Now that they had joined up with a larger group with more fighters, things were progressing much better than before. Threats that Seth and Cynthia would have had to spend time planning an attack on were now able to be overwhelmed by simple superior numbers.
Sirius' golden lasers were also a massive help in taking down certain foes before they even got close, sometimes before they even knew that they were there in the first place.
The group operated on a rotation system. Two would always protect the non-powered people, and after a few battles in which they drained their energy they would replace one of the guards, and then the other guard after that with the next person going on rest and so on.
Seth had to admit it was a somewhat efficient system. Even if some people used more energy than others or were better in fights, everyone got their own chances to get used to their abilities and earn Requitals.
The only strange part was that Sirius, seemingly the most powerful in the group, would often not use his powers. Instead he would get his hands dirty in combat or simply stay to the side while others took the spotlight.
However, Seth assumed this was most likely down to the fact that he wanted his people to get more training and wanted himself not to become too reliant on the power. It was safe to say that some of them absolutely needed it.
He couldn't tell if none of them picked the Knowledge gift, but it was clear the majority had picked either Communication or Transportation gifts judging from the items they carried or wore. He was even made to carry one of the backpacks someone had gotten from the transportation gifts.
Thankfully it was not an ordinary backpack, but one that contained what appeared to be a pocket dimension inside of it. So long as they could fit the item into the mouth of the backpack, it would disappear inside and become weightless. It was very convenient for transportation of food, both the hunted kind and the kind they had scavenged from various breakrooms.
Despite the lack of finesse some of the fighters had in their many combats, they were still making good progress. In the last 3 hours they had already covered 20 floors, which put them at the 12th floor mark. The majority of that was simply down to the clearance of the stairs which allowed rapid movement between a large amount of floors.
As they walked through the recently cleared area of their current floor, Seth flicked his wrist and sent the dagger he had thrown hurtling through the air before catching it. Since he had traded his position to behind the curtains, he had shifted his weapon into a shortsword and an accompanying dagger. It's not like he was going to fight completely through Coal. He made sure to display some form of competency, just in case they decided to start cutting loose people they thought of as dead weight.
"So, how does it work?"
Turning his head towards the sound of the voice, he found the scruffy haired fellow from before looking at him with large, doe-like eyes, that were only magnified further by his glasses, and a goofy smile on his face. He had spoken to him briefly before when introducing himself to the group, allowing him to learn that his name was Alfie.
When Seth didn't reply, Alfie readjusted his glasses nervously before gesturing to the knife in Seth's hand.
"Your powers I mean, How do they work? Are you able to move anything you want?"
"I wish. I can't move anything that I couldn't actually move with my hand. Otherwise I'd be up there, throwing vending machines like scraps of paper."
"Yeah… but at least you can still kill things with yours."
"You have one too?"
Naturally, he wasn't the only one in the 'helpless' group with powers. There was one person with another face on the back of their head, looking as if he was trying to smuggle the dark lord into a magic school. It was a mental image that always made Seth want to laugh, which meant it made it awkward whenever they made accidental eye contact.
Now, it seemed, Alfie was another member to their group of 'useless powers' even if Seth wasn't an entirely honest member.
"Yeah… Basically it means that instead of sweating I can produce different kinds of smells. I can do it whenever I want."
He gave a half hearted smile as he spoke about his useless new ability.
"Pfft. Alfie? More like Fartie."
One of the fighters that were standing near Seth muttered while stifling a laugh.
'Really? That's the best he could come up with? It's not even clever.'
Letting out a sigh at the oh so witty retort of their faithful guard, Seth patted Alfie on the back and gave him a reassuring smile.
"I'm sure it will have its uses somehow. If not… well at least you'll never have to waste money on deodorant again."
The two of them let out chuckles, continuing to chat amongst themselves as they walked along with the group. Naturally another part of Seth's mind was further ahead, controlling Coal as he bludgeoned the head of a large humanoid creature that had grown a protective shell of bone around itself.
He found that it was getting easier to split his attention, perhaps soon he'd be able to control another puppet, or at least allow a third perspective into his mind without overloading his senses.
The group moved without any major issues while the two of them chatted, the fighters clashing off against smaller beasts that came from insects or the remnants of people, but nothing was too difficult to defeat with their numbers.
The issue came when they reached the door to the 10th floor. The staircase leading further below was completely destroyed, looking as if something heavy had fallen through it. The door itself wasn't opening, refusing to budge when one of the fighters tried to open it. A lot of the group looked a mixture of annoyed and worried, being stuck at this point meant they'd have to spend more time back tracking and hoping to find another way down, or perhaps that they would be stuck here forever.
Using the body of Coal, Seth pushed the other fighter gently out of the way, who gladly made way for the colossal Coal. He raised his foot, slamming it against the door over and over, but still it wouldn't open. Instead, under the barrage of powerful kicks from the stone golem, the door cracked down the middle.
Pausing at the unintended result, he shrugged before jamming his hands into the crack and pulling, ripping the door apart so that they didn't need to open.
However, once they got the doorway clear enough to see through, they were met with a truly unexpected sight when they finally saw what was blocking the door. Vines.
On the 10th floor of this office building, in the middle of a city, there was a veritable jungle before them. Everywhere they looked was covered in flora. Vines snaking across the ground and climbing the walls, miniature trees that had roots digging through the floor in their pursuit of sustenance and the sweet smell of blooming flowers, some of which were almost as big as a person.