Author note: since I haven't uploaded like for two whole weeks, I think a short recap could be helpful to refresh old memories before we continue.
Currently in Gab's arc:
Gab, Evi, Luke, and Alex made a deal with Odebus, the protector of the lower dungeon floor.
He promised Alex the strength to survive this hellhole and the power to avenge his former friends if he gave up his physical autonomy.
To the rest, he gave them each a power far superior to what they could have ever imagined.
Evie got the power of flesh, the ability to heal any muscle wound, and the ability to increase one's physical strength if one were to eat meat.
Luke received the power of bones, the ability to manipulate and summon bones at will. The consumption of bones leads to stronger bones overall for the user. Users also can store bones in their bodies for future attacks.
It may have no regenerative abilities, but these users already use their powers to forge the strongest armors to protect themselves against any attacks.
As for Gab, he got the power of blood. It is probably the single most powerful ability of the three since the user has it controlling blood in general.
In addition, the blood core allows for a more versatile approach relative to the bone core, as it is often easier to manipulate fluids than to control something solid. But unlike the bone core, the blood core still gives the user the right to regenerate their body through the consumption of blood.
Outside of these aspects, the regular consumption of blood also leads to an increase in movement speed and reflexes. But unlike the other two cores, the blood core user has one fatal flaw, and that is his body. Unlike the other two, he doesn't have a body strong enough to absorb the most powerful blows, nor does he have armor. This makes him a much easier target.
But what Odebus refrained from telling Alex was that he would gain his powers through killing his former comrades.
Having given up his physical autonomy, Alex was now under the control of Odebus to do his bidding and hunt down his former comrade to gain the strength he craved.
Unfortunally, Odebus underestimated the strength he gave the trio. Even though he fought against Luke and Evie, he narrowly won the fight, killing Evie and gaining her flesh core while hurting Luke to a point where death is a mere question of time.
However, the fight cost him a lot of energy as Alex's body suffered severe internal injuries from Evie's blows and Luke's bone spears, which forced him to flee.
Luke escaped with his siblings from the fighting scene. But unfortunally for him, the fight cost him another limb, turning him into a cripple that only had a leg and one arm.
The sibling trio got found by Rados and another man known as Leo. After the duo took care of Luke's still bleeding and messy amputation, the trio made their way towards the only man that could stop Alex.
While Luke and Evie fought with their lives on the line, Gab enjoyed his time with princess Enota, hunting Goblins here and there while also reuniting with his forces that got scattered on the third floor.
His army was now much smaller than the one he had before entering the second floor, but when times are tough, one has to be content with what one has.
With an army running low on basic necessities, Gab is now forced to go to extraordinary lengths to keep the morale of his men still up, as even scratches could at that point lead to deadly infections and ultimately to one's death.
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Current timeline: "a few days after the happening of the last chapter."
The five-person team, consisting of Luke and his siblings, as well as Leo and Rados, finally found other humans.
With each passing day, Luke's situation grew worse as more and more strength left his body. As of now, he couldn't even walk anymore, even staying awake for a few hours felt hard for him as he had a high fever.
Gritting his teeth, Rados immediately ran towards the leader of the small squad team with whom they made contact. That man wasn't a mere nobody and immediately recognized Rados and the man he was carrying via piggyback.
"Do you know how I can get to Gab?" Rados shouted in desperation before taking deep breaths.
The man Rados spoke with had short black hair and wore an eye patch over his left eye.
With a grim expression, the man replied: "We are just an exploration team. The main group with Gab is lagging a few hours behind. I'll be leading you as fast as possible to them. As for your comrades, they should remain with the rest of my team till then."
"Thanks," he replied Luke, and the two continued running as fast as possible towards Gab.
As they made their way towards Gab, the man silently asked: "Do you think Luke has even the slightest chance of surviving?"
Hearing that question, Rados chuckled painfully before giving an honest answer: "If we could provide adequate medical care, maybe there would be a chance for him. But we are running even low on cleaning alcohol, so at this point, it's just wishful thinking."
The man sighed loudly before replying: "How unfortunate. If there is one death that will affect any expedition, from now on, it will be Luke's death. Great leaders can be replaced with others who get the job done. But the loss of our bone smiths will hurt us way more in both the long and short term."
Rados nodded with a grim expression. One could not deny that Luke played a critical role in conquering the dungeons.
"His service, providing adequate equipment saved our lives more than once," commented Rados in silence.
"Don't forget that we are all doing our parts here and are helping to the best of our abilities," groaned a weak voice from behind Rados back. It seems like the old man woke up.
"Don't worry, Luke. We will be there soon," reassured Rados before continuing their sprint in silence.
