Udaeus
A.N. Bit of a shorter chapter this one since its focused on just one event.
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"Welcome to the Deep Floors Steve." Finn said as they stepped into the 37th floor, known as the White Palace and the beginning of the deep floors, which was the domain of the first class adventurers.
"The floor said to be able to fit all of Orario in it." Steve mused. "Hopefully it will be more fun than the Ravine." He'd been thoroughly disappointed by the previous few floors. They hadn't come across many dinosaur type monsters, only just the usual ones and it was a pain trying to get the company through the forest.
He'd found the giant trees fascinating though. They were almost as big and wide as a skyscraper each of them, their tops growing into the ceiling.
"I can assure you it will be." Gareth said as they marched. "This is where the vanguard truly take action as these floors are teeming with powerful monsters that the other simply can't handle. They're either too fast or too strong."
"I'd imagine that this place is perfect for ambushes." Steve said. "We're currently in the Beast's room aren't we?"
"Yes, the outermost wall." Tiona said. "We have to go through three more rooms before we get to the Throne Room. That's where the monster rex is."
"What are the chances of Udaeus spawning?"
"It will spawn I'm sure." Riveria said. "It just so happens to spawn at a random point in the Throne Room. There's no fixed area. Because of that we like to get our people down to the 38th floor before we engage it." Riveria looked at him questioningly. "You aren't going to insist that you take this one on by yourself to are you?"
"Like we said." Steve rolled away the map. "I take them first to see how I compare and if it's too much for me to handle, then you can step in."
"You know, I've been thinking you crazy, taking on all these great risks just to find out how strong you are." Tione said. "But every time I am less surprised since even you are amazed by your strength."
"I never really did get to explore it fully on the surface." Steve said as he clenched his fist. "There's only so many monsters you can find."
"You said you were an explorer, right?" Finn said.
"That's right."
"What were you exploring?"
"Just going around from different places with different environments. Some places scorching hot and others freezing cold. Some places beautiful and some just barren. I've walked up mountains, descended into deep chasms that could be considered miniature little dungeons themselves because they're crawling with monsters." Steve smiled as he recounted his gameplay. all his years of exploring the many different updates Mojang gave to their game. "I've literally gone to a place that could be considered depiction of hell, with its oceans filled with lava instead of water, and a place where barely any lifeforms can be found and the sky is perpetually black."
"What kind of places are those?" Ais asked. "I've never heard of them before."
"You wouldn't have. It's literally uncharted territory...and I say literally because I never charted them."
"Why not?" Gareth asked. Steve sighed.
"Because every time you put something on maps, the world grows smaller, and there seems to just be a lot less in it. Life loses its glamour because mortal-kind has mapped out every part of the place they call home. There are no new lands to wander, to get lost in, to escape to when you seek refuge. And wherever mortal feet step, other forms of life die as we terraform the land, shaping it to our image and desecrate the beauty of nature. That's why I never gathered any cartographic data, because I wanted to leave the unknown as it is."
"I can kind of see the point." Riveria said. "Elves rarely ever leave their forests, and the idea of exploring that unknown is appealing to me. But still, what is with those descriptions? Perpetually black sky and a hellscape? Do such places even exist? How did you even get there?"
"I assure you they do exist." Steve said mysteriously. "As for how to get there...If ever I were in a divulgatory mood, I may show you. But right now I'm exploring a new place so let's leave it at that."
"You and your mysteries." Riveria rolled her eyes.
...
The group were suddenly made alert as movement up ahead brought them to attention. Out of the darkness came a monster that looked like they were waddling and gliding at the same time. As they came into the pale light, they were revealed to be large masses of cloth, peaking out from underneath them was the skull of a ram.
"Skull sheep!" Tiona said as she brandished her Urga. "Watch out, they're a lot faster than they look."
"I've got it." Steve said completely relaxed.
And sure enough, one of the monsters attacked. To a normal person, the skull sheep would have just vanished and then reappeared in front of Steve before they could blink. But they moved slowly to Steve, who was processing things so fast, even the reactions of the Loki Familia who were moving at great speed became slow motion to him.
