Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

True to her words, Jeanne was able to systematically eliminate every Hypergoblin that entered within her range with relative ease. As a result of her unstoppable advance, there were a few among the green-skinned variety who abandoned their colony and escaped into various side tunnels. Many who tried to flee were attacked by their own companions but, after a certain point, the tide of retreating Hypergoblins vastly exceeded those that remained to fight on. Among this group, all surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins remained while, after the battle had gone on for nearly twenty minutes, their Chieftain had also taken to the battlefield. It had yet to enter the fray directly, spending most of its efforts tossing large stones to execute deserters, but it was easy to see that the large Hypergoblin was losing its patience.By the time a half-hour had passed, Jeanne had directly entered the encampment after lightly leaping over the tall wall and cutting down what remained of the forward defenders. It was at this point that the Chieftain finally took action against her, lifting up a stone that was around 20cm, the tattoos on its body already emblazoned with a fervent red light. Almost in the exact instant that Jeanne's feet touched down on its soil, it loosed the stone towards her with enough speed to cause a literal tear in the ground after forming a massive sonic boom in its wake. Jeanne's eyes reflected the image of the stone as she dutifully lifted her shield in an attempt to deflect the momentum away from her body. Her attempts proved fruitful, causing the stone to bounce off her shield before annihilating the wall behind her, but she wasn't able to deflect the entirety of its momentum as a result of the stone's slight spin.Though she was forced off balance momentarily, Jeanne caught herself almost immediately by planting her foot on the ground and using her toeas a pivot to spin around several times. At the end of her rather elegant movement, which would have surprised most professional dancers, Jeanne once again adopted her battle stance with natural grace. In response to this, the Hypergoblin Chieftain released a wrath-filled battlecry as the tattoos on its body more than doubled in intensity. The two surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins, the last of their lot, joined the cry alongside their Chieftain as they began to madly pepper Jeanne's location with sections of the Dungeon flooring.Without suffering a second direct blow, Jeanne was able to easily mitigate these attacks by staying relatively low to the ground and allowing the stones the graze off her shield. Impressively, though her kite shield had a high ranked [Durandal] property, there were small pockmarks appearing along its previously unblemished surface. This showed that, even after deflecting the stones, the force they carried couldn't be looked down on. If not for her ridiculously high defensive capabilities, just the secondary shockwaves might have been enough to bruise Jeanne's organs. Fortunately, though she still had to shrug off the forces passing into her body through her shield, Jeanne hardly even flinched in response as she continued her advance undaunted.Seeing that their attacks had little effect, the Chieftain stopped tossing stones as it lifted up a massive tree-sized club that looked like a gnarled piece of wood, even as it shone with a metallic sheen. It leaped forward, closing the 300m distance between itself and Jeanne in a single motion as it attempted to sweep her away with a flanking blow. Her blue eyes, peeking over the side of her shield, squinted slightly as she performed an instep to evade the heaviest part of the club before striking upwards with her sword. As a result of their size disparity, the Hypergoblin Chieftain completely missed its mark while, with the same dauntless momentum as her advance, Jeanne's sword moved forward like a beam of light as it severed the tendons in the monster's wrist.Even with its nigh-instantaneous regeneration, the momentum of its own swing caused the Chieftain to release its grip on the massive club. As a result, several unfortunate green-skinned Hypergoblins were turned into a meaty pulp by the wayward weapon while their Chieftain had its blazing red eyes fully focused on the petite figure of Jeanne. It was at this point that the latter activated her SS-Rank [Shield Slam], converting her monstrous resistances into raw physical power as she struck against the Chieftain's abdomen.A sound reminiscent of metal striking against metal rang through the area as the much larger Chieftain was forced back with even greater velocity than one of the thrown stones. It smashed through the rudimentary buildings of the encampment