The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The melee fighters grimaced and carried ugly expressions. They realized the challenges in fighting these guardians as well. Some became visibly disheartened.

  Clack! Luka stamped his staff on the floor to draw their attention. "May I offer a plan of attack?" he asked while looking directly at Terrwyn. Once she nodded, the mage shared his thoughts. "These statues likely have physical resistance. Unless you possess magical weapons, you won't damage them. Therefore, we need to rely on magic to defeat the monsters. But the tiny room makes it impossible for us to send everyone inside. Ideally, our magic casters will remain at the doorway and send their spells from here."

  "The melee fighters' collective task is to block or parry those swords as our magic whittle away the monsters' health points. The shieldmen will target one boss, while the spearmen will distract the other guardian. The swordsmen will remain outside the room to protect our mages in case the monsters wander off. I will cast buffs on the first two groups before they engage in battle. What are your thoughts on this plan?"

  Out of twelve melee fighters within the Elite Class, there were three spear users and three shieldmen. Luka's proposal would preclude six swordsmen from the upcoming battle.

  Wickkuil grounded his teeth in frustration because he would not play a role in this fight. However, the veteran warrior understood that he would only take up valuable space if Wickkuil entered the room. He reluctantly consented to Luka's war plan with a slight nod.

  The remaining swordsmen felt chagrined at their leader's reaction because they expected him to protest against this proposal vehemently. None of them dared to contradict their leader.

  Terrwyn looked at the excluded classmates closely to gauge their reaction to Luka's bold idea. Since they accepted the plan, the class rep went along with it. "We'll follow your plan, Luka."

  Luka gathered the four mages for a brief discussion. "Since our classmates will block the statues, you can't use AoE spells like Fireball. Focus on spells like Magic Missile to slowly reduce their health over time. If you run low on mana, please use a magic recovery potion. Our success depends on you."

  He then gathered the shieldmen and spearmen. The light mage cast a boatload of buffs on those people, and they immediately felt the difference within their bodies.

  "Charge!" Terrwyn yelled and dashed into the chamber. She ran toward the left guardian. The spearmen went right to target the other boss.

  Clang-clang-clang!

  The two guardians slashed at the humans continuously. These furious strikes forced the shieldmen back. Luckily, the spearmen had more parrying success because their weapons had longer reach.

  "Focus your spells on Terrwyn's opponent first!" Luka yelled. He cast Dancing Lights on both monsters and then sent a dozen Light Bolts at the left boss. Large cracks began to form on the statue's skin.

  The mages felt encouraged and threw their spells at it.

  Luka's magic distracted the two monsters, and they began to miss their attacks against the human defenders. The guardians' distraction alleviated the pressure on Terrwyn's subparty as the shieldmen guided the enemies away from their vulnerable classmates.

  After Luka launched his fifth round of Light Bolts, his target finally crumbled into a heap of stone blocks!

  "Yes!" the classmates cheered.

  The magic casters quickly pivoted to the remaining boss. They used up their magic power and recharged with recovery potions. These classmates were amazed at Luka's ability to send a dozen Light Bolts continuously without pause. The other mages were helpless while their bodies slowly digested the liquid inside their bellies to convert into mana.

  Terrwyn observed the battle while leaning against the wall. She thought that the spearmen developed an excellent rhythm already. Therefore, she declined to order her subgroup to join them.

  The four mages recovered sufficiently to send a wave of spells at the remaining guardian and destroyed it. They traded joyous high-fives and entered the chamber.

  The swordsmen followed the mages into the room and sat down. Under Wickkuil's lead, they faced the doorway and kept watch for wandering monsters.

  The participants of the boss battle rested and enjoyed the afterglow of their victory.

  Chapter 62

  Morninglory Dungeon (Part 3)

  Before the Elite Class passed through the portal, Terrwyn ordered an equipment check. She noticed that her tower shield became dented from the previous battle. She took out a hammer, methodically knocked down the lumps, and smoothed out the shield's surface. The other shield holders copied her action and performed similar work on their equipment.

  The spearmen took out whetstones to sharpen their spearheads, which became dull from parrying the stone guardian's powerful sword strikes.

