Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 196 (Patreon)

Chapter 196 – Deadly Peril

Nudara Belkis, Crusader-Champion of Pofmis groaned as she fell against the hard stone floor. They had just finished the fight against the Vurlock boss. A healer as a boss was a rarity, especially in young dungeons, but it wasn’t unheard of. Those fights were often far more dangerous than they initially appeared.

And it had pushed them. Their enchanted items provided no benefits to them, and the damned ‘Hardcore’ mode meant that their regeneration rates were locked. Finding the safe zones allowed them to rest and recover, but the humiliating rules there meant they could not actually relax. And if there was a safe zone in the Water Temple floor, then they hadn’t found it.

So, she had been counting on the seventh floor of the dungeon, which had been described as a rest floor, to recover their strength. As much as she hated this Demon, the dungeon, and everything associated with it, she was not blind to reality. They needed to rest. Unfortunately, it seemed that was not going to happen.

The instant they had stepped through the portal, she had heard a condemnation from a female voice. She barely had time to recognize the words as a banishment, casting an Anathema from a shrine. And they were the Anathema!

Crusader Bilada groaned. “I guess that whole floor was considered a shrine to one of the gods.”

Belkis nodded, as she rose to her feet. “The Adventurer’s Guild mentioned that the floor was home to a shrine, and was marked as a safe zone, but I had not considered that the priestess would throw us out like that. We’ll have to find the rest area on this floor, instead.”

“Champion! The notice!”

She turned to look at Crusader Grimtooth, their Blessed Berserker, and saw that there was a System notice hanging in the air. Like they needed any more of the things. The notice was bad, but expected, given what she knew of the dungeon.

Unholy Blight

This   floor has been Blighted by the presence of the undead and dark magics. Take   care, lest you join the shambling horde.

All   Undead stats increased by 25%

All   Undead +25% resistance to healing and holy magics

Holy   Magic costs 25% more MP

She sighed, knowing that the Blight would make everything more difficult, especially since most of their powers involved Holy Magic, and took a proper look around the room they were in. They looked to be in some kind of catacomb or tomb complex. Shelves were carved into the stone walls, each holding the skeletal remains of those long dead. Other skeletons were crumpled, sitting against the walls. One was even laid out across a rusted iron gate.

As she looked, a deathly blue light filled the skeleton’s eyeless sockets, and it rose to a sitting position, animated by foul magics. And then it spoke. “Welcome, travelers, to the Crypt of the Virtuous Ranger. Before you pass into the tomb, hear now the Ranger’s tale of woe.”

(Later)

Cursing the Demon and his Dungeon Laws under her breath, as she and her squad were being chased by the undead, weary from the battle in the halfway point of the catacombs, Belkis found herself thinking about the story the skeleton had told. She’d wanted to destroy it the moment it animated, but was concerned that it might be another noncombatant in a safe zone. She had no wish to see what other damnable Dungeon Laws the Demon had come up with, so had let the foul creature speak its piece.

The Ranger’s story was a cruel one, describing the fall of an innocent who had done nothing wrong. Betrayed and enslaved before he knew what was going on, he was the kind of person the Church was meant to save. But then the Demon corrupted him, twisting him from an innocent into a monster. It was sad, but she would have to put him down, along with the rest of the dungeon’s creatures. He was beyond saving, but that did not mean she didn’t weep for the innocent he used to be.

“Damn it all,” Crusader Yathrena cursed. “We should be destroying these weak undead by the droves. This damned Dungeon Law is a serious hinderance.”

Belkis grunted, as she kept up the pace. “There’s nothing for it. Without the ability to use our equipment to its full effect, and the limitations on our magic, we’re going to have to save our strength. And we know there are more dangerous foes beyond. The Guild has reported ghouls, wraiths, and vampires, but you can bet that if there are other types in the mansion, and the forest around it, the Demon will send them after us.”

They turned what was supposed to be the final corner, according to the rough map they’d gotten. Unfortunately, they came face to face with a solid iron door, with the Demon’s symbol emblazoned upon it. There was no sign of a handle or keyhole.

Trial of the Slayer

The   true undead slayer sometimes finds themselves fighting against uncounted odds,   facing foes that outnumber them a hundred to one. As part of the Hardcore   experience, you must overcome this trial to proceed.

Kill   600 undead to open the way forward.

600/600   kills remaining.

Bonus   Objective:

Kill   600 more undead to prove your might.

600/600   kills remaining.

Reward:   Potions are exempt from the restrictions caused by Dungeon Laws while in the   Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures.

Belkis’s eyes went wide. Six hundred undead to open the way forward was bad enough. But another six hundred, just to use potions? She couldn’t deny how useful it would be, but still…

No. No time for that now. Turning to face back down the hall, she could see the undead fast approaching. They were only mindless skeletons, but there were many of them. “Form up, and get ready. Focus on the first six hundred. We’ll worry about whether to get the next six hundred after that.”

She watched as they moved into position beside her, blocking the hall, forming a shield wall as good as any soldier could make. “Conserve your strength. These are Tier 1 skeletons, according to the Guild. Weak, easy to kill. No need to go all out. Just keep them from grabbing you. No raging, Grimtooth. This is a trial of endurance, not might.”

