Marching down the passage side by side with a clear sense of determination in their step, the group of adventurers didn’t take long to move through the passage on the seventh floor. Finding themselves on the very top of the spiral staircase leading down to the ground of the eighth floor of the dungeon.
Knowing they were dealing with the Eternal Life Sanctum ahead of time, their approach was far more cautious than it would have been originally, as their movement had slowed down visibly in preparation for what they might encounter along their descent to the ground. Understanding full well from information spread through the upper ranks of the guild that outside of being troublesome to deal with, the necromancers of the Eternal Life Sanctum were also fond of setting up all kinds of deadly traps using the dead creations under their control.
Among these, one of the most well-known kinds of traps being the ones on the spiral staircase of dungeons that would essentially push an unsuspecting adventurer off the side of the spiral staircase. Sending them plummeting straight towards the ground below.
Of course, with everyone’s strength, this was hardly something that would be capable of killing anyone present. What they truly feared was them being separated and then ambushed after crashing into the ground below by a group of powerful skeletons and undead, something they had heard about happening in clashes between higher level adventurers and the necromancers of the Eternal Life Sanctum in the past.
"Skeletons!" And as the group began the slow descent down the spiral staircase, it didn’t take long before the one having taken the lead spotted the group of skeleton guards stationed a short distance from where the spiral staircase began. Instantly causing everyone to tense up as they rushed forth to face these skeletons together.
"Hm? These are just normal skeletons...?" However, as the most experienced of the bunch, the leader of the group immediately realized that these skeletons were nowhere near the powerful skeletons or undead creatures he had been prepared to encounter on the spiral staircase after learning that the ones targeting the dungeon core belonged to the Eternal Life Sanctum.
"No! These aren’t normal skeletons; they have been enhanced by the necromancer behind them. If I’m not wrong, they should be under the direct control of the necromancer in question." As the leader was about to step forward and deal with these seemingly fragile skeletons blocking their path, Sylvia, the mage, called out behind him in a somewhat scared tone. Forcing the leader to freeze on the spot before slowly stepping back. Knowing that a skeleton or undead under the direct control of a necromancer not only allowed the necromancer behind the scenes to remotely control it but also allowed the other party to use some of their powerful magic through the controlled undead or skeleton.
Although this kind of magic would be significantly weakened. If caught off guard, a powerful necromancer would still be more than capable of killing a powerful SS Rank Adventurer like himself or at least force him to give up on proceeding any further.
Boom!
And almost the second the leader retreated, a small explosion of dark magic mixed with curse magic exploded at the spot he had been standing only a second earlier. The lingering magical presence alone sending a shiver down his spine as it was far beyond anything a small skeleton mage would ever be capable of doing.
"""Oh~? Looks like there is a rather skilled mage amongst the adventurers sent down this time around. Able to sense my presence."""
Following which an eerie voice echoed from the mouths of all the skeletons that had seemingly not detected them so far as they all turned around to stare towards the group of adventurers.
Without a doubt, this was the necromancer in control of the group of skeletons.
"""I was wondering where those two had gone. Looks like they ran into you bunch on their way back. Hmph! What a useless bunch! Oh well~ them coming back will at most delay me a bit, there is nothing a few useless adventurers like you can do to stop me~"""
Rattle~ Rattle~ Rattle~
But to the shock of the adventurers that had been preparing to fend off against the necromancer remotely conversing with them through the few skeletons blocking their path downwards, the other party, whose gender was completely indistinguishable, let go of control over the group of skeletons and allowed them to collapse into a pile of bones on their own. Leaving the group of adventurers speechless to the extreme. Not just because the confrontation had ended far too suddenly, but also because of the words that had been left behind by the necromancer.
Even without the other party mentioning who was being referred to, it wasn’t difficult for the adventurers present to put two and two together and realize the necromancer should be talking about the two dead members of the Eternal Life Sanctum they had found dead on the ground before they made their way down the passage to the eighth floor of the dungeon.
Not just that, but it was clear from what the other party said that it was unlikely that a monster from the dungeon had been behind their deaths. Meaning there might be a third party they didn’t know about involved in this struggle for the dungeon core behind the scenes.
Of course, it could also be another group of adventurers, who upon seeing members from the Eternal Life Sanctum, had decided to outright kill them.
If it was the first, it would be bad for them, as they might have to watch out for another party targeting the dungeon core while they were busy dealing with the Eternal Life Sanctum and the necromancer in charge of this dungeon assault force sent out by the Eternal Life Sanctum, while it being the latter would be good for them as it meant they would have more people working to deal with the scourge known as the Eternal Life Sanctum.
"Let’s get going... Even if there might be someone else around, I doubt we have much time to waste before the necromancer gets to the dungeon core..." Seeing the somewhat doubtful and cautious looks on everyone’s faces after the necromancer slipped away and relinquished control over the skeletons, the leader knew that he had to get everyone moving lest they delay and allow the necromancer to succeed in obtaining the dungeon core.
Rustle~
A fact that was understood by everyone present, as none of them were juniors inexperienced in dealing with this kind of situation. Taking off a few seconds after the mage, Sylvia, confirmed that the necromancer hadn’t left some kind of trap behind within the bones of the skeletons that now blocked their path downwards. Not taking long to reach the bottom of the spiral staircase and officially step onto the eighth floor of the dungeon, a desolate dead landscape filled with a thick poisonous miasma.
Or at least what the part of the eighth floor of the dungeon they had landed looked like. From the information they had obtained ahead of time about this normally inaccessible floor of the swirling sands dungeon, the landscape of the eighth floor varied wildly, one time a land of death filled with poisonous miasma like the one they found themselves in, the next a mountains terrain covered in a layer of thin mist with countless monsters lurking within waiting to jump you the second your attention slipped.
The only important thing outside of the countless unique environments that could be found on the eighth floor of the dungeon was the simple fact that the dungeon core could be found at the very core of this floor where all these unique environments intersected.
One special thing about the final floor of a dungeon was the fact that one would never end up anywhere near the core where the dungeon core was located and would always end up at the very edge of the floor. Meaning one would always have to struggle their way through hordes of monsters to reach the core of the dungeon.
A fact that had aided the guild in ensuring that they would have a relatively easy way to catch up with anyone attempting to seize a dungeon core without their prior approval, as they could always follow the trail of destruction left behind by the ones attempting to reach the core of the dungeon. Allowing the teams they sent in to avoid having to deal with anywhere near the same number of monsters as the ones trying to seize the dungeon core. Giving them the opportunity to easily catch up with the challenging party most of the time.
This situation was no different, as it didn’t take long for the group to spot the trail of death left behind by the necromancer from the Eternal Life Sanctum. Wasting no time as they followed the trail made up of monsters, bones and undead alike deeper into the eighth floor of the dungeon.