Pandora Unchained - a Cultivation Progression Fantasy

The Life and Death Dungeon consisted mostly of living and unliving jungles, though some valleys and hills existed. The ruin Celine was investigating was located atop a particularly elevated hill.

The God Seed’s party was hunkered down inside the ruins, being besieged by no less than three teams and a hundred undead minions. “Is it just me, or are they basically saying Celine is three or four times stronger than Petros?” asked Lawrence as he delivered the results of his reconnaissance mission. “She’s amenable to cooperation and suggests we strike from the outside while she breaks out from the center.”

“Three or four times stronger isn’t a bad guess,” said Sorin. “She’s a God Seed that’s rumored to have sanctified 60 percent of her flesh. That’s about the same as most clan elders, not to mention the insane benefits God Seeds receive.”

By all accounts, he wouldn’t be surprised if such a monstrous personage could fight demigods on even ground. It was no wonder, then, that Benjamin Riss was personally involved in keeping her contained and allowed her team not a moment of rest.

“According to the intelligence we’ve gathered, Benjamin Riss has sanctified a little over 50 percent of his flesh,” said Gareth. “That said, he’s an Olympian God Seed. The fact that Celine is ranked 2nd on the Flesh-Sanctification God Seed rankings, and he’s ranked 5th means very little.”

“No one in our group can face him head-on,” said Sorin. “According to my clan’s information, Ares might not be the most powerful God Seed in a one-on-one confrontation, but he’s at least as strong as lesser God Seeds at the same level of cultivation.

“Lawrence, you said that Celine will be breaking through. What’s the follow-up plan?”

“She said she’d pull us out, somehow,” said Lawrence. “Though I’m a bit skeptical. That said, I’m sure I can get us out if she stabs us in the back.”

“Then let’s do this,” said Sorin. “Stephan, why don’t you do the honors?”

“Gladly,” said Stephan, shifting into Silver Spine Grizzly Bear form. The silver spikes on his armor and fur were far more pronounced than before, and a thick layer of metal seemed to cover every inch of his flesh. “I try not to use this stupid form because it’s heavy and slow. But I don’t like dying, so here I am. Let’s do this!”

“Shadow Traversal!” said Lawrence, looping his blood-bound ball of silver string into the shape of a gate. A dark portal appeared before them. Another similar portal is right in the middle of the enemy formation.

The undead and adventurers near the portal scrambled to adapt to the shadow gate's appearance, but before they could retreat more than a few steps, Stephan was in their faces, unleashing punishment upon his foes.

Spears, arrows, swords, and claws—in his current state, Stephan seemed immune to such paltry things. Even spells didn’t seem to faze him any longer. All that energy is going somewhere, though. It’s building up and is about to explode. Sorin waited a few more seconds until the energy reached a breaking point, and Stephan unleashed the new skill he’d acquired: Divine Retribution.

Silver spines imbued with golden energy erupted from Stephan, skewering all nearby enemies and clearing the way for Sorin. Sorin used Adder Rush to leap to the only target who hadn’t fallen, some sort of undead captain. He stabbed Nemesis into the zombie’s brain, releasing a carefully calculated dose of poison before leaping to his next opponent.

Astley appeared shortly after and began summoning tentacled monstrosities. Just how did she capture so many creatures of Madness? The war array in the local area collapsed something that Sorin capitalized on by taking out two more enhanced zombies.

Unfortunately, he was unable to reach for a third. The hole created in the enemy formation was a gaping one, but it had somehow already been fixed. What’s more, mana was being transferred to his location at a frightening rate, empowering the zombies and putting Sorin on the back foot.

“Crippling Blow.”

“Arms Upgrade.”

“Illusory Anvil.”

Sorin heard three distinct commands that empowered the weapons of the three humanoid undead he was facing, lent a terrifying aura to their next attacks that gave him no choice but to evade, and finally restricted his movements, forcing him to block said blow. Sorin’s mana was sent reeling as the three attacks cut shallow gashes into his armor and infused him with disruptive energies.

I can probably take out one or two of these if I use my aces, but is it worth it? Judging by the Strife patterns visible over the entire battlefield, Sorin could somewhat make out the intentions of the commander. He had basically admitted defeat but was taking his time in organizing a retreat. At the same time, he was using this opportunity to sound out his enemies and better evaluate their capabilities.

