Gorrokor has changed. No longer is it just a hollow space filled with goblin-nests carved into the stone, now it is a dungeon.
[ Gorrokor Dungeon ]
Difficulty Rating:
Outer Gorrokor [ ** ]
Inner Gorrokor [ *** ]
[ Infernal-blooded champion is present. ]
Thick stone walls separate it into two parts, with a stone-carved gate guarded by two ogres. One, Caau recognises as Cokro, the one who captured Granite. The other is about the same size, but their left arm is strange.
It’s almost like they’ve ripped a shell from a turtle and replaced their arm with it.
Cokro: [VIT][Resistance I] + [ATK] + [STR][Ebb and Flow I][DEF]
[ Path of the Bruiser ]
I don’t get it. How can STR be a defence stat?
Each ‘Path’ has two options, dependant on whether or not you’re using it for attack or defense. They usually work similar, but have different objectives. When you attack, you are targeting their defensive statistic with what your offensive statistic is.
Let’s say you sent Arden to attack Cokro. VIT is countered by STR, which means he won’t be very effective. If you sent Strauss, however, he’d be fast enough to get around Cokro’s defense.
Good squad lineups are going to be extremely important in the future.
Alright, I think I get that… but how did Cokro capture Granite so easily?
That would be the class-specific [ Detain ] skill from the [ Resistance I ] path. How the ogre managed to get it to III is beyond even my knowledge. His infernal-blood must have spent a lot of time on getting him there.
Why? Why is it difficult?
Well, for one the infernal-blood would have had to extract the ‘ability essence’ from quite a few Pathed, specifically those with the [ Resistance I] path. Then, once it got enough to instill it into the ogre, it would still have to level it up.
I would be very surprised if the Infernal-blood doesn’t have a high level champion entirely dedicated to ability merging. Probably an Artificer or a Thinker. Else it would have had to kill somewhere upwards of 10 [Resistance I] pathed of each level, AND they would have had to have [ Detain ].
With the champion… maybe half that. Depends.
So I shouldn’t try and fuck with this Infernal-blood? It’s not going to be like the Lunar-blood?
Absolutely not. Even this dungeon will be harder. You came into the Lunar Sanctum with it on its last knees. I think they even broke their own Dungeon Contract when the two champions came down into the first level.
No, that Infernal-blood actively participated in the realm war. It probably won’t care if you kill Mekka-Mekka… but if you chase it or challenge it… it WILL crush you.
Put it this way: that Cokro ogre has been very heavily invested in. Would you throw a diamond ring into the dirt if you were not rich?
Crazy. That’s always an option.
The infernal realm is bloodthirsty, carnage-driven, and merciless… but they aren’t insane. Mostly.
I can feel the confidence in your words.
Don’t be sarcastic.. That’s my job.
Caau stares at the message.
[ Expedition has reached [ Gorrokor ]. Enter? ]
Y/N?
He accepts. There’s no small amount of apprehension in him now. It only grows as Arden steps forward into the dungeon, a convenient staircase laid out before him.
They expect us.
The rest follow after the briefest of moments. Ameior shoulders [ Unsent Revenge ] with the thick leather band that joins the two ends of it. It has an ability called [ Unsent ], which is based on charges. Every time it fires and misses — or if an ally does a combined total of 5% the enemies health whilst the wielder of [ Unsent Revenge ] is in eye-sight — it gains a charge.
When three charges are accrued, the user may activate it in order to produce six arrows that do 50% of the weapon’s damage.
Caau can see that much, but he cannot see any actual statistics yet. What damage the weapon does is unknown to him.
Arden’s foot touches the cave ground, and a message appears in Caau’s not-face.
[ Dungeon Contract: Boss Focus ]
This dungeon has forgone a third layer, and Dungeon Guardians, in order to channel that power into the Boss.
The treasure room lies beyond the boss. All treasure is sequestered in the treasure room. The boss must be defeated to pass.
A dungeon contract? What are Dungeon Guardians?
Think your guardians, only specialised for Combat.
Mine aren’t specialized for combat?
No, you’re pretty much throwing miners into battle. Dungeon Guardians have a stipulation that they cannot leave the Dungeon, but in return they do not act as Bound creatures and can actually have a class.
Cokro and the other ogre step forward, bellowing with laughter. “Master was right! Come to play?” Speaks Cokro.
