Refusing My God’s Advances

Once we got to the eighth cave, we wasted no time as we all rushed into the cave. As soon as I was inside, I switched to my mascot outfit, and all 15 Elite Vampire Rats rushed me, but not the boss.

"I will take care of the smaller ones, you guys have to kill the progenitor 5 times really fast so we can get to the next phase!" I called out, trying to point my foam finger at the boss, but it didn't take its eyes off the girls.

I sprung into action, my body instinctively adopting the mascot's dance routine, turning my movements into a mesmerizing display of evasion. The rats swarmed around me, but each energetic hop and moonwalk left them snapping at empty air, their fangs meeting nothing but the lingering afterimage of my ludicrous dance.

All I needed to do was keep the rats busy, and the girls could take care of the rest, so I shifted my view over to them. Lila was the first one to dash into the rat-faced progenitor, but it was able to keep up with each strike. Just when Lila seemed like she was going to be overpowered, just jumped back.

At the same time, Cynthia's Glacial Dragon appeared beside the progenitor, and then bit down on it. The dragon was able to take a significant chunk of the progenitor's health with its frostfire-infused jaws, the icy flames licking across the vampire rat's fur and leaving scorch marks that sizzled with both cold and heat. Cynthia, standing a short distance away, directed the dragon with a commanding presence, her dual elemental mastery evident in the way the beast moved and attacked, a perfect blend of ice and fire.

Scarlet, not to be outdone, had already switched to her evolved pistols, November and Dusk. With precise, calculated shots, she alternated between the two weapons, inflicting cold damage and attempting to blind the progenitor with Dusk's special ability. The battlefield was a blur of movements, with Scarlet's agility allowing her to keep a safe distance while continuously bombarding the progenitor with her elemental onslaught.

Suddenly, one of the rats that I was dodging was ripped towards the black mist and frost around the progenitor. Blood splashed out, and then the progenitor streaked out of the area Scarlet was bombarding with her pistols, but Isilda was waiting for him. Before the rat progenitor could even land, time stopped around it, freezing it mid-air. Lila burst forward with her fists glowing, connecting with the head of the progenitor, and spinning it around backward.

Another rat was pulled from the group I was two-stepping around, but at the same time, Lila lifted her leg above her head. The moment the rat progenitor devoured the rat, Lila brought her heel down, crushing the monster to the floor. Lila hopped back, but Scarlet already had her Sun Shooter lined up as the next rat was pulled from my fray. Scarlet fired in sync with the rat progenitor but hit it in the head.

The fifth and last rat was pulled from my pile but was incinerated along with most of the Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat. Then, all the rats around me exploded into blood that rushed to surround the progenitor. Suddenly the blood condensed and then solidified as a blood-red rat-shaped knight with a black sword and a red shield.

I could feel that it was stronger, but I unequipped my mascot outfit and crossed my arms with a smile. It was time to see Scarlet in action!

"Broadside Barrage!" Scarlet called out, and five massive targets covered not only the Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat but ten feet around it.

A portal appeared beside Scarlet, and suddenly a huge ship with a red sail came sailing into the cave. It cut through the ground like the cave floor was nothing more than water, and then swerved to its port side, facing the frozen Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat that Isilda had frozen in a time lock.

Scarlet hopped up to the deck, and as she did, all the hatches on the side of the ship opened and cannons were pushed out. Scarlet held up her hand, making a gun with her finger. She dropped her thumb like a flintlock hammer, and all the cannons on the side of her ship fired. The Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat didn't stand a chance.

The barrage blew the creature to shreds, and once it was over, the Red Tide faded away till Scarlet dropped down through the afterimage. It was a pretty cool fight, and that epic finisher at the end was just the icing on the cake. Unfortunately, when I looked over at my other three golems, they looked exhausted, but I had expected as much.

"Master! I don't think I can do another round!" Lila complained as she dragged her feet over to me, but I patted her head.

"No worries. You three all did really good. I am fine with fighting the last two rooms with Scarlet," I said and all the girls smiled as I returned them to my inventory. I still wondered what it was like for them there.

