The Champions all look at Jacob, stunned by what had just happened.

Apparently, someone had cast a True-Diamond curse on the very first bridge that led further into the Dungeon. Vyrrak, Iskara, and Asterion, who all have had extensive training in curses, checked with curse-detection artifacts they carry at all times, and it showed that it was Curse of the Weary.

Seeing that Jacob had somehow perfectly identified a True-Diamond Curse has completely changed their collective assessment of him. Even Vyrrak, who has previously considered electing Jacob as their leader to be a gamble, can't help but feel vindicated by his actions.

A Curse of this magnitude would have debilitated their entire team, making them vulnerable to death and worse.

After crossing the bridge that Zibrek had conjured, the Champions stopped to have a discussion about strategy.

"We have to completely re-evaluate the threat level of this dungeon," Vyrrak says, glancing over at Jacob. "This curse was cast by someone. It's not something that a Dungeon of this size could spawn naturally. Not even a True-Diamond Dungeon would have this level of curse at its entrance, as the Mana is far too thin."

Iskara looked troubled at his words, but says nothing, leaving Asterion to nod at Vyrrak, prompting him to talk.

"There's only one group of people whom I'd expect to be this vicious. Not mercenaries or bandits," the tall, blond man shakes his head.

"That only leaves Cultists," Vyrrak says, causing several Champions to cringe away from him.

"Huh," Jacob scratches his head. "Who are they? I've never heard of Cultists before."

"First of all," Iskara explains, "whenever someone refers to Cultists, we're talking about a very specific Cult. They are the most famous, dangerous, and powerful Cult around."

"Oh, those bastards?" Boomgar spits on the ground.

"The Cult of Asmodeus," Orrivane, the Void Mage, says precisely.

"For everyone who doesn't know," Vyrrak says, "the Cult of Asmodeus follows the tenets of the Monster God, Asmodeus, who's believed to have spawned all monsters and Dungeons in the world."

"It's not just a belief," Asterion says slowly, with his characteristic deep voice. Everyone who's looking at him can tell he's tense, which is strange coming from someone who usually appears composed and calm. "Asmodeus is an actual God who can reincarnate and appears throughout different eras. He's the most powerful Evil Divinity there's."

"Asterion's people are sworn to fight all Evil Divinities," Zibrek mentions to everyone else. "The Highbloods have killed several Gods and their reincarnations throughout the eons, including Asmodeus."

"We should probably retreat," Asterion says solemnly. "This is not a threat we can—"

"The Cultists here are only at Diamond-Rank. I think it's a level of threat we can handle," Jacob cuts him off, making everyone turn to him.

"How can you tell?" Vyrrak asks.

Jacob raises his eyebrows. "The signs on the Curse, the way they're cast… my Master taught me about Curses as part of my training."

"You can cast Curses?" Iskara says, taking a step back.

"No, I can't. But I'm… something of an expert on detecting Curses and traps."

Asterion breaks his silence by inhaling deeply, speaking with barely contained anger, "If they're at the Diamond Rank, it is my duty to hunt them. Vyrrak, Jacob, I have to find them, interrogate them, and then destroy them. If this truly is the Cult of Asmodeus, this could be connected to his resurrection."

"Jacob," Vyrrak says, moving his eyes slowly from Asterion to Jacob, "what Rank are they, exactly? Can you tell?"

"They're extremely weak," Jacob says, getting close to Vyrrak. "You know, there are many who could cast this Curse at Early Diamond-Rank… or even Intermediate… Advanced and Peak. But I think they're at the very beginning of Diamond-Rank. They're definitely weak Early-Diamond Rankers."

The Dragonkin is confused for a moment because Jacob gave him an especially strong squeeze after saying 'Intermediate.'

They are looking at us right now, and Jacob can tell. Vyrrak suddenly realizes, almost freezing and looking around for the threat. However, he remains calm, moving closer to Asterion.

"Brother," Vyrrak says, getting close, whispering a few words that no one else can understand.

"You speak Highblood—" Asterion is about to finish before he smiles widely, and looks at Jacob with a surprised expression.

* * *

"Look at them!" Malrik laughs out loud. "These kids think that because they managed to destroy this Curse, they can take us on! Us, Intermediate Diamond-Rankers! Do they have any idea what we can do to them, Taron?!"

The large warrior smirks and nods back at Malrik, "They're Champions, Malrik, that's why they're proud and stupid. They already know we are followers of Lord Asmodeus, but they are continuing through the Dungeon without knowing how strong we really are. Even if that kid is able to detect more of your Curses, we can just wait for the waves of monsters to tire them out before killing all the Squires and taking the Champions as sacrifices."

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"Their arrogance will be their demise," Malrik responds, smiling.

Malrik and Taron currently sit in an underground cave system. The Blood Mage turns away from the mirrors and goes through a corridor until he reaches several cells filled with abducted civilians, waiting to be sacrificed, sitting in tattered clothes, their skin bruised and their eyes glassy.

"We'll use these for the Heretic. They can't resist trying to be heroes and helping everyone. Let's wait for them to stumble, then they'll serve themselves to us on a silver platter."

* * *

The Cult of Asmodeus is dangerous, Jacob Cloud. Do you really want to face Intermediate Diamond-Rankers with a bunch of Gold-Ranked kids?

They're all capable of putting a hole through an Early Diamond-Ranker, I reply, as we slowly advance in formation through the black, rocky basin between the mountains. The sky rumbles with thunder ominously as we continue along the path.

