Date: May 15? 2020 - 11:00 am?

Location: West Byzantine? (C-rank Dungeon)

They looked like large, mechanical owls. They had glowing red eyes and bodies seemingly made of steel. Although large, they were not nearly as giant as the vultures from earlier. In fact, the size of these owls were around the same as a true Earth counterpart, the Blakiston’s fish owl, with a wingspan of six feet. None of Dungeoneers present knew about this owl fact, though, and assumed that they were much too big.

Francesco began sprinting up the stairs. One by one, the other Dungeoneers sped up as the one in front started running. However, the mechanical owls arrived before even Francesco could get to the top. Although, this wasn’t an issue for Francesco who could easily defend himself using his spear that instantly pierced through the owls’ metal bodies when they came into range. Most of the other Dungeoneers attempted to shoot them down, but the bullets, for the most part, only dented their bodies. Once they got close enough, the owls started swooping at them, metal talons at the ready. Some of the stronger Dungeoneers gave up on their guns and tried punching or kicking them when they came in to attack, since there was hardly enough space to do any large dodges. To the surprise of some, if they properly connected the blow, they were able to crack their bodies and knock them away. Also, if their wings were too damaged, they then fell to the ground, where they smashed into pieces before turning into black mist. However, not every Dungeoneer was so successful in defending themselves.

The Dungeoneer that was following Francesco was now much further away from him and was still desperately trying to gun down the owls. A shot finally hit one in the eye, but that didn’t kill it. Damaged, the owl still flew right into the Dungeoneer’s chest, knocking him off balance. The Dungeoneer, instead of finishing the owl off, tried to regain his balance, but the owl began to madly flap its wings and peck at him. The Dungeoneer stumbled as the owl attacked him and before he knew it, he slipped off the stairwell. Another Dungeoneer stared on in horror as he fell down.

Just as the realization of impending death was about to sink in, Cuore grabbed his arm. He quickly pulled him back onto the stairwell as a trio of owls pecked, clawed, and smacked their wings at him. After getting the man back onto the stairs, Cuore then proceeded to grab them one at a time and break their bodies using both of his hands. Even more owls targeted him as he destroyed them, but their attacks were relatively ineffective. However, not wanting to take too many chances, Cuore kept his body low on the stairs and tried to keep his head looking down as well. The end result of more than a few dozen owls specifically attacking him were many cuts, scrapes and poked holes, but they were all minor injuries. Well, as far as his body was concerned. His clothes, on the other hand, were completely shredded. The sleeves of his suits were torn off completely and his shirt and pants looked like, well, like they were thrown to a group of birds that violently tore at them.

As Cuore fought, his siblings did as well. Although similar in appearance, the twins fought quite differently. The older twin, Alessia, would simply simply destroy them with a single blow if they came at her alone. If there were multiple attackers at once, she used the minimal amount of movement to evade some while also knocking others away, ideally into the column if she could. Then, during the brief moment where there weren’t any owls coming straight for her, she would finish off any owls within reach with a swift blow. As for the younger twin, Diamante, the fighting was quite a bit more crude. Diamante was even more unphased by the attacks than Cuore. No evidence of damage could be seen as the younger twin grabbed them and repeatedly smashed them against the stone column. It was a brutally unnecessary display as throwing them off after breaking one of their wings would have been sufficient. But, perhaps this was simply out of spite since they still ruined Diamante’s suit.

The party fought against the hundreds of owls and after about five minutes, the sounds of mechanical whirring and metal clinking came to an end. None of the Dungeoneers had fallen to their deaths, but several were quite badly injured. Surprisingly, the man who Cuore saved was one of the more lightly injured. His face and chest were cut up and bleeding and his shoulder had been nearly dislocated when Cuore pulled him up, but the pain didn’t even register. He was just hysterical, still trying to process that he was alive. When he finally recovered enough to move, he thanked Cuore incessantly, sobbing heavily. Cuore still couldn’t manage any proper words in response to this, and he simply tried to pat the man on the shoulder to console him. Which was a strange sight seeing as how Cuore’s clothes made him look like he should be worse off than anyone else despite the fact all his injuries had already healed up completely. It healed much faster than even the uncommon Regeneration skill would have made possible but that was one of the last things most of the Dungeoneers were concerned about.

“Anyone dead down there?” Francesco asked from above, now about only twenty-five feet away from the very top of the stairs. There was only silence in response. “Valentina, are you still alive?” He asked the question without an ounce of concern. He just wanted to hear what she would say, but she said nothing.

“We have some badly hurt over here,” one of them finally called out.

“Yes, over here, too!”

“We have two down near the back! One’s barely conscious, he’s lost a lot of blood!”

“Well, go ahead and treat them, then. Or not, up to you,” Francesco said back. “I’ll go see what’s up top.” Francesco started walking up again.

“Stop!” Valentina commanded. Francesco did as she said.

“Ah, Valentina, so you are still alive! Or, are you a ghost now, and that’s why you said nothing earlier?” Francesco laughed.

