《Mage's Rebirth》22. Culling
Advertisement
The Silver Bees decided to take a back seat in this fight, which didn't surprise me.
Judging by their style, they would be culling members rather than keeping the entire crew together. It wasn't a common occurrence certainly, but the Silver bees seemed like the kind of team who would do such things.
I would assume they were going to make the culling after this fight. If any of the members couldn't pull their weight against the beast. They certainly weren't worth having in even more dangerous situations, for instance, against the Shaman and even more so against the Chief himself.
They were right to be cautious with the team. Once again, the archers proved less than useless. If they had better accuracy and managed to hit some of the Brute's weak points, then they would be extremely useful additions to the squad.
However, as they were, they were nothing more than dead weight that did more harm than good. Their arrows flew in all manner of directions hurt our side more than the Brute. Hampering the frontlines movements as they had no idea where the arrows would be flying.
It was quite amusing, actually. The Brutes appearance also brought out the one member of the named that might even be worth a damn in the future.
Yiren had been quiet since the attempt into the dungeon started in earnest. He hadn't done anything more than he had to against the Elites and had otherwise been a substantial enough role player up until this point.
Now seeing that the Silver Bees had fallen back and weren't going to be intruding on the battle, he decided it was up to him to lead the squad to victory against the beast. In doing so, he revealed that he had some skill in leading and considerable skill in combat.
It wasn't too surprising considering his lineage that he would have had some skills. It took some considerable power to reach the seventeenth level. One would have to be a competent body refiner to be able to handle themselves.
The man's blade tore through the Brutes hide with ease. It seemed the simple looking blade was a bit more than he was trying to let on. His experience shown through even more when he began to order the other members of the squad around. Orientating the other frontline members to stop the Brute from moving away and avoiding the attacks, getting the archers to actually contribute to the fight.
Advertisement
Surprisingly enough, he didn't ask anything of me. Despite his chattiness and friendliness earlier in the day, it was clear he could easily separate and be very professional when needed.
I was on this run for one reason only. Until that point, they weren't going to needlessly waste my mana. Even the worst warrior had that drilled into their head, even more so for the people who had no abilities other than to get hit. Which composed nearly half of the people in the group, the archers very much included.
The Brute was soon whittled down thanks to Yerin and his strikes. It seemed Scout was leading patrols away from the group. Otherwise, it wouldn't make any sense why we hadn't been met with another patrol during the fight. It had taken far too long before Yerin had finally taken control.
"Excellent, all of you besides Yerin and Mage are free to go. Thank you for your assistance to this level. Here are your rewards."
Leader chose that moment to make an announcement that was met with significant disagreement. With any other team, they would be let down to the fifth floor consistently. No matter how they performed, it was always useful for those teams to have an extra few bodies to face the Chief's abilities. Obviously, the Silver bees had no such issues.
She sent out several purses, obviously used to it. A simple glare from her killed off most of the arguments.
Striker decided to step in and be the friendly face of the party.
"We are sorry, but we are planning to go a little deeper than the fifth floor, and we were just gauging who would be able to tag along. You are all free to complain about us to the guild.
I was honestly surprised by how blatant they were.
"That's news to me. You could have been more forthright on your plans to descend further than the fifth floor."
I decided to step in. I figured being a little antagonistic wouldn't hurt, mostly since I had never thought of going below the fifth floor within the next few days. I had done only basic research on the enemies we would face there.
The silver Bees would be a great team to have around for future dives, so I wasn't going to say no, but It wouldn't hurt to get a little higher percentage out of the ordeal.
Advertisement
"Yes, we have decided that with the team we have now that we can face the boss on the eighth floor. It will still be putting our lives at risk, so you are free to leave. we are willing to alter the share of the rewards past the fifth floor if you prove worthy of a greater share."
I was impressed that she could turn it back to me so quickly. They really had been trained very well. A simple nod was all my response.
I was a bit surprised they wanted to take on the eighth floor. It would put us up against a powerful boss for minimal rewards.
The rest decided that it wasn't worth the risk of offending what was sure to become a powerful delvers group if given enough time and luck. Some of them even thinking they might even be able to build some goodwill towards them when they came back stronger.
I had doubts that any of them would actually be able to reach that level within any reasonable length of time.
They certainly wouldn't be able to keep pace with the group's improvements if my past life was anything to go by. Yerin, meanwhile, might have a chance to be with the group long term. I had been careful not to change anything too much.
It wouldn't replace someone who would eventually be the cause of finding the secret zone. That would be the opposite of what I would want.
Yerin, it seemed, had already been fated to meet them. He had been part of the group before they arrived. If he didn't join the group for good after the run, he would certainly be handy to know. Sammy would need to make his dungeon team at some point if he wanted enough resources to truly become an influential figure in the outer ring.
