Chapter 78: The Fifth Floor’s Four Kings!

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Fifth Floor’s Four Kings!

"Armor?" Rika asked.

"Fine," Kael said.

"Weapons?"

"Fine."

"Supplies?"

"Fine."

"Brain?"

Kael paused. "...Currently still sleeping."

"That explains the last five conversations," Vex said.

"What about everyone else, all good?" Rika asked.

"All good." The other three replied at the same time.

They quickly finished packing everything, the bedrolls, cooking gear, the concealment plate, monster detection crystal, and headed for the stairs.

The staircase dissolved the instant Lucien’s boot hit the ground, and the environment unfolded around them, nothing like a single ecosystem floors they’ve seen till now.

Wide crimson plains stretched in one direction, patches of black-red forest crowded another, small caves and hollow trunks dotted the terrain, and stretches of bloodsilk web hung between distant trees.

Kael looked around. "So the dungeon ran out of ideas or what?"

"It’s a mixed floor," Rika said. "It combines the previous floors ecosystems."

"That’s a fancy way of saying the dungeon ran out of ideas."

"It’s to accommodate the various beast’s." Zalor added.

A swarm of bats erupted from the treeline behind them, as a howl echoed from the plains. A spider dropped from a nearby branch.

Kael raised both hands slowly. "Okay, definitely didn’t run out of ideas." He said sarcasticly.

"Every species from Floors One through Four is here," Rika said, checking her map. "All Beginner to Peak C-Rank."

Lucien’s eyes lit up as he licked his lips. "So there’s a lot more pf the previous floor’s blood available. "

"That’s what you took from that, what are you, some blood addict?" Kael asked.

"I’m focusing on the important details, and you can’t ask that, you you addict."

"The important detail is avoiding unnecessary fights, so we are in top condition for the boss." Vex stated.

"Of course," Lucien said.

’If they attack us first, though...’

Internally, he was already counting. ’All my traits from the last four floors are near Level 10 if not already level 10, the blood here should finish the job.’

As they talked thirty Crimson Jellyfiends bounced into their path heading straight for them.

BOING!

BOING!

"I’ll handle these," Kael announced, swinging his greatsword.

His blade cut clean through one, as it split into two.

He froze surprised it didn’t splatter. "That was not supposed to happen."

"STOP CUTTING THEM!" Vex shouted.

"YOU COULD’VE SAID THAT EARLIER!"

Lucien flicked his wrist, drawing several slimes together with a thread of Blood Manipulation, compressing them into one wobbling mass.

"Now!" Rika shouted.

Vex’s arrow pinned it, as Zalor’s shadows held it still and Kael’s greatsword ended it in one clean strike as he struck all the cores.

Kael looked at Lucien. "Why didn’t you do that from the start?"

"Tp help your character development."

"I developed trauma instead, bro."

Lucien quietly gathered the blood, and stuffed the candies into his ring as they headed towards the Bosses location.

Bloodveil Nightbats swarmed them at the forest’s edge, Vex’s mana arrows split into fragments mid-air, dropping several at once, Zalor’s shadow spikes rose whenever a bat passed low.

Kael caught one with a lower hand. "Got you!"

It screeched, spittle frying directly into his face.

"I hate them even more now!" He said, crushing it and wiping and washing his face with water.

Lucien hooked several out of the air with his chain, feeding them into Rika’s shield range.

The swarm scattered fast and nobody bothered to chase.

A kilometer layer, fifty Crimsonfang Hounds emerged from the tree line, eyes locked and spreading to surround them.

"That’s too many for a casual fight," Rika said, shield rising. "Kael, left! Vex, rear! Zalor, center!"

"Lucien, stay close to the formation."

He blinked. "Not the rear?"

"I want everyone where I can see them."

The fight turned chaotic fast, Kael grabbing a hound and hurling it into another. "You picked the wrong arm!"

"That wasn’t tactical." Vex said firing arrows.

"It worked!" Zalor appeared slashing the ones behind.

The pack leader howled, a strength buff surging through the group.

Lucien stepped in, quietly seizing the bloodflow of several wounded hounds, slowing them just enough.

"Now!" Rika called, and the counterattack finished it.

Nobody seriously hurt as Lucien walked away with a small mountain of fresh blood candies.

"This floor is wonderful," he said, satisfied.

"You’re enjoying this too much," Rika said.

"I enjoy fighting woth you guy’s."

"You’re drooling at the blood," Vex pointed out.

They passed a cautious C-Rank party shortly after, the other group’s leader gripping his spear at the sight of them.

"We’re not looking for trouble," he said.

"Neither are we," Rika said.

He eyed them nervously. "You’re not planning to take our loot, are you?"

"Why would we steal from you?" Kael said, offended.

"You tried to eat someone else’s meat yesterday, so why wouldn’t you steal?" Vex said.

"That was different."

"How?"

"I was hungry and the meat was calling me."

Rika stepped in before it escalated further, warning them about the large number of hounds ahead with the other party thanking them and moving off.

Once out of earshot, Kael muttered, "They actually thought we’d rob them?"

Zalor glanced at the enormous idiot. "You look like a bandit."

"...I do?"

"A very hungry bandit."