“Francesco, just wait a few moments until we get the injuries sorted out. Who knows what’s going to happen next when you get to the top.”

“Alright, alright!” Francesco leaned against the column and waited.

The matter of treatment was a little complicated. The party possessed some D-rank healing potions, but not enough for everyone who was seriously injured. Also, a couple Dungeoneers were reluctant to part with them. Desperate for treatment, the injured Dungeoneers promised to pay them back fully for the item once they were out of the Dungeon. However, there was still the problem of a lack of supply. The most heavily injured had helped out one of the Dungeoneers that actually had a healing potion so she quickly administered it to him, which stopped the bleeding, but unfortunately still left him in a near-death state. Another injured Dungeoneer used her own healing potion on herself. It seemed like an auction would ensue for the last two potions between the four remaining Dungeoneers, as well as another on behalf of the one who was still in critical condition.

Cuore intervened, producing a C-rank healing potion that dropped from one of the owls he destroyed. He offered to use it on the Dungeoneer who, despite having already taken the D-rank potion before losing consciousness, was still in worse shape than the rest. After administering the C-rank healing potion, the deep gashes that covered his face, shoulders, arms and chest closed a fair bit but still was far short of being fully healed. However, colour returned to his formerly pale face and although no one was a doctor that could medically confirm, he seemed stable now. The other Dungeoneers looked to the other Giocondo siblings, silently asking if any of them had also received a similar item drop. They said nothing. Valentina was poker-faced as always, but the twins at least didn’t seem to be too pleased about Cuore giving away his potion.

Cuore received more thanks as a quick auction occurred for the two remaining D-rank potions. The two that lost would have to manage with just basic first aid treatment. Valentina, who had climbed up to check on her siblings, told Cuore and Diamante to go to the back and change into new clothes. Francesco audibly voiced his impatience, but Valentina simply told him he could go up by himself if he really wanted to. He was a bit annoyed, but after calmly thinking about it, he realized it was fine to wait a bit longer. As Cuore and Diamante changed into a new set of clothes from their Inventory, Valentina asked the group to make another decision.

“Alright, you have all just experienced for yourself how dangerous this Dungeon is. Never before has so many monsters attacked at once inside a Dungeon, and there is no way of knowing what is above us. Likely, the Boss is up there, or on an even higher floor above us. So, everyone who is too injured to fight, do you want to go up there? There might be flat ground to rest on better, or another horde of monsters might come out all at once again. Or, there might be an immediate fight against the Boss. Take some time to think about this.” Just as the injured Dungeoneers started thinking about this matter, Francesco added his own thoughts.

“Honestly, even if you’re not too injured, you probably don’t want to go up there. I mean, I didn’t see it directly, but I could hear most of you were struggling a lot against those owls. And, it’s not like you did much better against the vultures. Basically, I’ll say this now. If you are thinking that you are going to be of any help with just regular guns, forget it. Instead, I have this deal for you. I, and the Dungeoneers who can really fight will go up there. The rest of you can stay safe on these stairs. However, everyone who stays down there has to give up on their share of the items dropped up above.” There was strong dissent from below. They normally wouldn’t voice any complaints if he wanted to just trash talk them, but it was a different matter if money was going to be involved. Before the tensions got too high, Valentina spoke up.

“Francesco, it is not a good idea for you to be pulling this kind of stunt right now. Besides, do you really think now is a good time for every Dungeoneer here to be checking and re-checking everyone’s Inventory right now to account for the changes so far?”

“Hey, now, I didn’t mean to make it that complicated! All the C-rank Dungeon Monster Cores that have dropped…and the ones that will drop…yeah, we’ll still share them equally. However, if there is a Boss up there, I want everyone that stays behind to give up their share on anything it drops.”

“Can you be more specific with what you mean?” Valentina asked.

“Hmmmm, this is what I mean. After the Dungeon is cleared, only the ones who come up with me are allowed to bid on it. Also, the bid price will only be shared among those people. How about that? You get to stay here and out of harm’s way, still get to share in the Cores, and all you have to do is give up your share of the Boss drops.” There was a brief moment of silence. “This is your life, remember. Don’t waste it.” An ordinary, risk averse person would not hesitate to take this deal. However, was that the ordinary Dungeoneer? With the exception of the six badly injured Dungeoneers and two other Dungeoneers, everyone else was prepared to go up.

Before they reached the top of the steps, four of the Dungeoneers took out rocket launchers from their Inventory. Another one took out a belt of grenades. West Byzantine still restricted civilian access to these types of weapons, but recently, one could apply through special processes to borrow these weapons under certain conditions, such as undergoing training and reporting daily to the government. This amount of fire power might just barely be enough against the D-rank boss, but they would have to be very optimistic to think it would be sufficient to tackle a C-rank boss. Francesco laughed at the reason for their confidence and Valentina agreed with his unspoken thoughts.

