After a quick stop at my house to equip my gear Dyson and I head to Madam Erin’s dungeon. We weren’t entirely sure where to teleport to, so I used [Gate] to reach the area in which [Menu] said Madam Erin was at. Even if we can’t see her there, that doesn’t mean she isn’t there.
However like when I arrived at Dyson’s castle we are both tossed to the floor in a large empty throne room. If I am remembering correctly this used to be the top floor of her dungeon, and behind those small doors behind the throne is where her crystal used to be.
After Dyson and I return to our feet he says. “We were tossed aside like there was a barrier preventing teleportation. This isn’t where you said we were supposed to be, right?”
“It isn’t, but that in itself doesn’t make sense. This used to be the top floor, and Madam Erin’s crystal used to be right though those doors, so why would a barrier drop us here?”
Dyson: “Madam Erin isn’t capable of making a barrier like that, as far as I am aware, but even if she was capable, I am with you, why drop us here? Even if she just learned how to create the barrier it should cover her entire dungeon not just the new floors she added.”
“If Madam Erin is still alright, she should know we have arrived in her dungeon by now, so should we try sending her a message?”
Dyson: “You said her crystal used to be through those doors? Let’s check it out first.”
“Wait… If her crystal is there still, you don’t plan on breaking it or something, are you?”
Dyson: “If she has become one of the traitors, you damn right I will break her crystal, but until we know that, I just want to see.”
I am a little hesitant to the idea of letting Dyson just walk into Madam Erin’s crystal room, if it even is still her crystal room, but it isn’t like I can stop him, so I follow him through the small double doors behind Madam Erin’s throne.
The room is small, much smaller then I remember, but what appears to be growing out of the far wall is the largest crystal I have ever seen. The large amber crystal that takes up the entire wall glows with a pulsing light like a heartbeat, and bright enough that it is almost painful to look at.
Dyson: “Well that answers that question, but leaves even more. If we stepped into Madam Erin’s crystal room, if she would instantly know and if she was capable she would have been here by now.”
Suddenly a figure appears between the crystal and us, and I would say armed to the teeth, but the armor she is wearing is far more revealing than anything I’ve seen her wear before, looking almost the same as Desiree’s armor.
Elexia: “Two-Twelve?! Dyson?! What are you two doing coming after Mother’s crystal for?!” –She says without letting her guard down, while posed and ready to strike.-
“Just wait! We are looking for Madam Erin!”
Elexia: “She left this morning before I woke up, but that still doesn’t explain what you are doing in her crystal room!”
Dyson: “She appears to be missing. So maybe you can help us. If Madam Erin’s crystal hasn’t been moved, then why has she added more floors to her dungeon and erected a barrier to prevent teleportation into those new floors?”
Elexia: “What are you talking about?! Mother can’t be missing, or I would know! Besides she hasn’t added any new floors to her dungeon in 200 years!”
“This is the 347th floor, right?”
Elexia: “Of course!”
“The [Archjusticar Menu] says her dungeon now has 350 floors, and when I try to look at her location I only see an empty room that is about… 2 floors up from here.”
Elexia: “That is impossible, this is the top floor!”
Dyson: “Not any more it isn’t. Now if you want to help Madam Erin, I would suggest finding us a way to reach the floors above.”
Elexia: “First, leave Mother’s crystal room! “
Dyson: “You really think you could stop me if I wanted to destroy her crystal?”
“There isn’t any reason to provoke her…Madam Erin wouldn’t set up the barrier leading us right to her crystal. I am sure she is probably the one in trouble, so it won’t hurt us to wait in the other room at least…”
Dyson: “The point is, if I wanted Madam Erin dead she would be dead.”
“Come on…” –I say dragging Dyson from the room. Of course, were he to resist, it isn’t like I could really stop him, but Dyson follows along and we are soon waiting to hear back from Elexia in the throne room.-
Dyson: “You do realize as soon as we stepped out of there she moved the crystal to somewhere else, right?”
