Chapter 249. Each to their own plans
Continuing to scroll down visually, he finally saw the three Negative Affixes those bastards chose, and his expression turned complex.
[ Negative
*Nightmare Portal
While in combat, Nightmare Portals open randomly near players, pouring out dangerous monsters.
*Monster Shadow Damage Over Time Resist
Monsters take 40% reduced damage from your Shadow damage over time effects.
*Unstoppable Monsters
Monsters become Unstoppable when life drops below 15%. ]
The first one he expected it.
If these bastards wanted to continue playing dirty, they would use this Affix to do so, especially since it meant they could send 'reinforcements' in at any time, randomly decided.
What the Affix didn't mention is WHERE the monsters come from. Meaning that the demons could probably mess with this, something Michael wasn't sure about but just had it confirmed.
It was also a good thing since large numbers of monsters meant more Corpses, which for him meant more damage.
The problem was with the second and third Negative Affixes. The second one reduced his overall damage considerably, as 40% of his Shadow damage would be negated.
The third one was even worse, as all monsters, including Elites, would become Unstoppable after their Life Points dropped under 15%. What did this mean?
It meant that his crowd-control skills like Corpse Tendrils and the slow from Decrepify would become useless. All he could do was hurry the fuck up and kill them since they were low on Life Points.
However, combined with Monster Shadow Damage Over Time Resist, the damage might not be sufficient to do that.
The 'audience' probably noticed his change in expression since he was now displayed on the giant screen, and their laughter and roars increased considerably in volume.
This wild laughter subsided once the first devil noble to arrive stood up and said a couple of words toward the sky.
[ Attention!
The owner of this domain proposes an extra challenge.
If the challenger chooses to forego all revive attempts and instead go through the Hardcore Mode (only one life), an additional reward of 10 Level-ups worth of experience will be provided upon successful completion of the Nightmare Dungeon. ]
Hearing the kind 'proposal,' the Necromancer directly gave the devil the middle finger and turned to use the Nightmare Sigil.
The situation was shitty and incredibly difficult, as it is. There's no point in courting death by accepting ridiculous terms, even if the reward is incredible.
Jeers and boos from the crowd subsided after seeing the key-type Sigil open the doors and the Wanderer step in.
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Listening to their 'minions' cheers of excitement, one of the ten devils turned to the first one to arrive and waved his hand to create a sound isolation dome around the nobility.
[X'Fall, I can understand that the Sanctuary would contact you for this farce after being promoted to a Viscount by His Majesty, but isn't this a bad idea? Our plans...](?)
The Viscount in question turned its head abruptly and gave the devil speaking a sharp glare, instantly stopping its rant.
Seeing that he successfully stopped the idiot, X'Fall returned his gaze to the large screen projecting the Wanderer stepping into the Vault of Ink.
[Don't be stupid enough to believe that a flimsy sound isolation spell could stop the Sanctuary from snooping in our conversations. As for His Majesty's plans... Haha! Pitiful Sanctuary trying to protect its people. However, in doing so...](X'Fall)
Seeing the Viscount stop midsentence, the other nine grinned and realized he was actually teasing the eavesdropper.
Khadra, the Baron devil who first questioned X'Fall, continued his inquiry.
[Isn't this a bad idea, though? Allowing the Sanctuary access to one of our main worlds? You are risking too much by allowing it to freely investigate your realm.](Khadra)
[Hahaha! Khadra, old friend, do you know why Dungeons first appeared in Sanctuary?](X'Fall)
[A stopgap measure. The portals we created to invade it were isolated by the rest of the world, allowing the armies we send to become nothing but Dungeon 'monsters' in the eyes of that world's inhabitants.](Khedra)
[Mhm. To put it more precisely, instead of portals, you can think of them as tunnels. A tunnel reaching from the Burning Hells to the Sanctuary. But when threatened, the Sanctuary used most of its resources to create a barrier around itself, blocking outside interference. Like a bubble protecting a small marble. However, it couldn't block everything, so it decided to let some of those tunnels pass through the bubble and slap a 'door' on them, effectively restricting the number of troops we could send at once.](X'Fall)
Watching the Wanderer, who they recognized as a Necromancer, summon a bunch of minions, X'Fall shook his head slightly, realizing that their goal of keeping this person might fail.
