18 Day 86 - 90 (2/2)
With that said, we went back into the dungeon and completed two more floors before I received a communication from the Elf Chief about something called the Soul Banquet. I got excited for a moment but apparently it's just a celebration for the dead and a way for their souls to pass on. At first, I wasn't going to go but since Sigul and Cilia wanted to go, I changed my mind.
We arrived after Rou and those he brought with him. Cilia went to speak with the other elves while Sigul remained by my side. We enjoyed the festivities and I heard many stories about the deceased. At one point, Cilia pointed to me while speaking with a group of female elves and they giggled for a bit before realising I was looking at them. I payed it no mind though as the final part of the day, a dance performed by a rather beautiful elven woman that seemed to whisk the souls of the dead into the sky. I'll be honest, it took every ounce of my being, plus the combined efforts of Cilia and Sigul, not to leap up and eat the fleeing feast of souls. When we returned that night, Cilia joined me for a pleasant encounter.
Synthesis Results: {Clear Mind} + {Parallel Thinking} = {Perfect Parallel Thinking}
- Day 90
The mine is running out of Spirit Stones. According to Returner, the stones were present in the first place since the spirits favoured Velvet. Now, with him gone and Returner in the form she's in now, there aren't many spirits hanging around anymore. That's when I got an idea worth trying.
I used {Spirit Caller} in an attempt to call back the spirits that left or bring in new ones and according to Returner, it worked, to a certain extent. Spirits of Fire, Water, Lightning, Earth, Light and Dark have apparently flown through the caves. After a few days, Spirit Stones will become available again, however there won't be anything like the amount from before. Within a week, I'd need to call them again and after a while, they may simply get bored of me.
While Rou took a page out of my book and created something out of the bones of his skeletons, appearing to be some kind of carriage, I took the others back to the Gehenna Dungeon.
We made it to the last floor but left it there since everyone appears to be rather exhausted. The fact that they were able to make it this far against the sheer amount of Cherufe Younglings is rather impressive. Dou, Sei and Hazuki did the best while Cilia and Fu lagged behind a little because of the heat and the straight forward nature of the enemies. Sei didn't struggle much with that since her amount of mana and powerful spells made up for it.
When we returned, I learned of Rou's plan to visit a human settlement soon and use the human girls to spread the word about the Parabellum mercenaries, which ticked me off when Emery said that if I didn't want her around anymore that I should have at least told her myself. I assured her that I had no idea what was going through Rou's head and that I would talk to him right away, after reassuring her that I had no intention of ”throwing her away” as she put it.
- Day 90 Side Story - Sigul
Today was exhausting but I still had some energy to spare so I decided to see how rusty and Rubellia, the red headed adventurer, are doing with their training.
When I got there, it looked like Rubellia was distracted by something and when rusty confirmed this, she told him about Rou's plan. While I understood the need for a group to get it's name known, it seems that he didn't explain everything properly so I stepped in.
[Sigul] ”You know, If Emery is a part of this plan, I don't see him throwing you all out.”
[Rubellia] ”Huh? Sigul, you were listening?”
[Rusty] ”That makes sense. The blacksmith girl is with the Ghoul isn't she? That'd cause some problems.”
[Rubellia] ”O-oh...”
Rubellia seemed to see a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel at that revelation.
[Sigul] ”After all, If he did, this place would be under new leadership.”
[Rubellia] ”Wait, what?”
[Sigul] ”it's obvious, isn't it? My master is many times more powerful than Rou.”
[Rubellia] ”th-that's not true!”
As our discussion began to get heated, an explosive sound echoed from within the caves.
- Day 90 - Kei
I found Rou and spoke to him about his little plan, which resulted in him trying to lord his title as leader over me like it actually meant something. I responded by challenging him to a special rules match.
The rules were as follows:
1) One attack each.
2) can't avoid, only block
3) if you block with an attack, it's counted as your one.
4) No killing.
He agreed and smiled at me maliciously; a smile that I returned.
We made our way to the back of the cave and created a large, arena style area that might be able to withstand an attack from each of us.
[Rou] ”How about we make this a little more interesting?”
[Kei] ”I'm listening.”
[Rou] ”If you lose, you'll equip a slave collar and serve me as I see fit.
This damn bastard is way too cocky.
[Kei] ”Fine. What do I get if I win?”
[Rou] ”hmph, what do you want?”
[Kei] ”hmmm, alright. If I win, I want total freedom for myself and my group.”
[Rou] ”Deal.”
We smiled viciously at each other from opposite sides of the underground arena and took our stances. Rou made his move first, charging forward with his {Exoskeleton}, a stag beetle armour, equipped and lands a powerful punch on my defences. It seems that he's put his {Synthesis} skill to good work. His punch was able to send me flying back into the wall, breaking both of my arms. {Extreme Regeneration} took over quickly though and resulted in a flabbergasted look on the idiot's face.
For my attack, I decided to use a bit more of my power. With {Behemoth's Strength},{Divinely Forged Body} and {Exoskeleton: Calamity Insect's Carapace} active, I use {Calamity Goliath's Speed} to shoot towards Rou and combine {Invisible Strike} and {Sundering Strike} to deliver an extremely fast and powerful punch to his stomach. The attack shakes the cave as it connects before blasting the poor bastard through the wall and out the other side of the mountain into the forest.
Phew, I got to do two-no three things within the span of a few minutes. I got to prove that I'm the strongest in the cave, beat the prideful shit known as Rou, and show everyone that you don't fuck with my people. Especially my lovers.