Chương 100: Interlude 11

Supreme Warlady Elena Burnstock I looked at the other three Supreme Legends as they stared back at me and each other here on the 24 th 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, we are all agreed to go on a final descent?" 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 support 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. And this one wasn't even wearing a skirt. But deciding on loot distribution was important. Letting Blood Gore have first pick after each fight wasn't a tremendous deal if we did a rotational system. I would not 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 knew that Blood Gore had a well-deserved reputation for being an unreasonable person who enjoyed killing. He certainly deserved to be called the Butcher.

"So, how deep do you want to try for? I say all the way down," he said, and he tried to create drama where none was needed.

"The 35 th layer, if it exists, to see if there is anything beyond a violet monster core. At that point, we should try to return to bring back that knowledge," The Mathemancer said.

"The 35 th 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 35 th 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."

"Showing a bit of fear there, Elena," Blood Gore said while giving me a grin.

"Just common sense. No one has returned after going to the 26 th layer. For all we know, we might have to fight 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 pressure. If I had a weak will and backed off to guard myself, I would fight next to him, but 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 on the team. Everyone gave a slight nod, not objecting.

"I have prepared equipment if the environment gets too much. I suspect that part of the problem might be where the air is no longer breathable," The Librarian said.

"Annoying, but I should be fine without that kind of stuff," Blood Gore said. He really disliked using equipment or even wearing clothing.

"I also have various pieces of equipment to measure the ambient Mana and spatial fluctuations of each layer. I want an hour after clearing the passage to the next layer," The Mathemancer said.

"That would be a good time to rest and recover after we have defeated the Champion. And, to assess how we are doing, both for the descent and our teamwork," I added on. Again, there were no objections. While Blood Gore might pretend to look impatient, it was all an act.

"Does anyone want the monsters besides their cores?" Blood Gore asked.

"I want to collect a few choice specimens to use for Alchemy later. Also, to evaluate certain characteristics. You can have first pick each time and the majority if there is an uneven split," The Librarian said. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Blood Gore smiled slightly at this and nodded.

"Any objections to heading straight for the next passage when on a layer?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads slightly. While it was unlikely, it was best to set clear expectations to avoid confusion. My mind couldn't help but go to my son for a moment. Even though I had done everything I could to set expectations with him, he was incredibly frustrating. While some parents might have spanked their children, I knew that wouldn't work if he inherited just a tenth of my stubbornness.

He said he wanted to become the strongest spellblade, surpassing me, but it was easy to say, hard to do. He did not fully invest his heart into such a goal. He didn't embrace fighting the way I did. Improving his skills was a result of hard work, but he'd only be a legend. Reaching my level required genuine commitment. Leaving him had been hard, but it was for the best with the Dark Cabal looking to target me, since I was targeting them.

I considered bringing this up with Blood Gore before instantly discarding the notion. It would be a sign of weakness, and he wouldn't care. We were about to go on a final descent. There was no room for other thoughts or emotions besides complete and utter commitment to the incredibly dangerous venture we were about to undertake.

"For combat style, I use melee in combination with spells, particularly blade-focused attacks and fire," I said. While we all knew what we could do, this was my way of poking at Blood Gore by going through the proper motions of setting up an adventuring team. My skills were the best-known of the group.

"Force redirection for support and ice magic to slow down enemies," The Mathemancer said. Force redirection was incredibly powerful for battlefield control. It was also incredibly frustrating to fight against. It would work well with Blood Gore's style of combat. Ice magic was more limited, but I knew The Mathemancer had some time magic up his sleeve if necessary, and he also could teleport short distances.

"Mana nullification to counter spells for support and spatial shielding for heavy defense, and static offense," The Librarian said. The edges of his shields were insanely dangerous. They didn't cut, they just separated, since his shields were enormous gaps that were compressed to a much smaller volume. Entering from the wrong direction could cause a person or item to be split apart. But the real threat was Mana nullification. It was incredibly tricky, dangerous, and insanely complex.

It countered the Mana in a spell by using far less Mana to disrupt 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 it 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 to focus 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 needed level or combat ability. The mindset needed to be a healer and gain levels would inevitably lead one to become a dark healer, something no one wanted to see.

"Anything else before we depart?" I asked and looked around at the group. We had already covered all the important points. 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 hand-holding or complicated strategies. While Blood Gore might not seem like a team player, choosing to be a pig most of the time, he could work with others, especially when it aligned with his desire 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 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 ones, with one pig on my mind, their strength was not in question. Only Blood Gore had worked to go beyond level 150 and the 6 th class selection. The other two had stopped at their 6 th class, giving up on progressing, beyond selectively leveling skills.

"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 glanced at me but said nothing. 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 five layers. Starting on the 6 th layer were large groups, followed by mixed groups, complex tactics, and unique skills.

It was worrying that no one had returned from the 26th layer, but I was prepared. Getting to the 35 th layer meant another twist on the 31 st 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 it, I would wait and see. It would likely end in tears, but it was ultimately his choice. It was 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 dared to stand up to me. If he hadn't, that would have been worse than choosing a monster. The danger to his soul in removing a Tier 4 skill was no small matter either. But if he dared 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 25 th 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 protect itself, allowing Blood Gore to finish it off easily.

The Mathemancer and Librarian swiftly eliminated the smaller monsters coming at us. The first fight we had as a team was okay. Any of us could have won that separately, but we won together in seconds.