Still, their end goal had already been achieved.
[You still didn't answer my question. Why did you agree to have the Nightmare Dungeons relocated to our world instead?](Khedra)
[Tunnels, remember? The Sanctuary made use of the same Dungeons before, but it now opened more tunnels to connect to my realm. Its protective bubble has more holes in it. Didn't you realize yet that the numbers we can send over has already increased by a tenth?](X'Fall)
[So that's why...](Khedra)
[That and the resources.](X'Fall)
[Huh!?](Khedra)
Seeing the confused looks on the faces of his 'friends,' X'Fall internally mourned at their stupidity. Yet again, most demons weren't that smart to begin with.
Even those that became devils.
[With most of the restrictions removed, the amount of resources we had to invest by sending Minion and Elite-level demons into Nightmare Dungeons was very high. Why is that?](X'Fall)
[Uhm... isn't it because of the travel through the portals?](Khedra)
[Exactly. Moving through the void is not a simple matter. Most Minion-level demons would be shredded into pieces before they even managed to reach halfway to the Sanctuary. So, we used more resources to protect them from that happening. But... do we need those resources now?](X'Fall)
[No...](Khedra)
[Hahaha! Exactly. Furthermore, we no longer have to use puppets, meaning that we waste even fewer resources.](X'Fall)
The other nine devils' eyes lit up with realization. After some brief calculations, they all realized that the cost of maintaining these Nightmare Dungeons and their inhabitants had decreased tremendously.
Depending on the quality of the Dungeon, the costs might've dropped as low as 40% of the original amount they had to invest every time.
As for using demons instead of puppets... Demons were an almost infinite resource in their realms.
They could now flood their Nightmare Dungeons with real demons and impose a couple of restrictions to please the Sanctuary.
Seeing the other devils understand his meaning, X'Fall grinned and curiously watched the Necromancer.
In the end, what the Sanctuary didn't know was what they valued even more than human souls.
It didn't know the reason why they agreed to these 'farms' it called Dungeons.
It wasn't because they had no way to invade. On the contrary, they could do so whenever they wanted.
It was only the cost that was somewhat unacceptable in terms of Elite and Boss-level demons' loss.
Then there were the High Heavens that wouldn't remain quiet and instead interfere in the matter, practically having the Burning Hells turn their backs on them and give them a big target to stab into.
Now, only some of the 'farms' moved to their realms, allowing for a much easier 'harvest.'
Not only that, but the number of demons they could send into the normal Dungeons slightly increased with every Nightmare Dungeon the Sanctuary agreed to relocate.
[The plan is in motion. All we need to do is play our part. Furthermore, haven't you all been complaining about your subjects being too bored and start killing each other to pass the time? Now that they have some entertainment, we can all be more relaxed.](X'Fall)
[Haha! That's true. Look at them. They can't wait to be sent in. Speaking of which, who's going first?](Khedra)
[You can decide amongst yourselves. With this Nightmare Dungeon permanently placed in my territory, I don't have to worry about my subjects being bored.](X'Fall)
Hearing the arguing 'nobles,' X'Fall sneered inwardly at their stupidity but no longer bothered with them.
He was more focused on probing the tunnel used by the Sanctuary to connect to his world.
Just as the Sanctuary was 'inspecting' his territory, he was busy reciprocating.
Minutes later, he sighed and stopped his attempts. Surely, the Sanctuary wasn't stupid enough to leave behind loopholes he could take advantage of.
In less than a year, the plan would be set in motion. At that point, this squabble between the Sanctuary and the Burning Hells would become nothing more than petty fights between children.
