Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 594-595

The first few rooms of the dungeon had nothing within them of note. They were populated entirely by kobolds which, as Kien had noted, had taken to using weapons and tools to fight with. The monsters had been armed with an assortment of mismatched equipment. A fair bit of it had actually been somewhat decent, with a few slightly magical swords an other items having fallen into their possession from some unfortunate adventuring groups. They’d set up traps all over the dungeon and employed a number of different strategies ranging from ambushes to mad rushes.

None of it mattered. The kobolds posed about as much resistance to the Menagerie as a breeze of wind did a castle wall. Their weapons broke harmlessly against Arwin’s armor, the magic stolen from within them. Their traps were torn to pieces and their best attempts at strategy did nothing at all to Vanessa barreling at them screaming like a madman.

The kobolds were definitely slightly more intelligent than normal monsters. They weren’t quite to the point of reasoning or genuine knowledge. The only way to describe their eyes would have been to call them empty.

The intelligence they bore was more akin to an animal that had figured out to point the sharp end of a pointy stick at its enemy. There could still be no alliance or conversation. It was actually amusing in a somewhat gruesome sense. The kobolds’ intelligence didn’t help them at all.

There was really only one thing that it accomplished. The poor kobolds were just smart enough to feel terror at the sight of the Menagerie plowing through their defenses like it was nothing. As it turned out, poison weapons only worked when someone was actually in the right stage of mind to stab somebody with them.

And when a half-naked woman charged into battle screaming like a madman, the kobolds were clever enough to realize that nobody with any sense at all would do such a crazed thing unless their poison was entirely useless. It seemed the kobolds hadn’t quite developed to the point where they could recognize that Vanessa was just a complete madwoman.

As such, the Menagerie made very swift progress through the dungeon. None of the preparations that the kobolds had readied were anywhere near enough to so much as slow their advance. The only time they hesitated was when they initially tested to see if the kobolds would simply turn and leave if given the option.

Unfortunately for the monsters, they chose to fight to the bitter end. They didn’t seem to quite be able to comprehend the possibility of a peaceful retreat. But that was just fine for the Menagerie. If their opponents weren’t truly intelligent and were just as bloodthirsty as a random dungeon monster, then they didn’t have to worry at all about the absolute slaughter that followed.

But, oddly enough, Lillia didn’t participate much in the fights. She just stood at the back of the party and observed. The kobolds never even got close enough to her to force her hand. Given the fact that they’d come here because of Lillia in the first place, it was slightly odd.

“Is there a reason you aren’t fighting?” Arwin asked as they did the final rounds of the latest room they’d cleared. It had been just over thirty minutes since they’d entered the dungeon. And, at this rate, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be much longer at all before the entire thing had been cleared. They were almost certainly nearing the end. “I thought the whole reason we came looking for a dungeon in the first place was so you could test out how much stronger you’ve gotten.”

Lillia cleared her throat. “That was definitely a big part of it. Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you all do the fighting for me.”

“Don’t worry,” Vanessa said, planting her foot on the corpse of a kobold and yanking her axe out of it with a grunt. “It’s my pleasure.”

She definitely meant that. Blood was splattered all across her, and not a single droplet of it was hers. Arwin had no idea what in the world a normal Thug was capable of, but he got the feeling that Vanessa might have been a little bit of an outlier. It was either that or she was just really, really passionate about the job.

“We can tell,” Kien drawled. “But it does seem like something of a wasted opportunity. Are you concerned about anything?”

Lillia coughed into her fist. “No. It’s quite the opposite, actually.”

“The opposite?” Kien frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I… well, shit. There’s really no way for me to put this that doesn’t seem a bit rude now that I think about it.” Lillia sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve been waiting for an enemy that’s actually worth using my abilities against.”

“What, are we just along to do the grunt work for you so you can have a fun fight later?” Arwin burst into laughter. “That’s cold, Lillia.”

“No problems here,” Vanessa said with a shrug. She slung her axe over her shoulder, spraying blood from its blade across the room in an arc. Some of it splattered against Kien’s face. He sent her a flat look. She winced. “Whoopsie. Sorry about that. Let me just…”

Vanessa wiped his cheek with her thumb — which was even bloodier than the surface she was trying to clear off. All her efforts managed was to get even more blood on Kien’s features. Vanessa pulled her hand back, then studied her work for a moment. Then she nodded.

“There you go. All cleaned up.”

