Part Seventeen

Status

Race: Human

Archetype: Warrior

Age: 22

State: Healthy

Titles: Razor's Edge, Way of the Warrior, Conqueror of Trials, Murderer, Mutationist, Unavenged, Beginner Mage,

Rank: B- (Attempting Trial: Growth Restraints have been slackened)

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Survival Instinct, Dual Sword Aura Rank C, Grudge Magic Rank C, Abyss Magic Rank F, Rapid Recovery Rank D, Accelerate Rank D, Sense Weakness Rank E, Mind’s Eye Rank F,

Special Skills: Skanda Rank E, Bloodthirst Rank D,

Authorities: Insight,

Equipment: Demon’s Third Eye, Coat of Dark Wrath, Kovis Scalemail, Kovis Claw-Gauntlets, Black Raptor Leggings, Sonic Boots, Warrior’s Bracelet, Nightmare’s Twin Swords,

I can’t help but smile whenever I look at my Status now. It just feels right. I always liked looking at the stats of endgame characters, but this just feels more special, probably because it’s me that this represents. Seeing more of my Skills reach C-Rank is extremely cathartic. Honestly, I’d be fine just doing this forever.

Okay, that’s definitely an exaggeration. I may be fine for a few more months, but I think even I’d break after a year of this. I may not enjoy being social, but even I feel lonely sometimes. Still, I certainly won’t complain about the growth I’ve experienced here.

As I was now, even the Dungeon's field bosses weren’t proving to be much of a challenge. Most still put up a fight, but I never felt pressured like I had during the first few dozen fights. Part of this was just due to me getting stronger and acquiring better equipment, but I’d also acclimated to constantly fighting. I wouldn't call myself a sword master, but I felt like my technique with both my weapons and magic were getting better. Really, even I was shocked by how much I’d grown in here.

The only complaint I have is that I’ve made nearly zero progress with Abyss Magic. I feel like I’m getting close, but just as with Accuracy, I’m doing something wrong that keeps me from completing that crucial final step. Hm, maybe Kalia will have figured something out by the time I get out of here? Assuming I ever do, that is. Seriously, this Dungeon is just too big.

Okay, that’s enough exposition for today. Time to get rolling. I’ve got one more thing to deal with before I attempt the second Mid-Boss, so let’s get that squared away.

***

Over the last however many weeks I’d been in here, I’d discovered a disturbing trend. Areas of the underground tunnels that I knew I’d cleared would suddenly be repopulated by powerful Demon-type monsters. Once or twice I could ignore, but when it happened dozens of times, well that wasn’t just a pattern, it was a plan. Someone or something was doing this, though I didn’t know why.

I’d first suspected that this was how the System would slowly crank up the difficulty on me, but it was only happening underground. The alleys and buildings I’d cleared stayed empty, so something was definitely happening in the sewers. And me being me, I simply couldn’t make myself stay away. Which led to my current situation.

I’d been “investigating" one of these areas when I discovered two Chimeras and a group of Dullahans guarding a tunnel, one I’d never been in before. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have realized this, but the tunnel was hewn from some rather dark-colored rock, completely different from the rest of the underground. Needless to say, this sparked my curiosity, leading to me fighting the monsters. After all, this was still a Dungeon. Exploration and combat was key to clearing it.

“”GRRRRRR!!!””

“”””Errooooaaaaaaa""""

Man, these guys certainly don’t know when to shut up. Guess I’ll have to teach them that good boys and girls know when to sit down and shut up. Wait, do they even have genders? Uh, probably not the time to be thinking about that. Here they come!

Multiple blades of wind came hurtling towards me, though I dodged or deflected them all, followed by a large group of angry Dullahans. Despite the danger I was in, I didn’t really feel like I’d lose. Dullahans and Chimeras were strong, but they weren’t much of a threat to me. So long as I kept my head, I’d be able to whittle away at them until they were all dead.

Cutting down Dullahans was simply busy work to me now. Their ability to not die only worked when they possessed more than a certain level of mass, so cutting them up really was the easiest way to kill them. And since my body had grown far stronger in here, dealing with a bare handful was a piece of cake. All I had to do was make sure the still-living ones didn’t absorb the dead.

“Grrr, Braaaaa!”

Sensing that I’d defeat them at this rate, one of the Chimeras stopped firing wind blades, and instead began casting a much stronger spell. Based on the mana surge, this would be one heck of a spell, though I had no intentions of ever letting the monster finish casting.

I kicked the closest Dullahans backwards before casting a spell of my own, causing a cloud of Miasma to blanket the nearby area. Demon-Type monsters were resistant to the effects of Grudge Magic, but I’d discovered that [Malignancy] was able to eke out some small effects in them, though it was basically like I’d cast [Seize] on them. It wasn’t very mana efficient, but I had the reserves now, and I needed the opening the spell would give me, so I had no choice but to just eat the cost this time.

“Grrrr!?”

With [Malignancy] hampering its ability to think and act, the Chimera’s spell began to unravel, though this would only be temporary. My Magic wasn’t yet strong enough to last long enough to prevent resistant monsters from casting, but it still gave me enough time to close in on the beast. Sliding underneath it, I used a sword to split its belly open, and that was enough to cause it to lose control of its spell, resulting in an explosion that blew one of its heads off. And since I chopped the snake head off as I passed by, I’d already rendered one Chimera on the verge of death.

“GROOOAAAW!”

