148. The Catacombs (II)

This dungeon was a weird one. It only opened at dusk. The sky was an expanse of deepening purples swarming over a trail of faint orange.

Zane and Reina made their way down the broad streets of the L.A. Faction which led to the leaking dungeon. Soon a purplish aura began drifting about, staining the air; it thickened the closer they got. White fingers of fog crawled along the ground, grasping at their ankles.

From the distance came a chorus of soft high moans, shrill shrieks, disembodied sounds—like thousands of little voices crying out in terror. Zane felt a cloud of anxiousness and fear up ahead—they started hearing shouts.

"We're getting close," said Reina softly. She set her mouth in a firm line.

The dungeon's borders loomed up ahead—steep, gothic pitch-black gates pulsing with Elemental Darkness. They hemmed in a graveyard shrouded in stark white mists. The graveyard ran up a massive hill stretching into the foggy distance. It was studded with gravestones—some simple and small and unmarked; others looked lavish and huge, made for kings. The dirt kept shifting uneasily underneath them…

***

A soft blue wall stood just outside the gates—the border between the Safe Zone and the dungeon.

And there was a clear jagged crack running through it. And beyond, those black gates yawned wide open…

Hordes of Monsters staggered out.

Ten-foot-tall skeletons with pure-white bones. Each bone was thick as a tree trunk. The Monsters' eyes burned with a pitch-black light; they made a click-click-clicking as they staggered. A chilly, deathly aura clung to them, frosting the ground as they stepped.

𝕃𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕟 (𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣)

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟡𝟡

Brave teams of Luminous Faction's elites clung on—trying to hold them back. There were a few dozen in all; burly Warriors up in front, mostly in the Level 80s and 90s, making a shield wall. Rogues darted in and out, lashing at the Monsters, striking up sparks, chipping off bits of bone; Archers and Mages fired off fire and lightning.

Skeletons crashed up against the line, one after another. It bent, swayed, but held. When one Warrior went down with a cry the Healers were on him in an instant, pouring in streams of gold light; he staggered back up, grimacing. They all looked pretty battered, sweaty and pale and hobbled.

Then a shadow loomed out of the fog.

So big it had to duck to make it out of the gate. It must've been thirty feet tall—and the aura pouring off it… pure Elemental Darkness. You could hear the ground crackling to ice under each thundering, earth-shaking step—

𝔾𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕟

𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘𝟚

"Foundation Monster!" croaked a burly mustached middle-aged Warrior up at the front. He was Vance Matheson, the Captain of the defense and the highest-Leveled of them—Level 99. His eyes bulged at the sight; he was drenched in sweat.

"How much longer?!" cried an Archer.

"The Savage Sage should be here any minute," said Vance through gritted teeth. "We just have to hold' till then!"

The name gave them all a surge of hope—especially the Warriors up front. They let out battle cries—"For the Faction!"

"For the Mistress! For the Sage!"

They threw up their shields Skills. Linked together, making a massive wall—

A giant bone fist swung down.

"HOLD!" roared Captain Vance.

But it was no use. The fist was loaded with a bomb of Elemental Darkness. And it shattered the shield wall in one blow. Sent half of them staggering; another big fist broke the shield-wall to bits. Sent them flying back, spitting blood. The Healers cried out, tried pouring as much as they could. It was too late.

The Giant Skeleton advanced, the cruel lights in his eye-holes shining with vicious joy…

***

Zane blinked; they were getting close to the action now. It looked like the defense was having a bit of trouble. They scrambled back before a giant skeleton.

The Skeleton opened its mouth; those black embers in its eyes flared bright. And it let out an unearthly roar. It made no sound yet they all heard it; it struck at their souls, a tide of creeping darkness. And all who heard it felt an awful spike of fear. They broke out in cold sweats—he saw several of them drop to their knees. They couldn't help it.

Even Reina flinched—but she bit down and mastered herself a moment after.

It washed over Zane. And did nothing at all. It just wasn't strong enough to so much as budge him. He noticed Reina looking at him—his face in particular. It wasn't even conscious, just an instinct. She did it pretty often nowadays, especially when she was stressed or anxious; she found it comforting for some reason.

Together they marched into the fray.

The front line was shaken. They tried scrambling to their feet—but it was clear they wouldn't make it in time. Half of them were in a daze. The other half were trembling and pale; they looked about to faint. Still, they clung on, hefted up their shields, tried shouting one last desperate battle-cry.

The Skeleton Fist bore down on them—

And Zane rose to meet it.

He just wound back and threw. No Stormfire. Nothing but raw brute force.

His fist met the Skeleton's.

And he watched it come apart in real time. First the knuckles exploded, showering bone-splinters everywhere; then the bones of the hand; then the force trembled up that stark-white forearm, which gave a frightful shiver and burst, scattering bone-shards like shrapnel—there was some sort of Passive Skill reinforcing this Skeleton's body, Zane saw.

But it was still no match for the raw force rolling through it. The Monster could only stare in shock as its whole body erupted; its jaw unhinged in a silent scream—then that went too. A crack split its skull. And it popped.

A hailstorm of bones and bone splinters came down.

Zane landed, wiped off his fist. Took a glance back to check if they were all okay.

