Grancel City. East Block.
Aurelia and Mueller currently stood in front of the gate of East Block. The same scene could be seen in front of them as the other three Blocks displayed. Just a different location.
"My fair lady and gentleman, what sort of monsters do you think will show up this time? Back at Dreichel's Plaza, it was those strange dolls that came right out of the Middle Ages. The other teams have begun fighting, so that means we're last. I can already feel the applause coming~", Prince Olivert said with a grin over his lips.
"I am not sure. Perhaps it will take the three of us into account? We do hail from Erebonia like the rest, as funny as that sounds. Three unusual allies placed in a foreign land, all for the sake of getting some combat experience. Not that I mind.", Aurelia said, and smiled. As she did, she whipped out her giant large sword, swinging it around with ease. It was already the same one she would use throughout Cold Steel.
"Me neither. It could be completely random. Let Lady Aurelia and I handle the vanguard. It said the first wave is a full two hundred of them. Since there's four blocks, there are more than likely fifty monsters waiting for us.", Mueller said.
"I will assist you two with my arts and my orbal gun from the rear.", Prince Olivert said. His earlier demeanor vanished, and was replaced with a serious look in his eyes. He grabbed ahold of his Combat Orbment, which was likely customized just like Naoto's was, and pressed it open, ready to draw its lines at a moment's notice.
Thankfully they didn't have to wait long. One glow after another showed up, revealing various monsters.
Sure enough, it was just as Prince Olivert wondered. One after another, Magic Knights showed up out of nowhere. It wasn't just the Ashurei edition Dreichel's Plaza had. No, it was various kinds of Magic Knights.
"Hahaha! So the fight back at the Plaza was just a prelude. Now this is a sight to behold. Come now, my friends. Let us engage in battle!", Prince Olivert shouted, seeing every single one much taller than themselves.
"You don't need to say that twice. Let's do this. And for the record, I will be the one to get the most contribution out of this. That reward from last time was too good to pass up on.", Aurelia grinned, and swung her sword outward.
"I will not fall behind you two. I would fail to live up to the name of the Vanders. Having some exercise does the body good once in a while.", Mueller said, letting loose his own aura for once.
"Now you're getting into it~", Prince Olivert teased, seeing his lovely bodyguard ready to strike at a moment's notice.
As if the screen had cracked, the three began their battle at East Gate.
With that, all four Blocks were now engaged in combat. The once dull Grancel City void of any color started to get extremely noisy and flashy with a bunch of techniques being launched in all directions!
It did not take long to enter a steady rhythm.
And with the flow of combat, soon came more Gamer Notifications.
And I welcomed those with warm arms.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Party has successfully cleared the first wave of monsters!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Party has continued its clearing streak, and defeated the second wave of monsters!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Party has tackled the final wave of Instance Dungeon IV and managed to take down the False Reverie!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Party has successfully defended Grancel City from the monster raid. The Instance Dungeon has been cleared!]
[Ding! The combat period has now concluded. Total monsters defeated: 3600. Bosses defeated: 25.]
[Ding! Now calculating Party Member contributions...]
[Ding! Party Member contribution has finished. The ranking is now available.]
[Ding! The rank goes as follows:
-Gamer Naoto: 500 defeated.
-Aurelia Le Guin: 500 defeated.
-Phillip Runall: 450 defeated.
-Emma Millstein: 400 defeated.
-Zin Vathek: 400 defeated.
-Colonel Richard: 300 defeated.
-Scherazard Harvey: 250 defeated.
-Mueller Vander: 250 defeated.
-Kevin Graham: 200 defeated.
-Ries Argent: 150 defeated.
-Cassius Bright: 100 defeated.
-Olivier Lenheim: 100 defeated.]
[Ding! Both Gamer Naoto and Aurelia le Guin have tied for first place. Congratulations!]
[Ding! The Contribution Period is now over. Now calculating rewards...]
"Aurelia and I tied, eh?", I said, musing at that fact. And sure enough, this Instance Dungeon really behaved like an online game. That third round was especially fun. We fought 200 monsters in the first round, 1000 monsters in the second round, and a total amount of 2400. It grew exponentially, including several bosses. Twenty-five of them.
Plus the "Final Boss" of the Instance Dungeon. Seeing the name, False Reverie, had my thoughts being stirred for a good while, and my assumption was correct. The twelve of us took down a much more giant version of the Guardian of the Ring that's still sealed inside the Aureole's Sealing Chamber. I don't think I have to be worried about a version of it appearing here on the surface.
