He had attacked one of the [Dwarven Battlehands] with [Slash], but for every attack he landed, his opponent kept healing. The healing effect didn’t just negate the damage he did but also heal the damage done by Kureha and Fayte.

  “It’s a special passive skill granted to them by their armor!” Titania suddenly shouted. “[Physical Damage Regeneration]! It heals damage done by physical attacks!”

  “Dammit! Why can’t we see this skill?!”

  Adam leapt back as he realized his attacks were useless. He adopted the [Form Five] stance to increase his defense. [Form Five] was the fifth stance in the Pleonexia Family’s spearmanship. In Age of Gods, it granted Adam a 450% buff to his defense. It was only at level 1 right now. He wondered how great his defenses would be once he MAXED this skill out.

  -1,600; -1,600!

  Adam grinned viciously as he saw his health drop. Pain stuck his chest after two [Dwarven Battlehands] swung their axes. He had not been able to dodge because [Form Five] required him to remain standing in one place. Perhaps dodging would have been a better option, but he also didn’t have much room to maneuver since he was surrounded.

  +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30; +30!

  Even with Titania’s [Song of Refreshing Rain] healing him, Adam still found himself hard-pressed. This was his first time in a while that he had found himself at a disadvantage.

  A [Dwarven Battlehand] charged him from the front. He raised his axe and brought it down.

  Adam decided not to block. He shuffled to the left. While the attack missed, one of the other [Dwarven Battlehands] was already attacking him.

  Gritting his teeth as he thrust out his spear, Adam was able to use [Thrust] to perfectly parry the spear away. A loud clang echoed around them as the axe went wide and struck the ground. Adam wasted no time in using [Energy Sweep] to attack all the [Dwarven Battlehands] surrounding him.

  -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085; -14,085!

  +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000!

  Adam could only feel dismayed as all his damage was negated by the passive restoration ability, but he wasn’t one to give up. His competitive spirit was also soaring. His blood was pounding in his ears. He had always enjoyed pushing his limits, and was this not the perfect opportunity to do just that?

  “Bring it on! I’ll take on every single one of you!” Adam roared as he mentally said “fuck it” and activated [Blood Sacrifice]. So what if this would increase his damage severalfold? He was sure these Dwarves could take it.

  Probably.

  While Adam was surrounded on all sides, Aris was completely free to do what she wanted. Her speed was such that none of the enemies attacking could pin her down.

  She blitzed back and forth across the battlefield like a bolt of lightning. Her methods were simple. She ran in a straight line from one side of the cavern to the other, attacking anything and everything that was in her path.

  -812; -1,624; -3,248; -6,496!

  Aris raced through a throng of [Dwarven Battlehands]. Her blades sang as she swung them around in graceful arcs. She could feel the resistance of her enemies’ armor. Sparks flew as her swords dug furrows in the gleaming metal surface.

  +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000!

  The damage she did was negligible and the Dwarves had that passive skill that let them regenerate lost health. All of the damage she did was negated thanks to that.

  But Aris didn’t care.

  She was having the time of her life.

  “Let’s see you take this!”

  Aris danced into the center of the Dwarven formation and spun around like a ballerina. [Spirited Twirl] was one of her AoE attacks. Once more she felt the resistance of their armor. Was it because their armor was resistant to slashing damage? Well. Whatever. She didn’t care about that.

  -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435; -435!

  Aris didn’t stop attacking. Immediately after using [Spirited Twirl], she swung both her weapons down on a single [Dwarven Battlehand]. [Double Slash] was an attack that did twice the damage as a normal [Slash].

  In this case, all her attack did was a measly -1,870, but she did not let this stop her.

  She raced out of the enemy formation, stopped on the other side of the caver, spun around, bent her knees, and blasted off again.

  Several [Dwarven Battlehands] had slammed their axes into the ground and were using them as shields. Even with her speed, she would not survive ramming headfirst into those undamaged. She leapt at the very last second, jumping over her enemies’ heads.

