The Chase
I'm finally back! Although a few days later than I was expecting due to a storm making the countryside roads dangerous to drive on, forcing us to stay before they dried up and cars weren't at the risk of slipping anymore.
Anyway, as promised I will do a Mass Release to make up for the period I was gone. For the next 10 days, I'll be releasing a chapter on a daily basis compared to the usual 2 chapters per week rate.
God, I missed a proper Internet connection. Enjoy!
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Cassian couldn't stop grinning. After yesterday's failure of his sword, today was completely different. The runesword was cutting through all the monsters with utter ease and had not gotten a single scratch of damage on it. The rate of their monster slaying has also increased as a result.
Leo was looking at the sword with unabashed curiosity and finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Cassian?" She asked a bit quietly. They were currently in the middle of extracting the magic stones from the monster group they just killed.
"Yeah?"
"What's going on with your new sword? It has glowing symbols and is cutting through the Hard Armoreds like butter."
Cassian looked at her and debated how to answer her question before he suddenly got an idea for a test and smiled.
"It's somewhat similar to a magic sword. The sword is enchanted with magical effects to increase its sharpness and durability, but unlike a magic sword, the effects are permanent."
Leo couldn't help but marvel at the information she heard. It was the first magical sword she had ever seen, so she was awestruck by them. Didn't the heroes in the stories she loved so much always have some magical weapon to aid them?
Cassian carefully watched her expression when she was looking at his sword.
'No greed or envy to be seen in her expression, just pure awe and excitement. She's quite trustworthy from what I can tell. Nothing I observed of her so far speaks of a bad character. That or she's the best actor in the world.'
Cassian was satisfied with what he saw and started seriously thinking about Leo and her potential. Her attitude and composure were appropriate and excellent for the dungeon. Even yesterday, when it was her first time down in the dungeon, she didn't show much fear and stayed focused on her task. Today, after getting some experience, she's even more efficient and productive.
Cassian decided to speak with Hecate after getting out today.
"That's amazing! Where did you get it? Can I get one too?" She was quite excited at the prospect of owning a magical sword.
"Thanks, I made it myself. As for getting one, I'm sorry only our familia members are qualified to get gear from me for now."
"Oh… I see." She became downcast and sad at that. Not only at the denial but also about being reminded that she doesn't have a familia to belong to.
'Once again, no anger or resentment at being denied, just sadness. Yeah, I'm definitely speaking with Hecate.'
"Cheer up, it's not-" Cassian wanted to cheer her up, but suddenly closed his mouth and his head snapped in a certain direction."
This both confused and alerted the other two as they forgot about everything else and put their guard up. They looked in the direction Cassian was looking, but could neither see anything through the fog nor hear anything.
But that didn't mean they became less tense. They both knew and had seen Cassian's sensory capabilities in action, so they knew something was up even if they couldn't tell what.
"Brother?"
"Something's coming. Big and heavy judging by the sound of the footsteps. Quadrupedal. And low rumbling noises. Which monster would fit that? An infant dragon…? Shit!"
"An infant dragon?!" Nico was equally freaked out. He was present for all of Rose's lectures too, including the one on the infant dragon.
That monster was the unofficial boss of the 10th to 12th floors and its strength was in a completely different league. It was considered a high-level 2 monster and required dozens of skilled level ones to defeat.
"We can't fight that monster for now, it's still too soon. We need to get out of here." Cassian instructed the two and directed them towards one of the cave systems.
Nico and Leo nodded and suppressing their anxiety followed after him. They ran for a while entering the wide caves with Cassian navigating through them.
'Dammit, it's chasing us. There is no reason for it to run like that in this direction if it hadn't already detected us. We need to shake it o- DODGE!" Three imps suddenly jumped from one of the openings towards Nico.
Both Nico and Leo ducked, not knowing who Cassian was referring to, when Nico saw the imps going over his head., claws positioned as if to tear his throat out.
"Wind Cannon!" He reflexively shot out a spell and blasted the imps into pieces.
Cassian looked into their next path and found it blocked by more imps lining the walls and crawling toward them.
Without hesitation, he turned and took a different path with the others following him. They sprinted through dark, winding tunnels, covered in mist when they suddenly heard a mighty roar echoing off of the walls, letting them know the infant dragon was catching up and sending shivers down their spine. Cassian expected as much.
Due to his body, his speed was at the peak of level one, but Nico's physical stats were only at the fledgling state of level one. It was not surprising he could not outrun a high-level 2 monster. Even worse, Leo didn't have a Falna at all, so she was limited to normal human speeds. Meanwhile, Cassian was forced to match his speed to them.
This couldn't go on. If they wanted to escape from the dragon, they had to go faster. Cassian quickly grabbed both Leo and Nico and slung them over his shoulder, before taking off as fast as he could. Thanks to his strength and their relatively small bodies, this wouldn't slow him down at all, but at the same time, he wouldn't be capable of fighting either, due to unavailable hands.
