The Strongest Spellblade

“Greetings, Dean Beacon Smith,” I said with a bow. I had been invited to his office at the top of the central tower.

“First Year Student Justin Burnstock,” he replied and then gestured towards a chair in front of his desk. I took a seat. “I dislike disturbing your schedule, but I have received a high priority message.”

“From my father?” I asked and he shook his head.

“Your mother,” he replied.

“What?” I asked in surprise.

“The Librarian set up a method to return a burst communication for their final descent. Soon the knowledge will spread through the continent. I thought you deserved to know what was sent before that occurred,” he said and pushed over a piece of paper.

Layer 26 only champion monsters. Strong environmental aura. Moving passages. Demon 300 gatekeeper to next layer. Party death imminent.

That was it. Only five short sentences. I felt my heart seize up. My mother was dead. She was dead. I couldn’t believe it. Killed by a demon at or over level 300. That was twice my mother’s level. I looked up at Dean Beacon Smith.

“My condolences, Justin,” he said softly. I wanted to say something. That someone should go rescue her. But she went with the strongest team in history. They were the ones that needed to do the rescuing.

She couldn’t die.

She was the strongest.

I set the paper down back on the death and wiped my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry.

“You will be safe as long as you remain in the College. We have increased security and have increased our truth orb scans of staff, faculty, and there will be a check each year for students as well. To make sure no one has been replaced,” he said.

“Was there any other news?” I asked.

“The Librarian only set up a single use communication device. The idea being that they would report once they got as far as possible, preferably at the bottom of the dungeon. A level 300 demon…I am afraid that nothing will get past such a monster. It is probably from the time of the Low Vostner or even before, the Age of Myth,” the Dean said.

I didn’t know what to say. It was impossible for my mother to die in my mind. She was a force of nature. She was the strongest.

“There will be an official announcement in a week once we reach the middle of the semester at the start of the week long break. A funeral service held. A statue of all four of them has been commissioned. A shame there are very few knowledgeable of Blood Gore’s appearance with how unsocial he was and how much time he spent in the dungeon. Do you wish to speak?” the Dean asked me.

“I…I wouldn’t know what to say,” I said.

“It is rare for the deaths of adventurers to be mourned. Most are forgotten, their final descent the last note of their life. The fact we got a message back, is enough to enshrine their accomplishment for all time,” the Dean said.

I still didn’t believe it. My mother couldn’t die. She was probably still fighting. Even if she did die, she would cut down death and keep going. Ozy nudged my neck with his snoot. I scratched his head.

“I won’t be speaking,” I finally said. Anything I said would be too personal. And I couldn’t accept that my mother had died.

“I understand. I will keep you informed if there is any other news, but that is unlikely. If you ever need anything Justin, my door is always open,” the Dean said. I nodded at that and left his office.

A guard escorted me out of the central tower and I mindlessly made my way back to my room. “Are you okay Justin? What did the Dean want?”

“My…the team of supreme legends sent back a message.” I repeated the message to Healer Melon who went deathly pale.

“That is grave news. Such a powerful demon waiting in the 26th layer. It must have been there for a long time,” he said. The Dean had said the same thing. But I just couldn’t accept any of it.

I walked into my room and collapsed on my bed. I didn’t know what to think. I had fought with my mother before she left. We had parted on bad terms. I knew it was called a final descent for a reason, but I had always believed she would return no matter what. She was a force of nature, like gravity or the System.

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Now, she was dead. Ozy poked the top of my head with his snoot. I didn’t react. I knew he was concerned, since I couldn’t shock and depression completely from the bond we shared.

“Hisssss,” Ozy flicked his tongue in my ear.

“Really?” I asked with a groan. He flew up into the air and landed on my desk, which was by the window and had sunlight warming up a spot Ozy landed on. “Silly snake.”

There was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I called out and Healer Melon entered.

“I got drinks,” he said.

“Alcohol?” I asked in surprise.

“The good stuff. Come,” he said and I followed him out to the sitting room for our suite of rooms.

He picked up a bottle and poured two drinks into small glasses. “Normally I wouldn’t recommend drinking, but it will help with the pain and shock.” After he finished pouring he picked up both small glasses and passed one to me.

“To Warlady Elena. The scariest woman I have ever met and will ever meet,” he declared. “Now we drink.” I quickly drank the liquid. It burned on the way down.

“Woah,” I said.

