Chapter 243: Calamity Level Dungeon (Part 1)

"So, this is a Calamity Level Dungeon, huh? A hundred and forty eight floors, this is going to be rough," I remarked with a grimace, as I stared up at the tall, looming Dungeon.Today’s the 21st of October, 2169, around 3 PM in the afternoon, and we’d just arrived outside the Calamity Level Dungeon that had arisen yesterday.

I was leading the party, which also consisted of Aria, Isla, Keira, Sera and Damien, along with the two Arcane Ace Hunters, Ciel and Rex, from the Demonsbane Guild.

Given the severity of the situation, the Demonsbane Guildmaster readily agreed to assign a couple of his Aces to this raid too.

Calamity Level Dungeons require a minimum party of ten, including at least five Aces, of which at least two should be X-Aces.

A few months ago, that would’ve meant requesting X-Aces from the other Sanctuaries, but now that Aria and I have reached that level, there’s no need for that.

Of course, that’s no reason to be cocky or complacent.

We may be a lot stronger, but in our base states, we’re around the lower-mid range of X-Ace Level, the strongest ever X-Aces have recorded Power Levels of a bit above two million.

Aria, Ciel, Rex and I will be at the front, with Keira, Isla and a K-Ranked Fire Mage in the middle row, and at the back, will be Damien, Sera and a K-Ranked Detector.

And, of course, I can also call upon Luxuria and Invidia if and when I need to.

Those two basically count as Aces, so that’s six with Ciel, Rex, Isla and Keira, plus Aria and I as X-Aces.

I am concerned about whether Keira will be able to perform at her best in this raid, she hasn’t been all that active lately, and she’s dangerously close to falling behind on her quota.

I haven’t made much progress in the two and half months or so since the battle against Zeifas, I’ve been a bit concerned about that too. I’ve been on fifteen raids, twelve High Levels and three Critical Levels.

High Level raids now net me around ten to fifteen points at best, and Critical Level raids don’t get me any more than twenty points.

My current stats, in comparison to what they were after Zeifas was defeated, are:

HP: 1050 -> 1085

MP: 2000 -> 2144

Strength: 1050 -> 1085

Agility: 1500 -> 1560

Vitality: 1050 -> 1085

Perception: 1500 -> 1560

Power Level: 1,358,300 -> 1,419,800

It isn’t exactly an insignificant increase, but it took an insane amount of grinding to progress this much.

According to Ai, I’ve consumed nearly twenty thousand Monsters over my last fifteen raids, which is pretty fucking insane.

It’s been a pretty slow crawl lately, but hey, at least I’m still making progress at all. Aria’s stats are maxed out, so she’s been focusing on honing her power boost Skills, trying to make them consume Mana more efficiently and last longer.

And it’s been steadily working.

When I synchronized with her while we were both hit with Demonization, Ai tweaked the spread of Aria’s Mana a bit, the network of her Mana is now more similar to mine.

The stabilization of my Mana is a bit different to the Tabulization process, and evidently, more efficient. Aria’s been able to channel her Mana more effectively and cast her Skills faster, at a slightly lower cost of Mana, no less.

I haven’t seen much of that in action for myself though, since we haven’t been assigned to the same raid since our promotions, until today.

I’m looking forward to seeing the full extend of how much she’s improved...with close to a hundred and fifty floors to get through, there’s bound to be plenty of combat ahead of us.

"Alright, if everyone’s ready, let’s head in, shall we?" I suggested, lacing my fingers together as I stretched my arms out, cracking my knuckles.

"No, I’m not ready, and I don’t think I will be," Sighed Rex warily.

"Come on, lighten up and quit your complaining. With your Magic, you’re never in any real danger, anyway," Pointed out Ciel dryly.

"Yeah, but this is gonna take ages to get through..."

"I’m ready, let’s do this," Smiled Aria, slamming her fists together.

"I’m ready too, might as well get started," Nodded Isla in agreement.

"Well, on we go, to our final resting place, at least it’s a pretty grand coffin," Remarked Damien, as we began approaching the entrance.

"Hey, don’t say stuff like that," Frowned Sera sternly.

Aria, Ciel, Rex and I led the way, stepping through the entrance and entering the Dungeon. I scrunched up my nose as an unpleasant stench invaded my nostrils, recoiling in disgust at the sight before me.

What...the hell is this? I’ve never seen terrain like this before.

The floor, walls and ceiling, all of them were a squishy mass of what looked like flesh, as if we were inside the body of a living organism.

"I’ve heard about this...a fleshy terrain, it’s supposed to be quite rare, but not unheard of. Other than the smell and the soft, tricky footing, it’s apparently not all that tough to traverse, but...it is pretty off-putting, isn’t it?" Remarked Isla with a grimace.

"Hm...[Flame Strike]!" Exclaimed Aria, slamming her fist against the fleshy ground, a sharp sizzle ringing out as she added, "Yeah, that definitely feels like flesh. Smells like it too."

"I hate that it kinda smells tasty," Frowned Ciel apprehensively.

"Yeah, it smells just like roasting meat. I’d refrain from eating it, though," I responded with a wry smile.

I’ve got all the food and water we could possibly want in Treasury, so we’re covered on that front.

Actually, it’s become a big reason why a lot of Guild members have wanted to be in the same party as me...I can basically conjure up an unlimited supply of warm meals, with a ton of variety on offer, like a vending machine but better.

"Oh, trust me, I definitely wasn’t planning on it."

"I wonder what kind of Monsters will be in this place?" Mused Aria, as she adjusted the straps on her gauntlets.

"I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. Come on...let’s go," I responded, as I stepped forward...