Inside was different than normal, the place was all smooth white stone, but it was a long hallway to start with. Gobby was already melting into his pool of blood, and I heard a low whistle from behind me. Gobby filled the floor from wall to wall and then started up the hall, but he triggered no traps, and I was about to walk forward, but Tim stopped me.
"Hey! Hold on there, does your friend listen to anyone? Can I ask him to do something?"
"Hm? Yeah, go ahead. Gobby, listen to what Tim tells you to do, okay?"
"Sure, K!"
"Alright, buddy, can you make yourself taller, and then walk back here?" Tim called down to Gobby.
In response, Gobby stretched himself like a quill and then started to walk back towards us. The entire trip back Gooby walked through arrows coming from up, down, left, and right! I couldn't even believe my eyes, that would have been me. When Gobby got back and went changed back to bloody eyeball form, scratching his head.
"I feel violated, I've been penetrated like that before!" Gobby complained.
"Yeah, this one will be a bit of a doozy, I think this is a top Tier Ruby dungeon. This is clear for traps, but we will have to keep an eye out," Tim said falling back.
This was going to be dangerous, but we all had ribbons, so being careful is all we could do. I moved forward at an even pace, keeping my collapsed shield up, and reached the next room. Coming up to the door I could see many small armored bodies in the next room; from a distance, they looked small and cute but up close they were many small rat-men.
"Oh! Looks like it's my time to shine!" Corbit tried to walk past me, but both Tim and I both stopped him.
"Don't be stupid! Have you never been in a dungeon before?" I asked, still gripping his arm.
"No? I can't just walk in and just shock them all? Corbit asked, confused.
"If you don't kill them all then you are trapped in there until you do and we can't help you. There is only a five-second window in higher levels to get into the room," Tim explained.
I didn't know about the timer, I just didn't want him to go in first. That was good to know, this was hard going from a basic adventurer and then jumping three ranks overnights. There was a lot I still had to learn.
"I am going to cast a spell before we go in, I don't know what it will do but here goes nothing," I said, as I raised my hands, not really sure what to do with them.
"Bless{Sselb}!"
Each person pulsed and golden light and they all looked around. I had not pulsed, or maybe I did and just didn't notice. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but It was a spell, and I had cast it using Mana!
"Very good boss! You just made us a lot harder to hit! Healia's prayers are on our side today!" Tim cheered.
I smiled, and then looked at Lesha and Mei, who both nodded to me, they were ready.
"I'll draw them with Lesha, and then Mana users do your thing! Tim, and Gobby, protect them. Let's go!"
I burst into the room, drawing the sweet strawberry lemonade from the girls, and popping open my shield as I felt my power sore. The rats rushed me, but Lesha was there with me, cutting into them, as I bashed them back. Something inside of me surged, not like the blood, but something drove me to raise my foot up and slam it down.
Rats flew into the air around me, and I heard the otherworldly chant of Corbit's voice.
"Chain Lightning{Gninthgil Niahc}!"
An arc of pure power ripped through the room, catching every rat, but missing us completely. I was like with my stomp, Lesha hadn't been affected at all, but what that stomp? Everything was dead, but I wasn't done, I reached forward and began to suck the bodies dry.
"Well, that's something you don't see every day! So that's what you got from a Core? Draining monsters for their blood and your followers for more power all around?" Tim asked.
"Yes, Mei, come here, are you okay?"
Mei came over, but her eyes had already dimmed, but she had a grin on her face. I looked at her, but then she stuck her fingers under my nose as she walked by. The little pervert! In the middle of a fight?! Just when I thought she was getting better, but that was a way to burn off the frenzy I guessed, but that put my mind right in the gutter for later.
"K? Are you ready to check the next hall? You got a bit of a dreamy look in your eyes, you okay?" Tim asked, giving me a knowing grin and a look with his one eye that said he knew what was going on in my head.
"Yes! Let's go! Gobby!"
"Umm, K, you forgot your blood ball…" Lesha said looking away from me as she did with a big grin.
I turned and glared at Corbit, and he found a different part of the room to be. Damn that Mei for getting me crossed up thinking about...blood, I need to absorb the blood and continue forward. I told Gobby to listen to Tim while I absorbed the blood, Lesha, and Mei had picked up at the claws that were leftover.
After I was done and the hall was swept we made our way to the next room but stopped outside of it. There was a single mirror in the center of the room. I had heard of this thing, and only one could go in.