“That is the deepest part of Madam Erin’s dungeon, with the exception of the new floors, so she could only leave it there or move it to the new floors. Do you think she would trust the floors she knows nothing about, or leave the crystal where it is, because like you said if you wanted to destroy the crystal she wouldn’t have been able to stop you.”
Dyson plops himself on Madam Erin’s throne and looks around the room. “What does she do all day? There is absolutely nothing to look at in here.”
“Most throne rooms I’ve been in are empty. They’re just for show, not practicality.”
Dyson: “Well, I used to spend most of my day sitting on my throne, unless I had an actual reason not to, you know?"
"Ironic, considering your entourage were the only ones around. Why didn't just replace your throne with a bed is beyond me. A king-size bed, of course." - I smirk slightly - "Come think about it, I think Byson's the only one that has ever seen your throne room."
Dyson: “Who…?”
“Byson! The man I summoned for you to take your place…”
Dyson: “I had completely forgotten about him.”
“He is still alive, isn’t he?”
Dyson: “I haven’t received a message telling me otherwise, so I would assume so. I gave him my old entourage, so he has plenty to do.”
“You’re unbelievable. How could you…” –I start to say but Elexia appears in the room and looks horrified that Dyson is lounging around on Madam Erin’s throne.-
Elexia: “That is Mother’s chair! You can’t sit there!”
Dyson: “Well, did you find out how to get to the floors above us?”
Elexia: “I don’t answer to you!”
“Please Elexia, Madam Erin could be in trouble, and she might need our help.”
Elexia: “That doesn’t give him the right to disrespect Mother’s dungeon! But Mother may really be in trouble. I tried to reach her with a message, and even looked into the rooms that you claim exist above us, but the dungeon core room is not showing any such room.” –Dyson starts to say something when she cuts him off and says. “But I did find a ladder that wasn’t there before. If there is a way up, that must be it.”
Dyson: “Good. Take us there.” –He says while jumping to his feet.-
Elexia glares at Dyson, but leads us out of the throne room into its antechamber, which happens to be large enough to have two massive dragon-sized golems on it. I guess that if someone came in the normal way, it would look as if they were guarding the throne room's entrance.
Dyson doesn't appear impressed by them, but I'm bad at reading the facial expression of helmets (since he happens to be wearing his full set, field helmet included).
There's a large spiral staircase (going down) in the center of the room, but we go around it to one of the smaller doors across the floor. This room is considerably smaller, and houses two similarly smaller golems, as well. Though by smaller I meant to say they're about the size of Madam Erin herself.
These golems do grab Dyson’s attention as they appear to be made from orichalcum. He quickly moves over to one and knocks on it, before nodding his head.
Dyson: “The big ones were showy for sure, but these ones must be her actual last line of defense. I couldn’t even imagine being able to summon something this strong in my dungeon, I guess no matter how strong I make myself, there’s just no substitution for years of experience.”
Elexia's mood seems to improve with Dyson’s comment, but she attempts to keep a stern face when she speaks “The ladder is here!” With a snarky undertone pointing out a simple ladder that runs next to the corner of the room to a small trap door in the ceiling.
Dyson: “I take it you are going to come with us?”
Elexia: “I want to find Mother more than anything, but if something were to happen to both Mother and myself, there would be no one to watch Cambion, and so I unfortunately must leave to return to him now.”
Dyson: “You want us to find, and possibly rescues your Mistress, in her own dungeon, and you are not going to provide any assistance?”
Elexia: “I told you. The area above, whatever it is, is not part of Mother’s dungeon, and Mother has very few named monsters, none of which would be much help to you up there.”
Dyson: “If we do have to save your Mistress, the price is going to be quite steep.”
Elexia: “There is only so much I could possibly offer without Mother’s consent, but if it is within my power, I will grant it. Mother told me you had great interest in Lilith, and although I can’t promise you her, I have several daughters that are not bound to Mother’s dungeon that I could offer you, on the condition you do them no harm.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“That really isn’t necessary… Something can be worked out after we find Madam Erin.”
