beyond time and age

When the last hobgoblin falls to the ground, clutching his throat, Alex deeply breathes out, evacuating the fight's accumulated stress. Giving a small probe, he feels his magic reserve no depleted more than a third, and slightly winded, his stamina dented from the previous fight.

Even with his higher stamina, it was only the second large scale battle he assisted. The stress of the situation had crisped most of his muscles, making him spend more than necessary stamina to move. Add to his impromptu boxing session; the short fight left him winded.

Alex took a minute to recover, taking a small sip of a skin containing water mixed with sugar-high fruit juice. The cold liquid triggers a wave of renewed stamina to flood him, releasing the last cluster of crisped muscules.

The sudden relax of his muscules made his knees weak for a second, before strengthening. Looking at the blood and gore-filled room, Alex started to work. Taking out his two stored talons, he carefully cleans the blade of any burn residue. Sheathing one, he begins to cauterise any bleeding wounds, before storing all hobgoblins corpse, knowing he didn't have the time to skin them here.

The Hobgoblin problem cared for, Alex extracts all cores from variants, before tossing their corpses in the pit. With their amount, he was hoping for at least a goblin Monster gem.

Having an instant to spare, he tried to look for his throwing knives and variant cores, only to find rusted knives and not trace the cores. Storing the damaged blade, he exits the room.

~~~

He made a detour by the chamber out of the room, gathering the various cores of the absorbate goblin. Now sure that the first floor was clean, he made his way to the second floor.

Like for the first, he carefully looks for each room, before slowly approaching the central chamber. CS words became accurate, as nothing was present on the floor, not even a Monster gem, roots bud or even monster.

The third floor turned to a similar state, but he still carefully looks around just in case.

Standing in front of the staircase leading to the fourth floors, Alex steadies his breath while activating his gauntlets. Not willing to left any chance up to fate, Alex added a stun runestone on his gauntlets, allowing a second offence option.

Thank the new configuration, Alex had two principal modes available for his runestone. The first was the same as previous, a one-time AOE spell, running on the magic load. The second was more like an actual spell, only, the runestone keeps it in a constant active state, ready to unleash. Unlike the first, this one runs on Alex magic, allowing him as much spell his reserve could sustain.

Squaring his shoulders, Alex took a decisive step in, venturing for the first time past his old limit five days before.

~~~

As soon as he put a step on the fourth floor, Alex knows that he was different from the previous. The roof was now standing at four metres, rather than three from the last three. The light had shifted from pale green to ominous blue, while dimming by half, leaving the floor in semi-darkness.

Other than those change, the rest of the structure had stayed the same. The floor was still divided by chambers, inter-linked by the entrance.

Following the only pathway from the stair to the first chamber, Alex entered another nestling room. Keeping to the shadow, he looked at the larger than before space.

-It at least one and a half more extensive than those before, if I'm to trust the numbers of roots. Fifteen roots, each sporting ten buds, so one hundred, fifty goblins.- Commented CS as Alex observed the milling fourteen goblins and unique variant present in the room.

'The buds seem ready to open. The moment I step inside, I will need to face off at least their numbers, plus the incoming goblins, advice?' ASked Alex to CS after observing the situation.

-Aim for the variant first, then goblin and the Monster gem, regroup as much as a possible goblin and rain some spears. I would advice using exploding fields, kept the rest for later.-

Alex threw a knife at the variant. Following his knife, Alex bolt into the room, his talons already draws. Using the full blast of the nimbleness he could showcase, he transforms in a shadow, slashing and hacking at the unsuspecting goblin.

Before Alex take them all down, the goblins shrieks resound in the surrounding, as they finally react to his assault. As he rushes to the Monster gem, Alex's fist sinks in the only friable point in the Dungeon, along with the core. The inconspicuous root surface burst under the abuse, revealing the gem, promptly snatched by Alex, disabling all connection with the opening buds.

Seeing the mature goblins exit their shell, Alex didn't wait for them to regroup. Running to the nearest room, Alex slashed any goblins or variant on his path, before snatching the next gem.

Rather than face the forming horde behind him, Alex continued to pass from room to room, stealing gems, while leaving the goblins behind. The few standing on his way barely stopped him, and as he possess much faster speed, the madly rushing horde behind him had no chance of catching with him during his brief breaks.

~~~

While he led the goblins on a merry chase, Alex discovered that the chambers' structure had changed. The dungeon sported only two rings of rooms before a wall separate the outer area from the inner one.

By the time he made a complete turn and gathered all gems, Alex counted twenty rooms, amounting to the outer ring as 3.280 goblins and 20 variants. Their numbers were so much that they needed several rooms to house all of them.

After the stunt he pulled, the horde had separate, sending group in any chambers to locate him. With there lesser numbers, Alex engages in a slaughter feast, pouncing at the defenceless goblins. Before his blessing, those would have been a threat; now, his weapons and his armour, the goblins represent nothing.

As much as they slashed with their claws or bites with their fangs, the goblins were unable to pierce through Alex's armour. The few brave enough that attempted to pounce on his back, swiftly bisected by Alex bladed tail.

Seeing the unfolding carnage, the goblins cry for the brethren's help, giving their location simultaneously.

Alex could feel the slight vibration of the stampede incoming, but didn't react and continue to mow through their numbers.

Due to the place's configuration, those goblins and variants had only three possible entries to erupt from. Each time Alex saw a large amount of them swarming toward him, Alex briefly stores his talons, throwing spears with all his strength.

The spears would tear through the first rank of goblins like wet paper, before activating the bombarda runestone when stopping. In the tightly packed clusters, the large explosion would wipe out tens of goblins, killing even more from the projected bones shards or those blasted against the walls with enough force to crack skulls.

Alex decimates hundreds of goblins with his spears alone, wiping out around a tenth of the horde.

Using corpses as stepping, Alex would leaps over the goblins, sometime even running above them using their heads and shoulders as a foothold, while is tail was lashing at them, forming blood trail every time.

Using only pure stamina, Alex faced the sitting ducks for hours, mowing at the monster unable to reach him. His clothes were long since shredded, revealing underneath the leather armour, and metallic mesh covering it.

As the minute's pass, the fight was becoming harder for him; the corpses started to melt in the ground while the still alive goblins and remaining variant were given more and more place to move, accumulating more momentum, and turning their blow heavier.

Even then, Alex kept to stamina alone. With the slight breather, the diminishing amount of goblins brought him, Alex manipulates his tail to throw knives, widening the space between him and those at his back.

His talon had long sine turned red from all the shed blood. Knowing that staying in one place would be suicidal, Alex led them on another chase, leaving him to collect a few weapons along the way and take a small break.