Of course the other one wouldn’t just sit idly by. Seeing its partner in trouble, the second Chimera quick-casted a Wind Magic Spell, causing a mass of air to fly at me. This one wasn’t as deadly as the wind blades Chimeras favored, but it was much faster and heavier than them, making it harder to deal with. Even with my speed and reflexes enhanced, I wasn’t able to fully avoid it, and wound up thrown against the wall, my side and back throbbing in pain. The injuries wouldn’t slow me down much, but I really hated getting hurt.

I stood back up and kicked off the wall, launching myself at the still healthy Chimera while dodging under more wind blades. I had to kill the damn thing before more monsters showed up, or I’d be back in the same situation as before. Unfortunately, someone wasn’t about to let either scenario happen.

“GRRROOOOAAAAAWWWWWWWWWW!!!!”

With a mighty roar, the dying Chimera unleashed a massive wind spell, forming a tornado in the tunnel we were in. How it managed to cast such a thing so quickly and without me noticing was beyond me, but the spell's effects certainly weren’t. The Dullahans closest to it were yanked into the air, their limbs ripped off as they flew by. Even the healthy Chimera had to use its claws to grip the ground, lest it too be sucked into the vortex.

Shit, shit, shit! What the fuck is it doing casting such a powerful spell underground!? What if it causes a cave-in and kills us all? Oh, that’s probably what it’s trying to do. Or it just doesn’t care either way. Fuck, I hate monsters.

I could only calmly observe it like this because I’d driven the white sword into the floor, and was using it as an anchor to keep myself from being sucked into the vortex. By now, all but a few of the Dullahans had succumbed, and the caster had been yanked in by it. Even the healthy Chimera was starting to slide backwards ever so slowly, its claws leaving furrows where they’d dug into the ground.

Thankfully the spell didn’t last much longer, and the vortex disappeared. Unfortunately, the Chimera launched another wind mass at me, sending me flying again. I managed to recover in mid-air and land properly, but I could feel that one or more of my ribs were broken. I quickly activated Rapid Recovery, relieving the pain and allowing me to stand again, though the Chimera was already charging straight at me.

I dove to the right, barely avoiding the lion head's jaws, rolled back to my feet and repelled the claw swipe that followed, before retreating down the tunnel. I’d wanted to try killing it, but the beast was too vigilant for a hasty attack to work right now. I needed to wait for an opportunity. Or make one.

Should I-? No. It won’t be worth it. Keep that as backup just in case. Besides, I know I can kill this thing now that it’s on its own. Let’s do this.

Up until now, I’d been refraining from using Beast of the Nightmare since it was such a mana hog, but now it was time to break the seal on it. With the drastic increase to my stats, I charged at the Chimera, my increased speed catching it off-guard. By the time it had registered what happened, one of its heads was already cut off, along with a large chunk of its side.

The Chimera hastily swiped at me, but I was already circling around behind it, cutting the snake head off as I went past. And even though it tried to cast a wind spell to blow me away again, I was just too fast for it to catch. It was dead not even a minute later. I smirked in satisfaction at seeing the monster’s corpse slump to the ground.

Heh, looks like I was right. If I fight a monster while only using my Normal Skills, they won’t be able to adapt quickly enough when I trigger Beast of the Nightmare. It’s a bit of a cheap trick, but if it works, don’t fix it. I can’t afford to skimp out on anything in here. If a little subterfuge is what helps me get through this hell, then so be it.

This strategy only worked due to the fact that my base ability had gotten fairly high (at least compared to when I started), and that I had other skills to help me out. If I didn’t have Accelerate, I likely wouldn’t be able to avoid as many attacks as I had.

Okay, that’s enough analyzing the fight. Time to get down to business. Let’s see what’s behind door number one. Er, tunnel number one, actually. Whatever. I’m going in.

***

“Uh, you sure ‘bout this? It just…seems like a bad idea. I could kind of understand filling the tunnels with stronger monsters, that seems pretty in-line with what you’re trying to do, but why do you want me to fight him? I can’t imagine what anyone gets out of this.”

“I said what I said. Are you disobeying me, Azanorn?”

“Ahahah, o-of course not, my Lord! I was just wondering, if you’re really set on having this mortal as a Vassal, why send me out there? I know I’m not particularly strong, but I think most Classless mortals would have a hard time fighting me. It just doesn’t make sense to me. There’s a world of difference between a Lesser and Intermediate Demon.”

The being shifted on its throne, eyeing its servant with something approaching exasperation. Or disdain. Or contempt. It was hard to tell. It was fairly expressionless.

“And the gulf between you and me is even larger. Do not forget that I could snuff you out like a candle flame. To defy me to my face is bold, even for one such as you. I have no need to explain myself to you, Azanorn. All you must do is play your part.”

To punctuate their sentence, the being let a little bit of their power loose, causing the air in the room to feel much heavier. Any ordinary person would’ve died from their presence, and Azanorn was only barely able to resist it, causing him to fall to one knee as he began sweating heavily.

“Remember your place. You are to serve me as I wish. If I tell you to die, then die you must. That was the agreement we made, was it not?”

“It, it was, my Lord.”

“Then go. The boy is approaching the arena we made for him. But worry not, Azanorn, for you shall always return to my side. Even in death.”

“…That’s what I’m afraid of.” With that last mutter, Azanorn left the throne room. For all his grumbling, the watcher knew that the Demon would fulfill his purpose. After all, this is what he’d been created for.