Episode 65 — Kalzuk Dungeon
Sixteenth Day in the Month of Willow (March 16) in the Year of the Griffon
Floor 57
Reisenki blocked the Tzhaar’s mace on his shield and Natora stepped out, ramming her spear into the torso of the four armed golem creature. The hit eliminated the last of its HP and it sparkled as polygons for a few seconds. The others were finishing off their enemies.
The Wondercolts, once again without Diemond, were dungeon busting on the front line. Diemond was spending the day applying what she had learned during her apprenticeship. She had a whole lot planned, but they didn't need to be around for it and she needed to focus. Ashley was also working on Bladescape's armor. Today was, barring any unforeseeable issues, their last day in their old gear and they were going out with a bang.
Busting was what Natora called speed running a dungeon. It focused on getting to the boss and beating it, not mapping or hunting down every last enemy. Busting was all about the loot. The Wondercolts were usually focused on experience or mapping. Busting also wasn't usually done on the highest level dungeons available, but they had been away from the front for several days. They had been seen heading out to the field for the day by just about everyone they cared to be seen by.
“This ain't so bad,” Malus said. She was doing this without her helmet, for kicks. Her HP and stats didn't need the small fraction the helmet would give her. “They got a wallop of HP, but they're pretty easy to take down.”
“Yeah,” Bladescape said, sighing contently. “For once, this feels like an adventure game. We can’t let it drag us into overstretching our safety, but it's fun right now.”
The others agreed and they continued deeper in.
They encountered a lone enemy, one who was wielding three split-bladed swords instead of maces. It was black with red joints, whereas the ones with maces were mud brown with red joints. The maroon ones wielded a spear.
Natora watched as Bladescape took it on alone. She was their highest leveled player. It didn't take her long to take it down, solo. Her new sword was powerful, but it only accentuated and capitalized on the skill Bladescape had already refined.
They soon ran into a pair of mace wielders. Natora took one and Thunderborne took the other. It was a contest of speed and skill. Thunderborne was fast, especially getting to her enemy.
Natora was calculated yet quick. She chose her path and busted her way through it. She used weapon defense to block a mace, sidestepped another, and rammed the spear home with a charging skill. She blocked the downward swinging mace and twisted, rolling it to her right, across the Tzhaar's body as she stepped left and used a five hit combination skill to decimate the last of its HP.
Thunderborne was still flipping and dodging, poking it whenever she could. These golem creatures were too thick for her lightweight rapier to quickly dismantle them. Thrusting weapons were not great, but Natora's spear had weight and that translated to more striking energy. Natora stepped over to Thunder's enemy as Thunder did a back handspring to avoid a mace. The Tzhaar never saw Natora coming and she finished it with a two-hit Sword Skill, both landing in its exposed back. Thunder could have done it solo, but she wasn't even halfway through its HP and, most importantly, she had lost the challenge.
Konpeito soloed one, decimating it with only two attacks, both of which scored critical damage. She was the undisputed master of landing critical attacks. Kiefer, Malus, and Reisenki also took their own shots at soloing enemies. They were having fun, that was what was important, and they were at the top of the level curve, even though they hadn't advanced far during this floor.
Even Soryuto, Knightstar, and Doombunny were enjoying themselves, although they didn't want to even attempt to solo one. The three of them were clearers, they didn't do floor boss battles, so it didn't really matter, the rest of them were doing it for bragging rights. Doombunny was mostly just happy that they were not fighting anything cute. These things were not even remotely cute.
The push continued with them fighting in their three teams. Natora was with Reisenki and Thunderborne. Malus was with Kiefer and Doombunny. Bladescape was with Soryuto, Knightstar, and Konpeito. Bladescape, Natora, Konpeito, and Malus were aggressive and unyielding in their march forward.
Natora knew they were getting closer to the boss chamber as they encountered a new enemy. It was called a Jalimcot; a snake type creature that kept its upper body elevated as it moved around. Alongside its viperish head, which sported rows of sharp teeth, it had claws like the Killer Mantises on Floor 20. The scythe claws dealt deadly slash damage and they had higher HP and damage overall. Soloing them was not an option. They still plowed forward. New enemies in different parts of a dungeon were common and not a cause for concern.