~~~

As the last goblin fell, Alex crumbled against a wall, entirely spent. The last hour had rapidly turned into a mind-numbing task, with each falling goblin making two pop out. Throwing glances in the surrounding, Alex caught sight of the cores littering the floor, reflecting the dim light of the Dungeon.

In a wave of his hand, Alex wordlessly summoned the cores and weapons at him. He didn't even need to catch them, just open his storage as they hit his hand, sending them in the pocket space.

Room after rooms, Alex gather the cores, and Gems formed in the walls from the corpses. While doing so, he took his time to recover and think of the situation.

'We can't go further as we are; it will be suicide.' Said Alex to CS. He was only after facing the large wave that he understood that his preparation was still lacking. It was not that it was his fault; no one had even taken on a Dungeon alone before. The task was simply impossible. No matter what, useless extreme firepower, overtaking a Dungeon was a death wish.

-I know, I thought that your preparation was over the top, but we both underestimated the threat Dungeons represents. You have only used your explosive runestones, but if we encounter three other waves like those, you are screwed.- Told CS before sending something in Alex mind.

Looking over the plans, enchantments and materials needs, Alex froze for a second, weighing the possibilities, before retreating to the third floor.

~~~

Sitting cross-legged on the hard floor of the Dungeon, facing the entry to the fourth floor, at the other end of the room, Alex took different materials out.

Trusting CS simulations with his life, Alex immediatly worked the first part of the new weapon. Not different from the other, Alex crafted a variant Monster gem into a runestone holding a specific spell.

'Alright, the moment of truth.' Though him, before focusing all his attention on the Dungeon core.

Unlike the runestone, the Dungeon core shape became round. The edge was flat and progressively thicken, making the runecore only became round rather than its natural oval shape, its light blue colour kept. Alex didn't recreate the helm of awe inside the runecore, but another structure. Alex cover edges and side of the runecore with a band of magic steel, half a centimetre thick. The internal structure was simply made by a vein pattern spreading from the centre to the edges. At the centermost, the veins gathering point, connected to the marble-like ball.

Alex Took a moment to breathe out, and take a bite; he's shoulder relaxes as he completes the runecore. Sending a sliver of magic inside to kick start the enchantment, he looks with satisfaction as the veins lighten from the edges to the centre, before the marble progressively shine brighter.

Leaving the runecore charge, he turns to the most challenging piece of enchantment. Once again, the shape became different, octagonal. Each of the sixteen corners had a rune of magic steel carved in a cube of the same material. The etched edges of runes lines run on the spine in magic steel tread, and the centre was left clear, as the entire arrays were on the sides.

Alex sends magic in the newly created device. As he feeds it with magic, he feels an

Crafting those three pieces took Alex nearly three hours, much from the difficulty, than thoroughness and energy consumption. He passed another three hours to create a second round runecore and three other octagonal ones with those done.

Left drained from the effort, he took a short nap, before eating his fill and continue his work.

~~~

-So good so far, now the next part.- Continue CS before sending the following part of the project.

Nodding soundlessly to him, Alex moulded the steel frame with relative ease.

Seeing the ease he had, CS couldn't help but comment. -You control over it seems back to what it was before, and moulding metal isn't as straining as it was when we arrived. Your far from what you were, but it much better.-

Alex says nothing, but CS feel him agree. Using a strand of magic steel treads, Alex rapidly welds printed circuit boards int the frame. The round runecore was put in a pre-made hole, leaving nothing else than the centre protrudes at the T bares cross.

Merging the two halves, Alex slide the runestone in the slot just in front of the runecore, making the two faces touch each other.

Alex craft four boxes. The sides were simply made of steel, while the edge had lines of runes made of magic steel thread on. Slapping the octagonal runecore at the bottom of the boxes, the rune's lines briefly lit up.

Smirking at the expanded box, Alex crafted the last part, a round of steel made in 0.5*0.5, long of two centimetres. Crafting the 2.800 bullets, Alex charged the ammo clip, before sliding it into the gun. Without even aiming, Alex finger barely grazes the trigger, sending a pulse of magic.

Without a sound, the magic gun activates, a round bolting out, crashing loudly in the walls he aimed at.