Aster Loka
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Chapter 50
🕑 Added 2022-01-07 19:06:47 +0000 UTCHeya, Aster here! Couple things to say real quick.
First, look at that, we've reached 50 chapters! This is a benchmark the original draft never reached, and if not for all your support I doubt this one would have either. Super extra long chapter today to celebrate! I considered splitting it, but... come on, fifty chapters, that deserves something special. :) Hope you enjoy it!
Second, quick reminder that the advancement polls for Skarm and Gremlin Two for VIP patrons will be closing after today. If you are in the voting tier and have not yet put in your preferences, be sure to do that!
On with the story.
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Despite Flomper’s stealth run on the first set of scarabs, that was far from the only encounter they’d have to face and her mana regen wasn’t sufficient for her to handle them all the same way.
Levi’s sword got quite a workout, and he still instinctively jumped into instant readiness whenever he heard the buzz of wings, but the dungeon was on-level and appropriate for a group of their size.
The boss would still be a challenge, but at least for the moment traversing it was… fun. Challenging, yes, but not desperate. A moderate risk without true peril. He had to pay attention and stretch his currently-meager abilities to their limits, but he was able to rely on his team to have his back. He even had time to give Gordon a few more tips on using his sword more effectively.
It felt more like what he was used to, a group against the dungeon, instead of recklessly hurling himself against it alone. They took their time, resting between encounters to recover. The frantic urgent pace of his first days no longer felt as essential. Yes, he still had to keep moving, but staying alive was the more important decision in the long run.
They cleared the first three rooms without more than minor injuries. Skarm got a little caught up in a battle against a smaller scarab swarm, but Centoo quickly coiled around him protectively when his health started dropping from the paralyzing corrosive of their bites. Levi was able to jump in and finish off the swarm while they were distracted trying to get through Centoo's many-legged defence.
The next room was a trap room, and it wasn't a nice, convenient, wait around for you to step on a tripwire kind of trap room. No, this was the active-moving-spikes type you had to rely on timing and precision to get through.
"Three distinct sections, each with a gap before, so it should be pretty easy once we find the pattern."
Gordon stared at the rhythmic slamming of stone against stone. "Nope. I think I'll wait here."
"There's a chance more monsters will appear out here and if they do you'll be left facing them alone."
"Yeah, I'd rather that than run into a spike chomper."
Levi considered for a moment whether he should press Gordon to continue, but between Skarm and his centipedes he was in a pretty solid place as far as fighters went. Gordon was unskilled and probably more of a liability in a boss fight than anything else at present, as Levi would have to worry about keeping him safe. Flomper had great utility in a few specific situations, but she was something of a glass cannon. Not even a cannon, really, just glass.
They could handle a few stray gremlins or scarabs without him, and he could tackle the boss on his own.
"You sure you want to miss out on the experience? Bosses are the best source of quick levels you're going to find anywhere."
"Yeah, I'll pass. Thanks. Good luck. Have fun." Gordon backed into the previous room.
Levi shrugged and turned back to the first trap. "Cen, Centoo, do you think you can get to the end without getting caught?"
Cen sized up the corridor, skittered back and forth a moment, then surged forward. He ran up one wall just as the spikes started to move, crossing the space with inches to spare, dove down beneath the second set as they descended, and wove between the alternating set of the third area with only a single nick to his tail. His health dropped by two, but he stood proudly at the other side, clicking his front eight legs against his chest in triumph.
Centoo, not to be outdone, immediately set off after him. Skarm squealed and ducked, clinging tight to Centoo's back with all his arms and legs as the giant centipede followed his brother's path, weaving through the final gauntlet effortlessly and avoiding even a single scratch.
Skarm laughed in glee, and Cen regarded them without expression. Or perhaps he did have some expression, but on a centipede's mandibled face Levi didn't know how to interpret any emotions he may be conveying.
"Well, nicely done. Guess it's my turn."
The first block was the largest and moved slowest, with about three seconds between the spiked section sliding right or left, and about ten strides to traverse in that time. Levi waited until just after it cleared one direction, then took off in a stamina-assisted sprint. He cleared it with a full second to spare.
The second trap moved vertically, a grid of spikes ready to slice him to ribbons. It descended very fast, then drew slowly upward before abruptly slamming down again. It took about two seconds to ascend between strikes.
Levi timed it four times to be sure he had the rhythm down exactly, then jumped atop it just as it began its ascent, ducked and ran along it until it neared the ceiling, then dove off the far side. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up just before the final trap.
