TtOW! - Chapter 18: Terminate the Beast Dungeon...Maybe...If The Valued Allies Get Around To It... (Patreon)

Taog grit his teeth as a monster crashed into his shield, a boar nearly as tall as his shoulder.  He let the creature push him back then pivoted to the side from the momentum.  He held his sword back handed, and stabbed it into the monster’s side as he spun about.  The boar squealed as it continued on.

And then Taog let out a cry.  Another mangy wolf locked its jaws onto his ankle.  He grunted and hacked away at the monster until it let go…only for the boar to charge back into him, sending him flying into the wall.

“Ateia, a little help here?!”

“Hang on, I’m a bit busy!”

Ateia was wrestling with a wolf herself, her bow dropped on the floor.  She held the wolf’s jaws away from her with one hand and stabbed the wolf’s neck repeatedly with the dagger in her other.

In other words, Taog wouldn’t have any covering fire for a bit.  He grit his teeth and leapt out of the way, rolling on the ground as the boar crashed into the wall behind him.  He groaned as fire shot through his ankle and his back ached.

“Seero!  A little help here?!”

“Negative Response: Risk of friendly termination is not yet at critical levels.  Mission parameters state this unit should not intervene at this time.”

“We’re being overrun!  I’m already bleeding here!”

“Observation: Friendly Taog’s HP predicted at reasonable levels.  Friendlies Taog and Ateia possess recovery methods, and this unit has the Recovery Magic skill.  Non-fatal damage does not indicate a risk of immediate termination.”

“Screw you!”

Taog grit his teeth but it seemed their benefactor wouldn’t budge unless death was imminent.  And ultimately, she was right.  This was what they asked for.

And this was just a taste of what an Exploratores might face in the line of duty.

Taog frowned, glancing at his sword and shield.  He heaved a sigh and dropped his shield on the ground.

If he had been a Legion Bulwark like his father, he could have held the boar with ease, not needing to strike back at all.

If he had been a full-blooded wulver trained as a clan warrior like his mother, he would have the natural strength and speed to dance around an opponent like this.

But he was neither, and trying to be both would get him killed.

He stared the boar down as it charged once more.

He grit his teeth, willing his pounding heart to slow down.

He waited…

His legs twitched.

He kept waiting…

The boar approached.  His heartbeat grew even faster.

But he kept waiting.

Until he could make eye contact with the monster.

And then…

He leapt with all his might.

The boar crashed into the dungeon wall once more.  Taog landed on the monster’s back with a thud, the impact driving the air out of his lungs as he landed right on his stomach.  But he grit his teeth and pulled himself around, facing forward.

And then he started to stab the boar’s neck with all his might.

“Flurry!  Power Strike!”

He called out every skill he knew as he struck the boar.  The boar squealed and ran about, trying to smash him into the wall.  But he hung on, twisting on the monster’s back and keeping up his assault.

And eventually…

The boar fell to the ground.

And a message from the Aesdes acknowledged his victory.

[You have slain Monster Boar (Level 9)!]

[Gained 26 XP!]

[Level up!  You are now level 8!]

He spun about, growling as he gripped his bloody sword, but Ateia had finished off the rest of the monsters.  The fight was over.

Taog let the sword drop with a clang and slumped to the ground, resting his back against the wall.  Ateia staggered over and slumped next to him.  Both of them just panted in silence as NSLICE-00P approached.

Two magic circles formed in front of her, and they felt warm mana cover their wounds.

[The spell Heal is now level 2!]

[The spell Heal is now level 3!]

[The skill Recovery Magic is now level 2!]

[The spell Recovery Magic is now level 3!]

[You have learned the spell Cure!]

Ateia nodded at NSLICE-00P before going back to her breathing.  It was a moment longer before either of the pair could speak.

“That was…kind of crazy.  And this is supposed to be a low level dungeon?”

Taog just grunted and shook his head.

“Ateia…I’m not sure we’re cut out for this.”

“What do you mean?  We won, didn’t we?”

“Barely.  And that’s with Seero healing our wounds and saving us from traps.  If it just been us…”

Taog’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the ground. Ateia grabbed his shoulder.

“Hey, look at me.”

Taog did as she requested.

“Don’t think like that, Taog.  She’s here now, isn’t she, so the ‘what if’ doesn’t matter.  I’ll…admit we weren’t the most prepared for the traps.  But she hasn’t had to help us in the fights or the pathfinding, right?  We’ve come this far by our own strength.  You and I, together.”

Taog’s eyes widened as he watched her.  Then he flushed slightly and shook his head, letting out a breath.

“You’re right, it’s just…I’m worried about what’s to come.  I’m…not exactly a legionnaire, you know?  If this goes on for much longer…”

“Helpful Observation: It will not.  By this unit’s scans, the dungeon core room is just ahead.”

Ateia and Taog’s eyes widened at that, and then Ateia grinned.

“See?  You ready to conquer a dungeon, or what?”

Taog just heaved a sigh, but he smiled wryly as well.

“Well, we’ve come this far.  I guess we might as well check it out.”

***

The trio made their way into the dungeon core room.  A large wolf rested in front of the core, rising to its feet.  It towered above the teens, snarling at the intruders.

NSLICE-00P took a step forward.

“Warning: This dungeon is about to be terminated.  Recommending dungeon master surrender.”

“Surrender?”

The wolf let out a deep and rumbling voice, chuckling at the cyborg’s words.

