After entering the portal to the next floor, the team felt the oppressive silence of this dungeon floor as they descended into the depths.The team trudged through the narrow corridors, the dim flicker of magical lights casting long shadows on the walls. The further they descended into the dungeon, the more oppressive the air became. Avince could feel the weight of the atmosphere pushing against his chest as they approached the next level.
“This place doesn’t feel right,” Greene muttered, her eyes scanning the dark, cavernous space ahead. As a plant mage, she had a unique sensitivity to magical energies, and right now, every inch of the dungeon reeked of ancient arcane power.
“Stay sharp,” Kai said, his tone calm but with a steely edge that commanded attention. “This is the Arcane Library. Everything here is imbued with magical power. That means more than just traps and monsters. You need to be ready for anything.”
The large, ornate doors before them creaked as they pushed them open, revealing a massive underground library. The vast hall stretched out before them, rows upon rows of shelves stacked high with ancient tomes, scrolls, and arcane artifacts. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings, runes glowing faintly as though the entire library was alive.
Avince’s eyes widened. The sight was mesmerizing—but it also filled him with an eerie sense of unease. "This place is only filled with items, but there's something... wrong about it. The magic here is ancient, and it's dangerous."
“You're not wrong,” Camille agreed, her eyes scanning the shelves for any movement. “There’s a heavy aura of enchantment here. These books are more than they seem.”
The team cautiously stepped into the library, the sound of their footsteps muted by the thick carpet of dust and the presence of magical wards. Before they could advance any further, the first sign of danger came—an old, worn book on the nearest shelf suddenly flew off its stand, pages fluttering as it shot toward them. The sound of paper tearing filled the air as it collided with the floor, but it didn’t stay there. It lifted once again, a dark aura swirling around its pages, its glowing sigil pulsing with energy.
“Animated books!” Avince shouted, raising his hand and preparing his magic. He focused his energy and released a sharp blast of water and wind, forming a barrier to block the incoming book. It slammed into the barrier with a force that rattled the air around them, but the book’s animated form simply reformed and launched itself again.
“Watch out!” Greene called, as more books began to fly off the shelves in rapid succession. These animated books, while not as powerful as some of the other monsters they'd encountered, were relentless and fast. Fortunately, they were only the lower-tier of the magical tomes.
“Low E-rank,” Avince muttered, realizing the strength of these books. “They’re strong for their type, but we can handle them.”
Rick, the fast one of the group, darted around, his speed making him a blur as he knocked books from the air. His lightning-quick strikes left a trail of destruction, but for every book he destroyed, another seemed to take its place.
“Damn, there are too many!” Rick said, frustration creeping into his voice as more books filled the air.
Kai calmly observed the swarm of flying books, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Don't waste your energy. They're not the real challenge here."
Before anyone could respond, a new threat emerged from the shadows. As if on cue, a cursed tome—far darker and more dangerous than the animated books—emerged from the shelves. This cursed tome is a different breed, its pages blackened and its sigils radiating malevolent energy. The very air around them seemed to warp and distort as the cursed books surged forward, their magic more focused, more intense.
“Watch out, this is a Upper D-rank!” Avince called, his voice laced with urgency. “We’ll have to take this down carefully. It won’t go down as easily as the animated ones.”
“Greene!” Camille shouted, rushing toward her as an explosion knocked Greene off her feet. Their scout had failed to detect a trap which Greene stepped on..
“I’m fine,” Greene groaned, struggling to stand as the explosion left a gash across her arm. She winced, clutching her injured limb. However, even as she spoke, a faint network of thin, glowing vines began to sprout from her skin, weaving themselves into an intricate pattern around the wound.
The cursed tome hovered menacingly in the air, it's dark magic crackling like a storm about to unleash its full fury. The team, undeterred by the ferocity of its arcane blasts, formed a tight formation, ready to strike with precision.
Greene, albeit injured, was the first to act. She summoned a mass of thick vines that shot from the floor, aiming to bind the cursed tome. The dark magic inside the book flared, and the vines were immediately scorched by bursts of intense black energy. But Greene wasn’t deterred; she pulled the remaining vines back and readied for another attempt. "These things don’t give up easily," she muttered under her breath, her focus razor-sharp.
Camille, standing next to Greene, quickly assessed the situation. She could feel the heavy pulse of cursed energy reverberating in the air. "We need to disrupt its magic!" she called out, stepping forward to place herself between the cursed tome and the others. Her fingers twitched as she began weaving a more complex barrier spell, one designed to absorb and deflect magic rather than just block it.
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A surge of arcane energy shot out from the tome toward the team, crackling like lightning. Camille raised her barrier just in time, the blast slamming into the magical shield with enough force to send a shockwave through her arms. The shield held, but barely, and the energy scattered like shards of broken glass, some of it ricocheting off the floor and walls. “Keep at it!” Camille shouted, her teeth gritted.
At the same time, Josh took a step forward, his body surging with the power of earth magic. He slammed his warhammer down onto the ground, causing massive stone pillars to erupt from the floor, towering high enough to block the cursed tome’s path. The pillars stood as an impenetrable defense, and the book’s magical bolts slammed harmlessly into the stone.