This had stabby-up floor spikes which moved in grid patterns. Half would stab up, then slowly withdraw. Once they were down, the other half would spike up. It was the slowest of the traps, taking four seconds between resets of its attacks, but also the longest. The ceiling was lower and the spikes reached all the way into it, forming a deadly maze. If you didn't keep careful track of where you could safely step between sets, it would be easy to end up speared.
Levi timed it out, memorized the pattern, then dashed forward in a blur of motion. He wove his way through the spears, stopping just before the next batch sliced upward, then darting back through the new openings. Due to the uneven nature of the distribution pattern, it took him half a minute to get through. He couldn't weave between them quite as effectively as the centipede had.
In the end, he arrived at the far side safely, but he did see why Gordon would be hesitant to attempt it himself. He didn't begrudge the man his respite. Gordon had been through a lot, the past day and a half, almost nonstop. He deserved a bit of a break.
The boss room didn't contain any of the things he'd expected from a boss room. Not a gremlin, not an ogre, not a goblin. It contained a hive. And not an ordinary hive, but a one that wrapped around the entire inner walls and floor and ceiling, shiny yellow lumps clustered so tightly they looked like a textured surface rather than what he knew them to be. Dark holes between provided countless outlets for the scarabs to attack from any angle.
He immediately tried stomping on those on the floor, but the surface was solid and didn't bend or shatter.
"I don't like this," he said, backing up so he stood right against the entry door. It had closed, sealing him in, but it provided the sole surface in the room not covered in hive.
Cen reared up beside him, flexing a dozen legs in readiness, and Centoo crouched on his other side, Skarm ready with claws spread wide and teeth bared.
There was no sign of a single keystone, no indication of where the 'real' boss would be. But he heard the rustling and clicking of wings and chitin, and the sounds pushed him to the edge of readiness. He balanced himself, ready, poised, blade raised and half extended. As soon as anything came, he'd be prepared for it.
Motion rippled across the room as legs and heads began emerging. Too many. Far, far too many. All across the floor. All across the walls. All across the ceiling.
Jagged red mandibles, gleaming with the Rust Scarabs’ signature corrosive and paralytic venom. Yellow fur covering their bulbous bodies. Black chitin protecting their backs. Wings unfolding as dozens - hundreds - of the creatures rose into the air in unison, turning the entire room into a humming, buzzing, shifting carpet of death.
Levi reacted immediately, slamming his Beast Bite into the nearest scarabs, those rising just in front of him. The mana-powered chomp of his blade was able to take out three with its wide radius, they were so closely packed.
The only saving grace he saw was that none of them had the + designation. Looked like the momma scarab wouldn’t show up until he decimated these weaker ones.
His pre-emptive strike only saved him a few seconds. The moment the scarabs were all fully out of their hive, the entire swarm shifted and flew straight at the intruders.
It looked for a moment as though the whole room were compressing down, but he knew it was only an illusion due to how many scarabs there were.
Levi's chest felt strained, instinctive dread and flashes of memory exacerbating the moment's near-panic. Swarms this size were deadly.
He’d seen what they did to people. Health regen could negate one or two bites, but the more they built up the more sluggish and hazy you’d become, until the victim was helplessly paralyzed and could be eaten alive, or left to suffer helplessly while the corrosive element of their venom ate slowly through the body.
Not a pleasant way to go.
In a raid, there’d be fifty others to finish off the swarm and drag you to safety, shove a health restorative down your throat before it was too late. Here, he had only himself and his minions. While he didn’t doubt that Skarm would do his best to protect him, he knew that realistically his chances of surviving if he ended up falling victim to the scarabs were minimal at best.
He'd seen bigger swarms on occasion, but those times he’d always been in a large enough group, usually with artillery mages with area damage spells, and never in such a tight constrained space.
Then there was no time for thought or preparation, only action. Trepidation and determination alloyed into pure motion.
Cen stabbed and bit and slashed on his left. Skarm and Centoo did the same on his right. And Levi stood his ground and slashed out at anything that got close.
Scarabs came from every direction. Too many to keep up with.
The buzzing thrummed and echoed in the room, almost drowning out the frantic pulse of his heart.
Levi's blade slashed three scarabs from the air, the bite brought down another four, giving him enough space to reverse the blade and swipe another two out of the air. He activated the special move again as five scarabs dove at him from above, snapping them out of the air and hurling their shredded bodies back at their fellows.
But the special attack burned through his mana faster than he could possibly thin the swarm. He drew on stamina instead, stepping up his tempo as he kept his blade moving, slashing through the oncoming endless swarm with quick, precise sweeps.
He punched one scarab from the air with his off-hand when it got too close and he couldn't bring his sword back in time, making him viscerally aware of the lack of a second weapon. His off-hand felt useless and empty without a blade in it. Against this many opponents a second weapon would have been invaluable.