I can’t tell Dyson’s expression because of his helmet, but he sounds genuinely surprised as he says. “I am not one to turn down free women, but for once I believe I am not interested…”
“Well none of this is helping Madam Erin right now… Let’s just get up there and find out what is going on.”
Dyson turns and begins climbing the ladder, when he reaches the trap door he hits it with his gauntlet and the door swings open. As he disappears through the hole I tell Elexia that we will do our best, and then follow Dyson up the ladder.
Before I make it to the top of the ladder I can hear the sounds of combat, so I quickly rush the rest of the way. I am not exactly sure what I expected to do, I mean if Dyson had trouble fighting something I seriously doubt I would be any assistance, but by the time I reach the top of the ladder the room has gone silent.
The room looks normal enough. The walls, floor, and roof look much like the rest of Madam Erin’s dungeon, and the size of the room isn’t out of the norm, it is definitely larger than a standard room, but not enough to accrue any additional cost. I enter the room to find Dyson wiping his sword off on the clothing of one of the creatures on the ground as he inspects it.
The dead creatures on the floor, or at least what is left of them, appear to share a lot of similarities to a succubus, however the main and major difference is that every succubus I have met redefines the meaning of beauty, these creatures however are the exact opposite.
Their hair is quite similar to the colors I have seen on the succubi, however instead of being long and silky it is course and matted. These creatures have wings and tails much like a succubus as well, but again the more you look at them, the more differences you see.
I haven’t seen any succubi with horns, yet these creatures have a pair curving backwards growing out of their scalps at least a foot long each. Their skin looks old and withered, their figures saggy and unpleasing, rather than feet they have hooves, and don’t get me started on the face.
Lilith’s eyes were quite normal looking, but Elexia and Desiree both have eyes where the normal white part is solid black with golden irises, and they were quite entrancing. These creatures have similar eyes, but maybe it is just because they are dead, but those whose eyes remain open are not entrancing at all, more like, they make a chill run down my spine. And ugly… These creatures are very ugly…
“What are they…?”
Dyson: “I’m not too sure myself.” –He says standing back up and kicking one over.- “But whatever they are, they aren’t much of a problem. What is a problem however is that I don’t see any doors leading forward.”
He is right, the room is completely solid, and the only entrance or exit is from the trap door we entered from.
“There has to be something, right?”
Dyson: “Not necessarily. Madam Erin’s crystal is behind us, so regardless of Elexia's claims on whether this is part of Madam Erin’s dungeon or not, [Menu] is at least treating it like it is, so
“Then how do we get to Madam Erin?”
Dyson: “Shut the trap door.”
“What if it seals us inside…?”
Dyson: “That is a strong possibility, in fact I would almost bet on it. You can leave now if you choose, but I may need your abilities later, so if you don’t want to be responsible for both Madam Erin and my death’s, then shut the trap door.”
I am hesitant to shut the door, but if all else fails. I might get to find out if the [Justicar Teleportation] works or not…
“I’m trusting you.”
Dyson: “Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?” –I can’t see his face, but I can practically feel the smirk on it…-
When I returned to the house to get my armor I didn’t even tell Belinda about what happened. I don’t know if she will get it, but I send her a message telling her I love her, and I try to give her a short version of what is going on, but Dyson starts to complain about me taking so long that I send the message I have just before I kick the trap door shut.
As soon as the door slams shut it instantly changes to match the rest of the floor completely sealing us off in this room…
Dyson: “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Now what do we do…?”
Dyson: “First thing is first I guess.” –He says then makes a grunting sound before saying.- “Looks like teleporting is out of the question.”
I feared as much, and it isn’t like I don’t believe him, but I try to cast [Blink] and [Gate]. Neither of them works however, so I take a deep breath and say. “I hope this mean you have a plan?”
Before Dyson has a chance to answer however several doors seem to grow out of three of the four walls leaving us with six options to choose from.
