Balm in Gilead: Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Is it Wrong to Bossrush the Dungeon?

I smashed the orc into the ground with a smile.

After planning this dive for so long, it felt good to finally make progress.

The monsters on this level moved so slowly, and my new war hammer felt so light in my hands. With a spin, I sent another pair of orcs flying back into the bone white trees that filled this floor of the dungeon. Orcs here looked like white lumpy creatures molded from clay. They had clubs that looked the same, and they couldn’t touch me. At level two, I could practically walk through this floor of the dungeon.

Most of my attention was focused on Lili. She wore light leather armor, had a brand-new massive pack, and her wrist crossbow thrummed as she put a bolt into the eye of another monster.

I circled to her back, idly swinging my hammer. It was a raven’s beak, and I’d asked for an extra long spike to mimic my trusty pickaxe. As the member of an allied Familia, I’d gotten a good deal on equipment rated for level 2s from one of Hestia’s smiths. Sad as it was to leave my foxy smith friend in the tower behind, I would always do what I could to support my goddess.

That included getting stronger.

Three more orcs, and a war shadow, a segmented silhouette of a man in armor, fell before me. I stepped over the crumbling corpse of a monster to bury the haft of my hammer in the gut of another. I kicked it away, and the polearm flashed as it spun.

A bolt punched through the side of the orc’s head before my blow could land.

It fell sidewise to the floor of the dungeon. I clicked my tongue. “Should’ve been a little faster…”

“I thought this trip was to help Lili.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Now you’re trying to steal all the excelia?”

“Sorry.” I rested my hammer on my shoulder. “Thought you had your hands full, but I guess I was wrong.”

“And don’t forget it.” She sniffed. “Lili can take care of herself.”

I nodded once. “Need help harvesting the stones?”

“You butcher everything you touch.”

 I pulled a face, but she wasn’t wrong.

Instead, I stood watching for any new spawns while Lili harvested the magic stones from the orcs. We were on floor twelve during one of our duo delves. They were becoming more common as the Apollo Familia shifted members to other tasks. I got the feeling that we’d be getting a letter terminating our alliance any day now, but their help had still catapulted me up the ranks of level two. My climb had been so impressive that Lili had decided that she needed to raise her stats to keep up better.

I frowned at that. I’d expected my growth to slow after defeating the Soma Familia, instead it felt even faster. My second skill, Godsbane, said that I grew faster based on the strength of my opposition. That I was still growing so quickly essentially proved that the Apollo Familia was my enemy.

Or worse, that some greater foe waited in the wings.

Lili poked me in the side. “Lili is done with the collecting our loot.” She frowned up at me. “Were you even keeping a look out?”

I shifted, rubbing my eyes. “Nothing snuck up on you, did it?”

She tilted her head, large brown eyes boring into me. “You…can tell Lili if something is bother you.”

I blinked in surprise. “Oh?”

Lili turned away. “Don’t make a big deal of it.”

The drew a huff from me. “This is practically sentimental from you.”

“We’re part of the Hestia Familia, aren’t we?” Lili shrugged. “If you don’t want to share then let’s keep moving! Time is money.”

“Some habits don’t change so easily, do they?” I shook my head.

Lili gave me a look.

“I’m just…thinking about Apollo,” I said.

Lili’s mouth twitched down into a frown. “Lili hasn’t seen them around recently.”

I nodded. “And we’re just stuck, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“More reason to get you strong.” She placed her hands against my hip and pushed. It felt like a toddler was trying to move me. I lifted a foot and let her shift my weight into that first step, deeper into the dungeon.

“Aren’t we here to get you stronger?” I asked.

“Lili is level one,” she replied. “Taylor is the one who’ll be protecting Lili if something goes wrong.”

“Yeah.” I shifted my weapon as the walls in front of us lit up. “Just like in the theatre.”

“Hopefully not that bad,” Lili replied.

In my experience, it paid to plan for the worst.