He was forced to use Beast Bite again when a swarm got past Centoo's defences and Skarm screamed, scarabs bearing down on him in numbers too great for even his rapid claw slashes and horn swipes to thin their assault.
Levi snapped them out of the air, sending partial bugs flying in all directions, but the momentary distraction allowed those in front to gain ground. Something sliced into his arm, another bit at his neck.
He snatched the bug from his neck and crushed it in his hand, crushed the one on his arm against his greaves, but three more came diving at him from above while another dozen came from the front.
With a scream of fury, he used his last Beast Bite, leaving his mana almost completely drained, but he'd decimated the attack from above and bought himself another second.
Levi fought desperately, drawing heavily on stamina to move even faster as he slashed out at the swarm.
He couldn't let them reach him again. His health regen could fight off most of the effect of the first couple bites, but any more would start to build up and slowly drain him completely.
The swarm was noticeably thinner now, perhaps half gone, but Levi was running on empty. His mana all but depleted, stamina completely out, health dipping slowly as the bites on his arm and neck burned.
Skarm's movements grew sluggish, his health dropping. Cen and Centoo seemed naturally resistant to the bites, their armor showing signs of damage but no slowing to their fighting. Still, two centipedes weren't enough against this many, and they were slowly being overwhelmed.
Cen had over a dozen scarabs swarming around his back, evading his flailing legs and eagerly biting into his chitin. Levi had no time to clear them off without leaving himself exposed from the front.
Centoo fared slightly better, with Skarm protecting him, but even he had taken several bites to the chest and back.
Nothing to do but keep fighting. Scarabs died by the dozen to Levi's blade and his minion's claws, but still there were more.
Cen has reached level 3!
Cen has 1 stat point available.
Cen immediately made use of his mid-fight level to go into a thrashing frenzy that burned through his newly-restored stamina but allowed him to crush or slice apart all the scarabs on his body and in his immediate vicinity.
It bought Levi a few seconds on that front, allowing him to focus his attention upwards to those descending from the ceiling, but the brief respite was insufficient.
Centoo has reached level 3!
Centoo has 1 stat point available.
Levi didn't have time to deal with his minions' levels at the moment, it was all he could do to keep himself upright and fighting. As the fight dragged on, more and more scratches and tiny bites accumulated as scarabs slipped through his defences.
Before long he was forced to abandon his sword in favor of swatting any that reached him, crushing them before they could bite him properly, stomping any that came up through the floor, as the swarm was too numerous to keep at distance any longer.
The swarm fought as furiously as himself and his team, all the scarabs surging forward for their turn to take a bite out of him and increase the impact of their slow-building deadly venom.
Levi's movements grew slower as the paralytic fought his stamina regen, his health now dropping steadily, but he couldn't afford to risk any sort of restorative. In this fight more than most, split seconds could cost him everything.
Scarabs buzzed and swarmed, too many to hold back. Cen and Centoo had coiled back on themselves, pressed firmly against the door, striking out with their many legs, but even they weren't able to keep the weight of sheer numbers from slipping through.
If not for the dungeon reabsorbing the dead, they'd be surrounded by a mound of furry scarab bodies, but as it was there was no visual indicator of their countless kills.
Congratulations, Levi Morrison!
You have 1 level available.
Applying to default class.
"Verify," Levi gasped out, laughing at the flood of increased and restored strength and wellness that washed away the building damage and debuffs, restoring him to full power in a moment.
Tamer level increased to 6.
+6 health, +6 mana, +6 stamina
With the new influx of power from leveling, and the restoration of all his depleted pools, he returned to the fight with new fervor. Apparently killing this many level 2 creatures, even if they were individually weak, counted for a decent amount of experience. He hadn't expected another level so soon after the last, but he was not going to look down on any advancement.
The remaining swarm attacked without letting up, but with three fourths of the team newly reinvigorated, they were able to clear the remainder of the enemies without anyone being overwhelmed.
Skarm has reached level 5!
Horned Gremlin threshold 1 attained.
Evolution threshold advancement progress: 1/3
Skarm has 1 stat point available.
Skarm has 3 ability points available.
Levi dismissed the notification, looking around for the next swarm, but... there was none. Cen slashed a few stragglers from the air, Skarm twisted to impale one against the wall, and then the room was still.
They'd done it, survived the first stage.
There was barely enough time to catch his breath before the walls began to tremble and melt, thick sludge running down the walls and dripping in long hanging globs from the ceiling, gathering in the middle of the room.
The actual boss, finally ready to come out and play.
