As they prepared to venture into the dungeon, Lord Lugard gathered his team around him, their faces lit by the flickering flames of the campfire. "My Lord, what plan do you suggest we use before heading into the dungeon?" Chris asked, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Lord Lugard smiled, his eyes scanning the group. "Currently, we are six people able to use high based magic - three mages and three Brawlers. So, might I suggest that the conjurers protect the augmenters while fighting?" The group nodded in agreement, their faces set with determination.
As they discussed various strategies, Ace watched them with wide eyes, his mind racing with excitement. He had read so much about magic beasts, but he had never seen one up close. The thought of finally encountering these creatures sent shivers down his spine.
Lord Lugard's voice brought Ace back to reality. "Colt, you are a lemon core Tier 3 Brawler and will be the pinnacle of our attack." Colt nodded, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Guwen, on the other hand, is a lemon core Tier 3 Brawler but you will be the pinnacle of our defense, being that your affinity is earth and a protective type at that."
Guwen smiled, his eyes gleaming with pride. "It's nice and admirable to see that the Lord himself acknowledges my specs."
Lord Lugard nodded. "Xavier and Chris, you are both lemon core Tier 1 mages and will act as our wings on the right and left." The two conjurers nodded, their faces set with determination. "We can surely do that," Xavier said, while Chris added, "Yeah, you can count on us."
Lord Lugard turned to Ace and Keshawn. "I, Keshawn, and Ace will act as the body of this attack. Keshawn is a lemon core Tier 4 mage, and I am a Gold core Tier 1 Brawler With the both of us holding this battle formation up, we can take control of the dungeon while keeping Ace safe."
The group agreed on the strategy, and soon they captured an intact deer, which they killed and ate. As they finished their meal, a huge flow of wind passed, carrying a lot of pressure. After it blew past, a light appeared at their back, emitting a huge amount of mana.
"There's the gate," Lord Lugard said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "With this sensation, it's at least a B-tier gate, just like the Sorcerer Supreme said."
Guwen frowned. "So what if it's a god-damn B-tier dungeon? We didn't come here just to be sent back by a mere dungeon, or did you?"
Colt grinned. "I like that spirit, Guwen. We advance. Ace, don't fear, I'll protect you."
As they entered the dungeon, they were met with an entirely new environment. The soil was purple, and mineral cores of diverse types filled the soil. The sky was red, with blue clouds, and the environment was bursting with many mana particles.
"Seriously, I can only sense a huge amount of fire mana particles," Chris said, his eyes scanning the area. "And majority of our affinity deals with flame, meaning we are at an advantage."
But Lord Lugard's expression turned serious. "My Lord, why don't we go back? We haven't gotten far into the dungeon, and the aura this dungeon gives is off and quite dense. I fear it may be an A-tier dungeon, and our manpower is not enough."
Keshawn patted Colt's shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face. "You've got nothing to worry about, actually. Our manpower is not even enough for a B-tier dungeon."
Colt's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, but we have one of the Empire's Lances, the Lance of Destruction and Calamity, Lord Lugard, leader of the Imperial Knights."
The group began to walk further into the dungeon, covering themselves with mana. Roaring sounds could be heard from a distance, and the sound grew louder by the second. They were met by numerous monkey-like creatures who descended from above, attacking and jumping back up to the trees.
"We are being attacked by C-rank Babobs," Keshawn shouted. "Very nasty creatures who can make any sound come to reality. Their major affinity is..."
Before Keshawn could finish his statement, they were covered by tree vines, restraining their movement as the ground they stepped on became uneven.
"Their major affinity is plant and earth, as you've seen," Keshawn said, conjuring up numerous flames that burned the vines.
The group fought bravely, using their unique abilities to take down the Babobs. Lord Lugard walked to their center, conjuring a small flick of flame that ascended up to the trees, forming a massive explosion. The fire power was so intense that all the tops of the trees were burnt up in an instant.