Despite wanting to ‘get me strong,’ Lili ended up taking most of the next pack of orcs. She was a real demon with that crossbow, but its low draw weight meant she could only reliably kill monsters on this floor with a head shot. Even then, sometimes the bolts wouldn’t penetrate.

Today, we planned to go all the way down to floor 17 while the first dungeon boss, the Goliath, was absent. We’d rest a night on the safe floor and continue onward to floor 19 the next morning. Hestia had spent days fretting about this trip, and it would be challenging, but I was confident that Lili and I would survive.

On floor 15 and 16, more minotaurs started the appear, the same monster that had almost killed the two of us on our first meeting with Aiz. Now I was more their match. My hammer and my height gave me enough reach that I could handle two or even three minotaurs at once.

I smashed the last one into the slate grey floor right before the stairs. “Less than last time.” I wiped my brow. “Soloing these floors still isn’t easy…”

“Ah yes, soloing.” Lili smirked. “Lili is just a walking backpack to you.”

“Never.” I smiled back. “Who else would carry the snacks Hestia made?”

“That’s the most important job,” Lili nodded.

“Ho there!” A voice came up the stairs.

Lili and I both stiffened. We’d had bad experiences with adventurers in the Dungeon.

I shifted my fingers on the haft of my weapon. “Hey there!” I called back down the stairs.

“Mind if I come back up? Me and my party’s run into, well, a bit of a wall here.”

I looked at Lili. She slipped her knife away as she finished stowing the last of the stones from the minotaurs.

“Sure thing.” I called. “We’re finished up here.”

I stepped away from the roughhewn stone staircase at the sound of armored feet tramping up it. A few moments later and a motley group of adventurers came up to our landing. There was a man with thick armor and a large shield, two women armed with longbows and scroll cases, and another man in a robe with a staff. The last man had his arm bandaged in a sling, half supported by one of the archers.

“Haah.” The armored man let out a breath at the sight of Lili and I. “Solo delving? Please tell me you’re level two.”

I looked them over. Aside from the robed man, the rest of them didn’t look like they were in the best shape either. “I am.”

The leader let out a sigh of relief. “I’m Lithos.” He held out a hand. “Lithos Meirv. Dellingr Familia”

“Taylor.” I clasped his arm. “Hestia Familia.”

“It’s good to see a friendly face.” He took a step back, setting his shield against the wall. “As you can probably see, we ran into some trouble on our way down to Riveria.”

“The safe zone?” I asked.

Lithos nodded. “We’re taking some mapping supplies to other members of our Familia based there.”

Lili tugged my sleeve. “Dellingr’s Familia often maps useful gathering locations.”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of us!” Lithos thumped his chest plate once. “That’s right, floor 19 just shifted noticeably.”

“So people need new maps,” I said.

“Exactly!” Lithos smiled. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to make the trip this time.”

“Why not? We’re right there.”

“Someone spawned the Goliath.” One of the women spat. “Must have brought a big group through, because it’s not due for at least two more days.”

“Ah, well.” Lithos shrugged. “Something like that. It appears whoever triggered the Goliath didn’t see fit to kill it, and our healer was wounded on our way down.”

I nodded, as I put together the rest. “So, you’re stuck between the Goliath and the first 16 floors of the dungeon. Don’t like your chances of fighting your way back out?”

“We’d be happier if we had some help from a seasoned adventurer like yourself!” Lithos smiled. “We can share some of our haul from this delve, or if you’re interested in a trade, Dellingr will offer a discount on maps for having helped us out.”

I worried my lip. “What do you think?” I asked Lili. “Should we head back up?”

“The Goliath is a big problem, Lili thinks,” she replied. “Especially for Taylor alone.”

I nodded. “I’ve fought the Goliath once.” The members of Dellingr’s Familia shifted at that. “But it was with a much larger group, including another level 2.”

Lithos shrugged, as if to say, that’s expected. Leaving really would be the smart thing, but the Falna on my back seemed to burn. I was surrounded by enemies.