Reisenki kept up with Natora’s and Thunder’s speed as they blitzed two Tzhaars and a Jalimcot, crisscrossing their attack vectors so that they could hit all three. Reisenki blocked the maces for Natora and then shifted to stop the scythes from hitting her. His axe eliminated the Jalimcot as Natora was released from her delay. She turned around and used a charging skill to stagger the closest Tzhaar and knock off most of its remaining HP. Reisenki charged past her, going to Thunderborne’s rescue. Thunder had gotten further away, due to her speed, before the delay hit, and only one Tzhaar was targeting her. She was free, but needed his shield.
Natora squared off with the Tzhaar. It was still staggered. She took a step forward with her right foot, triggering a weapon defense skill as it came out of the stagger. It hadn’t attacked her, so the defense skill had nothing to block. Instead Natora bent the skill to target the legs. In one clean move the spear swept the legs out from under the golem and then she drove her spear down into its chest, eliminating the last of its HP. She looked over to Thunder and Reisenki. Reisenki was in a delay as Thunder drove home back-to-back crucifixion combos to turn it into polygons.
Their three teams were currently split up, following different paths, as they hunted for the boss chamber. Natora led her team around the corner and saw nine Tzhaars and four Jalimcots. They were in front of the boss chamber.
“Do we try it?” Thunder asked.
“Reisenki?” Natora asked.
“If they were spread out, yeah,” Reisenki said. “But there isn’t either enough of a bottleneck for me or a wide enough area for us to not get swarmed. No go, from a defensive stance.”
“Yeah,” Natora said with a nod. “That was my read, but I want to hit them all. As fun as it would be, it isn’t worth it in a frontline dungeon. The others will be here soon. Should be here soon. Let’s fall back before one or more targets us.”
Natora was the last one to leave, walking backwards around the corner. They were not targeted. They stayed sharp as they waited, keeping their backs against the dungeon’s hewn rock walls. They didn’t have to wait long for Malus, Doom, and Kiefer to arrive. Bladescape, Knightstar, Soryuto, and Konpeito were only a minute behind them.
Natora gave a quick description of the area up ahead. She organized their offense and then led them forward. Of course, Malus and Kiefer were their center, while Natora took Thunder and Reisenki to the left. They pushed through the line and hit the monsters from behind.
The dead end in front of the boss chamber was cleared out fairly quickly with no issues. Everyone topped off their HP and ensured their pouches were full. They were well versed in their roles and everyone was ready to face a dungeon boss. Konpeito used her viking horn to buff their defense and attack before they faced the boss.
It was Bladescape who pushed open the doors and led them inside. They found themselves on a peninsula surrounded by a narrow stream of lava. The lava was flanked by high cliffs that poured more into it in a few spots. Several pillars and low rocks were strewn about. It would provide some cover. The question was, cover from what? They had to ensure they didn’t get knocked into the lava. It would likely mean instant death. Even if it wasn't, at the very least it would be a shockingly painful place to land and it would be hard for someone to pull them out before they died; especially without getting hurt themselves.
The Boss stepped out from the wall, wading through the lava as if it was nothing. The Boss was identified as Kalzuk, which made sense considering the dungeon name. He was a stone Cyclopes with a horned helmet that featured downward sweeping horns. He had three claws on each hand, held a large sword in his right, and three health bars popped up by his name. His body had glowing lines on it, as if his internals were pumping lava around like blood. Each of the joints, and some other areas, were slightly larger pools.
Natora took Thunder and Reisenki left. Malus was once again their center. As the battle started, slate gray rock minions jumped off the cliffs and onto the plateau. They walked on four legs and had a tail of sorts. Natora charged the first one and rammed her spear through it. It did the job and the minion shattered into polygons.
Reisenki took a swipe from a minion’s claws on his shield. It then spun and tried to slice him with its tail. Again, Reisenki blocked it with his shield and then his axe glowed and he blasted it to pieces.