  Luka distributed magic recovery potions from his stash to the other mages. So far, he didn't use them because his body possessed a high storage capacity for mana. Moreover, his regeneration rate was quite fast. On the other hand, his classmates used up their mana pool and drank some potions to recover their magic during the last fight. Hence, Luka wished to replenish their supplies despite the enormous expense in doing so.

  The swordsmen did not bother with checking their equipment. After all, they were mere bystanders in the previous battle and barely fought during this field trip. Instead, they stood at the doorway to block wandering monsters from entering the small chamber.

  "Is everyone ready?" Terrwyn called out a half-hour later. She saw nods from her classmates. "Let's go!" The party leader passed through the portal and arrived in total darkness! She felt someone pushing from behind and stepped forward. "Everyone, stay together!" she ordered immediately.

  Luka created a dozen Light Balls to illuminate their surroundings. He saw a small, open-air arena, and his class stood on the fighting grounds with fifteen-foot high walls and seatings above them. Luka noticed four sets of portcullis embedded within those barriers and monsters standing behind each gate!

  The southern gate rolled up with a groaning sound and released monsters onto the battlefield! Hundreds of scrawny-looking humanoids with pale green skin, big, pointy ears, and sharp teeth ran toward the humans!

  "Fireball!" Kayne blasted her fiery magic at the goblin horde and created a massive explosion! BOOM! The sky rained blood drops and pieces of charred flesh.

  The cannon fodders upfront tried to flee, but the mid-positioned soldiers pushed the frontline toward the humans. A war drum started pounding and removed their fear. The goblins at the front saw no way out and continued moving forward. The drumbeats made their turn berserk and ignored their collective safety.

  At the same time, the other mages began to chant spells. Uhaen summoned a pair of ogres and ordered them to attack. Thoma quickly buffed each ogre with Heroism to increase its strength and health. Evanora cast Lightning Bolt and targeted the stronger monsters in the mid-ranks.

  The rangers shot at the closest enemies while the thief kept track of enemy movement with his sharp eyes. Under Terrwyn's direction, the melee fighters formed a parabola to protect the non-warriors. Terrwyn took the forefront position and directed the spearmen to stand close to her.

  Luka declined to enter combat right away. Instead, the mage used his Spatial Sense to survey the horde and its composition. He discovered a Goblin Lord at the back giving orders, and four High Goblins served as his bodyguards. The drummer changed his beat as he received the leader's instructions. A Goblin Shaman cast buffs on the Goblin Archers as they slowly marched toward the party. Luka estimated a total of five hundred monsters within the horde.

  He thought for a moment to come up with a plan. Luka shared his findings with the party. "We're facing a horde of five hundred monsters led by a Goblin Lord passing signals via the drummer. They're sending cannon fodder to waste our strength. At the rear is a unit of fifty archers receiving buffs from a shaman."

  "I want to disrupt the chain of command and create chaos within the horde. I'm going to turn invisible and sneak toward the back to take down the le
aders. Please stay here to draw their attention. I will create a Blade Barrier to surround the class and leave a small opening to funnel the goblin horde to enter and reach you."

  "What about those archers? We don't have enough shields to block their arrows," Terrwyn pointed out.

  "I'm going to cast a Light Barrier overhead. That should stop the projectiles depending on what magic enchantments the shaman cast on the bowmen," Luka replied. "When the archers are within range, our spells and arrows should target them first."

  "Oh, great! Now I get to use Firestorm!" Kayne grinned with glee.

  The class rep hesitated in adopting this plan because Luka's part was more dangerous than the rest of them combined. But if he could sneak attack and kill the Goblin Lord ASAP, the rest of the horde would suffer from a significant loss of morale. Frankly, this idea was crazy, but it just might work. "Come back alive!" Terrwyn responded stiffly.

  Luka nodded. He stepped away from his comrades and created a Blade Barrier to surround them. Then the mage cast a Light Barrier over their heads to seal the students inside. Luka created an illusion to camouflage his body and slowly sneaked around the goblin army. He stuck to the wall of the arena and avoided detection.