Yes it does give Colonel Richard knowledge on the monster, but he knows this Instance Dungeon is tied to me. He won't randomly guess that it came from down below. He'll just consider it very strange. Not until The Faceless implants those suggestions into his memory to trigger the start of Sky. We may very well become enemies in the coming few years, but right now, we're fighting alongside each other. It was a pleasure seeing his combat techniques in action!
All of the monsters were pretty strange, but powerful. The Church team fought Fiends. The Erebonia team fought Magic Knights. And the Bracer team fought several gigantic Crop Munchers that towered over all of Grancel City. So weird!
But we all managed to take the 3600 monsters down. The last wave was especially fun where it used all of Grancel City as its attack site. That meant we didn't participate in groups anymore. All twelve of us regrouped, and took the False Reverie down. I didn't go into too much detail cause there wasn't really much to say. This Party has several powerhouses, including THE Divine Blade.
What more can I say?
Still, I saw Aurelia look back at me with a profound look in her eyes. The calculation period was still underway.
"I honestly did not expect you to score the same amount of contribution that I achieved and stand as my equal. You've sure grown since we met last prior to coming to Grancel. Perhaps our duel really may come to fruition soon.", Aurelia said, and gave me a smile.
"Haha, thank you for the praise. It's not like I've remained idle since I've returned here. Plus with me turning twelve soon, I'm still growing. I still have some years ahead before I think of any plateaus.", I answered. Will the Gamer System cap my stats out at 9999? Only time will tell. Thanks to that huge boost in Stats from my encounter with McBurn, I'm over halfway there now. It may very well happen before I turn fifteen!
"And that girlie beside you is no slouch either. Emma, was it? She outshone you, Silver Streak, heh.", Zin said, observing the plum-haired girl beside me whose orbal rifle was still releasing some hot steam of air from firing round after round.
"That girl's a monster. Where'd you meet her, Your Highness?", Scherazard questioned, letting out some pants of hot air after fighting for such a long period of time. She was now recovering her stamina.
"Let's...just say she's an acquaintance I've known for some years back and Lady Aurelia here can attest to that.", I said, scratching my head.
"That's right. Naoto and I have known each other for several years now. We're what you consider childhood friends.", Emma said, and smiled.
'So that's what happened after the boy left the capital way back when...He met this girl.', Aurelia said, taking another glance at Emma, acting as if she was committing her to memory.
"I was pretty surprised myself. You knew where to shoot, and you provided excellent backup. Routing all of those monsters became simple.", Colonel Richard said, praising Emma for how she handled things. "And this is coming directly from the Colonel. Once you reach the proper age, why not consider joining the Royal Army?"
"Hehe, I thank you for the offer Colonel, but I do not see myself as a soldier. I simply wish to remain beside Naoto for the time being.", Emma said, and promptly rejected him.
"Oh my. Such loyalty at such a young age. Almost makes me a little jealous you found such a cutie pie~", Scherazard said with a teasing voice.
"Haha, well ya guys monsters in yer own right. Even Ries and I couldn't hold our own.", Kevin said, scratching his head. He was in the lower ranks. "And our backup took all the glory for himself."
"I do apologize, but I haven't stretched like that in a good while. Thank you for entertaining me, and giving me such an opportunity to wield my blade once again, Your Highness.", Phillip said, and gave me a light bow.
"He called all of that stretching...", Ries uttered, and frowned. Even she was shocked by Phillip's display. He slew a bunch of devils like it was nothing. He truly was a demon.
"Well, it was before our time, but Sir Phillip once held my position inside the Royal Army, it looks like your strength hasn't waned over the years. Maybe you'll do well as a sparring partner in the future, if you're up for it that is.", Cassius said, and grinned.
"If time allows it. We are still celebrating Her Majesty the Queen, and I will be busy at His Excellency's side henceforth.", Phillip said, and politely nodded his head.
"At the very least, 'twas a splendid bout of vigor. I take it we are waiting for the rewards now.", Prince Olivert said, still donning his "Olivier" appearance.
"Yeah. I can normally only take five other people with me but due to the size of this Instance Dungeon, it's taking a while. Hopefully it won't be much longer.", I explained the situation to everyone.
Thankfully, we didn't need to wait long. I saw more Gamer Notifications come through.
[Ding! The rewards have finished calculating. Now distributing rewards to all Party Members...]
[Ding! You have Leveled Up!]