That's ballsy, Cloud. But remember to be careful, you're gambling a lot on people you don't actually know. Highbloods are unpredictable and follow only their own rules. You don't want to rely on them during times like these. This Vyrrak is clearly hiding some connection to the Academy, and the Princess might still hate you.

As we're advancing, a pack of gigantic wolves with stone skin suddenly surrounds us.

[Stone Wolf - Level 250]

They're all around Level 250, and there must be a few dozen of them.

"Kai, Sabrina, make sure to protect everyone else," I say, and then I move forward with the Elves and Lancelot. "All Champions, don't engage unless the Wolves attack you."

[Grimoire Analysis]

An overlay created by the Grimoire shows me that the joints of these wolves are really fragile.

* * *

Iskara and the other Champions watch with interest to see what kind of power Jacob Cloud has. From what he has said, he's only as strong as a Peak Gold-Rank fighter. He might be capable of fighting an Early Platinum Rank monster by himself, briefly.

These Stone Wolves are Early Platinum-Rank monsters – and pack monsters at that – so everyone is curious to see how he'll fare and whether they'll need to intervene.

Any of the present Champions could make short work of these monsters, so they're all eagerly waiting to see whether the guy, whom everyone calls the False Champion, either proves or embarrasses himself.

"Lancelot, grab their attention!"

Lancelot dashes forward with a nimbleness that belies his size. His skin glows golden, and he starts slapping his chest, emitting a series of loud roars that attract the attention of all the wolves.

"Elyndor, create barriers to funnel the monsters away from the group, trapping them together with Lancelot."

Elyndor immediately follows my orders—he's the Shield out of the three and creates a series of powerful barriers that could contain even an Advanced Platinum-Ranked monster for several minutes.

"Ithriel, aim at the joints of the bigger ones, cripple them quickly, but don't waste time killing them! Just take out their legs!"

While Ithriel disappears from sight, Lancelot has managed to entice the entire pack of Stone Wolves with his large belly and taunts. Every Wolf is clearly salivating at the idea of taking a bite out of the guy.

"Why did Jacob choose that guy as a Squire?" Iskara asks Kai, getting closer to him while keeping a watchful eye on any stray Stone Wolf who might attack the group's Squires or attendants.

"Our Family offered for Jacob to be adopted, which would have granted him access to a far more powerful Squire, but he found that guy, Lancelot, on the streets of Ytrial when he came here for his registration. He took a real liking to him. That Lancelot has been trying to get a Knight to hire him for a few years—unsuccessfully, as you might imagine. I really don't know what Jacob sees in him. The last time I saw him, he didn't even qualify to be a Squire before Jacob Tutored him."

Iskara raises her eyebrow at that and turns back toward the fight. The most impressive thing is that this Lancelot has managed to draw the attention of all the monsters and is now fighting them head-on.

Despite his Skills, however…

"Is he crying?" Iskara asks, confused.

"PLEASE, DON'T EAT ME!" Lancelot cries, with mucus and tears running down his face. "PLEASE, PLEASE! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

Even the Stone Wolves are confused by the cries of the fat man in front of them. The crying man is shouting and wailing so hard that several wolves whimper because he's hurting their ears.

"PLEASE, I'M TOO YOUNG AND I'M STILL A VIRGIN! PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!"

"Lancelot, stop that. You need to focus on the battle!" Jacob shouts at the fat Squire, who just keeps crying, trying to backpedal away from the monsters rapidly.

While Ithriel has started closing in on the Stone Wolves, the monsters have already surrounded Lancelot and are about to pounce.

"Althir, get ready!" Jacob says, looking at the Breaker of their team, who nods and puts himself shoulder to shoulder with Jacob.

The Stone Wolves have gotten tired of the antics of their succulent target, and the first one suddenly jumps at high speed toward him.

"NOOO!" Lancelot raises his fat arm, and the Stone Wolf opens its mouth and chomps down, already tasting the delicious meat that's going to be his next meal.

But, to everyone's surprise, when the Wolf bites down, its teeth break. Lancelot's skin, still glowing golden, has not even been scratched by the attack, and instead, has completely shattered the jagged teeth of the Stone Wolf.

"AAAAH! GO AWAY!" Lancelot cries so loudly that everyone is flabbergasted. "YOU'RE HURTING ME!!!"

Hurting you? Everybody thinks. You've just condemned that Stone Wolf to drink his food for the rest of his life! What hurt! You should be taken in for animal cruelty!

Flailing around, Lancelot casually smacks the Stone Wolf's mouth. There's an explosive burst following from the blow, so the neck, skull, and part of the Stone Wolf's shoulder are reduced to pulp.

"AAAH! SO MUCH BLOOD!" Lancelot cries, trying to wipe away the shower of gore he just created. "EEW!"

Every single Champion, is looking at Lancelot with bulging eyes. No one is able to look away.

Jacob intervenes with a brief explanation, "Fatty is our strongest fighter. His strength and constitution are already Intermediate Platinum-Rank. The last month of training has really helped!"

Helped? Last month?! That's what everyone's thinking.

If this Fatty has trained for only a month, and what Kai Valemont said is true, would it mean that he went from being nobody to becoming an Intermediate Platinum-Rank? Can a mere Squire really grow at that speed?!

What Squire?! Everybody thinks. This is a Champion in disguise!!!

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