Catacomb (1)
We had rested for a full day and were preparing to head to the 80-level dungeon provided by Montblanc. Before we left, I checked my status window.
Skills (5/5): 1. Temptation (Lv.2) 2. Molt (Lv.3) 3. Healing (Lv.17) 4. Wind Arrow (Lv.24) 5. Firefly (Lv.21)
Gems: 1,390
Killing three targets had only changed my luck stat by 10 points. I consumed 10 out of the 30 medium growth stones Montblanc gave as reward. The remaining 20 will be consumed while progressing through the dungeon.
'Clearly, it was good that I accepted Montblanc's offer.'
Even if my luck was good and I rejected Montblanc's offer and escaped safely, the entire party wouldn't have grown like this.
There are far more kings and queens in this world than I knew from Fairy Masters. They control the dungeons around their cities so that other masters can't freely clear them.
If I hadn't changed my original plan to follow Fairy Masters' story, I would still be begging like a piece of shit. Well, I'm still a piece of shit now, but anyway.
'Let's devour everything we can.'
I gave up the biggest weapon I had, knowing the future, and joined Palos's Bird. To make it worth it, I had to extract more than that from Palos's Bird.
"Master. Preparation is complete."
"Hm?"
Hearing Aquaril call my name, I dismissed the status window and stood up. Together with her, I went outside.
"Hey~ Alan~"
Kanisia, who had been waiting, waved at me first. Judging from how she ate (?) my semen the night before, her skin was glowing and firm.
"Then let's get going."
"Old stories~!"
"Firefly sortie!"
The party members' faces were bright, like going on a picnic. Just being with me raised the party's morale.
We headed to the dungeon Montblanc gave us, the .
*****
"Creepy..."
We arrived at the dungeon located one day away from Littleberry. Kanisia looked around with a displeased expression.
It was natural; a gloomy atmosphere flowed around the dungeon entrance, and human-like bone fragments and faded bloodstains were visible.
Of course. Catacomb means 'underground cemetery'.
Originally, this place wasn't a dungeon. It was a cemetery where Littleberry people buried the dead to ensure their souls wouldn't wander in the living world but go to the afterlife.
But our luck was terrible.
The underground cemetery where the dead were gathered became a dungeon.
Littleberry people prayed for the repose of the dead, but unfortunately, their flesh rotted and decayed, yet they revived infinitely and wandered the Catacomb.
But the tragedy didn't end there.
The underground cemetery became a dungeon. This meant that if the rotting flesh wandering there wasn't periodically disposed of, the dungeon would overflow.
If the dungeon overflowed and monsters poured out, the people of Littleberry wouldn't survive.
The Catacomb was an 80-level C-class dungeon. Though their flesh was tattered, the strength of the corpses was incomparable to other monsters.
The people of Littleberry had to watch their family members constantly die at the hands of masters and fairies.
In other words, this dungeon was a place soaked with the pain and resentment of the people of Littleberry.
"Hmm... I guess the base camp should be set up a bit away from here."
Originally, base camps are set up at the dungeon entrance. But this time, it would be better to set it up a bit away. Because a gloomy atmosphere flowed around the entrance to the underground.
If you sleep in a place like this, you'll definitely be sniped.
To repeatedly clear the dungeon, we need to rest well. If we don't rest properly, we can't exert 100% of our strength in the dungeon.
"Alright, let's do that."
"Uuu... I don't like it here, Oralisa..."
When I suggested setting up the base camp away from the entrance, the party members agreed. They must have felt the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the dungeon.
We set up the base camp at a suitable distance from the entrance and entered the Catacomb.
Entering C-Class Dungeon - Catacomb
Max entry: 5 people
Dungeon clearance appropriate level: Lv.80
As soon as we descended underground, a guidance window appeared informing us of the basic information of the dungeon. Unless Montblanc was giving us another test, we would live here for a while.
'It's a bit unfortunate that there's no light attribute... but since we have darkness attribute.'
[[Alan Han (Gibungi)]'s main attribute changes from [Water attribute] to [Darkness attribute].]
The darkness attribute grown one level higher can deal 10% increased damage to enemies of the same darkness attribute and receive 10% reduced damage.
It will be a great help in the where darkness attribute monsters appear.
'Of course, Kanisia is the party's main dealer.'
Kanisia has light attribute, which is a hard counter to darkness attribute. In fact, the Catacomb is practically a stage for her.
*Clink, clink*
A sound of something bumping into something beyond the darkness.
"... Alan."
"Yeah. [Firefly]."
Upon Kanisia's call, I nodded and immediately used the [Firefly (Lv.21/Normal)] skill. The lights that rose around us dispelled the darkness and revealed the corpses and skeletons approaching from the other side.
Firefly (Lv.21)
"Position as usual. And this time, our party's main dealer is Kanisia. Oralisa, aim for the joints of the monsters' legs to prevent them from moving."
"Got it."
"Understood, Master!"
