Valknar
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Chapter 99
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 10:24:26 +0000 UTCMinvar watched her team as they checked themselves over one last time before descending to the sixth floor. This Dungeon was strange and they were no longer treating it like it was beneath them. The two floors they had passed through were presented a marked escalation in danger.
The stair room was well-lit by blue moss. Seeing everyone in a blue tint was odd, but they had adopted it. Her people had sent them with strict orders. Something was happening here and they were tasked to discover what it was.
“Ready?” She asked and the others acknowledged that they were.
“I shall lead.” Brutun was still annoyed with his exploits on the last floor.
“Ready to fall again, oh great [Vanguard].” Strix needled. These comments were not helping.
“Enough!” Minvar snapped before it could escalate. “Xurak leads. We will be ready to support him.”
Brutun snorted in frustration, and Xurak simply nodded. He stepped onto the stairs and started descending. They formed a line and followed. The stairs barely managed one person walking down them; two were but a dream.
“Damn human architecture!” Brutun snarled as he was forced to duck to avoid catching his horns. The others stayed silent. The taller agreed with the sentiment.
The next floor was again different. This time, they found an open cavern with tall grass growing all through it. The moss was concentrated on the ceiling and far denser. The cavern was the best so far. Xurak slowed as he entered the grass. He looked to the left and right as he walked. The rest of the team fanned out to either side.
Xurak tensed and froze. “Movement in the grass.”
Before anything else could be said, the attack began. The snakes hit them from different directions. Their ability to blend into the grass was a nasty surprise, making fighting them harder. Being bitten was not fun either.
“Stay close together and call out as you strike back.” Minvar instructed her team.
It took a few attacks, but they soon got an idea of what they were up against and started killing the snakes. Soon, the last died and the reward for their victory appeared.
“More ambushers! Has this Dungeon no monsters of strength to face us!” Brutun complained.
“Peace, Brutun. This Dungeon is more dangerous than most, so beware the road of arrogance.” Xurak chilled him. The younger warrior snorted but made no further comments.
Minvar took stock of the group and then had them move on. Cavern by cavern, they advanced, fighting snakes in every place. They were wounded from the bites, but they overwhelmed them in each fight. They were using up their healing supplies faster than Nyminar was happy with and Minvar agreed with her position. They needed to be more cautious.
“Next should be the floor boss. We have sustained more injuries than we should have crossing this floor. I want no more foolishness where we are going into a fight that will be far harder than the last.” Minvar glared at the three most responsible for the lack of supplies. Strix and Devas looked guilty, but Brutun was defiant but silent. “Be ready. The boos will be an improved version of the ones we have fought. Nyminar, is there anything valuable about it?”
“Yes, Captain. The whole body as intact as possible will bring an excellent price.” This caused the three hotheads to perk up.
“That means we kill it. DO. NOT. Seek to try to take it without help.” Minvar knew those looks. Xurak shook his head sadly, knowing they would probably not listen, as Minvar also knew. The three were gifted warriors, which had allowed them to advance quickly, but they were still learning restraint—a flaw for most of their people. They had hardly encountered situations they could not fight their way clear of.
The next cavern was the same as the others. Xurak led the way, with the others fanning out either side. Brutun tried to push ahead, but Minvar's glare stopped him. She was thinking about ordering him to…
“Arrghh.” He suddenly staggered and collapsed to one knee as he snarled in pain.
“What happened?” She demanded.
“S-something just bite into the back of my knee.” He twisted to get a look at the wound. “The padded cloth had been ripped right through.”
“Nyminar, see to him. Everyone else, be ready. Xurak, did you see anything?” They followed her orders.
“Nothing, Captain. I suspect its ability to hide in the grass is far better than the earlier ones.” The older warrior was looking around, analysing what he saw and what had happened. “Captain, I fear this snake might be similar or smaller than the others.”
“Understood. Strix will cover Nyminar while she works. Devas, I want you…” Strix started to move as she spoke and then yelped in pain as he hopped about.
“What happened?” Minvar demanded.
“I just was bitten!” He snarled as he pushed through the pain and tested his weight on the leg in question. “I can still fight, but I am slowed.”
“Gods! Did anyone see anything?” Minvar demanded. The choruses of no’s did not inspire her confidence. She needed to take action.
“Listen, I am about cast [Detect Life: Animals]. Attack it as it is revealed. Do not hold back.” Minvar ordered, knowing this spell would demand all of her concentration. “Xurak leads.”
