The Asshai's Bloodmage

 As Asimov fought the leader of the mutant creatures, his many years of experience were on full display as he dodged and quickly cut off one of the large 10-foot lizard's arms with his giant sword. His eyes were all over the battlefield, from the two men who had entered the room with him to Rafael and the knight who had arrived later to help him.

When he heard the two loud "BANGS" of Rafael's weapons he was surprised, as he finally understood that the talented young man of his group was someone quite famous in the city, then as Rafael was thrown away in his first confrontation with one of the creatures he finally delivered the final blow to the larger lizard-man. His eyes turned to the room, and his thoughts flowed quickly... If the door was closed, how did they make their nest inside the room? As soon as he asked this question, his breathing quickened, and he looked up. There, he saw a hole in the wall of the room, and 3 more lizards were coming out of the room through it.

Seeing that all his men were having difficulty with these mutant creatures, he knew that if any of these 3 left here, it would be a complete disaster for his team.

Acting quickly, he activated a rare spell of body affinity, making a red energy shine throughout his body, and threw the giant sword toward the roof of the tower. One of the lizardmen who was walking upside down was impaled on the ceiling by the large sword. Meanwhile, his boot released a green glow, and he jumped towards another creature. He jumped as if his body weighed nothing, and he didn't even wear heavy armor. As soon as he reached the ceiling, he grabbed and held one of the mutants in his arms, falling back to the ground with a loud thud.

The creature was badly injured in the fall, and he quickly broke its neck, getting up. Only to see the third one move far away from his jump range. With no options left, he ran after her just to see everything that happened. Rafael had burned and decapitated the creature that had gone after him, but then the creature that escaped Asimov fell from the ceiling, ambushing him. A substitution spell saved him from the first blow, but the second attack using its tail hit him square in the chest and threw him straight into the elevator that was stopped on that floor. All Asimov saw afterward was his body sliding into the depths of the elevator shaft since the elevator itself no longer had a floor…

"SHIT!"

Asimov screamed and clenched his fist in anger. He pulled out a second, smaller sword from his storage bag and quickly killed the creature he was chasing. Then, he helped the other members of his group who were still fighting and began treating the injured. Of the seven men, three were in serious condition. He began using scrolls with healing spells and potions to treat them. The old trap expert was the first to ask about Rafael.

"Leader, where is Rafael?"

At the same time, another member spoke up:

"Leader, how did these creatures survive up here? They shouldn't be reproducing... There's no food, so how? Their strength was no less than the creatures on the lower floors..."

"The elevator was stopped on this floor, the floor was destroyed, these creatures must have made their nests up here and use the lower floors to hunt and feed. Rafael fell into the elevator shaft, I don't know if he's alive." When Asimov finished speaking, everyone's expression was one of pity and concern. The old man waved to a young man and said:

"Go to the elevator and see if there's Rafael's blood there. I can use a spell to verify his life."

"Wait, don't go alone. The elevator is still open. You two look for items to block the elevator entrance, and you see if the door on this floor still works. Someone must have used the elevator to get to the tower master's room and was killed as soon as the doors opened when chaos began inside the tower. That must be why the floor's lockdown protocols failed. The doors are strong, but the elevator itself is not. But that doesn't explain how the blockade was broken on the lower floors."

"One of the lizards spat acid at me. It wasn't very fast, and I managed to dodge it in time. Could they have used it to melt the gates on the lower floors?"

"One of them also spat at me. It was a very strong acid that melted my leather armor in seconds, but with the tower's natural regeneration, it shouldn't be easy to break the black stone walls and gates."

"Leave the speculations for later; follow my orders first. I'll check the room to see if there are any more inside."

Everyone nodded and went to follow orders, leaving only one guard by the side of the injured. After Asimov had gone to the room and verified that there were only a few eggs and carcasses inside the supposed nest, he stored them all in a second, larger bag that was used to store supplies. He then returned to the injured men. The other members of the team had already closed the elevator doors, and the injured old man was wearing a blood-stained cloth while performing a blood ritual.

After a few minutes, the old man made an ugly face and said that it was inconclusive. Soon, the only woman in the group of 8 spoke: "You heard that loud sound, right? I had only heard rumors that the Red Sage had a magical weapon like that... I never imagined Rafael was that person... I thought he was just an ordinary member."

