Chapter 25: Where Oaths Go to Die
--Chapter 25--
Title>> Where Oaths Go to Die
Ding!
[Player Priya: Sword Sentinel Lv. 8 Defeated!]
[EXP: 400 – Accumulated to party.]
[Bonus: Oath-blade Fragment [1/3] Added to party pool.]
The notification of the Sword Sentinel’s demise was like food for the eyes and music to the ears.
But even as Priya grinned at the disappearing miasma of the creature’s body, Xavier and the rest of the party didn’t lower their guard in the slightest.
Because the battle was far from over. By all means, they set their sights on the next target.
The Shield Sentinel.
But the Shield Sentinel didn’t move an inch. It simply kept its large black shield raised, yet there was no one left to protect.
Right now, it was without a purpose, just as Xavier had predicted.
With the plan playing out perfectly, Dex, who was next in the sequence, needed no reminders.
Twang!
The tension on Dex’s bowstring released and, in the blink of an eye, the arrow whistled across the gallery and buried itself beneath the dormant Shield Sentinel’s helm.
The impact rippled through the gap between the Sentinel’s helm and gorget.
Without further ado, the Shield Sentinel grunted as black miasma burst from the wound, leaving behind nothing more than an empty husk of armor and shield.
Ding!
[Player Dex: Shield Sentinel Lv. 8 – Defeated]
[EXP: 400 – Accumulated to party]
[Bonus: Oath Shield Fragment [1], Copper Coins ×200, Added → Party pool]
"That one was mine," Dex insisted, jumping down from one of the stands.
Xavier and the rest of the party ignored him. It wasn’t that they disagreed with him, but they would rather not argue about what was obvious.
This was because the battle itself wasn’t over. Not by a stretch.
Another pair of Sword and Shield Sentinels already stood waiting behind the throne, both knight-like creatures with four menacing purple orbs glowing behind the narrow slits of their visors.
Priya’s grin widened at the thrill of the kill, even as Timothee took a deep breath.
"Again..?" Juo asked, turning her head toward Xavier, who had already taken a seat on one of the benches.
"Yeah... sure! You already know how," he waved them off.
Without waiting for his assistance, the four of them sprang into action, using the same strategy.
It was as if they wanted to prove to him that they had really figured it out.
While the party fought the last pair, Xavier watched from the sidelines.
His eyes stayed on the party interface, keeping watch in case they required his help.
[Health Bar: 220/220]
[Mana Pool: 100/170]
Xavier’s health bar was still brimming with life.
His mana pool, though respectable, was steadily draining.
The constant casting was beginning to take its toll. That was why Xavier had decided to play it smarter because, unlike everyone else, he had his own reason for coming here.
And accomplishing that goal required both the right skill... and enough mana to carry it through to the end.
Swords collided, fists crashed, shields blocked, and skills were cast.
But even while Timothee, Dex, Priya, and Juo fought to bring down the last pair of Sentinels...
Xavier noticed something else.
Timothee had already burned through nearly half his mana pool.
Dex wasn’t much better after continuously firing arrows, though he didn’t exactly have the largest pool to begin with.
Priya had barely spent any mana, which made perfect sense.
Then there was Juo.
"...Hmm."
Her mana bar had barely moved.
For someone who was supposedly the party’s mage...
She had spent almost nothing since entering the dungeon.
Even amidst the battle, she noticed him watching and instinctively hugged her staff a little tighter.
In truth, it was a good quality, especially with how difficult the Boss Floor was going to be.
But it was also something worth keeping an eye on.
This level of precision was usually reserved for players who paid close attention to everything...
...and everyone.
"Thank God it’s Medium," Xavier said inwardly.
Ding!
[Stage Two – Hall of Broken Oaths: Cleared!]
[Party EXP Bonus: +15% for Full Party Clear]
[Total Stage EXP: 1840 Distributed]
[Party Pool: Ash Runner Fang ×13, Copper Coins ×800, Ash Runner Fur ×6, Oath Blade Fragments [3/3], Oath Shield Fragments [3/3] – Undistributed]
The sight of the rewards made Xavier smile.
It wasn’t that the loot itself was particularly impressive.
It was simply enough. Especially in the early game.
Though nothing inside the loot pool really tickled his fancy.
It was the boss’s impending drop that had his blood pumping in anticipation.
"We did it, Master Xavier," Priya announced, an unmistakable smile on her face.
"Yeah... you did. I’m proud of you," Xavier responded, his thumb running slowly across the dusty bench.
Priya’s cheeks reddened as she lowered her gaze to hide it.
Timothee and Dex were just as excited.
Xavier couldn’t blame them.
Back in the real world, defeating a Level 8 creature while you were only Level 8 was already no easy feat.
So for Level 5s and 6s to pull it off...
It was definitely something worth celebrating.
Unless...you were a top player.
Or at least a decent one.
Being a top player meant you already knew the tricks around these things.
Something Xavier suspected Timothee, Dex, and Juo to be.
Priya was determined, but there was still a certain greenness to her movements.
She was definitely talented. Just inexperienced.
Ding!
[You have received Experience Points.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Current Level: 9]
[Attributes Available to Allocate: 4]
***
Xavier’s first instinct was to dump all he had into Spirit.
On first glance, it was the obvious choice.
After all, he had expended a fair amount of mana.
And the Boss Floor would demand even more from him.
He couldn’t simply rely on the Wolf-Kin’s Amulet’s minor mana regeneration.
Trying to strike a middle ground with his own thoughts, Xavier decided to allocate only two points into Spirit.
[Spirit: 17 → 19]
He closed the menu and stood up.
The rest of the team was busy adjusting their own templates, but Xavier’s mind was already on the next floor.
Every breath he took turned to mist as he walked closer to the dais covered in names.
The moment he reached its edge...
The cutscene triggered...
The string of names, like the inscriptions of a madman, began to glow.
The light was a cold blue, stretching across the stone like ominous stars.
Then, right before the eyes of the entire party...
Each of their player names manifested boldly upon the dais, one after another.
Hunter X
Timothee
Juo
Dex
Priya
Seconds later, the names pulsed once.
The dais, along with the throne resting upon it, crashed downward violently.
It sank into the ground like a key turning inside an ancient lock.
Less than a second later...
Click!
The sound echoed throughout the Hall of Broken Oaths.
It was followed by a deep, rhythmic breathing...
As though whatever had been sealed beneath was only now beginning to stir.
Xavier turned to the rest of the party.
Surprisingly, they looked more than ready to see this through...
Though their fingers twitched every now and then, and beads of cold sweat had formed across their foreheads.
He smiled, recalling something he had once heard.
"Bravery is taking a step forward... even when you’re afraid."
"He waits down there..." Xavier said, pointing toward the opening before walking closer to it.
A spiral staircase, wide enough for a single person, descended into the darkness.
Colder air drifted upward from below, carrying with it the same deep, unsettling breathing.
***
After one nail-biting minute, the party arrived inside a small cathedral.
Their toes curled slightly against the cold, mirror-like floor.
But it wasn’t the polished surface reflecting them that drew everyone’s attention.
No...
Not at all.
It was the pair of static crimson eyes...
Watching them from the darkness beyond the cathedral.
Vaguis the Bounded.
It had been waiting.
--End Of Chapter--