Chapter 179: [Arc 5] Chapter 0-3: Damavand-Core

"Please have a nice trip, Lady Garami." - Almas

"Sure, thanks for the escort. And say hi to Jin when she returns." - Garami

We saw Almas the Skeleton Knight take the Ghost Train back to Damavand-Tomb. That guy, is he bored because his partner is out on the expedition with the members of Babel to obtain Dungeons that are gonna be used as teleport points?

After that, Mira and I left the train station that the Ghost Trains stops at and walked into the urban streets of Damavand-Core's 5th floor. All of them are made with the "Forgotten Realm in the Abyss" personalized Dungeon-type, but I specifically removed the damaging aura from the first floors to save some CP that I used to create barriers on the train tunnels to prevent invaders from using them. The Ghost Train will notice if someone tries to sneak on them, so there are no worries of the tunnels to be used against us now.

Hunter and his six friends, the group of Mimics I summoned yesterday for Mira's treasure hunting game, jumped off toward the next floor. They're gonna get an orientation from the local Mimics here to get up to speed on what to do in this Dungeon. Hunter was the sole Mimic who almost managed to get away from Mira, so I named him as such in the hope of him becoming the hunter rather than the hunted in the future. 

"Garami, are those shops?" - Mira

"Ah, pretty much. Onyx and I threw some entertainment facilities that both invaders and the allied forces of the Dungeon could use on this and the 10th floors because we needed some more FPFacility Points. Used to set Facilities across the Dungeon., which led to the idea of making a city on these two floors." - Garami

"A city!?" - Mira

"Yup. Not that we have the leisure for that now, so it's a plan for the future." - Garami

The NPC-like spawned monsters are one thing, but the summoned monsters have feelings and the like. They'll need to have some time to relax. So, letting them have fun on the 1st, 5th, and 10th floors wouldn't be that bad. Onyx himself seems to be excited over the idea of designing a city, so I'll let him take care of that.

"Hoo...? Then, there are no monsters here?" - Mira

"On this floor? Only some G-rank Gels to act as cleaners and probably mascots." - Garami

"No, not the floor, but the Territory as a whole. You have done something, right?" - Mira

"Don't look down on me, I've got things covered. Well, it's mostly relying on the summoned monsters and traps. This is the final bastion before the original Dungeon Core. I won't be stingy and hold back my defenses. That's why I chose monsters and traps that can assist the real forces." - Garami

With that, I took out the list of spawnable monsters and showed it to Mira:

"The plan is to use Lightning-based traps to zap the invaders and then have the Demonia Golems and the undead dragons attack them without care until the summoned monsters can stage a counterattack." - Garami

"Oh, so they are for delaying. The Mimics are for that purpose as well? And are these those demonic spiders? They had a Lightning attribute evolution?" - Mira

Right as I was gonna answer Mira's question, someone got a word in before me. 

"Hmm? What's the deal with shocking spiders?" - Zaria

"...demonic spiders. They can be shocking too, but why're you here, Zaria?" - Garami

I can guess from the tons of bags she's carrying, but...

"I'm holiday-ing!" - Zaria

"Ah, she was the type to turn stupid while excited..." - Mira

So, so. "You can't choose your friends", or something like that.

"Hey, what's up with those faces!? I've earned this much, after getting dragged into some cursed sea, almost being blasted to kingdom come, then having to design a whole Dungeon myself! Just visiting one in the past doesn't make me a Dungeon-expert, you know!" - Zaria

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about...wait, what was that last part?" - Garami

"About me having to design a Dungeon? Alf fell into a coma-like sleep, so he asked me to do his "Territory" or whatever it's called-" - Zaria

"No, she must be talking about the "visited a Dungeon before"-part." - Mira

"Oh, that? I got a job once to give a present to an old geezer of a Dungeon Master living in the Mystic Mountain. Hey, here's an idea: how about asking him if he can hand over his Dungeon in exchange for a free room here?" - Zaria

"TELL US THAT SOONER, YOU BAT-BLOKE!" - Mira

Leaving the scolding of the bat to Mira, I called on Onyx to tell him about the potential give-away Dungeon. And had him get something ready on the 6th floor.

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"I said I'm sorry already! And why are we here even?" asked Zaria as she followed us to the 6th floor.

"Just wanted to move my body a little. Mind keeping a distance?" - Garami

Mira and Zaria nodded with confused expressions, but they'll understand shortly.