The major weakness of the D-rank Boss, if it could be called a weakness, was that its Dexterity was clearly its lowest Stat. It had Defense on par with modern tanks, Stamina that would allow it to rampage all day, and forearm strikes that could deal more damage than a wrecking ball, but it lacked agility, relatively speaking. If the flying monsters they fought so far were any indication, at best, these kinds of weapons might have use in restricting movement, and at worst, they would be the cause of friendly fire. Valentina considered telling them to simply put those weapons away, but since they at least had the sense not to use them while fighting on the stairwell, and since they must have passed through safety training to have them, she figured she’d let it be. They could at least thin out or keep back the common monsters if they appeared.

They climbed out of the hole at the top and found themselves in the centre of a large, round, stone chamber. The whole room looked like it was illuminated by moonlight. There were no torches in this chamber, but like the D-rank Boss chamber, the main source of lighting came from above, making it seem as if the stone ceiling was both there and not there at the same time. All around the chamber were dozens of giant stone blocks with stairs carved along their sides. The blocks were each about twenty feet high and thirty feet wide. On one of the stone blocks was a massive shadow pressed against the walls. After the last of the Dungeoneers had assembled, a pair of orange flames suddenly lit up, revealing what the shadow really was.

It was a giant owl, with orange flames for eyes. Standing from head to toe, it was at least eight feet tall. It stepped away from the wall and towards the edge of its stone block. Upon a closer look, one could see that it was probably mechanical in nature like the smaller owls. However, unlike the smaller owls, it was eerily quiet. Instead of mechanical whirring or the sound of metal clinking, there was only a soft hum and the clacking of its claws against the stone block. When it reached the edge of the stone block, it titled its head at the Dungeoneers curiously.

Francesco was the first to make his move. He immediately started sprinting towards the giant owl. Valentina, just a second later, ordered for Diamante and Cuore to move in, too. Well before they reached the owl, it spread its wings with hardly a sound and took off into the air, flying towards the centre of the chamber. Francesco, Diamante and Cuore quickly turned to double back just as the giant owl suddenly let out a blood curdling screech. Reflexively, the Dungeoneers tried to cover their ears, but it was to no avail. The screech lasted for only a few seconds and then the giant owl went to land on another stone block. When the screech ended, the Dungeoneers realized that they had gone deaf. Valentina tried to give out new orders but nobody could hear her words.

Francesco took a second to glance at the disorder around him, noting that some of the Dungeoneers had even dropped their weapons. In this soundless world, he made a split second decision. Instead of waiting for their hearing to recover, or taking a chance on wordless communication, he charged in again by himself. With his Strength and Dexterity, he would not need the stairs and could jump and then run up the stone block. He raced towards the owl at a world record breaking speed (for a human) and executed the jump. However, just as he reached the top of the stone block, the owl’s flaming orange eyes suddenly expanded and released a brilliant flash of light. It surprised him, but with his reflexes, he barely maintained his footing and avoided falling off the block.

Then, before Francesco’s eyes, the owl’s body seemed to shift into black mist. However, unlike the mist of a defeated monster, it did not dissipate, and the mist-body owl quickly glided up and to the centre of the room once more. Francesco, keeping his eyes on the monster, then saw massive clouds of black mist rush out of its body and fall onto all of the Dungeoneers below. In almost an instant, everyone below was obscured by the black mist. The owl then landed on top of one of the black clouds below, partially melding into it. Francesco jumped down from the stone block and made his way back to the owl.

Francesco’s thoughts raced as he moved. He could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. The cloud that the owl landed on had two Dungeoneers in that position. What happened to them? Nobody came out of the mist and there was no evidence that the owl had crushed either of them. Where are their bodies? Francesco reached the owl and hesitated before attacking. What if the black mist touches me?

The black owl titled its head again, somehow disturbing his train of thought. Incensed by what he interpreted as mocking, Francesco took the risk and thrust his spear through the owl’s head, which was now below his eye level, as if releasing the mist earlier had shrunk its body. Francesco’s spear felt as if it did pierce through something solid, and he saw the owl shake a bit. However, the owl then immediately started gliding away, its mist-like body phasing through the spear. Undaunted, Francesco followed up with another thrust as it glided away. Again, he felt his spear pierce through something other than thin air, and the owl’s body did seem to shake once more, but it continued to glide away, now in a different direction and at an incredible speed.

Francesco was unsure if he was hurting or not, but he refused to believe it was invincible. There was a Magic Stat. The D-rank monsters didn’t seem like they could use magic, but this was a C-rank Boss. Obviously, it was terrible that this C-rank Boss was capable of such powerful Magic, but if it's just running away right now and not attacking, it must be weakened and low on mana. Francesco continued his pursuit and attacked the owl again where it stopped. Again, he could feel his spear punching through something solid and the owl seemed to reel again just before it instantly flew to another location. Francesco knew he couldn’t let it recover and repeated this two more times. After this, all of the black mist seemed to shake and then dissipate. The body of the mist-like owl that he had pierced in the chest with his spear also suddenly transformed, revealing a dying Dungeon, grasping at his spear as he breathed his last.