They were. And they were staring, too. Then an intense relief surged over them; a few of them fell to their knees.

One of them was a little weepy. "I thought it was all over… oh god—we're saved! He's really here!"

A sweaty, mustached man in a B-rank steel breastplate—still trembling—strode up to them.

"Thank heavens you came, sir!" he croaked. He was stammering a little. "And just in time! This dungeon's been leaking worse and worse… we've been trying our damndest, but…"

The man gave a trembling smile. "It's a joy, an absolute joy, to see you, sir! You're all what we've been clinging to these past few days…we knew we just had to hold out. When the Savage Sage comes, he'd make those undead wish they'd stayed dead!"

They all nodded. They all had fervent faith in him—several of them were looking at him with shining eyes. Like they were seeing some legendary hero or something. Zane scratched his head.

"Thank you for your work, Captain Matheson," said Reina, nodding. "You and your team have our thanks. You've done well, but we'll take it from here." She spoke with such natural authority; it just made you want to listen to her.

"Yes, Vice Leader!" gasped the man. He gave a salute and shuffled off.

Zane and Reina exchanged a glance. "Ready?" he said.

She felt a prickling of anxiousness, but other than biting her lip a little she didn't let it show. Reina met his eyes and nodded firmly, head held high.

**

They passed through the open gates. Into the graveyard.

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕: 𝔻𝕦𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕠𝕟: ℂ𝕒𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕓 𝕠𝕗 𝔽𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝𝕤 (𝔸)

ℂ𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕆𝕓𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤:

𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝟙

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝔸𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕤𝕚𝕦𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕆𝕟𝕖

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕜𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘

(𝟘/𝟚)

𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝟚

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕃𝕠𝕣𝕕

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕒𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤

(𝟘/𝟚)

𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕣 𝟛

𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕫, 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝

(𝟘/𝟙)

The ground was stubbled with limp yellow grass, half-shrouded in snaking mists. And as they passed the gravestones, the tombs began to shake; clawed hands broke through. Skeletons clawed their way out, dark lights smoldering in their eyes, gnashing crooked teeth, radiating a deathly chill. They came hobbling at them.

All were either under Level 100 or barely Level 100. Zane figured at least for this first floor, he wouldn't use Stormfire. For now, he wanted to give Reina a chance to practice her three Signature Skills; she'd never used them in combat before.

The first was her passive skill, Resonance of Harmony. It gave her teammates a 10% boost to all their Skills' powers—but it also granted her a strong intuitive sense for where her teammates needed her.

Then there was her Signature Heal Skill, Architect of Restoration. It'd heal anything living or non-living.

And her most recent Skill, which came after she'd broken through to Foundation—her Signature Shielding Skill, Maker's Touch. When it activated, she got a slight green glow, and grasses and flowers burst out at her feet. It sounded quite powerful; it could manifest a robust shield made out of anything she knew the Laws to. When she tested it in drilling, she made fields of vibrant green energy blossom mid-air. They could catch Skills and soak damage.

She'd been quite worried she'd have beginner's nerves. Or be rusty. Or need a lot of live practice to get things right. So he thought this would be her chance. He was happy to let her have some target practice.

Then the Skeletons came charging at them. Zane went to greet them with his bare fists. And Reina rushed to support him, right behind.

It turned out—Nope.

He let a few of the Skeletons have a go at him. Vibrant green shields stopped their fists mid-swing—thrown at precisely the right time, precisely the right angle. He swerved, ducked, let them clatter after him, try punching him from odd angles. Her shields dissolved and re-materialized. And blocked everything.

It turned out—like with everything else Reina did—she was perfect.

…Of course she was.

He'd been a little worried for her. He should've known better, honestly.

It was such a Reina thing to do to stress half the day about it, then ace it her first try.

It was almost never the case that Zane could go through a fight without getting hit once. But this time—despite there being two dozen Skeletons all hacking at him—it happened. He breezed through them, touched them. No Skills. And they erupted one by one.

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕌𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕀𝕀

𝕊𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕦𝕡!

𝕌𝕟𝕒𝕣𝕞𝕖𝕕 𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕀𝕀𝕀 -> 𝕀𝕍

He didn't even need to think about blocking or dodging; when a fist came at him he could sense she knew exactly how to support him. And she got it exactly right, every time. It was nicely freeing for him. He could just focus on smashing.

By the end of it, he stood in a little sheet of fake snow.

"How was I?" gasped Reina.

"Perfect," he told her honestly. She blinked, then blushed a little. She felt a flush of pride.

They ran through another batch of Skeletons, which confirmed it.

It was time to take the training wheels off.

She started telling him her shielding wasn't as clean as she would've liked it. And she felt she could work on her timing a bit more.

Zane wasn't having it.

For Reina worrying and stress was like the scalpel that let her whittle-whittle-whittle away every little flaw until everything she did was a masterpiece. But he knew her well enough to know she did a lot of useless worrying too; it was his job to snap her out of it.

It was easy to be perfect against Monsters a lot weaker than you. Time to throw some A-rank Bosses at her. He was curious to see how she'd do.

If she could handle shielding and healing him in a Boss fight just fine…

These A-rank dungeons would be little more than giant treasure chests for them to loot.