173. The S-Rank Dungeon (V) (Patreon)

It might take force well but it looked flabby too. Zane needed something that’d cut right through that fatty skin.

He swapped out his Chain heads.

He had to de-summon his Chains, then re-summon them. It took a little—which was why he didn’t just hot-switch them mid-fight usually.

In the meantime, Zane gave the Blob Monster a look with Sage Mind, checked out its Skills.

Torpedo Rush (Active) [Mythic (M)]: Concentrates an immense amount of water pressure within itself before charging, inflicting a devastating shockwave capable of crushing foes with the intense pressure of the deep sea. 

Gelatinous Absorption (Passive) [Common (E)]: The Blob Spawn’s unique gelatinous body, carrying the Bloodline of the Blob Monsters, makes it capable of absorbing and deflecting monstrous amounts of concussive force. 

It made sense. All his force seemed to go right through it. It felt like punching rubber. But there was something deeper there too, a Concept.

Laws: 

The Concept of Absorption

This thing didn’t even know a full second Elemental Law. But just that high-level Water Concept gave it a defense that could hold up to Stormfire—at least when he punched with it. 

But Stormfire was a little like gas to Zane. You could power a lot of very explosive things with it—and he suspected his new head would leave a lot more than a flesh wound… 

Zane cut off his reading when he noticed the thing shivering, like a bomb about to explode. He frowned at it.

Then it rammed him.

It came so quick it shocked him. Nothing to a full bull-rush in an instant, phasing through water like it wasn’t even there—and it impacted him with a thundering BANG!

A huge outburst of exploding essence slapped him all at once. Raged through him. He felt it jerk past the skin, descending on his organs, ripping through them in a lurching shivering wave. He let out a wheeze.

And then he went flying.

He must’ve spun a good few hundred meters, head ringing, bleary and confused, before he had the wherewithal to kick off the water in a Stormfire step.

There was a brilliant explosion at his feet. He skidded to a sorry halt, gasping, grunting. Then he opened his mouth, coughed. Out came a big gob of blood.

He blinked at it, surprised. 

That shockwave went right through his skin and ravaged his organs—it was a shock to his whole system. Not a piercing thing. But his insides felt queasy, a little fragile. That must’ve taken out at least 10% of his Health…

He gritted his teeth. Kicked off again, blasted his way back into the fray.

He’d been a little too carefree, he felt. That first floor he almost felt invincible.

It was time to lock in a little. 

Reina was on him instantly, crying out, throwing a thick stream of warm Wood essence over him. Whenever she healed him, it was like their minds were very close; he could feel her warmth, her worry powering the Skill, making it stronger. In seconds he barely felt the ruptures.

His head still rang a little.

Alright. 

He narrowed his eyes at the beast. And finally his Axeheads switched into place, edges seething not white-red but a piercing, crackling white-blue. Electric, flowing, sizzling with a Concept of his own. A Concept so fierce it overpowered everything around it, banishing the dark, sending all that thick dense Water Law around it scurrying…

Even just sitting there, Zane had to rein in Stormfire’s eagerness. 

He licked his bloody lips.

My turn.

And those Axeheads blazed like the brightest of crescent moons, wiping out the dark...

Skill Evolved! Rising Storm Slash [Legendary (M)] -> Raging Storm Slash [Common (E)]

The gap between the Mortal grades and the Earth grades was huge. He hadn’t brushed off this old Skill in a while; he was eager to see how it’d fare.

If the Blob Spawn was scared it sure didn’t show it. 

It snorted glowing red bubbles. It looked at him, at the Axeheads, and its expression started to warp. Its mouth curved in something of a mocking grin; its big ugly eyes made smirking arcs.

Then it came at him in another blistering, bellowing rush. Full-force mad charge, spewing out all its essence. Its body was a fountain of pure Water Law. 

Evan and Avery went to intercept it— 

“This one’s mine,” rumbled Zane. 

And he greeted it with two great Slashes.

His Axes went a little slower than his meteors, but with how much force he chucked into them, they still tore out at supersonic speeds. And all that power, that essence, that Law, was concentrated on one thin edge; it grew so blinding there was nothing else; just looking at it would burn a stark white after-image into your eyes.

But the Blob had drawn first blood, and Zane could feel in that wicked bloody mind a smug confidence.

Its smile widened; its mouth opened wider, the beginnings of a mocking laugh—

SCHLUNK.

It was a beautiful sound. So clean. Slicing straight through the ocean. Just as that perfect arc of heavy steel slid clean through the beast. A hot axe cleaving through butter.

The Blob choked. Literally. Its huge eyes nearly bulged out of its flabby face. 

Its mouth widened—because it was splitting in two, melting away, drooping; its whole flabby meatball body, all that hyper-dense flesh stuffed thick with essence, with a Concept, tried desperately to resist—

But Zane’s Axe crushed through everything. That axehead didn’t care whether it was flesh, or bone, or thick cords of muscle, or hides stuffed full of Absorption—it sank deep into the beast, barely slowing...

Until it hit the back of its throat.

The Blob Spawn shuddered there. And blood fountained out both halves of it—it was barely alive; it let out a strange keening wailing sound, thrashing and choking. Fat tears filled its eyes. It tried wrenching out the weapon, tried running, but it was lodged far too deep—

Then Zane’s second Axe made contact. And finished the job.

SCHLUNK!

Two huge meaty halves floated away from each other, spilling lakes of blood. Its milky droopy eyes went dull...

He got the job done. 

