Have you ever seen a fight where, after delivering a knockout blow, the attacker viciously pummels the other?
The scene unfolding in front of Aldrich wasn't much unlike that. The brutal attacks from the swarthy Burmese champion stunned the High Banshee. Even before its brain, if it had one, could process the pain from a punch, an even more deadly knee or kick had already followed it. Aldrich saw Tun Bo Ag bouncing back after using the Skill "Battle Rush Pounding".
The Crawler couldn't even catch its bearing when Tomiko, now behind it, raised her Naginata and slashed at her back. Blackish blue blood spurted out of the Crawler and it seemed to sparkle. The towering Banshee didn't know about Chess but it could see the fluctuations in Mana. It hatefully looked at Sonu and Aldrich saw, through his Divine Sense, its throat rippling and shuddering to let out a scream. But before it could have wailed, a brief current of horrifying fear passed through its body, canceling the Skill altogether.
INTIMIDATION
Aldrich had been waiting for this moment to catch the Banshee by surprise. He knew no one here could find out what had happened. He saw an astounding expression on Tomiko's face. She seemed to realize that it was a decisive moment. Aldrich saw her Naginata twinkling like Starry Night. Her hair fluttered without wind and her grip on the Item loosened to use the Skill.
"Naginatajutsu 1st Kata - Stars scaling the Heaven."
Except for Aldrich, none could see the trajectory of her weapon. Only a flash like that of a shooting star had brightened the darkness of the tunnel for a moment. When the eyes of the Dreamers adjusted to see again, her Naginata had already pierced the Crawler's head. The High Banshee couldn't let out her last wail and crumbled away, leaving a Mana core and a jet black object hovering in its place. Aldrich was pleased to get a little of the Experience Points to reach Level 4.
The Party members gathered around the Drops of the Crawler. The black globe was too valuable to be ignored. Most of them shared an intense feeling of obtaining it. But Tomiko and the rest knew that without Sonu's Skill, it couldn't have been this easy to deal with the High Banshee. But an even scarier thought had occupied Sonu's mind.
"The Quest 1 is still incomplete. This wasn't the Elite," said Sonu, reminding everyone not to relish in their momentary victory.
"Ah, man! You need to chill sometimes. Look, killing this Banshee or whatever was not that difficult, right?"
Tomiko jeered at Seong's comment and said, "Humph! You didn't even do a thing. Don't talk about difficulty, given your paper-thin shields."
Seong didn't seem to mind the retort. "They aren't that thin, you know. So, can I have that Skill or what?" said Seong, chuckling.
"Tomiko was the one who had dealt the finishing blow. She would have the first right over it. After that, it would be Tun Bo Ag's turn and if they don't want that, then you can have it."
"What's with these rules and shit?" Seong didn't like Sonu making the rules.
Aldrich saw Tomiko looking coldly at Seong. She must have felt it was beneath her to even give a reply. Despite that, she said, "That's the rule made by the strongest Dreamers to avoid unnecessary arguments. Are you saying their advice means nothing to you?"
"Ok ok, let's first see which Skill is it.," said Sonu, breaking off the tense mood.
Sonu touched the hovering object, and the System transferred its data to all Party-members.
[…
Skill: Illusory Gaze
Nature: Active, Not-upgradable
Cooldown: 00:10:00 hrs
Minimum Usage Condition: Perception 7, Correspondence 15
Consumption: 150 MP
Rank: Common
Description: Dreamer can induce illusions by looking directly in the target's eyes.
Warning: The Skill's efficacy and duration of illusions depends on difference of levels and Rank
Warning: Dreamer can select only one target at a time
Do you want to equip the Skill?
…]
"I don't want it," Tun Bo Ag utterly rejected the Skill.
It seemed nothing that came under the group of direct attacks could catch his eyes. Aldrich also felt the Skill was more suited to Tomiko and Sonu.
Upon seeing the nod of Sonu, Tomiko took a deep breath and said, "Yes."
The black ball crumbled, leaving behind a blue Mana core. Sonu handed it over to Tun Bo Ag, who didn't refuse it. It was a better form of money.
The group took a brief rest and continued traveling deeper into the tunnel, maintaining their earlier positions. A few hours later, Aldrich saw a stairway leading up to an opening. The members shared a look of alertness and made their way up. The scene that greeted them comprised a rocky roof, tall but slim trees, and pastures and water pools. Even with all its beauty and fresh wind, it didn't look natural.
"Let's keep moving. We also need to search for Mr. Mantis," said Sonu, addressing the other Dreamers.
