Sinner System-Chapter 508: Final Dungeon - Second Floor (Part 1)

"[High Stamina Recovery], [High Mana Recovery]," Chanted Jax, kneeling down beside Cleo, who was unconscious, laying sprawled across the ground.

After she defeated Sonic, the barrier disappeared and the ring of pillars shrunk back down.

The Sentinel’s Personalis Arma reverted to a rod, which I stored in Treasury, before we were all suddenly teleported to, presumably, the next floor, about a minute after Cleo’s narrow victory.

That was way too close, she almost died-...scratch that, she literally did die. Her Phoenix Resurrection Skill has a cooldown of twenty-four hours, so it’s almost certainly out of the equation for the rest of this raid.

It’s a good thing Command was still able to take effect through that barrier, though Jax tried casting debuffs on Sonic, to no avail, his Spells were blocked by the barrier.

"Alright, her Mana and stamina should be fully restored," He informed us, as he stood up and stepped back.

Her expression has eased a fair bit, and she’s got some color back in her skin.

"<Command: Wake Up>," I chanted, before she jolted awake with a start, a wide-eyed look on her face as she looked around in alarm, before relaxing slightly and letting out a sigh of relief.

"It’s kinda hazy towards the end there, but...I did win, right? Well, I suppose I’d be dead if I didn’t," She remarked, before getting back onto her feet and stretching her arms out.

"Mhm, you won, way to go," Smiled Aria, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"I’d say it was a fluke, looking back on it...he definitely held the advantage, I probably would’ve been killed for real after resurrecting, if Kai hadn’t used Command," She sighed wistfully.

"All I did was give you a small opening, you deserve at least, like, ninety-nine percent of the credit," I replied with a wry smile.

"Thanks...that was seriously way too close though."

"It was a hell of an effort, I couldn’t take my eyes off for even a sec, really got my blood pumping! And if nothing else, you proved that we can take on these Sentinels one on one and win," Grinned Jaden encouragingly.

"O-Oh, um, thanks," She nodded awkwardly.

"Speaking of which...the rules in this Dungeon are a serious problem. We got lucky that it was one of us X-Aces that ended up fighting that thing," Chimed in Aarav with a grimace.

"Yeah, between having to fight the Sentinels one on one and the random selection of which of us gets to fight, this could go really badly for us," Added Iseul warily.

"Agreed, I seriously doubt I would stand a chance of survival against one of these Monsters by myself, I can’t even imagine winning by a fluke," Nodded Petrus in agreement.

"That barrier stopped me from phasing through, which would mean that, if I were to get selected by the glowing pillar roulette, I wouldn’t be able to escape. I’d be stuck until my Mana runs out," Muttered Rex in response.

"Actually, I think both of us would’ve been warped into the barrier if the roulette had landed on us, since we were both stuck in front of the same pillar," Mused Ciel thoughtfully.

"Hm, I guess those of us with lower Power Levels were paired up and count as one?" Aria surmised, as she glanced around at the Aces.

"Yeah, the two of us ended up in front of the same pillar too," Spoke up Brid, as he nodded at Jax.

"Uh...I was by myself in front of the pillar I was teleported to," Chimed in Petrus nervously.

"Maybe it’s because your Power Level is close enough to X-Ace level to count? Talk about close, your Power Level is just a hair higher than Ciel’s.

Hm, or maybe since there are five of you, the odd one out simply ended up being the one with the highest Power Level? I suppose it doesn’t really matter either way," I responded with a frown.

It should be Brid, but evidently, that barrier didn’t account for the power boost he gets from his Limit Breaker Skill, otherwise he would’ve been the odd one out, instead of Petrus.

Yeah, regardless, this isn’t good. The possibility of the Aces having to fight the Sentinels wasn’t a part of our plans. Frankly, they’ll die.

"So, uh...just to clarify, my combat skills are mediocre at best. If I end up in a fight against a Sentinel, I’m dead," Remarked Jax, a bead of a sweat running down the side of his face.

Can’t blame him for feeling nervous, given the circumstances. Heck, even Ciel looks concerned about this.

"And it looks like you guys don’t count at all, none of you were in play for the roulette," I said as I glanced at the Apostles.

"<Yeah, Chief, we tried to join the fray, but we couldn’t even get close>," Nodded Ira, a frustrated look on his face.

"<Maybe it’s because we count as an ability of yours. So, it should stand to reason that you’ll be able to summon us if and when you’re up against a Sentinel>," Added Superbia, looking a bit uncertain.

Yeah, there’s no way to confirm that until it happens.

"We don’t have a choice but to play by the rules of the Dungeon, right? In that case...the instant Cleo senses the Sentinel on each floor, we’ll have the Aces hang back while us X-Aces head for the Monster. If the Aces aren’t in the vicinity of the ring of pillars, they should hopefully be excluded," Suggested Jaden, after mulling it over.

"Hm, good thinking, let’s hope it works. If no one has any better ideas, we’ll proceed with that plan. We really don’t have much of a choice, we have no way of traveling between the floors besides defeating the Sentinels, so retreat is off the table," I pointed out.

"Yeah, doesn’t look like there’s any way to get back to the first floor. And even if we could, the entrance sealed up after we walked in," Added Iseul grimly.

"We should probably keep moving. We’re still on a time crunch, after all. Well, at least we’ve got favorable terrain to work with on this floor," Responded Aarav, trying to be optimistic.

He’s not wrong though, we’re a wide stretch of grassy plains. The area is pretty uneven, with a lot of small hills and troughs, but we shouldn’t have any trouble moving about, especially since we’ll be moving along the walls instead of roaming about the middle of the space.

But, before we start...

"Let’s get one of you guys equipped with this thing, shall we?" I suggested, as I took the Personalis Arma out of Treasury...