They came out onto the next floor, stepping into what looked like a gloomy, ruined castle. A massive hole had been punched straight through its center, like something impossibly large had torn through it. The sky above was dark and oppressive, the trees surrounding the ruins long dead, and the ground beneath their feet cold and barren.
Chris exhaled, surveying the eerie landscape. "Alright… here we are on the fifth floor," he said, narrowing his eyes as he took in the desolation.
Momo gently corrected him, tilting her head. "Actually, Master… this is the sixth floor."
Chris blinked in confusion. "Wait, really? But that last floor was a rest area. It shouldn't count, right?"
Momo tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't think so. This dungeon has ten floors, correct? Then this is the sixth floor. Think about it—we even encountered a mid-boss before we entered the rest area."
Chris groaned lightly, running a hand through his hair. "On one hand, that's a little disappointing if you're correct… but on the other hand, we're almost done."
He looked out over the ruined castle again. "What do you think? Living armor or goblins?"
Momo considered it, her expression serious. "Could be skeleton knights."
Chris shrugged, a confident smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Either way, let's steamroll this area and go to the next floor."
With a sharp gesture, he summoned twenty Browns, ten Reds, and five Blues. The sudden rush of energy rippled through the air as the minions materialized, chattering eagerly and pounding their weapons together.
Chris, Momo, and the army of minions walked calmly toward the castle, their footsteps echoing over the broken stones. As they approached the entrance, goblins began pouring out—dozens of them—wearing worn armor and carrying beaten-up weapons.
Chris didn't hesitate. He hurled a barrage of fireballs, obliterating the advance team in a burst of flames. The Browns charged forward with triumphant screeches, tearing apart the survivors and collecting their gear with ruthless efficiency.
Now equipped with scavenged armor and weapons, the minions surged through the floor with unstoppable momentum, killing anything that dared cross their path. The mobs stood no chance; the minions steamrolled them with brutal enthusiasm.
Watching the massacre unfold, Momo frowned slightly. "Since we're partied, we only get half of the EXP from all our kills… and since you only get half of the EXP from the minions' kills, we'll be lucky if we even get two levels from this floor."
Chris sighed but nodded. "Then let's kill the floor boss ourselves."
After the minions had taken out all the mobs, all that was left was the floor boss. Chris looked around at the battlefield, eyebrows raised. "Damn… I forgot. Despite how weak they are as individuals, when they swarm enemies they're a force to be reckoned with. They didn't even lose anyone."
Momo crossed her arms, nodding confidently. "How could they? The Reds had most of the enemies on fire before the Browns even got close, so they were able to bulldoze through."
Chris and Momo approached the throne standing in front of the door to the next floor. On the throne sat a massive goblin with bulging muscles. He wore a horned helmet, a rusty iron cuirass, a filthy loincloth, and held a massive club in one hand and a wooden shield in the other.
The goblin stood up, raising his weapons with a guttural roar as he prepared to fight—only to freeze in panic when Chris casually set both of his own weapons on fire. Taking advantage of the hesitation, Momo rushed forward with swift precision and decapitated him while he was still off guard.
Chris glanced at his notifications. "We got about four levels from this floor."
Momo groaned, already tired. "Yeah, I don't care. Let's keep going with swarm tactics. I want out of this dungeon already."
Chris nodded. "Agreed."
They walked through the door and entered the next floor—a snowy canyon stretching forward in a straight, narrow path. Chris immediately spotted several yetis lumbering between the icy rock walls. "Oh look… abominable snowmen."
With a flick of his wrist, he summoned twenty-five more Reds and twenty more Browns. He and Momo raised their hands, unleashing volleys alongside the Reds at the charging brutes. Momo's dark bullets slammed into the yetis, pushing them back, while Chris and the Reds set them ablaze.
Before long, the entire canyon smelled like burnt hair and cooked flesh as they advanced toward the next door.
"No boss this time, it seems," Chris said as they stepped forward. "And we only earned about two levels."
After entering the eighth floor, the first thing greeting Chris and Momo's eyes was a long, wide stone bridge—and on the other side, a massive red dragon glaring at them with murderous intent.
Chris threw his hands up. "Oh, come on! This is straight out of the Dark Souls playbook. What are we supposed to do against this?"
Momo shrugged, unfazed. "We could cripple its wings. Then you and the minions fight it on the ground while I attack it from the air."
Chris blinked, then nodded slowly. "Huh… yeah, that's not a bad idea."
He turned to the minions. "What she said."
With that command, they all took off toward the dragon. The Reds pelted it with fireballs while Chris fired a Slow spell at the beast, then pierced its wings with blades. He kept firing until he noticed the dragon struggling to get any lift at all.
"Go, Momo!" he shouted over the roar of flames and wind. "We'll keep it busy! You find an opening and attack!"
Momo nodded sharply, determination flashing in her eyes as she took to the sky, summoning her leathery black demonic wings with a burst of dark energy.
Chris and the minions attacked the beast on the ground, the minions flanking from either side while Chris charged from the front, keeping it distracted. Overhead, Momo dove down with a burst of bright energy, her expression focused as she drove her halberd into its neck, causing the creature to rear back in pain.
Seeing the opening, Chris rushed forward and thrust his sword through the dragon's exposed throat, finishing the beast off. He stored the beast's body and said, his voice steady but satisfied, "Okay, he was just an elite floor boss, so we got about seven levels a piece from that. So all together we've gained thirteen levels. Alright, let's go."
