Gripping his weapon in his hand, he manipulated his thoughts to boost his strength, focusing on his anger, and the targets of his anger to activate the Dark Heart - Aspect of Wraith ability, and as new power flooded into his veins, he knew he had succeeded. With a yell he smashed the mace against the top of the Gigas’s foot, a snap heard as the tiny bones just beneath the surface broke against the pressure of the blow. As the bones broke, and the soft tissue was destroyed from the impact, the Gigas’s dropped the board it had been getting ready to throw.
Now was the moment of truth. The monster howled in extreme pain, each scream drastically improving its reflexes and exponentially increasing the danger it posed to the group and though Seraph had been prepared for the pain, he was still caught by the force of the vibrations as the monster smashed its fists into the ground causing the floor to cascade like a wave as the floor broke on impact.
Seraph landed sprawled out on the ground near Alexander. Though he had dodged the bulk of the damage, he was unable to completely evade the damage the monster. With no further plan to play, Seraph shouted “Now” and hoping the situation with the balls had figured out.
Erin saw Seraph fall and knew that to be the signal just waiting for the word. Seraph had explained that once the monster was fully immersed in chasing down one of them, she would need to release her ability, and she did as a blinding light filled the room as monster glaring down at him as it moved in to finish the kill, when Seraph called out “Now”.
They all shielded their eyes to not be blinded by the effects of her ability, it didn’t do any damage, just inflicted a status effect, an effect that even worked on bosses, so long as they looked in the direction of the Starcall spawn. An effect that clearly took hold as the monster clutched at its eye unable to see as it roared in anger and confusion and wailed its arms about.
This is what they had wanted. A single moment of vulnerability as it screamed to the sky, its anger heavy in the room as Seraph ran over to Alexander and dragged him out of its way as it began to rampage indiscriminately. Paul jumped from the rafters knife in hand as he did a swan dive directly into the eye of the rampaging Gigas, he had used his ability to reach the rafters of the gymnasium, the highest point that he could reach, and then did as he had been instructed, wait for the right moment, right for the signal, and unleash himself on the monster.
Paul threw his body like a spear and the knife he carried on his person was the tip of that spear. He easily cut through the soft tissue of the eye, and rapidly cut through fleshly membrane and sinew finally embedding himself by the hilt into the monster’s brain, the force of the blow knocking the monster backwards and killing it near instantly, and as it fell to the floor with a loud thud, Seraph ran over to assist.
“Alexander, your ankles should be healed by now, you and Erin get over here.” Seraph yelled as he ran towards his father's unmoving form. His body partially obscured and broken, embedded in the skull of the Gigas. “We need to get him out of there now. Alexander, give me a hand, Erin try to brace his body when we pull.” Each man grabbed a leg and steadied the body with a hand underneath on the stomach as Erin, noticeably pale waited to hold the body steady as it was pulled out.
Both men grunted as they dug their feet into the monsters back to pull the Paul out, and with a sickening wet popping sound they were able to pull him free. His chest shallowly rose, clearly injured. Likely from a punctured lung and broken ribs. He would likely live.
Seraph took it as a good sign that at least he was still breathing. Bit by bit they pulled more of Paul from the monster's skull, his torso had jagged bloody strips of flesh dangling and torn in thins pieces, ripped by the fragments of the monsters bone that had torn into cut through his flesh. It was difficult to see, even for Seraph. Seeing the other two start to falter Seraph spoke “Keep moving, we have to get him free, this is the dungeon, he’s going to be ok, we just need to get him free so that he stops taking damage long enough to heal.”
But as they pulled his body out it was hard to see how he was going to be ok. His dominant hand that had held the knife was gone. Not cut off in that sense, but had broken in multiple places and shredded as if all the force of the blow had been channeled through the arm and upon hitting the back of the monster's skull had released into the arm and caused it to explode, unable to contain the kinetic energy. His face was badly bleeding, his forehead cut, bones showed through his face in multiple places from deep lacerations and abrasions. Those kinds of injuries in the outside world would have likely already resulted in Paul’s death.
“Keep his neck stable Erin.” Yelled Seraph as they finished getting him out of the Gigas’s skull, laying him on the unbroken portions of the floor. Paul was unmoving and responsive, Seraph thought it was a small mercy that his dad was unconscious, he didn’t need to be awake for this.
“Shouldn’t we move on and try to find some medicine or something for him?” Asked Erin? “I mean this is a school, or was, or is, I don’t know, but maybe they have like a nurse's office.”
“Yeah man.” Interjected Alexander. “He looks like he’s in bad shape, we need to try to get him help.”
Seraph shook his head. “This is the dungeon, you need to throw away the idea of finding help here. As soon as we step through the doors, even if it's to look for help, it’ll trigger whatever is next, or whatever monster is out there is going to start up or come our way. Are either of you prepared to help me fight another monster? Who's to say what we're going to find in those halls. It is best to wait and go as a complete and healed team.”