before coming to a stop nearly a kilometer away from its starting point. Instead of pursuing the Chieftain, which had easily survived the blow, Jeanne turned her attention to the two surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins as, true to her word, she intended to give Fenrir the opportunity to finish it off.Seeing their Chieftain sent flying, the surviving Hypergoblins all paused simultaneously as, for a brief moment, a silent lull had settled on the battlefield. Due to the stun that accompanied Jeanne's [Shield Slam], the Chieftain didn't climb out of the rubble quickly so, even though they had held out until now, the few remaining green-skinned Hypergoblins all began fleeing in mass. Even the two red-skinned brutes had turned statuesque but, seeing their lesser kin fleeing, the tattoos on their body flared up as they began slaughtering any who were foolish enough to get close. Curiously, their path of destruction took them in the same direction as the larger tide of green-skinned Hypergoblins instead of towards the waiting Jeanne...Witnessing the behavior of the shameless brutes, Jeanne's face formed a small frown as she activated her SS-Rank [Chasing Strike]. Though her own Agility allowed her to easily catch up with most enemies, this technique allowed her to even contend against Heroes that were known for their swift nature. As a result, Jeanne moved so quickly that a pseudo-solid afterimage, persisting nearly an entire second, was left in her wake. By the time it had faded away, Jeanne was already pulling her sword free from one of the Hypergoblin's backs before leaping towards the second one like a top loosed from its string. Her swipe cleaved through both of its muscular arms and torso, causing it to drop to the ground in four separate pieces before she deftly pierced the location of its monster core. This finally brought an end to the red-skinned tribe residing within the encampment and, with nothing left to keep them in line, almost every green-skinned Hypergoblin left began running for its life.Around the same time that the mass retreat had started, a pile of rubble in the distance exploded with a large red plume of the same red aura that clung to the bodies of the red-skinned Hypergoblins. This was the same location where the Chieftain had been buried previously so Jeanne wasn't surprised in the least while, even with their leader returning, the fleeing Hypergoblins responded by running away even faster. Replacing them on the battlefield was a figure cloaked in a midnight blue aura that radiated icy white light on the ends as it appeared next to Jeanne like a phantom. As she had already 'sensed' her arrival with the [Voice of the World], Jeanne dropped her battle-ready stance before looking towards the newly arrived Fenrir with a gentle look in her eyes.Allowing a smile to spread across her slightly tired face, Jeanne sheathed her sword within the slot of her kite shield before saying, "I'll leave the rest to you...haahaa..." As a result of fighting to meet her promised deadline, Jeanne was more tired than normal as, even without having sustained any actual injuries, it had been a long time since she went 'all-out' against enemies. There was a reason why her [Child of Light] was only D-Rank as, even though her Magic parameter was quite high, Jeanne was unable to use mana efficiently. Much of her 'talent' in the magical arts was a direct result of Helen's assistance so it wasn't easy for her to maintain her holy shroud for over half an hour.In response to Jeanne's words, Fenrir gave a curt nod as her voice raspily intoned, "You should return to Master..." Though she could temper her emotions easily enough outside of combat, Fenrir's glowing red eyes showed that she was a little too eager to enter into the fray. Jeanne could only smile wryly at this as, instead of returning to Vahn's side, she moved to a nearby wall to observe the battle directly. If things got out of hand, she would step in to protect Fenrir, even if it meant the latter would hold a grudge against her for months to come. With what she knew of her Lord's disposition, the odds of Fenrir being in actual danger were slim but, having sworn to protect everything her Lord held dear, Jeanne couldn't be a simple bystander.Following Jeanne's movements with her eyes, Fenrir adopted a small frown on her face before kicking against the ground and meeting the charge of the much larger Chieftain. It had paused after seeing a second enemy appear but, now that Jeanne had moved off to the side, it's fear had been tempered as it set its sights on the much weaker target that had replaced her. Though its instincts caused its skin to crawl in response to the glimmering red eyes of Fenrir, a primal desire to crush the existence of Fenrir welled up within the