“Zane! Are you alright?” said Reina rushing up to him. Gently she dabbed a little blood off his lips, brows furrowed. “Should we take a rest?” 

“No. I’m good,” said Zane, nodding. It must’ve looked worse than it was—he got launched a few hundred feet there. And he’d spat a bit of blood. 

“’ Course he’s alright!” said Avery. She swam up and gave him a playful slap. “You don’t even know. This bad boy can fit so many damage!” 

They all stared blankly at her.

She winced. “...Nevermind. Uh. You are fine, right big fella?” 

“It was nothing,” said Zane. He shrugged. “It just surprised me.”

*** 

It was the same deal as the first floor. They went around the edges collecting treasures. But everyone was just a little more cautious now, a little more tense, looking this way and that. The place was spooky enough already, with things coming out of the dark... even Avery could only give a few seconds’ warning.

And Zane had been walking through pretty much everything until now. He’d had to adjust to kill the Blob. Would there be more Monsters like that here? Zane could feel a little concern starting to swirl among them. Not much yet, but it was there.

He noticed everyone’s mood seemed to rest on him. They were all looking at him a lot. He figured Reina should be the leader, and she did give out most of the strategies. But when things came down to the wire everyone always looked to Zane. 

He wasn’t really sure what to do about it. Other than be as strong as he could be for them. That much he could do. 

The Monsters here were a lot like that Blob. Giant translucent tube-worms sticking out of the walls, spewing hot vents of essence. Or squids with translucent bodies blasting blankets of ink. Zane didn’t let down his guard. He just took them to task brutally and efficiently; his Axe still made quick work of them. These things were higher Level now, in the 180s and 190s, so they usually got in a few zings. But he could take it.

After they saw him handling business, the mood started to settle again.

They came across a horde of Level 180 Tube-worms guarding some kind of cave. Zane wasted them—but not before taking a few scalding hot vents to the face. It nearly got him under 75% Health. But Evan spattered them with slick shots, throwing them off-balance, and Avery messed with their senses, while Reina threw heaps of healing on him. He was never in real trouble.

They found essence treasures like those kelp from the first floor—a little cavern with a patch of Spirit Soil so fertile it gave off a haze of essence. Sticking out of it were little patches of seaweed.

Grasses of the Deep Sea (S) 

They poured poured off even more essence than the soil. 

There was a sign near the entrance, tattered and disused. Notches were carved into the walls. Reina thought it was counting days… maybe years? Like someone had planted this treasure here, then died, probably. Though there were no bones to be found.

They all blinked at it for a bit.

Evan felt sad at that. He felt a little bad taking a dead person’s stuff.

Evan was halfway through explaining so to Zane and Reina when Avery marched up and started happily looting. 

They all got a good helping, even Evan, though he seemed a little queasy about it.

Level up! 

Essence Level 171 -> 172

Level up! 

Essence Level 172 -> 173

They set off for the next treasure. This floor was rich with essence. They came across the ‘Hydrothermal Essence Veins,’ hotspots of rich essence buried in the wall which were guarded by these Giant Crabs.

They had limbs that were far too big for crabs, almost like spiders. All in the Level 190s—and their shells ran thick with Earth Laws and a little Steel Law. A kind of Pseudo-Fusion.

It took some hacking for Zane to run through them. Evan flashed out their eyes, threw off their shots by timing them with his pitter-patter jabs. And Avery blasted their senses with weird fake signals, which helped—but Zane still ended up with scores of tears running inside his body.

His outsides was fine. It was this ‘Quake Claw’ Skill the crabs had; it was kind of like Eze’s fist. It set off an earthquake inside of you, striking at the soft, squishy organs.

This time he was heaving, a little hunched, coughing blood by the time he wrecked the last one. They got him under 75%. He wiped his lips with the back of a big hand.

He really needed to temper those inner organs of his. And his muscles. Get to that next Level of the Titan Rhino Inheritance once he got back.

They spent a few hours at those Hydrothermal Veins, soaking up the essence...

Level up!

Essence Level 173 -> 174

There was already a huge difference between the Zane that stepped foot in this dungeon and the Zane sitting here now. His essence pool, his Health, his strength—they’d all leveled up enormously once he came down here. Even just one S-rank dungeon was worth more than twenty A-ranks combined, he figured...

They set out again with Avery at the head, cheerfully leading them on, skirting traps, swimming around dead-end routes, finding their way through the dark.

Zane stepped up whenever they ran across a straggling monster and wrecked them. After a few hours, he’d slaughtered a few dozen, enough for yet another level up.

Level up!

Essence Level 174 -> 175

They hauled in more from treasure chests studding the walls too. Another armor set—‘Aquamarine Scale Armor’, a beautiful light-blue S-ranked set—went to Reina. And a partial Inheritance from the ‘Constellation Order,’ the sect of Light Laws. Which went to an excited Evan. 

Then they got a few more random Alchemy ingredients Reina promised to resell for a lot of money. White Whale Fin, Ice Dragon Claws. A chest that was just max-grade essence stones. Another S-ranked Vial of Essence for Zane— 

Level up!

Essence Level 175 -> 176 

And by then they’d cleared out the floor. Zane had gotten a little under 75% Health a few times, but that was all. Nothing too bad so far. 

Then they arrived at a yawning maw in the wall. An entrance to an underground water tunnel leading deep in. Ending at a massive cavern.

And at the end on the mini-map there was a red blob that took up half the space. 

It was time for the second-floor Boss. The Blob King.