The government man took out a binder full of carefully typed pages, and checked down the list before speaking again.
“Right, that should work. The researchers are ready now, so we should get started as soon as you have eaten.” He announced.
“Would you like to join us? We made plenty.” Doug asked.
The man shook his head, while Colonel Valerie took a seat at one of the tables across from the silent church representative.
“We won’t be more than fifteen minutes, if you would like to let the researchers know of the updated plan and the order for our entry.”
They finished breakfast quickly, and found the two security guards at the entry to the dungeon, both equipped with some sort of fancy equipment in a backpack and clipboards.
With a nod, they fell into position, and the team entered.
Karl was the last to enter, and as he stepped through, he found himself with a much smaller group. The dungeon had split them into teams of five, as the government man had said was possible.
“Ew, it smells so bad in here. Like the laundry room of the boys dorms mixed with an overflowing latrine.” Lotus complained before covering her face with a bandana.
“Thank you for that vivid mental image. But you’re not wrong. The smell of an Ogre camp will not be at the top of my list of favourite memories.” Karl chuckled.
Their researcher was already making notes and a light on the backpack was blinking, showing that it was doing … something.
Karl had no idea what it recorded, but if the specialists said it was important, he would believe them.
“Do we have the manpower to clear this dungeon?” The researcher asked as he counted the five of them, which included two Clerics.
That was not usually the recipe for a powerful team when it was this small, but once Karl called out the beasts, things changed dramatically.
Thor bugled a challenge that had the nearest group of Ogres coming their way, Rae called out her Golems, and Remi crawled up the pole on the researcher’s backpack, nearly toppling him over backwards.
“He’s not an Elite. Regular humans have balance issues.” Karl joked as he lifted the confused snake off the terrified researcher.
[He’s bigger than Sister Morgana. Why can’t I climb him?] Remi asked.
[Because regular humans are weak, and his backpack is heavy. Your weight was going to make him fall over on his back.]
Tessa ran up Thor’s back and settled into position after Rae spun a quick web saddle for her.
The researcher looked shocked at the dramatic change in circumstances, and it was obvious that nobody had thought to inform him of the abilities of the team that he had been sent with.
To the researchers, it likely didn’t matter. The Elites were here to gather data for them, and that was the extent of what they thought of the matter.
Karl watched as the metre in the man’s hand went crazy and peaked out for a moment, before settling down again.
“What is the meter reading?” Karl asked.
“Energy signatures. It’s like the testing device, it measures maximum energy output, but in a wider area. It’s how we officially categorize the monsters.”
“Then that first peak was from my team?” Karl asked.
The researcher nodded. “It’s not designed for Royal Rank battles. I will have to sort out the data from the monsters later, but if you can try not to have your team use long duration spells, it will help my readings.”
“Remi, avoid [Blizzard] and [Thunderstorm]. Thor, unfortunately, we will have to avoid [Circle Of Protection].” Karl instructed.
The Golems moved forward, and the Ogres shouted as they attacked, causing the metre to move up a bit over halfway. Then the Golems attacked, and the metre pegged the needle wildly for a few seconds before the Ogres were dead.
“What the hell?” The researcher mumbled.
“Oh, they’re imbued with [Offensive Adaptation]. The skill must activate when they attack, and that will be what you’re reading.” Karl explained.
“I see. This could be difficult. I need to see every Ogre attack so that I can record individual power, but I’m not sure they all got a chance.” He explained.
Karl considered the answer for a moment. “I can have the Golems hold back, so we can get data before they murder the Ogres.”
“If possible, that would be wonderful. Also, the fewer team members attacking, the better. It makes it easier to sort the data. I know that sounds a bit insane, even to my ears, but I’ve never worked with a Prince or a spider who can solo entire teams of Ogres before.”
He finished his notes about the area, and then nodded politely to Rae, who sent her Golems over to taunt the next group, who put up a valiant fight for about ten seconds before Rae decided they had waited long enough and had them attack.
There was only one Commander Rank Ogre in that group, and there were none in the next two groups, though the second one had a mage, who carried a long staff and repeatedly hit the Golems with [Fireballs].
There was some damage, which Lotus quickly repaired with a pair of healing spells, which seemed to work just fine, even though the Golems weren’t actually living things.
Perhaps it was because they were made of a plantlike material, and she was a nature priest?
Karl wasn’t all that clear on how holy magic worked. Perhaps they were healed just because the gods agreed.
When they got to the first boss, a peak Commander Rank Ogre Lord with two massive blades in his hands, Rae gave Karl a look that said she had better be receiving some help for this one.
Karl knew that the Golems could and would kill it. They had already eliminated one of the bosses on their own when the teams first arrived, but Rae was becoming suspicious that they were just using her as their workhorse while everyone else slacked.
Karl turned to the researcher. “Will you be able to get readings if all of us go to deal with that?”
Reluctantly, the man nodded. “Yeah, that’s usually how it goes, we have to pick out their data from the attacks of a whole group. This has been so much better that I wouldn’t want to if I didn’t have to, but against the dungeon bosses, it’s inevitable.
Plus, Only a few of your beasts will be similar in power output to the boss, so it shouldn’t be too bad if they don’t use channelled spells.”
The Golems let the Ogre Lord get the first swing, and then he got one more in on Thor, before he was hurled onto his back and mangled by a combination of Golems, Fire and Lightning Magic.
Three on one, the Rank advantage made the fight short and brutal, but just long enough that their researcher could get some data.
Karl smiled as the Ogre Lord’s body vanished, and a large chest appeared in its place.
“Now for the fun part, let’s see what the dungeon rewarded us with for defeating the first boss.” He joked as the furious scratching of a pen on paper replaced the sounds of battle.