“TAKE COVER BEHIND THE ROCKS!” Bladescape ordered.
Natora got her team behind a pillar, just in time, as Kalzuk blew lava all over the peninsula. The rocks and the columns protected them. To get to their party members further back, he stepped up on the land and walked inwards a bit.
Natora and Bladescape were out immediately and both scored strong hits. Natora miscalculated how much time her delay would be and Kalzuk swiped her with his claws. The damage taken was a good fourth of her HP, but the real problem was that she was heading straight for the lava, while still in her delay. She couldn’t change her course. Out of nowhere Thunder zipped in, leaping across the lava to vault off the wall and catch her in midair. It saved Natora from certain death.
Natora bumped fists with Thunder. “Thanks,” she said. “Come on, I saw something while flying that I want to try. Think you can hit the small pools on his body?”
“Easily,” Thunderborne said, drawing her rapier. “This is me we’re talking about.”
“Kalzuk’s left arm, at the elbow joint,” Natora directed as she turned and started to run. She was heading straight for the boss. She ignored two of the minions as she built up her speed.
Kalzuk was not engaging anyone, letting the minions do the work for him. Natora and Thunder were fast enough to escape his notice. Natora leapt, triggering a single stab skill. Her spear struck the point and she spun, catching a glimpse of Thunder’s jump, before she triggered a charging skill that pulled her away from the boss, clear of an immediate attack. Thunderborne had less weight so she landed ahead of Natora. Reisenki had rushed out, abandoning the minion he was battling to get his shield nearer to them as both of them were frozen. A minion leapt off of the wall, landing by Thunder but never got the chance to strike because Reisenki plowed into it, pushing it into the lava.
“COVER!” Bladescape yelled.
Natora was released in time and she sprinted to the nearest column. Thunder and Reisenki got to safety behind a low rock before more lava was vomited at them.
“Natora!” Bladescape called from where she was hunkered down. “Whatever you did, do it again!”
Natora had to let the lava pass by before she peeked out. Kalzuk’s left arm, the lava lines below the elbow, were now dark, not their previous blazing orange. It was a pressure point. The forearm was limp. More importantly, the first health bar was three quarters gone. The issue was the minions. At least a dozen surrounded them as more came leaping off the wall.
“New plan!” Natora yelled. “Everyone, go for the minions. Thunder and I will pop the pressure points and Reisenki will provide a shield if we need it. Just keep us up to date on any spewing lava and make sure the path is clear, while we run it. Reisenki, we are not going to stop much, Can you keep up?”
“Absolutely!” Reisenki shot back. “When you pause, I’ll be there to block, knock a minion out of the way, or heal you. Focus on the assault.”
“Thunder, I’m going to come in from the other side,” Natora yelled as she broke out of the cover. “Keep the pressure up and never stay still for more than a second or two!”
These were Natora’s favorite types of bosses. She cut out across the peninsula, dodging two minions as Thunder made the first move, targeting the boss' right arm. Natora slid on her heels as she changed direction, reaching her top speed in only a handful of strides. She was coming in at a much more forward angle than last time. Natora jumped, striking the boss’s left shoulder as she planted her feed on his chest. Before the delay hit, she vaulted backwards, flipping because her body was already in motion. The delay ended right before she landed. Natora hit the ground in a roll. She came out of it as Thunder deadened the right shoulder. Natora made another wide swing, trying to glance off the boss in her pass. It was successful and she also deadened the other shoulder.
The boss was down to a little over one health bar. He began to spew lava. Everyone got to shelter except for Malus, who simply threw her shield above her head and continued to fight a minion, lava splashing off The Iron Bulwark like the tide surging against a cliff.
Natora sprinted out, ignoring angles as she went straight for the boss. There was one pressure point that she needed to try, right at the neck. Her leap was high and she used a charging skill to ensure it had enough power behind the hit. She was immediately vaulting backwards off him without getting the opportunity to see the impact as she triggered a second charging skill to pull her away from the boss. Her delay was longer, but she landed next to Malus. Still, it wasn’t that long of a delay. Malus killed two minions in that short time. Her strength was so high that her hammer was smacking away their health in a single hit.
