Eternium ~ 28!!

<Oh, look!> I brought the academy grounds up on a screen in the navigation room. <It expl~o~oded.>

Chaos filled the courtyard. People were falling out of the air as Mages forgot to levitate them, people were shouting at each other, and large swaths of the crowd were attempting to leave and discuss what they had just learned. I brought up Dale, who didn’t even notice as someone tried to stab him in the kidneys. The dagger - with the word ‘hubris’ printed along its blade - broke on his armor, and he did pause momentarily as the sound of the metal bouncing off the ground reached his ears. Ugh, Dale. That’s such a Dale thing to do. To not even notice an assassination attempt.

“Did any of it make sense to you?” Dani interrogated me adroitly. “Did you gain any enlightenment, make any plans for the future?”

<Well… I won’t really know if the S-ranks are what he says for a long time, right? Beyond that, it seemed like he knew what he was talking about. At least none of it was false.> I pondered on The Masters words. <No, he was as accurate as he understands how to be. But just as we have all found out, there’s always another path to power.>

“You mean like what Artorian did?” Dani accurately inferred, “How he designed what seems to be an entirely unique system for cleansing his corruption while still increasing in rank?”

<Exactly like that.> I confirmed steadily. <If he hadn’t been desperate to advance to the B-ranks, he would have never made a deal with me. He was that close to being able to do it on his own.>

“I forgot the ask, what did you get out of that? What were the details of the deal he made?”

I grinned wolfishly, and the Cat toppled over unconscious. <Whoops, too much strain on him. Artorian needed power for some kind of a rescue or something. Didn’t really care too much. What I got out of it was->

*Boom*.

I cut off my comments, looking around the immediate area. <Sorry, do you hear people screaming?>

“No. What? Should I?” 

<Yeah, oh, neat.> I was looking at the surface, where a few Mages were being beaten down by a huge creature in articulating metal armor. <There is… something going on up there. Dani, I have no idea what that thing is.>

“I’ll get Grace to the escape portal.”

<Could you please just look at that thing?> Her jokes weren’t even funny! I brought my ‘sight’ onto the creature as it fought, and Dani gasped.

“Cal! That’s! That’s one of Kantor’s Boss Mobs!” She was so shocked that I wasn’t sure how to take this information.

<Um. How is that possible? Kantor died a while ago.> Her glare shut me right up. <I’m so sorry for your loss.>

“Uh-huh.” Well that would mean a fight later. I wonder if I can use my Mobs against her during an argument? …probably a bad idea. “We need to get her in here. I’m sure they will have information that we are going to want, if not need.”

<I’m on it!> I promised her seriously. <Dale! Minya! Need you for a… thing!>

“What kind of ‘thing, Cal?” Dale’s typically paranoid mental response came.

“Yes, Great Spirit!” Minya’s replies always cheered me up. “Where do you want us?”

<I need you to get over to the Pleasure House. There’s some kind of Mob that just landed and was attacked. It’s holding out for now, but it is apparently one of Kantor’s original Boss Mobs.> I let that sink in, even as they began moving. <We need her alive! She came here willingly!>

One of the greatest benefits of becoming a Mage was the reduction in travel time. Dale caused barely any damage as they ran, a sign of his improvement. He still caused some damage, but I fixed it on the fly since he was doing me a favor. They came into view of the massive creature, and pulled up short.

“That’s a she?” Dale muttered under his breath, getting swatted by Minya for his rudeness. They looked over the huge humanoid, and we realized at the same time that this Mob was coated in a material similar to what I had put King Henry and Queen Marie in. “Are you sure it’s here with peaceful intentions?”

<Nope.>

“Lovely.” Dale sighed even as he moved closer. Blades were bouncing off armor, spells were being redirected, and Mages went soaring whenever a hit connected. “Everybody back off!”

It took a few repetitions of this shout for him to be heard, but Minya played a part by stopping people from rejoining combat after they were knocked back. A simple phrase from her made them stop and think. “It is hitting only non-lethal areas! Back off!”