"But why would he be here? What is his purpose in joining the Adventurers' Alliance?"

Asimov glanced at the woman and the warrior who had asked the two questions before answering: "He probably didn't want to draw attention to himself. Our Alliance doesn't prohibit people from other groups from joining, and he probably came to learn more about dungeon exploration."

He then turned to the old man and said, "If the result was inconclusive, it must be because you failed the spell. One of you should come with me and go through the detoxification and purification protocols, then go to the Order of Sages to confirm whether he's alive through your group's methods. I'll take his blood to Vice-Leader Xu for verification. As for the others, we've officially entered the exploration part of the lower floors. Begin the processes and do not leave the tower under any circumstances."

Everyone responded with a yes and went to do their preparation work for the lower floors. Whenever someone started exploring a dungeon, few people would leave the tower after coming into contact with the parasites, plants, and monsters on the lower floors. It was a strict protocol that everyone in Asshai had to follow when exploring the dungeons safely, avoiding dangers and other possible calamities as much as possible.

Inside the Adventurer's Tower on the penultimate top floor, Vice-Leader Xu was sitting, he wore a white robe without a single speck of dirt, and had a mask with a design of several eyes on his forehead, he looked at a blood-stained cloth in the hand he received, while listening to Asimov's explanation.

As soon as Asimov finished explaining, "Old Xu", as he was called by the Alliance elders, began his various rituals and spells to verify details of the blood owner. As soon as he finished the first two mid-level rituals, they both failed.

"I've never seen such a result before. Did something happen, Vice-Leader Xu?"

"Who is this person? He has such high protections against divination, this is now harming his well-being."

"That… We think he might be the Red Sage."

"Hm, that makes sense... Well, I can't use high-level methods without the support and permission of a Master of our Alliance. But given the failure of 2 mid-level spells, this proves that he is still alive since his protections are so strong. I will follow the protocols in the next few weeks and check on him from time to time. The blood you gave me should be enough for a few more times, but that is all I can do for you, Asimov. But don't get your hopes up too much... He is alone, without water and much food. If the diseases and creatures don't kill him, starvation will kill him in 1 month."

"That's it… Can I call for reinforcements to speed up the exploration then?"

"You can request 5 more D-rank adventurers to help, but that's also the limit of what I can provide right now. The other group is already in the final stages of the Immortal Ghost dungeon, and all of our best are there. I can't lessen their manpower, given the amount of spirits in that place."

"He's just a young man, despite being a bit impulsive, he's polite and always attentive when he's learning. Besides that, he's a brilliant Bloodmage. I've seen him teach Old Baian several things, I think people exaggerate his talent of seeing the future... Well, leaving that aside, 5 men will be enough. I have 3 injured, but in 2 days, they'll be fully recovered. Furthermore, I ask to lead the front line, I hope the Vice-Leader permits me."

"Alright, permission granted. You may go now."

"Thank you, Vice-Leader Xu!" Asimov then bowed as he thanked them and left the room, returning to the tower with 5 new D-rank adventurers.

Meanwhile, at the Tower of Sages, Zaya, who was on duty today, received news of Rafael's accident and quickly rushed to the treasure room on the top floor next to Rafael's laboratory. After opening all the magical protections and traps, she checked a red totem next to dozens of other totems hierarchically placed on a shelf and saw that this totem still emitted a bright light.

She unconsciously placed a hand on her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing her gestures, then sent a message to Omar, since in Rafael's absence, Omar was the one who would be leading the Order now that Zhang was no longer in Asshai. And only he could decide to send members to help in the dungeon. The problem was that the messages weren't reaching Omar. The reason was that he was also in the dungeon, and with the restrictions of the final stage of the Immortal Ghost dungeon, neither Omar, Jhon nor Jack couldn't help.

With no choice, Zaya pulled out a strange scroll and summoned the only creature that could send messages within the dungeon, It was a kind of black centipede/serpent that needed large amounts of fresh blood from the bearer who summoned it. With no choice and having already paid the painful cost of the messenger, she then opted to send the message directly to Rafael while awaiting news of his well-being…

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