Hi Guys!
So I left home for work before 6 this morning, and stumbled in after six, had some fun with friends, and then managed to finish this….. Tada!
What did you guys do today?
Also, apparently I always mix my i and e around in thief/thieves… damn that’s a lot of fixes.
Subjugation.
In the small room in the labyrinth, there are six thieves. Their levels aren’t too high. Four of them in their 10’s, and two in their 20’s.
Can a party like this make it to the 12th floor without being attacked? I don’t think so at all. The maximum party size is six, so it would be six vs six it there were six opponents. It would work out to one vs one fights.
Even if they catch me by surprise, I should be able to slaughter them all. If I counter-attacked desperately, the difference of two people shouldn’t be bad. Then I can take my time looting.
If I’m cornered, I could probably get out of it with reckless violence. The thieves are a cool headed bunch, that lay in weight to attack someone in the labyrinth. I don’t think these six could rob people on their own.
Is their attack power divided? Do they have more members somewhere else? They probably aren’t ready since it’s early morning. They’ve already lost the chance to make a surprise attack.
“xxxxxxxxx” “?”
A thief says something, but I don’t understand since it isn’t in the brahim language. When I look confused, a Lv28 thief approaches me.
“Good morning. The boss room is through there. We are going in after we take a little rest.”
He gestures for us to pass on his left. He is the one with the highest level among the six thieves. He seems to be able to speak Brahim.
I watch, and enter the room. The thieves split up.
Oh crap. It looks like a move they’ve trained at beforehand. The thieves move quickly, and spread through the room.
We weren’t really surrounded. It was more of a cautious distant circle. They can’t tell me not to be cautious, because they are doing the same.
It’s difficult to quickly kill the thieves. It would be a fight with unnatural movements.
What will happen if a fight starts? Their level is low, and I can probably kill two of them straight away. I’m not sure about a third person. By the fourth person, it would be impossible to catch them off guard.
If I fight in this room, Sherry and Miria might also be drawn into a one vs one, as well as Roxanne. I don’t think that I’ll lose, but I can’t say for certain that I’ll win without losses. I should avoid danger as much as possible. Can you hear what the thieves are saying quietly.
“Thank you.”
We moved left where the thief gestured. Thieves were standing in positions to block the other passageways. They don’t show an appearance like they are about to attack.
I see.
I understand the thieves strategy. Of the three directions, aside from the way we entered, one must lead to the boss room like the thief said. Otherwise there would be no point in putting a trap here. There are probably more thieves waiting in one of the directions.
It’s a good strategy. Even if there are six thieves waiting in this room, without [Analyze] you would just think it was a regular party taking a rest. If strong people come, and they don’t think they can win, they just have to let them past to the boss room. If someone who seems weak comes, they guide them into the trap.
Did they decide that I was strong? Or easy prey? Should I have let Sherry & Miria wear misanga’s in a flashy way?
When I pass by the thieves at a distance, they look behind me. They are smiling in a vulgar way. Are they aiming for the women?
I want to punish them, but I shouldn’t make my move here. Maybe I don’t seem like an easy mark.
The door opened, and we went into the cave to the left. There’s nobody. The cave just continues forwards.
“…they should die.”
Were the thieves only looking at Roxanne and Miria’s chests? I agree with Sherry.
“There are three or four people around the bend.”
Roxanne at the back, catches up to me with quick steps and reports in a whisper. Sherry, be pleased. I will destroy them.
Is it a pincer attack from the back and the front? It’s a good strategy for a thief.
They seem to have decided that we are an easy mark. Maybe they were just blinded with greed looking at Roxanne’s chest. It’s like scattering bait.
“They are thieves. Fighting them is inevitable. Roxanne, the front. Sherry, the back. Cover Miria, keep her behind Roxanne. I will fight the thieves, you give priority to defense. I’ll move around freely, don’t try and keep up with me.”
I take the copper spear from the item box, and exchange it with Miria’s wooden shield. The spear should be good against thieves. I’m glad I kept it in case it was useful.
We moved on to the bend. Roxanne shakes her head a little. The thieves seem to be a little further on.