"So that is my ship?" Scarlet asked, and I shrugged, turning to face her.

"I guess so. Do you maybe have memories from a past life when you were a pirate captain?" I asked, but Scarlet shook her head.

"No, I think it is just a programmed feature that Anima put into me to give this model more depth. I think I am supposed to act differently, but I don't like the way that personality makes me feel," Scarlet explained, and I shrugged again.

"I like you just the way you are. I don't want you to take on some corny personalities if you don't want to. I just think that your character build is pretty cool, and your more reserved and collected personality makes you that much more interesting. I never would have guessed that you and Danielle would get along, or that you would even like doing stuff like that," I laughed and then pointed to the next tunnel.

"Let's go check out the next cave. I want to get a look at what we are fighting next, or if I will even be able to let you fight with me. I have a feeling that these last two caves are going to be even harder than the last one. I expect that the fight will have some kind of conditions like the Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat, so I want to make a plan," I explained as we started to walk.

"I hope that I can still help you," Scarlet said, and I nodded.

"There is a good chance that you still will be able to, but it depends on the rarity. There seems to be a clear line for each rarity rank from what I can tell that favors the monsters. So, if this next monster is a unique epic-rated monster, you are going to have to sit the fight out," I explained, but then Scarlet pointed to my shirt that had her face all over it.

"What about my boost from your stats?" She asked, but I shook my head. I had been wondering about that, but I had checked Scarlet's stats just a moment ago.

"There seems to be a cap on how much my stats can boost you. If you can remember at the start, your current boost is not much greater than it is now. That is because there is a limit to the strength of each rarity class. To get stronger, you needed to increase your rarity," I explained and then sighed. I had really been hoping that Crimson Progenitor Vampire Rat would have dropped its soul, but it was a no-go.

"I see," Scarlet said, sounding disappointed, but looking worried, so I reached over and patted her head.

"You should know that you don't have to worry about me. You should be able to feel how strong I am now," I said, and Scarlet sighed.

"I know, but I still don't want you to get hurt," Scarlet said as we reached the next cave.

I smiled and then looked in the center of the room as we stopped just before the cave. There was a man covered in red cloth that covered his eyes and seemed to pin his arms down. Only powerful human-looking legs were exposed and unbound. It looked less like a monster, and more like a human than anything, but I couldn't see its face.

Rather than just staring at it, I used Identify and sighed. Looks like I would be going in alone from here.

Monster Name: (Unique Epic)Blind Seer of the Abyss
Level: 179
Physical Power: 13500
Magical Power: 16000
Agility: 17600
Resilience: 9500

Stage 1:

-80% Debuff to all stats
-Only can use legs to attack

Stage 2:
-Must land 1 strike to reach Stage 2
-50% Debuff to all stats
-Legs and one pair of arms can attack

Stage 3:
-Must land 1 strike to reach Stage 3
-25% Debuff to all stats
-Legs and two pairs of arms can attack

Stage 4(Final Stage):
-Must land 1 strike to reach Stage 4
-Can attack with all Limbs

I was nothing to laugh at, but something told me just from a feeling that the stats were going to be as important in this fight. I was going to have to be careful with this guy, but I was still stronger than him. Still even dumping my bonus points into agility left a big gap.

Level: 189
Physical Power: 15550
Magical Power: 18100 (+30 from Cursed Grimoire)
Agility: 16540
Technical Knowledge: 15540
Arcane Insight: 16830 (+30 from Cursed Grimoire)
Resilience: 14990

My stats were clearly better, but I couldn't shake the feeling that, if anything, this guy might even be stronger than me. It didn't make sense, but I wasn't going to ignore this feeling.

"Are you okay, Leon?" Scarlet asked, and I blinked, just realizing that I hadn't said a word since we arrived.

"Sorry, I was just thinking that this is going to be a hard fight. I wish I could get your help with it, but I don't think I will be able to keep myself safe in there even alone. Something tells me that I can't underestimate this opponent," I explained, and Scarlet nodded.

"I understand, but maybe we should eat before you try?" She asked and I grinned.

"That does sound like a good idea," I laughed, turning away from the cloth-covered man.