Cyrus seemed to constantly be falling into the terrible habit of waking up with a headache. Though unlike usual, this would be the first time he ever did so because of alcohol. Then again, it was the first time he drank in general. Not that it was unpleasant experience or anything but the number of times that he tossed up his stomach contents was terrible. If he was going to drink again, perhaps next time he'd be a little more careful. Grim’s tolerance wasn’t even fair, the demon downed drink after drink and never threw up a single time, if Cyrus didn’t know better he’d call Grim an alcoholic.
Even Farah, for all her tolerance was suffering from the morning hangover. Grim was the only one of the four who seemed entirely unaffected. Vaguely, he wondered if stats had an effect on alcohol and your own resistance to its effects. In a way drinking could be seen as poisoning yourself, all you need is the proper resistance to delay its effects. Odds were that Constitution would play the most into such resistances. Even though he lacked such a resistance ability, his recovery had bee significantly improved just by his increased stats alone. The headache lasted no more than half an hour and by the time the group left the garden.
Unfortunately, it had been reasoned that by Farah that it was in their best interests to take off early. The less people the group ran into, the better. Even though they all wore masks, Farah able to supply her own being an assassin, the disappearance of Serence would not go unnoticed. If someone started asking questions, it may not be impossible to pick up leads on where he had last been seen. The less people asked, the safer it would be until they were strong enough to handle things on their own. The fact was, even if they did have a plan to take down the Guild master using evidence against him, this still didn’t change the fact that were far weaker than him.
At the very least, it would be ideal if they were able to handle some of the people around him or those that guarded his private home. Farah believed in her abilities well enough, but even she doubted her stealth would be enough to get past his defenses. She was so unnoticeable due to her innate ability to hide her aura because of her class, however if someone is high enough level then even she won’t be able to hide it. In other words, she needed more levels to raise the chances of her obtaining any evidence. In addition, both Grim and Peluna weren’t level 50 yet, the hope was that completing a large quest would help them in that endeavor.
Ultimately all this was for the long-term goal but for now, levels and money were important so Grim took it upon himself to receive a quest from the Guild that would challenge them to work together. Now that there was another strong offensive person on their team, the strategy for their team was ever changing. Farah’s abilities lied mostly in the realm of one-on-one combat; against a group she was weakened. In a way, this was an opposite concept to Cyrus’ ability in which he could take on large number’s of enemies at once. While he wasn’t weak against single combat, he didn’t have the same specialization that she did.
The trio had waited patiently at the dungeon entrance while Grim received the quest, intent on getting a head start on any other adventurers before they came through. Thankfully, he didn’t take long and shared the quest as soon as he came over.
*System Update: Quest – A realm King has been hording an army in one section of the dungeon. Eventually, this could result in an overwhelming dungeon outbreak if not stopped. Kill the incursion leader to disarray the army (0/1). OPTIONAL – Kill the realm King (0/1). Rewards: Unknown. Consequences: Dungeon Outbreak/Unknown*
“Wow Grim, you really known how to pick and choose ‘em. I’m pretty sure this is a rank above what you should’ve grabbed.” Peluna complains after reading the description. To be fair, Cyrus pretty much agree with her, the ant incursion was bad enough.
Grim, for all his seriousness chuckles in response and rubs his palm over the back of his neck nervously. “Well… there weren’t many other quests besides herb gathering. And uh… a couple other parties did try this quest but they never came back.”
“That last part really isn’t helping your case there buddy. Basically other parties with more people tried this and still died. So you decided we should get in line?” Cyrus asks with exasperation, rubbing his hands over his face.
Even though he made a good case to not go, Farah still elbows him in the gut, knocking the wind out a bit. It was meant to be playful, but she plays too rough. “Where’s your sense of adventure? How can you three even be a part of the guild when you’re going to run away now. Besides, if we don’t survive this than that’s a clear sign our original plan was doomed to fail anyways.”