  “Now, Lilith!”

  -54,032!

  Lilith appeared behind one of the [Dwarven Battlehands], grabbed them by the head, and slid her dagger across his throat. The amount of damage she did was incredible. Even the +15,000 regeneration passive skill was only able to heal a little bit of the damage done.

  Before her enemies could notice her, Lilith vanished again. Aris could only shake her head. That [Shadow Masking] skill really was incredible.

  “Where did that bleedin’ woman go?!”

  “I can’t see her!”

  “Dammit! She’s like a ghost!”

  While Adam fought alone, Aris and Lilith had teamed up to take on the majority of the enemies. They weren’t aiming to win. All they wanted to do was prevent them from attacking their long-range fighters.

  Before the Dwarves could try and locate Lilith—not that it was possible—Aris dashed back into their formation and began attacking once more. She avoided attacking the enemies Lilith attacked. That passive ability these [Dwarven Battlehands] had seemed to only activate when they received physical damage. She didn’t want to negate all of Lilith’s hard work.

  And while she, Lilith, Adam, and Garyck continued defending the front line, Fayte and Kureha peppered the enemy from the back.

  Susan was not attacking them. Just like Aris, she must have realized her arrows would not do any good here. She studied the enemy with a keen eye as Fayte launched one [Energy Bolt] after another into the group of [Dwarven Battlehands]. While the attacks didn’t do much damage on their own, they did stack up, and their enemies’ passive regeneration skill didn’t activate since it was a magical attack.

  Kureha did not have [Energy Bolt], but she was able to launch a continuous stream of magical attacks by using her skills one after another in two-second intervals. Fire exploded against their enemies. Lightning jolted the Dwarves. Spears of water slammed into armored chests. She was like a walking, talking storm.

  Yet even though Fayte and Kureha were attacking with everything they had, the [Dwarven Battlehands] refused to back down. They fought back with equal tenacity.

  And in the center of this maelstrom of combat, Garyck continued to fight against Thohkum.

  The battle was at a stalemate. This had become a war of attrition. And the one to claim victory would be the one who outlasted the other.

  Aris licked her lips as dove once more into the fray.

  [Energy Sweep]

  Adam swung his spear as he rotated a full 360 degrees. A blue wave of energy erupted from his weapon and flew out in a wide circle that sliced into the [Dwarven Battlehands] surrounding him.

  -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695; -4,695!

  +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000; +15,000!

  While the amount of damage he did was negligible, his attack caused the enemies around him to stagger. Adam used that moment to break through their guard. He thrust his spear at one [Dwarven Battlehand]. The loud clang of metal against metal echoed around him. His enemy wasn’t too injured, but the attack sent him flying.

  Adam broke the enemy formation and met up with Aris.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “Not… not bad…”

  “You’re getting tired.”

  “We’ve been fighting for so long. Of course, I’m tired.”

  Aris looked pretty exhausted now. She no longer had a vibrant smile on her face as she fended off several enemies, and she wasn’t using her speed anymore.

  This battle had been going on for far longer than it should have. Adam calculated the passage of at least several hours.

  A [Dwarven Battlehand] with red hair and a thick beard charged him, but Adam adopted the [Form Five] stance and spun his spear around to create a shield. The [Dwarven Battlehand] plowed right into it and was knocked back.

  Adam didn’t bother attacking since he would just regenerate.

  We can’t keep this up. We need a decisive means of victory.

  Adam looked around. He and Aris were keeping the enemy from attacking Fayte, Kureha, and Susan. Garyck was fighting Thohkum and pulling agro with his tank skills. Lilith was using [Shadow Masking] in conjunction with her numerous other assassin class skills to wreak havoc on the enemy. Each of them was doing their best.

  But it was still all for naught.

  The biggest problem was the armor their enemies were wearing. It not only granted them a 75% reduction to all forms of damage, but it had a passive regeneration skill that let them heal every time they received a physical attack.

