The Dungeon's Master

After that screech, everyone seems to have been stunned.

(I guess I'll need to buy them some time before they could recover.) I thought before shooting multiple water balls towards the head of the griffon as I run away from the group again, gaining its attention and distance.

But even tho I got its attention, it wasn't moving away from where it dove and just glared at me. After a split second of confusion, I realized what it was doing.

"It's blocking the door," I blurted out which Blake, who was already sitting up, heard.

"Say what, now?" He said, shifting his attention towards our supposed escape route that has been cut.

"God damn, that confirms it. That level of intelligence only belongs to an S rank monster. With our escape route cut, we're screwed…" Garga the dwarf protested in annoyance.

"… I'll do something about that monster, you guys help the others recover," I said before sprinting towards the griffon.

As I was running I felt several mana clusters above me, so I hiked my speed up, and sure enough, several boulders fell to where I would be had I not increased my speed.

"Now then, this is experiment number three. Let's enjoy ourselves, shall we?" I said before slicing my thumb open with my fangs and let the blood flow out that I swiftly pulled out and hardened into a spear. I figured that I won't be able to reach its inside unless I use something like this.

Noticing my hostility that I have already exposed a minute ago, the griffon unfurled its wings that reached about 15 meters in wingspan that contradicted its body length which was probably only 6 meters from what I could tell from this angle, excluding the tail. As if getting ready, it also stood on its hind legs while flapping its huge wings, generating wind that usually would have slowed me down.

If I did not have :Perfect Agility: which is now :Velocity Manipulation: it would have had an effect. With my exemption from any form of friction at will, this won't stop me from my tracks.

And the Griffon notices that there was no change in my speed, so it started flapping harder to the point that it is already lifting itself off the ground.

(As if I'll let you get back up there.) I thought and gathered all water attributed mana from the surroundings and showered it towards the griffon, while also pushing away the fire attributed ones.

Freezing coldness numbs the nerves, making it harder to move the lower the temperature. The feathers got wet and froze as well, making it harder to fly. I gathered more and more almost causing a blizzard around the griffon that is now back to the ground.

(Using appraisal here will only make me rely on it and make me vulnerable to things I don't see on it. I won't be using it to get used to the element of the unexpected and make me better with quick thinking. Yes, that's it. I could get stronger and stronger.) I thought as I gripped the spear harder.

I finally closed the distance and we're now both in our range of attacks. I engaged first and slid under it to push my spear onto the griffon's chest from the under. I then let the ice assault it from the inside through the wound I made with the spear, making it let out a strong screech. As it was still unable to move, I then went for a stab into the wing's supposed vital, but after the spear penetrated its thick skin, it did not feel like I hit the right place.

I wanted to pull the spear out, but the muscles that I had stabbed tightened and I was unable to pull out the spear. I quickly dissolved the spear and ran away from the griffon as I felt something was not right.

Suddenly, the griffon was hit with a bolt of powerful lightning coming from the very top of the room. I looked up thinking that I would find anything there which ended in vain.

"Where did that come from?" I asked to myself in confusion.

I looked at the griffon that was somehow fine from that bolt and was giving me the glares. The mini blizzard is also now gone because of the impact and change in the mana attribute that is now wind and light element.

… it suddenly got healed by a light from the very top of the room where the lightning bolt came from.

"Blake, you said that masters can't see the boss rooms, right!?" I shouted to ask.

"Yeah! They can't see us! Why do you ask!?" He answered and asked back.

"Well, seems like we've got a special case on our hands."

"You mean we are being watched!?" He asked back.

"Yeah, that's right," I answered and then whispered to myself, "time for me to get serious, I suppose…"

"Blake, prioritize everyone's recovery. Make it fast. I'll need everyone's participation if we want to end this thing and get out of here fine," I then explained to him to which he agreed.

*****

Tsk, found out huh… I overdid it. Who knew that the magics I used will originate from the very top of that high ceiling every single time. If I could only do it anywhere then I could have sent magic to blast them at point-blank range.

Aaarrghh stupid meee, I just wasted so much of my precious mana! And even revealed my hand in the process!

Bank currently has 15,700 mana

Damn it, now that it has come down to this, I'll make use of the guys on the floor. I'll make them my hostages, starting from that twin that was affected the most by the Screech skill. Right, as a warning I'll shoot a small water arrow and disable each of their legs useless.

