55 The Might of Progress (1/2)
After making sure Althea had her dungeon cores maxed out as well, the three of us left towards the next dungeon. Apparently, it was a wierd, open kind of dungeon that existed within the local sports stadium. The three of us left the house before meeting up with two guards that Torix lended us. After the close call last time, he ensured us that he wasn’t going to hold back any longer.
Being summons of Torix’s, the guards were armored, enormous, and armed to the teeth. One of them wore a helmet with the antlers of an elk jutting from his head and shoulder pads.From under his helmet, the guard stared forward with floating, blue fires for eyes. Unblinking and soulless, he carried a sword ending in a hook in one hand with a chain and sickle that he carried in the other hand.
Aatrox Vernan(lvl 1200) – A summon of Torix Worm, this is a guardian spirit tethered to the corpse of a grand warrior. Using his sword and sickle, his attacks incapacitate foes at a distance before he pulls them in and guts them. Specializing in constitution, dexterity, and strength, his lack of health leaves him vulnerable to high damage per second foes.
The guardian spirit, while loyal in the utmost, lacks the adaptability of most mortal minds. This reduces his danger level drastically, but this summons still reaches the level of 1200 off raw power alone. You would likely die if he was on the other side, so count your prayers that this monster stands with you.
The other guard was a heavily alien with cloven feet and legs like a goat. His own horns twirled out to the side of his head, but a strong, long jaw full of sharp teeth was left unarmored. On its back, two enormous barrels pointed downwards. As we walked up to him, he lifted the cannons upwards in his arms, holding them like two miniguns.
Kade Byle(lvl 1200) – A summon of Torix Worm, this is yet another guardian spirit tethered to the corpse of a grand warrior. Using the two cannons mounted on his side, the offensive potential of this guardian can threaten monsters of a far higher level. Kade lacks any meaningful defenses. He is the epitome of a glass-cannon.
Furthermore, the lack of an adaptable conscious prevents his offensive potential from shining. Everything must be planned with Kade, otherwise he’ll be overwhelmed, either by numbers or by sheer bulk.
Having said that, he could likely blow you away in a few seconds of being exposed to his damage. He will be a strong tool for your arsenal.
All in all, they looked completely badass. As we walked up, I said,
“Who are these guys?”
Kessiah sighed, “Two more summons of Torix.”
I blinked a few times, “How many minions does he have?”
“More than a few, from what I can tell.”
Althea chimed, “It’s his mythical skill. It’s going to be powerful.”
I frowned, “Man. Makes my mythical skill look shitty by comparison.”
Althea rolled her eyes, “He’s had a long time to make his good. Give it time.”
Kessiah hit my shoulder, “You haven’t even seen mine in action.”
I raised an eyebrow, “I thought your mythical skill made you dense or something.”
Kessiah shook her head, “Sorry toots, that’s the level 100 perk for constitution. My mythical skill is Hemomancy. I was born with it.”
“Hell yeah.”
Althea murmured, “Are these two things our guards?”
Kessiah turned to her, “Yeah, they are. Kade and Aatrox. They have names like they were named by some edgy teenager.”
I added, “Yeah, whoever named them has no sense of taste in his naming skills.”
Althea sighed, “Come on…Let’s get this over with.”
Kessiah frowned, “I preferred when you complained a little less.”
“I’m just tired of this. It’s no fun to just wake up, fight, train, sleep.”
I walked forward towards the entrance of a sewer,
“Get used to it. If we can kill all four followers of Yawm, then you can get a Sentinel’s rights. That’s an easy way out of Schema’s endless war I bet.”
I lunged down and pressed the tip of my armored finger between the manhole and its cover. I popped the lid up and caught it with my other hand. I turned back towards Althea,
“What’s that phrase…Ah yea, where there’s a will, there’s a way. You just have to have the will is all.”
I leapt into the entrance, sliding through the air while smoothly sliding the cover back onto the entrance. My ascendant mana flared, the red light letting me see the coming ground. The circular, concrete walls slid past my face before I my feet slammed into the ground.
The concrete didn’t crack as I landed. The telekinetic field around my feet dispersed the impact. My dexterity let me bend my knees as I landed in a fluid motion. If anything, I hardly even made a sound. I dashed forward, light on my feet as the fervor of ascendancy flowed within me. The others followed a few seconds after.
They caught up before we bolted towards the dungeon. I dashed between the two walkways lining the gray water. I grappled along, using the growing green vines cropped up around bits of light. Hell, on several of the curved segments of sewer, I picked up enough speed to run along the cylindrical walls. It was a blast just moving.
At one point, I had analyzed Althea’s level. She was only level 467. Nearly a hundred levels below me, and that didn’t even account for the distance my mythical skill made. She’d fallen behind. Looking back on it, I kind of saw it coming.
Althea never liked fighting, and she tired of it. If anything, I enjoyed it a little too much. She needed sleep and I didn’t. That’s 8-9 hours every day that I get to train and study without distraction that she doesn’t have. I even get doubled experience from unique bosses, and that adds up over time.