I flew outta the Dungeon’s entrance and caught the sight of Mira and the others having a fancy lunch underneath the tent... that’s unfair! I wanna have a fancy, homade lunch instead of those preserved goods stored in the Storage!
Hah! I let my anger take over for a sec. That’s been happening sotis after the war for so reason. Gotta focus on the bigger bastard here.
"Hey, Gara... wait! We’re sorry for having a party without you, but there’s no need to take out a bomb-!" - Mira
I ignored the flustered group and threw the handmade bomb at the rat’s supposed location.
A huge chunk of sand flew into the air when the bomb exploded, and along it was a set of dirty bones. A sand-colored skeleton had been blown to bits thanks to the bomb I threw at it.
"Wait, what’s that!?" - Mira
"...Garami. Keep the disrespecting of the dead to only when you perform necromancy." - Revi
"Don’t look at with those eyes! And that thing wasn’t even dead... in one sense!" - Garami
I dragged the remains of the skeletons to show them.
"Hey, this guy’s weapon is made of gold! Mine!" - Mira
I glanced at the scimitar that Mira preyed out of the skeleton’s broken hand-
"Ah, pyrite." - Iron
"Definitely pyrite." - Garami
"What’s pyrite?" - Revi
"A tal that is also called the fool’s gold. The proof to that is-" - Noire
"W-wait, I-I-I knew that. I just wanted the weapon. I always wanted one of these hand-scythes..." - Mira
"...It’s a scimitar though?" - Iron
Iron got a critical hit in! The sprite-woman has fainted in sha!
"Jokes aside, this thing’s not your everyday skeleton." - Garami
"...You are right. It is an undead monster." - Noire
"Well, after dealing with the clean-up in Tir na Nog and all, we should recognize them on sight by now... did it hide in the sand to escape the sun?" - Mira
"Rather, why did you not notice it until now? Miss ’Perception-Skills-at-max’?" - Noire
"W-what are you expecting of !? No way I can notice sothing that was hiding that deep in the sand!?" - Mira
"Ignoring that-" - Garami
"Please do!" - Mira
"This one’s called a Desert Skeleton. They hide in the sand and search for prey, then they relay a ssage to the rest of the horde. Also, they got [Daywalker] from the start-" - Garami
"That’s unfair!!" - Revi & Iron
"Not that! What was this about a ’horde’?" - Noire
The fallen angel started to look around before taking to the sky so she could look over the dunes... and ca right down as if her wings had stopped working.
"...Garami... how many hundreds of monsters did you summon in the Dungeon again?" she asked, visibly pale.
"Just ten individuals." - Garami
My confession made the fallen angel faint on the spot, only to be caught by Iron before she hit the sand. Mira, suspicious of our conversation, ran up the dunes to see the situation herself.
I followed after her and saw... a desert overflowing with moving, dried-up bones, all wearing withered weapons made of pyrite. And in the distance, we could see a massive Skeleton of the sa color sche. One that’s several tens of ters high...
DUNGEON SSAGE:
Special effect: [Psuedo-Peace] has expired.
What timing...
Wait a sec. Can’t I use this?
---
*Crash!*
"That hurt! Wait, where am-" - Alf
"The Dungeon. Get ready for battle!" I shouted to Alf, who had been in the coffin that I broke by throwing it at the Dungeon wall.
Alf looked around the entrance room, which had been renovated for this one battle. I’ve taken as many boulders as possible and created a corridor with them in the room, aning the intruders have to either walk through the corridor before they can say they’ve entered the room, or climb over the boulders.
"Listen up. The longer we drag this battle, the more monsters are gonna appear on our side." I said, creating a second Cave Scorpion with the last of my CP to prove my point.
"Then, we’re going to stall for ti?" - Alf
"That’s right. Simply entertain the few Desert Skeletons that enter the boulder corridor. I’ve made sure that only 24 of them can invade the Dungeon at the sa ti." - Garami
I had changed the special restrictions of the Dungeon from [Humans: 12] to [Monsters: 24]. There were no extra CP costs, luckily. The FP costs for the monster restriction are the sa as the ones for humans, so no problems there.
