Dungeons and Dalliances

7.45 – Tower I

They picked a tower in the distance as their target. It was neither the nearest nor farthest of the visible landmarks—of the buildings more intact than the rest of the Ruins.

The team was unsure whether the nearest points of interest had already been raided and cleared of valuables and powerful enemies, hence they picked one in the middle distance. They could see it going either way: perhaps the zones regenerated, and perhaps they did not.

Natalie suspected the former: that valuables would restock over time. It only made sense. Otherwise, with the number of teams stationed at the City of Eros, everything would be stripped clean.

Nonetheless, they hedged their bets, since even if valuables did regenerate, the nearest zones were the ones most likely to have been recently cleared—and thus be depleted. They also picked their target based on how visually intimidating the building looked. The tower they decided on was the tallest and most menacing of the constructions they could spot, in the near or far distance.

She wondered whether jumping straight into what might be the hardest zone was smart, when they didn't have a standard of reference for what these 'points of interest' would be like. Clementine was the one to verbally point this out, but Elida brushed past the worry with little willingness to compromise. Vanetta, likewise, was set on not wasting time. Natalie also agreed, secretly, but it might have been smarter to test the waters.

Regardless, if there was a team who could handle the worst the Ruins had to throw at them, it would be their squad. Unless a mid-rank team had been exploring the third floor and been thrown into the City, which wasn't impossible, but was unlikely.

With their destination decided, they set off. The City of Eros had a bubble of safety around it, but the moment they trekked outside—and it was a stark difference, the polished and clean streets morphing into decayed ruins—Natalie was reminded they were in the dungeon proper. Less than a minute's travel in and one of those ghostly monsters that were common to the Ruins was assaulting them.

Finally, Natalie had the opportunity to focus on what had been the original goal of this mission, before Lust's intervention had derailed them. Not that Natalie was complaining about the absurdly beneficial opportunity presented to her … even if she'd much rather have been thrown here with her real team.

Observing Elida. Natalie had agreed to this mission to get her to leave her alone, as Elida had promised she would, but also to gather information. She knew that would be a two-way street, with Elida studying her back, but Natalie and her team had decided it worth it. Some information was better than none.

So. Elida.

She was …

Strong. Every bit Vanetta's equal, and Natalie had already been astounded by how skilled the dark-haired rogue was. Even during the trip to the tower, in which they encountered no harrowing fights, Natalie could tell that the first and second place titles of 'strongest fighters' of Tenet—much less within their team—went to Elida and Vanetta. They were monsters, both of them. And Natalie hadn't even seen the full extent of their abilities yet.

It made Natalie concerned for the inevitable Coliseum fight. Begrudgingly, she admitted to herself she would almost certainly lose a one-versus-one against the red-haired rogue.

And the reason why was obvious. No small amount of Natalie's strength was tied to her teammates. [Aura of Blessed Advancement], [Divine Invigoration], [Stylish]—some of her strongest abilities were support skills, or if not support, then team-based. And all of them weren't even power-based support skills. [Aura of Blessed Advancement] was undoubtedly one of the most incredible level-three skills Natalie had ever heard of, but gaining extra experience provided no utility in a fight whatsoever.

For Elida, Natalie suspected her god-imbued class benefited her more directly. She didn't give absurdly strong buffs to her teammates nor accelerate their leveling speed. Well, probably. Natalie wouldn't know.

Perhaps Elida didn't even have an [Advance] skill like Natalie, granting a secondary progression path, and thus would be stronger earlier in her career, but would be outpaced over time.

Regardless, her class's kit was clearly more selfish.

And didn't that make sense? It did in Natalie's head. Lust implied a person to lust over; and thus her skills were targeted that way, not purely on herself. Like [Divine Invigoration]. Moreover, she was a Paladin of Lust, and paladins were traditionally fighters, tanks, healers, and supports all in one—though the exact ratios varied.

But a Rogue of Rage, or whatever class Elida had, would trend toward personal combat abilities, not team-wide buffs.

In any case, Natalie had to acknowledge reality: Elida was her superior when it came to individual combat.

For now. And only in one-on-one fights. Natalie wondered whether her team would beat Elida's, at this point.   She felt they would. [Divine Invigoration] was obscenely potent, especially when used with [Empower]. Natalie had given it to Malice before leaving, seeing how she needed to act as the team's tank, and she honestly suspected the boost was so enormous that the wolfgirl would be able to stand toe-to-toe with Elida.

If only she could apply it to herself. Honestly, she might be able to, though she doubted it. She had no intentions of trying, because while the boost in strength would be lovely, Natalie's priority was for her teammates. They needed an empowered Malice as their front line. Even if she'd felt compelled to accept this delve with Elida, at least Natalie could be helping her team from afar.

For now, Natalie appreciated that Elida was on her side. Having such a skilled teammate was … nice. Not that she would admit as much out loud.

Unfortunately, beyond recognizing how skilled the girl was, Natalie failed to make useful observations on how her class functioned. Vanetta's conversation had been many times more revealing: the suggestion that anger drove the woman was more insight than Natalie discovered first-hand during the trip to the tower.

Perhaps the lack of insight came from the lack of difficulty. These fights weren't challenging enough to get her to show her hand. If that was the case, an opportunity was coming up. Because after a several-hour expedition—which was useful for gathering unenchanted tokens, if nothing else—they had arrived at the base of the tower. The construction stretched hundreds of feet into the air and was as thick as several houses around. It would take a while to ascend even if there weren't guardians inside. And of course there would be.

There might be an Emporium Key at the top, too, and if not that, there would surely be interesting fights and some sort of loot.

So, with building anticipation, Natalie shouldered the door open, the wooden slab creaking loudly as the first room revealed itself.

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