Realm of the Ultimate Gods: Celestial World, Nibiru
"And down she goes~. Is this okay?" - Chaos
"It is. You could have done more." - Alvatria
"'Done more', she says..." - Chaos
"Chaos, where are... Alvatria..." - Order
"Hi, sis!" - Chaos
"Call me Ria-chan." - Alvatria
"No...just no... And Chaos, did you do something in Velantas again?" - Order
"How rude! It's this thing who's messing with my Extra Trials!" - Chaos
"I am the culprit~." - Alvatria
"Please, stop trying to sound cute with that monotone voice. It is giving me the shivers. And what is going on? Summarize it for me in three sentences or less." - Order
"Ria-chan paused a recently failed Extra Trial. Her Champion arrived at the same location. Ria-chan is bored." - Chaos
"How rude. I am simply unsatisfied with my Champion not giving me any prayers after my blessing prevented her from turning sick from the encounter with some bad mushrooms." - Alvatria
"...?" - Order
"Translation: the demon Champion did something that gave this goddess here a flimsy excuse for messing with her." - Chaos
"So that's what it means. And then? Is the Champion currently running for her life?" - Order
"Nope. She's already cleared the whole thing. Using undead decoys to prevent getting caught!" - Chaos
"You don't say. Then, what are you two watching now?" - Order
"We dropped her into a yet-to-be-released Chaos Dungeon." - Alvatria
"...Excuse me?" - Order
---
Garami's PoV:
Ouch! I hit my butt...
Where am I now? The last thing I remember is getting sent down a traphole after I cleared that strange Trial. Then..., no good. I have no clue.
"Bloom! Get over here!" - Garami
"Yes, yes~," replied Bloom as she appeared beside me. "What terrible creature do I have to flee from this time?"
Is it me, or has she grown sarcastic lately?
"Nothing like that. Tell me what you know about this...place." - Garami
It looks like some caves, but different from the pitch-black tunnels we were in before. This place is sickly green, and there is also some nasty-looking flora here and there. Not as bad as the mushroom paradise the spiders from yesterday were, but it still feels nauseating. Let's take out the poison-filtering scarf for now.
"...I think this is a recently-established Chaos Dungeon." - Bloom
"Chaos? And another Dungeon!? The Water-Knot was more than enough for one lifetime! Give me a break..." - Garami
Of course, my own (to-be-created) place is a different story.
"I don't think the situation is that bad. A Chaos Dungeon is similar to the Trial Grounds. An area created by the god of chaos to challenge humanity. Monsters and items spawn in this location without needing a Dungeon Master, making these locations the perfect hunting ground for adventurers." - Bloom
"Hmm, you don't say. So, what's the catch?" - Garami
"That would be that you cannot exit the Dungeon the normal way until you reach the goal on the final floor at least once..." - Bloom
TYPICAL! I knew there was going to be something!
"There is a rare item known as a 'return feather' that instantly teleports you out of a Chaos Dungeon, but..." - Bloom
"No way I have that on hand OR can alchemize one." - Garami
I guess there are no other options left. Time for some Dungeon diving...
"HOLD ON! Why am I even stuck in this place!?" - Garami
"M-maybe there is some lingering damage in this country from the Water-Knot incident?" - Bloom
Seriously!? Even after he's dead, that bastard Glavras still makes my life sour! Whatever god is responsible for punishing the dead, give that snake bastard a solid beating for me!!!
---
Celestial World, Nibiru
"Hey, snake bastard. You go and find someone to give you a beating." - Alvatria
"YOU are the one who asked me to connect the Trial Ground to the unreleased Dungeon! Go and get beaten up yourself! Not that it's even remotely possible!" - Chaos
"Why did you agree to help in the first place?" - Order
"Because she was keeping the Shadow Pits Trial Ground hostage through the continued delay of the dragon Trial! Furthermore, I'm getting someone to trial-run the new Chaos Dungeon." - Chaos
"V." - Alvatria
"...(Should I be happy for my little brother showing some initiative for his work, or be exhausted by Alvatria's constant disruptions?)" - Order
---
Garami's PoV:
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Whoops. That was close.
