The range of this subskill has increased by a small margin.
Your Infernal Magic Manipulation is now level 8.
Your Infernal Aura(Massacre) subskill is now level 8. The percentage increase to your Attributes has increased by a small margin.
Your Aligned Strike Skill is now level 8. Damage per Alignment Rank has increased.
Your Summoning Magic skill is now level 6. The available options for free and directed summons have increased.
Your Summon Familiar Skill is now level 6. The capabilities of your familiar have increased by a small margin.
"Well, now those are some increases," Colin said, looking at the liquifying remains and at the forming Loot Boxes.
Rielle looked exhausted but was still smiling as she was looking over her prompts. She had a few cuts and a ring of a bruise forming around her neck, but as a whole, she looked fine. Larry looked a lot worse; his nose was broken, giving him a raccoon-like appearance. Otherwise, he looked beaten half to Hell, with Brawn Imp fist-size bruises on most of his exposed skin.
And Indeed, the prompt didn't lie. There were two melting bodies of Hunchbacked Wretches and found Paladin looking over both bodies, his whole body heaving with his heavy breaths. Colin dismissed his prompts and walked over to the large man who looked like his head was miles away.
"Paladin, you okay?" Colin asked, getting closer to the Sumo and walking around to look at him from the front.
"Uh, yeah," he said, his deep voice seeming unsure with himself. "No… I don't know, man. It just doesn't make sense, man." Paladin shook his head and rubbed his forehead as he tried to calm his starting headache.
"What doesn't?" Colin asked, wiping his Mythic Xiphos' blade off on a nearby piece of wood to clean it somewhat before putting it back in its scabbard.
"You," Paladin said, the word heavy but straightforward with his use. "You are using class abilities from several Classes. Bleeding Ears is from the Bard, Empowering Mana is Mage, Aligned Strike is a Paladin-type attack. Even the amount of spells you use is obscene. You somehow have a level 107 Goblin Alchemist as a companion and are supposedly stuck in this world."
Colin gave him a moment to ask the coming question, but when he didn't, he said, "and?"
"Who are you, really?" Paladin asked, his tone tired but genuine.