He reached out with his hand and caught it by its skull as it tried to ram him, no pun intended.
There it hung suspended as it flailed around trying to use its neck to free itself. Steve's grip tightened and cracks appeared over the skull before he effortless crushed it and bone fragments exploded everywhere. But before the Loki Familia could make their move, he rushed forwards and in an instant decapitated every skull sheep in the vicinity.
"HEY! THOSE WERE OURS!" Bete said.
"You were too slow." Steve said as he sheathed his sword.
"Well it looks like you won't be having much trouble here either." Finn said. "Let's get to the Throne Room shall we."
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"Why are you avoiding the colosseum?" Steve asked Finn as they walked straight past the great structure in the eastern end of the Warrior's room.
"Because it's a place where monsters spawn infinitely and it's a death trap if you're not exceptionally strong." Finn answered. "It's not a very good use of the time we have and it would just cost us resources because everyone would just get injured. I'd advise to leave it alone Steve, it's not that fun."
Bathsheba began pawing at Steve's back, begging for permission to go.
"No sweetheart, you can't." Steve looked towards her leg that had been bandaged up. It seemed the Warg had finally met monsters she couldn't handle down here. She'd been dogpiled by a bunch of Spartoids and though she killed most of them, some had been able to inflict serious wounds on her. "Besides, it looks like you've met your match."
The giant wolf just whimpered while it sulked.
---
"Okay, that's the last of the caravans gone." Steve said as Raul led the supply lines down into the 38th floor. "Shall we go hunting?"
"Yes. Let's if we can find a Risen." Gareth said.
It was just Steve and the vanguard who were now left in the 37th floor. They'd stayed behind specifically to see if they could tempt out the monster rex.
"So are we literally going to be walking in circles until it spawn or no?"
"That is what we usually do." Ais said as she put a hand on her hilt. "Udaeus spawns anywhere at any time. It could sneak up on us so we have to be prepared."
"I doubt anything of that size could sneak up on us." Steve said as they began walking around the Throne Room's several hallways.
"You would be surprised." Riveria said. "It has a tendency of just bursting out of the ground unannounced where as with the previous two monster rexes, you can predict where they'll come from and you can be certain that you'll trigger their emergence. There have been times where Udaeus hasn't spawned at all."
"So how powerful is it then? What level would you classify it?"
"We've written it down as a Level 6 monster rex." Finn said as he dragged the tip of his spear along the ground at an angle to sharpen it a little. "Although it has been known to kill level sixes with one blow at times. It also has a special attack where it makes spikes burst out of the ground under you so it doesn't even have to use it's own limbs to squash you."
'But they don't know that it too has a weapon.' Steve thought. 'If I remember it correctly, Udaeus only pulls it out when he is challenged by a single adventurer in a one-on-one bout.'
"How do you think you would fare against it by yourself Finn?" He asked.
"Mmmm, I'm not sure." Finn said honestly. "I'm certain I could win in the end but not without great cost. Udaeus is powerful and feared for a reason."
"What about you Ais?" He asked the blonde girl at his side. "How do you think you would do?"
"I don't think I would win." She said. "Udaeus is way too strong. His attacks create 'shockwaves' that breaks bones. I wouldn't be able fight it directly."
'Oh if you only knew.' Steve smirked. 'But she didn't exactly fight it directly either. The monster rex was strong enough to crack Ottar's bones when the guy blocked its sword. And that guy is stronger than steel.'
"Well I guess this is just going to be aimless walking around now, making us look like idiots." He said as the others chuckled. "It doesn't look like it wants to spawn anytime soon."
"..."
Just as he said that, the floor began rumbling and a giant boulder rose out of the ground, throwing up a large dust cloud.
"I just had to jinx it didn't I?" Steve said as his companions laughed at him. "But then again I expected not to expect something on this trip so it doesn't count."
"I think it does." Tiona said.
"No it doesn't. Anyway, its here now like I wanted so I'm not complaining."
The large boulder started cracking like an egg before it burst apart, revealing a large skeletoid being with horns on its head and red glowing eyes, sharp teeth bursting out of its jaws. It bones were completely black and its eyes shone as it caught sight of the adventurer group.