Belkis took a deep breath to steady herself, shield in front, sword raised to stab around it. It wasn’t the best weapon to face skeletons with, but it was what she had, at the moment. “May grace of Pofmis light our path.”

The instant before the undead were upon them, she could swear that she heard laughter, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

(Later)

“Hold.”

Battered, bloody, barely still on their feet, Belkis stopped, along with the other three members of the Golden Host as Crusader Trueheart, the closest thing they had to a tracker remaining in the squad, held up her hand and whispered that command. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Crusaders Grimtooth and Bilada set down the crude stretcher they were carrying Crusader Holad on. Crusader Yathrena moved up from where she had been covering them with her Pulse Rifle, to look ahead.

Moving as stealthily as she was able, Belkis moved up next to the Rodaini that was serving as their scout. “What is it?”

“Door to the safe room. Right where it is supposed to be. Two Dread Wraiths on guard, like in the report. But there’s a pair of Death Knights, as well. Can’t tell races because of the armor, but one could be one of these humans, the other has to be one of the lizardfolk.”

“Levels?”

“The ones I’ve gotten a clear read on? 45, across the board. But I’m certain I caught a glimpse of another, probably a stealth user, maybe goblin. Don’t know where he is now.”

“Damn, this is going to get messy.”

“Been messy from the start, Ma’am. At least we can use potions now.”

She ignored the Crusader’s tone. They’d all earned a bit of leeway, after the hell they’d already been through. And she wasn’t wrong. The whole delve had been a mess, and was getting steadily worse, ever since the Anathema was declared.

“True enough, Trueheart. The potions did save Holad, once we got those ghouls off her. The disease almost got her by the time we got her stable, and we can’t risk using the mana to regrow her leg here, with the Blight and the lack of regeneration. We need to get into that Safe Room.”

“What’s the plan, Ma’am?

“We do the only thing we can. You stay back with Holad, on your rifle. I want you scanning for that stealther. You have the best eyes among us, so when you see them, you light them up. There’s a chance they’ll try and make a play for Holad, kill or convert him, like they did to Crusader-Chaplain Telhan with those false undead.”

“Understood.”

With a nod, she crept back to the others. Looking at Grimtooth and Yathrena, she whispered, “There’s two wraiths, two death knights, and a possible assassin in the clearing ahead. We are going to take the visible fighters. Grimtooth, I want you on the death knights. Rage out if you have to, but keep them under control. Yathrena and I will work on the wraiths, try and deal with them fast, so we can help out.”

“W-what about me, ma’am?”

Looking down at the barely conscious Holad, she grimaced. “You rest, for now. But keep a hold of your weapon, Crusader. If you see anything trying to sneak up on Trueheart while she is covering us with her rifle. I want you to shoot it, understood?”

“Y-yes ma’am.”

“Good girl. We’ll get you healed up good as new once we get to the Safe Room. We’re going to have to rest for a while, anyway. No sense in making the Demon’s job easy, right?”

“Aye, ma’am.”

She crept away from the downed Crusader, back towards the clearing, with Grimtooth and Yathrena at her sides. She glanced questioningly at Trueheart, but only got a silent shake of the head in reply. The stealthy assassin hadn’t been spotted, yet.

“Start it off, Yathrena.”

The priestess nodded, and took a breath. She began counting down on her fingers, as she muttered prayers to Pofmis. As she dropped the final finger, she yelled out the final word of the prayer, “[HOLY NOVA]!” With a rush, the growing spell’s power was unleashed, and a burst of holy light exploded in the midst of the undead, burning their bodies. Even the wraiths burned with divine flames that somehow stuck to their incorporeal forms.

Yathrena staggered slightly at the use of so much of her mana, due to the Blight’s making her spells more costly, but Belkis didn’t have time for that. She charged at the closest of the wraiths, activating three skills in rapid succession. [Armor of Faith] enhanced her armor with divine power, increasing its defensive value, and allowing it to shield against incorporeal undead as though they were solid. [Holy Weapons] wreathed all of their weapons in the divine light of Pofmis, ensuring that they would do deadly damage to the undead. And [Consecration] laid down an area of holy might, strengthening the blows of her and her allies, while weakening the attack power of her enemies, and damaging them slightly over time.

The three spells took a lot out of her, but she had been shepherding her power for just such a moment, relying more on martial skill than on her holy abilities. She did not miss a step as she charged out next to Grimtooth, the snarling berserker already dipping into his battle trance. She couldn’t fault his judgement. They needed this fight done as quickly as possible. They could heal on the other side of the door.

The undead were just starting to recover from the [Holy Nova]’s effects, as the two of them crashed into the lines. The snapping hiss of Yathrena’s pulse rifle showed that she, too, was fighting through the disorientation. Somewhere behind her, she heard a yell, but she couldn’t pay attention to that right now. She had all she could handle in front of her, with the wraiths and death knights.

And again, she thought she heard the sound of laughing.