“Hm,” Kien said.

For some reason, it didn’t look like he believed her.

“I didn’t really think about the way it would look,” Lillia said through an embarrassed laugh. “I promise I wasn’t just planning on making you do everything. It’s just that I’ve gotten some really big upgrades. I haven’t had a chance to test how much more powerful Sunsetting my class has made me, and I’ve gotten multiple upgrades since then. Using my new abilities against anything that isn’t worth the battle just feels like a waste.”

“I’m with you.” Vanessa gave her a thumbs up. “Everyone wants their first time to be special.”

“That is so loosely related to what I just said that I don’t think we can even acknowledge either as an attempt at a joke,” Lillia said with a sigh. “You need to screw your head on right. There are things in life other than references to — oh, godspit.”

A sly glint passed through Vanessa’s eyes. “What do I have to do with my head?”

“Never mind,” Lillia said. “You’re hopeless.”

“Thank you,” Vanessa said. “And for your information, waiting always makes it worth the while. You just gotta find the right partner to tango with. There’s nothing like beating the shit out of someone strong enough to put up a good fight when you’ve got a shiny new weapon to test out.”

“Fighting in itself should not be an act to be enjoyed,” Kien said. “It is a means to an end.”

Vanessa sent him a sidelong look. “Agree to disagree. Also, you got something on your face. No idea how it got on there.”

Kien ignored her comment, turning to the door at the far end of the room and heading over to peer through it. He turned back to them.

“It’s the boss room.”

“Ooh,” Vanessa said. “Lucky for you, Lillia. Looks like you’ve got your chance to actually test your abilities out. You’re not getting a better one today. Just make sure you don’t wait too long. This dungeon has been a bit too easy, so I have no plans of sitting out of the fight. I’ll kill the boss for you if you don’t do it first.”

She’s right about one thing. The dungeon has definitely been pretty damn easy. Given the fact it’s an Expert level dungeon, I had expected a lot more.

But it was dawning on Arwin that it wasn’t the dungeon that was lacking. It was his own perspective. If their group had just been random Expert level adventurers, the kobolds poison and magical weapons might have actually posed quite a problem.

He just wasn’t a random adventurer anymore. The power Sunsetting his class had given him far eclipsed anything within his tier. If Arwin was honest with himself, he wasn’t actually sure how powerful he was anymore. The Gehenna armor hadn’t even gotten scratched up to this point. He almost certainly could have cleared out the entire dungeon on his own without even breaking a sweat.

Hell, I might have been able to send the Infernal Armory in here in the Gehenna armor and had it do the whole thing without me. My own abilities wouldn’t even be needed.

Just how much more powerful have we become?

“Don’t worry,” Lillia said. Her eyes narrowed. “I have no plans of sitting back for the rest of the day. Give me a few seconds at the start of the next fight. I can’t just wait around forever. I’ll test something out against the boss. Then you guys can keep fighting as normal. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Arwin said with a shrug as he pulled himself from his thoughts. He didn’t have any abilities he specifically wanted to test here anyway. The dungeon had already been more than enlightening. “I think we’re all pretty curious to see what you’re capable of anyway. I don’t suppose you’ll tell us before we fight the boss?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Lillia grinned. “You’ll see in a moment.”

The four of them headed down the last hall of the dungeon, over to a stone door flanked by a pair of flickering purple torches. It wasn’t the biggest boss door that Arwin had ever seen. It was only a few feet taller than him, but it was still about as grand as one could expect from a random dungeon.

He paused to make sure that everyone else was ready. They all gave him a nod. Thus, without further hesitation, Arwin braced his shoulder against the door and pushed.

Stone scraped against stone. But if the door had tried to pose Arwin any resistance, he certainly didn’t feel it. He shoved it open without any trouble at all.

And before them laid the boss room. It was large and circular, with damp moss running along the walls and hanging from the ceiling in thick strands. The stench of kobold hit Arwin harder than any of the monsters blows had managed to. He didn’t have to look hard to find out why.

There were no fewer than two dozen kobolds scattered through the room. And, sitting in a throne made of old weapons and armor melted together in some wretched amalgamation of metal and magic, was a kobold clad in glossy gray armor that stood easily twice the height of all its brethren. It held a large metal staff burning with magical energy across its lap.

[Kobold Arch Chieftain - Expert 8]

The rest of the Menagerie poured into the room behind Arwin as screams of anger rose up from the kobolds. They all scrambled for their weapons, readying for the fight as the chieftain rose to its feet.