Log: deployed water arrow twice, used 200 mana

Bank currently has 15,500 mana

No shit, Sherlock- is what I would have said if I wasn't in this form, anyway. Did my intentions get conveyed properly, I wonder? Hmm, she didn't seem to have noticed because she was fighting that griffon. Everyone else is losing their balls because of it though. Oh? Is that a healer? Damn, he's the number one to get rid of now. Lances.

Log: deployed lances, used 500 mana

Bank currently has 15,000 mana

Wait, there were three lances you know!? How did that dwarf guy defend against that!? Hmmm, he didn't look unfazed by it since he fell on his knees, but if this continues the twins would be completely healed!

What should I do!? OH! I know, I'll incase the healer along with that dwarf in ice!

Log: deployed ice bomb multiplier is 2, used 1000 mana

Bank currently has 14,000 mana

Oh, I got that old man too, nice going me! Alright, I feel like the tides have turned to me now! I can do this!

However, as if opposing my expectations, my griffon's head suddenly flew off to the distance and it fell as if it was but a joke.

What happened!? Huh!? Instant replay! I need to know what happened! It's such a problem that I can only see way up and through the boss' eye, damn it!

*****

Blood Manipulation. After the fight with Olivia's men, I have suspected something. That I could manipulate blood that has touched or mixed with mine.

"That means, right now you are but a duck sitting to be killed by me. Now, ice binds."

Another experiment, can I use my blood to perform magic externally and away from me?

Use other lingering magic in my blood and push away all fire mana and gather water mana and freeze that monster from the inside.

The griffon's movements became sluggish and failed to fly. It also tried tackling onto me in its desperation, too bad but I have learned how to dodge your kind from a certain demon. It became slower, so that means that my experiment is another success.

But that is the extent of what that small amount of mana could do, I want to manipulate its blood flow but there's too little of my blood that got into his system so I could only do this much.

Then, I will just use ice binds. Bind it with ice chains.

As I was doing so, I heard shouts and panic from behind me but I ignored them.

(It's working huh) I simply thought.

Even more ice chains, more more more more more more more more and more!

I invoked ice chains and also threw phenacyl chloride onto its face. I don't know if that worked but eagles have the sharpest of eyes so that should work. I still doubt it due to its nictitating membrane or its third eyelid, but even if there's even a little bit of chance it works then it works for me, too.

It seems like Garga received heavy magic attacks and attained a bone fracture on his wrists, so I'll have to hasten my work here. I'm sorry griffon but I'll have you die here and now. I don't know how old you are but I wish you have lived a fulfilled life.

Well, courteous sympathy is the worst sympathy you could give someone, in my opinion.

Tungsten. Earth's hardest known metal and still is. With the PSI of more than a hundred and forty thousand! Into the sharpest greatsword possible through the advanced sword forging technique Japan has to offer!

There I stood, holding onto a longboard of tungsten with a handle. Beauty is not needed, it just has to serve its purpose as a weapon. It weighed possibly 700 kilograms and slowed me down quite a lot, but that doesn't matter as my target is currently bound immobile.

The griffon flailed around with its wings as if sensing the dangers of what I am about to do, and one after another, my chains broke. To not let it go free I started my dash towards it, which made it flail even harder, and more than half of the chains are now broken.

Before it could go and do as it please, I held onto the sword beside me and swung with all my might towards its neck, cutting it off cleanly and almost missing because of all the struggling. The lump of metal also flew away out of my grip and made a dent on the wall. I expected it to break more but I suppose it's very strong to survive with just that.

What was left there was a dead body that soon disintegrated into light particles that flew fast towards the ceiling.

Tungsten should have been brittle to use as a weapon, but perhaps it is the help of magic that allowed that to happen.

*****

Log: Boss has died, and the path to the master's room is now revealed.

Notice: You have been forced out of the dungeon core to greet the conquerers.

"… damn it," I said in a low tone voice as I pick myself up from beside my core. My life.

Core: Either you fight or let yourself be enslaved is now in your rightful hands, Master Aurias.

"Damn it… damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it damn it damn it DAMN IIIIIITT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I kick the pedestal that was supporting the core.

Core: You're way too weak to destroy anything inside the dungeon through sheer force, unlike that girl that did a dent on the boss room which is supposed to be tougher than the rest of… I'll be quiet.

*****

I left everyone immediately after the fight and retrieved the tungsten sword into my bloodstream, I then entered a room that opened next to the door that we came into.

As I walk through the corridor, silence enveloped the atmosphere, depression rosed along. Silent but audible sounds of droplets could be heard from somewhere neither far nor near. Along with it, the sorrowful weeping of someone could be heard.

I raised my guard and created the usual daggers.