"Another poison slug straight ahead!" - Bloom
"I see it, I see it!" - Garami
I fired a [Darkness Bullet] at the purple-ish slug before it could spew its toxic gunk at me like the previous ones. Just barely being hit by one load of them is more than enough! I don't even want to think about getting that stuff all over my clothes! Yuck!
Several more poison-looking mollusks came out from their hiding places as I walked through the Dungeon, spitting toxic at me whenever they got the chance. I was lucky to dodge their attacks and returned the "pleasure" by shooting Bullets and throwing [Darkness Daggers] at whatever crawling creep I could find.
After this small shoot-out (it couldn't be called a brawl, seeing we all relied on long-range techniques), all that was left was a miniature ocean of toxic goo and guts. Yuck times ten...
"Hmm? They're not disappearing?" - Garami
"The monster corpses? No, of course not." - Bloom
"Why not?" - Garami
All this talk about this place being a Chaos Dungeon that created monsters made me think that these guys would disappear naturally after you defeated them like in a game.
"Why would they? Harvesting materials is an essential source of income for adventurers who have cleared the Dungeon at least once." - Bloom
Hmm? They can..., ah. Now I see. These Dungeons are one-way-roads only during your first trip through them, but afterward, you can take quick trips for material-gathering whenever you like.
In that case, let's take as much as we can! I emptied my necromancy counter piggy bank when I tried to sneak past that draconic beast labyrinth earlier, so every piece of dead flesh helps! ...Once again, yuck.
Soon, my goal had changed from getting through the Dungeon as safely and stealthy as possible to killing as many monsters as I could find and using them for Necromancy Counters.
Before I knew it, I came to a different large area. It's not like a battlefield for a boss, but there is one prominent treasure chest in the middle... This has to be either a mimic or a monster house. And the "key" is mister Obvious over there.
"Bloom, what's your take on this?" - Garami
"It feels like a boss room, so we cannot proceed unless we defeat the enemy." - Bloom
"Is that how it works?" - Garami
"Yes. Master, you should throw away any 'common sense' regarding Dungeons you may have earned from the Water-Knot. It will not be of any use other than in those caves." - Bloom
"You don't see me complaining. Back to the present, is that treasure box the boss?" - Garami
"[Evil Eye of Dark Sight] and [Detect Monster] tell me that it is something trying to hide with Gloom-type skills so that I would think so." - Bloom
That explains the weird feeling I got when I looked at that thing. The skills...and prolly my long experience as a gamer back when I was alive...I think. Those memories have turned too damn foggy lately.
Anyway, I can't proceed unless I get rid of that boss. It's not started to move, mainly because I've yet to enter the "boss room". All I've been doing up until now is staring at it from the safety of the room's entrance...
Hey, maybe that could work?
---
Celestial World, Nibiru
"When is she going to fight the boss?" - Alvatria
"She is your Champion. Should it not be you to answer that question?" - Order
"Hey, you girls! This is just a mini-boss! The real big guy is waiting for its debut on the 3rd floor!" - Chaos
"Then you are saying the Dungeon is just 3 floors deep?" - Order
"Of course it is! It's just recently created! Heck, this is its trial run, remember!" - Chaos
"...Is she doing something?" - Order
"Don't ignore me!!" - Chaos
"No, she's right. That little rascal is trying something." - Alvatria
"Huh!? ...Hey, what's she doing?" - Chaos
"Allow me to check the system data... She is spending a tremendous amount of MP there." - Order
"...Whoa! She sent a dragon after the... THE MIMIC!!" - Chaos
"*Snap*, I got it. She is using Zahhak." - Alvatria
"Geh!? The Extra she got from the Trial!? ...What does it do again?" - Chaos
"[Darkness Dragon - Zahhak]. As one of the many 'dragon slayer proof' Extra Skills, it creates a dragon-shaped mass of darkness-type energy that is released toward the opponent. The dragon inflicts heavy Darkness-type damage and reduces all status values the target may have. Even levels." - Order
"EVEN LEVELS?!" - Chaos
"The effect is not permanent, but Zahhak is one of the few skills that can alter other's power levels. In exchange, its direct attack power is lower compared to the other Extra Skills of its category." - Order
"That didn't stop her from tearing the weakened mimic into scrap wood." - Alvatria
"NOOOO!! My cute mimiiiiic!!" - Chaos
"I see. While the mimic was flinching from the damage, she ran up to it and used [Hardlight Claws] to inflict some quick scratches. Then she proceeded to throw [Poison Balls] and [Web Bombs] to poison and trap the mimic before she took out this 'Thaumaturgy Scythe'... Ah, yes. One of the Ex-rarity weapons one can obtain by defeating a Wild Hunt Lord. No wonder it is powerful enough to finish off the mimic." - Order
"She's using AoD to enhance it. No surprise the trash gets taken out then." - Alvatria
"Like Goddess, like Champion!! You both are like water in the desert when it comes to mercy!" - Chaos
---
Garami's PoV:
Achoo! *Sniff*, are someone talking behind my back? If the sickness trio is having fun without me, I won't forgive them! ...Why am I feeling so irritated? The mysteries keep on piling up.