"What?!" Came the startled cry from the two.
"Quiet! It'll be faster this way!" Cassian said not slowing down at all.
When Cassian was about to make a turn he found the cave path's walls crumbling and a dozen Orcs spawning.
'Shit, what's going on!' Cassian came to a halting stop and immediately headed towards a different path.
This went on for a while, paths either being blocked off by monsters or rocks. All the while, Cassian heard the hurried and loud steps of the pursuing dragon.
Soon, the dragon was accompanied by a horde of other monsters, making the situation even more dire.
'Dammit! It's getting worse and worse! If we're forced to fight, we won't stand a chance if a horde of monsters comes on top of the dragon. Think Cassian, Think!' Cassian strained his mind to find a way out of this before his eyes widened as an idea came to him.
"Nico, balance yourself on my shoulder and start firing off spells into the horde following us to thin their ranks!" Cassian commanded, to which Nico immediately complied.
Getting himself in a position from where he could directly look at the monsters pursuing them he started chanting. He needed to target groups gathering together to make the most of his spells and only Wind Cannon suited the role. It packed the most punch among his current spells and impacted the most area. Wind Blade could only slice through a few monsters before it lost power.
As such, the monster horde pursuing them started getting bombarded with Wind Cannons, and the caves were filled with sounds of force explosions.
The trio exited the path they were traversing and entered a large clearing, covered in white, misty plants all along the walls and the floor. But, more importantly…
"It's a dead end…" Muttered Nico with growing nervousness, with Leo sharing his trepidation.
No more paths, no more openings, not even cracks to squeeze themselves through. Just, solid, unforgiving rock.
"So, this is the dungeon's cunning and cruelty that Rose told us about…" Cassian became despondent but immediately snapped himself out of it and started thinking of ways to make it out alive.
The dragon and the horde were a massive problem to overcome, but Nico's barrage should have eliminated at least half of the pursuing monsters. Still, the number of monsters was too much. Cassian looked around and soon a plan started to form in his head as the sounds of monsters grew closer.
"Nico, how's your mana reserves?" This would be crucial in his plan.
"A little less than half, why?" Nico answered as he panted from the exhaustion of expending his mind this much in such a short duration.
"I'm going to take you and Leo up the wall, where you will position yourselves by gripping the vines. I want you to cover me from above with your spells." Thankfully there were no flying monsters pursuing them due to the low altitude of the caves, so they would stay relatively safe as long as he kept the monsters' attention on himself.
"Wait are you planning on fighting all those monsters alone?!" There was no way he would leave his brother down here to face them all while he hid in safety.
"This is no time to be stubborn idiot! Listen to everything I say so we can get out of this alive! I'm staying alone down here because that's the only way the plan can succeed. I'm planning to kite them and that will only work with my speed." Even as he talked, Cassian had already started scaling the wall. There was no time to waste.
Nico's eyes widened as he realized what Cassian was planning. They've both played enough games to guess what the strategy was, so Nico didn't put up any more resistance and instead tried to understand his role more.
"Only cover you? Not bombard the monsters?"
"No, I need you to save your mana for the Boss."
"Got it." Nico nodded and agreed with the plan as Cassian got to a sufficient height and deposited the two.
They immediately secured themselves on the wall thanks to the strong white vines. Nico positioned himself to get the best view of the clearing so he could shoot wherever needed. Meanwhile, Leo had a dark look on her face.
She hated this. She hated being unable to do anything, while these two fought for their survival. She hated feeling this powerless and helpless.
Cassian noticed her expression but now wasn't the time for pep talk. He jumped down from the wall and landed on the ground. The monsters would emerge at any second now.
Cassian got into position. He drew his gleaming runesword, cast Quen on himself, and steeled his resolve. Just then the monsters finally made their appearance.
The imps were the first to emerge, bursting through the door with piercing shrieks, followed by the squealing orcs and hard armoreds. They poured in like an endless wave. Despite Nico mowing them down, there were still hundreds left, drawn by the commotion of the chase.
But then they parted like a river. A huge, hulking creature was walking through them. Its loud footsteps reverberated throughout the clearing.
The infant dragon looked like a classical Drake. A huge lizard, with a dragon's body but no wings. It was covered in orange scales that put the durability of the hard armoreds to shame.
Its eyes shined with predatory gleam and the malice that was regular among the monsters but amplified if that was possible. Its lips curled back in a vicious snarl, revealing rows of sharp fangs that looked like they could bite through even the toughest armor.
The Infant Dragon saw that the chase was over and gave out a loud roar, preparing itself for a much-awaited slaughter.
Cassian stared back at it, his eyes narrowing at it to the point it seemed to be nothing more than a vertical line, and prepared himself for possibly the hardest fight he has ever had.
Nico stared at the dragon with heavy nervousness, but it was overwhelmed with determination when he saw his brother preparing to fight it. He prepared to chant faster than he ever had. There was no way he would fail and let something happen to his older brother due to his own weakness.
Their first true battle for survival started.