Sorin was loathe to expose his abilities more than necessary. He had Nemesis adopt spear form and stuck with basic acitoxins while at most probing his zombified enemies for further hints at what ancient cultivator physiques might have looked like.

Celine’s party was, fortunately, a swift one. The God Seed’s party blended with the darkness of the night. Stars swirled around her, striking unsuspecting enemies as she joined up with Sorin’s group and cut down ten or so undead and even incapacitated two enemy adventurers along the way.

“Many thanks for your assistance, Sorin,” said Celine. “Though we could have run at any time, we wouldn’t have been able to avoid Benjamin’s pursuit. Are you ready to leave?”

“We are if you can arrange it,” said Sorin. “What did you have in mind?”

“Stellar Transposition,” answered Celine. “Gather around me.”

Their group pulled away from the zombie army and erected shields of many as Benjamin’s army switched to offense. Spells bombarded their group alongside spell-piercing arrows. Not a second was wasted.

“Is it really worth spending so much effort to slightly disrupt my transposition, Benjamin?” shouted Celine.

“Who knows?!” said Benjamin Riss, a golden-armored spear wielder who practically oozed military might. Alone, he was slightly better in combat than the average God Seed, but with an army at his side, he was a monster, someone even a highly sanctified God Seed like Celine couldn’t handle. “It might do nothing, but it could very well land you in a world full of hurt. What’s a few divine crystals if I can take you out of the picture?”

“Your battle mania is insatiable,” spat Celine. “Prepare for transposition.”

Starlight flooded a fifty-foot radius, and a spectral army appeared above Benjamin and crashed into the complex formation. Celine was prepared for this, however. A corona of sacrificial light spread out from the outskirts, pushing the army back like stubborn ocean waves while most of the starlight remained concentrated in the ore.

But Benjamin was not one to be refused. By attacking with the spectral army, he’d exposed a vulnerability in the transportation circle. His army’s energy poured into his golden spear, which he launched directly at Celine, causing a distortion in the transposition formation at the very last second.

Howls pierced the air as Sorin and company found themselves in an unknown stretch of death-aligned wilderness. “Curse that man,” said Celine. “It looks like we landed a bit further north than I expected.”

“We’re in enemy territory,” confirmed Gareth. He threw out a silver falcon to update their map. There was a total of five settlements nearby, two of which were in the area allocated to the flamekin. “We should retreat.”

“Why should we?” asked Celine. “We have two of the more powerful teams in this realm banded together. Most teams only have a God Seed and a Hero at most, while mine has two heroes, and yours has five. I highly doubt we’ll encounter an equivalent flamekin party. As long as we strike quickly, we have nothing to fear.”

“What makes you think such flamekin parties exist?” asked Sorin.

“Balance,” answered Celine. “Every unclaimed dungeon follows the principles of compromise. In this case, the compromise came in the former of similar-level access to a group of enemy myths.”

Sorin exchanged a look with his companions. “All right then, let’s do it. Maybe we get extra credit for stealing a ruin from the enemy?”

“That’s likely the case,” agreed Celine. “You have a Shadow Guide in your group, do you not? Have him lead the way, and my group will quash any resistance we encounter.”

“Hey! This shadow guide has a name,” said Lawrence. “But I’m in a good mood today, so you can just call me handsome.”

Shadows swallowed their two teams as Lawrence led towards the nearest ruin. Though it was located in a tunnel system, this proved no problem for Lawrence’s superior senses, which extended equally in all three dimensions.

The land out here was thankfully excavatable. They smashed apart any tunnel blockages they encountered, either using Stephan’s claws or a hammer strike from the heroic barbarian on Celine’s team.

“There’s a large empty area in the center of this ruin,” said Lawrence, stopping just before their destination. “I sense flamekin inside the buildings investigating things. Should we ambush them?”

“That depends,” said Celine. “Did you sense anyone stronger than me?”

“Nope,” said Lawrence. “Not even close.”

“Then there’s no need,” said Celine. “I’ll take care of them in an instant.”

Starlight flashed overhead despite their location deep underground. Most of the stars simply stood in place, but a few glowed brighter and fell at a rapid pace.

“Wait! Don’t damage the buildings!” yelled Astley, but too late. Eleven bright comets somehow pierced through the earth above them and smashed into the buildings currently being investigated.

“They’re dead,” said Celine. “Feel free to loot any bodies located in your half of the ruin.” The God Seed decisively split off from Sorin and his party and began looking through the demolished stone residences.