Abraham, holding a large square shield, stepped forward. A short while later, the monsters of the Catacomb rushed towards him.
"Yah! Yahyah!"
'[Wind Arrow (Lv.24/Normal)].'
I and Oralisa shot arrows at the approaching monsters. The intangible arrows that pierced the darkness stuck into the monsters' knees.
*Thud!*
*Tsk.*
No, precisely, only the arrows shot by Oralisa stuck into the monsters' knees. The Wind Arrow I shot hit the monsters' thighs. Since my class isn't an archer class, the hit rate was inevitably lower.
I and Oralisa provided support fire from behind, but we couldn't stop the monsters' advance. Before long, the battle with the monsters began.
*****
"Haa... Haa..."
"Wow... This is really tough."
"....."
After the first engagement in the Catacomb dungeon, not only my face but also the party members' faces showed exhaustion. Abraham, who had to receive concentrated attacks from the monsters at the front line, was particularly struggling.
These zombie-type monsters had low attack power but especially high HP compared to monsters of the same level. Moreover, they moved according to the instinct to kill living beings rather than reason, so even if wounded, they attacked stubbornly.
"6 medium growth stones that increase constitution stat."
I told the party members the achievements from this battle. The monsters we faced totaled 20, and 6 of them dropped growth stones.
"It's tough, but it's rewarding."
At the mention of 6, Kanisia's face brightened. Everyone looked exhausted, but only Kanisia was fine.
The monsters that didn't flinch at our attacks crumbled when she attacked. As expected, attribute counters were most effective.
"Now, let's move on to the next section."
"Understood, Master."
After taking a short rest to replenish stamina, we resumed the dungeon clearance.
"Uwa... How many of those are there?"
"... Quite a few. And the guy behind them... looks like a mage, no, a curse sorcerer."
Behind the zombies and skeletons stood an old man holding a staff. The old man's corpse had only half a beard and most of the flesh had fallen off. At the tip of the staff he held, a black aura that looked ominous was burning like flames.
"Kanisia, can you snipe that guy?"
"Hmm... I'll try once."
"Okay, then prepare the mana spear skill and as soon as we enter, immediately shoot it at that guy."
"Got it."
Confirming the mana spears rising around Kanisia, I immediately gave the attack command to the party members.
"Uoooooo! Come at us, you corpses!"
Leading Abraham, we rushed at the enemies one by one.
Uwaaaaaaaaa-
*Clink, clink.*
The monsters that had been wandering around without meaning also discovered us and rushed at us.
"Haa!"
Kanisia's mana spear flew over the enemies' heads.
*Thud!*
The mana spear pierced the head of a taller monster than the others. The trembling monster soon fell.
Oooooong...
A monster resembling the rotting old man pointed its staff at Abraham. The black aura dwelling at the tip of the staff flew towards Abraham.
*Thud!*
But one step earlier, Kanisia's mana spear pierced the monster's head. The monster trembled and fell holding the staff. The monster was dead, and the black aura flying towards Abraham also disappeared.
Dealing with the magic-type monster before the main battle was a great achievement. Although the enemies had no support attacks, we could provide support fire at any time.
Although the numbers of monsters were overwhelmingly large, the battle progressed as we wanted.
"Aquaril! Go help Abraham!"
"Understood, Master!"
More than 10 monsters gathered around Abraham. To prevent possible attacks from behind, I quickly sent Aquaril.
Aquaril, who had leaped forward, bounced like a rabbit and cut off the monsters' necks. The monsters of the Catacomb were basically high HP and defense, so cutting the neck didn't kill them immediately.
Uwaaaaaaaaa-
But we could pull their aggro. The zombie monster that tried to catch up to Abraham's back started chasing Aquaril who had cut the neck and passed by.
'If HP were visible like in games, how nice would it be.'
If HP were visible like in Fairy Masters, managing stamina or aggro would be much easier. But in reality, since HP isn't visible, we had to manage the battlefield by feel.
"Dying, you bastards!"
As always, Kanisia was showing great performance. From behind Abraham, she shot mana spears and then, pouring mana into the spear, jumped into the battlefield.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Every time she stabbed with the spear, large holes appeared in the monsters' bodies, and when she swung it, the remaining rotten flesh fell off.
When almost our four handled one monster, Kanisia alone handled two.
The party members fought excellently against the multiple monsters. We didn't take any small injuries and gradually killed the monsters one by one, reducing the enemy's numbers.
But something was lacking. And I knew well what was lacking for our party.
*Tsk. I need to get skill stones first when I return to Littleberry.*
What was lacking for our party was overwhelming firepower that could wipe out multiple enemies at once.
Currently, only I and Oralisa had their skill slots fully occupied. Aquaril, Kanisia, and Abraham all lacked the last fourth skill, the ultimate skill.
The presence or absence of ultimate skills greatly affects combat power.
We should have obtained skill stones before proceeding with the Catacomb clearance, but we forgot because of Montblanc's test.