heart of the Chieftain. All monsters fought for supremacy over each other so, even though it could sense that Fenrir was a higher-tiered existence, it refused to back down as, if it was able to devour her core, its strength would increase exponentially...Just as she was about to collide with the Chieftain, Fenrir curled her body up into a ball before kicking outward with both feet. She had created a foothold in the air right in front of the Hypergoblins charge, instantly changing the direction of her charge as its large body slammed into the area where they would have previously met. As if it were punching into paste, the Hypergoblin Chieftain's arm sunk into the hard bedrock of the Dungeon as a ripple spread out from the point of contact. In the next instant, an explosion rang through the area at the same time that Fenrir reappeared, claws glimmering with a subtle silver glow.In most circumstances, catching an enemy by surprise would have brought a swift end to the fight but, in a manner similar to the first Hypergoblin the party had encountered, a second explosion began to spread outwards from the Hypergoblin Chieftain's body. Fenrir was in the middle of her attack as the powerful Flame Elemental energy pulse collided with her body, carrying with it the peculiar electrical energy that naturally emanated from the aura of every red-skinned Hypergoblin. As a result, she was flung backward like a ragdoll before spinning through the air several times and kicking off another foothold she had created. By the time Fenrir appeared again, there were burns over each exposed area of her flesh which, considering she didn't like to wear much clothing in combat, meant her entire abdomen, arms, neck, legs, and face were burned.With an even fiercer glint in her eyes than before, Fenrir entered right into the Hypergoblin Chieftain's range before unhinging her jaw and biting down on its neck in a single vicious movement. This caused a massive hole to appear before an almost solid stream of blood began to squirt out from the severed arteries, dousing Fenrir's badly burned body and exacerbating her already serious injuries. The blood of a normal red-skinned Hypergoblin carried a great deal of Flame Elemental energy whenever they were using their unique skill so, with the Chieftain already in an enraged state, its blood at away like an acid wherever it touched the equally enraged Vangargandr...Though he had promised not to intervene, both of Vahn's hands had formed fists as he watched the battle with cold eyes. He managed to prevent himself from stepping, knowing that the [Effigy of the Hero] would protect her, but several regrets ran through Vahn's mind as he watched Fenrir fight against a marginally stronger foe. At the very top of the list were the concessions he had made in the design of Fenrir's combat attire as, if she had been fully covered, she wouldn't have suffered an injury at the very beginning of the fight. Though this was primarily the result of the peculiar energy contained within the Chieftain's 'pulse', seemingly able to ignore the magical aura protecting Fenrir's body, Vahn couldn't help but tightly clench his teeth as he watched their brutal fight continue to play out before him...Even in her enraged state, Fenrir didn't completely forgo thinking how to best her opponent as she began to dance around it using her superior speed to look for an opening. This was to buy her body time to regenerate as she sent spears of ice crashing into the Chieftain's body to slow it down. Fortunately, even though it had a natural Fire Elemental Affinity, her attacks were still having an effect thanks to the presence of Source Energy contained within. As a result, the Chieftain's speed was being drained by each successive spear of ice as parts of its red flesh began to turn dark from frostbite. It's only means to counteract Fenrir's barrage was to adopt a defensive posture while periodically releasing pulses of electrical flames from its body. Unfortunately for the Chieftain, Fenrir wasn't foolish enough to get caught a second time. Using [Shundo], she was able to move outside of the pulse's range in an instant before hitting the Chieftain with a large-scale magic attack. She had noticed that its resilience was weakened after using the pulse, taking advantage of the opportunity to deal lasting damage to spite the Chieftain's attempt to harm her.Realizing it was at a disadvantage, the Chieftain covered its head with both arms before charging into a nearby building to break Fenrir's line of sight. When she saw this, Fenrir snorted through her nose but, instead of pursuing directly, she instead created a foothold in the air before spreading both paws wide. The aura around her body increased in intensity as a series of magical circles began to form a