Further on, they found another party, a gorgon, a gargoyle, a demon, a succubus, and an Oni, tangled in bloodsilk against a dozen Peak C Rank spiders.

"They need assistance," Kael declared heroically, the moment their leader offered thirty percent of the loot if they helped.

Rika gave the order, and the fight went fast, Vex burning the webs, Zalor cutting escape routes, Kael smashing through chitin, Rika shielding the poisoned fighter, Lucien severing threads with his scythes.

The B-Rank leader bowed afterward. "Thank you, I didn’t expect them to work together and trap us.’

"You’re welcome, so where’s the loot?" Kael said.

"He means you’re welcome for not dying," Vex added.

They split the loot and parted ways, the other party confirming several groups already waiting near the boss chamber.

’We should be close now,’ Lucien thought as Rika lead on.

The destination came into view an hour later with them with a small clearing, and at its center, a massive stone doorway with crimson runes and a portal in the middle of it.

Two C-Rank parties, a stronger C-Rank group and a B-Rank party, already stepping forward into it.

"We’ll take the next attempt," their leader announced.

A moment later, a C-Rank party entered, then a lone high-ranked adventurer took a third.

The doorway sealed shut behind them as they all stepped into the portal within it.

Only Rika’s party and one other C-Rank group remained waiting.

"So we just wait?" Kael asked.

"We rest, plan the boss fight and wait our turn." Rika said.

They set up a smaller camp further off, everything moving faster this time, bedrolls down, array placed and crystal activated.

Kael reached for the cooking supplies.

"You just fought fifty hounds," Vex said, taking the pot from him.

"Exactly, so I’m hungry."

"You’re always hungry, what’s the difference?"

"That’s how I know I’m alive."

"You rest and let me cook."

Lucien inspected his supplies, while Rika tallied their remaining potions.

"We’ve used fewer than expected," she noted.

"Good," Vex said.

"That’s because we avoided unnecessary fights," Rika added, "and because someone heals off monster blood instead of potions, I’m still jealous of that, by the way."

Lucien looked away innocently.

’Technically I fought several unnecessary battles but technically they attacked first so I’m innocent.’

Once everyone settled, Rika pulled out an expensive looking crystal from her storage ring and then projecting four monster sketches into the air as she used her mana to power it.

"This is the Guild info I bought," she said. "It cost a fortune."

"How much exactly?" Kael asked, with a knowing smile.

She refused to answer, as the thought of the price tag made her heatt ache.

"That much, huh."

She smacked him.

The all started to look through the information available on the crystal regarding the dungeon bosses of this floor.

’There’s more than one of them, didn’t know that was also a thing.’ Lucien thought as he read each of the boss info.

"The first boss is The Bloodmother Slime, a peak C-Rank slime boss, with a B rank second phase. It’s Abilities are Mass Division, Corrosive Bloom, Blood Absorption, Regenerative Core, Bloodstorm Burst, and it has a second-phase Mother’s Rebirth that spawns elite splinter-slimes."

"The boss room for this is a corroded Gothic cathedral with its nave flooded with pools of corrosive blood." Rika told them.

"So cutting it is bad," Kael said.

"Very bad, as it will split into more."

"Punching?"

"Has almost no effect on it."

"Then what am I supposed to do, thats all I know."

"Use your head."

Kael looked genuinely troubled at that suggestion.

"Why does there have to be a slime one?" He asked, remembering all the splattering from floor one.

"The second boss is The Nightbat Matriarch, a peak C-Rank Nightbat with it’s abilities being stronger versions of the second floor’s bats and a second-phase called the Crimson Eclipse that plunges the chamber into darkness."

"The Boss room this time being the cathedral’s bell tower, hollowed into a vertical cavern of hanging roots." She continued on.

"It’s the easiest of the four," Rika said. "Sure it’s powerful, but its also fragile."

"So we destroy its wings," Vex said.

"Yes, as fast as possible."

Kael raised a hand and asked jokingly. "What if I scream louder than it?"

"No," everyone said at once.

"The third boss is The Triune Fang, a three-headed hound boss. Its left head having blood focused abilities, the middle head being the main head and having pack related abilities and lastly the right head having bone focused abilities."

"Bone?"

"Why does it even need two extra heads, like seriously?" Kael asked.

"They also have various shared abilities and a second-phase called the Bloodmoon Roar, with its boss room being the cathedral’s ruined graveyard, overtaken by crimson roots and narrow paths."

"This is the hardest boss of the four, so let’s hope we don’t get this." Rika said. "Three independent attackers to watch out for and the terrain is built for ambushes, not that it needs any."

Kael’s expression sharpened. "This one sounds the most fun."

"Yeah, sounds very fun to die too." Vex added making Zalor shake his head.

The fourth boos is The Arachnarch spider boss, it has similar abilities to the fourth floor’s spiders but more stronger and a second-phase Ascension where it starts spawning spiderlings to attack."

"The Boss room this time being the cathedral’s collapsed nave, strung floor to ceiling in bloodsilk webs."

"Moderate difficulty," Rika said. "The room is part of the fight, so we destroy the web that anchor it first."

Zalor studied its projection. "It uses the environment as weapon."

’Interesting,’ Lucien thought. ’These maght have stronger versions of the traits I extracted before, maybe eve for the Mana Conductive Body, if I’m lucky.’