the prowess of magic
Alex stood and walked rapidly to the crushed bullet, examining with a critical eye.
'Who would have thought that a simple summoning charm, etched and linked to a magical source, would reproduce a firearm with a simple banishing spell.' Though him while reforming the bullet to its pristine condition. Ever since his blessing, Alex has recovered his ability to shape matter to its peak. Only matters with a trace of magic need him to temper them naturally.
-Not everyone had the means to create such a weapon, but it's true that it wouldn't be that difficult through other means. If wizards had given Mundane the time of day, they would have weapon far more efficient that riffle. How much was the expansion runecore?- Comment on CS before asking the result of the experiment.
'A factor of five. If it is constant, anything connected to it, with a viable magic source, would keep the expansion.' Told Alex, while he returns to his post, assembling the second magic gun.
The shape of say weapon was a little unconventional, as the powering core and runestone were slightly protruding on the hand, between the thumb and forefinger. The clip stops just mere millimetre of the chamber were the summoning charm was etched.
The rune array worked like any full-filling one used to enchant self-inking inkpot or vial, from a linked container.
The length of the barrel was charmed to silence the bullet flight. Without the exploding reaction, the firearm was completely silent, other than the bullet trajectory's displaced air.
Alex wasn't naive enough to think that the weapon would deal with the stronger monster, but for goblins, variant and hobgoblin? It would be a slaughter. Unlike his throwing spears, he only needs a simple pulse to activate the printed circuit board, to fire it.
All in all, Alex had nearly nothing to do; the runecore and runestone did all the heavy lifting. Another advantage of powering the weapon through the external batterie was his ability to overload the spell. The longer he held the pulse, the more the runestone spell would be decisive.
He didn't dare to test the limit here, but he knows that he could surely burst head easily, at least a short distance.
~~~
Alex immediately crafted the remaining 8.400 bullets, before loading them in the three other clips. He didn't regret using all his six Dungeon core to craft the two different type of runecore, knowing that he would either gain some more or die.
Alex knows that he only barely scratched the possibilities of his new weapons, but he didn't have the time to think more carefully at their possible development. He would have the leisure to do so, once the Dungeon and nests cleansed.
Storing his two other clips in his storage, Alex rushed back to the fourth floor, rapidly running past the outer circle, before entering the inner one.
Once the thick wall separating the two areas passed, Alex discovers a similar structure as before. The only difference was a root. Among the ten present, only a single one had larger buds. The room had still nine goblins and a variant as guards.
Aiming at them, Alex soundlessly peppers them with bullets. The monster didn't have the time to react before dying. Entering the chamber carefully first, Alex burst to the gem when the monster fails to awake.
~~~
In the following twenty minutes, a vastly different game than the one in the outer ring happens. Banking and stealth, Alex played with the shadows, killing all roaming monsters, before passing to the next room.
The efficiency of modern weaponry brought him an absurd advantage when facing the monster.
'They can stay in the medieval area all they want, no way in hell I will play hero and fair against those creatures!'
Since Alex could clean the room rather soundlessly, and the buds weren't mature enough to open, he first cleared the rooms, before retrieving the gems.
Clearing the following two floors turned to be more or less similar, where he only need to peeper the goblin and variant of a room three times. Those situations were simply due to an accidental goblin turning its head at the wrong time or similar.
After clearing the sixth floor, and climbing down to the seventh one, Alex saw a slight difference. Since the fourth floor, stairs have always been on floor centre, leading to the main chamber's side under it. From them, a twisted and narrow path would lead him to the outer edge, making him make his way to the centre once again.
He did cross path with few stranglers, but they were never more than two or three at time. He would not shoot them to save some ammo, but throw a knife, taking it back, before leafing the corpses behind, leaving the core collection for latter.
Barely an hour after crafting his guns, Alex stood at the foot of the seventh floor's staircase.
~~~
Looking around as soon as he exited it, a considerable expense of empty space greeted him. The floor, walls and ceiling were already the root-like structure he stared to hate, but the rest was left open.
The glowing stones, hidden amongst the roots, gave him enough light to see the entire floor. The reason he stops was due to the chittering voices of the monsters he could hear nearby.
As the floor wasn't entirely designed, nothing separated him from the central chamber. The ceiling was a good five-meter high, a more than any previous one, the ground had shrunk to around a fifth of the settlement' clearing.
Even then, the almost ten thousand metre square was spacious enough to house and hid the four hundred plus goblins he smelt before. The only place they could be hiding was the central structure in the middle of the expanse.
-I think it is where the Dungeon core is, on every floor, a room always situated in the middle. If I were to guess, the core would construct the floor. Once done, its sink below, creating the next level, while pumping magic in the floor above to build the structure. If I'm right, there should be another floor below.-
Alex immediatly consigns CS words, knowing he wouldn't have the time soon and wasn't willing to put it off from later and forget. Sending his grimoire immediatly back in his storage, he took his guns back, knowing that he had still more than enough ammo left inside both.