If there were two voices in his head, Farah would be the devil side. Everything she said was right, but she had a screw loose so he wasn’t sure if he should take her seriously. “Fine, you’re right Farah we might as well. But if anything goes wrong I’m tripping you first.”
Her fake hurt expression only amused him further and she gave him puppy dog eyes. “You wouldn’t dare trip an innocent damsel such as myself. I’m too pretty to get eaten or die.”
“I’m PRETTY sure they’d choke and spit you out. Nothing good comes from that.” Grim comments offhandedly from behind as they descend into the dungeon. Peluna snorts in response, holding back a laugh and even Cyrus can’t help but crack a smile at the joke.
Despite the comment, Farah’s calmly takes out her hunting knife and begins flipping it calmly in her hand. “It would be a shame if we ran out of food down there, we’d have to cut up the one with the most meat first in order to survive.”
The comment sends a shudder up Cyrus’ spine, with her tone one could never tell weather she was serious or joking. Honestly, he could see it going both ways given her… tastes.
“You say that and yet it’ll be the best meal you idiots ever get in your life. You should be thankful to get a piece of me.” Grim replies proudly, not at all taking offense.
A loud smack can be heard from behind, Peluna having hit him in the back of the head. “That is not something to brag about. We’re not eating anyone and can we please not talk about who would make the best meal? My stomach disagrees with you two.”
“I’ve gotta concur with Peluna on this one. You two are unhinged.” Cyrus agrees, rubbing his eyes as they begin to get closer to the first floor of the dungeon. This was going to be a looooooong trip if the first 5 minutes were anything to measure by.
The area became darker and gradually Peluna cast more balls of light to brighten the path. The last time they descended into the dungeon, the path they took led to the anthill and had further passages that led to the depths of the dungeon. This time, they would be going in the opposite direction. According to adventurers who attempted to further map the dungeon, this path led to the Risen Army. Skeleton warriors that numbered in the thousands once enough of them collected, by themselves they were nothing special but together they possessed a much larger power. The problem was, they only gathered together when they had a leader to guide them, only leaders were capable of organizing so many skeleton.
In this case, the leader would be the incursion leader who is equal in rank to the ant Prince that organized its own army. It was likely that the incursion leader would be stronger than the Prince though, due to the Risen being deeper in the dungeon. The realm King was a different story, these were unique creatures that only existed one at a time in a section of the dungeon. The ant Prince was not unique and there could have been more, making it a Boss. The realm leader would be the ant King instead of a Prince. At the time of facing the Prince, if there was a King nearby he and Peluna would surely have been squashed.
“So, any chance that any of you have been this way before?” Cyrus asked the group.
“Nope.”
“Thankfully not.”
“It’s my first time in the dungeon.”
All eyes turned to the owner of the last comment. Farah. A level 56 having never been in the dungeon? If they didn’t know her that would raise a lot of questions. But being an assassin made things pretty simple as an answer. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t choose to take another step away from her, social distancing so to speak. She must’ve found their reactions funny because she was smirking like usual.
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As the merry band of misfits walked the narrow cave around them began to transform into an entirely different world. Before, Peluna and Cyrus had encountered vast jungles, underground volcanoes, and massive anthills. This time, the dungeon had in store a change in scenery. Not that it was a good one or anything. This had to be the closest to ruins the dungeon truly came, before their eyes was a massive city. The only difference between these and the ones on the surface were that what lay before them was abandoned. Broken doors, crushed houses and stores, littered with the bones of those who lived here past. The mood itself was gloomy, looking around was no different the seeing an aboveground cemetery.
Normally skeletons were supposed to be wandering souls, scattered endlessly with no pattern, or meaning. With an incursion leader there were changes in their behavior. Now, patrols wandered the streets we if searching for any intruders. They were equipped like gladiators; some wore heavy armor while others had none at all. While the numbers were massive, most of the patrols seemed to wield crude weapons. Rusty swords with chipped edges, wooden bows that were of poor quality. In the end, it was a fortunate trade off. Even if skeletons were weak, sheer numbers with good weapons could overwhelm even the strongest off warriors.
