Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 285: Final Stretch

Kaiden’s mind moved to his system window.

▸ Trial One – Prove Your Wrath: 40/100

▸ Trial Two – Feed the Glutton: 250/1000

▸ Trial Three – Conquer the Sinner: 0/1

The numbers lingered for a moment before fading away. Still work to do... but he was making good headway as far as the first two requirements of his bottleneck were considered.

However, there was a problem. A very big one at that.

They were already at the end of the dungeon. They’ve killed the monsters from before. The Broodspitter Matron, the Weaver of the Crownless Nest, the Twins of Unmaking, the Knight-Caste Gluttonspawn... Have all been slain, alongside a myriad of other monsters that assaulted them time and time again as they closed in on the end.

Which in turn meant there were likely no more monsters left to kill but the boss. Kaiden theorized she might be a sinner because of her incredibly evil backstory, but whether she was or not didn’t matter as far as this dungeon clear was considered.

If he defeated her, then the dungeon would be over already. Kaiden was unhappy that he had to face the end of this strange dungeon while still being locked to his basic abilities, but there was not much he could do.

They were locked in here. Even if he wanted to, they couldn’t just up and leave. One might argue that they could just wait until the Awakened Association sends in their own squad for the clear, but that would hardly be a life insurance. That squad might fail as well, or just end up being far too slow.

Dungeon breaks weren’t exactly uncommon, especially when it came to ones that were displaying some weird properties like this one.

As such, all he could do was move forward.

The group stepped through a vein-lined corridor, following the throb of the dungeon’s pulse until they came to a stop. The hallway ended at a doorway, which was a massive, fleshy arch with mirrored fragments embedded in the frame.

Sasha’s voice instantly snapped.

”Wait! I thought we were already inside the boss’s room? What on earth is this utter nonsense?! A room inside a room?!”

Jack made a frustrated noise. ”Nothing makes sense here... Honestly, I’m kinda done with Nova Circuit. Everything’s always getting messed up. We should just change guilds-”

His words died when Vaelira’s eyes cut to him, heavy enough to pin him to the floor without touching him. Jack wisely shut up.

Kaiden let his gaze sweep over his women. ”How prepared are you? And how close are you all to breaking through your bottlenecks?”

Aria crossed her arms with annoyance written all over her face, muttering, ”I’m facing something very annoying right now...”

Luna sighed in the same exasperated tone. ”Yeah. Same.”

Bastet’s ears flattened, her tail limp and unamused. ”Mrr... I’d rather not talk about it.”

Nyx, in contrast, had a smug curl to her lips. ”Besties... I might just have to leave you in the dust.” Her tone dripped with self-satisfaction, as if she’d already won a race no one else knew had started.

Diaz chimed in casually, ”Few more kills and I’m there.”

Kaiden turned to Vaelira, hoping she was close, or even better, maybe already past hers.

Her response was a sharp, dismissive scoff. ”What’s with that look? Did you forget I’m A-ranked? Unlike you and the rest of the riffraff...” Her gaze slid briefly to everyone present except herself. ”... my requirements are already immensely difficult. And they will only grow worse with each bottleneck I surpass. You lot get to grind like peasants. I have to climb mountains.”

”You’re such a lovely person.”

Luna’s sarcasm was met with a nod. ”I know.”

”...”

...

Kaiden and Jack stepped forward, and, with a push, the fleshy double doors parted. Wet strands of sinew snapped like overstretched ligaments, making the multiple ladies involuntarily shudder. The place was already disgusting, but this was something else entirely.

They couldn’t wait to exit the dungeon and take a long, hot bath. Ideally, with Kaiden there, ’helping them wash’ as he’d likely put it.

But alas, they had a job to do.

The first thing that hit them inside the new room was the smell.

It wasn’t just rot of undeath; it was the stench of something alive rotting from the inside out. The air clung to the skin, humid and oily, seeping into clothes, hair, lungs.

”It’s her lair...” Bastet growled.

Unlike the veined, alien corridors outside, the Countess’s lair was something out of a nightmare given flesh. The walls bulged and sagged with translucent sacks, each one filled with silhouettes. Vein-like cords connected them to the ceiling, where they pulsed in a slow rhythm.

Thick, mucous-like fluids dripped from them, pooling into ankle-deep sludge that crawled with skittering, larva-like things that dissolved into pus when stepped on. The sound of wet squelches and distant chittering echoed from every direction.

They didn’t have long to take it in.

The sacks began to shake. Some did so violently, others in slow jerks. Thin, spindly legs tore through the membrane, followed by glossy black carapaces dripping with ichor. Dozens of giant spiders spilled out. Their fangs glistened with green venom.

”It’s the same ones!” Sasha shouted.

These monsters were identical to the ones that came from the boss monster’s back, just without the size-change mechanic present. Back when they emerged from the sacks on her backs, they underwent rapid growth. Here, they were already gigantic inside their sacks.

Kaiden reasoned that it was likely her magic that allowed this phenomenon to occur. It was perfectly in line with her personality. Carrying numerous compressed monsters allowed her to have even more minions than otherwise. She could deploy them to do her bidding whenever she felt like it.

But it was not the time to theorize. Seeing the charging monsters, Kaiden’s lips split into a feral grin as he reached over his shoulder. The greatsword slid free with a metallic hiss.

”Well... lucky us. No boss monster yet.”

The first spider lunged. Kaiden met it head-on.

It was in this manner that the group’s fight commenced. The more monsters threw themselves at them, the more green ichor spilled onto the ground.

These spider monsters weren’t exactly the smartest existences. Without their boss here to control them, they were very simple beings. Their size, numbers, and poison were the only things they had on their side.

But the versatility of the group of awakened prevailed.

They were the perfect monsters for Kaiden to face, though, as many of them were in the level 25-27 range.