Not long after I entered an open area in the ruined city from modern time, I could hear the steps of a pair of large creatures coming closer. From behind the ruined building on my right side appeared a demonic-looking dragon with black scales, the Demonia Dragon, and from the left building, a giant made of black stones and a ruby eye, a Demonia Golem, emerged. 

Both creatures, with eyes that were empty of any intelligence, leaped at me. The dragon would be the first to reach, but no. A third and fourth "challenger" reached me before them.

Right as it appeared I was occupied with the approaching dragon and golem, a creature jumped out from my shadow, but I stabbed it with a [Lightforce Javelin] before...

Aw, crap! That wasn't part of the plan. What's the point of getting the spawned and replaceable monsters to attack me if I don't do as I planned and use this chance to see what the new skills I got from the evolution can do? 

Anyway, the Sinister Shade, a black shadow with no special characteristics outside of being a living shadow, died so easily from the Javelin that it wasn't funny. These guys are too weak to Light. I get that they rely on sneak attacks, but still... glad I didn't choose this as my evolution back then.

Even though I was wasting time sulking over my mistake (it wasn't that long, thanks to [Though Super-Acceleration]), I dodged the attack of the next assailant with a simple sidestep. Not that it would have done any real damage.

What had attacked me was a Darklight Sphere. Think of it as a crystal ball-shaped creature that's solely made of black light. Calling it a "spirit" regarding its appearance may not be too wrong. Well, it is one after all. A demonic spirit.

It had tried to attack me with a [Darkforce Javelin], a Darkness-variant of my own [Lightforce Javelin]...those may be a good combination. Anyway, with my resistance toward darkness, I could safely ignore its attacks. And I have to, because here comes the dragon!

The Demonia Dragon swiped with its claws covered in dark energies. If it was only Darkness, I'm good for tanking it, but with a physical attack from a behemoth like this guy behind it? Not so much. 

It was then I got an idea. I used the new [Paranormal Intuition] to...damn, this thing's good. [Intuition] used to predict the attack lines, but now I can see what the attack is, the timing of the attack, and it's even giving me suggestions on how to escape it. One of the options is extremely alluring for me right now.

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As the dragon's claw got closer, I used the accelerated time from [Thought Super-Acceleration] and [Paranormal Intuition]'s prediction ability to use both the new [Light Shell] skill and the Glitter Guard battle art from [Ehangwen-Style Self-Defense]. The Shell skill created a membrane of light around my body while the battle art produced a shield of light in front of me, and the second the dragon's claws struck the shield, the membrane burst and showered the dragon with blinding light.

I withstood that attack...and with no damage! Shell had blocked most of the attack's physical attack power, and Glitter Guard was originally an anti-physical art anyway. But I sorta see why this skill's not so mainstream anymore. It would be impossible for someone without at least [Thought Acceleration] to get the timing right, and some battle arts could be a better choice then, even if they don't come with a built-in counterattack.

Then the golem arrived. And attacked. Without even a greeting!? What a rude golem! I'm disappointed in you as your Dungeon Master!

But alas, the golem was wrapped up in several threads produced from my fingers and stopped in its tracks before it could hit. I then invoked one of the new effects of [Black Fetters], which is to add Darkness properties to any fetter-like items in my possession, not just making chains of darkness.

The threads turned jet-black and started to whither away the golem's body. Hmm, this takes more time than expected. It's a nice upgrade, but...subtle. And the MP-cost is far from being the same! Not that I can't afford it.

If it was something organic instead of a golem, then [Venom Addition] could also be used to grant the threads Poison properties. Not just the Poison ailment, but elemental damage as well. It costs more SP than [Poison Attack], so I'll prolly only use Addition when binding someone or adding Poison to spells and other long-range attacks.

And over there we have the Darklight Sphere who's preparing a new attack. This time, it's from the Light attribute. I've not developed my resistance to that attribute to simply tank it, but dodging feels like a waste. Therefore, it's your debut, [Darkness Eater]~.

A dark aura emerged from my left hand and created something close to a shield on it. I simply posed my arm against the Darklight Sphere's attack and had it collide with the shield made from [Darkness Eater]. The attack simply vanished right into it! Well, that's the skill's effect.

Before it evolved, [Dark Drain] was simply a skill that allowed me to suck up MP from targets I was holding through the Darkness attribute, but [Darkness Eater] extends this function with a wider range, plus the ability to "eat" attacks with it! Physical attacks like kicks and punches won't be stopped, but weaker attacks of the energy type will never hurt me anymore! Ah, but only if I get the "shield" up in time, I guess.