"That's a Black Mimic Mirror, and whoever goes in there will have to face the darker side of themselves."
"I can't go in there, you have to go K, sorry," Tim said bowing his head.
This made sense, the others wouldn't be able to fight off whatever came out of it.
'Be careful child this is going to be the Blood Queen that you will face. She is a Quirk that has always been deep inside of you, but the System is slowly bringing her forward, but it is too soon for you to take that power. If you try, she will take you. The Mimic will only be a fraction as strong as you are, but it will still have long claws like knives and be able to turn into blood mist.' -Drania.
Not trying to talk me out of was all I really needed to tell me that this was my job, but I knew that. I could do this, I had a good reserve of blood and my shield was still in good shape. I went to walk forward, but Lesha stopped me.
"Are you sure? You're a tank? You're not really meant to…"
Lesha was cut off by Tim's laughter. She turned to scowl at him, but he closed his only eye and put both hands up, open-palmed.
"Sorry, but I would be more worried for whatever comes out of there. I will be watching carefully to see how you deal with this, Guild Leader. I have faith that you will make me look like an amateur in a one-on-one fight."
I wasn't sure if that made me feel better, but I did appreciate it. I smiled at Lesha and kissed her, then Mei came and gave me a hug. Great, it was like I was going off to war, and they would never see me again, but that was partially my fault for my bland face.
"Don't worry girls, I got this," I said walking into the room.
The doorway that I had just walked through completely smoothed over and I couldn't hear any more sounds. The room was quiet, it was only me and the mirror. I walked up, shrinking my shield, the sound loud in the absence of any other.
I stepped in front of the mirror and looked deep into it. At first, I only saw myself, and I was surprised that I didn't look that bad in the dress! Then, the image shifted and it was me again, but in a black dress this time, form-fitting and a ghostly train flowing behind me.
Then my skin turned black, and my teeth grew sharp, all of them. Finally, my black hair turned blood red and it undulated to look like flowing blood. The image stepped forward and then out of the mirror, causing it to shatter as the Blood Queen stepped free.
This thing was hiding inside of me somewhere? I was part of this or it was part of me? Suddenly, it attacked without warning, but I had already strengthened and targeted the same spot the goddess was weak in, interesting.
I smashed up with a one-handed right shield stick and then I drove a left blood-powered hook to the targeted area. The creature smashed into the wall, but came for me again, but extended the shield, and then turning it to the side and batting the creature away. I shrunk the shield and leapt at the creature that was trying to get up.
As I brought the shield down, I activated the shield extending it with a crack just at the right moment to help shear the monster's head off. I pulled all the blood into me immediately and gasped.
It was freezing cold again! I had used almost all my blood in that short fight and I was lucky this thing even gave me blood. It was enough, for now, but I would need more, and I would have to be more mindful of how I used it.
"Woah! Now that is a scary tank! You barely even moved that entire fight! No extra effort! Truly impressive! See, Corbit, that's what a legend in the making looks like!" Tim said slapping the open-mouthed Corbit on the back.
If they only knew how much effort and blood went into each of those strikes, still there was a black crystal left from that thing, so there was some gain, I would just have to conserve in the next room. So far things were going good, but anything could happen, and I was letting Tim and Gobby take care of the traps when Lesha came over to see me.
"How are you feeling? You looked pretty white before you got that blood?"
"The fight was tough, I didn't want to hold back, but I used too much blood. I just need to be careful. I will just play a tank in the next room, I played hero once today, that's enough, hehe!"
"You were pretty impressive, but that thing you faced, it was you, right?" Lesha asked.
"Yeah, Drania says it's called The Blood Queen, and it's a part of me. I have to be careful and not let it out until I can control it or she will consume me."
"That doesn't sound very helpful? But if you were in trouble I could see why it would be good to have. Well, let me have some of the action this time, she has been itching to try her new spell out. Oh, and make sure you watch, she really wanted you to see it...and don't forget to praise her!"
"Yes, mother, I will tell our little girl how special she is!"
"Hey! Someone has to remind you to be nice sometimes!" Lesha jokes.
"That hurts my feeling!" I joked back, doing an impression of Gobby.
Both of us started to giggle, and Mei came over to see what was up, but that was when Tim and Gobby called to us.
"Halls clear, but I don't think we should go any farther. There is a Boss Room up ahead!" Tim shouted down to me.
The words Boss Room sent a chill down my spine.
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GOT IT