The group formed a circle around her. She closed her eyes and focused on her mana to cast the spell. She created the spell form in her mind and let her mana flow into the design—a faint wave of energy swept out from within her across the cavern. Minvar had to focus on the spell and could not take action; she could only listen.
“There it is! The faint aura impression.” Devas called out.
“Engage!” Xurak gave his orders. “Brutun, fight it. Strix and Devas block its escape routes.”
The sound of a thud reached her ears. Brutun snarled. “It's fast! It’s dodging my attacks.”
“Keep up with it,” Xurak ordered.
“Damn it!” Strix roared. “It has bitten me.”
“Nyminar to him. Devaus, block it! Brutun, keep at it.”
Another thud. “Stay still!”
The stress of keeping the spell active was now starting to affect Minvar. She could feel her mana draining away. Stay focused!
“It’s attacking me!” Devaus yelled.
“It’s trying to distract you.” Xurak this time.
“The snakes glowing. I think it’s a spell.” Nyminar called out.
“Finally, a hit!” Brutun yelled in triumph.
“You have, but it’s hardly wounded!” Strix countered.
“Stop arguing and keep attacking!” Xurak ordered.
The battle continued and Minvar reached the limits of her tolerance.
“The spell is ending!” She called out as she fell to her knees in exhaustion and felt the backlash of mana depletion fast approaching. Around her, the sound of battle continued. Minvar fought against the pain in mind and opened her eyes.
The area around them was trampled flat with many gouges where weapons cut into the earth. Blinking through the pain, she finally saw the boss, causing her eyes to water.
The snake was still hard to see as it tried to blend in with its surroundings. Being forced to move and dodge to avoid her team's attacks was hampering this ability. It avoided a blow by Strix which placed it before, Brutun. The [Vanguard] struck true and cleaved it in half.
“Victory!” he bellowed. The reward came, marking that the fight was at an end.
Nyminar was at her side, inspecting her condition as Xurak collected it. With Nyminar’s help, she stood up, still not steady on her feet. The others were showing signs of weariness from the fight now it was over. It seemed it had been more challenging than they thought it would be.
“Dammed ambushers!” Brutun expressed his opinion. The other two fighters echoed his view.
“Nyminar, what is the condition of the corpse?” Minvar asked. The female next to her looked at the body.
“Bad. Brutun was too aggressive in his strikes. We should still take it as we will get something for it.” Xurak heard her and went over to the body, picking up the two halves and placing them into his dimensional bag.
Her team did not take long to form up and head to the last floor. Minvar had them rest in the stairwell room before descending. More for herself than the others. She had them descend but was concerned as her mana was still low.
The next room at the bottom of the stairs was different. It looked like an area still under construction or a storage area for further expansion. There was another difference between the two well-proportioned doors.
“This looks promising.” Brutun sounded hopeful.
“Stay together. We do not know what lies beyond. I want no foolish actions!” Minvar snapped, still feeling the pain of the mana depletion backlash. Nyminar offered a pain tonic, but refused as she needed to stay clear-headed.
Brutun grunted and pushed both doors open. They opened with no sound or resistance. Before them was a different room again.
The room was more like a hall lit by torchlight, not the blue moss of the rest of the Dungeon. The room was carpeted with green moss and built to hold what was standing on the other side—an Ogre. It was larger than Brutun, dressed in armour and carried a shield with a mace.
Brutun bellowed a happy challenge and charged forward.
“Brutun!” Minvar yelled but knew it was no use. Brutun was losing himself to battle lust now that a seemingly worthy challenge had appeared. The ogre matched him and attacked.
The two quickly crossed the distance between them and collided with a crash. Minvar could have sworn she felt the impact. Both had triggered skills as they collided. Brutun was a hot head but had fought through many battles. Today was the first that Minvar saw him knocked down. The ogre's mass was more significant and it won the clash. Brutun was on his back.
“Strix, Devaus, help him!” Minvar ordered. “We will flank.”
The ogre did not relent, forcing Brutun to roll to the side or be hit by the mace. Strix and Devaus forced their attention away from Brutun, allowing him to return to his feet. Minvar saw him grinning like a foal in a meadow for the first time.
The two [Bulkward]s struck but found the shield, which was actually a door blocking them. The ogre’s mace glowed and it struck a Strix. He got his shield into the position to block.
CRACK!
Strix collapsed back with a howl of pain.