But just as Sonu had spoken those words, a shout came from a distance. The group could see Mantis came running towards them, huffing and puffing, seemingly out of breath. Aldrich was about to stop Sonu, seeing him run towards the coming Mantis, but held himself back. He looked at the Stat window of the Mantis in his hippie clothing and a devilish grin surfaced on his face.
Mantis approached the rest of the group with a greedy look in his eyes, and even Sonu, for the first time, looked tempted by what he had heard from him.
"I went after Tomiko-chan but somehow I got lost and ended up coming here. I thought it was better to wait for everyone to come here rather than trying to find my way back by myself," said Mantis, explaining his absence.
"Mr. Mantis is saying that there is a clowder of Cat-sithe Crawlers a mile ahead," said Sonu. He pointed at the pic and data on the document given to them by the authorities outside the Dungeon.
The document clearly stated that these Crawlers were best known for grinding ExPs. And who would mind accumulating easy Experience Points given that they were in a Random-Dungeon. Aldrich saw Tun Bo Ag balling his palms into fists on the prospects of the upcoming fight.
"I am putting dibs on the next reward," said Seong, looking at Tomiko. Tomiko, in return, just turned around and made her way in the pointed direction.
"Tch! BORING," Seong shouted, catching up to her.
The surrounding turned a little foggy as they crossed the halfway mark. Aldrich had been walking in front of the group giving an impression of being unaware of the events that were happening behind him. As the fog thickened, a shout of surprise and horror came out of Mantis's mouth. Mantis had been walking with the captain at the back of the group, updating him on the terrain ahead.
"Everyone, the captain's missing."
All the members, shocked by the high pitch scream, frantically looked around. But aside from the bellowing fog, there wasn't much they could see. Even with the Sonu's status as a Party member they couldn't find his general location. Aldrich saw Seong looking at Mantis with a questioning eye. Though late, Aldrich knew that the first one to notice something amiss would be none other than Seong.
"I say, let's search for him in pairs before the fog thickens anymore," said Mantis, looking scared by the sudden turn of events.
Aldrich, seeing an opportunity, interjected, "I would be fine by myself being a Scout. Mr. Mantis, go with Tun Bo Ag, and Tomiko and Seong can search in the opposite direction."
Tomiko didn't like the idea of her being with Seong, but compared to this Mantis, he was the lesser evil.
"Okay. Keep marking the ground while on the search and we would meet here again in an hour," she assented.
Just as the group separated, Aldrich dashed towards a predetermined direction. The fog churned as he heard a sweet voice singing an even sweeter song. But neither fog nor the song could affect Aldrich's momentum. How could have he lost his sense of direction when he had already locked on his target?
Aldrich came to a stop when he saw "it". This Crawler seemed to try too hard to make itself feel like a human. But its appearance was just too ugly and, for some, ghastlier than the scariest dreams. The Crawler's limbs were skinny and twice the size of its torso. It had no eyes but only a gaping hole for a mouth. Strands of old hair drooped down from its head. The blackish gray colored skin looked frail and coarse. In place of its stomach was a deep, well-like hole, and many cobweb-thin tentacles flailed about within it.
And these tentacles had tangled themselves around Sonu. The Crawler noticed Aldrich's presence and let out a roar. But who knew by following what kind of twisted rules, its roar turned into a beautiful song. Aldrich didn't wait for it to finish the task and his Divine Sense enveloped the whole Crawler, which left it shuddering in fear. The tentacles loosened their grip and Sonu came sliding down from its opened stomach.
Like slicing a butter, Aldrich cut off the head of the immobile Crawler and climbed up a nearby tree while still holding it. He looked far in the distance, trying to find something amid the fog. As he found his prey, an ethereal red vapor surrounded him and his body had burst out with unimaginable strength. Aiming, he threw the head, and a boom resounded with him as the center.
[…
…
Strength: 77 (+3 +50)
Perception: 50 (-50)
…
…]
CHANGE + 3 MILES SHOT
Far away, Tun Bo Ag was searching for Sonu when he heard a loud swishing sound. Before he could even react, a thumping sound echoed behind him. He turned around and found the head of Mantis had blasted apart like a balloon. But even more disgusting was the squirming flesh. Tun Bo Ag watched with disbelieving eyes as the body without head turned into a disgusting creature. And a mummified person in hippie clothing slipped out from its stomach.
[…
You have killed 1 Common Changeling
…
…]
It was truly a time for grinding.