Xavier didn’t want to waste any time. He sprinted through the forest, using the mini-map to guide his journey, either ignoring beasts along the way or killing them from afar then using them to Soul Step quicker along the path like he’d done on the seventh floor.
It didn’t take him long to reach the nearest dungeon. The Crystal Dungeon, as it was called on his mini-map. He wondered why the System had called it that, or how else the dungeon might have gained its name. He was still unsure of the purpose of it, or how it had even gotten to Earth.
At first, when he arrived at the location the map showed, it took him a little while to actually locate the dungeon. It was clear on the map, but when he’d actually gotten there, he couldn’t see it—it wasn’t as though it showed any defined aura.
The map showed the dungeon to be in the middle of a copse of large trees, exactly where he was. He tried looking on the ground for a trap door, but there was no sight of one. He should be right next to it, or on top of it.
Then he froze, noticing something strange in one of the trees he’d passed. He strode straight over to the tree and found that inside the large trunk was…
“A door handle?” Xavier muttered. “Since when do trees have doors?”
He touched a hand to the handle, beginning to reassess the meaning of the word dungeon. He wasn’t going to open the door yet, not until the others were with him. He’d decided to leave the other members of his party back at camp, but not because he was going to do this on his own, simply because he could portal them over here.
Maybe it will be good to have a base of operations, especially with these Portal Stones.
When he touched the crystal handle, a notification popped up into his vision.
{The Crystal Dungeon}
Level Restriction: None
Level Recommendation: 30+
Active instances possible: 1
Only 1-4 Denizens are allowed to enter this dungeon at once.
Dungeon Record Holder: None
Dungeon Repeats: Unlimited
Would you like to enter The Crystal Dungeon?
Xavier couldn’t help but grin as he read through the notification. He hadn’t been sure what he’d been expecting a dungeon to be, but this almost seemed like it was a floor of the Tower of Champions.
It must take me to an entirely new instance, but something tells me it doesn’t transfer me to another universe like the tower does.
Though he wasn’t exactly sure of that.
He tapped his fingers against his staff as he saw the level restriction. Was this dungeon really for those who had reached over Level 30?
For a moment, all that did was make him worry for the other members of his party. They hadn’t gotten the chance to gain that many levels yet, and even with their titles he worried what it would be like for them to face down enemies meant for Denizens at Level 30 and above. He wouldn’t let them come to harm, of course, but the whole point of having them there was so they’d gain Mastery Points and get stronger. He’d neglected their progress for long enough.
Then he smiled as an idea came to him. If it worked… it would help them level up incredibly fast.
Why hadn’t I thought of this before?
He supposed the right opportunity simply hadn’t presented itself to him yet. And if this worked… well, then he had a lot of plans to make for the survivors back at camp.
[Siobhan, set up the portal, then hand the Communication Stone over to John.]
[Copy that,] Siobhan said, and Xavier could hear the grin in her voice. She must be just as excited to get going as he was. She certainly seemed eager when they’d first seen that there were dungeons.
Xavier took his Portal Stone out and tossed it onto the ground, then waited for Siobhan to do the same. When both were in position, he activated the portal.
I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how awesome this is.
He had a sudden flashback to when he was a kid, playing Diablo 2 and using Town Portals.
Time to hack and slash some mobs.
The brilliant light of the portal brightened the area he stood in, which had been darkened by the thick canopy above. Howard was the first to step through the portal, his double-bearded axe already in hand, along with his massive tower shield. Justin came next, his long, slender sword in hand. His face still looked youthful, but the teenager no longer carried himself as though he were an awkward sixteen-year-old. There was a confidence in his stride that bellied his age. Finally, Siobhan stepped through, a brilliant smile adorning her face, lighting up her freckled cheeks, her staff held firmly in her right.
“So, where is this dungeon?” Howard asked.
Xavier grinned and rubbed his hands together. “It’s right here.” He gestured toward the tree.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“That’s not a dungeon,” Justin said flatly. “That’s a tree.” The Airborne Duellist tilted his head to the side. “Are you feeling all right, Xavier?”
“Look!” Siobhan pointed at the handle. Then she rushed over to the tree. “Since when do trees have handles?” She grinned over at Justin.
“The dungeon… is in a tree?” Howard just raised an eyebrow and sighed.
Xavier told them the information about the dungeon, that the level recommendation was for those over Level 30, but that it didn’t restrict entry. And finally, that there was mention of a record.
Siobhan put her free hand to her chin, then touched the handle herself. Her eyes widened, sparkling slightly. Clearly pleased by something. “This specifies that the dungeon repeats are unlimited!”
Xavier smiled. He’d been leaving that detail to last, knowing how exciting it was. “We can go through it as many times as we like.”
Justin walked over to stand beside Siobhan. “Do you think the record gives a title?”
Siobhan nodded emphatically. “Definitely. Maybe more than one. There’s no record on the dungeon, which means we’ll be the first ones to go through it. Or at least, the first ones not to die in there. In fact… unless invaders have located other dungeons…”
Xavier took an excited step forward. “We might be the first ones on Earth to complete not just this dungeon, but any dungeon.”
“Something tells that a True Progenitor, off in the Tower of Champions, doesn’t often get the chance to become the first to clear a dungeon on their world on top of everything else,” Siobhan said.
“Then we shouldn’t waste any time.” Howard came to stand beside them all. “Let’s do this.”
Before they headed into the dungeon, Xavier deactivated the Portal Stone and deposited it into his Storage Ring. Though a part of him was now wondering if Portal Stones even worked in dungeons, considering they had a restriction of how many people were able to enter.
