It didn’t escape Nick’s notice how much things had changed since the last time he was near a dungeon.
Back then, fighting was mostly about survival. If he didn’t act, Floria would have been overwhelmed by the waves of monsters pouring out from the Green Ocean’s depths, and he only fought whatever creature blocked his path.
It would have been fair to say that the fight with the Moss Oni was hunting them, rather than the other way around, which was happening now.
As far as he knew, Grumblers were lesser kin of Oni, as they almost never crossed into Prestige, due to their preference for idleness, yet they were still more dangerous than any hobgoblin or troll. Their naturally powerful bodies, combined with low cunning and innate sound-based magic, made them deadly opponents to the unprepared.
Their party composition was not well-suited for facing such a creature. For one, they lacked healers, which were almost essential for tackling monsters with wide-area attacks, and they lacked the coordination needed to avoid getting in each other's way.
Back in the forest, Nick was able to set up a ritual against the Moss Oni only because his father had led Floria’s men into a perfect dance, distracting it while sacrificing their lives.
There would be none of that now. Yet, Nick wasn’t at all worried. [Empyrean Intuition] had long since allowed him to reach into the depths of the cave, and he knew everything there was to know about the monster they’d been told to hunt.
He also knew about the trap that awaited them once they finished fighting it, if they came out victorious.
I would hate to be my enemy. I almost never get caught off guard, and I always have countermeasures ready.
It was a little unfair, but Nick couldn’t say he cared much. He’d worked really hard to earn those advantages, after all.
“So, how do you want to do this?” Monte asked, casually flipping what Nick was pretty sure was an unreleased stiletto knife.
So, he's some kind of assassin class, then. I was curious because it’s pretty rare for a noble to have such a class, but I guess not everyone has the resources to guarantee a specific outcome from the Ceremony, and it’s not bad enough to warrant a retry.
“We need to draw it out,” he answered, staring into the dusty depression. The cave would have been a perfect spot to confront such large beasts, but considering the Grumbler’s sonic magic, it would quickly lead to a messy death.
I’m fairly certain I could stop most of its magic just by controlling the air, but it’s probably best not to push my luck, especially since there’s another one of those beasties lurking deeper inside, and whatever it’s wearing around its neck is obviously meant to control it from afar.
It was a more advanced plan from their enemies than he initially thought. He couldn’t sense anyone nearby who might be piloting the Grumbler, which indicated it was a long-range device. Definitely not something that could be given to just anyone.
It might be a trusted ally, but I lean more toward thinking it could be someone from House Hone.
"So, how do we draw it out?” Malik asked, quickly adding “milord” when Monte turned to look at him.
“Mmm, I guess we could just make some noise. Grumblers are very sound-sensitive. It should come out and check it out,” the young assassin said.
Nick shrugged. That was as good a plan as any he could devise.
“Plug your ears,” he said, slowly lifting his hands to show he was about to do something.
The others quickly obeyed, each using different types of body enhancements to withstand whatever he was about to unleash.
Nick smirked, somewhat pleased that they appeared to be taking him seriously after being underestimated for so long. I guess being an Archmage’s apprentice has its perks.
Channelling just a fraction of [One with the Storm], enough to evoke the feelings of summer thunderstorms and the howling winds, Nick slammed his hands together, and a thunderous crack echoed out, directed toward the cave with a touch of wind manipulation.
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The sound was loud enough to shake the earth beneath them, and even with the skills they had activated, the two adventurers groaned in discomfort.
Luckily for them, he didn’t have to repeat the performance because the Grumbler heard him loud and clear.
The roar that echoed back from inside the cave was just as deafening, and Nick got the first look at how the monster’s natural magic worked.
The sound arrived like a wave, but unlike the slow tides he was used to controlling, it was more like a tsunami: an abrupt, violent disruption to the world's harmony that the air could only surrender to.
Nick still managed to significantly reduce the damage it would have caused if it had gone uncontested, but it was clear that pure wind manipulation wouldn’t be enough to withstand the Grumbler’s sound magic, not if he didn’t want to hunker down and start layering spell after spell.
Anger and pride flared in the Grumbler’s signature, indicating it had noticed his interference.
That was perhaps even more fascinating than the attack itself, and Nick promised himself he would find another one of these creatures and study it properly once he was away from prying eyes.
The Grumbler emerged from the cave with more caution than any other goblinoid he had seen, eyeing them with unwavering precision. In the sunlight, it was truly quite ugly. Its massive torso weighed heavily on the shorter legs, which nonetheless were made of powerful, corded muscles. Crooked tusks jutted from its maw, and long, thick nails curled from its hands, shimmering with a faint layer of mana that made them hum softly, and Nick suspected, would allow them to shear through any human as easily as butter. But the most noticeable feature of all was the elephant-like ears that extended from its head, reaching up to its midriff.
