Ace lets out a long-suffering sigh and shakes his head at Kellinger’s answer. “Whatever, as long as your secrets aren’t a threat to our settlement. Anyway, I see one of the toadies that popped up like toadstools after we settled down. Likely they want my opinion on some unnecessary nonsense. Gods, I hope they all leave. I know some amount of paperwork is needed to keep a place like this running but they take it too far and want me to praise them for it.”

“Far as I am concerned the settlement can run on two rules that I read in a book once. If it harms none, then do it. You must act to protect the weak from the strong. Bam! There are the rules. Want more platitudes from me? I got an important one that so many people don’t seem to realize, though it fits under the other two. Your freedom only extends as far as to not affect others. Now time to skedaddle before they catch me. Come on team, in we go.” And Ace grabs Jack’s arm then pulls him through the portal. The two are soon followed by the rest of the team as the sycophant spots them and looks just a little too happy to have found most of the founders in one place.

Once inside the dungeon Ace stretches out and laughs. “Goddess bless, I have been under way too much stress as of late. Now Ruby, Jeremy, and Jack have all been through this first floor so they can guide us through it. Pay attention to the kobolds, though. I want to know how much trickier they have gotten.”

Ruby nods, “The first floor shouldn’t be a problem for us. You’re a decent nature-based melee mage so the vine room won’t cause a problem. Though we don’t have a designated tank at the moment which might be bad on the second floor if it exists.”

She turns to Bill and Tess who are in a world of their own and she sighs. “Hey lovebirds, can either of you work as a tank? Jack is too offensive focused to do it.”

Bill shrugs, “either of us can do it though my cute little sugar puff here is better at it.”

Tess shakes her head, “no you silly! For this sort of thing, you’re the better choice. My staff is the best defensively one on one but there are multiple enemies in here. Your clubs will let you block more effectively even if it doesn’t have the range.”

Bill is about to disagree and praise Tess some more when Ace interrupts. “Got it, Tess you lead us into rooms and once the fight starts switch out with Bill. With all the goats being able to stop their charge at a greater range is preferred.”

Ruby shakes her head. More than enough meetings had gotten thrown off by the couple until Ace had realized the first thing both talk about is the most important bits. Another shake of her head and she claps her hands. “Okay people, time to get a move on!”

The team then proceeds to steam roll through most of the first floor. The kobolds in the vine room even try to run away from them. Ace puts a stop to this as he dashes forward and slaps the two of them back towards the group. They try to stop themselves by grabbing onto some vines, but that proves to be the wrong decision. With a flash of green light, the curse Ace had placed on them when he slapped them goes off. All the surrounding vines animate and tie up the kobolds, ending the fight.

Ace groans, “well I guess they are a good bit smarter. I bet they could tell that we outclassed them and the duo wanted to retreat to the kobold room.”

After that, the group only stops when they reach the berry room. Even that is just so Jeremy can harvest everything. Room stripped bare, the group gathers up and readies for the last major fight of the floor.

Ruby scratches out an outline of the last two rooms in the dirt. “From what the last group has told us the number of monsters hasn’t changed. There is still a goat, a trio of melee kobolds, and two casters. A healer and an ice caster. Last time I was through here the melee advanced forward. This lets the more stealthy types sneak around the side and gank the supports.”

“Be prepared for this but that pattern has apparently changed now. They might send the goat forward, but otherwise the melee stays back to defend their mages. That means the ice caster can attack us while they all get to chill behind cover. I can counter the magic, but that leaves us at a stalemate.”

“Jack, I want you to charge forward while I cover you. Ace, team up with the couple. They will advance at a more defensible rate while you cover them from any stray magic. I want them to not realize you are anything more than a mage. Jeremy, do whatever you think is best. I plan to stay near the trio but behind Jack. With this plan, even if they still have the option to advance, they shouldn’t.”

The group position themselves and go to charge into the room. Of course no plan survives contact with the enemy and they hit a stumbling block right out of the gate. Quite literally as Jack steps on a stay vine that was positioned across the room's threshold. He can hear a quiet snap as a thicker vine rises off the floor.

Jack trips over that vine as he tries to run into the room. His concrete mace makes it impossible for him to catch himself, forcing him into an awkward roll so as to not faceplant into the floor.

The rest of the group is able to avoid this trap but any thoughts of charging in have left their heads. A pair of ice shards fly over at the grounded Jack, but from outside of the room Ruby puts together a fire shield spell at the last second. The shield can barely absorb the first shard and the second shatters it, but this is enough as Jack uses the time to roll out of the way.