He pushed open the doors to the ninth floor and found another rest area waiting for them.
Momo lit up with a bright, excited smile, her tail flicking happily as she said, "Oh, awesome! It'll take even less time to finish than I thought. Let's take a break and recover some mana."
After resting for a couple hours and restoring their mana Chris pushed the doors to the tenth and final floor open and what awaited them was a simple cavernous arena surrounded by lava and at the center stood a large brown furred minotaur with a skull like face yellow glowing eyes and stone like horns wielding a massive brutal looking great axe Chris's watch beeped and said Appraisal complete
Taurus Demon
Origin:Dark Souls
Worth:15 levels
After resting for a couple hours and restoring their mana, Chris pushed the doors to the tenth and final floor open. What awaited them was a simple cavernous arena surrounded by pools of molten lava, the heat shimmering in the air. At the center stood a large, brown-furred minotaur with a skull-like face, yellow glowing eyes, and stone-like horns. It wielded a massive, brutal-looking great axe.
Chris's watch beeped, and a calm mechanical voice said, "Appraisal complete."
Taurus Demon
Origin: Dark Souls
Worth: 15 levels
Chris let out a dry exhale and said, his tone laced with weary sarcasm, "Oh, wonderful… and no ladder for me to use against him. Let's take him out, people."
The minions straightened and shouted, "Yes, Master!" before charging the Taurus Demon. While the browns swarmed the monster, snarling and hacking, the creature swung its great axe in a vicious arc, knocking them aside. The reds retaliated immediately, pelting it with bursts of fire. The blues rushed in with focused determination, carrying the fallen away for resurrection.
Momo, eyes sharp and tail flicking with eager excitement, circled around to attack from behind.
Chris ran in, ducking under the great axe with a swift motion, stabbing the creature in the gut. He then used Force Push, blasting the demon backwards and freeing his sword before slicing into its torso.
Momo leaped over the beast with athletic grace, her expression fiercely determined, and sank her halberd into its shoulder. Landing lightly on the ground, she grabbed the halberd—still lodged in the beast's flesh—and yanked hard, dragging the Taurus Demon downward.
Chris used Force Push at the same time, the impact helping to topple the beast to the arena floor with a thunderous crash.
The browns swarmed the fallen enemy, repeatedly hacking, stabbing, and bludgeoning him. Momo hopped onto its chest, her face set in a focused but triumphant look, and delivered the kill blow.
Chris stored the monster's body and its great axe, and not long after, a set of doors shimmered into existence at the center of the arena. As he and Momo stepped toward them, both their watches beeped. The messages read:
New Spells and Skills Acquired
For Chris it was:
Ghost Sword
Origin: Fable
Description: Summons spectral blades that passively attack enemies. Each blade will remain for two minutes after summoning.
Cost: 8 Mana per blade
Multi Strike
Origin: Fable
Description: A spell that enchants the user's weapons to deliver two attacks with each swing.
Cost: 10 Mana per minute active
Vortex
Origin: Fable
Description: A spell that allows the user to summon a small twister that will rip enemies off the ground and carry them off into the distance.
Cost: 12 Mana per use
Spell Weaving
Origin: Fable
Description: A skill that allows the user to merge two spells together upon use.
Cost: Varies depending on which spells are combined
For Momo it was:
Drain Life
Origin: Dragon Age
Description: User can drain life force from living enemies to heal themselves.
Cost: 5 Mana per second
Weakness
Origin: Dragon Age
Description: User can inflict penalties on their enemies' physical abilities.
Cost: 7 Mana per cast
Hell Blaze
Origin: Seven Deadly Sins
Description: Allows the user to conjure and attack with demonic black flames that burn and corrode targets.
Cost: 12 Mana per use
Chris's stats page updated to:
Name: Chris (Nihil)
Race: High Human
Job: Mage – Level 25
Overlord Level: 5
Health: 5300
Mana: 3600
Strength: 224
Perception: 143
Endurance: 259
Charisma: 153
Intelligence: 145
Agility: 133
Luck: 143
Skills: One-Handed Weapon Mastery, Shield Mastery, Battle Instinct, Dismantling, Enhanced Strength, Spell Weaving
Spells: Fireball, Slow, Force Push, Blades, Ghost Sword, Multi Strike, Vortex
Abilities: Minion Summoning, Subordinate Contract, Blue Minion Summoning, Red Minion Summoning, Summon Advisor, Summon Builder, Mana Regeneration
And Momo's updated to:
Name: Momo Belia Deviluke
Race: Lesser Demon – Level 20
Job: Mage – Level 20
Health: 6150
Mana: 4675
Strength: 264
Perception: 144
Endurance: 264
Charisma: 140
Intelligence: 144
Agility: 250
Luck: 254
Skills: Two-Handed Weapon Mastery (New)
Abilities: Instinct, Chlorokinesis, Slow Regeneration, Tail Laser, Demonic Flight, Demonic Magic, Night Vision
Spells: Dark Bullet, Drain Shield, Drain Life, Weakness, Hell Blaze
Chris exhaled and said, his voice carrying tired relief, "Alright, let's get the hell out of here."
Momo nodded, giving a small smile as her shoulders relaxed, and they walked through the doors, finally exiting back outside into the quarry.
Chris looked around and said, "Minions, secure the area and start mining stone. We're gonna need it."
The minions saluted sharply and said, "Yes, Master!"
With that handled, he and Momo began their long walk back to the harbor.