“It kicks a bit. That is the Mana infused into the alcohol. A small bit to overcome resistances and stats. Another glass,” he said and poured two more. “Now you make a toast about your mother.”

“To my mother. She was…she loved me. I miss her,” I declared. There was a lot I could have said, but it didn’t matter anymore. I drank the second glass. Everything felt numb and the room was spinning a bit. I looked at Healer Melon but he was already corking the bottle.

“Two glasses are enough. When you are older, you can pass out drinking if you want,” he replied. I shook my head slightly and the room spun.

“Woah.” I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, leaning back in my chair. Everything felt a bit numb, which was nice. “A level 300 demon,” I muttered.

“Quite the opponent,” Healer Melon said.

“Is it all pointless? If a demon like that is in the 26th layer, what is the point?”

“Life doesn’t always have a point, Justin. You live, you die. But what matters is what you do with that life,” he said.

“I have wanted to become the strongest spellblade, but now, is it even possible?”

“You said you planned to surpass your mother. If she fell, if you can go beyond the 26th layer, that will mean surpassing her.”

“Or die, like her. I don’t even know to surpass a level 300 monster that can think,” I replied.

“Aren’t the champion monsters on the 25th layer around level 250? It isn’t that much of a gap,” Healer Melon said. He might be a Healer, but he didn’t realize the horror of what my mother had died to. He was focused on support and healing, not combat. I didn’t blame him for not understanding.

A thinking opponent was more dangerous than an opponent that couldn’t think. That was why people were able to fight far above their level. My mother who was only over level 150 could fight and kill monsters 100 levels above her with ease. The skills and ability to think of appropriate counters was key to winning those fights. That was why Xanatos despite having a lesser level than her could escape.

But if anyone could beat a thinking monster, a demon, then it would be my mother. She might not be dead yet, still fighting down there in the 26th layer.

“You know, you are a bad influence, giving me something to drink, when I am so young,” I teased Healer Melon. I couldn’t see his expression, but I imagined he was rolling his eyes at me.

“One should drink when a parent is lost. I did the same thing when my parents died,” he replied.

“How?” I asked. “Ah, sorry if that was rude.”

“It has been a long time. My father was an adventurer. He perished in the attempt to reach level 100 and become a legend. He entered the dungeon and never returned,” Healer Melon said.

“He could have gone up in another location,” I replied.

“He could have, and I used to hope so when I was young. But he died. At least you know. Your mother has pushed the boundaries of knowledge and the deepest anyone has reported back from in the dungeon. My mother was a homemaker. She died of old age about a decade after my father didn’t return,” he said.

“It can’t be easy,” I replied.

“It isn’t. Life is fragile and precious. That is why I am glad you turned down the Dark Cabal,” he said.

“Well I am keeping their book on rituals,” I replied.

“I wouldn’t argue with that. You aren’t going to study them?”

“Do you know how much I have to learn? My brain is melting. It is hard to resist the use of my free points for my stats,” I replied.

“That is the case for most people. And they give in. Empowered Will is not a skill to take lightly, while it might seem passive. It helps quite a bit with decisions like that,” Healer Melon said.

“I don’t want to think about skills right now,” I said while thinking of my mother’s legacy, that she had left with me. She had told me only to look if I placed number one in the College. Despite how hard she had been with me, she did love me.

“You know what I liked about Elena. She was very honest. Some might say that is a bad thing, but you always knew where you stood with her. There was a truth in that kind of interaction that isn’t something common,” Healer Melon said.

“Her personality was like her fighting style, direct and to the point. Also, without mercy or regard,” I added on.

“Except for you,” he replied.

“Except for me. I was kind of hoping she would come back with a violet soul fruit for me,” I replied.

“Only you Justin. Now you will have to really chart your own path forward. Living up to her legacy won’t be easy if you plan to stay an adventurer,” he said.

“I am not quitting. It would be easy to quit or consider another path. If there is a powerful demon guarding the passage to the 27th layer, then I just need to become more powerful. The strongest. I will avenge her,” I said the last bit quietly. It was a bold statement, with nothing to back it up.

Compared to my mother I was nothing. But this was the start of my path to greatness, even if it was the end of hers. I would continue on her legacy and not let her be disappointed in me as her soul returned to the System to watch over me.

I wasn’t religious, but I could only say a silent prayer hoping that she would find peace with whatever her next adventure would be. I rubbed the ring on my finger.