〖Note: Hell Ape Gauntlet requires 4.5 Magnitude. Do you wish to proceed?〗
Luke double-checked what he had. 10.0.
The Aspect of Conquest was classified as Simple, with a Magnitude of 10.0. That left 5.5 to spare, so Luke wasn’t sure why the system needed him to verify his choice.
"Go ahead," he said.
〖System Warning: Unused Magnitude will be lost permanently.〗
〖System Advice: Allocate the excess to another armor before proceeding.〗
Luke looked at the notifications and the aspect again, slightly confused. According to the system, he couldn’t just use 4.5 out of 10.0.
Actually, he could, but the rest would waste away. This meant aspects were single-use only.
To get the most out of his hard-earned reward, he had to add another armor to the batch. His second pick was the Bluespine Centaur Chestplate.
When he put them up together, the cost still didn’t reach 10.0, but it was very close.
〖Note: Hell Ape Gauntlet and Bluespine Centaur Chestplate require 9.5 Magnitude. Do you wish to proceed?〗
"What would I have done if it crossed 10.0?" Luke wondered. "Maybe Ancient-grade armor costs somewhere around 4.5 to 5.0 magnitude."
〖System Warning: Unused Magnitude will be lost permanently.〗
〖System Advice: Allocate the excess to another armor before proceeding.〗
0.5 Magnitude was something Luke could spare, but a part of him wanted to squeeze every last drop out of the aspect. Maybe he could forge some armor right now to make up. Basic armor, far from Ancient-tier.
But what kind of armor could he forge without a good reason?
He had no customer orders currently, and his team’s summons were powerful beasts.
Luke bordered between letting the remaining magnitude go until he remembered he could forge armor for any species.
Including humans. And his teammates seemed to be lacking armor.
So, Luke Auto-forged simple sets for the girls that protected vital parts while keeping them fast on their feet.
〖Note: Hell Ape Gauntlet, Bluespine Centaur Chestplate, and Female Hunter Warrior Set (x3) require 10.0 Magnitude. Do you wish to proceed?〗
"YES."
〖Ding!〗
〖Success! You have instilled Aspect of Conquest in:〗
〖Hell Ape Gauntlet: 20/20 Hit Count Combo | 10/10 Berserk Combo | x200% Critical Damage〗
〖Bluespine Centaur Chestplate: Lifesteal | No hit guarantee〗
〖Female Hunter Warrior Set: +2 Aeon per hit | -75% Knockback | +25% Defense〗x3
*******
Outside the manifestation, the mercenaries were unaware that they were going to die today. They had set up everything necessary to protect the area, but some enemies were just stronger and smarter.
"Did you see Lady Scarlett? Goddamn, that ass looked tight as hell. One day she’ll marry me, and we’ll have kids."
"What about the other two girls? Silver hair. They have to be Kingsleys. My mouth waters just imagining them in their underwear."
"Would you pedophiles shut up? Those girls are only eighteen."
"And how do you know their age, you inbred freak?"
"He’s been doing his research!"
"Bwahahahaha!"
Maybe the laughter gave them away. Louder and louder, only for a roar to shake the earth on which they stood. An ambush from the darkness, a beast with claws that rivalled a dagger.
"Monster! Fight back!"
"It’s not a monster! It’s a summon! We’re being ambushed—!"
Too late. Soon, seven corpses littered the ground around the building as their ambushers finally emerged from the darkness.
The leader was unique. He was gliding like he was on a hoverboard, moving very slowly with his hands behind his back.
His skin looked like glass, his red eyes were bored, and he had fangs, possibly a vampire.
His teammates were a woman and a young man, dressed like your typical hunters, but they had gold-rank badges on their chests. The woman had a bear summon, while the young man had so many weapons with him.
"How shameless of the Golden Dawn Guild, reserving a pentegate for academy students," the younger man said, spitting on the corpses.
"What do they think children are going to do with the master core, Count Lucius?"
"They don’t know how powerful it is, but we do. That master core belongs to us," the vampire replied, still gliding calmly into the building.
********
〖Congratulations! You have cleared a Beta-rank Dungeon!〗
〖XP +300〗
「Notice!」
「Your teammate: Raven Kingsley is leading at #4!」
「Your teammate: Scarlett Trump is leading at #7!」
「Your teammate: Vivian Kingsley is leading at #9!」
If three members from one party were in the top ten, that was a statement. But Luke wasn’t satisfied, because he had been relegated down to 23rd.
However, it was fine to give everyone else a head start. With his armor imbued with the Aspect of Conquest, Luke believed he was more fortified than ever before.
It didn’t grant him new skills, but it granted him boosts that rocketed him beyond his bracket.
Maybe aspects were the key to leveling up his armor all this while.
The system told him that:
One Ancient-grade armor can house three aspects.
While Mythic can house five.
If he could stack so many like that on one armor piece, it’s safe to say his build was broken.
He tightened his fist, feeling the upgrade his gauntlet now possessed, and his chestplate felt like nothing in the world could touch him. Maybe because they couldn’t?
Luke walked into the boss chamber where the girls had just slain the Witch Queen.
Just like before, there was no core, which confirmed their theory of a single concentrated core on the final floor. But this time, the room was littered with rewards matching the dungeon’s substance.
"We only have a little over two hours left," Raven said. "I think it’s impossible to clear all five floors."
Scarlett added, "That is why we must change our strategy. From now on, Luke will lead the charge while we provide support with our beasts."
"Lady Scarlett... umm..." Vivian muttered, picking at her fingernails. Scarlett looked at her, wondering what was wrong. Meanwhile, Luke knew exactly what it was. He had seen it during the fight but pretended he hadn’t.
"What’s wrong, Vivian? Did I say or do something wrong?"
"No, it’s not you. It’s just... your phoenix. I’ve noticed your beast is a loose cannon with her attacks," Vivian managed to explain. "Whenever she drops an area-of-effect blast, the fire spreads too wide. Look, she caught me and Peaches."
Scarlett looked devastated as Vivian showed the fresh burns on her arms and legs, courtesy of her Empyrean Phoenix, Nymeria.
Scarlett gulped, guilt cocooning her even though Vivian didn’t intend to make her feel bad. But there was no denying it. The phoenix’s unrestraint was a result of her poor contract with it, and now, her friend was paying the price.
"Please don’t look like that, my lady," Vivian panicked, trying to touch her. "I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I know a mythic beast needs a ton of room to fight. Next floor, I’ll just stay further back."
"No, Vivian, stop. Don’t apologize for getting hurt. You did nothing wrong. It’s my fault, and I have to get my summon under control," Scarlett said.
Vivian’s face softened, but she could tell that Scarlett was still unhappy with herself.
But right then, an unexpected notification rang.
〖Warning! XP will be shared with the new hunters!〗
"New hunters?"
"Could it be that someone entered?"
"Not just someone. It has to be an experienced party strong enough to overpower our guards out there."
Luke glanced behind him, wondering just how strong this new party actually was.
The last time he fought a hunter party, they were only Bronze-ranked. Anything above that meant a real fight.
He clenched his teeth and walked into the center of the group, dropping the armor sets he had forged for them onto the floor.