“Give me a second,” Lillia said, stepping forward. “You can have your fun after I see what this can do.”

Then her shadow warped.

Arwin caught something shifting within it out of the corner of his eye. And then, as they all watched, a portion Lillia’s shadow detached from her entirely.

It peeled away from the ground to rise up, darkness twisting to form into a fully three dimensional body. Within moments, a shadowy replica of Lillia stood before them. But the darkness hadn’t copied her perfectly. Or, at least, it hadn’t copied this form of her.

Two massive horns curled from her head , hissing and popping as dark arcs of purple magic crawling across them. Her features were wrong — nothing more than a pair of dead, glowing purple orbs with a jagged smile that looked like it had been carved by a knife.

There was only a single part of the shadow that wasn’t completely black.

It was wearing her armor.

“Shit,” Vanessa breathed. “What is—”

The shadow stepped to the side, into one of the many patches of darkness cast by the dim lighting in the room.

Then it vanished.

The Kobold Chieftain let out a screech of fury, thrusting its staff toward them. The tip of the weapon ignited with orange light. But whatever magic it had been planning to call upon never had a chance to manifest.

Lillia’s shadow rose up behind the monster, the jagged smile on its features splitting open as its arms both transformed into blades of pure darkness.

There was a thunk.

Then the Kobold Chieftain’s head tumbled from its shoulders, landing at its feet with a wet splat.

The staff fell to clatter to the ground by its side. There was a moment of silence, broken by the monster’s body pitching backward. It hit the throne and slid down unceremoniously, dead long before it had fallen.

Arwin’s eyes widened.

Transforming aspects of the body into shadows was the armor’s ability. And I guess this is what it meant when it said her shadow could wearing her armor simultaneously. But that entire shadow form is completely new. That must be from Sunsetting her class. Can it do literally everything she can?

A terrifying realization passed over Arwin. The armor had never specified it only worked on a single shadow. It had said ‘shadows’.

His eyes flicked down to the ground at Lillia’s feet. Deep within the darkness, two dim purple eyes flickered in wait. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

She can make more.

Lillia might have just become one of the strongest assassins in the Kingdom.

Chapter 595

“Holy shit!” Vanessa exclaimed, her eyes going wide in a mixture of awe and admiration as she spun to face Lillia. “You’ve been holding out on us! I thought you were a mage, girl! What was that?”

“Magic,” Lillia replied, clearly trying not to look too surprised at the effectiveness of her own magic. She coughed into her fist.

Arwin felt just about as surprised as Vanessa looked. Lillia had just killed a high Expert Tier monster in a single attack. And it hadn’t even been anything close to the strongest attack she could muster. That had been a normal attack. Sure, the monster had been a mage, but the point still stood.

Assassinating a boss monster in a single move, without even having to move from the entrance of the boss room… well, that was something he could have only pulled off if the monster stood still for long enough for him to pull his bow out and charge it to the max.

He glanced toward the remaining monsters. There wasn’t much to worry about. The kobolds had broken the moment the Chieftain had died and were running around like a bunch of headless chickens.

“That… was not something I have seen before,” Kien said slowly. He studied Lillia warily for a moment. “Have you always been capable of such feats? Or was Sunsetting your class truly that effective? You did not seem particularly strained. Does that mean you are capable of more?”

“I have to wonder the same,” Arwin said with a disbelieving laugh. “That was hardly a test of your abilities. You just walked up and one-shotted the boss. If anything, that just makes me want to know more. You’re definitely still holding back some of what you’re capable of, right?”

“Don’t you think you’re all laying it on a bit thick?” Lillia asked reddening.

“I note you’re not answering the question,” Vanessa observed. She spun her axe around, embedding it in the skull of a Kobold that had grown a little too close to their group and killing the monster in a single blow. She ripped the weapon free and kicked the dead monster away. “This is cruel, you know. Making us come all the way down here and forcing us to do all the work, just to instantly kill the boss and not even use your best trick doing it.”

“I never said—”

“You didn’t have to say. The implication is there,” Vanessa said. Her eyes flicked to the ground. “Also, there are still eyes in your shadow. You’ve got more of those.”

Vanessa makes it really easy to forget just how sharp she actually is. For all her talk about being a Thug and just liking to hit things, she’s damn good at picking up on stuff that most people would never notice.

