Chapter 60: Preparing for the Worst 1
"My.. Core.. fragments?" Sumiré asked with wide eyed wonder. The beautiful girl sat opposite to me on the ground, in a meditative stance. The light of a cozy campfire caressed us both with a subtle warmth. "I don't exactly understand it that well myself, but apparently you have the potential of becoming strong Sumiré. Like those heroes you often tell me about..". My words caused her to pause and think. She looked up towards the starry sky. The view was exquisite here in the middle of the desert. It makes me wonder why I wouldn't take the time to appreciate it more often. This world's problems really took me by storm since day one it seems. And now here I go again. Marching head first into another fight, in preparation...for another fight. "Sigh..". Conquering the new Dungeon I discovered west of my own, will not only eliminate a potential future threat, but possibly also strengthen my forces. This should give me an edge when we inevitably face the heroes coming form Jasrah.
"If.. if I become a hero.. will I have to fight the Lady as well? If that is the case.. then I do not want this power. I would rather stay by your side than chase false glories." Sumiré finally said after contemplating for a bit. I had no idea what to tell her, I simply lacked information on the matter. "I doubt that it would change your personality or 'wants' but then again I don't know for sure. What I do know however, is that I can help you achieve this power, if you ever so choose. Having someone with a Hero Core in our ranks would do wonders for the Dungeon's defence. And.. and there aren't many people that I trust as much as you.." I answered, adding a bit more feeling to my statement, than originally intended. Sumiré smiled with her entire face and for that moment, the enchanting glow of the Elgolar night sky, paled in comparison to her own. "You know I would fight for you my Lady. Besides my mother.. you're.. you're the only person that feels like home. And.." her words were suddenly interrupted by Sunfür crashing onto to her lap. Like a big puppy. A big DUMB puppy. Sumiré laughed and hugged the monstrous wolf which wagged its tail happily. I huffed in disappointment and surveyed our surroundings.
All was well in our little camp. Four days ago we left our Dungeon for our campaign. Our forces were separated into three groups as agreed upon. Group Beta, with me as its leader. The strike team assembled to attack the other Dungeon. Our team included Sumiré as a scout and sniper. The brothers Cain and Abel. Sunfür the sunfire wolf and the Vanguard forces, which now consisted by a number of Coyotes, Amber slimes and Cave fishers. Out of the ten minions of my Vanguard, only three could be as high as Rank 2 at the skill's current level. I had decided not to promote any monster however. I wanted to see whether this experience would force a spontaneous evolution in any of my minions. Spinner's and Sunfür's were quite useful and unique so I had decided to experiment a bit.
Finally, in two days time we would be arriving. This really pushed me into taking a leap of faith and trusting Sumiré with the truth of her budding powers. I needed her by my side. Wow... Need. That's a strong word! It was true though. It wasn't just a tactically sound choice to keep her close. I wanted her close.. The young woman had brought me peace of mind in the most difficult of times. It's becoming increasingly tougher to imagine this second life here, without her running through the Elgolar Dungeon and inviting me to play with her and the minions. I smiled like an idiot by just thinking about it. Like an electric shock coursing through me, I snapped to attention once her hands rested in my own. She nodded to me as if saying she was ready. With a deep breath, I tool out a rolled up piece of cloth from my bag. Inside I unveiled the fragments of the two Hero Cores I had shattered by defeating their previous owners. The crystalline fragments sparkled under the pale moonlight like pieces of broken stars, radiating invisible power. I placed them in Sumiré's palms and cupped them with my own.
My mana and Aether ran through the fragments and her echo of a Core, like electricity through a closed circuit. I cultivated ambient Mana, infused it the power of the fragments and started blanketing her inner spark with the layers of power. Not soon after, Sumiré's blossoming core began hungrily absorbing each layer and incorporating them! She truly had marvelous potential. The girl even displayed a modicum of control as when she tried concentrating on the process, I noticed a small increase in the speed of absorption. Before I even noticed, a whole minute had passed and Sumiré was still syphoning away power like crazy! A Hero Core with this much potential, boltsered with the Aethereal cultivation of a Dungeon Core? The results would surely be interesting to say the least. After another minute, the fragments had turned to dust in our hands and I cut off the supply of Mana and Aether. Sumiré, who had entered a state of absolute ecstasy, opened her amber eyes again. They were now glowing faintly and had small specks of violet in them! The light soon faded but the colouration remained.
"How do you feel?" I aksed full of excitement. She smiled and tried taking in her form, patting away at her head and body. "More or less the same I guess.. haha" she answered.