few centimeters away from her fleshy paw pads. Though she wasn't nearly as prolific as Terra, Fenrir shared the same elemental affinities as Eva so, while her magical power was lacking, she wasn't incapable of using the more powerful spells taught by her 'second' Master.With a strangely prideful expression on her face, Fenrir shouted, "Master, give me strength~!" at the top of her lungs. This caused the magic circles around her to nearly double in size before she converged them together and began chanting, "Come, Spirits of Ice and Darkness! Bring Eternal Darkness to those who flee the Snowstorm! Nivis Tempestas Obscurans~!"Even before Fenrir's chant had finished, the surrounding temperature had started to rapidly decrease as the already low-lit Dungeon became progressively darker. The moment the final syllable left her lips, a tempestuous wind began to converge upon the building where the Chieftain had fled. It didn't take long at all for this wind to turn into a literal tornado of ice but, unlike a regular Ice Elemental spell, there were threads of pure black contained within the frosty white of the tornado. As Fenrir also had Affinities with Darkness and Yin Elemental energy, she could infuse it into her attacks, greatly increasing the potency of ice magic as a result.By the time Fenrir's attack had come to an end, the building containing the Chieftain had been reduced to nothingness as peculiar black ice spread out for several hundred meters from the impact point. As for Fenrir herself, she was slowly descending from the sky while taking deep breaths, desperately fighting against unconsciousness after overtaxing her reserves. Fortunately, she had a habit of carrying around magic cores and high-quality potions within her pouch so Fenrir was able to crunch down a few cores to avoid collapsing. She didn't know whether or not the Chieftain had actually been killed by her attack so, until its death could be confirmed, Fenrir remained on full-alert for any sign of movement.Without having to wait long, Vahn appeared in the area with a concerned look in his eyes and a proud smile on his face. With his presence, Fenrir knew she had won the fight so she allowed her wobbling legs to give out, trusting that her Master would catch her. She hadn't even fallen three centimeters before a pair of warm arms embraced her body and a large palm found its way to the back of her head. With her Master's fingers running through her hair, Fenrir allowed herself to fall asleep with a small smile on her quickly healing face. She had already been regenerating quickly so, after eating a few magic cores, her appearance had almost returned to normal by the time her Master had shown up to retrieve her. It was a secret that would be locked away deep within her heart that she had actually drawn out the fight a bit for that express purpose...Holding Fenrir's small figure in his arms, Vahn released a sigh of relief after seeing that she had no serious injuries. Other than overtaxing her mana-circuits, which would heal by the time she awoke, most of Fenrir's other injuries had vanished as a result of her body's ability to always revert back to its default state. Though this had been a big 'problem' in the past, before Lili had bestowed her [Cinder*Ella] upon her, it was at times like this that Vahn was grateful for nature of Fenrir's body. Thus, while cradling her body within his arms, Vahn descended next to Jeanne and Helen before uttering in a gentle tone, "Let's find a place to rest. Jeanne, I'll have you cook this time..."With her A-Rank [Cooking] Development Ability, Jeanne was more than capable of taking up the task so she happily returned a smile before saying, "Leave it to me, my Lord. I'll make something nutritious that will help Lady Fenrir recover even faster...!" As her food literally carried several benefits, the least of which could temporarily boost the parameters of whoever ate it, Jeanne had full confidence that she could make good on her promise. Being fully aware of this, Vahn gave a nod in response before turning his attention towards the 'ground zero' of Fenrir's last attack. There were small fragments of blackened ice that would likely persist for several months, each containing small chunks of what used to be the Level 8 Chieftain...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Indomitable Jeanne','Master, give me strength~!','Ain't no kill quite like over-kill~!')