“It’s hardly my fault that the boss was so weak,” Lillia said defensively. “I had been planning on doing more. I would have used my abilities way earlier if I thought I was only going to get a second of use out of them. There was more I wanted to test.”

“I’m not so certain I’d say the boss was weak,” Kien said. “You simply outclassed it, not to mention any sudden attacks tend to be death sentences for pure mages. Even still… I may have to adjust my stance slightly.”

“Your stance?” Vanessa asked, tilting her head to the side. “On what?”

“I previously said I did not yet want to be Sunsetted in order to spend more time adjusting to my class.” Kien gave them a sheepish grin. “I have changed my mind. I don’t want to put myself on the block quite yet, but I am beginning to understand just how significant a difference advancing your class like that can be.”

“What exactly is Sunsetting your Class?” Vanessa asked curiously. “I’ve heard you lot mention it a few times, and I’ve seen the creepy seaweed-haired lady kidnap your folks a few time for it, but I don’t think anyone ever told me exactly what it was. Or, if you did, I was probably drunk. Sorry.”

Arwin paused for a moment. He’d actually forgotten that Vanessa wasn’t fully in the loop on everything with regard to the Menagerie. She was a relatively new addition to their group. Strangely enough, he trusted her. Maybe it was because she wore her emotions on her sleeve. Vanessa just didn’t seem like the type to be playing the long game to screw them over for no reason.

“That’s not an easy question to answer,” Lillia said. “And it depends quite heavily on your continued partnership with the Menagerie. If we get too much deeper, there’s no leaving. You’re stuck with us.”

“You lot pay better than any boss I’ve ever had, and the food is ten times better. No, a hundred. I sold my life away the moment I had a meal in your tavern,” Vanessa said with a snort. “I can think of far worse groups to attach myself to.”

“Even if it means coming into conflict with some very powerful people?” Arwin asked.

Vanessa sent him a sidelong look. “The number one cause of death in thugs is getting killed by someone stronger. It’s practically in our job description.”

“Have you considered that your job is terrible?” Kien asked. “It seems like changing it may be advantageous to your health.”

“You don’t change your class. Come on. Everyone knows that.” Vanessa let out a snort. “I’m just fine with who I am. More than most people can say. So yeah, I don’t care who we’re fighting. So long as you keep me stocked up on good food and enough coin to afford all the courte— uh, friends I can want, then we’re good.”

That was probably about as heartfelt of an approval as they were ever going to get from her.

“Sunsetting your class is… basically what you just said couldn’t be done,” Arwin said. “And it’s also secret. You can’t speak of this to anyone outside our guild. The results could be disastrous.”

Actually, most people would just think you’re completely insane. But it would still probably be less than ideal to go around advertising it too hard. Word could reach the wrong ears. The Guild doesn’t know that we’re partnered with Setting Sun yet. As far as they’re aware, we don’t have any Sunsetted members. I’d like to keep that advantage for as long as possible.

And, by the time they do learn… I don’t plan on giving them time to adapt.

“Seriously?” Vanessa asked.

There was a heavy thunk. They all glanced over as a Kobold crumpled, domed in the head by Kien’s broom.

“Continue,” Kien said. “Don’t mind me. I was just cleaning up the mess.”

“You have a way to change someone’s class?” Vanessa asked in disbelief. “Just like that? That’s what you’ve all been doing?”

“Basically,” Arwin said. “It’s not so much a change as it is a righting. It aligns you more closely with what you really desire.”

“Shit,” Vanessa breathed. “How do I sign up for that?”

“I thought you like being a Thug?” Lillia arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but I could be a Super Thug. Why would I stay weaker when I could instead choose to be stronger?”

I don’t think anyone can ever argue with that.

“I don’t think anyone would have an issue with you being selected. Just know the process isn’t easy. There’s a high chance of things going pretty poorly.”

Vanessa grunted. “That’s just life. I can’t believe you were sitting on something like that.”

Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance.

This was hardly the biggest secret the Menagerie were sitting on. It had been a while since they’d revealed the truth of who they really were to the Menagerie, and their guild had taken on a number of new members in that time. Vanessa was among them.

If she knew that she was in the presence of the former Hero and Demon Queen…

“What are you doing?” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “I see that look. You’re looking at each other weird. And it isn’t fuck-me eyes, either. That’s the ‘I know something you don’t’ look. I don’t like that.”

Damn it. She’s seriously perceptive. Were we really that obvious?