Kalzuk was deep in the red of the last health bar from the blow. The red glow of its lava veins was darker, but not black like the arms. Kalzuk went into a fury from having his health so low. He couldn’t use his arms, so he used his feet, stomping and smashing. Natora and Malus went in opposite directions. The boss destroyed many of the pillars and cover they had used to shield them from the lava.
Natora sprinted past Bladescape and Knightstar battling two minions as she worked to head him off. Thunder tried, but Kalzuk turned in the opposite way, presenting his back to Thunder. He stamped his foot down onto a pillar, crushing it in one go as Natora charged. She set her spear into position for a powerful three combination attack, two slashes making an X followed by a center thrust. She launched herself at the angry boss, using the last standing pillar to vault up high enough. All three strikes hit the pressure point on the neck, eliminating the last bit of HP Kalzuk had left. Natora couldn’t help but smile as the delay from her advanced sword skill froze her for longer than she normally allowed herself to be exposed. There were still two dozen minions to eliminate, but they were easy to knock out and done before she was released.
“Well done, Natora,” Bladescape said as everyone rallied around Natora. “Great catch and strategy. And you too, Thunder, great work.”
“That was fun,” Natora said, a sly smile on her lips. “I almost want to say we should do it again. But we don’t need to.”
“Dungeon blitzing is a refreshing change from our usual,” Soryuto stated. “It took some getting used to, but it was more fun.”
Natora pulled a blue teleport crystal out of her pouch. “Let’s jump out of here, back to Marten, and we can catch up on our loot there. It will be safer.”
Everyone agreed and Natora called out the teleport to Marten. They headed to a tavern and grabbed a large table. It was midafternoon, still too early for most clearers to be back. The tavern was almost entirely empty of players.
Natora found the Last Attack Bonus and materialized it onto the table. It was an obsidian shield. The long obsidian crystals were fused onto a red metal. As impressive as it was, Knightstar and Soryuto were having better shields made. Their order was with Rendil, the premier shield maker in Aincrad. They were supposed to be ready by the evening. Diemond had put in the order during her apprenticeship, as shields were a separate skill, and Diemond had little desire to make them.
They were just finishing up with their good drops when Bladescape stood up. Ashley had sent her a message, letting her know her armor was ready. Bladescape downed her drink and headed to Lindarth to pick it up.
Natora took the obsidian shield to Agil. She had a few other decent items to sell him. Those sales were easy to finalize. The shield was a different story. All of the frontline guilds, minus the KoB and Wondercolts, had players who could benefit from it. It wasn’t a piece for the intermediate players. It was a top tier piece of equipment. It should be used by a player already clearing the game. If an intermediate player could afford it, fine, but the price would reflect the target demographic.
Agil’s shop existed because of the frontline players. Many went to Agil, one of their own, to shop for elite equipment for a reason. The profit he made from them helped him cover the store when he worked with the intermediate players, getting them the equipment they needed to get to the front. He didn’t publicize his actions or make it obvious; the intermediate players were going to him because the frontline fighters did. He successfully capitalized on their emulation to give them a boost they never noticed.
Natora hated to split hairs, she preferred round numbers — by the thousands — while bartering and Agil knew that. Lisbeth’s base cost for a custom weapon was 100,000 col. Custom shields ran slightly higher, simply because fewer shield makers existed. It was easier to find a weapon smith willing to work with the same materials for cheaper, but that came with a less skilled smith and lower quality piece. Not every player used a shield and those that did were less interested in custom shields as they were in custom weapons, disincentivizing more players from smithing shields. Weapon enhancements took priority for most players over armor and shield enhancements. The tanks would enhance their shields first, then weapons, and leave armor for last. Armor and shields rarely had even half the enhancement slots a weapon had.
Natora didn’t mind taking time to barter, usually, because it often came with conversation beyond the item and prices. With an LAB, usually the bartering included the story of the battle. With Agil, it was much more straightforward, then they talked. Or they talked first.