Unfortunately, the city was a metropolis so no sight off the full army or incursion leader were in sight. They would have to do some exploring if there were to bear any fruit in that respect.
Without warning, Farah ran ahead and began sliding down the cliff face towards the city. “Last one to the bottom is a rotten corpse!”
“Why did you let her come along again Cyrus? She’s going to run me up a wall if you don’t control her!” Peluna rolls her eyes as the group makes to chase after her. Following the path she’s carving out on the cliff face towards the bottom. Their boots digging lightly into the rock, just enough for each step to flat ground.
Unfortunately for Peluna, she touches down last. “I guess Peluna will have to join the corpses, too slow.” Farah laughs and sticks her tongue out playfully.
Despite the good-hearted nature of the comments, Peluna isn’t taking the joking around very well and is only getting more frustrated. “This isn’t the place to mess around! You’re going to get us all killed if you keep acting like this is a game.” She growls at the assassin. The hostility was surprising, especially since Peluna is normally the calm one out of the group.
“Woah easy now Peluna, there’s no need to get mad at her. Even if she is acting a bit childish.” Grim steps between them, acting like a buffer between their sharp gazes.
“No let her get mad Grim. There’s no need for her to keep being so stuck up about everything. Not everyone is going to act nicely according to her wishes.” Farah retorts, crossing her arms with her eyes narrowed. For someone with good social skills, she was terrible at reading the room. Or perhaps it was more like she chose not to on purpose.
“Farah, I don’t think now’s the time to sort thi-“ Cyrus begins before being cut off by Peluna instead.
“Why isn’t it the time Cyrus? Because you never want to tell the truth or engage in social disputes? It’s like your scared of words.”
Cyrus winced at the accusation, there was no point in denying something that was true. But if he were going to be forced to have this conversation, it sure as hell wasn’t going to take place thousands of feet underground with skeleton roaming nearby. There was a time and place for anything, this was not one of those. Last time, Cyrus had Serence to come to his save when he was being accused and previously it had been Grim. This time, it was Farah.
“You seem to spend a lot of time poking at his private business, any reason for that little priestess?” Farah accuses her, poking Peluna right in the chest.
In turn, the accused looks more like someone just told her that reality wasn’t real. “I’m not poking at anything! You wouldn’t understand that I’m only trying to help because you’re too busy playing with knives!” Peluna raises her voice, making it echo in the open cavern.
Their argument is interrupted as Grim claps his hands together between them, making both flinch. Even Cyrus is wavered by the sudden show of force. “Listen, as much as I’d love for you two to hash out your problems. I don’t think those skeletons are going to wait like I am.” He says, pointing to two approaching patrols.
*Skeleton Captain – Level 41*
*Skeleton Warrior – Level 35*
*…*
Both patrols have a Captain at the front wearing a degree of armor covering their bodies. The bulk of the skeletons in the patrol average the mid 30’s for their levels as well. Nothing too crazy, but an army of a hundred or thousand would surely be a strong force. Cyrus could see why the guild would find an incursion to be a large problem and send adventurers after them before it got out of hand.
“Captain’s are level 40ish, the warriors are mainly mid 30’s, nothing we can’t handle.” Cyrus informs his companions, drawing his rapier and covering it with Void right away.
“I count 28 normal warriors between the patrols, what’s the plan boss? Much as I like a good fight, I can’t take that much heat.” Farah asks as she whips out two of her knives. Holding one at a downward angle in a reverse grip and the other one upward. Despite the issues just before she focuses up really quick.
Despite their groups overall better levels and skill, this would still come down to a numbers game without a plan. The damage they could inflict wasn’t high per individual until you paid attention to the accumulative total. Two patrols meant that there were two possible encounters, once they merged it would become one large face off. If they could take on one group at a time that would be more advantageous for their party, wiping one quickly before moving onto the second. If only there was a way to divide the groups... there was.
