Supreme Warlady Elena Burnstock
I looked at the other three Supreme Legends as they stared back at me and each other here on the 24th layer. The greatest gathering of individual power in millennia if not all of history. The Librarian, The Mathemancer, and the pig, Blood Gore the Butcher.
“So, a final descent, we are agreed?” I asked.
“Yes. But I get first claim,” Blood Gore said. Of course he would try to make things difficult. No one said anything and we all just stared at him for a minute until he finally spoke again. “Since I will be on the front line taking all the initial attacks.”
“I will support Blood Gore and put my claim last, on rotation,” The Mathemancer said.
“I guess I will be supporting you Elena and I will put my claim third, on rotation,” The Librarian said.
“I will act as guard and combat support and put my claim second, on rotation,” I said and then looked at Blood Gore.
“Rotation it is. Let it never be said that Blood Gore is uncompromising,” he declared with as much truth as a pig dressed up in a skirt. No matter how pretty you made the pig, it was still a pig.
But deciding on loot distribution was important. Letting Blood Gore have first pick after each fight wasn’t a huge deal as long as we did a rotational system. I wasn’t going to let the pig get fat off my hard work. He was also taking the riskiest position as the vanguard. While The Mathemancer said he would provide support and I would assist in combat, that didn’t reduce the risk of facing unknown monsters as the front-line combatant.
While I didn’t keep up to date on all the news, I did know that Blood Gore had a well deserved reputation for being an unreasonable person who enjoyed killing. Earning the epithet of Butcher was well deserved.
“So, how deep do you want to try for. I say all the way down,” he said, trying to create drama where none was needed.
“The 35th layer if it exists to see if there is anything beyond a violet monster core. At that point we should try and return to bring back that knowledge,” The Mathemancer said.
“The 35th layer, but I have prepared a one time communication rod. It should punch through all the layers regardless of the spatial disturbance. We can send a single message back and then keep going,” The Librarian declared. Everyone looked at me. Two votes to keep going, one vote to turn back at the 35th layer.
I disliked being put in this position of agreeing with Blood Gore. “I say we wait and see how we are handling the combat. If we are on our last points or have run out and have no more potions, that is when we should turn back,” I replied.
“Showing a bit of fear there Elena,” Blood Gore said while giving me a grin.
“Just common sense. No one has returned back after going to the 26th layer. For all we know we might have to start fighting some super monster at that point. While I am confident of winning, even you can’t fight forever,” I said while giving Blood Gore an intense stare.
“Huh, well fair point. I say let Elena decide when we turn back if we do. If she can’t keep up, it would be good to retreat so she doesn’t die,” Blood Gore said to get under my skin. While I would love nothing more than to cut him down, we were a team.
Unlike low level teams, we all knew the stakes. Blood Gore was creating turmoil to see how I would react under just a bit of pressure. Since I would be fighting next to him, if I had a weak will and backed off to guard myself, I could leave him critically exposed.
“No retreating and we will assess at each passage to the next layer,” I declared and looked at the other people in the team. Everyone gave a slight nod, not objecting.
“I have prepared equipment if the environment gets too much. I suspect that might be part of the problem, where the air is no longer breathable,” The Librarian said.
But the real threat was Mana nullification. It was incredibly tricky, dangerous, and insanely complex. Countering the Mana in a spell. Using far less Mana to discrupt and break apart the spell before it could land. While I could do so in a controlled setting and against lesser monsters, it took someone special to do this in life or death combat.
“I rip them apart before they can rip me apart,” Blood Gore said. While it might not seem descriptive or accurate, it was the truth. He would rush in, trying to deal more damage to the monster before they overwhelmed and killed him. It was a messy and insane way to fight, but he made it work.
I shuddered to think how high his passive defensive skills were. He was the inspiration for my son focusing on resistances. It was a shame we didn’t have a true support or healer in this party. But there were no healers close to the necessary level or combat ability. The mindset needed to be a healer and gain levels would inevitably lead one to becoming a dark healer, something no one wanted to see.
“Anything else before we depart?” I asked and looked around at the group. We had covered everything of importance. Combat was too fluid for more precise roles and each of us was a Supreme Legend in our own right. There was no need for handholding or complicated strategies.
While Blood Gore might not seem like a team player, he chose to be a pig most of the time. But he was capable of working with others. Especially when it aligned with his desires to fight and become stronger. When he died no one would mourn his passing, but he wouldn’t want anyone to.
As for The Librarian and The Mathemancer, they were old, and this was going to be their last adventure into the dungeon. Supreme Legends did not die in bed of old age. They died fighting. I would have preferred to watch over my son, but if we were going to descend, now was the time when all four of us were capable. Once their stats and skills started decaying, the two old men wouldn’t be willing to risk a final descent.
I was going to destroy this dungeon and end the source of the monsters no matter what to avenge my family. While the companions weren’t the best, one pig in particular, their strength was not in question. Only Blood Gore had worked to go beyond level 150 and the 6th class selection. The other two had stopped at their 6th class, giving up on progressing.
“Then let us depart,” I declared. Blood Gore grinned. He took off and I remained half a step behind him on his left. While he could fight equally on the left and right, I had noticed he preferred his right. I would cover his weaker side.
He only glanced at me but didn’t say anything. He was a pig, but he wasn’t a stupid pig. We would have to work together to descend. There was a twist to the dungeon every 5 layers. Starting on the 6th layer was large groups, then mixed groups, complex tactics, and then unique skills. The fact no one returned from the 26th layer was concerning, but I was ready for whatever might show up.
Getting to the 35th layer meant another twist on the 31st layer if we made it that far. With Sarah by my side, I had the confidence I would return. Perhaps I would find another natural treasure for my son. As for the egg and the monster inside of it, I would wait and see. It would likely end in tears, but it was ultimately his choice. A shame he chose a path with no future, but ultimately it was his life.
I didn’t like being controlled and I could see the same fire in his eyes as well. At least he had the courage to stand up to me. If he hadn’t that would have been worse than choosing a monster. And the danger to his soul removing a tier 4 skill was no small matter either. But if he had the courage to confront me, he might have the strength to go the distance with a pet. At least that was my hope, even if I had no faith in the outcome.
As for his father. He could play his games on the surface. Ultimately, it was none of my concern as long as he didn’t drag our son into his schemes. He knew that, but sometimes people would forget what they should do and require a painful reminder.
We reached the Champion of the 24th layer and Blood Gore rushed forward at the giant Fire Wyrm. I drew Sarah and cut down the lesser monsters swarming towards us, creating a space for our team. The Mathemancer slowed them down and deflected their paths into my attacks. The Librarian canceled out their flame breath.
Blood Gore landed on the massive Firm Wyrm Champion and began ripping into it even as his skin burned. “Slice!” I attacked the Fire Wyrm from a distance to help him out. A torrent of molten blood erupted from the monster as my attack landed and Blood Gore burst through the monster. Having to defend from two attacks at once, forced the monster to split its Mana and skills to defend itself, allowing Blood Gore to easily finish it off.
The Mathemancer and the Librarian easily finished off the lesser monsters that had been swarming towards us. For our first fight as a team, it was decent. Any one of us could have won that alone, but together we triumphed in mere seconds.