Numerous blobs of water were unleashed towards them from within the dungeon, but they managed to evade all the shots with diverse barriers.
"Seems like we've been spotted," Lord Lugard said, his eyes scanning the area. "Get ready for battle."
They rounded up together, protecting each other's blind spots. From the top of a higher-leveled ground than the one they were on, they saw numerous dragon-like monsters, about 12 in number.
"What are those?" Ace asked, his voice trembling with fear.
"Ace, get behind me," Lord Lugard said, his eyes fixed on the monsters. "Those are Egras, C-Tier magic beasts. And it's quite shocking to see so many of them at once."
"Usually, in C-Tier dungeons, they go alone and will normally kill their kind who got in their way," Keshawn added. "Earning them the title 'The Lone Predators'."
Lord Lugard nodded. "Colt, Guwen, charge out! We will cover you, just like in the plan."
Colt and Guwen, the two augmenters in the group, held their weapons and charged forward. Colt wielded a sword, while Guwen wielded an axe.
As they fought the Egras, the group used their unique abilities to take down the monsters. Xavier was covered with metal from head to feet, his physical traits enhanced. He jumped off the ground, landing a hit on the wings of one of the Egras.
"I'll help you finish it off," Colt said, releasing numerous slashes from his sword covered in flames.
The Egras took to the sky, flying around the humans and unleashing fireballs that descended from the ground. Lord Lugard released a huge storm of fire that ascended, killing about three Egras.
The surviving Egras descended swiftly downwards, trying to use their claws to kill the humans while evading their attacks. Xavier conjured up numerous wind spears that pierced through the scales of the Egras, successfully eradicating four more.
Chris conjured up a lava beam that knocked down another Egras, dealing damage to the wings of another, which fell to the ground. The injured Egras was slaughtered by Ace, who took advantage of the situation.
The last two surviving Egras ascended very high in the sky and unleashed a fire and water cannon that descended down towards the humans. They descended behind their spell, using the opportunity to unleash slashes created with their wings, dealing damage to the humans.
"What was that just now?" Colt asked, his eyes widening in surprise. "Not until now, they've just been big targets."
Lord Lugard nodded. "Either way, we need to stand our ground. Everyone, spread out and fight individually. My shield won't hold too long."
As soon as Lord Lugard dispelled his attack, he conjured up a large flame beam upward that almost hit the Egras, who evaded it but became disoriented.
Guwen took advantage of the situation, covering his axe with metal as it expanded just before it came into contact with one of the Egras' heads. The attack bound the head of the Egras in place, though metal whips that emitted from the side of the axe, allowing for easy annihilation.
Colt was covered in a flame that incinerated all that came into contact. He covered his sword with the flame just before slashing the head of the other Egras, which was about to protect its fellow species from death.
"We did it," Colt said, a triumphant smile on his face.
But their celebration was short-lived, as they soon heard growls echoing like that of a thousand wolves.
"Hoo, come on," Guwen said, his eyes scanning the area. "We just finished a battle, and now another?"
Xavier swiftly scanned the area, noticing three wolf-like creatures with white tails.
"Prepare for battle," Lord Lugard said, his voice firm. "Those are Udons, B-Tier magic beasts. Unlike the Egras, who are vicious because of their flight skills, the Udons are actually deadly."
A huge blast of water was thrown towards them by one of the Udons standing before them. They managed to block the attack, but the Udons vanished, yet the growls they made echoed in the region, making the humans feel uneasy.
"Soldiers know one thing," Keshawn said, his eyes scanning the area. "The Udons are wolves of three main affinities: fire, lightning, and water. But even at that, they have the ability to vanish and hide their traces."
"That will make them even stronger," Guwen said, his voice laced with concern. "Since they can evade easily and attack a person's blind spot, how deadly."
As they began to run deeper into the dungeon, they stumbled upon a different environment, with dark soil and broken mineral