Once the Obsession Demon has fallen, and the area is relatively safe again, Cain turns to see how Mary is doing. After all, she was very nearly bisected in a half dozen spots only a few minutes earlier. Right now, she's curled up in a ball on the ground, whimpering. Not precisely what Cain had hoped for.
"Mary, it's time to get up and call all your summons again. We need them so everyone can get strong faster, alright." Cain says in a soothing tone, but using [Superior Mental Domination] to plant the idea in her mind, that she needs to get up and get stronger.
He keeps it active while she gets up, and while Misha finally explains to her the importance of maintaining a constant Merger with one of your highest level Summons while inside a dungeon above your level if you want to be safe and push for faster advancement.
Since Mary doesn't benefit from the Guild skill [Benevolent Leader] to let her use Epic Summons of her own, Cain decides to activate the [Ancient Wisdom] ability, granting the whole group one of his skills for the day. [Personal Guard] is granted to every group member, and Princess Paige cheers as she summons a group of Seraphim Inquisitors.
Mary grits her teeth and focuses on the present, with the help of Cain's mind control, and calls for all her summons before also calling Seraphim Inquisitors and Merging with them.
"This ability is incredible. I saw it and that it gave a skill from the merged summon, but the description is so lacking that I thought that was all it did. Having them merged with me, I feel indestructible. Even when you're not here, a few of my Greater Golems will make me much more durable, and I could keep them active all the time, just not out in the open." Mary gasps, realizing just how powerful her class is.
"I'm glad you're feeling better because this run will be insane. The whole group gets that skill, which means all my summons that can cast spells can use it right now. So, in short, there are possibly more Seraphim Crusaders and Inquisitors here in this dungeon than on some of the higher planes right now.
We're going to have to move around some to keep up, but I'm pretty sure we can get another fifteen levels minimum today before it gets dark, even though we're getting closer to the dungeon level."
"In that case, move East as we clear, the Demons in that direction start getting higher level, and it will help a little with the slowing returns as we get more powerful." Mary declares with renewed determination. Cain isn't affecting her mind anymore; she's finally gotten her resolve back after the near death experience.
Or do you call that a short death experience? Post Death Experience? Cain's vocabulary is missing a convenient phrase for having died and then having been immediately resurrected.
The wait in the clearing doesn't take quite as long today, not with so many additional summons. By mid-afternoon, they're relocating East through the jungle towards a location where the Seraphim have identified another cluster of three Temples.
After fighting in the dungeon for a day and a half, Cain has learned a lot about those temples; they're not just a pile of rocks; they've got a temple complex built inside and on top of them. The defenders inside vary, but they've gotten a few interesting drops from here so far, and he's got a decent selection set aside to upgrade his usual gear.
[Cain Has Received An Ancient Quality Item]
Those are never something terrible or worthless, so Cain immediately checks to see what it might be.
[Ancient Pet Collar] Usable by Beast Bodied Species Only.
[Invalid User: Effects Hidden]
Well, that's not a suspicious item at all. Cain tucks it safely into the storage chest full of clothing and out of sight until he decides what to do with it. Cyrene is still a little unstable, so he's not sure what she might think if he handed her an item called a Pet Collar after turning her into a Lamia.
She's the only one of them that can use it, though, except maybe Daisy, but after living her previous life as a concubine, he's not going to create that particular misunderstanding so early.
The notification settings didn't hide that drop, though, and Cyrene has wrapped around his waist, face to face with him, to demand to see the item.
"Please, please? I've never seen an Ancient Quality Item before, and I'm the only one that can use it. You're going to let me use it, right?"
"I don't even know what it does yet. The effects are hidden because I can't use the item. I'll give it to you to inspect, but don't do anything strange, you promise?" Cain says, suspicious of her enthusiasm for the oddly named necklace.
"Not a problem, nothing strange." Cyrene declares, giving him a little salute, and Cain hands the item over.
"Oh, this is good. It can make an ability activate on command, which is perfect for my Visions. They've always been rather random and flaky, and they even missed the ambush earlier. I saw a bit of the fight, the part where you and the Seraphim were winning, but we're in a dungeon, that's expected behavior, and I didn't see the ambush." Cyrene gushes happily.
"Well, if it's that good, feel free to keep it. I'm glad you finally found a way to control your visions to make them as useful as possible to you." Cain congratulates her, petting her head.
"Onward! If we've gotten an Ancient Item drop, there's more good stuff in this dungeon run. Other than the Legendary boots that I already got." Princess Paige laughs.
A Legendary and an Ancient item are already asking a lot of a single dungeon run, even if they're clearing this much, but the Temples all seem to have something good hidden inside them.
They stay until well after dark, clearing the next three Temples, and barely get back to the Royal Residence before midnight, finding Daisy asleep in her hammock, with a lovely dress, designed in layers of green and gold hung from the wall beside her.
