Chapter 183 34.6 Systems?

[STATUS: CALLED: 19 SECONDS]

Seeing debuff go down by one, the [Dispell] clearly didn't manage to cure all the stacks that I had. I could only assume that keeping this debuff low would be the key to not getting brainwashed, assuming that was the case, of course.

"I... I didn't think it would feel like this," Guidance wondered as her own spell worked its magic on her. "My head feels... clearer somehow."

"You didn't think to dispel them when you first saw them stacking?" I curiously asked.

"I was too busy trying to keep the heat on," Guidance defended. "That, and I... I was genuinely not paying attention."

I raised an eyebrow at her answer. For some reason, I didn't believe that she was wholly telling the truth. Still, needlessly questioning her about it right now wouldn't do us any favors. For now, we had to keep moving.

Settling back down into a silent groove, the five of us kept moving down the stairs. The light from Maruki's shield shone on ever brighter, and Guidance kept the heat up as the very air around us seemed to bend from the sheer difference in temperature between it and the heated air keeping us warm. Looking down, I was starting to make out some kind of floor, the stairs finally leading us to our destination as we landed on what looked to be some kind of dank basement.

...Squishy...

[OBJECTIVE: uhsbkBASEMENTiohapoif: COMPLETE]

"Be on guard," Guidance called out just after casting yet another round of [Dispell]s among the party. "If I'm remembering correctly, this place is gonna be teeming with monsters."

Flexing my neck, I raised my pistols at the ready. If the dev was telling us that there were gonna be monsters, then it would be prudent that we kept our ears peaked. The dark around us was keeping us from moving quickly, the wet and somewhat squishy floor squeaking with each step as we slowly made our way forward.

[*uoah99asofih8^(*AYHSdhoayh*]

A monster?!

"There! [SHOUT!]"

[Undulating Horror: Level 80]

My eyes almost bugged out on what I just saw. Level goddamn 80?!

"EEEP!" Shen yelped out, immediately hiding behind me.

"Just the one, huh," Shade scoffed. "I don't think-"

"[Adloqium]!"

Before I could even aim my weapons or even point out the hilariously out-leveled monster in front of us, Guidance was quick to apply a shield over Maruki, the thin spherical sheen of protection shimmering as the, well, Undulating Horror lashed out against our tank's guard.

[*SLASH! SLASH!*]

"What the- It's strong!" Maruki grunted, his guard buckling as he dug into the soft, fleshy ground. "[BASH!]"

With a flash of blue light, he thrashed the monstrosity with his [Manifest], the creature seemingly dazed as its tentacle hovered around it protectively.

"Now!"

At Guidance's bark, we all unloaded everything we could into this monster. Shade and I threw out our attacks, while Guidance did her best to at least throw out an attack or two before the stunned monster could even react. In the end...

[*ah*(Y(*&Y(*YAJSBHDF((HIOA(70.l....*]

[+4000 EXP]

I blinked as the incredible amount of [EXP] I just got paled in comparison to how the monster fell in battle. Being something that I was hard-pressed to describe, the way it fell almost felt unnerving as its tentacle twitched, seemingly still full of life despite the very system telling me that it was already dead.

"I-Is it dead?" Shen fearfully asked from behind me.

"It is," I replied, almost frowning as I kept my [Manifest] aimed at the thing. "Don't worry, Shen."

[*BANG! BANG!*]

I let out a deep breath as I fire out two more shots for good measure. I knew it didn't mean much, but it at least sated the urge to make sure that this thing stayed dead.

"There," I weakly chuckled.

"That was... Far stronger than any adversary I've ever faced!" Maruki panted out, his shield's light almost wavering as he collected his breath. "What was it?!"

"Some kind of Vermes, I'd guess," Shade muttered in thought, his rose's thorns coiling back around his arm. "It's highly unusual that they're on land, but I don't want to know anymore."

I almost chuckled at that. I suppose that being faced with something so far from the norm would allow for a more flexible way of thinking.

"It is," Guidance nodded. "This place should have more of them though, so best keep your guard up."

Sharing a collective nod, we kept on moving forward. Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, after that one monster we faced, nothing like it ever showed up to even try and slow us down. Instead, the unsteady feeling permeating the air only seemed to grow heavier the more we moved through the fleshy hallway that we found ourselves in.

"Strange..." the dev worriedly muttered. "We should be swarmed with monsters by now."

"Isn't this a good thing?" I warily asked, my attention still going to the unopened doors we were passing through. "That thing was Level 80, and I'm sure that you being level 99 was the only reason it went down as easily as it did."

"Well, yes, but it's still worrying," Guidance pondered. "If they're not here, then where did they all go?"

...

...

Huh, I didn't think of that.

A sense of tension washed over us as our conversation seemed to have affected the rest of the party. Still, we soldiered on. Shizu needed us, and even if were way out of our depth, we had no choice in the matter even if we wanted to ditch her, which we obviously didn't.

[*asudhY&*(Y$KJHNoiahCOME THENoapsdpu'p*]

[STATUS: CALLED(3): 30 SECONDS]

Another howl came from right in front of us, our debuffs stacking up again as Guidance was quick to dispel them. With how loud it was, I could only assume that we were getting closer.

"EEP!"

Shen practically jumped behind me, her grip on my pants almost threatening to pull them off me entirely. Still, I stopped to let her get a grip on herself.

"We're almost there," I assuaged her. "We're gonna get out of here, okay?"

The girl only nodded, and I could only hope that what I just said was the actual truth. I really didn't want to be stuck in this horror mansion. And somehow, despite Guidance telling me that [Mental Fortitude] was a thing that was happening, I still had no idea how it worked.

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