C80: Encounter in the White Palace.
Overall Word count = 1565 on 5/13/2024.
(1/3)
Axel's group entering the 37th floor was fairly uneventful after resting at the end of the previous floor as planned. The condition of the dungeon changes once again as they walk down these steps. It's closer to the arrangement of the Water City with the exception of the water itself and the 'white' walls which is why the region itself is called the White Palace. Though it's not quite a true white. It's a dull white as the area is still relatively dark but everyone in Axel's group can see in the dark thanks to their rings.
It is starting to be harder to navigate the dungeon for the sole reason that each 'hallway' is akin to a full sized house at this point. Every hallway, room, and structure is it's own mansion due to the magnitude of the length, width and height of the floor. It also doesnt help that this floor retains it's own unique environment and rapidly changes starting at the 39th floor again. This is all just a giant staircase to reach Udaeus on the 38th floor.
The group finds that some of the walls are numbered 1-5. Previous adventurers have already categorized the arrangement of the rooms. The outskirts is number 5 which is typically correlated to the Beast's rooms. A sign that further identifies this region as a palace. It's a maze that becomes more complicated the further in one heads'. Number 4 is the Soldiers room. 3 is the Warriors room, 2 is the Knights Room and number 1 is the palace room itself.
The reason for their names is due to the monster(s) that make this place their home. The Spartoi being the most dangerous. In the beast's room which is the outer perimeter, The monsters are Skull Sheep which come in the form of various hound-like skeleton creatures with goat skull heads that dash around. They are as quick or at most a tiny bit slower than the recent Juggernaut that Axel fought. They have sharp teeth that they use to gouge out the organs of any adventurers they encounter. The teeth is the primary weapon but they also have sharp claws but those are restricted by their shorter arms which prevent that from being a threat and hopping around.
Whilst entering the Soldiers Region, the group encountered their first random Well Worn otherwise known as Lambton. A powerful creature that is well known for digging through the dungeon floor itself. Two of these had previously made their appearance under the control of the last Rudra familia member before they fought against the Dis Sisters and the Corrupted Spirit. Axel faces the group as he points backwards at the Well Worm.
"You see that thing. They all belong to me. You all can fight them but they are just too wonderful for you all to kill. Just making that clear" Axel tells them how previously a single well worm was enough to give him a few hundred points worth of stats to at least strength and endurance. They accept the proposal but at least Aisha makes it clear that she isn't responsible for the monster dying if they get surrounded or struggling. Axel nods in agreement as he moves to stack a few layers of gluttony before arriving before the Lambton and thrusting his arm into the worm's body. Causing it to be unable to escape without forcing it to tear its own body apart to escape Axel.
Before the eyes of the group, the Lambton swiftly begins to dry up until it becomes a weak husk of a worm and then explodes into dust. It had seemingly released a strange roar which attracted another worm to them as well as a group of Spartoi to fight against Axel and co.
It has to be mentioned that in the Soldiers room the spartoi begin to show up here. They have a humanoid shape akin to simple skeletons but with gray bones with cloth wrapped around their bodies. These skeleton soldiers wield simple weapons like clubs, swords, daggers or simply claws. They retain the same speed as the Skull Sheep but with higher flexibility and strength. The reason the Spartoi are considered the elites of this floor as it's due to them being closer to fighting actual adventurers than normal monsters.
This is further exemplified as they enter the Warriors room, A large space that holds another, more heavily armed version of the spartoi as these comes with small chunks of armor as well as more diverse weaponry such as spears, halberds and scythes in addition to the already present swords and knives. The other alternative for monsters is the Barbarians and Elite LIzardmen.
The barbarians are akin to tougher Minotaurs with two large and curved horns on their heads, black skin, red hair, and yellow eyes. They are weaker than the spartoi but only in terms of dexterity and speed. They make up for it with their higher grade strength and endurance. Capable of taking more hits and dishing them out in powerful swings of their blunt weapons. [1]
The lizardmen on the other hand are less original. They are similar to the ones from the Great Tree Labyrinth yet their scales are blue in comparison to their original red scales from before. Their weapons have not changed from the original sword and shields, they just lack the flower like design that was native to the great tree floors. Both of these monsters are comparable to level 3 or 4 adventurers which is why Welf and the others who are lower level are struggling.
The group feels that with each fight they have been growing stronger faster. They just attributed it to their rings but did pester Axel about the exact reason for it but he just slyly grins and remains mute. They can only give up their questioning but Aisha was able to convince Haruhime to neglect Axel for a while as the price for his obstinance.
As the group enters the Warriors Area where the Spartoi don't change that much except being in greater numbers and being able to use classic battle tactics which made them more annoying for the weaker team members like Welf, Daisy, Lily and the 3 Take Familia members. Haruhime who sits in the back row blasting a few spells at the skeletons faces little problems nor Aisha who is capable of bulldozing through individual monsters with ease but slightly struggles whenever they stack 3-4 shields to block her sword. Eventually the spartoi are killed off and the group hears metal collisions further ahead.
"Be careful everyone, we are after all on the 37th floor. Anyone who can reach here is exceptionally strong and likely in a coordinated group" Axel warns his team who nod in agreement before pacing themselves as they move forward. It takes a while for the sounds to die down but also for Axels group to move forward as the area is a bit like a maze which makes it harder to navigate or progress at all as a certain winding path could lead into a dead end while others would bring them back to the beginning.
Luckily, Everyone has already learned how to use the ring function to be able to sense each other's presence. So if everyone splits up there is little harm to them. Granted, each small team would need one damage dealer to fight the Spartoi and other creatures that might spawn on them.
Eventually the group arrives at the 4th region, the Knights Room and inside they find that a sizable group is cleaning up a battlefield from rows and rows of Spartoi, lizardmen and barbarian drops. The barbarian drops are far more obvious as they are random organs or bits of fur amongst the monster cores.
The group itself is composed of around 30-40 people. A foolish endeavor as most of them are barely level 2 if even that from what he can tell. Though to be down here there should at least be a group of elites amongst them. His thoughts are confirmed as Aisha points off to the side and the group lays eyes upon Finn Deimne. The Pallum naturally spots their group as well and begins to approach them. His actions are visible to the rest of the Loki familia executives who begin to move as well.
"Greetings Titan, What a pleasant surprise to see you so far down. Thought it would take you longer"
"Hello Braver, it is indeed shocking but what can I do if my teammates are so strong that we came for a casual stroll through the White Palace." Axel responds with a hint of amusement. The Braver takes a quick glance at everyone and roughly half the group makes his thumb ache, but it's harder to tell since just being in Axel's presence already does that but he notices the minor shift in his intuition as he gazes at each member to gauge their threat level. Lily almost hides as she has suddenly found herself before the Pallum role model but her sizable backpack makes that an impossible challenge.
Finn Deimne soon ends his thoughts as he begins to ask a question.
********************************************************
[1] Imagine the barbarians are Asterius from the Xenos but his black fur is red.