"Then, should we make a Clan then? All six of us have the [Party] skill at disposal, so we can each have 5 monsters as party-mbers." - Noire
Sorry to say, but it seems that the Dungeon monsters already gain the effects of my various Leadership Skills...
"Okay, we’ll go with the Noire’s suggestion." - Garami
"!? Did you just say-" - Noire
"I just got a good idea to take serious advantage of these dry bones’ impudence." - Garami
"As in?" - Iron
"First, I need to tell you that this whole Dungeon-thing has a problem in getting high-ranking monsters right off the bat. So, let’s use the Clan-system to give those guys a little kick-start," I said while grinning.
---
Half an hour after the strategy eting, or at least 5 CP later, and the first wave of Desert Skeletons entered the Dungeon with the shrill sound of the alarm warning us of their entry.
A group of Desert Skeletons charged in with their weapons raised. eting them was team W, led by Alf and manned by Iron, two Cave Scorpions, the Aqua Imp, the undeads spawned from the Dungeon, and two Zombie Trolls I had created with Advance-tier classes.
The Desert Skeletons never reached team W though. As they ran, they failed to notice the tripping threads I had placed in the corridor, which resulted in them falling face-down on the floor. I used [Thread Control] to initiate the [Bind] skill from behind the boulders and wrapped the Desert Skeletons up.
With the invaders now incapacitated, I had team M, who had been hiding behind the boulders that created the make-shift corridor, attack the incapacitated Desert Skeletons with magic attacks. The trick for allowing them to do this is that I had created a row of smaller boulders behind the ones that made up the corridor walls, so they are firing from the top of castle walls at the poor Desert Skeleton.
By the way, team N is led by Noire and manned by Mira, the Zerbreus. and the Dusk Imps, plus the new one I created while we were waiting.
I specifically had them not focus on killing the Desert Skeletons right away. The most important gain here is ti, aning CP, and literal experience for the Dungeon Monsters. Having them get used to the strengths and weaknesses of their spells is extrely important.
One and a half-hour later, or 15 CP later, Noire finished off the Desert Skeletons with a magic arrow infused with Turn Undead Field.
"Damn, what a drag..." said Mira who had jumped down from the boulder platform.
"Hey, we’re winning with this strategy." - Garami
"I was talking about this cave. Couldn’t you have so lighting?" - Mira
Oh, that’s right. She’s that kinda sprite.
"That would dampen the undeads and Alf." - Garami
"Yeah... I’ll stick to spells then." - Mira
Magic isn’t directly affected by stats, so Mira’s placed on the magician team instead of the warrior team.
More Desert Skeletons appeared from the entrance after the first wave had returned to the heavens, so Mira returned to her post alongside the 3 new Dusk Imps I had created. The remaining points were used on 6 Small Lesser Arachinaras, who had the job of spinning the threads I used across the gaps of the boulders.
This strategy worked for a few more hours until team M started to show fatigue. I had them retire for a break, courtesy of Revi and her supply team, granting team W’s their ti to shine.
Alf stopped the Desert Skeletons by freezing them in place, allowing our monster combatants so safe sparing practice with them. Iron stopped the invader’s movents with his [Iron Chain] skill.
I stopped creating Dusk Imps and Small Lesser Arachinaras, focusing rather on the undead types, the Aqua Imps, and the Lesser Demonia Bat. Why the bat? Because their soundwaves have a small effect on the Desert Skeleton, they can fly away from their weapons, and they’re cheap.
To be honest, thanks to this work-shift thod, the battle against the Desert Skeletons has turned way easier than expected. And way, WAY, more rewarding. And I’m not even counting when I had to "clean up" the corridor through my necromancy when too much "trash" had accumulated there.
Almost all of the G-ranks had to be excused from the fight due to them reaching their level limit and escaping further into the Dungeon where Revi has stored tons of preserved food for the monsters that need it after they finish evolving.
Then, a big change happened after the twelfth hour into the siege.