When a stalemate had been reached, Dale stepped forward with his hands to his sides. “Boss Mob, you come from Kantor’s dungeon? Why are you here?”

The metal along the huge being’s body shifted, popped, and reformed. All dents and damage had been fixed, and the creature now seemed twice as imposing. “I come this place for Dani. Have final order. Got present from Kan-tyor.”

Deep in the dungeon, Dani gasped and let out a shuddering gust of wind. “I knew it!”

Dale looked up at the creature, deciding to just go ahead and bring it into the dungeon. “Follow me… um. I’m sorry, what is your name and, ah, race?”

“Am Ogre!” A fist bounced off her metal clad-chest. “Enemies weep, run in terror! Ogre have no mercy!”

“Your name? Are there more of your people?” Dale prodded as they walked slowly and carefully through the crowd.

“Just me! Am Boss!” She stated proudly, the hesitated. “Never earn name. You want give me name?”

“Um. Sure.” Dale tried to play for time as he thought. “You are the only one of-”

“Oni!” The Ogre bellowed happily. “Me the Oni! Thank you for name, Born of the Dungeon!”

Dale sputtered as he heard what was happening, but luckily people were laughing at him too hard to really think about what the Ogre was saying. Dale got the Ogre to the entrance and let her go ahead. He planned to follow, but I stopped him. <Thanks, Dale. We’ve got this from here.>

As soon as Oni stepped into my area, I had noticed something… off. There was a conspicuous lack of Essence or Mana wasted by the Mob, and any power that came too close simply vanished. <Hi there, Oni. Welcome.>

“Hi there young Dungeon. You did good for only… eleven years old? Twelve? I ‘member when we met you, but you were barely talking!” Oni laughed like a proud nanny, and I seemed to have been robbed of my ability to speak coherently for a few moments.

<Erm. I’m not actually sure… I have difficulty with time.> I shook my poor Cat to clear my mind, and it fell ‘asleep’ again. Oops. <Listen, I need to know why you’re here before I let you come all the way down here.> 

“There be no let. Me free Mob. Oni is a free Ogre! Oni does what wants!” The Ogre bellowed excitedly. “I was given socks!”

<I’m… I’m not sure what that means?> I turned to Dani. <Does that mean something to you?>

“Nope?” Dani was just as confused as I was. Good, at least that was cleared up.

<Would you please tell us why you came here?> I tried going as polite as possible.

“Can do!” Oni nodded deeply as she waded through the streams of Bashers bouncing off her armor. “Was given task by Kan-tyor when he was being… word is hard… means attacked and taken over. Invaded!”

Her last word was screamed with such ferocious glee that two bunnies had to flop to the ground and put their paws over their damaged ears. “I did it! I ‘membered word!”

<Very good job, Oni.> I soothingly congratulated her. <What was the task?>

“Oh.” Oni concentrated and her armor began to vanish, retracting from her limbs and body and being sucked into a small backpack she had been wearing under the armor. “Easy task, hard to do. Had to bring Dani’s brudda to her. Something about helping him and… nep… nepo… nepotism! Nepotism keeping him safe!”

“Wait. Brother?” Dani had no idea what was going on, and I smelled a trap.

I decided it was time for the direct approach, and I started waking up my heavy hitters. <If it is Dani’s ‘brother’, then why are you carrying a Dungeon Core in your bag?>

“Wait a second, Cal! Mu? Mu, it that you in there?” Her voice was strange. Was she happy or angry?

Then a voice I had never heard before reached my mind. <Hey there, lil sis! Yup, it’s me! I hear you are putting together a rescue mission?>

“Cal. Eat them.” Dani ordered. Ah. Mad. Mad is what her voice had been. Got it noted for future cross-checks.

<Consider it done, person who is really in charge!> Six Bob-squads should be enough for this. <Go get ‘em, boys!>