She was right, as per usual. As my high-powered morning group cleared the second room and sat in the lotus position to cultivate, another group entered and hurried to get ahead of them, likely thinking that the best rewards went to the fastest group. They yelled some derisive comments at the first group as they passed, laughing at their good fortune whilst taking the left branch of the tunnel. They entered a room that had a false back, after clearing it they shouted in anger that they had been tricked. Heh. That was even funnier than I had thought it would be. They stomped back, glaring at the still-cultivating group like it was their fault, taking the branch to the right.
“Are they all F-ranked?” Dani wondered, peering at the hustling group through our connection.
<It looks like I’m feeding well today.> I smugly told her. I already was of course, using my very useful trick of constantly pulling a few strands of refined Essence from the group that was cultivating.
This group cleared the room, joyfully filling bags with the loot they found. Moving on, I was impressed at their ability to take the wrong direction every single time. By the time they limped into the first floor Boss room, they looked tired and sour. Taking out a week's worth of their anger on my poor Bloody Bane, they sat to rest for a bit. I had dropped a Holy pendant for them because I was impressed at their tenacity, if not their attitude. I think that I was jaded, being used to professionals at this point.
They got up and were discussing where they should spend their money, so I decided that they needed a boost in the right direction. I dropped a few coppers on top of the stairs, making a loud clattering of falling coins. Of course, they came to investigate and found the tunnel hidden around the bend. Seeing the stairway leading deeper, they became so excited that I almost felt bad for them, but really, does death only come for those who are wicked? Does it spare good people just because they are good or excited? I think not!
Moving downward, they were on high guard, ready to be the first to explore these new, unknown depths. I directed a squad their way, getting ready to test out my new creations in battle. Seeing my Bashers racing at them from the gloom, two of the humans crouched with shields to block their charge. I had the other Bashers move back as the Smashers raced forward, diving directly into the shields. The poor quality metal bent at the impact from my lovely bunnies, breaking the arms of the men foolish enough to attempt to block them; simultaneously knocking the men to their knees.
The fallen humans screamed in pain for a moment, at least till the Oppressors landed their attack on the heads placed perfectly for assault. The cleave ability came into play, a gust of forceful wind blasted into the humans’ screaming mouths, shattering teeth and dislocating jaws moments before their skulls lost the ‘whose cranium is harder’ challenge.
With two of their five members dead in the first attack, the others tried to run. They did not get far before a Impalers horn pierced the spine of a fleeing archer, the Smashers caught up to the remaining two, breaking their legs and giving the other Bashers a chance to finish them off. Just like that, I gained enough Essence that I broke directly into D-rank one.
I whooped in joy, <Wow! Those were even more effective than I thought they would be!>
“Surprise is a glorious tool, Cal.” Dani was nearly as excited as I was for my new rank. Remembering that there were others in the dungeon, I quickly worked to dissolve the corpses and acquire their items. It wouldn’t do to have someone becoming alert to their impending doom, after all. I started fantasizing that just maybe I would finally get this group that showed up daily? I broke out of my reverie with a start, remembering that the Mobs who helped kill a person would gain a portion of their Essence! I moved the squad that had won their first battle into a hiding place to await lower level groups. As an experiment, I would try to get them to evolve naturally. I needed to keep them separate, so as to ensure I would remember them, I’d call them alpha squad and give them a pleasure warren for when they weren't in combat.
The first group of humans came to the first floor Boss room just as the ‘seed’ bloomed into a new Monster, so they had to fight him. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy... or upset. Having them fight the Boss gave me time to absorb the bodies below, wringing out every last drop of Essence; but now I would need to resurrect the Boss again. I vowed that the next time I was going to upgrade my dungeon, I would begin by replacing this useless Boss! Disgusted with my weak Mobs, I dropped the holy symbol I had retaken from the wiped group below, impatiently waiting for them to finish cultivating.
I heard what I had been waiting for, “Look at that!”
“What is it Dale?” His name is Dale, huh? I’ll call them ‘Dale’s group’ from now on.
Dale was as excited as I had hoped he would be, “Stairs leading down!”
“That must be why we didn’t pass that group yet, I was getting worried for them.” The blond man seemed relieved. Heh.
“Stay worried. A second level means stronger Mobs, and that group was weak to begin with.” A harsh voice croaked at them from the cloth wrapped man.
Dale’s group went downward, though at the landing paused, looking into the gloom.
“Dale, are you cycling your Essence for enhanced vision?”
“Eh… I am now.” Dale sheepishly replied.
“What do you see?”
“Looks like, um, moving Essence, I think earth, air, and… what is that blackish-red?”
“Infernal.” A grim voice rang out, slowly drawing a sword...
Dale gave a very unappreciative, “Oh, that’s bad I take it.”
“What else?” The cloth wrapped man prodded.
“The… earth ahead looks... wrong? Thin, like the top layer of a puddle in winter.” Dale notified them.
The man asking questions nodded, though Dale wasn’t looking his way. “Good, those are most likely traps. As an earth-affinity cultivator, one of your most important responsibilities will lie in seeing or feeling traps like that. Others might see them, but I want you to call out every trap you see. Any you fail to catch in time will mean an hour of training with Josh at full speed.”
The panic in Dale’s eyes made me chuckle, I guess ‘Josh’ wasn’t gentle. Hopefully poor little Dale wouldn’t have to worry for much longer... about anything.
“Those moving Essence blobs are coming at us now!” Dale called out.
“Likely Mobs. Get ready boys!” The blond man holding daggers whooped.
A fresh squad raced at them, moving quickly under my direction for a kill. The huge man in Dale’s group moved forward with a tower shield, so I had both of the Smashers ram it. Higher quality than the previous group, the man's shield held under the heavy attack, but the man himself grunted and moved back a few steps.
“Those suckers are heavy. Dodge ‘em if possible.” He told the others in a strained conversational tone.
I sent an Oppressor to jump to the side of him, pushing off the wall to gain sideways momentum. Thinking he could easily block this smaller Basher, the large man didn’t focus as he should have, therefore he was knocked off balance as the cleaving wind sliced into both of his legs, opening up shallow cuts where the armor was jointed, even though the Basher itself was stopped short.
The other men rushed in, the cloth-wearing one moving exceedingly fast across the ground. I could feel a bit of Essence interacting with the earth as he moved; this must be a movement skill. He seemed to vanish from his spot and appear behind the Oppressor that had knocked the large man to the side. He punched with perfect form, creating a resounding *crack*.