The Manaverse

The Crypts - City Dungeon

Granite City

Jut and the Crusaders entered the Crypts together just as they had their first run, stepping out into the middle of the hallway. This time, however, Jut felt much more confident they would progress much further. They had talked for hours since their first attempt, making plans. Then they practiced those plans, despite feeling dumb with no actual Monsters to fight.

As soon as their feet hit the ground, all five of them silently turned and hustled to the far wall where the Solo entrance usually dropped them. Brick and Joy took up the role of front line fighters, with Diggy, Jut, and Isabelle tucked in behind them.

Raising his shield, Brick called out amongst the sound of scraping stone and shuffling feet. "They are coming. Ten seconds max."

When the first wave of Stone Ranked Monsters crashed into their front line, they began to execute their plan.

The narrow hallway allowed the Crusaders to control the flow of the fight. By moving to the end of the hallway, they were never surrounded. Brick shouted his Battle Cry once the hallway was jam packed and made all of the Monsters focus on him. Joy, Isabelle, and Jut would attack when and where they could. Joy dismantled whichever Monster Brick was focusing on. Isabelle and Jut fired off ranged attacks, taking out the back line of enemies whenever possible.

Diggy had one job that he was instructed to execute. He was to watch the Monsters carefully. After Brick used his Battle Cry, every Monster within range would look at him, their eyes glowing fiercely. Their gazes would start to shift away from Brick the moment the Battle Cry's effect wore off. It was Diggy's responsibility to call out the moment that happened. During the time the Cry was active, the party received a small attack Buff. Joy received the most benefit from the Buff as she was on the front line. They quickly learned that it didn't increase any of their Skills' power at all, but instead increased their base weapon damage. So, Isabelle's wand and staff did more damage, along with everyone else's normal attacks, but her Mana Bolt was not affected at all.

"Cry is down!" Diggy shouted a little while later and got into position. Jut, following his step in the plan, stood right behind Brick.

As one, Brick and Joy separated, allowing four Monsters past them. These Monsters all targeted Isabelle with their eyes and movements. Diggy, with a powerful cleave attack from his axe, slashed all four of them at once. They instantly focused on him instead.

Jut took the cleave as a signal and began running the loosed Monsters through, slicing off arms and legs from behind. The two formed a pair of scissors that cut through the enemy.

Isabelle would reach her longer staff in for a few attacks or fire her wand at downed foes who were still alive. She would only heal as needed.

Once the Monsters they let into the center of the group were dead, Isabelle stepped forward and topped off both Joy and Brick's HP while Jut and Diggy prepared for the next round.

Jut called out "Cool down?"

Brick answered immediately. "Yes."

This was the next signal. It indicated Brick's shout was still on cool down and they were going to let a few more Monsters through for the others to fight. It eased the pressure they felt on the front line a bit while allowing the others to fight up close without getting in each other's way.

The method was effective as they slowly marched forward. It let the Crusaders finish the first hallway of mobs faster than expected and they had at least seventy percent of their HP left to fight the Elites.

The Elites were smarter than their counter parts by a long way. The problem with fighting them was if the Crusaders were too close to the main room, the four close combat Elites would wait and let their archer fire potshots at them. There wasn't much cover in the narrow hallway whereas the archer could hide behind the boss coffin or around the edge of an alcove. The only way to lure the Monsters in was to back up.

So, after the last mob Monster fell, they immediately retreated to the half way point of the hallway. For the most part, they used the fallen bodies to make fall back points of cover behind them just in case. The blockades wouldn't last long, but every second helped. Jut looted bodies sparingly with his Harvest Skill, more to see what it did now that it was Stone Rank.

From the few bodies Jut did loot, he received the usual amount of chips, coins, meat and hide, and occasionally a weapon or piece of gear. After the Skill's upgrade, he also got a Monster Core with every body looted. There was a single token like object that he didn't have time to examine just then, so he stuck everything that dropped into his Inventory and moved on.

The Crusaders didn't have very long to wait before five figures strode into the hallway.

