After passing through the security checkpoint and entering The Tomb of the Jackal King's antechamber, Aelius stopped to ask, "Before we venture inside, shall we discuss our formation?"
Without waiting for a response, Aelius explained, "Angil will take point to scan for traps. Behind him, we'll arrange ourselves in a triangle formation with Kris as the vanguard and Ally at the center. That leaves you and me to guard our rear and flanks, Aiden."
Since they were only discussing formations because he was present, Will returned a nod and responded, "Sounds good," in a calm, confident tone. In his previous incarnations, naturally forming Dungeons weren't really a thing. However, as he was familiar with the mechanics of fighting indoors and as a group, he wasn't even a little nervous.
"Right! Then, off we go...!" shouted Aelius, pointing to an opening leading to a long flight of stone stairs.
Despite appearing like a normal mausoleum on the surface, the first floor of The Tomb of the Jackal King was nearly a hundred meters beneath the surface. From there, the interior looked like any other manmade structure, with long hallways, branching paths, and even Mana-powered lamps, but that was only at a glance. It was possible to have two doors or entryways right beside each other, but when you peered into them, you would feel a sense of incongruency as the interiors frequently overlapped, the result of space folding in on itself to create non-euclidean structures.
"Hmmm...?"
Demonstrating another peculiarity of Dungeons, Will's passive detection triggered from an area the party had just passed, compelling him to look back as an inky mass emerged from the stone wall, vaguely resembling a placenta. Several others were expelled from the floor, walls, and ceiling, producing wet sounds as they hit the ground and began contorting due to the creatures within trying to escape.
"Seven spawn on our six...!" shouted Aelius, taking the initiative to charge forward and stab one of the newly birthed monsters, some sort of canine based on its body structure, in the head. It would have been easy for him to charge forward and finish the remaining enemies before they became a serious threat, but since that would break their formation, he fell back and adopted a defensive posture until Angil bellowed, "Front clear...!"
"Engaging solo! Watch my six...!" exclaimed Aelius, charging forward with his curved, scimitar-like blades. His movements weren't particularly fast, but his agility was incredible as he smoothly and nimbly weaved between the canine monsters, slicing all but one down with swift, relaxed strokes.
Though a monster on the surface might have run if it saw its packmates cut down in an instant, the final monster unleashed an ear-piercing howl that produced a rapidly expanding, hazy white shockwave.
"Damnit..." groaned Aelius, gritting his teeth. He had protected the inside of his ears at the last moment, but as Zoans had exceptional hearing, they were inordinately susceptible to sound-based attacks.
Despite the ringing of his ears, Aelius maintained his balance and footing as the monster rushed forward and pounced at him. Then, as he was at least a little disoriented, he stood his ground, raising one of his swords aloft before cutting down in the blink of an eye, producing a bright blue arc that split the monster from snout to stern in an instant.
As the two halves of the monsters flew past him and slid across the floor, Aelius released a breath he had been holding, producing a cloud of faint, bluish-white mist.
"Rear clear...!" shouted Aelius, increasing the amount of Aura channeled to his eardrums to accelerate their recovery.
"All clear front...!" responded Angil, allowing Aelius to relax and breathe a sigh of relief before returning to his position with a smile.
"You good?" asked Will.
"I'm fine," assured Aelius, further explaining, "That's about the maximum spawn for a Dungeon of this difficulty. Unless we enter a trapped room or trigger a stampede by harming the Dungeon's substructure, we shouldn't have to worry about additional spawns for at least a few minutes."
Understanding that Aelius was referring to the Mana pathways flowing through the Dungeon, allowing it to change its shape, spawn monsters, and generate treasures to entice people into its depths, Will gave a curt nod but replied, "Still. We should take it easy until you've recovered fully. If the leader of a party goes down, it jeopardizes the entire group."
"You're not wrong! Hahahaha~" laughed Aelius, finding Will's concern both refreshing and amusing. After all, he hadn't exerted himself even a little in the previous battle. If not for his race's inherent susceptibility to sound-based attacks, it would have ended without incident...
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[Three Hours Later, The Tomb of the Jackal King's 5th Floor]
'Our party is way too strong for this Dungeon...' thought Will, beginning to get bored as he watched Kris defeat a bear-like monster with the ears of a jackal in a single blow. Each of his punches created large cavities in his target's bodies, and thanks to his Aura, any attacks that hit him produced a harsh sound similar to metal scraping against metal, the result being not a scratch on him.
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Catching an ice arrow that attempted to slip past him, aimed at the back of Allyson's head, Will crushed the icy projectile before raising his brows as he spotted what had fired it. It was only briefly, but he glimpsed a pale figure covered in bluish-white fur, possessing eyes reminiscent of ghostly blue flames. More notably, it had distinct feminine features, including wide hips, a thin waist, prominent thighs, small but well-shaped breasts, mane-like hair, and hooved feet reminiscent of a Satyress.
Before disappearing into a wall like a phantom, the figure used a shortbow formed of blackened ice to unleash three more arrows, this time aimed at Will. He shattered them mid-flight with a wave of his left hand, but the icy manacules comprising them didn't disperse and temporarily become inert. Instead, they permeated the air, causing the temperature to plummet and a thin layer of ice to build up on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
"What just happened...?" asked Allyson, turning around as she noticed the sudden decrease in temperature. She was originally focused on Kris, but since he had effortlessly dealt with the trio of bear-like monsters barring their advance, both she and Aelius turned around to see what was going on behind their backs, which had been entrusted to Will.