I’m sure a Communication Stone will work. If the others back at camp get into any trouble, we can sprint out of the dungeon and return to camp pretty fast.
Xavier was the first to enter the dungeon. He gripped the handle and accepted the prompt.
It instantly reminded him of when he was transported onto a floor of the tower. The feeling was incredibly uncanny. But this wasn’t a tower floor—this was a dungeon, and for some reason, that very fact excited him.
It was something new to experience.
Part of him wanted to rush through this dungeon, but he shouldn’t do that if he wanted to help the others gain some levels. Establishing his claim to the area and setting up his Seed Sanctuary was his top priority, but so was helping his party members level up.
They need to be strong enough to take on an invader camp on their own, so we can split our forces when we need to. Right now, they’re nowhere near being ready.
Xavier had been expecting to appear in some sort of cave. Where he did appear, however, was entirely different. He was standing in another forest. He instantly knew it was another forest, too, as it looked nothing like the one he’d just left.
The trees were made from crystals. They sparkled like diamonds shining in the sun. He blinked, taking it all in. It wasn’t just the crystal trees that was strange about this place—the sky was… purple.
“Pretty,” Siobhan said as she appeared beside him. “Not at all what I expected, but I guess this is why it’s called the Crystal Dungeon.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
Howard and Justin appeared a moment later. Howard grunted. Justin just said, “Huh.”
“So, why isn’t this dungeon… underground?” Howard scratched his beard. “I mean I don’t really mind where it is, but I was expecting something different. Orcs, maybe a dragon guarding a pile of gold…”
Xavier smiled. “Nothing’s ever quite what we think it will be, is it?” He took a step forward and summoned his scythe-staff to his hand.
“Well, actually…” Siobhan trailed off. Her head was tilted all the way back, and she was staring up through the crystal trees’ branches at the purple sky. “I don’t think that’s a sky.” She pointed. “Look.”
Xavier looked up, narrowing his eyes. Then he noticed what she meant—she was right. It wasn’t a sky. It was a ceiling. His vision was the best out of all of them. He should have noticed it right away. He supposed he’d been too enamoured by the new landscape they’d found themselves in. “We’re in a massive cavern.”
Justin’s eyes were wide in awe as he stared upward with the others. “Whoa. Do you think we’re still on Earth? Did the System teleport us somewhere else?”
“It’s an instance… but I think it’s still technically on Earth.” Siobhan looked over at Xavier. “Are you able to contact John?”
Xavier had been about to try when a roar sounded somewhere through the crystal trees. He gripped his summoned scythe-staff in his hand.
“So, how exactly do you expect the three of us to face down enemies meant for someone over Level 30?” Howard asked. “Not that I’m concerned…”
Xavier smiled. “Don’t worry. I have a plan. Actually, I think it’s going to work rather well…”
It wasn’t long before the enemies were on them. They didn’t come through the trees—they came through the ground. Xavier hadn’t seen anything like it. Entities made purely of crystals coalesced through the solid rock that lay beneath their feet.
Had they roared… through the earth?
The beasts stood around ten-feet tall. They were roughly humanoid in appearance, though if he were to compare them to anything he’d say they looked more like trolls—if trolls were made from crystal.
Each of the beasts was a different colour. Ten had grown from the ground, liquid crystal hardening before his eyes. The colours were solid grey, red, blue, and white.
All ten of the beasts lumbered forward, running on long legs with a surprisingly swift pace.
Xavier narrowed his eyes, getting a feeling about why they might be coloured that way. He scanned the nearest enemy. Howard had already activated his Bulwark spell, and the others were huddled behind him, looking to Xavier for direction.
He scanned each of the different crystal constructs in turn.
{Crystal Fire Golem – Level 30}
{Crystal Air Golem – Level 30}
{Crystal Water Golem – Level 30}
{Crystal Earth Golem – Level 30}
“Nice,” Xavier muttered. “They’re elementals.”
“Uh, Xavier, whatever you’re going to do, I hope you’ll do it soon,” Justin said.
Xavier, very casually, took a step forward. As he was the closest of his party to the enemies, they all turned their focus on him.
He released a breath, and activated Willpower Infusion.
Purple mist shot forth, flowing out of Charon’s Scythe and floating through the air at the ten crystal golems. Xavier raised his scythe-staff high and had the sudden urge to cackle like some evil villain as the mist entered the enemies.
At first, he’d been a little worried that the Willpower Infusion spell wouldn’t work on the golems. He’d never encountered beasts like this before, after all. Beasts that appeared to be made and not born—much like Siobhan’s Divine Guardian.
But the purple Willpower Energy entered into the enemies without an issue. The golems had mental defences—ones that were far stronger than Xavier had expected them to be—but they still didn’t actually give him any trouble.
He pushed through their defences with ease, taking control of every single one of the enemies in an instant.
All ten golems stopped running. They just stood there, between the crystal trees, swaying slightly, dull looks upon their rock-hard faces.
Xavier walked over to one of the trees and leant his back against it. He shoved the butt of Charon’s Scythe into the solid rock beneath him, puncturing it easily, then crossed his arms and nodded toward the enemies. “All right. Have at it then.”
The others glanced at once another for a moment.
Siobhan shook her head and laughed. “Why didn’t I think of this earlier?” She waved her staff, and it began to glow. “Looks like it’s time to summon my Divine Guardian…”
Xavier watched the woman’s mind work, her smile widening all the while.
Howard cancelled his Bulwark spell and ran forward. It looked as though he didn’t want to waste a second.
It was finally time for Xavier to powerlevel his friends.