Soul of the Warrior

Chapter 82: Bossy Mage

Spear of the Lost Army A worn Spear that has been wielded by many competent spearmen

STR +3

DEX +2

Provides minor proficiency bonus to Spears

Dagger of the Lost Army A worn Dagger that has been wielded by many competent scouts

STR +2

DEX +3

Provides minor proficiency bonus to Daggers

Reivyn pulled out the two pieces of gear that were inside the reward chest. He inspected them briefly before handing them to Kimberly and Teilon, respectively, briefly explaining the description the System provided.

"The lord might drop something useful to a Caster Class, and you guys can have a chance at that, but it makes more sense to pass these items off to the two people who can use them right now," Reivyn explained to Tom and the others. "We'll total the rewards from the Dungeon run later, and we'll make sure everyone is compensated fairly."

"You don't have to explain to us, Reivyn," Tom waved his hands in front of his face. "We get it, and we know you're not trying to just give your friends all the best stuff. I mean, we're your friends, too."

"True, but I still want everything to be fair at the end of the day," Reivyn replied.

"No sweat," Trick said.

Kimberly placed the two spears next to each other on the wall after inspecting the new one. Teilon immediately replaced one of his daggers for the new acquisition, and he patted it with a smile once it was properly in place. Neither of them had an Inspect Skill of their own, yet, so they had to rely on Reivyn to tell them the effects of the equipment.

The six Party members sat down with their backs against the wall of the barracks to take a rest. They pulled out some rations to have a snack to help replenish their Stamina consumption. They weren't worried about any passing monsters, as it was common knowledge that denizens of Dungeons didn't leave their floors. Though it's also common knowledge that they don't leave the Dungeons, either, and we've seen how well that holds true. As long as there isn't any outside interference, we should be fine to relax.

Reivyn kept an eye out for any dangers as they rested, but nothing interrupted them. The Party quickly finished their snack and stood up, ready to tackle the barracks.

"The barracks is made up of a couple of large, open bunk rooms, and several, smaller individual rooms," Tom explained. "The entrance should be guarded by a couple of Shadow People in a small reception room, and then behind that is the open quarters. As far as I know, there are multiple groups of two to five monsters each scattered throughout the open room, and there are individual monsters in the side rooms.

"There are three floors, and the third floor is the boss encounter. It's similar to the first boss we fought. It's just a bit higher Level than the others, and it will call all the monsters on the floor to join the fight if we don't kill them first." Tom gave Reivyn a look from the side of his eyes. "Are you going to want to try and see if there's a Hard Mode for this boss, too?"

"Nah," Reivyn shook his head. "There probably is one, but it doesn't seem like engaging that entire floor at once is enough to justify it being a Hard Mode. If it's any more complicated than that to try and trigger one, I say we just do it normally as quickly as possible and move on to the last area."

The Party all nodded their heads and entered the barracks. Kimberly led from the front, shield up and sword out. She left her spear propped up outside as it would be more of a hindrance in the tighter quarters. Her class of Fighter and training in the Knight Academy had helped her quickly gain and Level her Swords Skill.

She can definitely use more training in order to catch up to her proficiency with a spear, but she's competent enough for our purposes, Reivyn noted as she engaged the two Shadow People. Teilon seemed to blend into the shadows as he activated his Class Skills. He popped up behind one of the monsters and managed to sink his daggers into its back, unnoticed until he struck. The Shadow Person threw his head back, a grimace on his face, and Kimberly took the opportunity to stab her sword through its chest to end its life.

She kept her shield up to block the attack of the other monster as she and Teilon finished off the first monster, and three Bolt Spells flew around her to impact the monster and throw it off balance. It was severely injured after taking three direct hits, and Reivyn finished it off with a Plasma Beam to the face.

"We can use similar tactics to handle all groups of three or less," Reivyn said as they moved toward the entrance to the bunk hall. "When there's four or more, I'll join Kimberly in the front as the vanguard. We'll still use the same basic tactics, though."

The others nodded their heads as they advanced into the next room. It was a long hall with several bunks evenly spaced in a tidy manner. Reivyn was reminded of his time with the second squad as he noticed that there were several groups "playing cards" or doing some other mundane activity. There were even a couple of Shadow People with brooms and other cleaning implements in their hands, sweeping and cleaning the barracks.

Reivyn let Kimberly lead them from group to group, and they dispatched their way through the hall with ease. Reivyn only had to step up a couple of times to assist Kimberly with his own sword and shield.