“Strix!” Devaus called in fear. Brutun then rejoined the fight.
“Nyminar!” Minvar indicated to the fallen warrior. She nodded and was already moving.
The two were trading blows, as each was able to block the other. The ogre started to back up, opening space between him, his attacker and the rest of the group. Minvar and Xurack were now moving to get behind it.
Brutun thought he had the advantage and pushed forward.
The black/purple glow surrounding the ogre shocked Minvar.
“Brutun get ba…” Minvar yelled, but it was too late.
Black tentacles are reputed to be from Brutun’s shadow, like the fourth-floor boss. As he was trapped, he never had a chance and the ogre swung with its mace. The tentacles prevented him from getting his shield fully up. The mace started glowing as it approached.
It impacted the top of Brutun’s shield but was not stopped as it rolled off and hit his helmeted head. The impact rocked Brutun and his head turned with the strike. Blood and spit flew from his mouth as his face contorted. He went down face-first into the moss.
Xurak made his move to save the fallen warrior.
He triggered his skills and his arm blurred with [Multi thrust]. His sword slashed across the back of the ogre, cutting into the armour of their opponent. The ogre grunted but stayed focused on Brutun’s fallen form.
Devaus stepped and blocked the ogre's path. His skill enchanted his shield, stopping the ogre's mace. Minvar could not see his face but knew he was struggling. She attacked to help him. Minvar triggered a skill knowing the risk in her action. [Multi thrust- 2 strikes] caused her arm to blur as the strain of the skill swept through her body. Her blade slashed across the ogre’s back as Xurak did and it ignored her, too.
The ogre’s mace smashed into Devaus’s shield, knocking him to the side. The ogre then turned to the two attacking from behind. Both quickly backed away. The ogre could use its size to knock them to the ground and kill them with its mace.
It followed to attack allowing Devaus to re-enter the fight as he was not badly injured. He cut into the ogre's back, adding to the wounds already there. This time, the grunt of pain was louder. The ogre glowed before another blow could be struck, triggering another spell. Devaus hit it again as it turned but failed to injure it in any meaningful way.
“Xurak, keep hitting it and pulling back. We must wear it down.” Minvar felt the strain from the skill use and got concerned. The ogre was throwing out skills and spells without showing any signs of tiring.
Devaus was forced to take another heavy blow to his shield, knocking him back. He was gritting his teeth. This ogre was far stronger than the ones they had fought in the past. Minvar saw that Brutun was returning to his feet with Nyminar’s assistance. Strix was still not in the fight but was cradling his shield-bearing arm. The shield had been removed. It seemed his arm was broken.
Xurak stabbed the ogre in its mace-holding arm, cutting in deep, causing the urge to drop the mace as its hand spasmed. The ogre backhanded the [War Tracker] in return, knocking him away. The ogre bent to retrieve its mace when Brutun slammed into it.
The ogre was knocked back as Brutun followed up his attack. The ogre used its shield to prevent another blow and the glowed countering Brutun’s charge. The [Vanguard] sidestepped, but not enough to avoid the impact. He staggered back and turned his attention back to the ogre, which opened him to be punched in the face. The blow snapped his head back as he staggered back. The ogre was not finished reaching out as it was taller and grabbed his horns. With a savage yank forward, Brutun was taken off balance and fell forward. Straight into the ogre's knee as it went up and connected with his face.
The sickly crunch of the collision made all of his teammates wince. Brutun went down hard and it did not seem like he would get back up any time soon.
Xurak and Devaus were back at it, stabbing at the ogre. Without its mace, it used its shield and hands. If they stayed out of its reach, they had the advantage and they did not want to suffer Brutun’s fate.
The ogre’s wounds were piling up now and Minvar no saw it was starting to take its toll. But the fight was not over. Black tentacles ensnared Xurak, who then was punched by the ogre, knocking him down. Minvar joined Devaus in attacking. Nyminar was treating the wounded.
Devaus triggered his [Taunt] skill to keep the ogres focused on him as Minvar stabbed its vulnerable back. The ogre was beating him down but gave both Minvar and Xurak time to kill the ogre. The injuries added up to the point where it could not ignore them anymore and fell forward as Devaus scrambled out of its way.
With a flash, the reward appeared. Minvar looked around at her team and could not hold back from saying.
“Well, was that enough of a fight for you?”
Comments
Penguin Glutton
Tftc woo that was awesome
Thundermike00
Excellent fight!
