Vol. 13 - Ch. 744 - Altar Dungeon Exploration: Monsters Comes in Wave!

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At long last, we began the final stride of the apex intermediate-rank dungeon, «Twilight Altar Dungeon».

Why was it called the strongest dungeon? There were many reasons; one being what I had iterated back, that carriage was useless here. 

Well, to be precise, they're not completely useless, but the sum benefit of using it was as good as zero. The main reason was lack of any 'route' thereof, with the sole exception being the route connecting the dungeon entrance to the first Altar.

"Hmm, we've come here a couple times already, but I still can't make heads or tails out of the structure."

"Truly. It's a pity I also can't use my «Carriage»."

Lana uttered the instant we arrived at the 40th floor, her shoulder dropping in disappointment. Ester added to her thoughts. 

Just then, the altar before us—which looked identical to the one on the 1st floor—began to glow with a faint, ominous light from its magic circle.

"—! Not a time to chit-chat much, eh? Here they come."

"Hn... *20* monsters."

Sierra issued the warning, and Karua notified us of the total number of opponents.

Indeed, out of the glowing magical circle, a group of 20 monsters had appeared. All of them were the monsters we'd at least encountered once in other intermediate dungeons so far.

The monsters this time were from the lower floors of «Demon Dungeon»—«Ogre» type and «Cyclops» type. 

This was precisely the reason why this dungeon came to be known as «Battle Tower», and why there were no paths here. The entrance to the next floor, though Altar would be a better term, would only appear when we'd defeated all the monsters in this altar. 

To iterate further, each floor had a special humanoid monster called «Evil God Devotee». They're like summoners that would summon monsters from intermediate dungeons. You could also say they’re your typical cult recruiters. 

They'd be hidden at first, but show themselves once you wiped out all the minions. The entrance, too, only appears when they're defeated. 

Of course, it was easier said than done. Fighting a small group was already a challenge, and here, you'd face tens of them together. Furthermore, they come in waves, so you'd have to go through them first before finally challenging the Evil God Devotee. 

The strength of monsters varies depending on the floor area; floor 1 through 10 would've monsters from intermediate-low dungeons, floor 11 through 30 would've from intermediate-mid dungeons, and floors 31 through 50 had monsters from intermediate-high dungeons. 

There was just no other way, but to survive this gauntlet for forty-nine floors. This was why «Carriage» had no use here. The setup made it impossible to use «Carriage» for "roadkilling."

The challengers would've obviously cleared other intermediate-high dungeons, so of course these monsters weren't particularly strong, but a whole horde could be tricky. Besides, these group battles were most taxing on MP, occasionally forcing the party to retreat. 

That’s where, MP potions weren't just suggestions for this dungeon, but mandatory.

But on the bright side, the experience reward was amazing, making it a pretty nice spot for levelling. The drops at the end also made all the trouble worth it; many of the equipment that dropped here were strong enough to be serviceable in even advanced dungeons. 

That’s why I was pushing for this clear. Once we beat this place, the advanced dungeons were basically within arm's reach!

And so, we engaged the horde.

"I'm starting with AoE taunt, and cover skill. —«Shield Force»! «Quad Aegis of Virtue»! «Cover Shield»!"

"First, we must prune the numbers! Focus on the big ones! «Shine Lightning»! «Lightning Burst»! «Thunderbolt»!"

"Alright, so the usual, huh! «Greater Blessing of Sacred Demon»! «Blessing of Guardian Dog»! «Sacred Shining Saber»! «Sacred Sword»! «Rise of the Divine Tree»!"

"Very well. «Legion Charge»! «Legion Thrust»! «Raging Spear Battle Dance»!"

"Hn, just like last time. «Ice Mist»! «Mega Ice Slash»! «64 Force»! «Starburst Rain Edge»!"

Straightforward tactics performed better here. 

The experience from earlier floors had everyone knew their role like the back of their hand. 

When against the horde, the obvious was to focus on bringing the numbers down. It was the golden rule. Had it been another place, it would've been utterly inefficient to bash the mobs with our best skills, wasting MP, but in this dungeon, it's the only way to play. 

If anything, a horde like this was precisely the situation you'd want to use the AoE magic. Imagine steamrolling through the horde of monsters with a mere burst of one area wide spell. The sense of omnipotence in that moment was the best.

Sure, this strategy meant we'd be chugging through MP potions like water, but that was trivial against the ease it provided. 

The first onslaught of our best skills wiped at least half of the monsters from the floor, leaving behind mere rags.

"Good enough. Karua, Ester, we're switching to meelee. Start with the lowest HP monster."

"Understood. I will take the right then."

"Hn, then I left."

"Well, that means the spotlight is mine. Also—leave the one alive!"

"Alright!"

"Nya—."

We split up with a quick nod. I engaged three monsters in the center, Ester took three on the right, and Karua handled two on the left, while Lana picked off survivors with single-target spells as her cooldowns reset. 

We left the defense entirely to Sierra’s autonomous shields. This had become our ironclad strategy for this dungeon.

"BUOOOOOH?!"

"GAAAAAAH!"

The monsters fell one after another. We managed to whittle the group down to a single survivor without taking any significant damage ourselves. Now, it was time for a breather.

"Everyone, recover your MP! If you’re low on health, have Lana patch you up. I’ll keep this last Ogre busy."

At my word, the rest of the team gathered near the entrance gate at the edge of the altar. I was the only one left in the fray.

"Let's play for a while, shall we? —«Guard Rush»!"

While I sparred one-on-one with the «Ogre,» the rest of the party focused on recovery. Now, there might be question marks popping over the head, but there was quite an easy explanation for this.

"We're done with recovery, Zephyr-dono."

"Alright, then time to bid goodbye—«Quick Strike»!"

"GAAHHH—?!"

As soon as the signal from Ester went up, I unleashed my two-hit skill, reducing the «Ogre» to mere luminous particles.

I didn't wait to watch it disappear; I immediately spun on my heel and sprinted back to the gate to join the others.

Instantly, the altar glowed again, warning the beginning of the 2nd wave. 

In a way, this dungeon was just like «Martial Hall»; another monster appeared the instant the previous group had been defeated. 

"Hn, «So-Nya»! Same, 20 monsters."

"Easy enough. Zephyr made it back in time, too. The moment they spawn, we blow them away again."

"Indeed, Lana-sama. My skills are also out of cooldown. Ready to fire at command."

Karua announced the next number of opponents, Lana pointed forward with a confident expression, and Ester leveled her spear. 

Once it was clear the challenge comes in wave, the obvious thing to do was to setup ambush. We'd retreated to the gate to avoid the friendly fire.

"They're here. I will group them together—«Aura Point»! —Now, attack everyone!!"

It was the repeat of a previous battle; everyone launched forward the instant they got the cue. 

With our skills out of cooldown, and HP & MP completely recovered, the 2nd wave was no different than 1st. We blasted them away in a flash.

We kept the same beat throughout the first four wave—the lower region had five waves each floor. And for the fifth wave—

"It's the field boss!"

Our opponents for the final wave were two field bosses, «Greater Demon»—it took the vanguard—and «Evil God Devotee Wight», a summoner that positioned itself behind the «Greater Demon».

We'd already defeated them last time, so honestly it was slightly annoying to fight them again when magic circle was supposed to be our shortcut. Alas, such was the rules here.

While feeling a bit bummed inside, we marked the «Greater Demon» as our first target to focus.

With our targets in sight, we lunged forward to take down the Greater Demon first.