The nature of the Dungeon and the monsters really makes this strange. If this was out in the real world, with real people, no way all of these groups would just ignore us as we systematically butchered their companions. As it is, they seem to only be alerted if we get too close to them personally, or we engage a monster in the group.

It was actually a pretty leisurely experience, and Reivyn could tell that at least Kimberly was getting marginally better at handling a sword after each encounter.

The Party made its way through the second "floor" of the Dungeon with no hiccups. The second floor of the barracks was almost exactly the same as the first, just with different make-ups of the groups they fought. They made sure to clear out each of the individual rooms, too. The monsters that had their own rooms were slightly higher Level and more Skilled in their chosen weapons, but being all alone made them no harder than the groups in the hall.

Trick and Teilon had started to rummage through each of the footlockers located at the ends of all of the bunks, but they were all empty. They didn't even contain clothing or other possessions that would likely be found in a real barracks setting.

They arrived on the third floor in no time, and Reivyn had to spend the entire time up front with Kimberly. All of the encounters on the third floor were groups of five monsters. There weren't any more of them than could be found on the lower floor, and because they were all grouped up with five at once, they actually cleared their way to the boss much faster than on the previous floors.

The Party wasn't tired or low on their vitals, so Kimberly immediately initiated the boss fight once they reached the end of the floor. The boss fight was also an encounter with five total, and the other four Shadow People accompanying the obvious boss that was dressed similarly to the officer on the field were also higher Level and more Skilled than the regular monster soldiers.

Kimberly took on the boss and one other monster while Reivyn handled the other three. Reivyn didn't have any difficulty holding the three back and keeping their attention, but he noticed that Kimberly was actually struggling a little with the boss. The second boss was actually pretty skilled with the sword, and Kimberly would have been in trouble if her Armor and Shield Skills hadn't been honed much higher than her Sword Skill.

Even with the added difficulty for Kimberly, she still calmly held off her two monsters, and the other four party members methodically slew them all, one at a time. They started with killing the actual boss first, Teilon performing his disappearing act followed by a dagger in the kidney to open the barrage of damage, and the fight was very simple after that. Reivyn even managed to slay one of his own monsters by himself before the rest of the Party got to it.

"Well, this floor wasn't too bad," Reivyn commented. "I can see why the Academies aren't too concerned with the students exploring the first two regions."

"None of the Dungeons in the kingdom are really all that challenging," Trick said. "Sure, the last boss of this Dungeon can be tricky, but as long as a Party has a couple of experienced Casters of their own, it should be doable."

"That's not counting the younger or green people just starting," Vane pointed out. "It's not really an issue for us or the established Parties, but even the first two floors of this Dungeon could be hard for newbies in over their heads."

"Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean," Trick rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about people like us: talented students of the Academies."

"It's a good habit to always take fights seriously, though," Reivyn said. "Even though it hasn't been a challenge for us - except for Kimberly with the boss monster just now, which is to be expected, actually - we shouldn't grow complacent."

"We know, we know," Trick said. "You're always warning us about it."

"I'm sure if you stick around Reivyn long enough, you'll get to see things go sideways yourself," Teilon said with a chuckle.

"Alright, let's go kill this last boss," Tom said, slamming his fist into his open palm. "We can be done before lunch and get some real food on the outside instead of more field rations."

"Yeah, real food!" Trick pumped his fist in the air alongside Vane. Reivyn shook his head as he headed for the exit, Teilon and Kimberly chuckling behind him.

Tom snatched up the sword that was dropped by the boss, but that was the only piece of loot that looked like it could sell on the outside. They didn't have infinite space to store everything like Reivyn had seen his parents do with their magical pouches - I really need to ask them to give me one - so they had to pick and choose what they would take with them. It would be impractical to exit and enter the Dungeon over and over again for the few silvers they could gain from looting literally everything available.

The group took a ten-minute breather before heading to the central bastion, a large stone building that really rounded out the aesthetic of a small castle. Reivyn glanced up at the imposing building and noted the murder holes and other features of the fortification.

"The Royal Guard, as they're called, will be in groups of two on the first floor, with three guarding the stairwell to the second floor," Tom informed the group. "The second floor contains groups of three to five patrolling the halls and rooms, and the third floor is just the boss room. The boss is the lord of the castle plus four bodyguards.

"Reivyn, we'll pretty much need you to take the lead once we get to the second floor. Each of the royal guards, from the information I've read, is as Skilled as the boss in the barracks. No offense, Kimberly," he nodded to her, and she nodded back with good nature, "but you might not be able to handle the responsibilities of the lead vanguard at that point."

"No offense taken," Kimberly replied. "I know my own abilities, and I'm still learning. This first floor will be good practice for me."