Jut noticed a major difference this time. During the first hallway's last run, there had been a spear wielder, a sword wielder, a hammer wielder, a dagger wielder, and an archer. This time, they were carrying different weapons and their party arrangement was different. They had two long range fighters instead of one as well.

Their Guardian had a shield and sword. The other two close combat fighters both dual wielded daggers or swords. As for their ranged fighters, one was an archer as was expected. The other wore a robe and carried a wand. A black energy bolt shot from that same wand right at Isabelle.

Brick interceded, taking the bolt on his shield. A thin barrier appeared when the bolt struck and a Mana blue wave of energy rippled smooth in front of Brick before fading away once more. A small bit of the same colored energy fired back at the enemy mage, Brick's retaliatory damage effect activating.

Instead of the formation they used to clear the hall, Joy and Diggy stepped forward together.

Diggy started to glow red and he sped forward, his horns extended and his axe blade level. The sword and shield Monster moved to protect its two teammates, but the Crusaders had planned for that. By moving and intercepting Diggy, who plowed the Monster back quite a few steps, Joy was able to surge in and she immediately tore into the dagger wielder.

Jut stepped forward after he pulled out a buckler style shield, blocking an attack that Joy would have taken from the dual sword wielding Monster. His Consequence Skill triggered, inflicting two stacks of Vulnerable on the Monster. He struck out a few times to buff himself with Haste. As he stepped back and out of the way, a Mana Bolt tore through the Monster's chest, killing it instantly.

Isabelle continued to fire her wand at the mage and archer Monsters after that, laying down suppressing shots. Brick would intercept any return fire they managed to get off at her.

Jut and Joy executed the next step of the fight flawlessly. By now, Jut had multiple stacks of haste. With Joy's own Skill active, increasing her own speed tremendously, the two barrelled into the range fighters. Jut went for the archer while Joy sought out the mage.

With Diggy holding the tank in place and Brick closing the distance to assist the Minotaur, the battle ended quickly and neatly.

The five crusaders were left breathing hard, covered in gore and surrounded by dead bodies, but this time they felt successful. Like they had achieved something. With their health sitting at or above a solid sixty-five percent, each one of them fell into their assigned tasks.

Isabelle cast a regeneration on everyone before she took her place at one of the ritual circles with Jut. Diggy and Brick began dragging bodies. Joy looked over every inch of the hallway for gather-able materials until the others were done looting. Then everyone collected the minerals she found.

Jut received two more of the token like discs, placing them in his pouch. One was from an Stone Ore deposit and the other was from a Crypt Moss patch. As much as he wanted to know what the discs were, he didn't want any distractions yet. He needed that sweet, sweet Stone ore.

"Great job, everyone. We finished much faster and more cleanly this time around. It looks like we could use a little more healing and a short break for Isabelle to regain her Mana. What do you all think?" Jut asked aloud.

"Shouldn't we continue on?" Joy asked. "We have momentum."

"And my Mana is above fifty. We can make it. I'll just take a potion." Isabelle added.

"No. No potions. Not yet, at least." Jut said. "I'd rather save those for deeper in. Even with the extra you brought, I don't want you running out when they could make a difference when we need it. Cast another regen on those who need topping off and let's rest. My Aura should make your Mana recharge fast enough."

The team all groaned but sat down near the entrance to the hallway they just cleared. The silence was heavy. Jut knew it was because everyone was anxious to move on and face the next challenge. However, he believed they had a different challenge they needed to face. One of patience.

I think they understand the severity of reality. You weren't the only one who watched people die during the Monster Wave.

I'm aware. That doesn't change the fact that after the Lock Down we will have been safe for a longer time than we were in danger. I know it's easy to forget that death lurks for us out there. I know this because I'm starting to forget myself. I'd rather they think I'm annoying than have to drag their Corpses back to the Graveyard.

Jut hadn't intended to sound so gruff with his mental voice towards Alex, but even he felt it. He cringed but the return message surprised him.

You're right. I don't want to add to our collection of Urn Orbs either.

Then Alex was gone, their chat window disappearing. Jut sent them an apologetic thought anyway but got nothing in return. So, he pulled out one of the discs he got as a drop and examined it as he sat down next to Diggy.