DUNGEON SSAGE:
The Dungeon has leveled up. Reached D-Lv.2
The Dungeon’s CP limit has increased by 100.
The Dungeon’s FP limit has increased by 10.
Acquired 5 DP due to level-up.
"Already!?" is what I wanna say, but with this onslaught that’s made of E-ranks with a chance of a D-ranked Desert Skeleton Soldier, Mage, or Rogue being in the mix, that’s no surprise.
"D-Lv." must an Dungeon-Level. That’s not so important right now. What is, is that I’ve gotten more DP! And 5 in one level even!
The CP-limit increase is also welcod. This should an I’ll be getting 20 CP per hour now instead of 10. I can stop replacing G-ranks with G-ranks now! Several Imps and Undeads have retreated from the front-line to evolve as well, so it’s about ti to focus solely on F-ranks. I’m in no need of the increased FP. Can’t change the Dungeon while invaders are inside it.
Let’s throw one point each at the remaining G-ranked stats and hope I won’t be needing to bring out more G-ranked monsters.
Dungeon nu:
Dungeon Na: none
Dungeon Level: 2
Creation Points: 200/200
Dungeon Points: 5
Dungeon Status:
Strength: F
Mystic: G
Movent: G
Knowledge: G
Facility: E
Subordinates: E
Treasures: F
Creation:
Dungeon Customization
Subordinate Creation
Treasure Creation
Special:
Expansion: [1]
Hey there, the CP’s filled to the brink! Must be from the level-up. Not sure about that item in the Special tab, but I’ve got the feeling that I won’t be able to go back to the Dungeon nu again if I touch it, so I’ll do it later.
I created two new Cave Scorpions and two Zerbreuses and had them get a briefing from Revi after giving them a scare with [Evil Lord’s Aura]. We got no ti for pleasantries!
After sending off the new monsters, I distributed the DP to Mystic, Movent, and Knowledge, one for each, and saved the rest for later. The three stats all reached F without problems. And I got so new monsters from it:
Subordinate nu:
Lesser Sandstalker:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 10 CP
A scorpion monster of the Sand attribute. They lack the intelligence to accept anything but simple orders. Attacks with venomous stingers.
Small Sandstalker:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 5 CP
A young scorpion monster of the Sand attribute. They are capable of cooperating with other monsters. Attacks with venomous stingers.
Lesser Arachinara:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 10 CP
A spider monster that uses threads to capture its prey. Have venom in their fangs.
Small Arachinara:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 5 CP
A young spider monster that uses threads to capture its prey and to make traps. Have venom in their fangs.
Demonia Bat:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 10 CP
A demon monster that takes the appearance of a bat. Disturbs the target with sound waves. Also uses them for echolocation.
Undead Animal:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 15 CP
An undead monster that is based on an animal. Abilities variates with the animal used as the base.
Lesser Ghost:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 5 CP
An undead monster that lacks a corporal form. Capable of using so magic.
Dark Geist:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 8 CP
A demon monster of the Darkness attribute that is made of gases and dust. They erode their victims by enveloping them with their bodies.
Reha Zera:
Rank: F
Creation Cost: 8 CP
A demon-monster of the Darkness attribute that takes the appearance of a spider. They use threads to trap their targets, then finish them off with Darkness attribute skills and venom.
Maybe "upgrades" is a better way of wording it? For the first part, at least. The increase in the Movent-stat had unlocked all the upgraded options on the list. Guess it’s a stat I should focus on from now on?
The Lesser Ghost is unlocked due to Mystic reaching F, says the description. They’re supposed to look like a floating sheet that one could believe was covering a drone or sothing that made it float. The higher-tiers are supposed to look more human, but at rank F...
Dark Geists are a demon species I once had the option of evolving into. The creation requirents are having Subordinates, Mystic, and Movent, all at F or higher. The demon itself is like a moving fog made of dust. Thanks to its Darkness attribute, its Creation Cost is halved, aning it could turn out to be better than the literal Ghost of the sa racial rank.
