image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/738acc28-cad5-44aa-a786-18eb20ff7844/0_0.png]

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New Reality: 31 August 1525, Rome

To make the trip faster and avoid triggering the wall skeletons, Ardent projected the tunnel's view on both his and Raphael's phones. The Spaniard begged to be released but was met with a refusal, in the form of a slap on the head from Martin. To make sure he wouldn't try to run, his glasses were offered to Elisa and Meantongue had been summoned to guard him.

Ten minutes later, the skeletons stuck in the walls disappeared, after they crossed an intersection with another tunnel, and a faint light started to shine on the walls, some bioluminescent moss. Ardent tied D'Ávalos' hands and feet, putting the man near a wall, and sent the Mimic to scout ahead, in stealth.

Meanwood returned very fast. It was the first time Ardent saw the mimic being livid, his wood discolored by terror. "M-master… w-we have to r-run. T-there's n-no w-way t-to b-beat t-that!"

"Stay back, coward. I'll go see what's up myself," Ardent sneered, dismissing the Mimic.

For a moment, he regretted not having Stealth anymore, but he did have Silent Steps, so he glued himself to the walls and proceeded with caution. A hundred yards later, the tunnel finished on a round platform, ten feet wide, circling above a giant cavern, maybe five hundred feet wide and a half that size in height. Four sets of stairs descended toward the ground, each in front of a tunnel, the latter opening at regular spaces. Ardent crawled forward and pushed his head up, peeking over the stone railing.

In the middle of the grotto was the boss, a giant construct made of bones, humanoid in appearance, over thirty yards in height, but only three in width, which made it appear caricatural. As a head, a cluster of skulls shaped like a throne, on which a man sat, dressed in a plain tunic and linen pants. Nothing made him appear out of the ordinary. He was holding a smartphone in front of his mouth, set on speaker.

Where the hell did he get a phone? Ardent thought.

"I need sunlight to finish the dungeon, and I need it fast!" the man said. "Some idiot broke the artifact and interrupted the ritual."

"I have problems of my own," a voice said from the phone. It was Mickey, and it made Ardent sneer and clench his fists. They had a traitor in their midst. "Why aren't you digging up?"

"If I leave the Lair, the spell will be broken," the monster said. "The smallest patch of sunlight getting inside here would do."

"Send me a map of the dungeon." Huascar pressed the screen a few times, and after half a minute, Mickey spoke again. "I'll send some Roman friends to help. There's a spot that can be blown up with high explosives, just above the lair. Half an hour max and you're good to go."

"Hurry up." The man hung up and sighed. It sounded so natural that it gave Ardent the creeps. An impulse made him throw an Insight. Despite the distance, it managed to offer a very detailed description. Fuck! Ardent cursed and hurried to rejoin the others.

"It's bad," he started directly. "I analyzed the monster, and it spews out information like a—"

"Di— err, fountain water," Martin said, changing his choice of words on the spot, because Elisa was present, and he exchanged a meaningful wink with Ardent, meaning: See, I can be a gentleman too, on occasions, and avoid the dicks and stuff!

"For those with the System, here is the description, the rest can watch on the screen," Ardent said, showing the notification both in chat and on the phone.

Avatar of Corrupted Sun Magic

A concentration of sentient but corrupted Wild Magic, brought to life by the bad karma of countless human sacrifices and tied to the body of Huascar, an Evil Priest, equivalent of Rank S+

HP: 1.000.000 MP: ???

Strengths: Highly resistant to physical attacks, total immunity to Light, and most Elemental magic.

Weakness: Shadow Magic, Darkness, poor detection skills (its sensors are inserted in the Dungeon's walls, currently unfinished or innactive). Possible weakness to elemental magic: Gravity (TBD).

"How can sun magic be bad?" Martinko asked, looking a bit befuddled. "I mean—"

"It's corrupted, duh," Donnie said. "Those South American nobles are not better than the Spanish. They all exploit their peoples and other tribes, sacrificing them to their gods and stuff."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What do you mean they're not better than us?" D'Avalos protested. "We bring them civilization and true religion."

"Not anymore, according to Clement," Ardent said. "Never mind, shut your pie hole or I'll gag you. Guys, and milady," he bowed toward Elisa, "we're in deep s… trouble. That boss has to go down, and fast."

"I wonder what my DPS is," Martin says, ogling his sizable fists, raised in front of his eyes.

"You're a tank, Popo," Ardent sneered. "I'll DPS, you concentrate on Taunting."

"Wait!" Elisa said, forwarding her hands. "Let's take the time to think, to put together what we know. Thinking will advance us faster than rushing blindly into battle."

"Of course, dumb violence never solved anything," Martinko added, starring daggers at his father.

Elisa gave him a thankful nod, which started an attack of jealousy in Ardent. He was already imagining the delicate Muse and the frail Saint discovering they were meant for each other, breaking his heart… maybe he'd kill Martinko in a fit of rage… no, he wanted Elisa to be happy, and she'd be happier with another—

"Are you OK, man?" Raph asked, interrupting his inner rant. "You're wobbling and staring into nothingness."