(A/N: I think I figured out why I'm waking up two hours later than normal. It's because I was on the west coast, which means that my body is waking up at the time it 'expects', around 5am, even though it is 7am CST xD. Once my bio-rhythm returns to normal, there shouldn't be any more delays ^_^...)https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Though thirteen enemies weren't considered a large group, the fact that even the weakest amongst the Hypergoblins was near the peak of Level 6, combined with the fact they worked together as a team, meant they weren't easy pickings. Instead of charging into the fray against Fenrir and Jeanne, the two red-skinned Hypergoblins took the vanguard position for their group as the smaller green-skins began to fire volley's of massive arrows while maintaining a proper battle formation. There were even two Mages in the very back, identifiable by their club-like staffs, lighter armor, and densely arranged tattoos.Unwilling to simply watch the battle from the sidelines, Vahn had already drawn his [Khryselakatos], firing it towards the Mages without a moment's hesitation. The leading red-skinned Hypergoblin tried to use the overlapped plates of its gauntlet to intercept the arrow but, even with its surprising speed and presumed durability, Vahn's magically enhanced arrow spiraled through both plate and flesh before piercing the forehead of one unfortunate Mage. Two things happened in response to this, causing Vahn's eyes to squint slightly as the hole on the red-skinned Hypergoblin's arm immediately closed up. At the same time, the tattoos on its body began to glow red as the two fierce-looking eyes deeply set in its face began to emanate a malicious light that caused a suppressive force to spread through the area.Undaunted, Vahn commanded, "Fenrir, move out of my firing line. Jeanne, pull back and stick close to the group. Take care of any stray attacks that break through...!" Though it was obvious that Fenrir wanted to throw herself into the fray, Vahn felt that the two red-skinned Hypergoblins were too dangerous to confront directly. He could sense they were around the peak of Level 7, meaning each was a potential match for Fenrir if their base parameters were taken into consideration. Though her magical prowess and speed should give her the edge, Vahn wanted to at least thin the flock a bit since their natural Fire Elemental affinity would give them ample resistance to her Ice Elemental magic.As if using Vahn's command as a signal for itself, the glowing red-skinned Hypergoblin leaned forward slightly, causing Vahn's eyes to sharpen as the former accelerated much faster than its size should have allowed. It moved so quickly that a red blur was left in its wake as it quickly moved to try and overtake Jeanne and Fenrir's position. Neither girl had dropped their guard, however, so, while Fenrir sent a spear of ice to intercept the Hypergoblin, Jeanne responded by raising her kite shield and bending her knees ever so slightly. In response, the Hypergobline allowed the spear of ice to penetrate its chest without even trying to evade while bending its back in a surprising arc before swinging downwards towards Jeanne with its massive cleaver. The force contained within the blow carried such momentum that it seemed nothing would be able to stop it but, just as she had always done, Jeanne took the blow head-on without flinching.An explosion rang through the area as what appeared to be a red electrical surge emanated outwards from the Hypergoblin's body. This pulse carried dense Fire Elemental energy which, upon contacting the surrounding mist, compounded in intensity as it slammed into Vahn's barrier while knocking all but the other red-skinned Hypergoblin to the ground. Fenrir and Helen were left unscathed by the attack and, after a second explosion cleared away the dust, it was obvious that Jeanne had been unaffected as her sword accurately pierced through the throat of the Hypergoblin before a flash of brilliant white light completely severed it from the monster's body. Surprisingly, this didn't seem to be a fatal blow, at least in short order, as the Hypergoblin continued to move after losing its head. It attempted to grab Jeanne in a bear hug but, without missing a step, she used its broad chest as a foothold before performing an acrobatic flip through the air. In the middle of her arc, Jeanne sent a blade of light that impacted the still-moving body of the Hypergoblin but, instead of cutting all the way through, it only cut a few centimeters deep before fading away.By the time Jeanne had landed, the secondary wound she had created had already healed completely but, after having lost its head, it didn't seem as if the Hypergoblin retained its motor functions. Its attempt to grab Jeanne seemed to have been powered by instinct as, after receiving her follow-up attack, it fell to the ground and began twitching about while the decapitated head continued to change expression, a furious and vengeful look in its eyes as it glared towards Jeanne. As would be expected of a capable Knight, Jeanne showed no hesitation, even while having a decapitated head glaring at