Reha Zera is... the species I was back in the Water-Knot. They’ll probably overlap Arachinaras, but for variety’s sake, I’ll go with both until further upgrades are possible. Demonbane weapons are damn scary after all...
And the Knowledge-stat... didn’t give any new monsters. Damn...
Ehm, I have 85 CP left... but all 30 party slots are filled with thanks E-ranks I just added... wait! Two Imps retreated to the back just now.
I decided to create one each of the Lesser Ghost and the Dark Geist. The Ghost is already equipped with the ability to use magic, so it’s going to team M. The Geist is more physical-based, so it goes to team W.
"Garami! I’m too exhausted to continue!" - Mira
" too! There’s a limit to how much you can work even a Vampire!" - Alf
...It’s been 10 hours since we started...
"Okay, those who want to can take a break. Keep the parties up-and-running." - Garami
Mira, Revi, Alf, and Noire went to the back with the first Zerbreus and the two Cave Scorpions. They’ve finally reached their level limits as well, so it’s a good ti for them to take a break.
I created a new Zerbreus, a Cave Scorpion, and another Dark Geist to replace the monsters that left just now. Better to take those that need lots of EXP when we can’t go and change them as freely as before.
Guess I should start fighting for real instead of just commanding the others. I jumped outta the commander’s seat I had fashioned from threads and joined Iron, the only other mber of the original group that didn’t need sleep like , and we stood firm as the next wave of undeads ca towards us.
They can’t do anything but that stupid charge of theirs? What a group of one-trick-Skeletons. Let show you how one is supposed to fight!
The large-scale magic circle that the Parallel Wills had been preparing for a little while now appeared. It was large enough to make the Dungeon Monsters step back in fear without needing to command them to do so.
Alright, the coast is clear. Fire!
"Negative Torrent!" - Garami
One of the best attack-type Darkness spells that one could learn with the skill at Lv.40 assaulted the invaders. A large, raging storm of darkness flew through the boulder corridor and crashed right into the running invaders. The storm turned the Desert Skeleton into dust so easily, the force of the spell didn’t weaken at all and continued through the tunnel leading to the outside.
A large sound was heard from the tunnel when the spell finally stopped. ...What was that overkill about? I think I earned so points with the Dungeon Monsters. Too many of them. Those stares of admiration hurt...
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Advanced title: [Skeleton Slaughterer] to [Skeleton Genocider]
Acquired skill: [Death Touch Lv.1]
Geh!? Did the spell destroy even the forces outside!?
A-, a-ha-ha-ha... let’s not use that spell in a public area. Ever.
---
Several hours later...
"Garami~. Breakfast~." - Revi
An angel, rather, Revi announced my well-needed break. I left the front-line, which now was filled with various ghosts that blasted any Desert Skeletons that tried to invade with their magic.
Revi had prepared an area where people and monsters could take a break in one of the Dungeon room’s corners. Mira was already sitting by the table, drowsily chewing on a sandwich. Alf and Noire had returned to their posts and took the place for and Iron.
"Hey, get back into it if you’re finished resting," I said to the sloth-sprite.
"No can do. Snoozy." - Mira
This girl has turned incredibly listless when she’s in areas without light ever since she evolved. Even her attitude has gone sluggish...
"If it’s the two of us, we could storm the invaders outside-" - Garami
"Let’s do that!" - Mira
Mira jumped at my mumbling idea. Is she the kind that needs to be outside for a certain amount of ti?
"...We need to do sothing about the Desert Skeleton King outside anyway." - Garami
I started to give Mira an explanation of my idea, about how the two of us are gonna take the advantage of the overwhelming firepower in the form of a frontal blast with spells like the Negative Torrent to run outside and ss with the Desert Skeleton army before fleeing back into the Dungeon.
It’s a ssy plan, I admit, but it’s the only thing we can do now. Even worse, the Dungeon Map revealed that the Desert Skeletons are receiving reinforcents as we speak, all of them drawn here due to the gigantic Skeleton we saw before fleeing into the Dungeon; the Desert Skeleton King.
