Chapter 30: Dungeons are for Suckers

Chapter 30: Dungeons are for Suckers

Nathan explained his strategy to the Heirs as they stood just outside the range of the dungeons bombs. Three groups. Im first, then Stella is behind and to the side. Well draw the fire. Sarah and Aarl with Khachi behind since you dont have unlimited mana. Get closer, see if there are more defenses. If we can handle them, Stella throws me in and I disable what I can, hold for help if I need it. If at any point stuff gets too dangerous then we retreat and come up with a new plan. Learning new things is a victory.

Then they set out, walking quickly across the blasted valley that surrounded the Edrani empire defense outpost that they were treating as a dungeon.

After all, it does try to blow up anybody who comes within three-quarters of a mile or so.

Their progress was steady, as Nathan continued to dodge and absorb blasts from the fortification. He quickly started to have the jittery feeling of being capped out on stamina, and started moving excessively quickly, zipping from side to side to get a better feel for the tracking of the explosive spells.

As he ran, he slowly awakened his Rage. This wasnt a foe he felt personal animosity towards, but the excitement of running across cratered ground while under bombardment helped out. His [Battle Meditation] also synergized, allowing Nathan to submerge himself in the thrill of the fight without losing his focus on what mattered.

I am looking forward to being able to use my Rage without it preventing complex reasoning. After all, I need to crack open a complex enchantment up there. Sounds fun!

As he got closer and the transit time for the attacks reduced, they became even more frequent before Sarah pulled out her revolvers and started shooting at the orbs in a slow cadence. Only every other shot detonated an orb, but the reduction in attacks allowed Nathan and Stella to pick up speed and close the distance to the base of the hill.

Nathans constant dodging helped him partially avoid the next attack from the dungeon. There was no warning, just a spray of liquid that shot out from a suddenly-glowing spout on the nearest tower as Nathan reached the slope up to the small castle.

The liquid steamed, even in the hot desert air; the edges of the spray catching Nathan with countless droplets of hissing liquid. It was apparently a boiling hot acid, which quickly started eating into his clothes.

I swear, I didnt have a reason to be pissed before, but now I am. My clothing budget rivals my food budget.

Then a tiny dart of fire shot out of the spout, and Nathan learned that the spray of acid was also flammable. It lit with a ravenous greenish-blue flame that would have cooked Nathan if the whole effect hadnt been so magical. It didn't linger, burning out quickly and leaving a section of baked sand and scorched rock.

Nathan shot a look behind him. Stella was swinging wide and erecting additional shields to protect her if the tower decided to douse her in the joker special. He gestured up the slope and she gave him an affirmative hand sign.

So, he started leaping up the hill. It wasnt the sort of slope that required climbing, but it was steep enough that going straight up would require you to stop and take a break every dozen steps. Any trail climbing this hill would switchback up it, instead of going straight up. Sarahs shots started sounding more quickly as the castle volleyed spells at him, determined to blast Nathan with concussive force.

He responded by sprinting straight up the slope, spending Stamina to run as if this was flat ground. He was both pushing with his legs and using [Perfected Body] to shortstop his muscles need for oxygen in respiration.

Mid-tier Sprinting 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to High-Tier.

He dodged to the side, away from another jet of acid that could have bowled him back down the slope if he hadnt gotten out of the way of the bulk of it. After another moment it lit with a fwoosh, the brightly colored light making it hard for Nathan to pick out his next dozen footsteps. He kicked a lip of rock and staggered, but managed to correct his balance just in time to catch another explosive ball of power that Sarah had missed.

Theyre coming much faster now that Im closer. Cycle time is shorter.

If Nathan let the explosive go off in contact with his skin it would probably blow him down the hill, [Mana Absorption] or not. So he caught the spell with both hands, cradling it and fighting to tear apart the tightly bound mana that was trying to explode. It was really a very clever assemblage of fire, force and sound mana, with the dream mana tacked on as a guidance mechanism. He closed his hands together, containing and absorbing the explosive entirely.

High-tier Spellsense 7 achieved!

Then he resumed his sprint up the hill, quickly approaching the base of the walls. Nathan wasnt sure what he was going to do once he got there, since the walls looked like thirty feet of impervious stone. He did not think he had enough momentum to bust through the wall. Antimagic or no, it was still a giant pile of stone.