Rick, swift and silent, darted around the battlefield. Using the cover provided by Josh’s stone pillars, he dashed forward, closing the distance between him and the cursed tome. With expert precision, he leapt onto one of the pillars, narrowly avoiding a bolt of dark energy, and used his dagger to slice through the book’s ethereal binding. His dagger sank into the tome’s glowing, cursed pages with a hiss, but it didn’t seem enough to fully silence it.
Avince, watching Rick’s movements, saw the opening. His fingers twitched as he began to focus his mana for a spell. He conjured a wave of water and ice magic that crashed into the cursed tome, quenching the dark flames flickering around it and temporarily dousing its arcane powers. The freezing water caused the tome to shudder, its magic flickering and weakening under the ice.
With the tome stunned, Greene pushed forward again. This time, her vines, infused with a concentrated burst of energy, wrapped tightly around the cursed book. The book’s magic lashed out in desperate bursts, but Greene’s vines were reinforced with her own mana, resisting the onslaught. With a strained grunt, she pulled the vines tighter, binding the tome into a crushing grip.
Camille stepped up next, her hands raised high as she finished her barrier spell. With a wave of her hand, she sent a concentrated burst of energy through the vines, adding her strength to Greene’s effort. The book’s magical aura flickered violently before it finally began to crackle and break apart under the combined force.
Josh shouted in triumph, his warhammer raised high. "Now! Together!"
The group launched their final coordinated attack. Rick’s dagger, still lodged in the cursed tome, created a rift in its magical field, allowing Avince’s water magic to surge deeper into the tome. Camille’s barrier spell now wrapped the tome in a suffocating grip, while Greene’s vines tightened around it, pulling the magical energy into a crushing lock. Josh’s final, crushing strike sent a shockwave through the ground as he brought his warhammer down onto the cursed tome with all his might.
The book shattered, its pages disintegrating into a fine dust that scattered across the battlefield, leaving behind only the faintest echo of its dark magic. The room grew still, the air clearing as the last remnants of the curse dissolved into nothingness.
As the dust settled after the final blow to the cursed tome, the silence in the library grew even more oppressive. The team stood, catching their breath, eyes scanning the wreckage left in the wake of the battle. But the moment of relief was short-lived.
"This is tricky," Camille said, examining the symbols within the locked doors. “The runes are constantly shifting.”
Avince squatted down, his brow furrowed as he studied the puzzle. "I’ve seen something like this before… Give me a second."
The team stayed alert while Avince carefully deciphered the runic sequence. Slowly, with precise concentration, he triggered the right combination. The floor rumbled as the door opened to reveal the next room.
But before they could catch their breath, a new wave of animated books flew at them, and with the animated books, another cursed tome appeared, and it was stronger than the ones before.
“This one’s a Low C-rank,” Avince said, grimacing. “We have to finish this one fast.”
Josh chuckled, his usual hearty laugh echoing in the chamber. “I do like a challenge! Let’s do this!”
With that, the battle resumed. Josh stomped his feet, sending shockwaves through the room as he used his Earth magic to destabilize the cursed tome’s position. Rick moved quickly, slicing through the animated books while keeping an eye on the cursed tome.
Greene’s vines tangled with the cursed tome’s dark energy, trying to disrupt its magic, but it was no easy task. Camille focused on reinforcing their defenses with her barrier magic, using her abilities to block the cursed tome’s dark energy blasts.
It was a tough fight, but the team worked together, chipping away at the cursed tome bit by bit. Like the previous tome, Avince disabled the tome’s energy with his combination of ice and water magic, which had proven effective in this dungeon. When the battle was finally over, the team was drained and had sustained some injuries from holding off the barrage of books, but they made their way toward the final door.
The last puzzle was even more complicated. Ancient runes appeared on the door, shifting and changing with every second. Avince could feel the strain in his mind, but with the help of Camille, they pushed through, carefully adjusting the runic symbols until the door clicked open.
Beyond the door stood the final boss room. The air thickened with a dark aura, and a hooded figure stood at the center of the room. The dark mage’s presence was overwhelming, its magic practically suffocating.
Kai stepped forward, his face calm. “That’s your boss. A B-rank dark mage. Average for a B tier, but still dangerous.”
The team paused, exhausted from their battles. They knew they couldn’t face this one, not yet with their current strength. But before anyone could speak, Kai walked into the boss chamber without hesitation.
The dark mage immediately launched a barrage of destructive dark magic—massive, explosive orbs of dark energy. But Kai didn’t move a muscle. He simply stood there, his katana poised, and with a casual flick of his wrist, he deflected each dark magic orb with ease.
With a fluid motion, Kai dashed forward with a Katana drawing stance, his blade flashing through the air in a single, clean slice. The dark mage crumpled in two, falling to the floor in an instant.
The team stared in awe. “That was… incredible,” Greene whispered, her voice filled with awe.
Kai sheathed his katana. “You’re not ready for this boss, let alone the next floor. The next one has upper C-rank enemies in droves, plus a middle A-rank boss. And after that… B-rank minions would swarm you and an S-rank as a boss.”
The dungeon around them trembled as a portal opened up before them.
Kai turned to them, his tone now serious. “You’ve done well, but your dungeon run ends here. I’m not letting you continue.
The team understands and steps through the portal, their bodies exhausted and their spirits worn down. The dungeon run had come to an end—for now—but they knew they learned a lot from this run.