"We'll let her take the lead for the first floor," Reivyn agreed. "Let's go."

The group entered the large, double doors leading into the heart of the Dungeon. The interior was well lit with lanterns and chandeliers, and the first encounter was right inside the building like the barracks had been.

Kimberly engaged the Shadow People, Reivyn assisting her to the side, and they carried out the same tactics as before.

Teilon blended into the shadows and launched a sneak attack at the rear of the Royal Guard that Kimberly was fighting, but the one that Reivyn was engaged with suddenly threw their shield arm behind their companion, blocking Teilon's strike.

This opened up a different opportunity, though, and Reivyn dashed forward to stab the Shadow Man in the side where its armor was less protective. Reivyn maintained a Sharpness Affinity infusion in his mana sword, and he easily pierced through the underlying leather armor.

The Shadow Man grunted and attempted to hit Reivyn in the face with the pommel of its sword, but Reivyn batted the attack away with his own shield and followed up by continuing his momentum and driving the shield into the Shadow Man's face. He used the opponent's off-balance stumble from the strike to pull his sword out and thrust once more. His sword pierced through the monster's neck, and the sudden loss of blood pressure caused it to collapse to its knees, dropping its sword and shield to hold at its neck.

Reivyn's Dexterity and Perception Stats were high enough that he was able to spot and react to opportunities in the blink of an eye, and his entire assault had taken less than a second to complete.

Bolt Spells slammed into the first monster, and Teilon was able to finally stab it in the back as its attention was still firmly held by Kimberly. The same attacks as the ones against the Shadow People in the barracks ended the life of the Royal Guard, but they were just delivered in a slightly different order.

"Looks like you need to practice your Class Skills some, too," Reivyn smirked at Teilon as he wiped his sword with a cloth. The blood and other remnants of the corpses all disappeared into smoke, but Reivyn was in the habit of keeping his gear clean. It's better to go through the motions than to risk losing the habit, Reivyn thought as the Party formed back up.

"I might have been a bit too eager," Teilon said with a shrug. "Monsters - and people, for that matter - with higher Perception can perceive intentions and mood fluctuations. That's one of the things they taught us at the Knight Academy. I agree I still need to practice, but I think what I really need to practice is embodying the nature of my Class."

"What is your Class, anyway?" Vane asked. "I assumed you were a Rogue or some sort of Scout, but you're using slightly different abilities than I expected."

"I'm a Spook," Teilon answered candidly. "It became available after clearing the second boss room in the Revenant Dungeon. It's geared slightly more toward stealth and combat than a typical Rogue, losing some of the other versatility of that Class in order to boost the sneaking and mobility aspects."

"Huh, I've never heard of that Class before," Trick said with a thoughtful look.

"Yeah, me neither," Teilon chuckled.

The Party continued into the last floor of the Dungeon, skirting around the entrance to the next floor to mop up the wandering patrols first. They would run the risk of more patrols getting too close to them and attacking them from behind if they didn't clear them out first and went straight to the three Shadow People guarding the next floor.

Each encounter was similar in nature to the first one. There wasn't anything difficult, and Teilon gradually got better at hiding his intentions and landing a sneak attack. Kimberly, likewise, continued to get better with her weapons as well.

Reivyn stood forth to take the lead once the first floor was cleared of all the patrols, and he engaged the three Royal Guards standing at the base of the stairs. The room with the stairs was wide open, with the stairs going up in the center and branching to either side before reaching the second floor. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling which stretched all the way to the third-floor base, and there was plenty of room for combat maneuvers.

Reivyn was easily able to handle two of the Royal Guards as Kimberly dragged the third one toward her. Reivyn's Stats and Skill Levels enabled him to have more than enough energy to handle more than one of the opponents. The Party made quick work of the enemies, nothing really changing since Reivyn didn't have any additional stress from handling another Shadow Person.

I could probably handle an entire group of five, if not for the fact that they could just walk around me to get to the others, Reivyn thought. Their armor and shields make it harder to get a quick kill like I could against the Revenants, but their overall danger levels are much lower, especially against the Revenants found deeper in that Dungeon where the Mana concentration was thicker.

Reivyn led the Party up into the second floor, and there were no surprises as Reivyn was able to handle all of the groups of Royal Guards. He was right that Kimberly was still necessary, though, as the larger groups could take up the entire width of the hallway. Teilon even had to step in and distract one of the Royal Guards for a moment in one of their first encounters, but his abilities and the short time he was engaged allowed them to circumvent the issue.