Ardent took a deep breath. "I'm OK, thanks." He immediately decided to present his simple idea about the fight in an elaborate way, to give Elisa the impression he's smart. And what better way to do it than adding the word 'think'? "I think Martin should tank, down there, and Donnie will concentrate on healing him. Maybe throwing some anti-undead spell from time to time—"

"Told you before, my powers don't work on those minions," Donnie said.

"It animates the bones with sun magic, not necromancy," D'Ávalos said. "A concept called clean energy. There's a mysterious stranger who gave Huascar the idea."

"It's not mysterious, nor a stranger anymore," Ardent growled, remembering a slight detail he had forgotten. "It's Mickey. He betrayed us, I heard him talking with Huascar on the phone… Never mind, it doesn't matter," he continued, to interrupt the series of gasps Donnie and Raph bounced between each other. "What matters is to kill that thing and the priest. OK, where were we? Yeah, I think you should concentrate on healing, Donnie. Raph has Stealth, so he'll attack from the rear, Elisa…"

He closed his lips tightly, hesitating. Asking her to stay away was insulting, and getting her in battle was dangerous and potentially distracting.

"I won't get in the way," she said, guessing his inner dilemma. "My shields are strong, I… want to be there to protect whoever is in need…" she finished, and avoided Ardent's eyes, blushing.

"Very well," Ardent said. "We'll alternate shielding, but stay in a safe area. Ralphie, you have some shadow attacks, right? Don't spare them."

"It's Raph, for goodness' sake, and yes, I have Shadow Damage," the Italian said. "Don't worry, I'm good at my job. Now, before we go, does anyone want a little encouragement?"

Saying that the Ninja produced a flat flask from his inventory, opening the lid. A sweet scent of brandy spread around, its quality evident and quite enticing. Martin sighed deeply, his eyes filling with tears.

"Martinko, can't you do something to ease his pain?" Ardent pleaded. "I dunno, change that curse so he could drink a glass a day or something? It will help him in battle."

"Please, son," Martin pleaded, making puppy eyes.

"It's not a curse, it's a blessing, and blessings can't be undone," Martinko turned his palms upward.

Elisa clapped her hands softly, to attract their attention. "But it might be in my powers. I'll twist your son's blessing so that you enjoy drinking moderately."

"If you help this old man, I'll consider you like a daughter, and I mean it," Martin said.

While the rest of them passed the flask around, taking each a sip, Elisa touched the priest's hand, closing her eyes. Half a minute later, she nodded, and Martin snatched the flask from Ardent's hands, drinking the remains instantly.

"Bwaaaaa!" the priest screamed, pulling Elisa in his hug, tears sprinkling over her hair.

"Hey, you're crushing her!" Ardent interjected, trying to unclutch Martin's arms.

"I'm OK," Elisa panted once free. "But if we're at that, why don't I try to give a gift to all of you?" She started walking around, touching each one head or shoulders with her palm. Finally, he stopped in front of Ardent, lowering her head. "I'm sorry, my gifts work only once."

"It's OK," he smiled, fondling her shoulder, forgetting they had witnesses. "What did you guys get?"

"Instant casting for otherwise channeled in-combat spells, only for a minor increase in mana cost," Donatello said.

"Shadow attacks do more damage and a new ranged skill: Shadow Shuriken," Raphael continued.

"Peace of mind," Martinko shrugged, but his stance was more relaxed.

"I got a class, Tactician," d'Ávalos said. "Started at level five. Thanks, milady."

What the fuck? She gave him a gift too? Swallowing his discontent, Ardent unsheathed his dagger and released the Spaniard, cutting the ropes that restrained him. "Since you're awakened now, make yourself useful."

"B-but I'm only level five!" the man protested.

"You can press a trigger, can't you? And don't even think of betraying us, or you'd be deader than those skeletons." Calling the Mimic out, he pulled two rifles from the monster's storage, a sniper model and a Winchester, handing the latter to D'Avalos and showing him how to pull the lever. "There're fifteen bullets in there, make them count. Aim carefully, don't waste the ammunition."

"How can I recharge it?" the man asked.

"If it comes to that, I'll do it. My minions will go ahead to take positions. Popa, don't start anything before I say so. Raph, you're free to use your judgment. D'Ávalos, fire from the exit of our tunnel and try not to hit the others. Even if do it by accident, I'll still kill you. We keep radio silence, I mean we use the chat."

"Just a second, I'm adding a buff, Inspiration," Elisa said, concentrating. "All skills and spells perform ten percent faster and better… My Mana is at half though. Does anyone have a Mana potion?"

"Meanwood should have a few in storage," Ardent said, and the mimic offered one to the woman without the need to be ordered to. "Let's go." Summoning Dragon as well, he sent the steed and the Mimic ahead. As soon as they were on the lower floor, taking cover behind some large stone formations, he invoked an energy shield over each member of the party and pulled gently on Elisa's arm.

They walked forward, gingerly exited the tunnel, went left on the platform, and took a position at the mouth of the next tunnel. He then signaled the rest, raising his hand. D'Ávalos knelt, supporting his rifle on the platform's stone railing, Raph disappeared, Donnie went to the right, and Martinko peeked out from the tunnel.

Ardent waved at the Saint, pushing his hands in a reverse beckoning gesture, to make him go back and out of harm's way. He had no idea if Martinko had some protection but didn't think so and neither wanted to find out the hard way. Finally, he gave a thumbs-up to Martin.