Beady black eyes locked onto him, and Nick decided not to mess around too much. There was a deep-seated hatred of humans in the Grumbler’s mind that told him this fight would be less fun than he’d hoped for.
Considering its mate's condition, it shouldn’t be surprising. I won’t prolong its suffering, then.
The [Shard of Human Ambition] materialized in his hands, releasing a soft pulse of power as he pushed mana into it, and all hell broke loose.
The Grumbler was clever enough to realize that its appearance signaled serious danger because it didn't hesitate to swing its claws at them, releasing a compressed wave of sound that Nick knew would cut through steel.
Monte disappeared, light-footed like any experienced ranger, and tried to take the monster out from the back while Nick held its attention.
The two adventurers raised their defensive skills, aware that attempting to dodge an attack that could move several times faster than they could was futile.
And in the midst of it all, Nick slammed the butt of the Shard on the ground, and his will was made manifest.
The [Lightning Bolt] that erupted from the gem at its top was several times brighter and denser than anything he had been able to summon so far. It sliced through the sound blades without slowing down and slammed into the Grumbler before it even realized its attack had failed.
The monster was sent flying back and slammed into the side of the hill with such force that the earth beneath their feet shook.
Pure shock rippled through the ether as every observer processed what had just happened. Nick, however, didn’t slow down and waved the Shard, summoning a gust of wind that roared around him until it formed into a dozen [Jet Streams], which hummed with contained power.
He sent them off with another twitch, and they slammed into the Grumbler, who was just then beginning to pull its charred and broken form out of the crater.
The wind's screeching as it tore through its flesh was loud enough to startle the others into action, but by then, it was already over.
The entire fight probably didn't last more than half a minute, and by the end, Malik and Yvonne were just starting to realize he had full control, making cowering unnecessary.
The System didn’t award them anything, since it didn’t say “participated in the defeat.” Their presence was never considered a factor.
The stunned looks they directed at him made Nick’s lips twitch with amusement, but he didn’t let them distract him and sent a whisper to Monte, easily finding him hiding in the rubble despite the stealth skill he had used to cover his form.
“Wait there, more is coming.”
The assassin twitched in shock upon being found so easily, but obeyed the order, allowing Nick to begin setting up the field for the next battle.
Low thumps echoed from within the cave until another Grumbler appeared. This one, however, was at least twice as big as the other, but more importantly, it had a spike chain around its neck, which released something very similar to the magic Nick had sensed from the dark dwarves.
He even recognized the metal as Shadow Ore, one of the northern enemy's most common materials, which clearly indicated the artifact had been taken from a battle in the mountains and smuggled south.
This discovery alone is worth a lot. The Hones are leveraging their position at the forefront of northern efforts to benefit themselves, and it’s not just for fame, as many believe. I’d wager that many monster-related accidents in these lands are a result of these activities, especially after the Tower Master eliminated all the tides released by the dungeon.
Mind Magic wasn’t easy to decode because of its very nature, happening entirely within the brain of the subject, but Nick could see chaotic emotions rise within the Grumbler that had nothing to do with the death of its fellow.
The roar it released as its eyes fixed on him was much more powerful than anything so far, and Nick cast [Crest of the Thunderbird], easily covering the other two within its protection thanks to the boost from the Shard.
Monte, however, was not so lucky and took the worst of it, but a blue flash from within his pocket signaled the activation of a protective artifact, which caused a shield to briefly flicker to life around him and kept him alive through it.
To his credit, he tried to make the most of the situation by jumping down the rubble and extending his stiletto. He drove it into the monster’s neck in what could have been a fatal blow, only for the chain around its neck to glow a sickly yellow and release a pulse that sent him flying backwards, saved from its effects only by the reappearance of the blue shield.
But the Grumbler wasn’t done yet, even as it bled freely from the open wound. The chain had sent another pulse into its mind, instructing it to do something, and it obeyed doggedly, closing the distance between them in one great leap, and coming down upon [Crest of the Thunderbird] with its full weight.
The golden shield held easily, but then it opened its tusked maw and let out its roar straight into it.
“Alright, enough,” Nick spat as the waves crashed into his magic, seeking any weakness to pierce through and tear flesh into pulp.
Since the damn thing wanted to give him such a direct path, he didn’t hesitate to summon all his annoyance, along with the great deal of anger and pain that echoed through the ether all around him—some of which he’d caused, some of which was the chain’s fault—and released it as a [Spirit Crunch].
The staff's crystal radiated a bright purple glow before releasing the spell that obliterated the Grumbler’s head.
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