Item: Stone Ore Node

Type: Magical Manifestation Node

Rank: Normal

Durability: 100%

Rarity: Common

Quality: N/A

Description: Will produce gatherable Stone Ore on a regular basis. Durability decreases after each Manifestation. Has a 45% chance to produce another Stone Ore Node upon durability reaching 0%. If a new Node is produced there is a 5% chance the new Node will increase in Rank. The Chance of Increase is cumulative until an upgraded Node is produced or the Node breaks down without dropping a new Node.

Jut whistled softly which caused everyone to look at him.

"Here. Check it out." Jut said, passing the Node to Brick.

"No way. We can produce our own Ore now? That's awesome." Brick said.

"Looks like we can gather the moss from down here too." Jut added, showing the other Node around. He was going to wait until after the run to talk about the Monster - Human Node he also had sitting in his inventory. He wasn't sure if they would use that one or not.

Once Isabelle's MP reached around ninety percent, they all got up and moved to the next hallway. Then they repeated the process from the first hallway. Jut and Joy did take turns being next to Brick. When they switched, it became Joy's job to call out to Brick to check on his cool down. Diggy decided to not take a turn being up front, as his axe was too unwieldy to use in the confined space unless he stood alone and in the middle.

Before the team knew it, they had cleared five hallways. They had to take a longer break this time as they had a difficult time with the Elites and learned a very important lesson in the process. They were only allowed thirty minutes between fights. When they reached the time limit, they heard the familiar scrapping sound and discovered only one hallway's worth of Monsters had awoken. They ended up fighting down the sixth hallway in the wrong direction because of the limitation.

By the time they had downed the last Elite from the sixth hallway, they were bedraggled and no one more so than Brick. Over half of his chain mail was in tatters and he had much less health than everyone else. While everyone else ranged from sixty-five percent to Diggy sitting at seventy-eight percent, Brick was hovering in the thirties.

"What the Hell? We only get thirty minutes?" Brick complained with both hands in a shrug.

Jut was more drawn to the fact that Brick's chain mail was nearly in tatters. It was rent open in places and was barely protecting him anymore. That has to be why his health was so low.

I think you should discuss backup armor at the next meeting. You can change gear in here.

Diggy stepped up and patted Brick on an open spot on his chest piece after Isabelle's healing closed a wound there. "You look like you've been through a meat grinder. Got spares?"

Brick stiffened and shook his head. "I sold the basic gear I made when I got the ones with the magic stat stuff. I didn't think we'd make it this far. I also didn't realize how any times I'd get hit. I know it's my job and all, but damn." He tipped his head and grinned widely. "I need to get to making plate mail as soon as I can. That shit hurts."

Diggy nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. Well, only one thing for it then." For a moment, Diggy glowed. Then he was wearing leather armor instead of his chain mail. His chain mail top appeared from his inventory window, folded neatly on his outstretched palms. He offered the gear to Brick. "I was wearing underlayers, so it shouldn't smell too cow-y." Diggy winked.

The look on Brick's face made Jut's eyebrows shoot up. It was genuine gratitude and appreciation.

"You sure, man?" Brick asked hesitantly, taking the top.

"We are literally near the end, and you think I want my Guardian to not use the only chain mail set available?" Diggy asked sardonically, already holding the leg pieces out.

"Well, no... but... You looted these. They're yours." Despite his words, Brick was already equipping the gear as he was handed them.

"Oh, wait. I got a piece or two from the looting. Diggy can keep the ones he has that are duplicates." Isabelle chimed in, pulling boot coverings and a fresh chain mail coif from her inventory. "Does anyone object to Brick using these pieces?"

Joy shook her head and spoke what everyone else was thinking. "We have smiths who can repair the pieces later if they need to. Let's finish this run properly."

"We will discuss back up gear and making more of it at the next meeting." Jut added.

He expected everyone to groan at his words, as he was mostly intending it to be a tease, but everyone agreed.

"That's a great idea." Diggy said, putting a few pieces of chain mail gear back on. No one dared tease him for his miss matched appearance. Most of them would have done the same in his situation.

