DCO- Dungeon Core Online

Chapter 28

The fiery Djinn roared to life in what James felt was a bit more dramatic than the normal summoning ritual. Fire erupted outwards from the circle, swirling in reds and yellows, to blues and even purples and greens, climbing higher and higher in a tornado of color. From within, the twenty foot frame of the might Djinn took form. His obsidian armor glow with an inner fire, while flames wreathed his ankles and wrists, flickering in spurts here and there elsewhere across his body as well.

At his waist, his two ornate scimitars waited patiently, though his hands were already resting on their obsidian pommels, the djinn eager for battle. His las conflict had been on the snow covered fifth floor, a duel to the death against Sergeant Jenkins. Compared to that epic confrontation, what he was being thrown into now likely seemed… anticlimactic.

“It’s about time you called forth my might again,” Ifrit said in his deep, bellowing voice. He moved his hands off his blades and crossed his arms as he looked down at the party. First at James, then Rue, whose gaze he held for but a second, before he looked over the others. Ever since Rue had rudely doused him with sour goat’s milk, Ifrit had been somewhat intimidated by her. Which would be funny, when you considered the twenty-foot giant was afraid of Rue’s five-foot whatever thin frame. Anyone foolish enough to think that, had never truly seen Rue’s angry side.

“Are we working to farm easy kills for my next ascension?” Ifrit asked as he then looked over the battlefield. An almost bored look crossed his face. The way the Djinn evolved usually included not only acquiring a set amount of kills, but also landing a certain amount of critical hits, gaining experience, and other secret factors. The Djinn had a set evolution path it wanted, and it only occasionally told James what those parameters were. Their relationship, though it was closer than before, was still being worked on.

“Amongst other things,” James said to the Djinn. “This is a harder, improved version of the first floor. The base mobs are level 50, instead of level 10, and they’ve a new array of dangerous skills.”

“Which is why you’ve called forth my awesome might.” The Djinn punched his right fist into his left palm, the force sending a blast of air and flames around him. “And I once again get to fight beside the mighty Knights?” He grinned at Oak, who waved up at him. Oak had been looking forward to Steve, because the developer was a tank class. But even still, that didn’t mean he wasn’t excited about Ifrit joining the fight. The Djinn was an off tank, meaning he drew aggro at a similar rate to Oak. However, instead of relying on a high defense stat and health pool to survive the damage, Ifrit relied on life steal and heal buffs that James could apply to him, as well as speed buffs and an array of flashy, rapid movements, that increased the creatures dodge ability. Oak was a bulwark on the battlefield. Ifrit was a storm of blades and fury.

“We figured you’d want to join in on the fun.” Rue spoke up, “and after your brave sacrifice against Sergeant Jenkins, you’ve more than earned that much. Everyone here witnessed your final stand, and it was nothing short of inspiring.”

If Djinn could blush, James was pretty sure Ifrit was.

“Point me towards our foes,” he said, pointedly looking away from Rue, “and let my blades consume their spirit for battle.”

James nodded towards Rue, and she triggered her sanguine bond on James. The skill linked her to him, allowing her to use his health pool, when needed, to empower spells. James in turn, used his own skills to apply a basic stack of buffs to Ifrit, getting his party of three prepared to aid the Knights Who Go Ni for what was to come. The mobs weren’t of a level that would make them a legitimate threat. They all knew that. But still, it wasn’t their levels that would be the problem.

What made the new first floor dangerous, was the skills. The debuffs from the Swiners were nasty, and could quickly sap a player’s stats, as well as drain their hp if not cleansed. Then there were the scapegoats, that now had a wide array of taunts that all applied different debuffs of their own. While dealing with those, there were of course the dickens, armed with long range attacks and gap closers that could easily take out a back line player, such as a healer or powerful magic dps, if they weren’t careful.

All off those mobs though, weren’t the ones James was most worried about when it came to the basic mobs on this floor. They could all be dealt with, even in a chaotic matter, without presenting a danger that the mighty Knights Who Go Ni couldn’t handle.

What he was really worried about, and by worried, he meant eager to see in play, were the Sacrificial Lambs. Never had he thought the term wolf in sheep’s clothing fit quite as well, as those cult loving sheep.

“Any preference on which group we go after first?” James asked Z, nodding to the open expanse of farmland that spread out before them, teeming with threats for the group to take on. There was no sign of Old Man Jenkins yet, nor the special hay pile that housed Hokey Pokey. The latter, James knew, was right next to the big red barn, though it was too far away to see properly. As for Old Man Jenkins, James wasn’t quite sure. The boss had the ability to roam on the entire floor, but often liked to hide within the twenty-foot-tall fields of infernal corn.

The crop that was always in high demand, as it served as the basis for Fireball whiskey. James was pretty sure the AI for his first-floor boss had noticed players always rushed towards the field, seeking to earn extra coin through gathering quests for the valuable crop, and he enjoyed ambushing them. Which, of course, increased the danger of harvesting the crop, and therefore, increased the reward and incentive for players to get it.

“Flip a coin?” Z said with a shrug, as he pulled out a gold coin. The coins, technically, didn’t have a heads or tails side. He fixed that in a moment, offering the coin out to Badgey, and likely offering him a mental command at the same time. The badger scratched one side of the coin, marking it.

“Scratched or smooth.” Z said as he tossed the coin deftly in the air.

“Smooth,” Rue said immediately, before James could even open his mouth. When it came to games of chance… Rue had a problem.

The coin hit the ground, and true to her self-proclaimed assignment as the Goddess of Luck, the coin’s smooth side faced them. She grinned, as if she could read James’s mind, and pointed to a group of mobs in the distance. “How about we start with the sheep?”

It would see the sheep weren’t the only wolves disguised amongst them.

“Sounds good to me,” Z said, oblivious to the fate Rue had just sent them towards. “Let’s go take care of Mary’s little lambs, shall we?”

And with that, Z and the Knights made towards the sheep, singing, at the top of their lungs, a song about black sheep and wool, as they went.

“You’re evil,” James whispered to Rue, as they followed the group. Ifrit had moved to the frontline and was cheerily singing along with the Knights. How the AI knew the song, James had no idea.

“We both know why I did it,” she flashed her devilish, sanguine smile towards him, her red eyes sparkling with mischief. “And we both want to see all we can of the floor while we’re here, before we get down to business.”

James’s excitement tempered, for just a moment. She had a point. There was a good chance this could be their last time running through the dungeon. And if that was the case, well, he wanted to see firsthand as much as he could. And worst case scenario, even if the party wiped, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. Because, he and Rue both knew, failing in git gud mode, only applied a penalty to when you could join in the hard mode again. Even if they wiped, they wouldn’t be locked out of the dungeon, and they’d be able to dive right into the higher floors, as planned. This run right now, really, was about blowing off steam, and getting prepared for what came next.

“Sacrificial lambs aside,” James felt his own devilish smile grow, “I’m really hoping Old Man Jenkins will grab Hokey Pokey.”

Rue punched him playfully as they followed the group. “And you say I’m the evil one.”

“Where do you think I learned it from?” He countered, and their laughter fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the Knight’s singing, as they marched, very likely, to their own doom.