Overpowered Wizard

Chapter 201: B2: C101: Grimrock Hell Gate

“You okay, Bianca? You seem a little sluggish? Did Gilbert screw up healing you?” Zarian asked as he, Bianca, Naomi, Hannah, and Gilbert gathered on top of the left wall.

Bianca didn’t respond with words, being mindful of her voluminous voice while still shifted. She used the spider network to exchange accurate impressions of how she felt.

There was something wrong about Bianca’s free good that Gilbert’s vitality overcharge couldn’t quite fix.

It wasn’t anything bad compared to Naomi’s bodily debuffs. Instead, Bianca might’ve overtaxed her sub alignment.

Now she had to suffer a hidden debuff of sorts.

“So your free good +6 will be weaker, huh? Yeah, I get that. I won’t be able to use Overwhelming Darkness for a while. Pushing up to Two Percent Darkness nearly did me in.” Zarian looked up while standing next to her perched form.

Bianca had herself covered with her golden wings like a resting bird, her taloned feet gripping deep into the top of the wall. Glancing behind him, he saw the others marveling at her transformation except for Naomi, who seemed unimpressed.

“I hate leaving an objective undone,” Naomi grouched.

“I think it’s best to trust Bianca’s Wonder stat for this,” Zarian said. “That, and my wife won’t get what she wants from the death of the Prime Archbishop ... so it still works out.”

“Regardless of if the decision was a right one or not, the paladins are retreating and this series of events will throw off everyone’s plans,” Hannah said. “I also like the idea that we will rely on ourselves for contacting our home and dealing with our affairs back there. I can get behind that.”

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, Zarian thought.

I have so many questions, Para thought. Bianca’s decision is puzzling to me because I don’t exactly understand where it comes from. What went through her mind that led to her sparing the Prime Archbishop right before total victory? Or is it really because of her Wonder stat? I find the apparent unknown both extraordinary and frustrating, since it is illogical while having the possibility of being right.

You can always ask questions, Zarian encouraged privately.

Perhaps later, after the operation, Para replied.

“I for one am a huge fan of Monster Bianca’s decision and will sing praise in her direction once she’s back to being her old self,” Gilbert said, turning his attention away from Bianca’s giant, stooped over form. He looked over the edge of the wall. “Now let me have y’all attention, because I’m going to show you something you intellectual types might be interested in.”

“Oh? Is Gilbert going to lecture me?” Hannah turned sharply to the man. “This is going to make my day.”

“Let’s hear it, big guy,” Zarian encouraged.

“Those things down there, the lesser aberrations. They stopped being made from goblins after the beginning of the rush,” Gilbert explained. “Most of them are something else, I reckon.”

Immediately, Zarian used his aura to sweep over the aberration corpses. He felt Hannah doing the same thing, but her aura control was less sensitive compared to his.

It was Para, who was doing her own aura sweep, that noticed the design shift in aberrations first. That made sense. Para was inherently interested in the anatomy of other creatures.

“Gilbert is right,” Para said, speaking through the three snake heads winding over Zarian’s armored shoulders. She moved about her many clawed hands and scythe blades from behind Zarian’s back as she spoke. “The start of the aberrations featured corrupted goblins fused into singular masses. They are, in fact, similar to the goblins we once faced at the subterranean floors far, far below us.”

Para hissed thoughtfully before she continued. “But after that ... the aberrations seemed to come from similar creatures that are short and spry like goblins. But they have horns on their heads, and small leathery wings behind their backs, and spaded tails.”

Zarian used Aura Mastery + Identify for an in-depth review on a corpse similar to how Para described it. He told the others what he saw from the notification.

“They attacked differently, too,” Gilbert explained. “The hits from them were harder and a little smarter whenever they got a clue. They tried to jump up and over a lot. And they had a nasty heat coming off their bodies that was unique to them. They still burned from all of that flammable slime stuff, though, but I think they burned slower compared to the goblin versions.”

“That last part in the expanded details makes me think there are more versions than just the base form of them we’ve faced,” Hannah pointed out. “It seems like the Grimrock Warlock has exhausted her own kind and is relying on reinforcements from Hidden Hell.”

“If that’s the case, we might face a Hell Break scenario,” Gilbert said.

Everyone paused and looked at Gilbert. Even Bianca tilted her head to emote her surprise, since nobody could see past the shining light covering her face.

“Oh, come on! Don’t you think I’d read from Reiki’s library, too? Especially for something like this?” The man looked around, his steely blue eyes meeting everyone’s gaze, or trying to in Bianca’s case.

“I know you read from the library. But I thought all you read was raunchy stuff,” Zarian said.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “As God’s realest soldier, I figured it’ll be wise to study up on the forces of evil so I can fight them before I pass on and see the big pearly gates at the end of my journey.”

Zarian snorted. “Unlikely, since you may live forever, but go on.”

Gilbert opened his mouth, ready to refute, before stopping himself with a grunt.

He picked up where he last left off. “Well, the chance of facing the forces of hell and ramming a shield into their ugly, horny faces sounds about right to me. So, yeah, I looked it up, and it’s a shame I don’t have the right stuff to hit demons and such where it hurts, but we’re better off fighting them because of the freedom alignment.”

