Paragon of Skills

Delefagus can’t believe his luck.

He looks at the ‘Reagentic Blood (Constitution - True Diamond)’ Skill.

It’s extremely, extremely rare to find such a Skill. Some Skills are so hard to come by through normal monsters or natural formations that even the Dark Champions, as disciples of Asmodeus, have trouble finding the right Skill Crystals sometimes.

Many of them were arranged for them by the Prophet, who granted them an already-decided path.

Yet, Delefagus, among the Dark Champions, is the one who has already diverged the most from such a path. Not only has his research into monsterification already surpassed whatever understanding the Prophet himself has of monsterification, but he has also changed his own path.

And now, this…

Delefagus has been resting in his room before the tactical meeting Jacob has called. He puts the Skill Crystal on his lap, caressing it gently.

When they got it after the fight with one of the Mithril Nightmares, he had really feared that it might have gone to Baal or Nimirea. Both were closer to Jacob, but, since they had already gotten their own Skill Crystal, even though they both looked hungry looking at it, Jacob still picked it up, went through a list he was keeping with everybody’s name, even the Dark Champions’, and then walked up to Delefagus, dropping it in his hands without thinking twice.

Delefagus had then feared that Baal or Nimirea would resent him or worse, try to attack him in his sleep. Yet, they had congratulated him.

This would make his miasma twice as thick and physically strong, and nudge him toward an even more different Class for his next jump.

In fact, both Baal and Nimirea had spent some time brainstorming with Delefagus about his possible advancement paths.

To say that he had been overjoyed about that would be the biggest understatement in the entire world.

Delefagus loved talking Classes with fellow-minded people. And Nimirea… well, he still regretted she had left the Dark Champions. And Baal… he was a Champion, now, but he was, at the very least in spirit, a Dark Champion, especially considering what he had gone through.

Delefagus had had only spite for Iskara since the moment she had showed up already fully-monsterified. A desperate Infernal looking for power at any cost in order to subvert her little mommy’s domain—pathetic.

A tantrum.

Baal? When Delefagus learned the full extent of what Baal, the handsome, warm-smiled young man had gone through, he felt his blood freeze.

The extent of slavery that Baal had endured, the amount of power he had to accumulate to fight back for just one duel against a Divine Spell that apparently belonged to their own master…

Delefagus suspected that even with Nimirea present, if Baal had ever shown up at the door of the Prophet, he would have been instantly promoted to Leader of the Dark Champions.

And he is so freakishly handsome… Delefagus thinks to himself.

Then, he takes a deep breath.

“Focus. Things are about to get real.”

When he had seen the Advanced Grounds appear, something had felt… wrong.

And it isn’t the fact that they were about to fight Apocalypse’s followers. If anything, he can’t wait for violence to escalate so that he could show his full hand. At first, he had decided not to—you know, to make sure that he could use it to kill Jacob Cloud. But now… he is pretty sure there’s no way that if anything stronger than what they already faced appeared, he would be able to act all nonchalantly.

*Plus, I am fairly certain that Jacob’s Rainbow Skill changed. He most likely knows about it already. *

But knowing about it and seeing what awesome technique Delefagus’s genius created are two entirely different things.

And he’s taught it to everybody.

Well, everybody chained to Asmodeus, that is.

Jacob making everybody stronger truly is an inspiration…

Delefagus has stopped hating all the time. Just occasionally, to keep his hate-engine fit enough. But he has definitely learned a thing or two from Jacob. Especially the whole point about making your allies stronger. While the Dark Champions can fight seamlessly and collaborate financially, they do because they’ve learned to be this way. But they’ve never gone out of their way to help each other like Jacob has done with his allies—with even just the Knights that follow him into the Dungeon.

And all of this… when Delefagus saw the opening leading to the Advanced Grounds… he felt…

Sad.

The same feeling one can have at the end of a school year at the Academy, after being onboarded there for so long and having to go back to their boring family instead of being alongside friends. When the final exams roll around, you know that the break is about to start and that you can’t lazy around with the people who just… not only they kept you company, but they actively changed you in both who you are and how you see the world.

Delefagus, catching himself thinking about something like that, coughs a couple of times.