The Party expended considerably more Stamina and Mana in their fight to the third floor than they had on any of the other areas, so the group took a short break to recharge before ascending to the third and final floor after clearing all of the patrols.

"Here we go," Reivyn said. "We'll do it the same way as the other groups of five. I'll take the boss and two of the guards. Kimberly will get the two on the left, and you guys take them out first.

"I can utilize my Mana Shield in order to mitigate any Spells the lord throws my way. Just make sure you guys don't get tunnel vision in trying to kill the Shadow People. The boss is a Tier 3 Caster, and it will hurt to take a blast to the face."

Reivyn looked each of them in the eye as he instructed them, and his friends nodded back with serious expressions. They weren't worried about the boss fight, but they knew it had the potential to be the hardest fight they had encountered since beginning to explore the Dungeons together.

"We got this," Trick said. "The boss is a typical Fire Mage. He's Tier 3, but I've heard that he uses pretty standard Spells: Bolt, Blast, and Beam."

"Noted," Reivyn replied. "Let's go."

Reivyn led his team up the last staircase and through the doors into the lord's chamber. The boss stood on the far side of the room, looking down at a map on a table. The four bodyguards were stationed to either side of the room. All of the Shadow People looked up at the same time as the Party intruded on their domain, and Reivyn Charged the Caster.

This was the last battle they would be fighting in the Dungeon, so Reivyn wasn't going to hold back. He instantly closed the distance and thrust his Sharpness-infused Mana Sword toward the boss. A shield sprung up and deflected the attack to the side, and the table went flying away from Reivyn crashing right through it. The speed of the response means that that was most likely not a Skill, Reivyn surmised. It's probably a protective item the boss is wearing, and it will have limited uses. Let's see if it's a physical protection, first.

Reivyn canceled the Sharpness infusion and activated his Elemental Weapon Skill using Fire. His mana sword lit up with the flames, and Reivyn pumped additional mana into it to extend the flaming blade beyond the limits of the sword. He slashed his attack at the boss that was still recovering from the sudden assault, and the flames passed through the shield, burning the monster.

The shield dimmed a bit from the magical attack, and the boss snarled at the pain caused by the attack. The boss lifted his hand and three Fire Bolts flew out in quick succession toward Reivyn. Reivyn lifted his shield, additionally protected with his Mana Shield Skill, and blocked the Bolts from reaching him. The Bolts impacted the shield, and fire scattered to either side in a splash.

Reivyn took one more overhand swing at the boss with his flaming blade. The flames once more passed through the barrier, which once more dimmed further, but the boss lifted his other hand and created his own Mana Shield. Reivyn knew that he couldn't delay any further, and so he turned back to rush to the closest Royal Guard that was closing in.

Reivyn's attack on the lord had drawn the attention of all four Royal Guards, and Kimberly used her own Charge Skill to intercept the one closest to Reivyn on the left. She gained its attention and maneuvered it away to also pick up the last Royal Guard she was responsible for engaging. Teilon had merged with the shadows and was positioning himself to strike as Tom, Vane, and Trick began pelting them with Spells.

Reivyn had a limited amount of time, so he ran past the first Royal Guard on the right side of the room, taking a swipe with his still flaming sword as he passed it. He ran to the second guard to engage it, and he also began to drag them along with him back to the boss monster. His Charge Skill was on cool down still, not enough time passing for his body to recover enough to use it again. He could force it as he had before with the Dullahan, but there was no real need to do so in the current situation.

Reivyn pumped a significant amount of his Mana into his Mana Shield and positioned it at his back, and he felt the impacts of a couple more Bolt Spells as he dragged the Royal Guard back. He needed to get into a position where he could get all three of them in front of himself.

If I hadn't done the initial charge to the boss, he would have been able to stand behind that table and launch Spells while we fought the guards, Reivyn thought. Charging him first and getting that table out of the way removed that obstacle, and I just took a couple of attacks of opportunity while I was at it. Once I get the guards in the right position, this should go a lot smoother.

Reivyn's Danger Sense kicked in as he moved backwards to the boss. He relied on his Spatial Awareness to see that the boss wasn't actually targeting him, but his Sense Mana Skill let him know it was readying a powerful Spell.

"Watch out!" Reivyn called out to his friends. "Blast Spell incoming!"

Reivyn shifted his Mana Shield Skill in the direction his Spatial Awareness indicated, and he Sensed that Tom, Vane, and Trick threw up their own shields. Teilon zipped over behind the trio to take advantage of their Shields, and Kimberly hunkered down behind her own.