Natora had opened with the story and then ran low on patience after initial offers were stated. “Look, Agil, I just don’t have it in me for any more of the usual back and forth,” Natora explained, leaning on the counter. “The lowest I can go is eighty. I know you will sell it for at least one twenty.”
Agil let out his own sigh. “A lot of players are feeling a drag right now,” he commented. “Alright, eighty thousand is fine. It’s a deal. I know of a few players who are looking for a shield like this. If only it was a tower shield a tank could use. Twenty enhancement slots are basically wasted on a regular shield.”
“I know,” Natora said with a shrug.
They exchanged the col and Agil said what he had been holding back. “I’m surprised Knightstar or Soryuto didn’t need it. I don’t recall what they have, but this was a very lucky drop.”
“Rendil doesn’t come cheap and he doesn’t make trash either,” Natora said. “Well, at least he never gives trash as the final product. I’m not exactly sure what Diemond ordered, I just know the price because the guild is covering that upgrade. If that shield beats what he gives us, well, you and I both know he wouldn’t hand over something worse than that.”
“So,” Agil said with a sly grin. “Diemond is finally making the move to bring the Wondercolts’ shields into her vision.”
“Something like that,” Natora said, taking a step back from the counter. “I already said too much.” She took another step back. “See you later, Agil. I have things I need to do.”
Natora ducked out and headed to the teleport plaza. She was excited to see what Diemond had worked up. She didn’t get to go to Mishe though. A message came through, notifying her that the shields were done, so she teleported to Lindarth and headed to the master shield maker’s shop.
Natora had paid Rendil three days prior for the order, but never knew what it was. Now she got to see them first, ahead of Diemond. The two kite shields were exquisite, perfectly capturing their blue and gold colors, including their horse head logo gilded on the face. The two tower shields were similarly designed, which made sense. The only difference between them was that Reisenki’s was made from a lighter alloy than what Diemond’s was. It lost some durability and defensive stats, but it would keep him agile and highly mobile. None of that was visible because of Rendil’s Heraldry skill.
BLADESCAPE: Level 78 — Two-Handed Sword — Searching — Weapon Defense — Leather Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Sprint — Blade Throwing — Extended Weight Carry — Acrobatics
NATORA: Level 75 — Two-Handed Spear — Purchase Negotiations — Sales Negotiation — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Armor Pierce — Sprint
KNIGHTSTAR: Level 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Equipment Appraisal — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry — Armor Pierce — Search
MALUS: Level 74 — One-Handed War Hammer — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Extended Weight Carry — Battle Regeneration — Fishing — Search — Martial Arts — Rend
THUNDERBORNE: Level 74 — Rapier — Sprint — Acrobatics — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Armor Pierce — Martial Arts — Blade Throwing
KONPEITO: Level 74 — Two-Handed Axe — Cooking — Weapon Defense — Light Metal Armor — Martial Arts — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Music — Blade Throwing — Bard — Extended Weight Carry
DIEMOND: Level 75 — Mace — Greatshield — Sewing — Heavy Metal Armor — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Light Metal Armor Forging — Heavy Metal Armor Forging — Extended Weight Carry — Jewelry Creation
DOOMBUNNY: Level 70 — One-Handed Dagger — Hide — Fighting Spirit — Blade Throwing — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Familiar Cooperation — Mixing — Search — Listen — Reveal
KIEFER: Level 72 — One-Handed Curved Sword — Slash Weapon Forging — Light Metal Armor — Weapon Defense — First Aid — Katana — Battle Regeneration — Slash Weapon Forging — Blade Throwing — Armor Pierce
SORYUTO: Level 70 — One-Handed Sword — Shield — Light Metal Armor — Music — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Fighting Spirit — Armor Pierce — Acrobatics — Extended Weight Carry
REISENKI: Level 72 — One-Handed Axe — Greatshield — Heavy Metal Armor — Equipment Repair — Metal Equipment Repair — First Aid — Battle Regeneration — Cooking — Metal Refining — One-Hand Weapon Creation