“That’s what the old timer Knights say… that’s how they described the Academy. I’m a Dark Champion, for crying out loud.”

Yet, despite the negation, the scenario that the Knights described can perfectly fit what Delefagus has been living through up until now.

Nimirea is a genius, she’s so nice to talk to. Baal is hot — sorry, a genius, as well. And even people like Vyrrak are surprisingly straight-minded and curious about the world. He sort of hates Asterion, but playing a prank on the Highblood every now and then actually cheers Delefagus up.

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“I’m not getting sentimental over this,” Delefagus coughs again, “it’s just… very convenient to exchange ideas with these people.”

He also loves Boomgar’s humor, and how he livens up the room. The Dark Champions don’t have someone like him. They’re all sort of grim or self-absorbed in their pursuits—even Delefagus is like that.

Yet, when he drinks a beer with Boomgar, he catches himself laughing even when he’s not interacting with the group. And the Dwarf asks preposterous questions to everybody, to him as well, forcing him to participate in conversation.

Augusta is the closest thing to Boomgar, if Delefagus had to make a comparison. But it’s just a different energy.

Someone knocks at Delefagus’s door and he hears Boomgar’s voice, as if he had read his mind.

“Lad! Jacob’s speaking! Let’s go!”

Delefagus enters the inn’s main room and takes a seat around the rest of the Champions and Dark Champions.

The room is packed to the brim.

The inn’s main hall is packed to the rafters. Knights stand shoulder to shoulder, pressed against the bar and the walls and the foot of the stairs. The oil lamps have been turned up early to fight the gloom of so many bodies, and the air has gone thick with beer, stew, and unwashed armor. A few who arrived late climb onto chairs to see over the rest.

As they wait, Korrath, the giant black-scaled Dragonkin, leans forward.

“So, have you absorbed the Skill yet?” He asks.

“No,” Delefagus replies. “Haven’t had the time.”

“Do you think you should wait before we enter the Advanced Grounds?”

It is a legitimate question.

One could find rarer Skill Crystals.

And there are only so many Skills you can learn at once.

More than that, and your body starts rejecting them.

Yet, Delefagus, as someone who’s always been very careful with his selection, shakes his head, “no, I was just… thinking. I’ll do it as soon as we’re done here.”

“Makes sense,” Korrath shrugs and leans back.

That’s when Jacob takes the center of the inn, jumping up a table.

“So, everyone’s here! We found the Advanced Grounds, as you might have heard. Next, we’ll start moving into them. After brief recon, it appears that they are a much, much tighter system of tunnels that open into caves. I could feel lots of ore in there, meaning two things: first, Rafnov’s Bounty still continues.”

The people cheer, salivating at the prospect of more ore.

“Second, there will be stronger monsters. I suspect we’re about to see even stronger things down there. People might lose their lives despite the new equipment. Be ready.”

There’s a moment of nervousness before everybody calms down.

It’s a risk everybody understands.

They’re Knights, it’s part of the job to risk their lives, especially against such a dangerous Dungeon.

“Now, as for the first to enter the Advanced Grounds…”

Delefagus smiles.

He has asked Jacob to let the Dark Champions be the first. It’s the most dangerous part of the Dungeon, and they are the strongest, bar none. Not even Lady Helena Ashenvale can compare with them, especially if they factor Nimirea alongside them—something that he has requested.

“We’ll have Sir Lucas and Lady Helena take the lead tomorrow. I’ll come down with them, alongside the Champions, and make sure that everybody’s safe. I’ll announce the rest of the names now…”

Delefagus is about to pump his fist in the air, almost in a silly way. And now… His ears are ringing.

*What? *

A few Knights turn toward the Dark Champions with a smirk as their names get announced. Word has gotten around that the Dark Champions would be first, and with all the ill-will that still circulates against them, many people are feeling a deep schadenfreude at Jacob’s pick.

The Dark Champions, who all got several new Skill Crystals, Delefagus’s secret, and were ready to rain hell on the monsters to prove everybody how strong they are…

Asterismos, the Highblood swordmaster, and Veyrissa, his regular sparring partner, are visibly agitated and put their hands on the hilt of their swords as a few Knights comment under their breath, but loudly enough for them to hear.