Erin looked at him in horror. “What do you mean wait. Paul is going to die, he looks like he’s going to die, isn’t this your dad? How can you do that? How can you just let your dad die.”
Seraph looked down at his dad, worry evident on his face. “I don’t want him to die, but if we step through that door unprepared, he will die, and we won’t be able to defend him if we get attacked. You're forgetting and I keep telling you, this is the dungeon, so long as you’re not dead, you will be ok, you will heal so long as no monsters are around. It’s why Alexander is able to walk right now.”
“See, this is what I mean.” Said Seraph, pointing to his father.
Erin gasped and Alexander called out “No way” in shock at what they saw.
The bone and bloody pulp that Paul’s arm had been reduced to began to repair itself as blood and muscle tissue began to spawn within the arm filling it out and restoring it piece by piece. Gashes in his chest started to close up and where there had been large wounds, they quickly became angry welts, and those welts eventually faded away to smooth skin. The flesh on the face repaired itself and the bleeding stopped as the entire body rebuilt itself.
Within minutes the damage to Paul’s body was completely repaired, and with a gasp he woke up. “Oh, wow, I’m still alive, that was the craziest thing I’ve ever done.” He said looking around at all of them. “Wow, I hurt all over, so why are you guys looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost, I can’t have been that bad off right.”
Seraph answered “It's just amazing seeing how quickly the dungeon can heal wounds, that’s all. We did it though thanks to you. Our plan to cripple it beforehand ended up not working out.”
Alexander cringed “Yeah, sorry about that, I was hardly able to do anything.”
Erin looked at him, her face still pale. “Are you guys sure he’s ok, like what if he’s a zombie, or a ghost, or like a monster, that’s possible right.”
Seraph frowned, he knew it was possible but not in the sense that she implied, to become a zombie one had to be infected by a zombie, to become a ghost one needed to die while under a cursed effect. To become a monster, one must renounce their humanity and the dungeon accept it. He answered simply, “He’s not any of those things, he’s alive and this is a good reminder to all of you that so long as you don’t die, you can survive pretty much anything the dungeon has. We just watched his arm regrow in a matter of minutes, that’s not an ability of his, that�
��s the effect of the dungeon, it restores your health after each battle so long as you’re not around monsters or other enemies.”
“That’s interesting to hear.” Said Paul, “But do you guys mind helping me get my knife back? I’m kind of fond of it, besides, how do we loot this thing?
Chapter 11: The Infernal
* * *
The body of the Gigas started to smoke and bubble as soon as Paul mentioned looting the monster’s corpse. Monstrous flesh rapidly rotted away as the nearby floor and bleachers quickly reassembled and rebuilt themselves from among the dust and rubble. The body rapidly decomposed until only an oversized grinning skull remained.
Everyone in the group looked on in awe while the dungeon rapidly repaired itself of the damage it had sustained, until no hint of the recent carnage could be seen. To Seraph, for whom this sight had been far more common, it was not so amazing, just a fact of life within the dungeon. But for the rest of them, even after all they had seen already, it was still mesmerizing to behold.
With the corpse of the Gigas all but disappeared, with the sole exception of the monster’s skull, all that remained for the group to do was collect the drops. But as they combed the area, all they could find was Paul’s knife. A knife that had been badly chipped, and was bent in places with signs of catastrophic failure near the hilt of the blade. It was clear the weapon had suffered major damage and would no longer be useful. But as for the drops, they found nothing. For all the risk the group had put themselves in, and with the loss of a weapon, they had nothing to show for it. Each of them, even Seraph had an expectation that the effort to kill the monster would be rewarded. Everyone looked at the handle of the broken knife and shot each other dirty and resentful looks.
The looks erased in mere seconds as the skull of the Gigas began to crumble into dust before their eyes once the broken knife had been removed from the eye socket of the skull and in response the entire group received a prompt.
Notification: For defeating a monster beyond the average level of your party, each member is granted 2 stat point to use, and 3500 Sol to purchase abilities direct from shops in Hometown. This monster gives no experience.
Seraph mentally summon his status screen to appear before him and instructed the other members of the group to do the same. He then went ahead and applied the two points he had just earned as a reward, one point to strength and one point towards endurance. He would have liked to put the points elsewhere, but the overall weakness of his body demanded that he devote the points towards strengthening core weaknesses, Seraph refused to fall behind.
Name
Luca Fernandez - Alias Seraph
Race
Fallen
(+50% Melee Damage Output)
(-50% Healing Debuff)
Level
4 of 999
Current Experience
21 of 60
STR
2
WIS
1
END
2
AGI
3
INT
1
LCK
1
PER
3
The turn of events had a noted effect on the morale of the group, and though the overall mood had soured before, the updated awards had blunted some of that. One thing that Seraph knew, was that the state of Paul’s weapon being damaged like it was would create issues. Logically, Paul was at best a liability, even if he was currently the second best fighter in their group aside from Seraph, but without a weapon, this counted for nothing.
