POV Korim Whisperwind

Elven eyes scanned the impressive fortifications for any weakness and found very few. The bastion that overlook the stairs leading down into the flooded basement was crowded to the brim with mice. Each one, according to Boris, was Bronze Rank with a few Iron Ranks strewn among them. Three of those Iron Ranks were stationed on towers that looked remarkably like those used by wizards to defend walls. They even had tiny staves with gemstones set into the top.

The one side of his mouth quirked upward at that thought but the serious nature of the opposition cooled his humor. His team would laugh once they were large again. As of this moment, numerous creatures were beginning to reach levels where they might just be able to do them harm. At the very least it would be an interesting fight. As always his eyes flickered to Natalia, wanting to gauge when to strike. There were possible other reasons as well but he took those thoughts captive with an ease born of constant practice.

It was hard to be patient when the object of your affection was nearby. Technically he was able to renew his addresses to her but he had learned over time that capitalizing on technicalities often made others think less of you. So he waited, as patiently as he was able, for a sign that it was okay to pursue. She knew his affections, of that he was certain, so now it was up to her to pursue him. If she wanted his attention then she would let him know.

A movement from up on the wall had Korim flashing his gaze that way. Three impressively jacked mice were pushing their way to the front of the line there. Korim stared at the strange creatures. Their fur glistened metallically in the little light there was while being shaggy in odd places giving the mice the appearance that they wore armor. Muscles rippled under their fur, brutal-looking claws extended from their paws, and the aura they gave off was a familiar one. He looked toward Natalia and by the tightening around her eyes he knew she was thinking the same thing.

He heard Boris swear and looked over to him, as did the other members of the party. The mage had that glow in his eyes when he was using magic to ascertain a creature’s ranking. “They are Steel Rank,” he muttered and Korim’s eyes widened involuntarily. That was quite the jump but not necessarily unexpected. After all, the Mouse Guardian up above was Iron Rank and this was evidently two whole Floors below it in depth.

Korim was just surprised to find they hadn’t found the end yet. For such a young Dungeon to have so many Floors was unusual and would normally be considered dangerous as it increased the likelihood of actual monsters spawning, consuming the Dungeon, and then turning into a Feral Dungeon instead. This ‘Valterra’ was certainly turning out to be different than most Dungeons that was for sure.

At a hand gesture from Natalia, the Delving team readied themselves, and at another, they sprang into action. There were actually Delver protocols on how to best attack a castle with defenders as quite a few Dungeons ended up having some form of stronghold. They were generally more natural in appearance but the end result was structurally the same. That, and the hordes of defending creatures that generally poured out to stop invaders from puncturing the defenses.

Korim was surprised, therefore, when the mice on the wall did no such thing, letting the Delvers approach the walls unimpeded. They were steady and many gave off the appearance of actual soldiery with needles being used for swords like some of those on the higher Floors. These mice were distinct from the others in that they held themselves well and their eyes seemed to hold an instinctive intellect for battle that the others didn’t have.

Still, it was a simple matter to divert attention in multiple different directions and then leap upward to breach the wall. Each person in the Delving party had a different method. For Korim it was as simple as activating his Wind Dance to slingshot him over the wall and out of range of the mice and their needles. At least it should have been simple.

In a flash of colorful light, Korim found himself at a different section of the wall where apparently just a moment before, Boris had been busy forcing his way through the ranks of mice with a rock spell. Now Boris was high over the wall where Korim had been and the girlish squeal he let loose was humorous enough to have made the whole Delving group laugh if it hadn’t been in the middle of a Dungeon.

It didn’t take long to identify the culprits as further flashes indicated that Natalia and Aliria were switched mid-breach as well with Gisham being the only member who wasn’t teleported. The mice on the towers glowed with golden indigo light, their staves gleaming brightly as they began switching spells. It was a smart move to teleport them and for there to be such an effect was truly impressive. It took a lot of energy to teleport an unwilling creature but as soon as he had the thought Korim knew it was wrong.

In the eyes of the Aether coursing around them, he was rather small, and the mages, though Iron Rank, had the necessary reserves to cast such a spell upon such a tiny target. At least enough to shift them a foot or so away from where they had been. An exchange of targets was even more difficult but with three mages working in concert, he wasn’t surprised they had pulled it off. What was surprising was the very evident surprise that the mice exhibited when their next spell summoned crawling vines that engulfed Boris in mid-air.

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Korim couldn’t help it. Even as he dodged attacks from a multitude of mice he let out a chuckle that soon turned into true laughter. They had no idea what they were doing. Given the Dungeon’s track record, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to conclude that these were newly evolved creatures and still coming to grips with their power. It was either that or simply an element of them not quite being sapient yet but regardless it was humorous in the extreme.