Even with their levels, the skeletons didn’t seem all that powerful individually and probably shouldn’t be able to do all that much damage to Grim with his armor. It would take a lot to dent that moving pile of metal, mainly being magic which none of these blokes seemed to possess. With that, a plan formulated in his mind.
“Peluna you’re on defense, use your barriers to separate the skeletons from one another as much as possible. Create some space.”
“On it!”
“Farah, target the archers first and work your way through to the warriors. One at a time.”
“Easy for me.”
“Grim, charge the center of the group to throw them in chaos. You’re a hulking mass, just make sure to keep moving and Peluna will protect your blind spots.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
With his orders given out, Cyrus activated [Wrath] and slashed the ground between the two patrol groups. Purple fire erupting from the ground and cutting them off from one another. The moment the fire began, he could feel his magic depleting at a fast but manageable rate. He hadn’t used any today so he was on a full tank, but that wouldn’t last forever and he wouldn’t be able to do this every fight either.
Grim rushed forward with speed unbefitting of his size, ramming like a bowling ball in the center of the group of skeletons. Most of them turned to face the armored boulder that dared to break their ranks, that was the first mistake they made. Cyrus was just seconds behind the demon and made straight for the Captain of the first patrol. Sadly, this was one of the only bone heads not to turn and face the demon so his sword was blocked by a machete. While the Captain had some strength to back itself up with, there was no speed and no strategy behind its defenses. A single blow to the rib cage shatter the bones and caused them to fall apart like Jenga tower.
Farah used the confusion to move around behind the skeletons, taking the time to avoid any attackers and go right for the two archers. Both of them were focused on Grim, who was being protected from their arrows by Peluna’s barriers. Focus was good, but their lack of awareness was a weakness for the skeletons. While the knives themselves were small, they were clearly high quality as she drove them through the skull of the two archers, felling them with one strike each.
Grim was truly an inspiration to the role of tank, several crude weapons merely bounced off his armor with little to no effect on his health. While it did damage to his body, the amount was miniscule compared to what it would be for anyone else if they had been in his role. His fists roared like beasts, punching, and thrashing any that would go near him. While they didn’t defeat the skeletons on impact, they were effectively driven back even if he hit their armor. The best part, Grim didn’t even try to block unless the blows was aimed for his head or a gap in the armor. Everything else he let hit him with stride, not caring for the damage in the slightest.
Despite the fight, Cyrus found himself smiling. For all their differences and problems, he really had put together a pretty nice party. None of them were alike, yet they worked so well together. Like pieces in a puzzle, the fit in a way that only they could fit, no one else could fill that role. As he and Farah carved through the remaining few skeletons, he deactivated his [Wrath] spell and the second patrol descended on them just as hastily.
As it turned out, skeletons were not learning creatures. Or at least these ones were not, as the same strategy was employed with the same level of effectiveness as before. Facing non-strategic humanoid creatures was much easier than human or ants, he could easily predict their movements and with Albus’ training all the attacks seemed slow. For the first time in maybe any fight he ever got in, not a single blow even glanced him. The only thing that got on him was crushed bone matter from his enemies.
The second patrol feel just as easily, and it may have even been cause for some celebration. That is, if it weren’t for the arrival of a third party. Their noisy battle seemed to attract plenty of unwanted attention as it turned out. In the distance there were two figures running towards them, being chased by one much larger figure. Looking closer, the two smaller figures looked to be adventurers. Two demons with their arms of one another’s shoulders, one was limping badly with blood all over his leg and body while the other was nearly carrying him. The larger figure was far more cause for concern.
*Evolved Skeleton Warrior – Level 65*
It’s body was completely covered in armor and behind in the distance there were more skeletons intent on catching up but lagging a few minutes behind. The evolved skeleton was definitely going to catch the two demons though. That is, unless they decided to intervene before the skeleton did catch up. Looking at the 8 foot behemoth, that was a major IF.