Soon I saw a white room that had a shining metal orb stuck to a pedestal. I walked in and saw what seemed like an adult in his thirties crying behind it. I walked towards it and asked, "Are you okay?"

I didn't get a reply, but I heard him saying in a very low voice, "A little closer," so I came closer. At that moment,

Core: Flame burst

a magic circle appeared a few feet away in front of my face and released blue violent flames that roared loudly. As if that was not enough I also heard something say, "Flame burst!"

And another explosion of flames occurred above me. Normally this would have been a decent strategy and kill most people but, "Illusions, huh? Unfortunately for you, it doesn't work on me, now then onto another experiment we go," I raised my hands to each flame that are flying in my direction.

Now then. I wonder what's going to happen if I remove the attributes from the mana? I have never tried this but it is worth trying.

However, just like that time with the barrier that Olivia's men were using, I could not move the mana and was only able to change the flow. This time is different, however. This time, I'll try to move just the attribute. Imagine it carefully, as if taking out the yolk only from an egg. If possible, take it out without breaking the shell.

And after my mana met the raging flames, an explosion of mana happened and threw me a little off balance. But there were no flames, no heat nor coldness, just mana that went out of control. I want to do more experiments but now is not the time to. Like I could say that now after all those experiments but eh, I do not care. More like, I can't care. That said…

"Hello there, Mister Dungeon Master. Mind if I take over this dungeon and your body?" I said while looking for the guy that went missing again, not.

"Like I have already said, illusions don't work on me. Give it up already," I said before reaching for the hand that is about to hit my face, and threw him onto the ground with his own momentum using a shoulder throw.

He has been hiding his real self and that crying guy was but a dummy. It broke because of the mana explosion just now.

"Now then, mister, how should I call you? You're going to be my slave from now on, after all. What's your name?" I asked with a sweet, sweet smile.

"As if I'll become your slave! You're going to be MY slave, just you wait!" He said as if waiting for something.

"Oh yeah, mana that is not used on spells or mana that is being used to cast spells could be stolen. I'll be careful if I were you. My magic is directly manipulated by me so it couldn't be easily stolen," I said before I released a third of all the mana I have and overwhelmed the room.

"Wha-!?"

"And with that, any spells on the making will be sucked into my mana and be turned into my own. I could really use a refill of mana right now, releasing that took half of my current stocks after all," I explained happily.

As he tries to get up, I locked him down using ice and said, "You can't get anywhere now, my new slave."

"Hmmm, I think it goes like this. I don't really know how much it will need but… just drink it until something happens," I cut my wrists open and let out blood.

"What are you trying to do!? Core, do something!" He shouted.

Core: I can't help, I have already exhausted the mana bank trying to cast spells

(Does that core have sentience? I will freeze it too just in case.) I thought and covered the core in smooth ice. "Cool yourself down there for now, your temperature is quite high."

"Now then, drink it, come on," I let out my blood on the top of his mouth that I have forced open. He wasn't drinking so I pinched his pointy nose and I heard loud gulping noises after a few minutes.

"Sto-! Guh! Grululur! Kahah! Stop! Stop it I said! It burns! My throat is burning! AAAAHHH!" His eyes started glowing and his veins are showing on his skin so I stopped and watched what was going to happen.

Core: Congratulations, master Aurias. You have become the subordinate of the last Celestial Vampire and shall become much stronger than you are right now. You are now also partly a celestial. Your body will undergo heavy evolutions. You are also her first family and slave, be grateful.

"Oh, so you can still talk. I thought freezing you would be enough, seems like I was wrong," I said with little to no care.

Core: Oh please don't modest yourself to this one, my new lord. I know you have purposely let me stay sentient to do the troublesome explaining. Do not worry as this one shall do its job flawlessly.

(What is it talking about now?) I thought of the nonsense that the core has spouted.

"New… lord my… ass..! As if I… will agree with that! With this new power, I will kill you! Flame burst!"

…

"Again, flame burst!"

…

"Why!? Why won't it activate?!"

Core: I'll take care of this, madame. It won't activate because you are stup- I mean, because you are now madame's slave through the vampire's oath. Any form of harm towards the madame, be it indirect or direct, none of them will work. It might actually reflect back to you so be careful.

"What kind of nonsense is that!? And why are you calling her madame!? I'm supposed to be the lord here!" He said before running straight to me and tackled me.

*****

AN: Changed the name of nimble limb skill into velocity manipulation. It didn't seem fitting to me and actually sounded more like a downgraded version of the Perfect Agility skill. So… yeah. there's that.