Chapter 984: Choosing Their Strategy
The others quickly followed her inside, leaving only Alex and David outside, the latter looking at Alex with a grateful look.
"You know you'll have to use as much of your power as you can if you want to keep casualties from happening, right?" David asked.
Alex served him with a knowing look.
"I'm aware. I would have preferred not to, but I don't really have a choice. Too much is at stake for me to keep hiding my full power from them. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope they are trustworthy..."
David chortled, before passing through the dungeon entrance wordlessly.
Alex stared at it for a moment, his mind imagining scenarios where the people present betrayed him, and his mind went back to the dream he had months ago. He shivered, imagining all his friends lying dead in a pool of blood at his feet, and shook the image away from his mind.
"No. This is not going to happen. Even if they betray me, I'll deal with it without violence," he admonished himself.
Steeling his resolve, Alex finally pushed through the shimmering wall, feeling the familiar warp of teleportation twisting his guts before he reappeared in a dark tunnel.
Looking behind him, there was no more tunnel exit or light from the outside. Only a stretch of eternal darkness, disappearing from view.
"Great. A dungeon with only one way to exit..." he complained, before turning to his group, who were exploring just a little ways forward.
He quickly caught up to them, heading to the head of the pack with Winston, who was on high alert.
Passing near Kary, who had her hand raised with a fireball hovering over it, acting as a living torch, he smiled wearily at her.
She returned his smile, hers a bit more confident, and returned to watching their surroundings.
They were currently in a dark tunnel, with no light aside from what she was projecting and the little light Cory was emitting from his mace, after focusing a bit of his mana into it.
The tunnel stretched before them further than their light could reach, and David instantly knew that his efforts to map the tunnels' pathing had been in vain.
"This dungeon will most likely be in a single phase, given it has no exit aside from the end of it," he started explaining, trying to come up with a plan of action.
"Wait," Killian interrupted him.
"Alright. Next, Cory. I know you have a few attacks that can deal some ranged damage inside New Eden, but I'll need you to focus on melee today. You'll be paired with me, but I want you to keep an eye on the entire battlefield for injuries.
"We'll be a bit further in the back, so I can monitor the fighting as well," she explained, getting only a nod in response from the young man.
"Jin-Sil. I know you would prefer to be paired with Rì-Chu, but I can't have two ranged attackers paired. You'll be paired with Killian, who will focus on keeping enemies away from
you as much as possible."
Jin-Sil pouted a bit, but didn't voice any complaints.
"Rì-Chū, you'll be paired with Jonathan. Jonathan, I know I'm asking a lot of you to be a
frontline, but I need you to act as a quick response unit with Rì-Chu. Both of you are versatile, and having you as a unit makes the most sense."
Jonathan smiled at her, replying, "I'm okay with it. I just have to fight safer than usual and
stay close to him, right?"
Kary nodded, giving him a small smile.
"Good. Next up, Aapo and David. Aapo, your gun will attract a lot of attention, and I think having David covering you with his undead is the safest option. Plus, you both don't talk much, so no one will feel awkward," Kary chuckled.
Aapo grimaced slightly, feeling she was mocking him, but David slapped him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry about her words. We'll make a magnificent pair. I have your six covered," David
said with a wide grin.
"And lastly, Alex will be paired with Liu Yan. I don't know your fighting abilities at all, Liu Yan, so I'm putting you with our strongest fighter. You'll stick around the other ranged attackers as much as possible, but if we have to split up, hug Alex like your life depends on it,
because it will."
She looked over at everyone, making sure they understood their assignments, and seeing no one was speaking up, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright then. Remember. No deaths. That is our priority. Keep each other safe," she repeated. Resolve flashed in everyone's gaze, and they began their march.