C43: Elfish corruption, Expanding Skillset, Reaching Rivira.
Word count = 1806 on 2/27/2024
(Little late. Sorry)
With the unveiling of the extra digits, the group seems to fall under Axel's battle lust as they all charge in with the exception of Daisy, Chigusa and Lily. Lily for the most part is…complaining but also in awe of his brute strength while the other two are taking their roles as rangers seriously as they shoot out arrows or bolts at the distant monsters that haven't reached the group yet. Lily can only focus on picking up all the cores and monster drops as her mind is filled with money.
She has only recently begun to seclude herself from her familia so her bad habits are rearing their head in greed. She has heard tales of Axels' might which is the only thing keeping her from having negative thoughts about backstabbing this group.
Not to mention that she has already given her heart to Bell. Thus, she has no desire to betray the trust she was so lucky to re-obtain after stealing his special knife before. With a properly resolved mind, she stores away her annoyance and gets to work with renewed vigor.
Unfortunately, endurance is one of her weaker stats as she starts to struggle to keep up after 2 hours of traveling as they have reached the 14th floor and while she is safe, her backpack is starting to bulge from the abundance of cores and drops. While she can easily lift the weight due to her skills, the backpack itself is starting to show signs of tearing as the group is fighting off Minotaur groups on one side and Liger-fangs on the other.
Luckily both Chigusa and Daisy had their own backpacks so they share some of the load from the materials and once they reach Rivira they should be able to use the stones and currency though at likely a lower exchange rate due to the current dangers of the dungeon as well as part of the price for transporting the stones back to the surface.
Nevertheless, they have plenty of upper floor cores they can use first to serve as temporary money while the rest is saved until they return to the surface.
"Alright, hold. Clear out the remaining monsters of our surroundings, we'll rest for a bit here before continuing"
"What here?? This is no safe zone. We have to reach Rivira before we can rest" Lily interrupts in a panic while the others trust Axel's judgment even if it does sound crazy.
"So you would rather try to reset in the active warzone that is Rivira and monsters are those we haven't encountered yet or would you rather be here and fight off some minotaurs and ligers?" Axel retorts which causes lily to lower her head in realization that this entire adventure is suicide. Their movements turn awkward for a while until the area is finally clear.
Axel brings out a crystal orb (time for some pondering), and sets it on the ground in the middle of the group. Roars are heard in the distance but Axel pays it no mind as he proclaims "Shade that I am." his body glows blue until a blue ghostlike body covers half of his face
"Ochedin Vallanor, An adleithad nor e Dúath. Natha le calad arphígad[1]"
Axel chants as light flows from his hand into the orb which makes it glow and a bubble appears that then spreads out to the surrounding area until it covers the camp. Axel sits down next to the orb and lies down. He restarts his chant as the group watches in amazement as a horde of monsters comes their easy before running off a side tunnel. As if the area around them is actually a wall in their eyes.
Everyone turns to look to Axel for an explanation and they don't have to wait long.
"A while ago, I had the idea of how monsters know the way through the dungeon? How do they not get lost? So I pretty much 'made' a magic that ensures that a small region like this is closed off from the dungeon itself. It has just proven that monsters avoid us even if they could very well see us unless the rampage effect is hindering their thoughts. That is something to test once this is all over but for now, just relax but keep your weapon nearby as I am still unsure if monsters will break out of the walls. Never had a chance to test this before now."
His words enlighten them but also showcase worry as they are pretty much being used as guinea pigs. They stay together to watch each other's backs while only Axel is actually relaxed. The others are too nervous to properly rest but at least they can take potions or regenerate their stamina by eating and drinking a bit.
Bell suddenly asks, "is this a new artifact you made Mr Axel? Will it be made available in your store?" He asks as he couldn't hold back his curiosity.
"I did not make this. It's a standard crystal orb that a few mages use to adorn a spellcasting staff for ease of usage. It's supposed to help focus a mage but I'd rather use it as a medium for my magic."
