Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 321 (Patreon)

Chapter 321 – Firepower

The boss fight for the sixth floor of the Water Temple was a challenge. Six on six, just as the succubus had said, but it was not so simple as all of that. No, Balgurg sighed, there was no way that it would be that easy.

Loshex   the Violator

Lewd   High Vurlock Male

Level   40 High Priest / Master Enchanter

Titles:   Violator

Vurlock   Warrior

High   Vurlock Male

Level   40 Bulwark of the Sea / Eternal Bodyguard

Titles:   Tough

Vurlock   Scout

High   Vurlock Male

Level   40 Undersea Sniper / Master Trapmaker

Titles:   Hawkeye

Vurlock   Assassin

High   Vurlock Male

Level   40 Shadowblade / Master Poisoner

Titles:   Poisoner

Vurlock   Mageslayer

High   Vurlock Male

Level   40 Magebreaker / Master Chef

Titles:   Tough

Vurlock   Tidecaller

High   Vurlock Male

Level   40 Ocean Sorcerer / Master Scholar

Titles:   Deepblessed

It was an extremely well-balanced party facing them. Thankfully, unlocking the boss room had restored their ability to use their full range of magic items and spells, meaning that he and his pets were back in their full kit. That was good, because each of the creatures facing them were troublesome in their own ways, even before accounting for Loshex.

An Ocean Sorcerer was the Tier 2 version of a Water Sorcerer. It sounded simple, and it was, but the gap between the two classes was like the gap between, well, the ocean and a lake. As classes evolved, they went in two directions. The more restrictive a class got, the more powerful it was within its scope, but outside of that scope, it was far weaker. On the other hand, generalized classes were weaker in terms of absolute power, but were far more flexible, and more powerful than a specialist class outside their specialty. The Vurlock Tidecaller would be trouble, for sure.

Likewise, the Vurlock Warrior was a major concern. One was a tank, with a class and profession that both worked to keep himself, and the person he was protecting, alive. With him guarding Loshex, and the High Priest healing him of any wounds he took, that fight would become a major slog.

The Vurlock Scout and Vurlock Assassin both had the potential for high damage in a short window, but their classes, and the titles they had, were not unusual or unheard of to him. He’d made sure his team was well-trained. They knew how to deal with a bowman and a rogue, and they all had protections against poison.

The Vurlock Mageslayer was somewhat of a concern for him and Ena, since it had the Tier 2 version of the Magehunter class. Still, he was more than familiar with the class’s capabilities, just like a Fire mage learns about creatures which can resist their flames, or even snuff them out. The creature would not go down easily, but he had no doubt that he would go down, especially if he was stupid enough to try and focus solely on him or the Hellfire Sorceress.

And then, there was Loshex. Another creature with the Lewd template. So long as their armor held their seals, they didn’t need to worry about his pheromones, but the risk of a lucky blade slipping through their defenses, and cutting them in such a way that the seal broke was an all-too-real concern. If that happened, there was the possibility that they could enter a ‘death spiral’ as more and more of the party became incapacitated. He’d seen it happen to other parties before.

Which is why they were going for their current plan. They all stood just inside the boss room, far enough back that the vurlocks had not yet started attacking. Not that the vurlocks were idle, of course. The vision enhancements in his helmet clearly showed him that the Sniper had his crossbow at the ready, and both the Tidecaller and Loshex were readying spells, while the Warrior took up a bodyguard position in front of Loshex, and the Mageslayer moved to the front, as a vanguard.

“Ena,” he said, not taking his eyes away from his target. The Hellfire Sorceress didn’t respond in words. She just unleashed one of her strongest area spells, [Hellfire Apocalypse]. One moment, the boss room was as normal, and the next, a sphere of magically enhanced hellfire engulfed over half the room, burning powerfully enough that even a fire elemental would get scorched.

That was the signal. He fired his cannon at the same instant Tanila pulled the trigger on her rifle. Lyrei and Ratha held down the triggers of their carbines, spraying the area with blasts. The only one who was motionless was Ashera, her force blades glowing in either hand as she crouched in a sprinter’s stance. But that lasted only until the flames cleared enough, and then she was off, like an arrow loosed from the bowstring.

It was a simple plan, as all the best plans were. Tanila and he lined up their targets before Ena even started her spell. She had her rifle focused on the Mageslayer, while his cannon was trained on the Warrior. A profession like Eternal Bodyguard would, no doubt, have a skill or ability to shield their primary from a sneak attack, even at cost of their own life, but those skills didn’t protect from attacks on the bodyguard themselves.

Ena’s [Hellfire Apocalypse] would devastate those without some kind of defensive skills. Skills that protected them from the blast would not be available to defend them from follow-up attacks, like his, or Tanila’s. The ‘spray and pray’ of fire from the pulse carbines was primarily a distraction. The real thrust of this attack was Ashera, as she moved with all her speed.

Balgurg readied a second shot as the flames of the spell began to clear, but held his fire. Spraying shots at random was fine for the carbines, but a hit from his cannon would be decidedly unhealthy for Ashera, if she got caught in the line of fire. Better to wait a moment, and find a real target.