Another volley of ice comes along and Ruby shields Jack again. But she had misjudged the situation. Instead of targeting Jack, it aims the ice at the rest of the party who have entered the room. Luckily the ice is aimed at Ace, who had prepared some emergency options.

As Ace dodges one shard he slaps a woven bark wristband which instantly expands into a wooden buckler. With that buckler he is able to deflect the other shard giving Ruby enough time to catch up with the situation. Now steadied, she takes up what might be the only part of the plan still going forward as she counters the next spell before it can reach them.

Ace shakes his head, “Jeremy, you’re on trap duty. We can’t slack on that anymore. A trip vine isn’t bad, but who knows what else might be around. Bill and Tess, you both guard Jack as he gets up and then the four of us will advance on their position!”

Jeremy slips to the side as Bill and Tess step up. It wasn’t needed as Ruby was on the ball with countering, but better safe than sorry. Now ready, they start to advance on the kobolds. The closer they get the harder it is for Ruby to counter the spells on time and so she has to focus on the more dangerous attack.

Of the few ice shards to slip through, Bill is actually the one to keep the group safe. His two clubs blurring around his body as the system-provided strength allows him to meet the shards head-on and not be pushed back.

They reach the first stalagmite and Ruby ducks behind it for cover as she provides spell support. At this point Jeremy pops up next to them and gives the go ahead. He had spotted no other traps in the room.

Encouraged by this Jack charges forward again and reaches the melee kobolds. His muscles strain as he hefts his concrete mace directly at the closest enemy. It clips another stalagmite but instead of slowing down the mace smashes through it blowing shards of rocks at all the kobolds. The strike hits and his target goes flying into the back wall where it dies.

A point blank shard of ice comes screaming towards him, but Ace spins in from the side with his buckler raised. The impact forces him back into Jack, but the shard is redirected away from the party. Jack steadies him as the couple come up from behind him as well.

The pair flows around the next obstacle and Bill goes low, his two clubs knocking the last two melee kobolds down. Tess comes in from up top and knocks the goat silly. It had tried to charge in from the side but slides to a stop only a pace away from them.

The group is tearing through the kobolds, but not quickly enough. In the last room of the floor, the kobold leader notices how badly the fight is going and shrieks. Ruby turns towards the door at the noise only to see the leader’s four goats charge out at the group. Alarmed, she alerts the group that, “the leader and pets are joining in!”

Hard for them to miss, especially with how the four goats are faster than any of the others they had fought. Ace steps up and slams both fists into the ground. In front of the goats a field of vines erupts from the ground which tries to tie them up. With the time this buy Ace fires off a quick analysis spell and he frowns at the results. “The new goats are all level two! I don’t know what the last kobold will be like, but we need to be ready.”

Jack curses and exclaims that, “it isn’t fair that we have to struggle against enemies a fourth our level!”

Jeremy laughs, “levels mean nothing except having had more time to grow strong. Stats and paths are all that matter. I could have killed you as you are now when I was ten. Now brain some mage types so we don’t have to worry about losing a war of attrition. Their healer already got the other goat up again.”

Jack grumbles at this but with Bill’s support he does just that. The melee kobolds are being held up by Tess and so he barges past them. With a twirl of his mace an ice shard is shattered and completing the swing he brings it up over his head. The healer kobold tries to escape but Jeremy throws a spike piercing its foot and stopping it in its tracks. The kobold doesn’t stand a chance to survive when taking the concrete mace head on. It crashes down through its body like a bolt from the heavens.

At this moment the leader kobold enters the room. Seeing her healer being downed, she lets out a sad hiss and tightens her grip on her mace and shield. With a steady purpose she advances towards the group. There is an invisible momentum building up behind her movement as the mace and shield both seem to change. They stay the same, but the shadows on them seem to be thrown into a sharp contrast.

First she reaches the vine field that Ace has been channeling. As those vines coil around her legs, she swings the shield down and bashes the ground in. All around her the vines shred, unable to stop her. Ace meets her at this point and he blocks a swipe from her mace with his buckler.

This wasn’t the best plan as the shield started to shatter under the force. To absorb more of the force, he hops backward with the hit while channeling mana into the shield. This is barely enough to save it and his arm as he slaps into the wall and gets the breath knocked out of him.

Akhier

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