Free Web NovelChapter 35: Investment 35— Fierce Battles in the Dungeon(Part Four)
Elliot stared at the maximized giant crab with an incredulous expression.
’What the hell is wrong with this dungeon?’
He mused in annoyance. Ever since they stepped foot past the dungeon doors, it had been one misfortune after another.
’Somebody or something has to be behind this. Dungeon beasts just don’t receive insane power-ups just like that.’
Even though he wasn’t a fan of games, he had little knowledge he gained from his gamer friends, and never did they mention a boss or any monster at all getting a crazy buff just when it was about to be vanquished.
And this wasn’t even a game, it was a real-life situation, and yet something so surreal was happening before his eyes (mind you, he was beaten in a memory that wasn’t supposed to be real).
"Edith..... threat level?" he yelped.
Edith’s green pupils twitched underneath her lids, raising her head up from the manual. It wasn’t from fear but pure annoyance and frustration. Her lips forced themselves open, not in awe but pure disgust.
"A-rank Elder Giant Crab...." she exasperated.
Her words came across to Elliot and the ears of the others as a shocking boom. The difference in power between a B-rank Elder and a C-rank Elder was nothing compared to the gap in strength between an A-rank Elder and a C-rank. "Worlds apart" was the only proper way to describe it.
"Ohohohohoho. This is one hell of a big fish to find on the upper floors. I guess the ladies will just have to sit back and watch us men do the work."
Taumus threw his hands behind his neck and shuffled towards the A-rank Elder Giant Crab with a detached but yet somehow excited look on his face.
Seria wouldn’t just agree for the both of them to face the huge crab on their own. "What if my Elliot somehow got hurt? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself."
The very thought worried her more than the threat before them. Just as she wanted to swing her hand over to Elliot, she received a hand signal from Edith. Seria stopped immediately in her tracks, which was the SOS signal created by them during childhood when they were in danger.
"Danger from what?" A concerned thought sprang up in her mind. Edith was very hypersensitive to her environment. That’s why people started to call her the human detector at some point.
Taumus had similar sensitivity and earlier she noticed Taumus whispering something to Edith while everyone was focused on the mutant dungeon gigantic crab.
"Wishing you best of luck." Seria’s hands came together, forming a fist. Her blue crystal glimmering eyes filled with support. "And don’t get hurt."
She shouted with a worried look.
’Awwwww. How I wish I could take a photo of those deep blue perfect eyes.’ ƒгeewebnovёl.com
A wide bright smile formed on Elliot’s face.
"Don’t worry, I won’t." He saluted her.
"I suppose we can leave this to the very able men here."
Deria said with an unusually loud tone. She stumbled on a rock and fell on her butt.
"Ouch!" She rubbed her behind. She had positioned both palms on the sand, infusing some of her mana into the ground, which caused an eruption of sand that led to the formation of a widespread screen of dust that covered them all, including the gigantic crab, making it very hard to see from the outside and within.
"And oppsie!" She sprang to her feet and scrambled over to Edith and grabbed her by the hand.
"You don’t have to be so harsh," she snarled.
"Tsk! Hurry up," Deria hissed, pulling her by the shoulder. They both ran to get Seria.
"Found her." Edith made a sharp bend.
"Hey!" Deria growled. Edith was the one leading the way, and the sudden pull of her shoulder hurt.
"Hehehe." Edith chuckled.
"Why are they—"
Before Seria could finish her statement, Edith grabbed her forcefully by the arm. She didn’t wait to explain the situation to Seria. She opened her mouth wide and called out to Taumus.
"I believe in you, Taumus."
That wasn’t something she would have said to him under normal circumstances (not even if she had psychosis).
Taumus immediately got the message and acted immediately according to the plan.
"11th tier spell..."
His pupils turned bright purple, and the dark circles at their center turned to sharp straight lines like that of a snake. Thick dark purple mana oozed from his body.
His dark shadow extended into a straight line that streaked upon the sand behind him for some distance (at least 4 feet away).
Then it connected to the shadows of Deria, Seria, and Edith. Their shadows erected from the sand and transformed into indistinguishable replicas of each of them.
"Shadow Doubles."
One of Taumus’s special shadow affinity spells that allowed him to duplicate others using their shadows, who had the same looks and behaviors as the target down to their current mana reserve tier.
"Seria, quick, join hands with us. Let’s cast a combo spell." Deria stretched forth both hands.
Edith grabbed onto one of her hands immediately. Well, she knew the plan so there was no need to hesitate. Seria, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded. They didn’t have much time to explain since the dust screen would soon disappear.
Seria knew that they had a valid reason for whatever they were doing. After all, she had known these people almost all her life. They had a kind of "even if you stabbed me in the back, I would still trust you" bond.
Without wasting any more time, she placed both hands onto theirs. Her best friends’ faces beamed with delight.
"Here we go, girls!" Deria smiled.
Each of their mana oozed from their bodies with distinct colors: orange, green, and blue. Seria didn’t know the spell they wanted to cast, but all she had to do was follow their lead.
"Summer."
"Spring."
"And winter."
"United." They clasped their fingers against each other, and their mana flowed and mixed together as one entity.
"Tri Four Seasons combo spell, 15th tier spell—"
Their mana completely vanished without a trace. From their conjoined fingertips down to the soles of their palms, the rest of their bodies and extremities turned translucent. All but their heads remained.
"Luscent Crisons."
The dust screen dissipated, and they were nowhere to be found, just their doubles.
"Where did they g—"
Taumus hit Elliot by the shoulder and whispered something into his ears that calmed him down.