[Now then. Let us enjoy the spectacle. How about some bets?](X'Fall)
[Ugh... I've been a bit low on souls recently. What are we betting on?](Khedra)
[Hmm... how about we bet on how far that Wanderer would make it before dying for the first time?](X'Fall)
Intense betting began on the 'audience stands,' with the Sanctuary analyzing the words it just listened in on.
It knew the risks, but the situation was already terrible. Without taking any action, humanity would probably disappear entirely in the next three to five years, or in an even worse case, might become nothing more than animals reared by the devils.
Focusing its attention back on the Wanderer, it inwardly hoped he could make it to the end and clear the Nightmare Dungeon.
This Necromancer that arrived from a different world was a key component of its future plans.
Of course, it wouldn't allow him to die a worthless death here, in the Burning Hells. However, the price needed to be paid to save him was a bit too much for its already dry pockets.
Seeing the minions surrounding the Wanderer, it silently encouraged him to kill more demons.
That way, it could afford saving him if worst comes to worst.
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Michael passed through the open gate and immediately appeared in an underground passage.
The feeling of sickness was incredibly strong, but due to his improved constitution, he recovered much quicker than the first time he used a Waypoint.
'Is that why Dungeons are covered by a thin film in Sanctuary? To protect Wanderers stepping inside? Urgh... This feeling is really unpleasant.'
He needed a few minutes to gather his bearings, so he immediately summoned his Quarterback to guard him.
As for the Reapers and the Cold Mages, he realized through his connection with them that he needed some fresh Corpses before they could descend.
Annoyed at the overall situation, he sat on the ground and grabbed a pitcher filled with water from his inventory, taking big gulps.
With his stomach somewhat pacified, he curiously inspected his surroundings.
'Well, isn't this disappointing? It feels just like another cave system-type Dungeon back in Sanctuary. How is this the Burning Hells? Where is the burning? Where is the hell?'
Still, remembering his 'revive chances,' he took a deep breath and calmed his hubris to the lowest possible level.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Vault of Ink
Objective: Find the path to the Observatory
Revives remaining: 6 ]
Checking his interface, he quickly found two new 'afflictions' above his experience bar.
[ Gold Find - You find 10% more gold. ]
[ Magic Find - You find more items from enemies. ]
Rolling his eyes, he tried looking for the Negative Affixes but couldn't see anything on his interface.
Realizing that they might show on the monsters instead, he sat up and inspected the cave tunnels more closely.
'Algal Hollow is the name of this place, huh? I wonder how the Sanctuary got that information... The rockbed doesn't seem any different than the one on Earth, if I'm completely honest, but I am no expert. Stalactites and stalagmites, some pools of water created by condensed water vapor dripping from above... Yup. Nothing that can help me in any way, if I am to be completely honest.'
Wanting to start exploring immediately, he prepared to move forward but stopped himself before taking even a single step further.
He wasn't in the sheltered domain any longer but in the Burning Hells. Furthermore, the devils seemed familiar with this Nightmare Dungeon, meaning it might not be as safe as before.
Patting the silent giant beside him, he watched the Golem bravely move forward, preparing to tank any possible traps.
*TWANG*
*WHOOSH*
*BOOM*
Multiple sounds immediately echoed through the tunnel, making the Necromancer curse at how shameless these demons were.
Normal arrows dripping with a green substance that immediately corroded the Golem's left arm, arrows that moved at a speed so ridiculous that Michael could only catch a glimpse of them before they impaled the poor Quarterback all the way through, and even projectiles that exploded upon contact with the daring explorer, sending pieces of him flying all the way back to his owner.
Stumped after watching his summon die in a matter of seconds, he looked further beyond the triggered traps and saw blood-red tendrils linking up, forming a small portal.
Judging from the claws and horns of the creatures exiting from within, he was about to face his first enemies in a Nightmare Dungeon.