Right after I had "eaten" the Light attack, the Blind affecting the Demonia Dragon faded away, obvious from how the color in its eyes returned. Before it attacked, I produced one of the snake-heads that my monster-form could produce from my back, changed it into an elongated demonic arm, and grabbed the dragon's front paw with it. 

The dragon tried to brush my extra arm off, but before that, I used the [Devil's Claw] skill. It should inflict resistance-piercing damage to the hand so I could crush the dragon's arm...except it didn't work? H-huh...? Must be the skill level.

I wrapped the dragon with threads and [Black Fetter] to incapacitate him. Guess this is fine for a trial run..., I wonder what would happen if I use the Black-Light title......tch, no laser-cutter threads, huh.

"Onyx, that's enough," I reported to Onyx with my Dungeon Terminal as I kept on blocking the attacks from the Darklight Sphere. The spawnable monsters may not have a "soul" or anything like that, but they still cost CP. After seeing the Darklight Sphere stop its attacks, I let the Demonia-duo free from their bindings and saw them off as they ventured through the streets of the 6th floor again.

---

"You hadn't tested out your skills until now?" asked Mira after we returned to the 5th floor and sat down on one of the cafe facilities placed there. 

"Only the non-combatant ones. The others were tested in my free time while I was waiting for the CP to recover." - Garami

I even got to confirm the MP-recovery effect of [Demon's Bounty], which activates when I kill a living being. Spawnables don't give EXP or proficiency for titles for us Damavand-related people, so I was afraid of that skill not showing its effect properly. Guess I was wrong.

I took a sip from the large drink before continuing my explanation...why did Mira have to order this drink with a couple's straw? It's embarrassing...let's give her payback tonight in my room.

"Other skills were [Assassin's Stride] which grants fast and soundless movements, [Skeleton Key] that's good for unlocking locks, and [Trap Artisan] that lets you put and remove traps." - Garami

"Those do sound easier to test. Here, aah~," said Mira while offering a piece of her cake...come on...I'm dying here...

"......can you two lovebirds stop acting like I'm not here!?" - Zaria

I should refrain from telling her that I did forget she was here.

"Come on, Zaria, you jealous? But shouldn't you be happy about being able to stay undetected like that? You being a ninja and all~." - Mira

"Why you-! Even when you did nothing special except being busy with some random fake dragon!" - Zaria

"Wha-!? Says the girl who went on a trip to the mountains and didn't contribute at all in the final!" - Mira

"I had to drag Lily back home! And you were only there because you wanted more Prize Points!" - Zaria

Mmm, the cake's tasty. So peaceful...

Hah. Why couldn't GM be here? Her cuteness would probably give those two something else to talk about. I shouldn't have sent her away to search for more info regarding these "Ability Slots" my new equipment is loaded with.

No, it's better not to act blindly with these kinda things. I have no clue on what sorta materials and skills should be used for the optimal combination, or if using my skills as "materials" will have lasting effects on me. 

But still, can't those two stop fighting already? I'm not the type to enjoy a catfight, nor do I have the courage to stop one! Maybe I should just throw them into the Kigal-Note and...

Throwing them into the Kigal-Note..., no, wait a sec. This Kigal-Note can capture living creatures, can't it? I'm not using it so often because of the likelihood of the targets being able to resist the capture and leaving me with wasted MP, but the secondary effect...wasn't it to grant the Kigal-Note the intrinsic abilities of that creature? As in, abilities based on the captured target's skills!? 

GM! Hurry up and return! This may be a turning point in (my) history! Kukuku...hahahaha...MWA-HAHAHAHA!!

Huh? Zaria and Mira stopped fighting while I wasn't looking. And why're they looking like they've seen a ghost? I don't get girls at all.

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Skill List:

Attack Skills:  Magic Skills:  Crafting Skills:  Active Skills:  Passive Skills:  Resistance Skills:  Perception Skills:  Leadership Skills:  Elements:  Monster Skills: 

Title List:

Hunting Titles: Status Titles:

Trait List:

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Kigal-Note/Monster Skills: [Devil's Claw]

Description:

The [Devil's Claw] is a racial skill that only demons that have many skill levels with mental status ailment-inflicting skills can take.

It enhances the demon's muscular strength in their hands to high levels, allowing them to crush rocks and skulls with their bare hands if the skill's level is high enough. There is also a slight chance to inflict either Fear or Confusion on the target.

To summarize, while this skill is strong in a normal fight, the true value of [Devil's Claw] may be in using it to administrate punishments instead.

Garami's comment: Oho~? So it was only me who didn't use this skill to its full potential~.

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