“Fuck yeah,” Naomi said coolly, arms crossed. She looked amped up and ready for more carnage. “Demon slaying sounds fun.”

“Well, I’m just as aware as you are Gilbert about what we’re facing, maybe even more so since I got the right stuff for researching,” Hannah said. “I also have some curiosities that must be fulfilled, such as if I can overcome the evil nature of hell runes and infernal enchantments. Apparently, nothing but warlocks and similar types can understand that stuff without feeling damned.”

“Bianca and I got to deal with some demon guy in Bramblevale way back,” Naomi said, looking up at the much, much taller Bianca. “He had some nifty trick in boosting his peons by sacrificing their life energy or whatnot. So it was definitely one of those evil power-ups that come with a big cost.”

“NO BUENO!” Bianca bellowed.

The moat surrounding the castle contained old dead things and smelled like rotten eggs. The black and metallic wood from the drawbridge they crossed over smelled even worse.

The entire castle gave off some awful vibes that were more present when close up.

Sharing her impression, Bianca expressed how she hated the castle and found it all icky.

“Infernal magic,” Zarian said. “What’s your take, everyone?”

“It hurts to scan this stuff,” Hannah said. “The infernal enchantments are high quality. Baseline legendary. Through their sheer nature, it’s thwarting what I can do. When we go in there, I will be less effective.”

“It’s using vitality draining stuff,” Gilbert chimed in. “Most likely a curse or two. That’s why we lost all the spiders that went in there. God rest their souls.”

“It’s mentally screwy,” Naomi added. “It’s got some subtle mind-fuck magic going on. And it’s strong as hell, because it’s getting through my free for real +3. I’m catching it and pushing it away with my skill.”

“That’s troubling,” Zarian said.

Because of his Floridian Mindset, he and Para would be unaffected. Naomi would go unaffected, too, simply because of her class.

Naomi continued where she left off. “Because we got the freedom alignment, it’ll be slow to work on any of us. But if you’re away from me for too long and you’re not Zarian, Para, and Loner, it’ll do something terrible to your head.”

“Last but not least, this place is going to strike at our aura,” Zarian explained. “Right, Para?”

“Very much so. The castle is fiendishly hungry. Which is making me angry. I don’t like anything eating from me. It is I who will eat.” Para hissed from her snake mouths. “Nonetheless, I can push back this fiendish curse as long as we’re in the same section together. However, the walls will make it very hard to spread our aura beyond their boundaries.”

“Exactly,” Zarian said. “So, to sum that up. We have infernal enchantments that are legendary and painful for Hannah to scan. We have a vitality draining curse. We have a mind fucking curse. And an aura sucking curse. Whelp, I guess it’s damn great of Ruvaria to give us those cursed items.”

“It’s almost as if she knew we would face these problems and had us prepared,” Hannah said dryly.

“I’m still wondering if going from the top is supposed to be better,” Gilbert grumbled.

“We’re here now. Ain’t no point trying to turn this whole thing around. Besides, the better the challenge, the better the growth.” Naomi looked at Zarian expectantly.

“Make sure your skills are where you need them, everyone,” Zarian ordered.

Hannah switched Mystic Rush Tank +2 from alpha to beta, her Rune Scan +2 going to alpha. Naomi switched Mind Spike +2 to beta and placed Tranquil Mind +3 in the alpha section.

The biggest surprise came from Bianca, who sent an impression of her switching Light Construction +2 to beta and Shining Mark +2 to alpha. That was a loud declaration from Bianca about the role she would play.

She’s going to focus on supporting this time, Zarian thought.

But with her current mighty form, she could dominate from the front if she wishes, Para thought. She really can be quite hard to understand. I’ve never realized that until now. Wow.

Ah, yes, welcome to being completely thrown off by Bianca being Bianca, Zarian thought with some humor. You’re really becoming a person now.

Para didn’t reply.

Everyone was ready, so Zarian waved them forth.

Naomi took the point woman position. Gilbert, Slip, and Loner followed right behind her. Zarian moved by foot at the midrange.

Staying close to the Madness Wizard, Hannah and her enchanted gear hovered above the floor. Her face was pinched with focus as she battled the infernal enchantments, determined to read their runes and learn their otherworldly secrets.

Zarian kept a close watch on Hannah while Para pushed her aura out to combat the aura curse. Gilbert kept the party’s vitality charged up, and Naomi sent out pulses from Tranquil Mind +3 to cleanse mental curses.

Pulling up from the rear, the giant monster princess moved with her wings folded around her body. Her taloned feet stepped down behind them with unexpected grace. Her shining face turned this way and that to examine the setting. Her dislike of the castle rippled through the spider network.

Ahead of the Floridians, brave spiders crawled forward to play their roles as scouts, searching for traps and enemies. They couldn’t go too far forward from the Floridians. Or they would succumb to the many curses coursing around this place.

With this, they had their main formation, and they were all needed to do their part. It didn’t take long for Castle Grimrock to reveal the full horror of what the Floridians would face as blue screens appeared above their heads once they crossed a certain hellish threshold.