The next dungeon of the morning turns out to be the exact opposite of what Laura hoped for. An underground cavern system filled with Kobold miners. On the bright side, there are plenty of natural resources available.
[Scenario: Fall of the Kobold Mines] attacker selected, adjusting the difficulty.
[Target Level 189 Selected]
[System Notification: Area limited to 25 Group Members]
"So they weren't joking about limiting the dungeons to stop you from breaking them? We might have to do stuff ourselves. Plus, it will kill the experience gain." Mythryll complains.
"Give me a moment to try something," Cain calls his Oath Breakers but merged into two bodies.
Then the same with a pair of Wrath Bringers and Lamia Scourge Casters. If the limit counted total summons, they would have been locked out, but they're still under 25 actual bodies, with most of the army already here. He calls a dozen copies of Mythryll in two bodies and four of Kone to take care of healing duty, also merged into a single pair including their copies of Su.
"There, that's most of them. Companions, merge with your Bonded Forces, my skill should still count them for experience sake, but the dungeon doesn't count them against our 25 body limit."
"Why me this time?" Mythryll asks trading pokes with herself.
"Underground your Vines should be extra effective, reaching around corners and able to blanket rooms. So, with them merged, we should be able to keep the Kobold forces from circling us or running away to fight later."
As they move into the caverns, they cross multiple choke points, low areas with narrow passages designed to keep large enemies out. Cain dismisses the Wrath Bringers for them and calls them again on the other side, but the Oath Breakers prefer to run on their lower four arms and their legs, head dangling upside down with their top arms forward to attack. The effect terrifies the Kobolds, and they're often fleeing even before restraining Vines can be cast to catch them.
[Scenario Clear: Defenders Routed]
[Restrictions Lifted]
[Level Up]
"Excellent. Now I can call the puppets to mine this place empty. There's so much good stuff in here." Cain rubs his hands in anticipation of the Smithy Shop's response to the influx of materials.
With eighty level 16 Puppets at work, the extraction goes smoothly back to the mine entrance where they started. They collected a small mountain of material, primarily ordinary metals, but they also got a massive collection of Jade and gems from various levels.
The furniture makers are over the moon with joy. Jade furniture crafted by Dwarves is one of the most prized items in most noble households. It's hard to get enough matching material to make an entire set, but with all of this, they can make dozens. Not to mention the fist-sized rubies and emeralds.
[I would say we're rich, but we already were.] Cixelcid jokes when he sees all the material passing through the Guild Bank and to their crafters.
[It only counts after you craft and sell it. Until then, we're just rock collectors.] Dimnys jokes, looking over the assortment of Mythril weapons and Legendary Armor she has created lately. Sold, it's worth hundreds of thousands of Gold. But until then, it's just filling up her storage room.
"I must say, that went particularly well. But I do feel we're working entirely too hard lately. I know you said you needed to get some levels in a hurry to avoid assassination attempts, but multiple dungeons a day is a lot of effort." Mythryll gripes as they finish transferring material to the Guild bank.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but you can ditch if you like. There's no immediate need for everyone to level up. Even afterward, if you want to accompany me to the western side of the continent, there's no need to be higher level at first. With the summons involved, we've got the upper hand on anything that isn't too far above my level."
"It's not like I'm that far behind anymore. After that dungeon full of level 189 Kobolds, my level skyrocketed. At this rate, I'll get to all the good skills in only a few more days of hard work."
Nila smiles as she gets an idea. "How about a nice vacation cruise once we're done? There are many great vacation spots down the coast if we head east then south. We will be able to visit the Landis Kingdom, then the Elves in the far south, both of which have amazing tropical beaches, before crossing over and seeing what is going on beyond the central mountains. We heard in Assah that the whole side of the continent is in chaos and civil war so we could find the situation to be almost anything."
"How long of a sail is that?" Mythryll asks, excited about the idea of a vacation at sea. And it should be a real vacation since they can use summons to crew the ship.
"If we go all the way around, roughly three months? We could do it in one, but then we'd have no time to stop and see the sights or trade goods."
"Excellent idea Nila. How about I try to get close to level 180 before we set out? We're bound to find something along the way to earn some experience. But at level 180, I will have all my basic summons tripled, which might give me an additional skill. There was a hidden one when I got all of them doubled." Cain lays out his plan.
Misha leans up against his side with a soft smile. "Works for me. Another dungeon then?"
Mythryll is happy to see the pair finally being publicly affectionate. It might be baby steps, but she did promise to help her friend with moving her relationship forward. She hasn't had to do much, lately Cain has become more assertive, and he's beginning to take charge himself, just like Misha hoped.
The Puppet Master didn't say anything about his trials earlier, but maybe the Seraphim helped him adapt to his new species or gave him relationship advice?
The Elf is still thinking about that when they head back into the dungeon, getting an unusual notification.
[Battle of Vermont Selected] Choose a side to determine restrictions.
None of them have ever heard of the place before, much less the battle. At least, not in this world. That makes picking a side somewhat tricky, as they don't know what restrictions they will face.
"I say we attack. We don't know what we will be restricted to, but I'll adapt once we see them." Cain says decisively, and the others see no reason to disagree.
[Attacker Chosen] Winning Conditions: Human and Demon forms only. Numbers unlimited. Twelve hours they are allowed to capture Vermont before reinforcements arrive. The battle begins in 2 minutes.
"We can work with that. Fortunately for us, Mythryll can take Demon form with no breaks. I'll merge with most of the Companions and release Vala to fight." When Mythryll transforms, and the non-Demon Companions are merged, the barrier between them and the dungeon begins to shine with a green light.
"Mythryll, call your trees, see if they violate the restriction." They don't, nor do the Vines; the light is still green.
Cain calls for Lamia, Wrath Bringers, Oath Breakers, then Plague Mages as his Sorcerer type summons and Demonic Spiders as his Agility type Bodyguards, a form learned from defeating Gillibrand. The spiders are really rather cute. The size of an elephant and furry like a tarantula with dozens of red glowing eyes, their pink and gold coloration still makes them look somehow non-threatening.
Misha calls her [Summoned Helper], which the Interface calls a Herald, the human-sized bird-headed Demon with the blue wings and a flaming book. She then chooses to merge with her pair of Record Keepers and call out Lamia and Wrath Bringers as the summons she is granted as a Lieutenant. They're Greater and Epic in Quality, the same as the ones Cain calls, so it only made sense to expand the numbers.
Now all that's left is for Cain to triple their numbers and see what sort of form Ancient Resistance gives him by default for demons.
The Proto Dragon was pretty awesome, though the Seraphim looked ancient. It's not like they show it in their faces or body, but their coloration has changed over time.
Cain selects the ability with his eyes closed, wanting his new form to be a surprise to himself. He can feel his entire body changing and wings forming on his back as the ability takes effect. The feeling is unnerving like something is crawling beneath his skin, making subtle changes instead of the massive expansion of the Dragon.
He can hear clapping begin as the transformation ends, so it must be an impressive one. Cain slowly opens his eyes and looks down at himself, thinking he's ready for anything.