-We came across variant, so be careful. The reduced size, the seventh floor, all this reck of a three-time three-layered type of structure, each having their upgraded monster in.- Spatted CS, clearly not appreciating the potential harm this was putting Alex on.
Only the fact that his new weapon had dispatched variant easily, ease CS at Alex more than probable soon-to-be encounter with hobgoblins.
~~~
Alex responded to none of CS' comments, but the last know that he was taking them at heart. Slowly circulating on the open ground, Alex rapidly caught the sight of another flight of stair through the opening of the room, and dangerously, close.
Alex could see the silhouette of the goblins; their back turned to him. Creeping closer, he threw a rapid glance inside, seeing all the four hundred worth of goblins looking at a single bud ready to open, among the opens, smaller ones.
-Fuck! A hobgoblin, right from the start! The bastard seems ready to birth even.- Cursed CS, while Alex looked critically at the opens buds of goblin and variant. Calming down a little, CS rapidly counted them. -Around a hundred. It seems that a hobgoblin Gem birth one every hundred goblins or every ten variant from the sight. The same ratio for the variant Gem. No need to take risks or save ammo anymore, shower them!-
Following CS advise, he silently step into the opening. Steadying his breath, he aimed before releasing a tidal of rapid magic pulses. As soon as the pulses travel through, the guns activate, and a hailstorm of steel tore through the tightly packed four hundreds of goblins.
Alex needed thirty seconds to realise that the guns could cope with his pace, needing three seconds to fire a bullet, summon another, before launching it. Seeing this, Alex started to lightly hold on to the pulse for two seconds, doubling the bullets' velocity, and dealing four times more damages.
If the first barrage made the bullet deeply peeper the goblin, the second one was tearing through them, and kill those behind.
~~~
The sudden and silent assault caught the monster completely off guard. Their situation turns better when they could see where spraying blood or flying limbs and burst guts. With only a single entry and their large amount, the goblins were sitting duck showered in steel.
The carnage he created by tearing through multiple goblins only added to the confusion and slowed their reaction as corpses rapidly stacked a little everywhere.
The chaotic battlefield shifted when an angry and deep bellows resound in the chamber, spreading to the floor below.
Raising his eyes, Alex caught the sight of flying goblins, carelessly thrown away by the raging hobgoblin making his way to him. Stopping from firing the goblins for an instant, Alex charged a three-second double shoot, before rapidly aiming at the hobgoblin and release the pulse.
The two bullets tore through the air in a whistling sound, the noise-suppression charm unable to cope with the power. Time seems to freeze for a second before bursting the head of the hobgoblin.
Alex perked hears that warned him of the impending doom, before feeling the slight tremblor originating from the staircase near.
~~~
Alex looks briefly at the emerging force composed of more than two hundred goblins; hundred variant leads by two hobgoblins. Before he could act, the remaining force present in the chamber immediatly migrates to the task force, bolstering their rank by two other hundreds of goblin.
-Seems the last-ditch effort of the dungeon, no need to hold back anymore.- Told CS to Alex.
Hearing him share the same thought, Alex bolts out of his position, widening the distance between him and the force, who momently stop to absorb the remaining population present on the floor.
AIming at the two larger monsters of the group, Alex fired a three-second long shoot at them. The bullets' small size and the Dungeon low light leave the two hobgoblins unable to dodge them, becoming the last stand's first victim.
With a flick of his wrists, the guns vanish, replaced by two throwing spears. Sending a pulse of magic in, Alex activates the two still usable runestones. The edge of the spears had barely enough time to turn pink, while the marbling turns red.
With the tightly packed group, Alex didn't even need to aim correctly. Launching the spears, two other immediatly appears in his hands as he retracts them. By the time the first pair attain the goblins, Alex had his third in hand; the second already sends flying toward the monsters.
Aimed at the right, centre and left, the three pair of spears cleaves through the firsts rank of goblins and variants like nothing, before the odour of burned fleshes rapidly spread in the enclosed space.
Seeing the three lines cut in the opposing force, Alex threw against three pairs of spears, before preparing for the impending clash.
~~~
Bolting at them, Alex hands darts to his quiver, retrieving his talons, before cutting a bloody path in the group.
Waving gracefully amount them, Alex cleaved and cut at the monsters. Due to his speed and previous action, the goblins were powerless. The lines cut in their rank leave him enough space to manoeuvre, while their numbers block them to gang on him with more than four at time.
Taking a split second stop, Alex slides two runestones on his talons, before twisting on himself. As his hand were at waist height, the ribbon-cutting curse plough through the goblins in a wide circle.
Heads flews and chests were carved on a metre circumference around Alex. Unwilling to relent his assault, Alex took advantage of the brief vacuum created and twist again while raising, pelting the incoming force with runestones.
The second the activate runestones came in contact with a goblin or variant, blasts of fire swallowed the surrounding on a half metre radius, barely far enough of Alex not to hit him. Unbothered with the flash raised the surrounding temperature, Alex threw a spell from both hands at the rising steam.
"Glacius!"
The two bolts of artic light create a deafening explosion the second they flash-cool the high-heated steam.