“That is why when facing ratlings, you should account for swarm tactics. In addition…” she trailed off. She never did that. I looked up from my cleaning as my mother drew her sword and turned to face a tunnel.
“Stay behind me. Healer Melon, go stand next to my son,” my mother said. He didn’t hesitate and ran over to me. I picked up my sword and stood ready. “If I say run, you will run down that tunnel, staying together. Don’t slow down, no matter what. This shouldn’t come to a fight, but I will not be able to shield you if it does,” she declared.
What kind of monster would make her act this way? My Danger Sense wasn’t going off. Minute after minute passed. After around ten minutes, an old man with a staff walked into the chamber.
“Elena,” the old man greeted her.
“Mathemancer. What are you doing here in the dungeon?” she asked. This old man was a supreme legend, just like my mother. No wonder why she was slightly nervous and on edge.
“Going to see an old friend in the Last Bastion. Sensed you in the distance and came over to say hello. Hello,” the old man said. “I am not here for a fight or a spar. Peace for peace, fist for fist,” he said, and my mother sheathed her sword. The tension in the air dropped.
“You said hello. Now leave,” my mother said.
“Really?” he asked.
“I am busy,” she said back.
“Training your son. Interesting people you sent my way. Your husband and that Damian character. You do know your husband is a trouble maker? Planning to send your son to my institution?” he asked.
“My husband can do what he wishes. His ambitions are none of my concern even if he uses my name. And my son will be attending. Hopefully he can experience the intense competition from his peers that your institution is known for,” my mother said.
“We will see. There are always promising youngsters but few live up to what is possible.”
“Since you have chosen to bother us, what did you think of my proposition?” my mother asked.
“Intriguing. My heart trembles at the very thought. I will speak to the Librarian, but convincing Blood Gore? The only thing that man listens to is the screams of the dying and the damned,” The Mathemancer replied.
“I will handle Blood Gore. He is a pig, but I have experience dealing with pigs. He will relish the challenge. Will you accept?”
“Most likely. Age is finally catching up with me. I am not the Eternal Emperor, clinging to what is not possible. The preparations will be a massive headache, but you can count me as having accepted if you can get everyone else,” he replied.
“Talk to your friend, I am sure you can convince him.”
“I will. He can be stubborn, but I think getting Blood Gore will be the harder task. Now, enough chit chat about heavy topics. Let me see your son,” The Mathemancer said.
“I am watching you,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I will be nice,” he replied as she stepped to the side as the old man stared intently at me. I felt Mana going through my soul without hesitation, like I was being completely seen, my skills, stats, my entire status. It was all laid bear beneath his gaze in a single moment.
“I have heard of some of the things you have done, but to have this many skills and such levels. You really do read the research coming from my College,” he said.
“I am not an idiot like Blood Gore. I can actually think. Any suggestions?” my mother asked.
“Hmmm, I see what you are going for. An immense foundation. So great, that even I tremble slightly at your vision. Don’t have him overuse that Soul Strike skill. A couple times every few days at most. More focus on his math skills.”
“You would say that, you old man,” my mother countered.
“They are foundational to everything. But let us not have that argument again.”
“Because I would have beaten you,” she said.
“It was a draw. But to drag out our spar for an entire month would have been pointlessly exhausting.”
“You discount the human spirit in a fight.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Pointlessly exhausting as I said. Your son would do well at my College. What kind of expectations do you have?” he asked.
“He must take the top spot every year,” my mother said.
“Unrelenting as always Elena, even with your own child. But I suppose I am not much better. I am close to measuring the human spirit through intense study. The mental breakdowns are just at the edge of acceptable after all these years. But your son, if he can survive your training, I don’t need to hold back?”
“That is the only reason I am sending him to that cursed place. You suck the joy out of fighting old man.”
“Well not all of us can be as fiery as you dear Elena. Some of us prefer to think our way through fights. Perhaps a small demonstration so I might entice your son with my method of fighting instead of your brutish ways,” The Mathemancer said with a smile. I couldn’t help but nod. I wanted to see what the pinnacle of combat looked like. Even a glimpse would be amazing.
“A single exchange from each of us,” my mother declared, and the old man nodded. “SLICE!”
My mother moved forward so fast, I just saw a blur. Her sword was hovering a slight distance away from The Mathemancer’s neck. “A tier 3 skill, countering my Force Nullification, how interesting. You do have some secrets. My turn. Force Reversal.”
