Part Sixty-Four

“Well Michael? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Um, ow? Don’t know if you noticed, but I was kind of just beaten within an inch of my life. I’d like at least a few minutes to myself before I get the fourth degree.”

“Don’t give me that crap Michael. Didn’t I just say that I wanted everyone to work together to deal with the stronger monsters? So why’d you have to go and do that?”

“Do what? I got trapped in some weird barrier by the Orc, nearly killed a dozen times over, and now you’re blaming me for it? That doesn’t seem very fair.”

That was the cover story I’d thought of. After all, no one could prove that the Orc General wasn’t the one to create the barrier. Well, no one except Cameron and Alicia that is, but I figured that they wouldn’t willingly blow my cover. The only other possibility was if there was another Warrior among the group, but I already knew there wasn’t. Those with the same Archetype could identify each other on sight, so I knew I was in the free and clear.

“You’re missing the point. The others are going to be upset that you’re the only one who got anything from the Mid-boss. They might even feel like you purposely fought it alone so you could monopolize the reward for yourself.”

“Oh, so that’s what you’re on about. Eh, this was gonna happen regardless of what you did. Only the fighter who lands the killing blow gets the reward from a Mid-boss. So there was going to be some dissatisfaction either way. It’s just less than it could be.”

After all, if we’d all fought the General, there would’ve been multiple casualties, but only one reward. The discord that could cause would be worse than the fight itself. I’d just so happened to deal with it before it could become an issue.

“How do you-? Never mind. If that’s what you’re saying, then I’ll let the others know. Just don’t expect them to be thrilled about it.”

Good enough. I’m not in this to make friends, though I could use a few. Might be best to wait until after the Dungeon run. There should still be plenty of mercenaries out there.

Clean up from the battle had already finished by the time I was done being treated by Kalia, and interrogated by Braddock. I wasn’t sure if I’d convinced him or not, but he at least wasn’t going to push the issue here. I might need to be careful later.

You know, everyone seems to be in pretty good condition. I know that’s mostly due to Kalia’s magic, but it’s also due to the fact that the overall level of the group has gone up since we got here. And that’s a good thing, though the loss of even a few of these fighters is a travesty.

With the monsters dead, there was no further reason for us to be out here. Everyone, myself included, was ready to head back.

***

Nothing ever goes exactly the way you want it to, and there were no exceptions inside the Dungeon. We were ambushed three times on the way back, twice by Demi-Human monsters, and once by wolves. Each battle only took several minutes, but they strained our already frayed nerves all the same. So it was a great relief when we finally saw the fort.

Even the most reticent among us weren’t able to prevent themselves from feeling excitement. That we’d made it through with relatively few casualties and had killed a major enemy was cause to celebrate. A number of people had even congratulated me on a fight well done, and I’d been unable to get them to leave me alone.

Haaah, that wasn’t easy, but I thought it would’ve been a whole lot harder. The General was just as strong as I expected, but it feels like the others monsters died way too easily. They showed absolutely no teamwork whatsoever, even with their commander there. It might be an effect of that Dungeon Protocol thing.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the System. There could be countless hidden mechanics just waiting to screw us over. These Protocols are a complete mystery, and an even bigger danger. They won’t amount to anything good. I’ll have to keep an eye out for anything suspicious or dangerous. Though it’ll probably be too late once I do notice.

Those who’d stayed behind were waiting for us once we were through the gate. They greeted us with all the pomp and circumstance they could muster. Even the NPCs were celebrating our victory.

*Ka-clunk!*

::The Monster Army has been demoralized by the death of one of its leaders, causing strife among those remaining. A portion of the Army has thus turned feral, further impacting the Army’s cohesion and causing internal conflicts and casualties.

Dungeon Scenario Update:

Remaining Challengers: 808.

Mid-bosses remaining: 2 of 3.

Monster Army Remaining: 67.09%

Time until escape is possible: 2 Days 17 Hours 10 Minutes.

The Dungeon Boss will arrive one day after all Mid-bosses and 90% of the Monster Army are killed.::

And the good news kept on coming. Learning that the potential number of monsters we had to fight had dropped significantly only further boosted our morale. For the last four days, we’d had to participate in repeated battles with little actual progress made. But now, we’d defeated one of the Mid-bosses and close to half of the Army was gone. It was no wonder everyone was celebrating.

It’s hard to imagine that this is the same fort we just left. Everyone was so grim back then, but now they’re all excitable and optimistic. But if I know this Dungeon, it won’t last long. Better enjoy it while we can.

***

He slipped away when no one was looking. After all, he no longer felt like celebrating with the others. Even though their feat was certainly worthy of celebration, something within him kept him from being happy about it. Maybe it was the presence of the little black flame that had appeared within him. That smoldering little spark filled with malice.