“No, I will feast on your flesh!”

With that, the wolf pounced at them…

And slammed right into a mana barrier.

NSLICE-00P turned to the two standing behind her.

“Warning: Dungeon Master strength predicted as noticeably higher than friendlies Ateia and Taog.  There is a significant risk of friendly termination should they participate in close combat.  Will friendlies participate in the termination?”

The two glanced at each other and then back at the wolf, their eyes narrowed.

“We came all this way, we’re not backing down now.”

“...I don’t like it but what choice do we have?  We need to conquer this one, I’m not going in another dungeon if I can help it.”

“Acknowledged.  Statement: This unit will focus on containment for this engagement.”

With that, NSLICE-00P took a step back and dropped the barrier.  Ateia immediately fired a power shot at the monster, the arrow striking it dead on.  The dungeon master growled and pounced at her.  Taog stepped in front, shield held up.  The wolf swatted at him.

Taog flew through the air with a cry.  Ateia’s eyes widened and she leapt out of the way, the monster’s claws catching the back of her clothes.  The monster turned towards her, pouncing once more before she could rise to her feet.

A barrier formed in front of her once again, and a jet of flame struck the wolf’s snout.  Meanwhile a mana barrier caught Taog before he landed, placing him back on the ground.

The two shook their heads and stood back up.  The monster had turned its attention to NSLICE-00P, but she activated her repulsors and flew into the air.

“Observation: Friendlies Ateia and Taog’s arsenal deemed insufficient.  Deploying Mana Infusion protocol.”

Mana wrapped around Ateia and Taog’s weapons, filling them with a subtle glow.  The two nodded and took up positions as the dungeon master chased after NSLICE-00P.

“Thanks Seero, Power Shot!”  Ateia launched another power shot as the wolf tried to leap into the air.

This time the arrow buried itself deep into the monster’s hide.

The wolf yelped as it fell to the ground.  It picked itself up with a snarl and turned towards Ateia, pouncing at her once more.

Only to be knocked off course.

This time Taog didn’t bother trying to hold his ground, but moved to the side, sheathing his sword and holding his shield with both hands.  Once the monster was airborne, he launched himself at it, putting all his weight into his shield.  He tackled the monster from the side.  As the wolf was still in the air, it couldn’t brace itself, and so the boy and monster both flew to the side and crashed into the ground.

The wolf bit at Taog as it tried to stand back up but Taog had already rolled out of the way.  As it rose to its feet, a glass bottle flew through the air, filled with green liquid.  An arrow shot after it, shattering it right above the monster.

The wolf yelped as it was drenched in poison.

“An Exploratores is always prepared!”

Ateia grinned as she held another bottle in her hand.  The wolf snarled and leapt at her, but Ateia was ready.  She leapt out of the way, tossing the bottle into the wolf’s jaws.

The wolf’s mouth burst into flames.

Ateia stood up, taking a deep breath as the wolf ran around, shaking its head.  She held her bow and an arrow in one hand, holding the other hand over them.  She closed her eyes and drew on her mana.

“Let the strength of the Aelea flow within me, let my arms grow as strong as rock and my feet as steady as the mountain…”

Ateia was not a formal mage and neither was her father.  But an Exploratores needs as many cards to play as possible, so he had picked up a thing or two.  And he had taught a thing or two to his daughter back in the day.

A magic circle formed and completed.  A subtle glow briefly surrounded Ateia.  She then nocked her arrow and drew her bow, the wood creaking as she pulled the string back with far greater strength than before.

She grinned as she took aim.

“Power shot.”

The arrow cut through the air.

As it did NSLICE-00P raised her hand.

“Equalizer engaged.”

A rainbow beam shot before the arrow, striking the wolf’s face.  The dungeon master’s eyes widened as its HP barrier was stripped for a moment.

And Ateia’s aim was true.

Her arrow buried itself between the wolf’s eyes.

Ateia exhaled her breath.

Then started to grin as the Aesdes confirmed her victory.

[You have slain Wolf Dungeon Master (Level 10)!]

[Gained 39 XP!]

[Level up!  You are now level 9!]

[You have achieved the feat: Dungeon Conqueror (Beast Lair)!]

[Dungeon Conqueror (Beast Lair): Unlocked by conquering the Beast Lair dungeon.  Grants +1 perk points, grants +1 level in the Leap skill.]

She glanced over at Taog.  His eyes widened as he stared at the air for a moment before turning to her.

They both started to grin.  Ateia leapt into the air.

“We did it!”

Taog shook his head and chuckled.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure this was a good thing.  The road of an Exploratores is hard and dangerous and he wasn’t at all convinced he and Ateia could handle it.  It may have been wiser and kinder to cut her dream off now, rather than haphazardly prop open the door.

But those concerns could wait for another day.

Because seeing her smile and celebrate too…he couldn’t help but smile too.

And well…

He would admit…victory tasted sweet indeed.

Author’s Note:

Dungeon terminated…by valued allies!  With NSLICE-00P only doing a lot of the work!

And it only took…a lot more hours…and pain…and shouting…

Oh well, at least NSLICE-00P got to grind some Recovery Magic levels.

Hope it's clear who's status messages belong to who.  Let me know if not.

Anyways!

What happens now that Ateia and Taog have succeeded?  Will helping them prove worth the effort?  Are they ready for the life they want to embark upon?  Tune in next time, to find out!