Chapitre 35: Hidarus Challenge Finale [Part 1]: Building An Army
"So what you're telling me is that you let a Power Hungry Yandere take over your body so you could save the Dungeon?", Briggs asked.
"I mean that's one way to put it but yeah", I said.
"Hahaha! You expect me to believe something like that?", Briggs smiled.
"Something like what?", Hidara asked.
Briggs and I jumped at the same time, as Hidara suddenly appeared behind us. She was currently wearing the same type of armor as the one she gave me. It almost looked identical.
"See? Now we are matching! Isn't this amazing?", Hidara said.
"What the hell? I thought you were stuck in the sword? How are we even able to see you?", I asked.
"I'm a Demonic Spirit with the blood of Hidarus. Do you really think I would be confined to that sword? My name isn't Vargoz", Hidara joked.
"Fuck you, Hidara", Vargoz said.
"Don't be so soft, Vargoz! It's not like we are in different situations. We're both tied to the sword and we both need a wielder. I'm just able to temporarily manifest a body in this realm, thanks to that delicious sacrifice earlier. Oh, how I love sacrifices! It's been so long since I had a true meal!", Hidara stated.
"This bitch is crazy as hell, lad. Are you sure you made the right choice?", Briggs asked.
"I'm...I'm wondering the same thing", I joked.
Hidara began pouting at us, before walking over to the unconscious Dark Knight sitting against the wall. He was missing an arm.
"Anyway, I'm not here to talk. I'm here to work. I've been waiting for a chance to see a Dark Knight. He'll contribute to my research", Hidara stated.
As Hidara placed a spatial portal behind the Dark Knight, she placed her pointer finger in the middle of the Knights forehead, which instantly placed a strange, glowing rune. As Hidara's branches pulled the Dark Knight in, Hidara gave us a parting message.
"No Rest For The Wicked, Right?", Hidara smiled.
As Hidara snapped her fingers, she vanished without a trace.
"Should we...should we be worried, Vargoz?", I asked.
"Depends on your definition of worried", Vargoz stated.
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[Minutes Later]
As Briggs and I were watching the Giant Minotaur clean up the remains of his former allies, I did a quick check of my DP. According to the Dungeon, our new balance was 6000 DP so I could finally populate the Dungeon with more B rank mobs! Gone are the days of relying on C rank units! That wasn't the only good news we had either. Thanks to Hidara, Briggs and Obsidian had an easier time killing all of the units except the Dark Knight, whose location was unknown at the moment. The Minotaur had decided to knock out the Dark Knight since Briggs wanted to gain information from him later. Briggs also wanted the material that his armor and sword were made out of, as well as suggesting that harvesting his components could be fruitful. Those plans became compromised by Hidara's interference so we'll have to do with the other hostiles.
Since I monitored Krotos's position in D1, I knew that Krotos was currently stopping the army from entering the Dungeon while Helora was sparring with the Flame Titan. However, I also knew that Krotos and Helora couldn't do it by themselves since the behemoths were attacking them both. Even members as powerful as those two could be overwhelmed if enough hostiles teamed up against them. That's why we were currently in the middle of constrictor planning out what we were going to do next.
"In any case, we'll need to leave some of the members behind so they can watch the Dungeon for us. To be cautious, we should leave some of the mobs in the Dungeon as insurance. Just in case anything unprecedented happens", I suggested.
"Hm. That's true. We haven't been able to get in contact with Krotos and Helora so we don't know their status yet. Every attempt to use communication magic hasn't been answered so they might be absorbed in their battles. The best thing to do is to assemble an army that gives us the best chance of surviving. Of course, I'm sure you already have a plan, lad", Briggs said.
"Indeed. I suggest that we leave Vrudius, Orai, and Bose in the Dungeon, sacrifice some of the C rank mobs, and bolster our Dungeon with more B ranks. The only exception would be the C rank Angelic soldiers since they are the closest thing we have to healers. Even if we leveled up and unlocked new mobs, Hidarus locked anything that we didn't have access to at the beginning of the challenge. However, all angelic units possess some type of healing potential so we might be able to manage. Some of our mobs died in the battle, but most of them were C rank mobs so it was inevitable. Luckily, Orai bought some new ones for us. Excluding the mobs in the Dungeon Core Room, here are our current mob demographics", I said.
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[Mob Demographics]
Elementals x13 [B]
Golems x18 [B]
Slimes x5 [B]
Orc x5 [C+]
Cyclops x1 [C+]
Young Cerberus x2 [C+]
Vampire x1 [C+]
Angel Soldier x5 [C]
Cyborg [C]
Wyvern x1 [C]
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"Hm. Look like we did suffer some losses but it's not terrible. With the DP we have and the amount we are going to gain, C rank mobs have become obsolete. Since you are a summoner, I'm sure you can find a final use for them but they are useless to us now", Briggs said.
"Yeah. I guess that's our new reality now. Maybe I'll just do a mass sacrifice like Hidara did. Although, I'm not sure how she used it since it wasn't listed as a Summoning skill. If Hidarus's book is correct, that's a different type of magic entirely. On paper, I shouldn't have that ability", I said.
"Well, you have to remember that your summoning magic was being influenced by Hidara. It's possible that she bent the system to her will and infused some of her magic into your system. Logically speaking, a summoner of your level shouldn't even be able to control an A rank Minotaur yet. With that in mind, It's possible that she's finding a way to break the system. I would be cautious with using her in the future, lad", Briggs warned.
"That's the problem, Briggs. I'm not a cautious Dungeon Master, am I?", I joked.