'Looks like an exaggerated version of High Lord Wolnir but without the crown. and the weird skull wart things' Steve thought before realizing. 'Wait! It's exactly like Wolnir! It's attack patterns and everything are the same and it has a sword. Oomori or whoever it was were definitely taking notes from DS for SO.'
"Well, you said you wanted to take it on." Finn said. "Well there you go. He's ready if you want to continue by yourself."
"Very well." Steve said as he advanced by himself while Finn held back everyone else at a safe distance.
Ais had her eyes transfixed on him as did the other members of the executive group. They were about to witness something that would make history after all. Finn had his reservations about letting Steve face the monster rex alone but the boy had been pulling off so many crazy stunts of impossible strength by himself that Finn had good faith this battle would be won by Steve. There was little doubt left in his mind now that Steve was of a much higher level than all of them. Even Level 7 was beginning to look like only a threshold.
As they came to know Steve better over the past few days, they saw how friendly he was and how nice he could be. As powerful as he was, he didn't boast about his strength nor did he look down on people he knew were weaker than him. He didn't rub anybody's weakness in their face (with the exception of Bete but by now everybody believed he deserved it), and he was quite helpful with the grunt work too.
Finn didn't believe that he was a bad person or had bad affiliations, rather he saw him as a potentially good friend and powerful ally to the Familia as whole as he seemed to like them in return. Especially Tiona and Ais who spent the most time with him, pestering him for a spar or hounding him with questions and gossip (the last one being Tiona mainly). When they finished this expedition, Finn was still intending on going to the guild to ask about Steve. There was no law that prohibited this but the Pallum wanted to be sure before any official arrangements were made.
...
Udaeus groaned as it lifted its giant skeletal hand in the air and tried to back hand Steve with a sweeping blow that created gales of wind. Steve nimbly jumped over the arm. Udaeus lifted its other arm and clenched its fist before punching downwards, trying to flatten the gamer. But again Steve jumped out of the way and held firm on to the ground as the shockwave of the punch blew through the room.
The ground suddenly began bursting open as spikes pushed though straight towards him. He rolled out of the way before ducking under another swipe that clipped some of his hairs off with the sheer speed of the monster despite its large size.
On and on this game went and Steve figured out its attack patterns, dodging the giant limbs and its spike attacks, tiring the monster out and irritating it. By this time much damage had been dealt to the floor as the grounds was just shattered into pieces and the walls had cracks growing up them, little tremors shaking the floor each time Udaeus punched the ground.
Finally when the monster's attacks seemed to get slower did Steve finally say, "Time to get serious."
Might be a cliche thing to say but it still raised the brows of the Loki Familia since it looked to them that he had been focused completely on dodging and escaping those attacks. They did wonder though why he didn't draw his sword.
Udaeus clenched its fist, enraged as it punched downwards. Steve responded by punching upwards with a large amount his strength as he figured out how physically strong Udaeus was now. Time seemed to slow down as the fists which had a comical difference in size connected. Right before everything seemed to explode as a giant shockwave spread throughout the room, flattening the Loki Familia against the wall as the walls, ground and ceiling shattered from the pressure, entire floors shaking from the Ravine down to the safety point below as Udaeus let out a howl.
The Loki Familia got up from their daze as they registered the powerful punch Steve had. He had packed enough force behind his fist to not only counter the massive weight of the arm (with his armour weighing him down as well) but the raw strength behind it too.
Cracks began growing up the monster's arm, reaching all the way to its shoulder joint as the arm exploded into bone fragments and the monster was sent hurling backwards into a wall, making the room shake once again. And there stood Steve in the middle of the destruction, unfazed and looking pleased with himself.
Udaeus righted itself and a stare-down commenced between the two as the monster rex contemplated its next move. It moved its remaining arm over a specific point in the floor and the ground rumbled again as suddenly a giant sword burst out of the ground and Udaeus held it aloft, a dark red and black aura surrounding the bastard blade.