The Mageslayer was dead. The Vurlocks may have been wearing armor, but it was not the kind of gear that would stand up to a weapon like Tanila’s rifle. The power of the shot had removed a large portion of the creature’s head as it tried to mitigate the hellfire’s damage. Probably why any of the others were still alive.

The Warrior was not much better off. The being had managed to get his shield in front, but the round designed to take on Tier 2 armored vehicles ripped through it like a hot knife through yendelrim, and tore through him, as well. Somehow, the Warrior was still alive, but he was safely out of the fight, given that his upper torso and his legs were currently two meters apart from each other. Even with magic to stabilize him, the warrior was no longer a threat.

Loshex had taken a large portion of the blast, both from the hellfire and his cannon. He was alive, but only just. Burns covered him, and what had to be his entrails were hanging out of his gut. Not to mention the bit of the warrior’s spine that was now lodged in his shoulder. Of course—no, wait, he was dead now, as Ashera announced her presence with twin force blades carving Loshex into pieces.

The remaining three fighters were all damaged by the hellfire, but had survived, thanks to the Mageslayer’s work. The Assassin and Sniper were both on the back foot, as they tried to find cover from the two carbines. Tanila’s second shot took the Assassin through their eye, killing him.

Balgurg shifted his aim to the Tidecaller, who surrounded himself in an orb of water, using it as a shield against the plasma carbines. He fired, and, as expected, the superhot plasma reacted violently to the water, creating a cloud of steam. The force of the explosion, and the pressure wave it caused in the water, broke the mage’s concentration, and he fell back, out of the water as the orb collapsed. The spray and pray turned very quickly into precision shooting, as multiple rounds raked the mage’s body, killing him.

At the same time, Ashera got her second kill, her blades separating the Sniper’s head from his shoulders. The last foe fallen. The entire boss fight over in less than a minute, from the first shot to the last kill.

The loot was not all that impressive. Good for selling to the locals, especially in return for supplies or goods that they could take back when they returned home. Souvenirs were one thing, but exotic goods from a world like Earth? Those would pay for the trip all on their own, and more, besides.

“All right,” he said, “break it down. What did we do right, what did we screw up on, and what could we have done to fix those?”

Ena was the first to respond. “I think we did as well as could be expected. The only thing we might have done differently is change the order we went off in. If you and Tanila had taken your shots first, and then I cast my spell just after, the Mageslayer probably wouldn’t have gotten a chance to use his defensive skill, which would have meant more damage on the others, possibly preventing the mage from putting up his barrier.”

Ashera shook her head. “The Warrior would have been able to use an actual defensive skill on himself, rather than one to try and protect his primary. He might have survived intact enough that he could still be healed and brought back to the fight, and the boss wouldn’t have gotten as wounded, or knocked back, which would mean more healing spells trying to keep the group up. And with the ‘protect the primary’ skill not already used, I would have had a FAR harder time killing the healer.”

Lyrei nodded. “As for our contribution, the only thing we might have done differently was to focus fire from the beginning, like you and Tanila did, Master. But I know that my initial target had moved in the time between the fireball going off, and being able to see them. So, a targeted shot would have likely been a glancing blow, if not a miss altogether as they dove for cover. Spraying random shots to ensure they were thinking more about finding cover than taking shots at us really helped, especially with the Sniper. I’m sure they could have done something nasty, even at that range. I wouldn’t have wanted to test him.”

Balgurg nodded in agreement. “Yes, but it is something to consider for the future. Kill order sometimes matters greatly. And if we had a second healer in the mix, instead of one of the others, things could have gone differently. Anything else?” No one said anything. “All right. Let’s move on. There’s supposed to be a rest floor after this. We’ll take our time and recover before heading to the undead floor.”

Passing through the portal, Balgurg strode into the next floor, weapon slung on its holster. This was supposed to be a rest floor, after all, where the whole floor was a Safe Zone. If they brought no violence, then none would be directed at them. Which wasn’t to say that there weren’t other hazards to consider, but at least they did not need to worry about walking into a fight.

On the far wall of the long, wood-lined space was a stone hearth that looked like it would be at home in a temple or warrior hall somewhere, and in it a raging fire was lit. In the center of the hall there was a long table, with a roasted boar set in the center, and other dishes that looked just as delicious. It was a setting that would not be out of place for feasting warriors taking their ease and celebrating the end of a long campaign. And above the mantle was the symbol of the goddess Freyja.

Standing next to the fire was a woman in priestly garments, a mace hanging from her belt. Her heaving bosom would have been an impediment on any battlefield, but she had the look of a tested warrior about her. When the group entered, she smiled, and bowed her head to them. “Well met, warriors. I am Shannon, servant of the Goddess Freyja and a former member of the Crimson Valkyries. In this place you may rest, and recover from your wounds, as this place is protected by the ancient laws of Hospitality. No harm shall come to you here so long as you do not raise your hand to another.”

She then waved the soldiers forward. “Come, sit at the table, and feast! The food is excellently prepared, and we have fresh mead to ease your troubles. And while we feast, we can share the tales of battles lost and won, until tomorrow, when you might be ready to move on to face the horrors of the Crypt of the Virtuous Ranger.”