Dyson: “I do now… I think I know who is behind this. But of course with the abilities the traitors have at their disposal it doesn’t mean that my plan is guaranteed to work. But if he hasn’t changed his design I should be able to get us through this.”
“Whom?”
Dyson: “Don’t want to tip our hands too far, now…” –He says looking at the six doors before choosing one. - “This way, and whatever you do, don’t shut the door until it is clear we can deal with whatever is on the other side.”
I have no other chose but to follow Dyson, so I follow him as he swings open the door he choose. With his sword still in his hand he quickly lunges forward into the room so I quickly rush forward to catch up with him, and this time I get to see the hideous creatures while they are still alive, albeit briefly.
Dyson enters the room swinging, the first creature raises its arm to block the blow, but Dyson’s sword cuts through creature's arm and torso while barely slowing down. The next creature casts a spell surrounding Dyson in a pink hazy mist.
Dyson stops moving while grabbing his helmet and shaking his head. “If you think something like that will work on me you are sorely mistaken!” He then shoulder charges the creature casting the spell. I don’t know how strong these things are in comparison to myself, so I don’t know if I should be doing anything.
Three more of the creatures swarm in on Dyson, carried not by their wings or feet, but floating like a lich or similar monster. Dyson punches the one he shoulder slammed, and cuts down another of the new arrivals with his sword, but that still leaves two more of the creatures as they bare their claws to him and they don’t damage his armor but pass through it like a shadow spell.
I don’t know what kind of danger that poses to Dyson, but I can’t just sit here and do nothing, so taking them as some kind of demon or undead I cast the strongest light-element spell I know, but even though my spell power is strong, my availability of spells is far below what a mage of my level should have.
The beam of light I produce hits one of the creatures attacking Dyson, and although it does seem to do a great deal of damage to the creature, I fear I just pissed the creature off, more than anything. Not that non-sentient monster can get pissed, but its golden eyes quickly lock onto me, and it withdraws its claws from Dyson’s armor and starts floating my way.
“Use fire!” Dyson grunts as he collapses the skull of the creature he is pummeling with his gauntleted fist. He then turns his attention to the last remaining creature that is attacking him. He slams it in the chin with the hilt of his sword causing it to shriek with an ear splitting sound.
It causes the creature to be pushed back as it struggles to try to keep its claws sunk into Dyson’s armor. It gives him enough of a distance however to bring his sword down severing the creatures head from its body.
By the time the creatures head hits the floor the last creature descends upon me with its claws extended.
Many light-element spells focus on healing and not attack so I am lacking in higher level spells, but fire-elemental attack magic is far more common, so some of the groups that have leveled up or monsters that I have slain have given me access to higher level fire-elemental attack spells
I was using my skills to make the spell far more powerful, so the creature’s claws are within inches of me by the time I release the fire spell. Many of the attack spells start off small growing bigger as they get stronger, but by level 30 or so they get so large they are massive attacks that cover a large area, and can damage many friend and foe alike, but it seems once you pass that hurdle they begin to shrink again and only increase in strength and intensity rather than size.
In fact this [Magma Bolt] spell doesn’t appear to be any more dangerous than a [Fire Bolt] or a [Fireball] spells, but the moment the spell connects with the creature it erupts in intense flames, causing it to shrike again.
As the creature bursts into flames, Dyson doesn’t appear to be worried as he wipes his blade off one the clothing of one of the dead creatures before sheathing his blade. By the time the creature quits shrieking the flames are still engulfing its body, and I have to take a step back to avoid it landing on me as it collapses to the floor with a crunchy thud.
Even as it lies unmoving on the floor the fire is intense enough I have to use caution squeezing past it to enter back into the room with Dyson.
“You know it almost got to me, I wasn’t sure if one of my spells, even fully charged, would have been enough to deal with that thing.”
Dyson: “If you would have used another one of those weak light-based spells, it probably wouldn’t have. I’m not much of a spell caster myself, but for a dungeon core not of the fire favored element, that was quite an impressive [Magma Bolt].”