"Something that looked like a Satyress but more ghostly emerged from the shadows and unleashed several icy arrows before retreating through the wall," explained Will, feeling a sense of incongruence as the figure had reminded him of a video game character from his foremost incarnation. All it was missing was a black, wolf-themed mask...
"Was it covered in blue markings...?" asked Aelius, his expression and tone uncharacteristically serious.
"I think so...?" responded Will, uncertain as he was most focused on the creature's eyes. Most of the monsters they had encountered charged at them like mindless animals, but thanks to his Authority, he could sense a powerful intent driving the ghostly archer's actions.
"Saighba'an..." muttered Aelius, causing Allyson's eyes to widen and Angil to reach up and caress his forehead, laughing dryly as he remarked, "That would certainly explain things..."
"Should I be concerned...?" asked Will, raising his brows as he didn't feel the pale archer was particularly powerful, just sneaky.
"Saighba'an only appear in rare instances when the Dungeon feels like its existence is in jeopardy..." explained Allyson, nervously scanning the area as she added, "They are immortal creatures who drain the essence of the living and grow more relentless as their quarry weakens. It's said that if a Saighba'an sets its sights on you, the only escape is tossing yourself over the world's edge..."
"Lucky for us, it doesn't appear that we're its primary target," said Aelius, giving himself a once over as he explained, "When a Saighba'an chooses a target, it marks them with a Curse known as Death's Pursuit. You'll know if you have it pretty quickly as markings like those covering the Saighba'an will manifest across your body, giving you the sense you're suffering from frostbite but without the necrosis..."
"And there's no way to remove it...?" asked Will.
"There is if you believe the rumors," said Angil, grinning wolfishly but still on alert as he revealed, "It's said that a Saighba'an's power and curse are rooted in two things: the fear of death and the fear of being hunted by an enemy you can't hope to escape or overcome. Therefore, the only way to counteract the curse is to surmount your fear and embrace death itself..."
Making a ring with his left index finger and thumb, Angil inserted his right index finger in the resulting hole and said, "In other words, you have to go on the offense and force it to submit. If you catch my mea-"
Before Angil could finish, Allyson kicked him in his right shin, the fear that previously marred her expression nowhere to be seen as she said, "Don't go around spreading baseless rumors..."
Pretending to be unaffected by Allyson's kick, Angil spread his hands and made a casual shrugging motion, claiming, "Hey, it's not like I was the one who created it. More importantly, I managed to lighten the mood. The last thing you want to do when a Saighba'an is lurking is surrender to fear and paranoia. Don't want to excite the damnable thing."
"Angil is correct..." affirmed Aelius, relaxing his posture as he added, "All things considered, this is actually a good thing. Saighba'an vanish when they've successfully hunted their target. Since this one is still wandering about, it means we're not the only people in this Dungeon."
"It also explains why people started going missing..." added Allyson, still tense but gradually calming as she argued, "Someone must have caused substantial damage to the Dungeon or targeted its core directly. Then, for one reason or another, the Saighba'an was unable to eliminate them. Now, it's wandering the Dungeon, biding time and hunting additional prey until its primary target weakens or loses the will to resist..."
"Makes sense," said Aelius, crossing his arms and nodding. "Saighba'an are better known for their perseverance than their strength. There are a number of stories about powerful Warriors enduring its pursuit for months or even years before finally succumbing. The real question is...if its target is still alive, why haven't they left the Dungeon?"
"Perhaps they got themselves trapped and then damaged the Dungeon attempting to escape...?" proposed Angil.
"It's possible," conceded Aelius. "But if that were the case, the search and rescue party sent after them would have undoubtedly returned. Even with a Saighba'an roaming about, this place isn't that dangerous."
Interrupting the group's discussion, five inky sacs began sloughing down from the ceiling, taking the form of a nearly three-meter-tall bear covered in bristly black fur and four canine monsters.
Instead of charging in, as per usual, Aelius made an exceptionally swift swiping motion with the sword in his left hand, a thin crescent of bluish-white energy surging down the corridor, cutting down the entire group of monsters in a single go.
"As I was saying..." said Aelius, resting his sword on his shoulder as he turned to the group. "This place is classified as safe for C-Rank parties. For B-Ranks like ourselves, the monsters within barely serve to help us stay warm."
As the temperature decreased the deeper you delved into a Dungeon, up to around nine hundred meters, it was already a bit nippy even before the Saighba'an unleashed her frigid arrows.
"In other words, someone or something other than the Saighba'an and the Dungeon are keeping them here..." posed Will. "That person or entity could also be the one to have damaged the Dungeon. Or, perhaps..."
Curious to know what Will was thinking, Allyson asked, "Perhaps what?"
Shrugging, Will contended, "There's a chance the Saighba'an isn't native to this Dungeon at all. If it's true they can follow their quarry to the edge of the world, what's to stop them from pursuing them into a Dungeon...?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Though Will's words sounded outlandish, none within the group could refute them. It was, in fact, possible someone had lured the Saighba'an into the Dungeon. The question from there became...for what purpose?
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