Chapter 666 |
Entering the small village Ajax got a much better idea of why champions had such an easier time in dungeons, where the idea that someone could solo a floor below their own level was saved for the elites and those truly talented at the lower level; it was something most champions could do without much pressure.
The guards they found protecting the village outnumbered them five to one and while they were all in the low one hundred and sixties the first thing Ajax noticed about them was how… mediocre they all were. The humanoids he had seen that had reached such a high level were all true powerhouses but these guards were just scaled up versions of regular people who would be guards for a village. They didn’t have the fancy skills, their gear was made of high Mana density materials but it wasn’t a work of art or imbued with the enchantments that would let them truly show the material’s worth.
Ajax took extra care, pulling out a set of knives and using Wind Mana with precision to ensure he didn’t damage the armor of his target at all as he quickly and efficiently killed the larger than usual guard.
“You sure took your time.” One of the champions teased him after he spent almost thirty seconds dancing around that one guard. “I almost stepped in to help you.”
“Aurexion wouldn’t have let you.” Ajax waved off his teasing. “Plus look at my prize he said as he removed the heavy plate armor from the corpse.”
“Wait, you can take the whole armor set?” The champion’s eyes opened wide as he realized Ajax’s goal.
“I can.” Ajax smiled as he stored the armor in his ring.
“The Republic is going to argue about that, especially since they are in the middle of a war.” The comment was directed towards the prince.
“Armor and weapons are not strategic resources or noble Houses wouldn't be allowed to equip their own people properly once they got too strong, not to mention those who raise truly talented crafters.” The prince wasn’t worried since he had gone over the contract Ajax signed carefully. Internally he was also eyeing that suit of armor, and since Ajax favored leather armor over the heavy plate suit he just collected he had high hopes of it ending up in his hands after it was worked over by the royal blacksmith and enchanters added the runes he needed to it.
“That’s because the people who can make it to such a high level right now are the most talented.” Ajax pointed out. “These people might have the level and some of their Common and Uncommon Skills are high enough to make them better but they are essentially a scaled up version of a common village guard. In a couple of centuries I’m sure the average level of power at this level will go down despite us as a race getting stronger since a lot more people that are less talented will reach it.”
“You do make a good point.” Evelyn accepted as they finished up in the village and started hunting for the next arch to take them to the final floor.
“Does this change once the difficulty spikes again after level two hundred and fifty?”
The question was directed towards Aurexion but the reaction to it was immediate. All of the champions instantly turned to Ajax with wide eyes.
“What do you mean there is another jump in power?”
“Is this like the level one hundred jump in power?”
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“Does this also mean the floor level jump doubles again? Is it additive so only three times the regular jump?”
Ajax ended up kicking himself for the entire twenty minutes they spent deciding on the next floor while Aurexion shared with the rest of his group the knowledge the Ascended had about dungeon floors and the jumps in power level that happened at level one hundred and every hundred and fifty levels afterwards.
“Nobody is to speak a word of this.” The prince said seriously before they entered the arch to the final floor. “I don’t want to think what the Republic might do if the war ends up going badly and Shadow is still alive.”
The real danger here was one of the beastkin dungeons, located around the middle of their territory in a small oasis in the desert, with a nineteen floor jump and the first floor topping out at level forty two. It would mean it would jump from level two hundred and thirteen to two hundred and fifty one. Enough to trigger the power jump and from a weak enough floor that Shadow would be able to fight his way to the higher floor with a high chance of getting through.
Everyone nodded their agreement before they entered the final floor. The floor theme ended up being a forest on a rocky mountainside, one thing Ajax did notice however was that the higher they climbed in the dungeon the less often he ran into floors with a high percentage of a single Mana type. For a floor as high as this one he was only able to read the most common Mana type present which was Earth but with it at only one sixth of the total Mana distribution it was hard to get a good idea of what the floor would be.
Unlike all the other floors the group actually took their time with this one. The time difference was easily three to one with the outside world now and since they took less than five hours to get here even discounting the time difference on those five hours they had well over a week to clear out this floor before anyone expected them to exit.
The first thing the group of champions did was to clear out their surroundings and build a base camp before they all took a full day to rest with groups of two keeping watch. While none of the other champions were heavily injured all of them had been in a fight not long before they were recalled for this delve a few days ago and the time to relax was very much welcome.
Ajax was the only person to take only a short rest and that was thanks to his most recent Achievement that led to him being fully rested with only a regular eight hours, his body finally fully bouncing back from the strain his newest Skill had placed on him.
During the following four days the group moved efficiently through the rocky forest clearing out the dungeon efficiently.
“I think we should do this more often.” Ajax said as he stored away his spear after killing a large wolf. “Our teamwork has improved a lot compared to a few days ago.”
Fighting creatures around in the high one hundred and seventies meant that depending on the species they more often than not outmatched in terms of certain stats. The bear’s strength, the stag’s vitality, the bat’s intellect ended up being a serious issue for all of them with the repeated wide range Vibration attacks it was using before Evelyn managed to get the drop on it.
The most annoying of the lot however were the squirrels, they were the size of a golden retriever but their Dexterity was so high they had relied on large area attacks to get the initial hit on them or on something that would trip them up and get them to stand still for a moment. Once their speed was neutralized however they were easy to handle, it was clear their entire approach to fighting was based on the idea that in order to kill me in one hit they first have to land that hit.
“We do.” The prince said. “ About once every two years or so a group of champions and their helpers delve to level one hundred and eighty like this as a way to hunt for better reagents and improve their teamwork. You just weren’t at that level until now but Duke Manashaper had been making an argument that you should join the next one we had planned before the war broke out.”
“Don’t get a big head.” Evelyn chastised him. “He was more interested in looting all the previous floors and keeping you safe on this floor before he saw the increase in your power after your return from the Wild lands, as well as meeting Aurexion.”
“Found the obelisk.” Aurexion called out from above, for once his large size actually proved to be more of a hindrance rather than an advantage as the trees were strong enough for him to not instantly crush if he landed on them, he needed a dedicated strike to fell them which gave the smaller animals time to attack him. It was a good thing his scales were as though they were, his Skill [Reinforced Scales] had gained two levels.
The obelisk was standing at the top of one of the many peaks spread out among the floor. It was guarded by a large cougar with an affinity for Shadow that Ajax managed to spot. Everyone else left it to him as it was a good match-up for Ajax to push himself though he did end up with more than a few scratches before he let loose a shout at close range and empowered it with Vibration Mana hoping it would disable his enemy.
The trick worked better than he expected, he had even gained a Rare Skill [Debilitating Roar], Ajax could feel Aurexion’s pride in the appearance of the Skill and he insisted it was related to Ajax’s bond with a dragon.
“What the hell is that?” Ajax asked as he took a look down from the peak where he saw a large pentagram glowing.
“Fuck!” Evelyn cursed as he quickly turned and nodded to the cougar’s corpse. “Store that, hopefully its corpse will be enough to appease the Republic, nothing else on this floor will be worth much after this.”
Ajax did as he was told but before he could ask why he got his answer as he felt a large amount of Curse Mana flood the floor.
“I’m glad I spent the last decade studying curses.” Evelyn said as she kept her eyes trained on the pentagram that was still releasing Curse Mana, the effects on the forest surrounding it were visible in real time as the wood twisted and corrupted. “Facing a satyr on such a high floor is going to be a pain since we won’t be able to spend more time here after the fight to recover, the abundance of Curse Mana on the floor now will only make the curses he does manage to hit us with that much worse the longer we stay.”