“I obviously don’t have a light-elemental spell that strong, nor shadow, wind, or earth, but I do think I have a water spell that is at least just as strong as well.”
Dyson: “Shadow and light-based spells have their own uses, but for the most part if fire doesn’t kill something, water surely will, so even if it isn’t the most effective spell against a particular creature, that isn’t bad at all.”
“I have had far more luck with light-elemental and shadow-elemental spells in the past, myself.”
Dyson: “When you are low level they tend to be the strongest of the six, but once you start getting into the real monsters, the lines get far blurrier. Take these things for example, you took one look at them and could tell they were shadow-based creatures, but it wasn’t your light spell that was most effective, but fire.”
“But you said you didn’t know what these things were, so how could you know they were weak to fire rather than light?”
Dyson: “I wasn’t pummeling that thing for the hell of it… I have a hand-to-hand combat skill that allows me to learn about monsters or creatures when you deal with them with your fists.”
“Sounds pretty pointless… If you can beat the monster to death with your bare hands, what good is learning about its weaknesses after the fact…?”
Dyson: "Well, I learnt that skill when I was adventuring, way back in the day. Rather poor on its own if you want to measure results by damage dealt, but rather invaluable for an extended dungeon dive or if your party will happen to fight plenty of the same monsters, wouldn't you say?
Dyson however can’t seem to leave well enough alone because he continues by saying "Besides, martial artists have the best bodies, and the woman that taught me that happened to have one of the very best. Nice curves all around, long and shapely legs with good, strong thighs, and breasts that probably should have gotten in her wa-"
"I got it." - I sigh in resignation - "It is indeed useful for your party members. Can you punch the bodies and learn anything else?"
Dyson: “I think it goes without saying that they are indeed a shadow-based monster, with a weakness to fire, but like their appearance suggests they seem to be some kind of succubus but they are classified as undead rather than as demons.”
“Do you think that these are some of Madam Erin’s succubi that have been turned into undead then?”
Dyson: “I find it highly unlikely unless someone forced Madam Erin to summon the succubi to convert them into undead, but the dungeon cores that would be capable of such a thing are on a short list. Besides even if they could force Madam Erin to summon the succubi, what would be the point it, if her dungeon is their goal.”
“The question is, what do they want from her dungeon? We had a straight shot right to her crystal, so if they wanted her dead they could have done that already, but instead they seem to be adding to her dungeon, or at least forcing her to do so.”
Dyson: “Well let’s find them and ask.”
The creature I set on fire is still smoldering, so I have to douse it with a water spell to be able to move it out of the doorway, and like the room before once the door is shut it completely disappears, and several more doors open along the other walls.
“Which door now?”
Dyson quickly examines each of the doors carefully before choosing one. “This one.” He says with confidence, but then quickly changes his mine choosing another. “No… It’s this one!”
“Are you sure….?”
Dyson: “Ninety percent sure. Now, are you coming, or what?” –He says kicking open the second door he choose and striding through it.-
We spend the next few hours passing from room to room in much in the same fashion. Dyson has chosen the doors seemingly at random each time, and I believe we’ve passed though some of the same rooms on multiple occasions, but regardless of my suspicions there are always more of the undead succubi-like creatures, and no signs of our previous pass. Besides Dyson still insists he knows exactly what he is doing, so I have little choice but to follow him.
We do eventually come to a room in which after the door is shut, a door appears overhead, and a ladder descends. Dyson takes that as a sign he was correct, but I can’t help feel that we could have saved at least an hour if we didn’t seem to back track several times.
Dyson: “The room that your [Menu] says that Madam Erin is in, is it directly above us, or do we still have further to go?”
I open my [Archjusticar Menu] to confirm it and say. “No, I still can’t see her, but it doesn’t appear the room that it is showing doesn’t appear to be directly above us, but to the right probably two or maybe three doors.
Dyson: “We haven’t come across an empty room yet, so I would trust that image you are looking at, and we don’t know what is up ahead so be on your guard.”
I agree and Dyson then begins to climb the ladder.