My mother was pushed away and stumbled slightly before regaining her footing. “Annoying,” she said, and the old man chuckled.
“Effective. If one cannot be hit, then how is an enemy supposed to defeat you?”
“You kill them. Removing the head is often the best choice. Instead of your nonsense,” my mother said. This was the first time I had seen her truly annoyed.
“And frustration builds and mistakes are made.”
“Whatever. You have shown off for my son enough. Begone and trouble me no more,” my mother said.
“Very well. Take care young Justin. We will meet again,” The Mathemancer said and then disappeared with a pop. He had teleported!
“Show off,” my mother muttered. Then she turned to look at me. “Well, get back to cleaning.”
I got back to work. “Ask your questions,” she finally said since I had so many.
“What were you talking about at the start?” I asked.
“To form a team of supreme legends to try and reach the bottom of the dungeon. Making such a team has never been done before or at least it has never been recorded throughout all of known history. Once you can take care of yourself, it has been something I have wanted to do for a long time,” she said.
“But…will you come back?” I asked.
“No one has come back after a certain point. But The Mathemancer is quite capable along with the other supremes. I wouldn’t be back for years regardless. What else?”
“Why were you on edge at the start?” I asked.
“The dungeon has no rules. While it was unlikely he would start anything, it is best to be on guard,” my mother replied.
“The skill you used?” I asked.
“Slice is my favorite tier 3 skill. Simple and direct, great for beheading. I have put a lot of work into it,” she said.
“And the Mathemancer, his skills?” I asked.
“He mainly uses force and Mana redirection, countering physical and magical attacks. He can teleport as well. His main weakness is his lack of killing power. He can survive, but he struggles to finish fight quickly and efficiently,” my mother explained.
“Which you do?” I asked.
“Yes. The best way to fight is to kill. But his skills are troublesome, I won’t deny that.”
“The stuff about be attending the College of Advancement?” I asked.
“To see if you are worthy of inheriting my legacy in full. Competition breeds excellence as The Mathemancer likes to say. You saw just a small fraction of the heights one can climb to, but you feel confident, self assured, with my help you are the best,” my mother said and I nodded at this.
“The College of Advancement will put that to the test. It doesn’t matter your starting point, only what you are capable of. The Mathemancer is just as twisted in his thoughts as he is his skills. While he would say it is straight forward, he doesn’t mind discarding those who do poorly. Tutor Damian is one such example. The attrition rate is insanely high at his College,” my mother explained. I still wasn’t entirely sure why it would be brutal, but if she was saying it, there was no doubt in my mind it would be true.
My mother wasn’t one to mince words. “How did he find us?” I asked.
“His sensory skills are very, very good. Many things that are considered rules are actually just guidelines. Enough questions. Finish your cleaning and we will move onto the next chamber,” my mother said.
The fact that she answered any of my questions was nice. And seeing a small exchange between high level people as well. The fact that The Mathemancer so easily countered my mother was an image that wasn’t going away in my head. Even with all her power, skills, and stats, she hadn’t been able to do anything to the man.
While it seemed like my mother was unfriendly, The Mathemancer had just shown up on his own and I was present. If it was just her, I had no doubt she would have been more relaxed. But that was someone she couldn’t fight and defend me against at the same time if he was an enemy.
It was amazing to see my mother faced with an equal for once. Every other interaction, everyone was always differential to her. Bowing or kneeling and not daring to disagree with anything she said. Healer Castelle did push back, but only in healing matters. Even then she did what she wanted without any regard for other people’s opinions.
But The Mathemancer had greatly annoyed her. It wasn’t just his completely opposing fighting style and attitude towards life, it was something else. Perhaps all the top people were competitive in some way and it annoyed my mother having a peer. She hadn’t been able to leave him behind with her skills or her stats.
They had a spar before and it ended in a draw, maybe. I didn’t want to ask about that since my mother seemed really annoyed by whatever history they had. But even with all of that, she still trusted the man to a certain extent, since she was sending me to his college.
It was confusing trying to work out why she did the things she did. I was soon cleaned up and it was time to go to the next chamber and fight the next set of monsters. The break was nice, but my mother was relentless.
Even when we took a break from fighting, she pulled out study materials prepared by Tutor Damian I had to review. She would even quiz me, forcing me to keep pushing my brain into pure exhaustion. Sleep was my only escape from the constant training I had to endure.