I went around the bend. There are four people at the edge of the cave. Bandit Lv24| Pirate Lv67| Thief Lv48| Explorer Lv42
All of them are very high level. Especially the pirate, he’s amazing. Bandit, it’s the first time I’ve seen one. Is he their main fighting force?
It would be annoying if we are caught up to from behind, so we advance at a jog. Four people spread to block the cave. Three in the front, and the bandit Lv24 behind them. Is the bandit their leader?
“Did you think there was a boss?” “Sorry, but it’s us thieves.” “xxxxxxxxx”
The men ahead make jokes. One person doesn’t speak brahim, so I’m not sure what he said. Because Roxanne doesn’t react, it probably doesn’t matter anyway.
As for the explorer, was he threatened or join them unwillingly? He might just be corrupt as well.
Thieves behavior is pretty bad. Even without [Analyze] you could probably tell they are thieves. If I try and time a surprise attack, it would probably be advantageous.
From the back, the six people from just before have caught up. The thieves surround our back and front with ten people.
“If you leave the women, we will spare your life.”
I see. It’s not a surprise attack, so they think there is room for negotiation. They’ll take less damage if they don’t have to fight. If you are sandwiched from the back and front, some parties will give up.
But the possibility of thieves letting someone live, and leave, is zero. I understand that. It must have been difficult to find this place, and it would be impossible to use again if they let someone go. But a decision like that is hard to make when you’re surrounded by thieves.
“All of you, drop your weapons.” “…you can at least go with your life.”
There are ten enemies. Four of them have a considerably high level. One party might be an easy victory for them. Normally.
“One brave man in the complicated puzzling labyrinth.”
I ignore the thieves, and utter an incantation.
“It’s impossible to escape, this cave is coated in cover cement.”
The explorer thinks I’m a fool. Of course they’d think about that. When they finally got someone in their pincer, if there was an explorer the party could just escape.
If they use cover cement, [Field walk] can’t be used. Cover cement must have the same effect against [Dungeon walk]. If so, it would be impossible for a party to escape.
“Dungeon walk.”
I ignore their advice, and say the skill name. I say [Dungeon walk], but use [Warp] in my head. A black wall appears.
It is possible to use [Warp], even if there is cover cement. I rushed into the wall.
“Shit, dungeon walk was supposed to be unusable.” “xxxxxxxxx” “It’s just one person that ran away, the women are still here, what a stupid bastard.” “Who’s a stupid bastard?”
“While hearing Roxanne’s voice, I thrust in with Durandal.” I was at the back, and stabbed into the bandit Lv24’s neck. I moved right behind him with [Warp].
From the place I appeared, I had a perfect shot. Durandal struck right where I wanted it. In a single blow, the bandit Lv24 falls. Because of the falling sound, the other thieves notice the situation.
“Shit, what happened?” “Kill them all!”
It will be hard to fight against everyone at once. Between Sherry and the six thieves at the back, I made a [Fire wall].
“There’s another one. A wizard is hiding himself somewhere.” “xxxxxxxxx”
The thieves panicked. I can’t block the whole cave with the fire wall, but it helps. Sherry’s spear is waiting to thrust into them.
The main force of three people with high levels head to me. It’s a good decision. Because I moved, these three are in a position sandwiched between us now. This brings the advantage to us.
It’s also convenient. If they come to me, Miria’s danger decreases. How should I defeat these three now?
Large scale attack magic isn’t usable on people. I can use single target magic on them. I can’t use other magic until the [Fire wall] burns out. Still, it seems I can use bonus incantations.
The wizard job is out, but the bonus incantation is a different matter. If I make some distance, I can use the bonus incantation. If possible, I don’t want to use it, but I don’t have that luxury.
When the thieves approached, I use [MP full release] towards the man in the center. The single purpose attack magic from the bonus incantations.
The pirate Lv67 explodes. The man in the center of the three thieves blew up suddenly. His equipment is left behind, but he literally exploded.
“Wha…?”
The movement of the men to either side stopped for a second. The pirate next to them had exploded. They can’t help but stop.