Because nearly everyone was at the gate celebrating, the fort was almost completely empty. Only a handful of NPCs were left, and they paid him little attention. And so he was able to walk all the way to the central headquarters, where most of the important rooms, like the jail and conference room, were at.

Underneath the building, on the opposite side of where the jail was, lay a small room lined with body bags. This was the fort’s morgue, the one place inside the Dungeon where corpses wouldn’t be absorbed. Most of those killed in battle were usually ripped to pieces or trampled by monsters, so the number of corpses in the morgue was only a fraction of the total casualties. In fact, the room had been mostly empty until last night.

He walked over to one of the bags and kneeled beside it. Ever since she’d died, he could barely muster the energy needed to care about anything else. Even in the battle they’d just finished, he hadn’t felt a thing. His emotions weren’t completely numb. He just couldn’t feel anything except for that little black flame, which continued to feed on the emotions he no longer felt.

***

“Boss, don’t you want to celebrate? We’ve finally killed one of the Mid-bosses! Isn’t that worth celebrating, even if it wasn’t us who did it?”

“Maybe if you’re one of the regular mercenaries it is. But we’re here for a purpose: to get as strong and to gather as much notoriety as we can. Sure, someone killing a Mid-boss is a good thing, but did you see the item he got for it? It’s only going to make him that much stronger. If we’re not careful, he’ll take all the best loot from this Dungeon, and we’ll be out in the cold.”

“Ah, that would be really bad! So what do we do Boss? Do we try and sabotage him?”

“Are you an idiot? Didn’t you see what happened to the last group of morons who tried that? He may be reckless, but he’s also strong. If we try something and fail, he slaughter us all. No, we just need to be a step ahead of him, that’s all.”

“Er, do you really think he’s that strong Boss? I mean, a few of us have hit C-Rank since we came into the Dungeon. Couldn’t we take him down if we all attacked him together?”

“Didn’t you see his battle with that Orc? Or what its skin looked like after it destroyed its armor? If Michael did that to such a powerful monster, then imagine what he could do to us. Are you willing to take that chance?”

“Ah, um, let’s not do that. Erggghhghghgh! That sounds horrifying.”

“Exactly. The best thing we can do is to just take the opportunities before he can. We just need to watch out for those opportunities as they come. Oh, and someone keep an eye on that Tavin guy. I don’t know why, but he gives me some bad vibes.”

“Yeah, he’s weirdly intense about the oddest things. And did you see the way he was watching that guy? It was creepy.”

“Just keep an eye on them. We need to grasp any opportunities we can, and I think we’ll see plenty of chances coming up. This Dungeon isn’t even close to ending.”

***

I finally managed to get away from the revelers. I know we hadn’t had much to celebrate the last couple of days, but this was ridiculous. People were getting carried away by a single victory. I was just glad that no one was brainless enough to bring out any alcohol, or we could’ve seen a disaster. Having drunkards running around was just asking for trouble.

I wasn’t trying to say that we shouldn’t celebrate, but I thought it wasn’t quite time to do so. But I wasn’t enough of an idiot to say so out loud. I could read the room.

Haah, where did Alicia and Cameron get to? I was so distracted by the others that they managed to wriggle away. Tch, I was hoping to use them as an excuse to avoid talking with Kalia. Guess I’m not getting out of that. Haaah, damnit.

***

“So, can you do it?”

“Oh certainly! I have a great deal of pull with the Executive Board, and I’m certain that the other Directors will agree quite readily. The only hiccup might be Director Walters. He’s proven to be quite headstrong when it comes to, monetizing, the resources we’ve been newly introduced to.”

“You can leave the Director to me. I already have a plan in place to bring him to our side. He won’t be a problem for much longer.”

“Wonderful, wonderful! Just what I would expect from the young head of Isphael Industries. Then there will be no problems in drafting your proposal. In fact, I believe most, if not all, of the Directors will be quite enthusiastic to pass this bill. Especially in light of recent events.”

Both men were well aware of the ongoing tragedy in Australia. The appearance of the seventh disaster zone was expected, but no less disastrous for it. Thousands were estimated to be dead, with the actual toll probably exceeding that.

“But may I ask what you have prepared? It would be most unfortunate if anything untoward were to happen to the good Director. He is a colleague of mine, after all.”

“Heheh, no, nothing like that. After I’m done here, I will be traveling to Shimonoseki.”

“To..? Ohoh, so, that’s what’s going on. And how did this come around?”

“That is privileged information. Needless to say, everyone will soon know the results my meeting with the Director. One way, or another.”