Then a rock ahead of Nathan wiggled suggestively, and he changed course to run towards it. He leapt atop the rock and it shot skywards under Stellas control, bolstering his leap. He soared up towards the fort, gaining height quickly as another explosive projectile detonated underneath him.

A bubble of force appeared around Nathan, the spell shining a faint orange instead of the blue of Stellas force spells. It started constricting on him the moment it appeared, but Nathan crashed into the barrier headfirst and punched through it, shattering the spell.

[Antimagic Momentum] and [Juggernaut's Inertia], cant touch this!N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

He spent stamina like water as he reached the top of his jump, flattening his arc significantly while retaining his horizontal movement. The motion jerked him out of the way of another orb, which zipped past his feet to detonate on the slope below.

Then Nathans legs slammed into the battlements and he toppled onto the thin walkway that ran along the walls. He scrabbled to keep his feet and not fall into the central courtyard until he could look around.

Dammit, no [Slow Fall] rank up. I need those!

Looking left and right, Nathan saw metal golems filing out of the towers, stalking towards him from both directions with a lethal grace. They were composed entirely of sharp edges, and each looked like a ballet dancing robot built by somebody with a sword fetish. One of them took a rifle bullet to the chest and collapsed to shards that rained into the central courtyard.

A boiling-flaming-acid spout to the right started spraying its cargo downslope towards the Heirs, but the rock that had served as Nathans jump-assist slammed into the aperture at high speed. It didnt crack the magically reinforced tower, but it did mostly block the weapon port and cut off the spray of dangerous liquid.

Nathans attention panned down into the courtyard of the little castle, seeing that half of the small space was taken up by a pair of enchanted pieces of stone and metal that looked a bit like radar dishes. One of them was facing his direction and as he watched it pulsed and send a ball of explosive energy shooting towards him. Nathan danced to the side almost instinctively, the ball passing bare inches from his shoulder before flying over the wall.

Mid-Tier Dodging Footwork 10 achieved! Congratulations, you have maxed out this utility skill! It cannot be improved any further. You must achieve Insight into this skill to develop it to High-Tier.

In the center of the remaining space was a fancy staircase that led into the hill. However, to either side of the opening were large metal golems. The boxy bodies were the nexus for several magical cannons and a multi-jointed tail-like limb tipped by a heavy blade. The whole mess was supported by four sturdy legs, and each golem looked like nothing so much as a heavy combat robot.

High-tier Notice 2 achieved!

His quick but thorough scan of the fortress complete, Nathan considered his options. He was under some rather restrictive time limitations.

If this place has a core, its down that staircase. Do I go after it or dismantle the defenses from the outside in?

Battle Meditation 3 achieved!

Congratulations, you have developed the [Mid-Tier Dodging Footwork] utility skill into [High-Tier Dodging Footwork].

Utility skill: [High-Tier Dodging Footwork]

This skill will help you with quick movements to keep your balance and dodge attacks.

After what couldnt have been more than a minute, Nathan was reminded by a rather large explosion that there was a battle going on, and that his friends were waiting for him to do a job. So he switched to offense. While the spirits dodged with impeccable grace, he only needed to grab or kick them once to destroy or cripple them, literally absorbing their flesh.

I could probably just bull through them. Theres not a lot they can do to stop me.

The spiritual warriors were re-forming at the back of the passage, and Nathan narrowed his eyes. He sprinted down the corridor, passing bodily through nearly a dozen of the ephemeral figures to make his way further into the dungeon.

Skill Development:

Utility skill: [Mid-tier Dodging Footwork]

This skill will help you move yourself to more easily keep your balance and dodge attacks.

Utility skill: [High-tier Dodging Footwork]

This skill will help you with quick movements to keep your balance and dodge attacks.

Status of Nathan Lark:

Permanent Talent 1: Magic Absorption 9

Permanent Talent 2: Perfected Body 3

Talent 3: High-tier Slow Fall 7

Class: Spellbreaker Juggernaut level 79

Stamina: 890/890

Juggernaut's Wrath

Antimagic Momentum

Raging Thrill

Juggernaut's Inertia

Unarmored Resilience

Utility skills:

Battle Meditation 3

High-tier Earnestness 7

Mid-tier Sprinting 10

High-tier Spellsense 7

High-tier Notice 2

Mid-tier Identify 9

High-tier Dodging Footwork 1

High-tier Enhanced Memory 7

Mid-tier Lecturing 7

Mid-tier Tumbling 7