"You’re right about that only the two of us has the movent-capability to do such a feat. And getting rid of that boney majesty sounds like the only possible way for us to survive." - Mira
Yeah. So of the weaker Dungeon Monsters died despite the tailored-made strategy we had prepared for defeating the Desert Skeletons. Those deaths ca from the D-ranked invaders, but even so. Everyone is starting to feel the effect of the death march, so it’s better to finish this before we lose anyone else.
After swallowing the food with so Stamina Potion, which is just an energy drink with great effects, we had all the heavy-hitting magic users position themselves at the mouth of the boulder corridor, all of them preparing their greatest offensive magic. I dismissed the Zombie Trolls so the others had more space to work with.
The new wave of Desert Skeletons arrived just in ti to receive the magical blast of the century, leaving not even dust behind as a turbulent storm passed through them like a force of nature. I and Mira ran through the cleared area, making sure to have a good distance from the blast as it traveled through the straight tunnel leading to the outside.
As we exited the cave, we hid behind the rcenary, which the Dungeon Map had revealed to be free of Desert Skeletons, using my [Total Presence Concealnt] to stay clear of the undead’s line of sight.
The magical blast exploded in the middle of a large group of Desert Skeletons, sending them flying in every direction. And then we saw our target.
The Desert Skeleton King was wielding a damn-big sword and was hamring at the Dungeon with it. Good luck with that. A Dungeon is impenetrable to outside forces... unless it’s using structures that are not created by the Dungeon’s power, like the city of Tir na Nog, or obvious exceptions like the Water-Knot.
"So, the swarms, or the boss?" I asked Mira, while also hinting at my idea of having one of us occupy the smaller Skeletons so the other could go one-on-one with the giant.
"I’ll take the swarms. then you can face the boss. That’s the set-up we’re most used to after all." - Mira
With that, Mira ran towards the survivors of the initial blast with her black katana drawn. The Desert Skeletons noticed her, but before they could do anything, Mira had chopped them into several pieces already.
The other Desert Skeletons tried to catch up to them, but as if laughing at their SPD-specialized build, Mira dodged the scimitars by the milliter. Then, the Skeletons’ attempts were repaid in full by a burst of electricity, originating from a small, sparkling sphere that orbited around Mira, for then be sliced to pieces as they were stunned by the spark.
If I rember right, that just now is a combination of the skills [Spark Ball] and [Discharge]? The Lighting attribute, which Mira has started gaining experience in lately, is extrely powerful, but it lacks directly useful skills. [Spark Ball] only creates a distraction that follows the user, which an unfortunate enemy has to be careful not to touch, and [Discharge] allows other Lightning-skills to discharge its energy as a long-range attack.
Despite the difficulty of the skills, Mira used them with ease as she ran through the undead, destroying them with such ease that one would believe she was lightning itself.
As one could expect, Mira caught the attention of all the Desert Skeletons in the area, including the King. It turned away from the Dungeon and readied its massive sword to strike at Mira, not caring about its allies being caught up in it.
Before it could do so, I moved towards one of its legs and released the next Negative Torrent at it. The king of the desert was knocked down to his knees, losing his sword in the process. I took the opportunity to stuff the big thing into my Storage, preventing the King from using it anymore-!?
I jumped out the way as the King’s arm tried to swipe up and climbed to the top of the Dungeon thanks to my threads. The King was conscious of from the second my magic blast and tried to counterattack while I was busy with its weapon.
It’s only when I figured out the King’s plan that I noticed that my condition was a little unstable. The all-nighter must have strained more than I thought, despite what my stats are telling . And perhaps using that big spell all the ti could have added to the exhaustion. Of the mind, not the SP.
Better not rely on such a big spell anymore. It drains too much ntal strength, Parallel Wills or not.
I drew Carnwennan and faced the kneeling King... hey, he’s kneeling, but his face is still at the sa height as the Dungeon roof. Just what was this guy when he was alive?
I shot at the King’s face with so Glow Bullets, but the King only ignored them and slamd its arm at . I ran away from the attack, but the King switched to a swiping motion, trying to brush off the Dungeon roof. I used [Sky Jump] to get above the arm, slashing at it while above it. I restrained myself from using the Ailnt attacks. They won’t work against this guy.