  The would-be assassin gingerly approached the back of the horde. Luka witnessed the Goblin Archers release their first round of arrows and hoped that the Light Barrier withstood the assault. When he reached just ten feet away, the Goblin Shaman abruptly turned in his direction and cried for help!

  Luka cursed inwardly at being discovered and cast Holy Word to incapacitate the enemy. He sent the same spell against the Goblin Lord as well. The powerful spell was effective against high-level monsters and, more importantly, took the two leaders out of the fight momentarily by stunning them.

  The four High Goblins arrived and slashed their blades against his dark figure!

  Luka cast Blink, and these swords passed through his body like a ghost. The mage quickly used Void Step to ascend beyond their reach. While he hovered twenty feet in the air, the mage cast Lightning Bolt. A brilliant flash of light erupted as a blinding arc of electrical current jumped from goblin to goblin and fried all four enemies. Although Luka defeated these bodyguards, they bought valuable time for the two goblin leaders to recover from their abnormal statuses.

  The eight-foot-tall, dark-green Goblin Lord bellowed in anger at his shameful defeat to the lowly human.

  The shaman began to cast enchantments on his leader.

  Luka calmly released Bel and Gripper. "Disrupt the Goblin Shaman's magic," he ordered.

  The two animals dodged the big goblin's club and ran around him to reach the shaman. Gripper threw big punches at the magic caster and knocked him back. Whenever the goblin tried to cast a spell, Bel disrupted with a timely swipe of his paw. The two bullies treated the Goblin Shaman as a hapless punching bag.

  The Goblin Lord tried to approach and help his ally, but Luka bravely blocked his path.

  "Your opponent is me," Luka declared and took out his Staff of Alraune.

  The boss monster sneered in disdain. Suddenly, the lord swiped his massive club at the puny human!

  The spatial mage Blinked and permitted the weapon to pass through his body. Luka maintained the spell effect as his hand entered the monster's chest. The human grasped his enemy's beating heart and pulled it out.

  The Goblin Lord felt his body stiffen because his blood abruptly stopped circulating without the vital organ. His body dropped to the ground and raised a small dust cloud. Bam!

  The remaining minions felt their lord's defeat and immediately lost their courage to fight. Their movements slowed, and their attacks weakened by 20%.

  Luka saw that the Goblin Shaman was still alive. He sent a dozen Light Bolts at the enemy and defeated the horde's second-in-command. The mage surveyed the battlefield and noted that the archers had stayed in formation. Luka grinned as he created a Blade Barrier to cut them down with devastating effect!

  Since Luka wiped out the archers, their projectiles no longer pressured his classmates. The melee fighters took advantage of the massive confusion. They charged out of their protective barrier and attacked the remnants of the goblin horde.

  Luka sat down to rest, but he kept a watchful eye over his party's progress. He prepared to rejoin the fight if necessary. Meanwhile, Bel and Gripper watched the three remaining portcullis for signs of opening to release another monster wave.

  Luka noticed that the other mages were still casting spells even though the horde's defeat was imminent. "Mages should stop fighting and focus on recovering their magic! I expect us to face three more waves of monsters!" he yelled out while pointing at a closed gate.

  Terrwyn immediately understood Luka's concern and gave out an order. "Surround the remaining monsters, but don't kill them!" She realized that another gate would open once the class defeats all the enemies. Therefore, the leader sought to buy time to rest a bit before the next battle.

  * * *

  Meanwhile, senior faculty and administrators sat around a long table and watched the Elite Class battle from a large screen inside the Dungeon Control Room.

  "Oh, these kids realized there are three more waves of monsters," an observer lamented and rapped his knuckles on the table. Knock-knock. He wore dark purple robes and a pointy hat. His long, gray-white hair covered a portion of his face.

  "You sound upset, Kilmar," teased another watcher. His head was bald and shone under the bright light from the screen. He wore a sleeveless shirt to display his massive biceps.

