After dealing with the unusual boulders that served as an initial obstacle within this dungeon, Kieran took it upon himself to better situate the team's formation.
Aside from Sera, there were three others members with a healing-type class.
However, Sera was the only pure healer.
Unlike a Cleric, which specialized in delivering healing on a small or large scale, the Priest's other path, the Shaman, specialized in using blessed charm to apply support-buff to the targeted individual.
While some of their support buffs could be applied on a large scale, it was, for the most, part a single-target buffing class. Hence, why Khaos usually had two or three present to augment the strongest DPS on the team.
Kieran didn't exactly disagree with Khaos' way of managing his strike force, but Kieran felt it wasn't the best route for their current scenario.
After all, Khaos' current party composition compensated for the lack of a truly powerful tank, capable of resisting attacks while suffering minimal damage.
Even if one could get their hands on strong equipment, it meant nothing if the tank's ability to mitigate damage and remain alive was sub-par.
As Kieran explained to Bastion before, a tank's true skill was defined by how long they could persevere without constant healing.
Eventually, Kieran had the Shaman assigned to Khaos, Nemean and surprisingly, the last Shaman went to Alice, rather than Kieran himself.
Because of his current possessions, Kieran was almost certain the buffs would be rendered ineffective. At this stage, most support classes could only elevate a player's power by so much. With the effects of the Imprint of Might, Kieran far exceeded their threshold.
Besides, Kieran felt it was better to bridge the gap in their DPS without them paying much attention to him. With Alice's current equipment and the fact she had reached Lv.50 while conducting ample research into Mana, Kieran reckoned his worth skyrocketed in his absence.
'Even though she lacks a Hidden Class, I doubt many could compare to Alice's Elemental Affinity. If I'm not mistaken, her level would be much higher if she didn't ignore the waning need for EXP.'
Once Kieran estimated Alice's current spell power, he glanced down at the center of his chest with a placid gaze.
Thanks to the Imprint of Might, Kieran was confident despite the stipulations of a Hell Mode Team Dungeon.
"Should we make any other changes to accommodate our lack of familiarity with one another," Khaos questioned.
Because he was familiar with the earlier modes, he was extremely cautious. The consequences of dying were truly alarming and if possible, Khaos hoped they could avoid them altogether.
Hence, he was willing to make several concessions if it meant the odds of clearing the quest increased drastically.
"Not necessarily. But before we proceed, I think we should discuss a few matters. For example, me streaming our run once I'm ready and the matter of the end loot distribution. Both of us have things to offer, so I think we should come to an understanding that helps all of us," Kieran voiced.
If he could help it, Kieran would rather avoid a headache later down the line. The easiest way to do so was to have a difficult conversation now and clear the air by making everything known.
Of course, Kieran wouldn't mention anything regarding the dungeon's exclusive items.
Such valuable information wasn't present inside the small debrief screen, so it could lead to everyone questioning how Kieran knew this information.
"I'm willing as I don't have much to hide. As far as loot distribution goes, as long as we can reach a mutual agreement where both sides attain a consensus, I have no qualms," Khaos answered.
"Very well. Although you have triple the numbers, I believe we should be treated as equals, and here's why. One, I doubt you could clear the Insane setting, much less Hell Mode. This already neutralizes your argument of having the advantage in terms of numbers."
"That's true," Khaos admitted, displaying zero intentions to lie about their current predicament.
In fact, when he first reached out to Kieran, it was after he attempted the dungeon's easiest setting.
Unfortunately, even that posed a substantial challenge because the monsters became harder to combat after reaching Lv.50. After all, it was a standard meant to be combatted by players with Advanced Class.
How could one hope to easily bridge the gap without experiencing an Advancement first?
"Very well. You pose a sound argument. Regardless of your background, I'm willing to treat you and your party as our equals. That being said, where are we taking this?"
"I propose an 80-20 split, with the greater portion naturally being yours. However, in exchange, I'd like to request that I choose five items out of the boss's loot. If you're on the fence regarding this request, I can assure you that running with me will result in a great abundance of loot," Kieran said, posing a tempting deal.
His last sentence truly drew Khaos' intrigue.
After thinking back to the numerous announcements, Khaos inferred that Kieran had stumbled across something that boosted his confidence in saying this.
"Very well. I agree to the terms if you can truly increase the amount of loot as you say," Khaos conceded, ultimately deciding to take the deal.