  Maybe if they could kill these bastards, they would win, but Garyck had requested they not kill anyone. That made this whole thing infinitely harder.

  “Garyck! Use your skills again!” Susan called out. “Adam! Activated [Blood Sacrifice] and use [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms] on Thohkum!”

  Adam was confused. She wanted him to use his two most powerful skills? They could probably win, but he would end up killing Thohkum. Had she decided it was better to kill him? No. Susan wasn’t that kind of woman, so why was she asking him to use those two skills, unless…

  I think I see what’s going on here. I know what she wants me to do.

  “Aris, Lilith, clear a path for me.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “Don’t worry, Adam. I’ve got this!”

  Lilith appeared beside Aris and the two raced straight through the enemy formation. Garyck had activated [Anchor]. It was a tank skill, but very different from Thohkum’s [Enrage]. While the latter drew enemies in by pulling agro, the former pinned enemies in place, keeping them from moving.

  All the enemies stopped moving. Aris and Lilith didn’t bother attacking. They instead used their physical stats to simply shove the [Dwarven Battlehands] out of the way.

  Adam raced through the breach, activated [Blood Sacrifice], and used [Dance of the Sakura Blossoms]. At the same time, Titania switched from [Song of Refreshing Rain] to [Song of Vigor].

  -14,088; +15,000; -42,264; +15,000; 126,792; +15,000!

  Adam stopped attacking. Their goal wasn’t to kill Thohkum.

  He grabbed Garyck and leapt back.

  Fayte and Kureha both released their respective attacks. Lightning gathered around Fayte’s staff. As she swung it, a powerful bolt of crackling blue lightning surged forward and struck the still-pinned Thohkum. The attack lit him like a fireworks display.

  -50,274!

  Thanks to the seventy-five percent magic reduction skill on that armor, Fayte’s attack didn’t do nearly as much damage as it could, but it was still enough to drop Thohkum’s health into the red.

  Kureha had also unleashed a [Thunder Bolt] of her own. It struck Thohkum a mere second or so after Fayte’s attack.

  -18,909!

  Once again, very little damage was done compared to what it should have been, but it was enough to drop Thohkum’s health so much that a single attack would now kill him.

  “Lilith!” Susan shouted.

  “Right!”

  Lilith appeared behind Thohkum before the Dwarf could recover and pressed a blade against his throat. Thohkum froze as he was halfway through the process of getting up. He eyed the obsidian blade warily.

  “Do not move. Even with your regeneration, you won’t be able to survive my next attack.”

  “What are ye plannin’?”

  “Order your men to stand down.”

  Thohkum hesitated, which caused Lilith to press the blade further against his throat. He sighed, coughed a little, then shouted.

  “Oi! Everyone, stand down! No more fightin’!”

  The [Dwarven Battlehands] who had recovered from Garyck’s [Anchor] skill and reengaged in combat with Aris and Adam ceased what they were doing. They all turned toward Thohkum.

  “My lord!” they shouted as they realized he was in danger.

  “I highly recommend none of you move,” Lilith commanded in a cold tone. “Take one step, and I’ll slit his throat.”

  The [Dwarven Battlehands] glared at Lilith as they backed down. A tense silence filled the air. No one moved for a while until Susan commanded everyone to set up a perimeter around Lilith and Thohkum.

  “What are ye gonna do now?” Thohkum sounded resigned as he spoke.

  “Why ask a question when you already know the answer?” Adam shrugged when Thohkum glared at him. “We’re going to use you as a hostage to get out of this mountain. We don’t want to stay here. After that, you can return to your mountain. We don’t care. We just want to leave.”

  “Haaaaah. I should have killed ye when I had the chance.”

  “If that’s how you’re going to be, then maybe we should kill you now to avoid letting a potential enemy live?”

  Thohkum went silent.

  With the [Dwarven Battlehands] following close behind, their group, led by Susan, went over to the door. Lilith was in charge of holding the key. She removed the emblem from her inventory and placed it inside a small indentation.