“It would be a real pain to turn around now,” I said.

My supporter turned to look at me. “Eh? Lili wonders if you’ve lost your mind.”

“The Goliath isn’t that fast,” I said. “If it were just the two of us, I’m pretty sure I could get us past it.” The thing was a classic brute. No range, no tricks, just a giant monster that could stomp you flat. “The Dellingr Familia would make it trickier.”

Lithos shifted, glancing at his friends. “You’re set on continuing?”

“Like I said, I’m confident in my survival.” Plus, Aphrodite was getting pretty insistent on a lingerie shopping date with Hestia and no part of me was ready for that. “If we have a good plan, you should be able to get through as well.”

Lithos shared a look with the rest of his Familia. “If it’s all the same to you, we might just wait here.”

I shrugged. “Fair. Think you’d be willing to shoot it a few times for me?”

“Well… that’s—”

“We have some potions that I could be convinced to part with.”

“Now that sounds like an offer I can get behind!” Lithos said.

Lili sighed.

It didn’t take too long to make a deal. The Dellingr Familia was eager to get out of the dungeon. Four level one adventurers this deep were always in for a difficult time. I traded them one weak health potion for their priest, plus a stamina potion. With determination and a little luck, they should be able to get back up to a higher floor where their stats would carry them home.

The Goliath was massive.

Two or maybe even three stories tall, with craggy, rocklike skin and black hair. It lumbered across its arena, the only room on the 17th floor. Beyond, I saw the exit to Rivira, the safe zone. Nothing but a hundred yards of blank stone and one hulking monster stood between me and my goal.

It noticed the moment Lili and I entered the room.

“Go.” I pushed Lili lightly to the side. She skirted the edge of the chamber while I charged right at the Goliath.

It roared, slamming one foot against the ground, but it didn’t turn to face me. Instead, it seemed almost eager to pick off my supporter. I guess the dungeon liked going after the weak.

“Shoot it!” I shouted.

Behind me, the two archers of the Dellingr Familia fired, arrows whistling through the air. One shot hit the floor boss in the head, the other skimming its shoulder. They cut narrow divots in its skin, superficial damage at best. But like any bully, the dungeon hated when you hit back.

It roared again, spinning with surprising grace back towards the entrance of the room. One massive bound ate most of the distance between us. Its other foot came over, casting a shadow over my head.

I planted my feet and swung with all my might. The hammer’s beaked head crunched deep into the Goliaths ankle, before it was almost ripped from my hands. I threw myself to the side just in time for its other foot to come down to crush me like an ant. I was treated to a dangerously close view of its big toe as I rolled back to my feet.

I spun my hammer once and put a hole in the rocklike nail.

The monster roared, more anger than pain. I darted away, zagging across the floor as it stomped after me.

On the far side of the room, Lithos shouted, “Good luck with the rest!” Now that the Goliath’s attention was firmly on me, his Familia could leave without making the dungeon even more upset. I didn’t have time to reply. Instead, a quick burst of speed put me under the Goliath as its foot came down. I heard the rush of air behind me as it went a step too far forward.

I was behind it, sprinting with all of my newfound speed. Lili, ahead of me, had just escaped the rocky arena. She turned towards me, then her eyes widened.

“Look out!” She pointed over my head.

There was no time for thought. I hurled myself sideways, flipping in the air. As I spun I saw the Goliath, stretched out mid dive. Its massive hands reached for me. I batted a finger away with a wild swing.

Or rather, I hit its hand hard enough to throw myself completely out of the way.

The floor boss hit the ground with a crash that shook the ground. Stone roiled around me. I landed on my feet, staggering, but unharmed. I settled my hammer in my grip once more as the Goliath pulled itself ponderously to its feet. It turned to face me, face twisted into a hateful glare. Past its ankles, I could see Lili waiting on the edge of the room.

The Goliath stood between us, blocking the exit with its four-story frame.