The other slaps his belly with a fat hand. It looks like steel. Where his left arm should be, reptilian skin merges with ogreflesh, a large semi-spiked shield grafted on top of that, with no hand in sight.
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Name: Unknown
Class: [ Path of the Turtle ]
[STR][Ebb and Flow II][ATK] + [WIS][Tamer I][DEF]
[ Unknown Ability I ]
[ Unknown Ability I ]
[ Unknown Path-specific ability II ]
Are they just coming to fight? No trap? Just the two of them? We have eleven people!
Infernal-bloods — and thus their minions — aren’t the trap type. Though I doubt there are only two.
As if on cue, a stocky, heavily-haired man jumps down from a perch on the wall. Graskull and him lock eyes immediately, and he tilts his head to the right.
[ Name: Unknown ]
Class: [ Path of the Focused Artificer ]
[CHA][Coercive II][ATK] + [INT][Artificer I][DEF]
Abilities:
[ Unknown II ]
[ Unknown I ]
[Path-specific ability: Unknown I ]
Both Graskull and Ameior follow.
Well I guess they decided for me.
Arden steps towards the two ogres, seeming unfazed by their size. Strauss steps just slightly behind him, a good 2/3s his height, if that.
Something moves in Onyx’s vision. A big suit of armour, just a little larger than him. It stomps in big, fat jumps over to the three guardians, and they turn in its direction.
[ Name: Unknown ]
Class: [ Path of the Screaming Armour ]
[CHA][Persuasive II][ATK] + [ATK][Resistance I][DEF]
Abilities:
[ Unknown I ]
[ Unknown II ]
[Path-specific ability: Unknown I ]
In an instant, the battle lines are decided. The four men with pikes Caau sends to try and aid Arden.
It is four vs eleven, but the four seem stronger.
—
Fight 1: Arden, Strauss and the four pikemen
VS
Cokro and ???
Strauss rushes for Cokro immediately, expending one charge of [ Dreary ] from his dagger to coat himself in a 3m radius of grey skies. The ogre tires to smash down with its club, but it can’t see a thing.
The next moment, the dagger stabs into its ankles. It bellows, throwing the club wide in the murderer’s direction.
Strauss is already gone. A fist smacks into Cokro’s stomach, doubling him over. Arden ducks back as a longer mace sings down towards him, retreating back into the cloud. A second later, what looks like a spike of iron shoots through the cloud and cracks on the ground.
Arden smacks out with [ Untold Skies ], carving a brick-sized hole in the bigger ogre’s shield. Spikes fire out of the shield, hitting the barrier around Arden’s face.
[ Arden loses 20% Fortification ]
[ Damage Reduced by 25% due to 100% Fortification. ]
[ Arden Barrier Health: 250 —> 150 ]
Arden begins to sing, and to Caau’s eyes the glowing of each person’s outline glows a little more.
[ Arden’s ‘Resonance’ is charging at a rate of 5% [1% + 4% from 11 allies in range (capped at four allies at level I.) ]
Cokro flings a hand through the mist, aiming blindly — but not deafly. His finger graze’s Arden’s shoulder.
[ Cokro uses Detain III ][ Cokro’s health: 300, Arden’s health: 300.][ Detain III adds 25% damage reduction from 100% fortification to hp%][ Cokro’s new health: 375]
[ Arden is detained! ]
Arden is pressed into the ground and suddenly Caau is blind. He can’t see through Strauss’s eyes and the four pikemen are hidden either in or behind the smokescreen that he made.
How did he get detained? Arden’s blessed!
He is. He, a young boy, has nearly as much health as an ogre. Unfortunately for you -- and him, I suppose -- that doesn’t mean he is immune to things.
A long mace swings out of the smoke. Strauss avoids it with ease, then ducks back in and under the turtle-ogre’s shield.
Only for the ogre to slam it down on top of Strauss and crack a few of the man’s ribs. The ogre leans on it, pinning him down, and raises the mace high… only to stop.
[ Unknown’s ‘Retribution’ bar is half full. ]
The ogre releases Strauss, who doesn’t question the decision. He seems… quicker. He swipes across Cokro’s leg again. This time, the Ogre really feels it, bringing up its leg and gripping it. Strauss stabs it again; then again.