[ You have infused 2 Hero Core fragments with your Essense. You have infused 2 Hero Core fragments with Aether. You have infused Follower Sumiré with said 2 Hero Core fragments. You have expanded Follower Sumiré's mana capacity. You have strengthened Sumiré's Hero Core foundation. Congratulations! Achievement "Initiate Core Forger 2" unlocked. Experience earned. Experience for Sumiré earned. Experience for Sumiré saved in Dungeon Core until she can make use of it. 2 Skill Points earned. Congratulations! Your relationship with this Follower has reached Level 2! You can now inspect their Status Screen. ]
**********
Name: Sumiré
Race: Human
Age: 24
HP: 15/15
MP: 2/5^
Lv: Ø
Stats: Ø
Skills
Powershot (Rank 1)
Passive Skills
Grooming (Rank 6)
Cooking (Rank 5)
Medicine (Rank 2)
Stealth (Rank 3)
Snipe (Rank 1)
**********
The incoming info was all a pleasant surprise and although no Core was formed, I felt we had made significant progress towards that goal. Also, Sumiré had no idea she even had a status screen apparently. I guess normal people in this world don't have access to these things after all. Even I couldn't interact with her status despite being able to perceive it. Perhaps if we strengthened our bond even more I could? Questions for another time. I let the poor girl get some rest and I took up watch near the fire. We would be storming the enemy Dungeon next morning, so we all needed a good night's rest. I sank my newly attained Skill Points into my "Apprentice Swordman" skill, raising its rank to 6 bringing about a small increase in my knowledge and familiarity with swordplay. The night was thankfully uneventful but my sleep later on was uneasy. I couldn't stop thinking about my other comrades and their well-being. In the end, I trusted Eve, Fisher and Fatna were on top of things and that finally gave me enough peace to fall asleep after I was relieved of duty. If there was only a way I could watch over them even when I wasn't home.
• • •
The following day, Sumiré and I found ourselves staring at a narrow and dark cave entrance. It was at the foot of a large hill and the path inside seemed to lead down, further into the earth. We were quick to spot the glowing yellow eyes staring back at us from the dark interior. Small critters darting back and forth but never coming outside. "So.. No monster Cores for the Entrance monsters. Also the ambient mana and Aether are not as dense as back home. This place is indeed lower level than us." I thought and summoned a Cain and Abel by my side. "Sup Boss Lady?" the larger brother asked while adjusting his armor around his crotch. "Tsk.. brute.." Abel commented under his breath, which made me smile just a bit. "Guys, one of the reasons we are here is to train you up! So, after we manage to scout out each floor, I'm expecting you two to spearhead each assault. You'll have the Vanguard's support and I'll step in if needed of course. Sumiré will pick off any stragglers and Sunfür will act as her guardian. If we manage to clear this place out, we will do so again once or twice for the next two to three days. After that we need to head back home as soon as possible. Any questions?". My minions and followers nodded in affirmation so I sent an Amber Jelly towards the entrance.
As it hopped its way inside, I saw through its own weird visual perspective using my Kindred Sight feat. The narrow path leading further down this Dungeon was populated by Bõka! The small Chinchilla-like creatures looked slightly bigger than usual though and had goat horns on their heads! Two of them immediately engaged my Slime monster, attempting to, pummel it to death with aggressive headbutts. Their attacks were thankfully weak and my slime resistant to physical attacks so it managed to pull back, having suffered minimal damage. I explained to the brothers what lied ahead and they stood, ready to take on their first challenge with zero hesitation. With halberd and Staff in hand, the Batwing Vorsani marched towards the enemy followed by four Amber Jellies. "Allow me the honour dear brother.." Abel asked with a small curtsey. "Go right ahead Mr Fancypants!". Abel extended his staff and scooped up a Jelly before entering the nartow cave entrance. The moment a monstrous Bõka moved against him, he flung the Amber Jelly at it with and overhead swipe of his weapon! The slime slammed against the rodent, completely engulfing it with its acidic body.
As the first enemy began to dissolve, two more ran towards the mage-like Vorsani. Abel's appraising eyes narrowed on his quarry, trying to identify weaknesses. He side stepped the first headbutt and slammed the Bõka to the side with his wing. The next one he goaded into slamming into the cave wall before stomping on it violently, pinning it down! The mage then scooped up another Jelly with the edge of his staff, before slamming into the second Bõka, dooming it as well. After that, he stomped down hard on the pinned Bõka once more, killing it that time. To my surprise, each Bõka that died, produced a small puff of Aether which then formed either a small horn, copper piece or a Bõka pelt! "Holy shit.. So this is what I am supposed to be doing huh? Give my attackers goodies just so they'll keep me alive and farm me forever. Yeah.. hard pass." I thought bitterly, looking down on my fellow Dungeon Core. "Ha! I almost leveled!" he said excitedly as his eyes went blank for a second, inspecting an invisible screen before him. "Oi dumbass! No screen gazin' while fightin'" Cain shouted as he dashed past his brother. Abel opened his eyes to the world again, annoyed at Cain, when he noticed the warrior having stepped between him and four charging Bõka! "Apologies brother! Thank you for the assistance!". "Don't. Mention. It!" Cain growled back as he swiped away at the rodents. The Halberdier kicked one Bõka to the side, stabbed a second into the cave wall and sliced a third in half! The fourth monster managed to land a hit square in his chest, causing him to grunt in mild pain. Angered, the Vorsani grabbed the rodent by the scruff and used it to bludgeon the one he had initially kicked away. The result was gruesome but effective and Cain offered his brother a satisfied grin with a blood spattered face. Abel grimmaced and returned the gesture in the form of an awkward smile. "Praise be to my excessively violent saviour..."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone