Chương 96: The Floor Guardian

After eating breakfast, then gearing up, we gathered in the Labyrinth waiting room. As the Drillmaster read out our current rankings, I fiddled with the crossbow. First, I replaced my old longbow arrows with the crossbow bolts. They were short metal darts with two fins on either side, and their heads were filed down to sharp points. I checked the firing mechanism. There was a built-in safety lock, allowing me to charge it and not worry about accidental discharges.

The bow itself was made of flexible metal, giving it a more powerful shot. To charge a crossbow like this, an average mortal would need a windlass to crank the string back. But with my enhanced Strength, I could yank the string back just enough with my bare hands, even though it took all my effort. A point or two less of Strength, and I wouldn't have been able to do it. As we waited, I practiced charging it, but I didn't load any bolts into the firing groove.

Though I could pre-charge it before battle, I couldn't put a bolt in the firing groove until I was ready, or it would fall out. But then, maybe I could get Shatter to work on the design a little. For today, it was good enough. I could get the feel for it and decide if I wanted to use it going forward. The weapon's trigger was touchy once I took the safety off, but I had no idea how it compared to an actual rifle.

I'd never shot a gun back on Earth, even though I'd seen the park rangers with their hunting rifles at the ski hills, and I had a general idea of firearm or crossbow safety. Lastly, as the Drillmaster finished up his reading, I attached a shoulder strap to the crossbow, so I could comfortably sling it over my back when I wasn't using it. As soon as the Drillmaster set us loose, I switched to my spear and shield, then set off with my squad, leading from the front.

We passed Habit and Yesman on the way in, and I gave them a nod.

"Same spot?" I asked.

"Same spot," Habit confirmed.

"We'll see you there," Yesman said. Although I had my suspicions about them, it didn't hurt to be pleasant and friendly. Because if they weren't actually out to get me, they'd make powerful allies. I made a mental note to figure out what exactly they thought about the Warlord, but that could come later. We took our regular route through the upper Labyrinth, then gathered at the ledge, before delving down into the dungeon's main underground city and making straight for the center.

The level guardian stood in its plaza, barely moving, waiting for any sign of enemies, or anything at all to fight. The more difficult monsters, the Steels and Titaniums, gathered closer to it, taking refuge in the center of the buried city. Our first challenger was a Steel-tier skeleton. It was taller than most of the skeletons we'd encountered through the dungeon, and it wore far less armour. But it was time to see what difference Steel tier made against our foes.

I still remembered facing off against similarly sized plains trolls, and needing a resonance Skill to get through them. Sure, there was no snap-of-your-fingers abrupt transition from Iron to Steel, but it had been a while since I'd gotten a proper test. Since I didn't carry any riftrocks in my backpack, I'd actually be able to test my abilities without being held back. We'd been using riftrocks in all our runs since, keeping ourselves challenged, even if we didn't technically have to do so.

The skeleton carried a spear of its own. It was more of a pike, but given the monster's size, it looked more like a spear. A host of smaller skeletons scurried around the larger skeleton's feet, charging at us too, and I gave my orders: "Brawl, keep the smaller ones back, and Anchor, pick off what you can. I'll take down the giant."

Maybe it was unfair of me to take the giant for myself, but we'd all receive the Presences for what we killed, and three or four Iron Presences dropped by a regular skeleton was going to be worth more than a single large Presence dropped by a Steel. It was better to get this done with quickly. I sprinted forward, using my Strength and Agility together to enhance my speed. There was no speed stat, but they worked in unison to boost me.

When I was a few paces from the skeleton, I jumped, putting as much height into my leap as I could, and knocked aside the skeleton's pike with a kick. Instead of only a few feet in the air, my jump carried me up as high as the skeleton's head. My own spear, I aimed right at the center of its ribcage. I drove it forward with as much strength as I could muster, and its bone shattered. The skeleton began to crumble as soon as I landed, but for good measure, I pulled my crossbow off my back.

I fitted a bolt into the firing groove as quickly as I could, aimed at the skeleton's skull, then fired. It was a little high, but it still hit the top of the monster's skull. Without even the help of a resonance Skill, bone shattered, creating a puff of yellow-white dust. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. The rest of the skeleton crumbled a moment later, falling to a heap of bones.

I switched back to my spear and helped clean up the rest of the host before pushing forward. We continued, taking the most direct path we could to the central plaza, while cleaning up the Steels. A Titanium-tier ruin-hound prowled the streets, spikes of enamel growing on its back, and my squad and I worked together to bring it down. I distracted its head, dodging its snapping maw and teeth, while Brawl struck its neck, keeping it in place, and Anchor landed the killing blow with an enhanced arrow to its eye.

But there weren't just Titaniums. Sage and Anchor identified Silvers nearby, and we did our best to avoid them. I figured, given a decent expenditure of Presence, we could defeat the Silvers now, but I didn't want to worry about it and waste time. As it was, the other squads had probably arrived at the meeting place before us. The meeting spot we'd decided on beforehand was an old theatre.

It had a semi-circle audience stand, and it would've had awnings overtop, giving the crowd shade from something—what they needed shade for was beyond me, considering they lived in a cave. But maybe it was just tradition. An ancient marble stage stood on the other side, where performers would've gathered. When we arrived, my squad was the first.

"Oh," I said.

"I thought we were gonna be late."

"I'd rather you underestimate us than overestimate us," Anchor said, hopping up on the stage to get a better view.

"At least nothing has taken refuge in here."

"So Habit was right when he said the theatre was empty," Sage commented.

"I was half expecting a trap."

"I thought you guys didn't believe me or think this was a trap," I said, jumping up onto the stage as well, then sitting on the edge.

"Well, your nagging got to me," Sage replied.

"Dustbrain."

"Glad to hear I could be effective."

"Well, well, well," a voice shouted from the other side of the theatre.

"Don't get too comfortable just because you were first. This is still enemy territory." I hadn't gotten used to the cadence of everyone's voice, and the subtle difference between Dupes, but I was pretty sure that belonged to Yesman. When he stepped through the doorway at the top of the seating area, I confirmed it. Yesman wore chainmail and a cuirass overtop, plus two pauldrons and a regular Gate-style helmet. It was hard to tell it was him, save for his axe and shield.

His shield was painted with the sigil of a raven, but it carried a battle axe in its talons. His squad poured in behind him, all armoured similarly (except their medic), and in a tight defensive formation.

"You said it yourself," I replied.

"No enemies in here."

"Of course," Yesman said, and I didn't know whether that was a sinister undertone, or just the echoes of the old theatre.

"Have you seen Habit's squad at all? They should be coming from behind the stage."

"Nothing," I replied.

"Perhaps they got delayed, brother," Brawl told me.

"They're coming," Anchor said.

"I hear them. Give them a few seconds." About twenty seconds later, Habit's squad pushed through one of the stage's side entrances. There would've been doors long ago, but the wood had rotted away, leaving only a curtain of lichen in their place. I stood up and said, "So, are we scouting?"

"Same plan, then?" Yesman asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

"I'll send Squirrel, my most nimble, to antagonize the central guardian, and we need a squad overlooking the plaza, at every point we can. We need to see every attack the floor guardian has, every ability it can unleash. Otherwise, there's no sense in planning against it."

"We'll hold this position," I confirmed.

"And we'll keep an escape route open." Yesman narrowed his eyes, then, after a few seconds, said, "Understood. Habit, if your men circle left, mine will circle right."

"Will do," Habit replied. So they did. As soon as they left the theatre, I said, "Defensive formation five. The new one." Sage stepped to the front. Since we weren't expecting any attacks from in front, it was best to put her and Morph there. Anchor moved to the left, so he could intercept any attacks from the stage—it was more open, and we could make better use of his archery. Brawl kept to the very rear, where we were most likely to face a surprise attack and needed our tankiest member.

Then I took the right side, ready to support anyone if needed. There was no immediate surprise attack, but I didn't let my guard down. Staying in formation, we moved to the stage, then took an emergency stairway up to a second level, and a balcony overlooking the stage. There was a hole in the wall, which faced the level guardian's plaza. Squirrel was already rushing out to antagonize the golem. He carried a small shield and a battle axe—with a single head.

It wouldn't do anything against the golem, but that didn't matter. We were just here to learn what it could do. The level guardian was the same shape as the rest of the golems, but it had to be at least five storeys tall, and it loomed above all the other buildings at the edge of the plaza. It had a bulky stone body, a head inset into its shoulders, and stone limbs made of remnants of the city. But instead of a single pillar for its limbs, it had three (or four in places) running parallel.

Golden trim circled its head, making its glowing yellow eyes shine even brighter. And above all, instead of a flame in its central chamber, it had a swirling orb of yellow light. The guardian turned toward Squirrel as soon as it saw him, and the orb flared with light—as bright as the sun, but concentrated.

"It's a sunlight aspect golem," Anchor said.

"It would've once have provided light to the ceiling projections," Sage whispered.

"Its core would've, at least." She pointed across the plaza at a building on the opposite side, which reminded me of a Roman temple, or maybe the Parthenon.

"A temple to their sun god." The golem pulled its arms back, then let out a high-pitched screech. A beam of golden light surged out from the golem's core, melting a streak along the bricks of the plaza, before smashing into the wall on the other side. The marble turned to magma, and a building crumbled. Poor Labyrinth Keepers had a lot of work ahead of them. But after that, I directed my focus solely on the golem, my squad, and our position—if we needed to move, or if we needed to fight off an ambush.

"Come on, Squirrel…" I muttered.

"Let's make this quick so we can get out of here."