her, quickly sending a third attack to completely eradicate the Hypergoblin's severed head. This was finally enough to put down the monster whom, after having its head destroyed, burst into red and purple dust before leaving behind a rhombus-shaped monster core.In response to the death of their 'companion', the other Hypergoblins released loud war cries while releasing their attacks with even greater fervor than before. Unfortunately, even with one remaining red-skinned Hypergoblin acting as their vanguard, Vahn was quickly picking off the green-skinned backline who, even after trying desperately to dodge, ended up on the receiving end of an enchanted arrow. In less than a minute, there was only the red-skinned Hypergoblin remaining who, after failing to protect its allies, now glowed with such intensity that the entire cavern was suffused with a red hue. Then, just as Vahn was about to allow Fenrir to deal with it on her own, the red hide of the Hypergoblin began to turn black as its size began to rapidly increase...Uttering a curious 'Hmm', as it was very rare to see a monster transform into a variant in the middle of combat, Vahn nocked a [Yi] arrow before unceremoniously loosing it towards the Hypergoblin, mid-transformation. Though it becoming a Level 8 didn't make it much of a threat, Vahn would rather not risk Fenrir's life on the assumption that she would still be able to contend against it. She may have the advantage as far as speed and magical power was concerned but, regardless of how much mana she pumped into her tiny arms, Fenrir would have no means of contending against the raw power of a normal red-skinned Hypergoblin, much less a black-skinned one.Without any suspense, the transforming Hypergoblin's flesh was ripped from its durable muscles before they too inevitably succumbed to the powerful gravitational force contained within the [Yi] arrow. Impressively, the regeneration of the creature managed to keep up with the destruction wrought by the arrow for nearly its entire duration but, just as Vahn was prepared to fire a second arrow, the variant Hypergoblin exploded into dust before its monster core was crushed by the [Yi] arrows gravitational well. This was one of the downsides to relying on the seemingly unstoppable arrows as, if it was still active after the kill was secured, most of the loot would be destroyed as a result.With the final enemy succumbing, an eerie silence spread through the area as the only audible sound came from Jeanne's subtle breathing. She wasn't exhausted, not even remotely, but the exertion had caused her blood to pump a bit faster in response to the release of endorphins and her slightly elevated heart rate. As for Fenrir, she was pouting at the side with a discontented expression on her face that caused Vahn to issue forth a light chuckle before flipping his wrist and collecting the spoils. Pulling out one of the glimmering monster cores, Vahn tossed it over to the despondent Vanargandr before roughly stroking her head as he said, "You can have the next one. Now that we know their approximate strength, we'll be to increase our speed a bit. Leave any of the variants to me though, okay...?"Though she specifically wanted to fight one of the black-skinned variants on her own, Fenrir still nodded her head in affirmation while happily squinting her eyes in response to her Master's petting. At the same time, she threw the monster core into her mouth, crunching down on its crystalline shell and savoring the energy-rich contents. After finishing, Fenrir wiped her mouth with the back of her paw before saying, "When we get near the end of the Floor, I want to try and fight one on my own. Though eating magic cores makes me stronger, fighting against powerful enemies makes me 'feel' stronger. I can't just rely on my [Devour] alone if I want to develop a second Innate...!"Hearing this, Vahn's brows perked up slightly and he couldn't help but allow a smile to spread across his face as he put more pressure into stroking Fenrir's head. He knew that her approach to growing stronger was indeed the correct route but, as a result of his overprotective nature, it wasn't easy for him to give those under his charge the room they needed to grow. Though it seemed like a lifetime ago, Vahn could still recall the time when he watched Fenrir fight to her limit on a daily basis, including allowing her to sustain injuries so that she could learn from her mistakes. Ever since his strength had increased to the point that he could proactively prevent harm from befalling the people he cared about, however, Vahn knew his overprotective nature had only become stronger...With more than a little reluctance, Vahn nodded his head while saying, "Very well then...show me how far you can go, Fenrir. I'll be watching closely..." As