  "Yeah, the students are cheating right in front of our eyes. Shouldn't you care as well, Jordan?" another person joined in. She wore spectacles over her sharp, icy eyes and wrapped her long, brown hair in a bundle. The woman wore a figure-hugging black dress with a plunging neckline that revealed her ample cleavage. "What do you think, Cloten?" she turned toward another observer and asked.

  The nobleman and part-time instructor smiled politely. "I tutored Luka Heavensfell, who is a member of the party fighting in the arena. Therefore, I should recuse myself from offering my opinion to avoid the appearance of bias, Talaza," he answered.

  "Well, I strongly disagree with Lord Evans. Since I'm the head of the Divine Church of Light, I have a nominal relationship with Altima's Godson. But this alone won't force me to neglect my duty as an observer of the freshmen field trip," Pope Demetrius chided gently.

  "In my humble opinion, the Elite Class did not break any rules in delaying the release of the second monster wave. The only instruction we gave out to the homeroom teachers was to ask their students to descend to the lowest level possible within seven days. Each year, we modify the dungeon so that the visitors won't benefit from asking upperclassmen and alumni about their previous experiences."

  "I agree," Headmaster Ladis nodded. "The freshmen field trip allows us to identify the most talented students within the incoming class and learn their characteristics. Besides, I retain full control as the dungeon master. That means I could change the rules on the fly," he grinned. The official saw Cloten grimace upon realization of what Ladis intended to do. "I'll generously give the kids a minute to rest."

  The dungeon master summoned a digital clock and made it hover next to the screen. It slowly ticked down from sixty seconds. Once the period expired, Ladis moved his left index finger. The northern gate at the arena responded to his input and slowly lifted.

  The grating sound drew the party's attention. "Kill them!" Terrwyn ordered immediately.

  While Wickkuil beheaded the goblin prisoners, Luka issued another command. "Mages drink a magic potion now!" He realized that his classmates hadn't replenished their magic power yet. He planned to buy them time to digest the liquid and regenerate some mana.

  The Elite Class watched as a mass of slithering snakeheads exited the gate and entered the battlefield. Their continuous hissing unnerved some of the students. They saw a four-limbed monster the size of a carriage with seven elongated and flexible necks attached to snakeheads.

>   "It's a hydra!" Luka identified the boss from the bestiary he read during childhood. "Whenever you cut off one head, two more will regrow in place unless you cauterize the open wound with fire. And its bites are poisonous!" he warned. "To defeat the hydra, we must cut off all the heads and prevent them from regenerating. Kayne, can you summon a fire elemental?"

  "It will take up most of my magic reserve, but yes, I can," the fire mage confirmed.

  "Do it," Luka commanded. "The shieldmen will block while the spearmen will parry the heads -- one person responsible for each snakehead. Wickkuil will block the last head. The other swordsmen will focus on beheading the monster with the fire elemental lurking behind to cauterize the fresh wound. Is that alright, Terrwyn?" he asked.

  The class rep nodded because she didn't have a better proposal. "Let's do it!" Terrwyn pumped her fist to rally the troops.

  Luka turned toward the other mages. "Uhaen, can you summon a rock golem?"

  The summoner nodded. "You want my minion to pin down the hydra, right?"

  "Exactly."

  "I'll buff the shields and spears with my enchantments," Thoma offered.

  Luka joined Thoma and began to buff the melee fighters. Once the two finished, Terrwyn gave a signal to her classmates. "Charge!"

  The shield wielders and spearmen quickly picked their targets.

  Luka followed a few steps behind and began to cast Dancing Lights on each snakehead. This spell would distract the hydra and make it miss attacks on his classmates.

  However, the hydra's necks were extremely malleable, like thick ropes. The willy monster swayed its heads from side to side and fluttered them in the air like kites. Moreover, the hydra flickered its tail, and the thick appendage slammed into the ground with a loud "thud!"

  Uhaen directed his rock golem to grab the tail and prevent it from moving. The summoner expended plenty of mental strength to control his minion and pin the hydra in one spot.

  The other students endured enormous pressure in keeping track of the hydra's separate movements because it felt like fighting seven distinct monsters instead of one! Whenever a swordsman got close to the hydra's main body, the boss slapped the person aside with a limb.