Kieran and Khaos shook on it, which surprisingly activated two Absolutes of Impartiality that flowed into their body.
However, it was not a situation precipitated by the game system. On the contrary, Kieran found the signature of these absolutes to be exceedingly familiar.
'No way…' Kieran inwardly muttered, somewhat bewildered by his findings. He didn't delve too deep into it since it required further analysis, but Kieran felt it was more or less accurate.
Now that they had agreed on the loot matter, Kieran moved on to mapping out how the party will move. "My main tank and sub-tank shall act as the vanguard alongside me. Your class is a Spellblade, correct?"
"Correct… how did you know?" Khaos muttered, looking at Kieran with an incredulous expression.
Kieran chuckled softly and tapped beside his eyes. "I have a sharp pair of eyes. I can see the signs. Neither your STR nor INT are remarkable, yet you administer signs of excelling in both. That's only possible if you have a physical class that is similarly augmented by magical properties. Given your equipped blade, there are only a few classes that fulfill the criteria."
'What sharp deductive reasoning…' Khaos stammered in his mind, overwhelmed by how Kieran "picked apart" his current strength.
As the name sounded, a Spellblade was a mix of a blade user with some properties of a Spellcaster.
However, the caveat of a Spellblade was its sore limitation—the spells available to a Spellblade could only be unleashed through a medium—a blade capable of containing magical essence.
"Anyway, since I have a clear grasp of the party's strength, my formation would be best. Distance isn't an issue as long as we all remain vigilant," Kieran said.
A moment later, he gave a signal to Bastion and Nemean, who returned an apt nod. Kieran wasn't worried about the caliber of Khaos's strike force because it hailed from a genuine Overlord Guild.
They were bound to have sufficient training, which was evident by the way they moved.
The corridor didn't stretch too far, but that didn't alleviate the party's tension or disrupt their focus. After passing through the corridor, the party arrived at what could only be described as the true beginning of the dungeon.
Bastion and Nemean's expressions contorted in disgust as they covered their nose from the putrid stench permeating the air.
"Goddamn! That is putrid!" Bastion shouted, staring straight ahead.
Nemean reacted similarly except he shook his head while speaking. "Oof! It's like some let a good one rip from their ass and allowed it to ferment for years in a grotesque environment!"
The smell came from the broken container scattered through this current area. The containers seemed large enough to hold at least something of Kieran's size.
"They're coming. Prepare," Kieran warned.
At that moment, the many containers rattled and shattered into several pieces that flowed with the introduction of a vile green liquid.
Once the containers shattered, Bastion and Nemean got a good look at their upcoming opponents.
Though there were several types, they all followed a similar pattern—an absurd appearance! While these opponents resembled humans, it was difficult to describe them as such.
At most, they could only be deemed failed experimentations.
「 Lv.51 Failed Experiment: Incomplete Homunculus (Champion)
Humanoid, Experimental Lifeform
Health: 9,700,000/9,700,000, (100%) 」
「 Lv.52 Failed Experiment: Incomplete Homunculus (Champion)
Humanoid, Experimental Lifeform
Health: 10,600,000/10,600,000, (100%) 」
"Whoa, we're facing off against Champion Monsters from the beginning?" Bastion remarked.
But a second later, he cracked his neck and grinned, slamming his shield against the ground. A gust of bluish energy spread throughout his surrounding as Bastion rushed form.
"Symbol of Indomitability: Defender's Fortification!"
The blue aura surrounding Bastion and the Will Armament shield in his possession suddenly grew twice as strong and exuded a stalwart sensation.
BOOM!
Bastion slammed into one of the Incomplete Homunculus that appeared as half a body with grotesque openings and several stitches, with two oversized arms and two decrepit arms.
In this exchange, Bastion lost less than 100 Health, but Kieran noticed something that made him grin.
'I wonder how harshly Altair has trained them for Bastion to begin displaying signs of using that technique naturally.'
The technique Kieran referred to was Redirection, which was naturally the act of a tank redirecting the force aimed at them to mitigate the damage they suffered.
It was first introduced to Bastion during Kieran's brief training experience.
Since then, Bastion continued to hone the technique until he felt his progress was apparent.
Due to the X-hancers, Bastion found that grasping this window became much easier, which ultimately resulted in a higher success rate.
Losing 100 Health against a Champion Monster above Lv.50 without Advancing was a commendable feat.
Nevertheless, within a sea of opponents, defending against one wasn't enough.
All of a sudden, Bastion ducked.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