"Haha! Nope. Not even in the slightest!", Briggs smiled.
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[Moments Later]
"This should be good, right? For the sacrifice?", I asked.
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[11 Mobs Selected For Mass Sacrifice]
Giant Centipede x1 [C+]
Giant Spider x1 [C+]
Giant Serpent x1 [C+]
Orcs x 5 [C]
Giants x2 [C]
Beholder [C]
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"Good...good. Just like that, Dungeon Master Jordan!", Vargoz said.
"I get that you're excited and all Vargoz but did you really need to annotate as I selected the mobs?", I asked.
"Vargoz will do whatever he fucking...sorry. It's a force of habit. Anyway, if I don't quench my bloodthirsty habits, then I'll most likely revert back to my old personality. If I'm being honest, it feels...nice having rational thoughts other than blood, suffering, and gore. I mean, I still have those rather pleasant dreams and thoughts but that used cloud my judgement. I think that was ultimately my downfall", Vargoz said.
"Wow, Vargoz. You actually said something...thoughtful. I didn't expect that from you", I said surprised.
"I mean, how many people could I have killed if I just had a little more strategy? How many massacres I could have performed? How many delicious souls I could have devoured? I was fool! Why did I go after the woman and children when I could've just killed the most powerful soldier first! Why was young Vargoz so foolish! Now, look at me! I'm a sword who's stuck with a crazy-ass demonic bitch for life! Do you know what it's like to see and not be able to touch?", Vargoz said emotionally.
"I don't...I...I think I'll just act like I didn't hear that, Vargoz", I said.
"Ahem! Yes. That would be wise. I'm not myself when I'm bloodthirsty. I act...strange. Hidara took the previous Mass Sacrifice so I'm glad that you are giving me a chance to quench my thirst. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you already prayed to Hidarus, right? You can go ahead and start the sacrifice. Just channel your magic into the sword and I'll help you start the process. Since we are allies, the most humane and painless way is to perform a soul leech on the mobs. As their soul begins to leave their bodies, they'll slowly turn into magic rich husks. The fat dwarf can use that material for future projects if he wishes. In a sense, you could use C rank mobs as a way to farm magic rich material if you don't care how they end up", Vargoz said.
As I walked over to the group of mobs, I felt an emotion that was somewhat foreign to me: sadness. Of course, it was a rather small and insignificant emotion but I was surprised that I possessed the ability to feel it. I was pretty sure that my humanity was already gone so I guessed that this was something else. However, some of these mobs have been here since the Dungeon's beginning so maybe I can't help but feel bad about sacrificing them. But while the mobs were unable to communicate with me, their general body language gave the impression that they were willing to die for the Dungeon, which was derived from their loyalty. As they took a knee and bowed towards me, they awaited their fate with a small smile on their faces. I slowly walked towards the mobs while having Vargoz in my right hand. As I stopped in front of them, I pointed Vargoz at the mobs and quickly began the ritual.
"Mass Sacrifice...1st Generation", I said coldly.
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[Moments Later]
"I'm a little sad about the C rank mobs but I'm glad that we are making good progress. Although, I don't really know if I can say that. I almost died for real. Hehe...definitely a close call", I said.
As Briggs, Obsidian, and I were gearing up for war, we sent the Giant Minotaur to scout the outside entrance of the Dungeon and report back what he found. We were currently in the Rest Area of the Dungeon, as we closed the Corridor's doors and had our mobs of choice around us. I was still pondering Troop purchases.
"Demonic Soldiers are less effective than angelic soldiers in this situation, right?", I asked.
"Yeah. Are you really going to use the Angelic soldiers as healers?", Briggs asked.
"Not like we have a choice. Good thing it's a passive skill for angelic mobs. While the Cyborg has the ability to be a medic, it relies more on modern technology as opposed to magic. Not to mention the Cyborg is exclusive to me so I have no idea what it can do. I only learned that it could be a medic when I was dying earlier", I said.
"True. Maybe you should buy some mobs that you've never used after the challenge. See what they can do and if they should join the Dungeon or not. We could always sacrifice them to Vargoz and mine the Magic rich husks. The only problem would be the loss of DP", Briggs stated.
"That's true. We'll need to make some adjustments to the Dungeon if we win this battle. Anyway, I spent 1340 DP on some more reinforcements so I'm ready whenever you are. I'll send you the final list of troops so you can choose who you want. The Minotaur just returned so I'm going to see what he has to report", I said.
As I slid the HUD over to Briggs and walked towards the Minotaur, he carefully looked over the list of troops. As a miniature Obsidian landed on his smooth head, Briggs began to stroke his beard.
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[War Troops]
Elementals x25 [B]
Golems x25 [B]
Slimes x15 [B]
Orc x15 [C+]
Cyclops x1 [C+]
Vampire x5 [C+]
Angel Soldier x10 [C]
Cyborg x2 [C]
Wyvern x5 [C]
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"I'm going to be honest, lad. I'm pretty excited to fight the army. Fighting alongside Golems is what I'm used to so I'll take most of those Golems if you don't mind. Even though you faced against a Dark Knight, it's important to note that this will be a rather difficult battle. While there are only 26 B+ ranks left, there are still 35 A ranks and 3 A+ behemoths we have to deal with", Briggs said.
That wasn't entirely true. The Minotaur identified an additional hostile that was watching from above.
A single Draconic Valkyrie. Clearly the person in charge of the hostile army and was the courtesy of none other than Hidarus himself.
Just Another Bothersome Person To Deal With...Or Another Bothersome Person To Kill.
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