  This door was very similar to the one they had come through. The intricate mechanisms inside created loud cranking sounds that reverberated around the cavern. Soon, those noises stopped, then a much louder noise echoed around them as the door split open down the middle. Both sides disappeared into the wall, revealing a passageway.

  “Do not follow us,” Susan said to the [Dwarven Battlehands] before they could make a move. “We’ll let your leader go, but I can’t guarantee his safety if you follow us.”

  The [Dwarven Battlehands] glared reluctantly at her, making it clear they had no desire to follow that order, but they also didn’t want their leader to die. It seemed this old Dwarf was quite charismatic. Even though he had all but locked these people inside a mountain, all of them remained loyal.

  “Dinnae follow us,” Thohkum ordered. “I’ll be back.”

  The order from their leader seemed to settle the group. The [Dwarven Battlehands] stood still as Adam and the others went up the passage, which turned into a staircase.

  Blue skies and a brilliant sun greeted them as they emerged from the staircase. Adam glanced around. They were in a forest, but he didn’t know which one. It had to be close to where they had first discovered the location of this dungeon, so it shouldn’t be too hard to orient themselves and return home.

  “There. Yer outside. Now let me go,” Thohkum commanded.

  “You’re free to go, as promised,” Susan said.

  Lilith released the old Dwarf, who huffed as he dusted himself off. He didn’t attack them. Smart man. He knew what would happen if he tried. Now that his health was so low and he didn’t have his comrades to fight beside him, there was nothing he could do to them.

  He turned around and began stalking back into the mountain entrance, but he paused just before entering and turned around to glare at Garyck.

  “Do ye really want this? Ye really want to leave the sanctity o’ this mountain?”

  Garyck puffed out his chest. “Course I do! I hate livin’ all cooped up in that blasted place. I hate not bein’ able to craft whatever I want. More than anythin’, I hate the fact that ye can’t seem to accept me. Yer a terrible father.”

  “Everythin’ I did was fer yer own good. You’ll see that eventually. I just hope it’s not too late by then.”

  Thohkum didn’t say anything else as he turned around and stalked back down the stairs. Garyck growled and shook an angry fist at his old man’s departing back.

  “I’ll never regret my decision! Do ye ’ear me?!”

  Adam and the others remained silent for a moment as Garyck huffed and puffed. It seemed he had a lot of pent-up emotions. However, they couldn’t remain this way forever.

  “Garyck, what are you planning to do now?” asked Fayte.

  “I haven’t thought much about it. All I wanted was ter escape from that place.” Garyck stroked his beard in thoughtful contemplation, having calmed down.

  “Then would you like to come with us?” asked Fayte with a smile. “We could use a skilled blacksmith.”

  “Aye. That sounds like a good idea. I got nothin’ better to do and don’t know me way around, so goin’ with ye sounds like me best option.”

  A screen suddenly appeared in front of Fayte. Adam knew what this was. It was an announcement stating Garyck wanted to join their party and asking Fayte if she would accept him. Fayte pressed “yes.”

  “Welcome to our guild, Garyck,” Fayte said as she held out a hand.

  “Pleasure to be workin’ with ye,” Garyck returned as he clasped her hand in a firm shake.

  With Garyck now a permanent member of their party, the group first got their bearings. They seemed to be east of the original entrance. To return to the original entrance, they had to travel southwest, around the mountain.

  It would take several days, unfortunately. They didn’t have any horses to travel more quickly.

  Garyck didn’t seem to mind. He asked Fayte all kinds of questions about the world outside, from the infrastructure of human cities to the duties of their guild and even what kind of weapons and armor they wanted him to make. He seemed pretty enthusiastic.

  “I don’t know too much about other cities since I’ve only been to Solum, but it’s very different from your mountain. We don’t have a king. Each city is run by a mayor. Solum’s mayor is in control of this region of the Sun Continent. I don’t know too much else,” Fayte was explaining.