I hold back the feelings that are welling up, and desperately continue. I can’t miss this chance. I don’t want to do anything, my mind is a mess, but I still wield Durandal. The neck of the thief Lv48 who had stopped for a moment was cut without difficulty.
I can feel my MP getting recovered. It seems I can absorb MP from people. I hold back the feelings of wanting to run away, and continue on.
The explorer who was next to the pirate had also stopped moving. There’s spray from the pirates body sticking to the explorer. He needs a little time to recover his thoughts.
The recovered MP is suppressing the hopeless emotions, and I continue moving my arm. My sword flies towards the explorers neck.
More MP is recovered. It’s enough for another luxury. I used [Warp] again. I came out behind the six thieves.
“You can’t escape.”
I called out to the thieves from the back. I open my item box, and take out a strength pill and a restore pill. I tossed them into my mouth as I took off. You can’t go through a long war without recovery.
“xxxxxxxxx” “xxxxxxxxx”
The six people try to argue, and charge towards me at once. Though the [Fire wall] just disappeared, there are three people over there including Roxanne. Over here there is just one. Naturally they will try for the exit on this side.
But, it’s not a good idea. They probably haven’t thought of it. There was a [Fire wall] between the six thieves and Sherry until just now. I use the [Fire wall] again without incantation as the six people come.
The first thief took some awesome damage, and was beheaded by me as he was startled by the fire that appeared behind him. The second and third thieves ran directly into the [Fire wall]. I’ve recovered some again, but the MP used might have nearly instantly killed me. The fourth thief half enters the fire, and then jumps sideways panicking, and is cut down by me.
The fifth thief only touches it a little, and then jumps backwards. He falls on his backside. Is there only one person that got off safely?
“I’ll take you down a bit.”
Roxanne and the others are there. The safe person turns, and tries to make distance. I advance forward. Towards the thief who fell on his backside..
I’m nearly in range, I take a great step forward and aim for the neck of the thief who fell on his backside. The standing thief stabs at me.
It’s a good idea for the thief. If my sword wasn’t Durandal. A normal sword can’t cut off someones head so easily. When I try to cut the head off, I might get stabbed to death.
But, the sword I am using is Durandal. I easily cut off the head of the man who fell on his backside, and continue the swing into the side of the man coming to attack me. He loses his momentum, and I avoid the attack.
I draw the sword back, and then push it into his stomach at full force. Then I slowly pull it out. The thief collapses.
“Master!”
Roxanne rushes up.
“Is everyone alright?” “Yes.” “Roxanne and Miria, please confirm that there are no thieves who ran away. Sherry, please help collect the intelligence cards, I’ll need something to wrap the hands up so you can cut some clothes off the thieves..”
It might not be over yet. I gave instructions to the three people immediately. All the thieves we were able to confirm should have already been defeated.
In addition I used magic with no incantation, I also use [Warp] and [MP full release]. If someone saw it, I would have to dispose of them. Roxanne and Miria head towards the small room that had the six thieves.
“It was a wonderful fight.” “Thank you.” “You should collect the hands quickly.”
Sherry started working with indifference. I cut off the thieves hands. I piled them up on the clothes Sherry had cut off.
It seems I did it just in time. When I cut off the hand of the bandit, he disappeared as he was absorbed. The equipment is left, and the body is absorbed by the labyrinth. The body of the bandit sank into the floor in an instant.
The other thieves bodies disappear as well, one after the other. This is how the labyrinth digests a person?
“I don’t think there is anyone who escaped.”
Roxanne and Miria came back.
“I see.” “It was an amazing fight. As expected of Master.” “Thank you. I’m glad that Roxanne and the others are safe an uninjured.” “Yes.”
None of the three seem to have been injured. I was most worried about them being hurt. This is the best result.
“The thieves weren’t able to do much because of the [Fire wall] you made. Thank you.” “xxxxxxxxx” “Miria also says that it was amazing.”
Even though I’ve just hacked up the thieves, these three don’t seem to be avoiding me. Originally, these three were the ones who instigated this.
When I count the hands, there are eight. The explorers hand will not have a reward, so I do not take it. The hand of the pirate who exploded because of [MP full release] was not able to be collected. It seems to have dispersed with no remaining pieces of the hand.
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