The boss launched the spell toward the center of the group, not targeting any single person, and the large explosion shook the entire room. The heat from the flames washed over Reivyn, slightly bypassing his Mana Shield, but it quickly subsided. The force of the explosion wasn't enough to knock him off balance, but he was worried about his other friends, especially Kimberly.

He stole a glance in their direction and saw that Tom, Vane, Trick, and Teilon were all fine. Kimberly stumbled a bit, and she was immediately in more danger from the two Royal Guards she was fighting against. The effect of the Blast Spell hadn't affected any of the enemies in any way.

That's just not fair, Reivyn thought ruefully. System shenanigans.

"Quickly, take care of those guards!" Reivyn shouted. "I'm fine over here."

Reivyn disengaged the two Royal Guards he was fighting and sprinted past the lord. The Caster turned to face him and Reivyn was finally in a better position to fight the three enemies properly. He could also passively see the state of the rest of the Party from his vantage.

Teilon dashed towards the closest Royal Guard who was launching a furious assault on Kimberly, completely giving up any notions of stealth. His speed compensated, though, and he was able to land a Backstab in the monster. Bolt Spells quickly followed in his wake as he jumped back and away, turning to attack the other guard. The first guard was quickly drowned in magical damage, and it collapsed to the floor before disintegrating.

Reivyn mentally relaxed a bit once the situation was finally brought under control. Kimberly had suffered some cuts and bruises from the assault after the Blast Spell, but she was back in top condition, holding off the last Guard.

Reivyn concentrated on the monsters in front of him, pushing himself to move faster and faster. His sword and shield blurred as he turned into a storm of metal, fending off the attacks of the guard and countering with his own. His Stats were clearly superior, and his ability to control the fight was well in hand.

The boss continued to mainly launch Fire Bolt Spells in triplicate at Reivyn, and he deftly blocked them with his Mana Shield and shield. He angled the shield and Danced around, utilizing the Skill to help him move about while in combat, in order to avoid the Beam Spell the boss occasionally launched.

There seems to be a pattern of attack the boss is following, Reivyn noticed. A couple more Spells my way, and then he should once more launch a Blast Spell to the rest of the group.

His companions decimated the last Guard and quickly moved to engage the three monsters Reivyn was keeping occupied. Kimberly Charged over and slammed into one with her shield. She knocked it off balance and took its attention away from Reivyn, and Teilon and the others launched a furious barrage of damage at the other Guard, quickly turning it into dust.

With only the boss monster left for Reivyn to concentrate on, he was finally able to destroy the barrier, and the damage started to accumulate on the boss. The Caster didn't simply stand still and Cast Spells at Reivyn, though, and it continually tried to dodge around the room to avoid him. Reivyn was much faster though, and he easily kept up and continued to whittle its health down.

The boss raised its hand and looked toward the rest of the group, indicating it was going to launch another Blast Spell. As it accumulated its mana, though, Reivyn dashed in close and slammed it in the face with his shield, stunning it and interrupting the gathering Mana. The boss seemed to lose interest in its previous action, and it continued to dodge and Cast Spells at Reivyn.

Reivyn absorbed the last trio of Fire Bolt Spells from the boss, and he managed to land a solid stab through its heart. The boss stopped moving as its eyes looked into Reivyn's before losing focus. The boss's body went limp and collapsed to the floor, sliding off of Reivyn's sword.

Reivyn looked up and noticed that the rest of the group killed the last Guard nearly the same time he finished the boss off.

Kimberly sat down and panted for breath after the combat was over. Teilon walked over and checked on her to make sure she didn't actually have any serious injuries. Tom, Vane, and Trick likewise took a seat to recover from the chaotic battle. Reivyn wasn't so tired that he needed to take a seat, but a quick glance at his Status showed that he had burned through close to a thousand Mana points to maintain his Mana Shield and Elemental Weapon Skills.

A flash of light caught everyone's attention, and a chest suddenly appeared in the center of the room.

"Well, that was a bit exciting, now wasn't it?" Reivyn said with a smile.

"Yeah, definitely not nearly as boring as the rest of the Dungeons," Trick replied with a snort.

"That would have been a lot easier if the guards had been standing next to the boss monster," Tom said. "If it weren't for the combination of them being spread out with a Caster boss, it wouldn't have been nearly so bad."

"I think we did pretty good," Teilon said after making sure Kimberly was fine.

The Party took a couple of minutes to recover before joining Reivyn in front of the chest that had been bestowed by the System. Reivyn looked back and forth between each of the Party members and rubbed his hands together before reaching out to the chest.

"Let's see what we got for our trouble."