He’s even faster now.
[ Strauss’ ‘Speed’ is 70% ]
The Ogre swipes the club out. It’s fast, so fast it’ll catch Strauss with ease. That is, until Strauss’ jumps up, like a short-range teleport but not instantaneous.
Caau thinks back. Ameior can do that too.
Yes and no. Ameior can do that, but he hasn’t used it in a fight with you. No, the Lunar-blood gifted him [ Redirection I ], which allows him to shift his momentum instantly at the cost of 30% of it.
Then, what, did I give Strauss that when I blessed him?
No. The base ability of Strauss’ [ Swiftness I ] path is that his speed grows by 0.5%/s in combat. Add to that the passive bonus from his dagger that starts him off at 30%, and he starts to get pretty fast. He stabbed the ogre quite a few times, and the dagger's 2nd passive gives him 2% each stab.
Burning, at base, 40% of his added speed, he can ‘Jump’, accelerating his movement forward, putting him where he would be in roughly a second or so.
Strauss hits the ground, rolling forward. The cloud is nearly gone, and Arden is locked tight in Cokro’s grip. The smaller ogre is rubbing the wounds on his legs.
The bigger one is smiling viscously.
[ Unknown’s ‘Retribution’ is charged! ]
[ Death Warning: Arden Lockwood ]
—
Fight 2:
Triple Guardians
VS
Mysterious Armour
Onyx goes left, Sapphire goes right. Quartz raises the [ Cracked Staff ] and lets out a [ Simple Energy (Blast) ] that screams out a brilliant ball of light, hurtling through the air towards the armour.
In response, the armour begins to… hum?
[ Unknown’s ‘Resonance’ is building. ]
Sapphire jumps forward, bringing the two [ Crystalline-edge Daggers ] from above in one smooth arc. The armour puts out a hand, and a big red shield of dark-red energy plumes from it. The two daggers scrape against it, sending small cracks of flashing light — and then falling away. She jumps back as the armour scythes a longsword out, attempted to disembowel sapphire's not-guts.
The armour turns to Onyx. And it screams. A big, rolling blast of sonic energy slams into the guardian. He puts the [ Axe of Long Reach ] across him to defend as he has tens of times, but it does nothing. The energy tears into him, ripping chunks of stone away and sending cracks rushing like a river delta across his surface. The black stone sweeps with golden light.
[ Unknown’s Shout deals 75% weapon damage: 30 damage to Onyx. ][ Onyx Health 120 —> 90]
Oh shit. Three more of those…
[ Onyx’s ‘Retribution’ is growing. ]
Retribution? What is that?
The main component of the ‘Ebb and Flow’ path. Taking damage, or seeing your allies take damage (or blocking an attack, if that is something your defensive path can do.) will grow it.
After which, you may create a ‘Retributive Strike’ which at Onyx’s level does… 2x weapon damage + 10% of their current health.
Double damage? That seems good.
The path-specific abilities that modify it really make it shine. 2x + 10% is rather lackluster, actually.
Quartz holds his staff in the air, and a circular disc appears above the armour’s head. A second later, a beam of Celestial energy pours down like torrential rain on the armour.
The armour, for its part, shoves up its hand and creates a shield of dark-red energy above it. Infernal-energy crackles against celestial, sparking waves of crackling energy to rove over the shield and spill out into the air before annihilating itself from existence.
The dark-red shield cracks, and the beam smashes through, pressing the armour into the ground. The metal stresses and creaks, bending inwards so much that the person inside must snap in two.
[ Armour sustains 100 damage. 50 Barrier Left before [ Possession I ] is broken. ]
Possession?
It staggers to its feet, the metal bent inwards, the joints creaking and groaning in protest. Either the person inside is broken beyond repair and standing out of sheer willpower... or there is nobody inside it at all. Before it has a chance to move, Onyx is upon it. He brings the [ Axe of Long Reach ] down like an practiced executioner.
[ Unknown toggles ability: Neverending Roar I ]
Onyx is blasted with shout, taking a step back, ready to weather the storm — only it doesn’t stop. The scream keeps coming, a constant assault on Onyx’s body, unable to block, unable to dodge.
[ 25% of weapon damage/s, 5% Resonance drain per second. ] = [10 dps]
[ Death Warning: Onyx ]