Everyone looked towards the open door and the darkness on the other side of it. No one moved to volunteer to be first or check it out, and no one should have to volunteer thought Seraph as he quickly assessed the group. The rest of them were all looking towards Paul to go in first, but not one of them moved to let him use their weapon.
If Seraph knew anything about people, it was that no group would accept as it’s leader someone who didn’t lead from the front, and without a weapon, there was no way for Paul to be that leader, the group couldn’t trust him to take point like he had before, even though he was still a top fighter, but he was an unarmed top fighter, and that mattered.
Seraph knew it was time for him to take the lead and volunteered. “Don’t worry about it, you guys.” He said. “I’ve got this one, I’ll go through first and then give the all clear to follow. My eyes give me an advantage in that dark anyways, they’re not just for show.” The tension in the group eased a little, though only a little, after he volunteered, nobody wanted to go first.
Truthfully, neither did he, but some of his reservations were already fading as he started to feel the density of his muscles change as a result of his recent stat application. Even though increasing something by a single stat point seemed like nothing, it wasn’t. It mattered, and he was already feeling stronger.
What many people didn’t understand when they first enter the dungeon is that the initial starting value of 1 did not imply weakness, but rather their own subjective starting point. The base stat being modified by the additional stat points in an addictive fashion. For example, having a strength stat of 2 did not mean that a person’s strength was suddenly doubled, it meant that their base strength, would be increased by a small bonus, such as a person being able to lift 200 pounds with a base stat of 1, might be able to lift an additional 10 pounds per point of strength.
Supplemented by his body of mana passive ability, he had been able to overcome what would have been a crippling handicap to his stat advancement, but Seraph knew that when he had the chance, he would need to train his body to increase his value of his base. This was one way that true power within the dungeon was advanced.
Sometimes as Seraph knew, the only way out is through, so with all the confidence he could muster Seraph pulled himself up, puffed out his chest and took bold confidence steps towards the door. He didn’t feel any fear, he knew he could take care of himself, but the people in his group needed to see some exaggerated confidence in hopes that some of it would rub off on them, he needed them to see him as somebody they wanted to follow.
Behind him, a loud ticking sound could be heard as the countdown clock within the gymnasium reset itself. Seraph wasn’t worried about it; he knew the room was getting prepared for the next participants who would come coming through, though with the warped flow of time, he was unsure if that would be hours or days. What he did know was that they needed to leave before all the monsters they had already killed respawned within their midst. Seraph was unsure and could only guess if the monsters respawned on a timer, or if they spawned upon entry into the gymnasium. It didn’t really matter to him as the ultimate consequence remained, if they lingered too long, the likelihood that they would be killed exponentially increased. The dungeon did not take kindly to those who did not progress, and something would force them to move, or perish. It was a problem best left avoided and unexplored.
Notification: You are now entering “The Desolate High School”. A safe zone has been designated ahead to be used as a rest area. Safe Zone “The Office”.
He quickly dismissed the prompt. The first thing he noticed was the sudden change in the atmosphere. The surrounding air was chilled, noticeably colder, with a heavy task to it of stagnation. For a brief moment he thought he could see his breath but realized he was mistaken upon discovery that thick fog like gloom had settled within the halls. The air was heavy with dust and cobwebs that made it difficult even with his eyes to see, but even then he saw no danger. He peered back and gave the signal to the group that he was ok so far, and then proceeded to walk up the stairs.
Being in the lead, he was able to use a technique as he walked up those stairs that he had not yet shared with them, a technique to supplement the senses. He focused on his eyesight and as he focused his vision became sharper and more defined, but he could still not see through the gloom. He shifted his attention and will away from his vision and towards his hearing and as his vision dimmed back to
normal his hearing increased, in the distance he thought he heard the scurrying of feet, but with the lack of light and low visibility he couldn’t see what he heard, though from the sound of it, those scurrying feet were not close, and did not seem to be moving his way.
The only other sound he heard was the booming echo his own steps made as his boots left footprints in the thickly layered dust that marked his passage on the stairs. The noise traveled far into the gloom, something he heard even as he released his hearing and returned it to normal. When he reached the top of the stairs he stopped for a moment just to make sure that it was safe before motioning to his skittish team members to follow him.
One by one they entered the stairwell, Paul entered first giving Seraph a thumbs up from the bottom of the stairs, followed by Erin. As she began to ascend up the stairs she screamed in terror as cobwebs got into her hair, thinking a monster had grabbed her. Paul looked at her in irritation as he motioned with his hands that she needed to be quiet, bashfully she looked away embarrassed in embarrassment. Alexander was the last to enter the stairwell, and as he did a door slammed shut behind him, a door that hadn’t existed up till then. He turned to look through the window of the newly spawned doorway. “It’s dark.” Alexander called out in a hushed whisper, and then he tried the door. “It’s locked too. We won't be able to turn back from here.”
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