"Most people don't have as impressive mind stores as me since keeping this up uses quite a bit of mind. Luckily I can recover Mind pretty quickly so it's not a problem for me to hold on another half hour" he finishes his explanation though he does ponder recreating this through actual magic and not just his elvish soul fragments memory and corruptive magic aspect that is unique to the wraith.
Axel lifts one of his hands before his face as he channels his gluttony skill, he gives it it's little chant as he sees the black aura flow around him. He ponders if this can do more and attempts to manipulate it through his concentration which luckily the orb does not require. He is surprised to find that he could actually guide it. It requires a lot of mental force and a bit of extra mind usage but he could finally extend it out such as into the shape of a needle or claw. He spends the entire resting time trying to extend it further and further from his own body.
Axel ends his ruminations on the intricacies of magic once the group has had a while to rest up. He collects the orb and resummon his arms by stopping his chant once more as the rest of the group has already gotten up and ready to continue. He cancels his mind flow which stops the barrier and it just vanishes before Axel tests out the fruits of his minor training. He punches out at a nearby monster but doesnt connect with his fist, instead a black orb is shot out and slams into the monster's head, crushing it as well as draining energy. How the energy gets back to Axel is through 2 small wire like structures made through the gluttony aura. He could do this without the 2 wires but in that case, he would not be able to absorb anything and he really needs to recover his mind now.
They finally reach the outskirts of Rivira after almost another hour of non-stop fighting. Axel has had more time to try out various forms of gluttony attacks that are more widespread or concentrated. They could have gotten there in roughly 45 minutes but they helped some other adventurers that were part of the supply chain for Rivira. Their groups temporarily merged until they finally got there. Passing by the Goliaths room and Axel Giant sword. He briefly ponders if it is possible for some sort of magic to shrink it. Even if it doesnt diminish the weight, he could still use it more actively. They then meet the first line of defense for Rivira which is held by Gareth Landrock of the Loki Familia. The group is told that Finn Deimne is deeper within and stationed on the otherside, blocking off the stronger monsters while he handles the fort here. The group enters the blockade to finally see Rivira.
The group except for Axel and the temp members are in shock as Rivira is partially on fire. Screams and clanging of metal is heard in the distance as Adventurers are talking amongst each other as they fight off the various monster hordes of bugbears, big boars and a few packs of lizardmen. There are a few casualties but mostly semi-serious injuries and nothing too fatal as their group rushes in when Finn Deimne of the Loki Familia spots them
"Are you here to help?"
"A bit but my team might need a bit of rest first. Ill join the fight first. Tell the others to retreat and rest up" Axel says and he pretty much forces his group to sit and rest as they are covered in sweat and monster blood. They share a few of their resources with the medical team in exchange for a small contract, essentially an iou from the medical team to them. This contract was created by the guild as a temporary measure against monster hordes like this.
Finn and others who are shooting arrows into the crowds of monster give him strange looks but Finn feels an ache in his thumb and with that, recalls the troops while Axel charges forth, his extra arms re-manifesting since he stored them away again upon entering the city. It's not like it consumes any extra mind anyways.
Yet as Axel is about to reach the first set of monsters, he twists his right wrist in a circular motion with gluttony to create a small scaled tornado that he thrusts out into a gluttonous vortex punch that naturally extends up to 30 meters (almost 100 ft, ~98 ft). The nearby surroundings are cleared as everyone witnesses all the monsters undergo rapid atrophy before bursting apart into dust. While Axel was able to make that it's range, he only gained stats and energy back from the monsters in the first 10-13 feet of distance. He will work on extending his control further but he is finally getting proper aoe attacks as group combat is not his specialty as the Antares situation has showcased as his shades are limited in range.
Axel repeats this technique once more to extend the defensive measures while makeshift forts are set up to re-establish the defensive perimeter on the path to the lower floor. As thanks, many adventurers seek to treat Axel to a drink but he declines as he is still too young.
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[1] I renounce the Blessed land, To redeem the Land of Shadow. You shall have light undiminished,