The King, sohow predicting my movents, used a Sand spell towards the spot where I was gonna land. An antlion-like sinkhole appeared in that place, so I had to double-jump away from it, only to see that the next landing place had also turned into a sinkhole!
Feeling irritated, I activated Carnwennan’s darkness-blade and slashed at the sinkhole. It may sound like a stupid move, but thanks to the [Soul Chase] skill, the blade of darkness could cut even the magic formula that created the sinkhole spell, negating the spell altogether.
The King’s arm was trying to sweep at again, but I used the Light spell, Light Pillar, at the area where the arm was. A bright pillar appeared from the magic circle, which ant the King’s arm collided with it and took heavy Light attribute damage. Pillar-spells are sothing you can learn when the Magic Skill is at Lv.30 or above. Its cost-effectiveness is incredible, but only if you can get the targets to stay still in the area of the spell.
The King retracted its scorched arm while in obvious pain. Gotcha!
I used a Chaotic Zahhak and attacked the neck of the King. All the dragon-heads chomped on the spine that connected the King’s head with the rest of its body, small pieces breaking off due to the sheer force of the dragon heads’ jaws. That only lasted until the King grasped the "necks" of the dragon-heads and pried them off.
Right there, I climbed up the King’s ribcage through a thread I had thrown while the King struggled with the dragon-heads. The King noticed right after finishing the last dragon-head and attacked , who has incredible danger-prediction abilities. Needless to say, I escaped between the gaps of his fingers, resulting in the King only hitting himself in the process.
It was at the sa mont that the bombs I had plastered in place with sticky threads inside his ribcage exploded. The explosion made the King fall upon the Dungeon, too exhausted to move anymore.
The reason the bombs had done so much damage was due to the dragon-heads tearing more on the King’s resistances than its bones. The Weakening spells that the Parallel Minds had used also played their parts in this job.
Now, with the King in front of , I held Carnwennan in a reversed grip and used the Assassination Art, Burst Kill. I rushed at the King’s cranium and struck it with the poml of the dagger, which resulted in an explosion-like impact that broke the royal undead’s skull.
Burst Kill is the only blunt-based Assassination Arts I have, but its strength also makes it one of my strongest physical attacks. Even more so when I use Mana Burst and other skills to further improve the strength of the attack.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Your level has increased. Reached Lv.12
You have earned 0.8 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.8 Skill Points were earned.
Advanced title: [Undead Slaughterer] to [Undead Genocider]
Acquired skill: [Corpse Cannibalism Lv.1]
Acquired title: [King Slayer].
Advanced title: [Cruel Commander] to [Queen Commander]
Acquired skill: [Full Command Lv.1]
Acquired skill: [Stratagem Lv.1]
Skill: [Full Command Lv.1] is integrated into skill: [Full Command Lv.12]
Skill: [Stratagem Lv.1] is integrated into skill: [Stratagem Lv.8]
As expected of a Skeleton. So fragile to blunt it’s sad. Still, just one level? I gained more from all of his underlings, but even so... what a fate we high-ranking creatures have to face...
HEY! Who is the smart guy who added that third title to the System!? Do you have a bone to pick with ? Then I’ll give you the skull right here!
DUNGEON SSAGE:
The Dungeon has leveled up. Reached D-Lv.3
The Dungeon’s CP limit has increased by 100.
The Dungeon’s FP limit has increased by 10.
Acquired 5 DP due to level-up.
ANOTHER DUNGEON LEVEL!? You’re not sharing my pain here at all, Dungeon! *Stomp, stomp, stomp*.
In any case, the Dungeon’s first battle turned out to be bigger than expected, but worth the pain. I looked down and saw Mira kicking the unmoving corpses of the Desert Skeletons that died alongside their King, just as the Kigal-Note said they would.
I’ll have to convert all of that sooner or later... *shiver*. But for now, let’s go in and look over the "rewards".
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