he said this, Vahn used his perception to make sure that Fenrir's [Effigy of the Hero] was safely stowed away in her pouch before retracting his hand and allowing her to lead the way once again. Before she fell into her own position in the formation, Jeanne came to his side and, in a low voice that Fenrir could still undoubtedly hear, whispered, "She'll do fine, my Lord. Fenrir is a capable warrior who has even greater potential than my own. If you let her spread her wings, I'm certain she will not let you down." To this, Vahn returned a smile and, in a voice that was easily picked up by the distant Vanargandr, replied, "I know. She is my most reliable companion, always and forever..."Though she was well over a hundred meters away at this point, Fenrir's ears twitched in response to her Master's words and, even without the ability to read auras easily, Vahn could see that Fenrir was in a good mood. His only hope was that she wouldn't let his words get to her head, even though he genuinely meant each and every one of them. As over-protective as he might be, Vahn truly trusted Fenrir's capabilities as, even without her monstrously high Loyalty parameter, she had become one of the foundational aspects of his existence. In the face of eternity, a concept that might break most people, Vahn was able to hold his head up without concern as, instead of walking his path alone, there were many willing to walk alongside him...With renewed vigor, the group began clearing the remainder of the 81st Floor without any major difficulties. After the initial battle, the capabilities of the Hypergoblins had already been noted by each member of the party and, so long as they were not allowed to enter the state where their tattoos began to glow, even the red-skinned species was relatively easy to deal with. The patterns carved into their flesh were the catalyst for their incredible regeneration and, though it seemed as if some were able to activate it willingly, the vast majority relied on their rage and bloodlust to trigger the tattoo's effect. The most common trigger was the death of their allies so, by focusing on the red-skinned Hypergoblins first, the rest were quick to fall in the aftermath.It wasn't until Vahn had detected a path that led down to the 82nd Floor that they came across a small hiccup in their expedition. Unlike the previous groups, which very rarely exceeded ten Hypergoblins, the entrance to the 82nd Floor was blockaded by an entire colony of the relatively powerful monsters. In fact, the entrance itself was hidden by a massive tent that was comprised of a type of leather that, as of the present moment, had no discernable source. Vahn knew that the 81st through the 83rd Floors all had Hypergoblin species and, according to what he was able to learn from the mirror, they should be the only entities residing in this area of the Dungeon. This meant that, lacking other materials, the most likely 'source' of leather, bones, and other organics, was the Hypergoblins themselves. Though it would require a period of observation to prove, not that he had any interest in testing the theory, Vahn suspected they either fought amongst themselves for territory or outright cannibalized the weaker members of their society in order to harvest resources...Shaking the barbaric image from his mind, Vahn pulled back his intent after scouting the entire encampment before explaining, "There are at least twenty of the red-skinned Hypergoblins while, at the very center, one of the larger 5m tall variants exist. Though the green-skinned subspecies aren't much of an issue, their numbers could be problematic if we allow ourselves to get boxed in. I can probably take out the entire encampment on my own but what do the three of you think...?" Even if Helen wasn't on 'speaking' terms with the group at the moment, Vahn felt she would only use the fact he excluded her to fuel her current mentality further. By addressing the entire group, he could avoid her having any excuses later on if she became confrontational...As hungry as she was for a climactic battle, quite literally, Fenrir wasn't foolish enough to throw herself into a large number of powerful enemies without proper consideration. She held up one of the digits on her paw before saying, "It's fine if you cull their numbers but I still want to fight against a powerful enemy. Leave the 5m tall one alive so I can tear it apart on my own..." Since a black-skinned variant hadn't appeared after her Master had slain the first one, Fenrir wanted a crack at what they were calling the Hypergoblin Chieftain. Though it may not be as strong as the black-skinned variant, she assumed it was still far stronger than the rest of its race based off the fact that it was much larger and obviously ruled over the other members of the