"Master, I think this next floor will be easier to handle." - Bloom
"How so... Tch. A trap hell." - Garami
[Detect Monster] isn't giving any reaction to the forest of giant mushrooms that makes up the floor. On the other hand, [Detect Poison] is working overtime. And in between those poison-detecting beeps, I'm also sensing a few traps hidden here and there. However...
"Aren't they too hidden too shabbily?" - Garami
"It seems that this Chaos Dungeon is using Poison and Shadow as its attributes for all the floors. For a normal Dungeon, a dual-attributed floor is only obtained in the more matured Dungeons, but a Chaos Dungeon is more like the Chaos gods' challenge to humanity, so they do not have the same restrictions." - Bloom
Thanks for the extra information, even if I didn't need to hear it now. So, the veil this place uses to hide its death traps is based on Shadow, a Gloom-category attribute. Sorry, but my [Evil Eye of Dark Sight] works too well with my other skills to see through this undeveloped stealth effect. Not to mention I got a trait to further lower their chances.
Trait: Evil Eyed
Effects:
* Allows usage of Evil Eye-type skills in any eye (not multiple abilities in the same eye at the same time).
* Increased secondary effects of Evil Eye-type skills: [Normal]
* Decreased cost of Evil Eye-type skills: [Normal]
Hehehe~. My right eye sees through anything~. Now, onward we go~!
---
Celestial World, Nibiru
"GAAH! She's getting through all my traps!!" - Chaos
"That's what you get for sending my Champion to a low-leveled Shadow-type Dungeon." - Alvatria
"What other type of Dungeon would you expect from one located in a place called the 'Shadow Pits'?!" - Chaos
"...Now she is using her Skeletons to trigger the traps she cannot find a way around." - Order
"TCH! The dead are too good as sacrificial pawns! Nerf her already!!" - Chaos
"Ah, she sneezed." - Order
"She's got a strong sixth sense after all..., hmm?" - Alvatria
"YES! She triggered one of the traps!" - Chaos
"A sneeze to doom them all... Chaos, what type of trap is that?" - Order
"The lecherous tentacle-type." - Chaos
"Camera, camera..." - Alvatria
"Why are you so..., never mind." - Order
"CRAAAAP! Her [Aura of Darkness] again! She repelled the tentacles with it!" - Chaos
"Why did I have to give her AoD!!" - Alvatria
"The question here is why this is one of the few moments your show any real emotions." - Order
"Damn, she got to the Safe Room!" - Chaos
"It seems she is making camp for the night..., and she seems to be carrying provisions and tools to do exactly that." - Order
"How well-prepared can you be?!" - Chaos
"She was shopping for exploration items before we tricked her into the Pits." - Alvatria
"Luck. One of the best traits an adventurer can have." - Order
"Grr, fine! I'll accept my defeat today, but tomorrow, the Poison dragon will fulfill my revenge!!" - Chaos
"Hey, can't you try to send those tentacles into the Safe Room while she's sleeping?" - Alvatria
"These two..." - Order