“We might have a few more secrets,” Arwin said. “A number of them. To be honest, we try to just avoid talking about some things too much in general. Some of the stuff we’re sitting on has the potential to cause some terrible things if it got out.”

“Trust me. I know all about how important it is to keep secrets. It’s in the Thug rulebook,” Vanessa said, giving Arwin a salute. “You can trust me. We never share anything we’re not meant to.”

“I don’t know if we’ve quite imposed upon you the severity of what we’re talking about here,” Arwin said slowly. “It’s big, Vanessa. Really big. The Adventurer’s Guild—”

“It’s hardly a secret that you’re not a fan of ‘em,” Vanessa said with a small shrug. “You’ve made that more than clear enough. And even if you hadn’t, the stink-eye you and Lillia get every single time someone mentions it would be enough for me to know you don’t like them.”

“I’d say this goes a bit beyond just not liking them,” Lillia said.

“Meh. Fuck ‘em,” Vanessa said. “Always thought they were a bunch of self-righteous pricks. Bunch of pansies prancing about in fancy armor and preaching to people about how great they are. If you were really that great, you wouldn’t have to say it. They can all get stuffed. If you got some dirt on ‘em, let me hear it. That’s the kind of gossip I live for.”

“I thought Thugs were good at keeping secrets,” Arwin said, a grin tugging at a corner of his lips.

“We are,” Vanessa said. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t love hearing new ones. It’s clear you’ve got some real bad blood.”

“That would still be an understatement. A grudge would be more accurate,” Arwin said. “The guild betrayed us. Both of us.”

“Hardly surprises me,” Vanessa said. “They’d probably stick a sword in the arse of their beloved Hero if they thought it would benefit them. Saw them parading that guy around a town once when I was a kid. I remember feeling sorry for him. Even though he was clanking around in all that fancy armor, he just looked… lost. Like a puppet. ”

Arwin coughed. “You’re more right than you think.”

“Course I am. I — wait. What do you mean?” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you saying it like that?”

“Do you remember when the war ended?” Arwin asked. “For about — what was it, two weeks? When the Hero and Demon Queen defeated each other, shortly before the new ones arrived and everything went back to the way it was?”

Vanessa paused.

Then her eyes went wide.

“Shut up,” Vanessa breathed. “It’s you.”

I knew she was sharp.

“This is a very long story, but I don’t want to explain the whole thing in a random dungeon. For now, I’ll say this. The guild is orchestrating the entire war,” Arwin said. “Both sides of it.”

“Both sides…” Vanessa trailed off. Then her eyes flicked to Lillia. “Fuck me.”

“Taken,” Lillia said.

“Not what I meant,” Vanessa said. “Though I wouldn’t say no. I — Godspit. Godshit, really. You’re the blasted Demon Queen? I thought you were just a random demon. Not—”

“Wait,” Lillia said, blinking in surprise. “You knew I was a demon this whole time? And you didn’t say anything?”

“I told you. Thugs can keep secrets. We’re used to working for the less than savory sorts.” Vanessa shook her head, shock still evident in her eyes. “ But the actual Demon Queen? With the Hero, of all people?”

“I—” Arwin started.

Vanessa raised a hand. “You’re going to have to give me a moment.”

“Fair enough,” Arwin said.

Several seconds passed. Vanessa’s gaze flicked from him to Lillia several times. The disbelief in her eyes slowly shifted into something else.

“I… you know what? This makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it. Things do get a bit tense in a good fight. In multiple ways.” Vanessa nodded to herself. “Yup. I’m over it. No questions here. This adds up.”

“Why does it seem like you’re more surprised about their identities than you are about the revelation that the Adventurer’s Guild is orchestrating a war?” Kien asked with a sidelong look. “That seems like the bigger of the two issues.”

“Eh,” Vanessa said. “It hardly surprises me that the Guild are a bunch of pieces of shit. They’re just worse than I thought. But this does raise a very important question. Does this mean you know more demons?”

“No,” Lillia said. “Not anymore. I haven’t met any since arriving here.”

“Oh,” Vanessa said. Her lips thinned. “Damn. That’s unfortunate.”

“Why?” Kien asked.

“I was hoping for an introduction,” Vanessa said.

“Why would—” Kien cut himself off. Then he sighed. “Right. Of course.”

Vanessa grinned.

Arwin couldn’t keep himself from laughing.

If nothing else, Vanessa was certainly consistent.