I had also made sure that they picked up the same number of people they were planning before I showed up, not taking away their chance for fate because of something stupid I did. I had even thought of avoiding them for that reason. The lure of what they found on the twenty-seventh floor was far too much to bear. I didn't want to let a chance like that go.
The new group continued through the floor. With the Silver Bees now actually being active in the fight, we swept through any opposition with ease. The two sisters ripped through the Brutes' shoulders with ease, taking away all movement of those limbs from them.
Then both Scout and Yerin struck simultaneously, Scout cutting the back of the Brutes legs sending it to its knees, then Yerin finished it off with a strike to the neck. It was a very clean way to dispatch the enemies extremely quickly. Yerin seemed to fit into the group dynamic perfectly.
After we went through a few of the patrols, it became second nature to dispatch the enemies extremely quickly. Yerin seemed to fit into the group dynamic perfectly. All four of them made up an extremely deadly team for the lower levels. They would have no issues with anything till the fifth floor apart from the Shaman itself. Even with the Chief, they would be able to deal with it as long as they had some planning and powerful gear with them.
They weren't Body refiners yet, which did surprise me. But their gear would be able to bridge any gap on the lower floor.
Now came the moment of truth for them, how useful would I be for them?
Mages willing to delve were rare and usually went down into the dungeon for the first time with a group of fellow mages once they were in the second year of their magic studies. After that, they were liable to go around with a little more arrogance. They rarely deigned to join any team that didn't already have a mage in it.
I was an enigma to the Silver Bees, now was the time for me to shine. The battle with the Shaman was fast approaching. Now I could see how I dealt with working with a team.
Advertisement
- In Serial6 Chapters
The Echo Realms: Through the Stones
Gemma is a happy young woman with a simple life. As a jeweler's daughter, she doesn't want for much, and her sleepy town is well protected, verdant, and a great hub to meet strangers with interesting quests. But growing rumors of what's going on in the Tennison Manor just at the edge of town soon prove to be more than that, and in an instant, the peaceful world explodes. The mundane, including any hint of the human world, has vanished. Gemma's family and friends find themselves twisted into elves, dwarves, warforged, tieflings, orcs, and other creatures and beings previously thought to only populate fairy tales and children's stories. With sudden access to magic and new threats once restricted to imagination, Gemma is forced to confront her family's dangerous past to make sense of this new world. The Echo Realms is also a homebrew D&D 5th edition podcast set in the same world, but a different time. This is a submission for the Royal Road Magazine Contest.
8 144 - In Serial11 Chapters
Trust No One
Liberty Gray is excited. She finally has a chance to catch a killer! Octavio is nervous. What if the killer goes after him or his family? Milo's job just got more complicated. Why do they have to find this killer? Corey is worried. The kids being there was his fault, wasn't it?
8 109 - In Serial37 Chapters
Master's Vampire (Book 1 of The OutCaste Series)
Evelyn, a Disabled vampire, slowly learns about feelings after being bought by her Master as a gift for his human mistress........"Hate to break it to you when you're smiling like that, but Evie, you're awful at dancing," he said bluntly as he goes in for a dip.I follow his lead and bend a bit backwards. "Dancing requires trust.""Then I guess we have a lot of improving to do together," he said with a grin as he pulled me back up.Delusional.But I can't help grin. And I also can't help but get used to his toothy one.
8 191 - In Serial19 Chapters
mine and my destiny (minyoon)
Dimana kau sebenarnya? Aku akan menemukan mu dalam keadaan hidup atau mati sekalipun.Kembali lah pada ku!!!
8 105 - In Serial56 Chapters
Finding Sunshine (Sope)
Yoongi doesn't have much faith in finding a romantic partner. His track record with relationships has not been good. It's gotten to the point that he feels very insecure, thinks there must be something wrong with him that pushes people away, and believes he'll be better off alone. Yoongi's inner walls of rude behavior and pretend lack of emotion can only be taken down by the right kind of people. When he meets Hoseok on a blind date, he's skeptical of why someone so cheerful can accept him. Slowly but surely, Hoseok breaks down Yoongi's walls, only to reveal that he has a protective shell of his own.Soft Sub Top YoongiSoft Dom Bottom HoseokCover made by @airconditionrBest Ranks#1 in Yoonseok (October 6, 2020)(October 19, 2022)
8 322 - In Serial20 Chapters
MOMENTO MORI, baron zemo
❝YOU AND I ARE UNDERGOING THE INEVITABLE TRANSFORMATION OF LIFE INTO DEATH.❞Baron Zemo x OC / TFATWS AU© offallenangels[ONGOING]BOOK 1 IN THE "MORTIFER" TRILOGYAWARDS#122 in marvelcinematicuniverse tag#11 in zemo tag
8 113