Even while laughing Korim didn’t relinquish his skills. His party demonstrated their experience in how they managed to overcome the sudden shift in terrain. Natalia was fine since her power set allowed her to go toe to toe against pretty much everything and outheal it. Gisham was similar simply from his position as tank for the party as wherever there was an obstacle he just lowered his head and plowed through it.

Boris lit up the castle as the vines burst into flames around him. Once he landed he began dueling the mages on the towers, a wild smile on his lips. Korim thought he looked quite deranged but Boris always said it was just his battle lust coming out. Colors rippled in the air as Aether of different affinities was called forth. It was beautiful in its own way as miniature explosions and broken weaves flashed in the space between Boris and the towers.

Aliria had somehow wrestled a needle away from one of the mice and was doing her best to combat the mess she had fallen into, sending pinpoint applications of her Pop Petals into the ranks of the mice before her. The miniature applications of her normal sound magic seemed just as effective on the mice with many of them covering their sensitive ears and retreating.

Korim himself remained elusive flickering over the heads of mice and striking quickly before dodging away from any retaliation and moving to his next target. He took a trick out of Aliria’s book and disarmed two mice of their needles. Now properly armed he could activate his Dance of Steel ability that he had gotten, and evolved, from the Monster core of an Iron Rank Steel Tiger when he had still been down south. The ability turned him into an even more graceful fighter so long as he had steel in his hands. It didn’t even have to be steel really but it did require weapons, something about Aether transfer.

Regardless, Korim began his dance with each step leading into another. He made sure to keep his movements strictly controlled so as not to kill any of the mice accidentally. It helped that he had turned the needles around so that he wasn’t using the points. From then on all it required was restraint in order to prevent caving in their skulls. That was made all the harder when his ability really got going.

The dance had steps after all and the more steps you completed the more deadly you became. It was an ability that let Korim become a force multiplier but he was rapidly reaching the point where any more steps would cause him to reach a level where he was killing mice in one hit. That or he would pulverize whatever ligament he targeted instead of their head or chest.

So he switched tactics, pulling out another of his abilities even as he canceled his Dance of Steel. Third Eye was rather common in the South, at least it had been before the Feral Dungeon the monsters spawned from had to be put down. It allowed Korim to read the intentions of his opponents and therefore let him react before the action even took place. With his ability active Korim once again became a menace until his section of the wall was cleared.

He turned to find the rest of the squad having cleaned up the majority of the mice as well. Gisham was duking it out with one of the jacked mice who was slashing at him with its massive clawed paws. With it standing over the shrunken man, its true size was revealed with it being almost the same size as the Guardian at almost a foot tall. It towered over Gisham and although its larger size gave it an advantage Grisham remained mostly unaffected even without the shield he normally hid behind.

Boris was still dueling the mage mice but their weird magic did little to stop a trained Battle Mage of the Magisterium Collegium even if it was three-on-one. As he was watching one of the mice collapsed from evident Aether Exhaustion and the other two mice decided to teleport away with their comrade rather than stay and fight the smiling mage. Still smiling the mage turned and began to help with the three remaining mice.

Korim figured he would do the same. The three Steel Rank mice seemed unaware of the fighting that was dying down around them. If anything it made them angrier as if they realized the fighting would end soon. Their eyes blazed with battle lust as their claws, jaws, and whipping tails sought to rend their foes apart. The party would have to disappoint them.

Korim dashed along the wall to where Aliria was fighting one and skidded under a tail whip in order to leap up and back, slamming his foot into the creature's ear. It howled in rage and pain trying to switch targets only for Aliria to punish its distraction. From there it was pretty simple for the two Silver Rankers to beat it into unconsciousness but Korim had to admit that its endurance was formidable.

When they were finished the pair turned to find that Grisham, with the help of Boris had brought down their big mouse, and all that was left was the captain. Korim watched with a fond smile as Natalia went toe to toe with the last one, her manic smile in full display and her powers blazing away. There was no contest of course. She was a full rank higher and had immense sustain with her power set, enough to be a tank all on her own as she had shown on the rare occasions that Grisham went down.

Korim sighed and settled in to watch, looking on as the others took their lead from his. It wouldn’t due to deprive their leader of the well-deserved catharsis that could come from a slugfest. That she felt comfortable doing so in front of them gave Korim hope that she would be ready to talk soon. As she watched her fist slam into the mouse’s jaw he shook his head in admiration. ‘What a woman,’ he thought with a small smile.