tribe.Having already determined the approximate strength of the Chieftain during his investigation, Vahn nodded in affirmation to Fenrir's request before turning his gaze upon Jeanne. If it came down to it, she could easily take on the entire encampment on her own so, even though it would take more time, she resolutely stated, "I will draw their attention and deal with the majority of their numbers. So long as they don't have the means to bind me to a specific location, I'll be able to annihilate a group of this size in under an hour. Please conserve your strength, my Lord, as it may be necessary for any unforeseen occurrences." Understanding that Vahn was far more versatile than she was, Jeanne would rather increase the time in which it took the clear the Floor if it meant there was less chance of something going wrong in the long run.Since [Yi] arrows were rather expensive to use willy-nilly, Vahn gave a small nod in response since, much like Fenrir, he knew Jeanne needed opportunities to hone herself. His power was currently at a point in which everything almost seemed 'too easy' so, even if he held back and fought with just his two hands and feet, Vahn felt like the Hypergoblins wouldn't be a challenge to him. Other than the brief bout against the One-Eyed Black Dragon, his parameters had hardly increased so, for the time being, Vahn felt the best course of action was to allow them some leeway in increasing their own. With how close he was to reaching godhood, empowering his allies to do the same would only provide even greater benefits in the future...After coming up with a battle plan, including countermeasures to any expected events, Jeanne hefted her sword and shield in a battle-ready stance before activating her Innate, [Child of the Light] to produce a holy shroud over her armor. With the low-light of the Dungeon, she stuck out like a sore thumb within the darkness, causing several battle trumpets to sound out from the Hypergoblin encampment as hundreds of their number mounted defensive positions. The green-skinned sub-species were smart enough to avoid direct confrontation, relying on rudimentary mechanical weapons and bows to strike from a distance while the red-skinned variety, without any hesitation, jumped over their stone walls as they charged toward Jeanne.Unlike her previous battles, where she would receive attacks before dealing lethal counters, this time Jeanne stood her ground with both eyes closed. Though her [Child of the Light] was only D-Rank, one of her most prolific Innates, [Voice of the World], had nearly reached the pinnacle of the record. Relying on it, Jeanne made slight movements to evade every arrow coming her way while her blade, almost as if driven by instinct, cut smooth arcs through the air that even cut down Lightning Magic with startling ease. Even when the first red-skinned Hypergoblin reached her, Jeanne kept her eyes closed shut as the light around her body more than doubled in intensity. Then, in a single swift motion, Jeanne passed by the Hypergoblin with the finesse of a gentle stream flowing around a rock. She didn't even stop to issue any follow-up strikes as, unlike during her first encounter against the surprisingly durable creatures, it only took a single blow for her to fell what others would consider a worthy opponent.As Jeanne moved on to the next enemy, carrying the same momentum from her original movement, the Hypergoblin she had passed by finally, as if released from a temporal lock, shattered into dust. Even with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn hadn't actually seen what attack Jeanne had used to fell the creature and, if not for the fact that its internal mana had been 'split' into two, he wouldn't have had any idea as to why it had died. Somehow, though not nearly as skilled as Musashi, Jeanne had 'cut' through the red-skinned Hypergoblin without actually cutting through its flesh. Instead, her sword, contrary to Vahn's current comprehension, ignored all physical obstructions to directly sever the mana circuits contained within the unfortunate creature's body...Watching from the side with an unerring gaze, Fenrir eyes flickered with a subtle glow as she murmured, "I will not be left behind..." in a voice that only she could hear. Around her paws, formless blades of energy danced around and, though not nearly as polished as Jeanne's swordsmanship, it seemed as though her Severing Laws, the energy that allowed her to cut through anything, was becoming more prominent...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's archery is too op for this Record...','Fenrir will become the strongest...!','There is a reason Jeanne is one of the strongest in the world...RIP Hypergoblin-san')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 1003: Overcome