"Udaeus has a sword?!" Riveria exclaimed. "Did you know this Finn?"
"No I didn't." Finn said. "Did any of you?"
The rest of the Familia shook their heads no. Ais's grip on her sword tightened as she watched Steve unsheath his own and hold it upwards, mimicking Udaeus. The monster rex looked down at the adventurer, as if waiting for something. Steve tilted his sword a bit and Udaeus roared as it swung the sword down, the air pressure it created far surpassing that of of its previous hand swings.
Everybody expected Steve to step out of the way but opposite to their belief, he faced it head on and met the giant sword with his own weapon in a simple block. The floor shook at the collision and the ground cracked even further under Steve's feet but his arm held fast, like Udaeus had hit an immovable object. Unlike what happened with Ottar in canon, Steve's body was fine, like he was staking a lazy stroll. Only now did he realize how inferior even Udaeus was at this point. He was way too strong even for this monster rex. The only one left now to test was Balor.
Udaeus continued swinging the sword, but Steve just lazily deflected it away not even moving from the spot he was standing in. Each connection created sounds like thunderclaps and a gust of wind blew in the Loki Familia's faces each time. The Throne Room was a mess at this point like a bomb had gone off inside and destroyed everything. The explosions of pressure each time both swords connected were probably equivalent to bombs anyway.
The Loki Familia knew this for sure though. None of them could just tank thunderous attacks like that while standing in one place. Their limbs would be paste if they even tried and yet Steve was completely fine. This more than anything else that they'd witnessed so far from him illustrated that he was of a much higher level than them, and that there before them was another first class adventurer more powerful than even several member of the Freya Familia, perhaps all of them. And in their chests there was lit the fire of ambition once more. Years of being at the top of the ladder, not having much competition besides their rivals whom they could not engage in battle as much as they'd like to. But now there was a new player that had shifted the dynamics of everything, completely flipped the board.
They had a new threshold, a new height to reach, one where they could each just slap around this monster rex like a petulant child and yet be absolutely calm while doing so. Legendary levels of power that was achieved only by two Familia before them.
"Wanna bet he's even higher than level 7 now?" Gareth asked.
"No bets necessary." Finn said. "He's stronger than that, no question."
"I think it's time we began considering him a level 8 at minimum." Riveria said. "I have not seen power like this ever since the age of Zeus and Hera. Only their top adventurer's displayed ballistic strength like this."
The younger members fiddled around shock as they heard the words of their seniors, and then looked upon their new friend who was about their age. It would have been one thing if Steve was an old adventurer, perhaps middle aged like Gareth and he had achieved this level of power. But he was as young as they were but at minimum three levels ahead of them and more than that, he was estimated to be at a level on the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the legends amongst the legendary, had achieved. Power levels they'd only ever heard or read about as those Familia were long gone.
And he'd achieved this outside of the dungeon.
This ignited in them a deep yearning and a rooted admiration for their peer as their blood began pumping and their souls began soaring at the prospect of this new rival. Young people were full of competition, always seeking to be at odds with one another so they could all grow stronger and better. Competitiveness was ingrained into them and they set their eyes on this new target, vowing to become as strong as he was, to not let him leave them behind.
And nobody felt this passion more than Ais Wallenstein as she settled once and for all that before this expedition was over, he was going to spar with her.
Steve decided at this point to end the battle and he swung his sword upwards completely shattering the monster's own blade and a slicing shockwave created by the Netherite sword cleanly lobbed off Udaeus's other arm. Steve then jumped up towards the stone in the monster rex's chest and plunged his sword deep into the exposed core. Udaeus let out a groan as the red light in its eye sockets faded and its body exploded into white smoke, dropping behind a fragment of its sword as a drop item and vanishing for the time being.
And in the middle of this, the second most powerful Familia gazed upon the lone warrior within, his cape billowing out behind him as he looked up at the sparkles still hanging in the air, in the middle of all that destruction. The air of power he emitted when they first met him had returned even stronger this time, so much that they couldn't breathe as they felt the sheer strength in this adventurer.
And in that moment, Tiona likened him more to the heroes of old than ever before.
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