"I already do that." Joy said with a grin. Now that Jut looked, it did seem like she always had a crisp set of armor on, yet he never saw her change gear.

"That's something I'm going to do from now on." Brick said, making the last piece appear on his body. He held his shield and sword up in a ready position. "Let's all rest up then push on to the next hallway."

The Crusaders adjusted their line up for the next set of Monsters by swapping Jut and Joy places a few times more than before. This allowed Jut to get more uses out his Skills and allowed Joy to recover her resources naturally without taxing Isabelle's Mana supply.

As he wasn't familiar enough with his Skills to ascend them, Jut experimented with Windy Steps and Consequence while he was on the front line. Sure, he could pull up the actual requirements, but he wanted to intrinsically understand his Skills.

The Haste Buff was fantastic. Just one or two stacks and Jut could move and attack faster than he ever had before. After five stacks, he was as fast as Joy when she used her Skill. He moved so fast, he almost appeared to be a blur to everyone else. The most stacks he could accumulate before they started falling off was around ten unless he struck more than one Monster at a time continuously. When he had that many, he could move and neither the Monsters nor his team registered it.

However, there was a major downside to the increased speed. Unlike Joy's movement Skill, the Haste Buff did increase Jut's movement speed, but it did not give his mind or body the corresponding ability to comprehend moving that fast. More than once, he found himself running into the walls or getting dizzy. When he pushed himself as fast as he could, his vision would blur and he would have to reorient himself, opening himself up to attack.

It took a while to find a balance which was around six stacks. Anything higher and Jut couldn't use it safely or effectively.

Consequence was way more versatile than Jut imagined it would be. A block that triggered the Skill included parries, full on blocks, deflected strikes, and accidental blocks, with or without a weapon. If a weapon pierced his body, the Skill could trigger multiple times before the weapon was removed.

The limitation he ran into was the Skill wouldn't trigger more than once at a time on a particular enemy, even if he blocked two attacks from the same Monster using one weapon. They had to make two separate attacks on him. Another limitation was ranged attacks. Blocking a ranged attack wouldn't trigger the Skill at all. However, by spreading the Vulnerable debuff throughout the mob, the better the team could cut them down.

After some coordination with Brick and Joy, Jut would step forward and block as many attacks as he could before swapping out with Joy. Then he would use his Gusty Strike Skill. The increased damage the green sliver of energy did was noticeable when the enemies had a few stacks. He even killed five Monsters in a single attack once which caused his Mana to spike to full from Magical Strikes triggering its refund.

They cleared the seventh hallway in record time. However, Jut was low enough on HP by the time they had finished with the Elite Squad that they made him fight less in the final hallway, which slowed them down a lot.

After they killed the final set of Elite Monsters, they watched the last seal on the coffin spring open and the lid slide off slowly. The sound of stone on stone was as jarring as the rattling of the Bone Horror's body was eerie.

The same Monster from the solo run rose, first using one hammer tail arm to lever itself out of the coffin. It's Minotaur Skull for head tilted in mock curiosity as it stepped out of the coffin. The cat and dog Monster bodies it had for legs carrying it far in a single step.

Then the coffin melted into the ground before the boss Monster stood in the middle once more, unmoving. Jut looked at it closely and the familiar tag appeared.

Bone Horror - Elite Monster

Stone Rank

While the tag was the same as it always was, the text was red. Jut didn't know if that was of significance, or just for aesthetics. Either way, the Monster didn't start walking towards them. In fact, the Crusaders were able to sit and chat with no repercussions. So they did, sitting halfway down the eighth hallway. They would take as much time to recharge as they could get.

Jut and Diggy gave each other a nod and begin pulling items out of their Inventories.

"Are you setting up a picnic?" Joy asked, a bit scornfully.

Jut and Diggy froze, looked at each other then looked back at Joy before they shrugged in unison.

"And?" They both asked at once.

Joy growled in frustration, but still accepted the food she was handed and sat on the edge of the blanket Diggy had laid out. "I was kinda getting hungry." Joy said with a sigh before taking a large bite.