“Finally put them in their place,” someone comments.

“About time someone reminded them this is not their party.”

“They’ve been swaggering around like the rest of us were here to watch them.”

What the muttering Knights cannot quite say is what nobody in the room misses: the Dark Champions stand in the same Rafnov Quality Imperium-Mithril alloy as the rest of them — chestpieces and gauntlets that would have bankrupted any of them a year ago. To most of the men here, that is harder to stomach than any of the murders.

“Murderers in shiny armor. Now they want respect on top of room and board?”

“I’ll respect them when one of mine doesn’t owe them a brother.”

Delefagus can’t believe this…

Why?

Why would Jacob do something like this?

Then, it dawns on him.

“We’re just Dark Champions to them,” Zorathul says with deep spite in his voice. “It was bound to happen. We shouldn’t have sworn the Oath. If we hadn’t, I could tear Jacob Cloud from hip to shoulder right now.”

“They’re bastards,” Augusta mutters. “I can’t believe this. It was supposed to be our moment.”

They’re all in Delefagus’s room.

The words that are flying are violent, but there’s much more hurt than anything else in their voices.

“Why would he blindside us like this?”

“He… we’re just Dark Champions,” Delefagus says, realizing the same thing that Zorathul said.

“We—“

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door.

They all turn to the door opening.

Jacob steps into the room.

“Huh, all of you here?” He asks.

They all narrow their eyes and put their hands on their weapons.

Jacob, ignoring them, carries a stack of parchment to the only table in the room.

“We move out in half an hour.”

“What?” Delefagus asks, confused. “Where? We’re going nowhere.”

“Didn’t you guys want the first shot at the Advanced Grounds?” Jacob asks, confused.

“You just said Sir Lucas and Lady Helena—“ Zorathul is already screaming when Jacob erupts in a fit of coughing.

“Oof, food’s not sitting well today either. What? That? Yeah, the food has been really messing with me these days. I forgot. So, since I told them they’d enter tomorrow, we’re entering tonight.”

“Are you—“ Delefagus finally walks up to the stack of parchment and ruffles through it, frowning. “What’s this?”

“This? So, this is the Runic Notation for all the new Skills you guys got. It gave me a mega headache to compile. Start reading it, and make sure you have it down for when we get to the Advanced Grounds. It’s a bit risky to train against strong monsters, but we’ll make do.”

Jacob stands there, innocent, with all the Dark Champions caught in a mess of contrasting emotions.

“Are you guys okay? You don’t look too good.”

“We—“ Delefagus opens and closes his mouth, turning to the rest of them.

“Anything wrong? You can tell me anything. Oh, and is it fine if the rest of the Champions and I come with you? I assumed so, but I’d like to ask first. I know you cared about going first.”

“I—“ Delefagus sighs and rubs his face. “It’s fine. Sure. Whatever. Just… don’t get in our way.”

“What?” Jacob asks. “We haven’t gotten in each other’s way for a while now. No?”

Delefagus looks pointedly at all the other Dark Champions, almost angry that they had stoked such an anger inside of him. And now, everyone looks embarrassed.

There’s a rumbling thunder and everybody turns to Jacob.

“Do you mind if I use your bathroom?” The Leader of the Champions says. “That sandwich is still in my stomach.”

“I do, but just use it. I’ll have it burned down and rebuilt,” Delefagus sighs.

Jacob starts walking toward the bathroom when Augusta suddenly kicks Delefagus’s foot.

“Ouch!”

“Jacob! Delefagus wanted to say thank you!” Augusta says.

“Oh? For what?” Jacob turns. “Oof, do you mind if I just go? You don’t have to thank me anyway.”

Jacob runs to Delefagus’s bathroom and almost immediately terrifying sounds start coming from there.

All the Dark Champions look at each other and then make a run for the exit.

As they run fully outside the room, and then the inn, they collectively sigh in relief.

“Do you think he messed with us on purpose?” Augusta suddenly asks Delefagus.

“I don’t want to bother thinking about it. The moment you start thinking about his mind games, you lose.”

Everybody else nods.

And, in their heart of hearts, they’re grateful and relieved.

They can still prove themselves.

They’re still… part of the group.

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