James felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders went he saw the drake start to dissolve away. Behind the drake in a corner of its cave stood the portal now activated. Just a single one, however. Before that however, there was loot to be collected. In the place of the drake’s body sat five equal-sized chests. One for each of them.
They all hurried over to the results of their efforts. James went over to the one nearest him. The others did the same. Each one drawn to a specific chest. As James put his hands on the chest he felt a burning sensation travel up his arm.
He checked his arm, reminded of the mark that had been growing there. Its shape had changed once more. Instead of a blob, it had solidified into a blurry circle. It still held no meaning to James, but he knew it was connected to his progress through the dungeon as it followed him whenever he went back to the beginning of the loop.
James touched the chest again and it did not react. Lifting up the lid he found a potion. Inspecting it surprised him. He downed the contents immediately. As soon as the potion was finished he felt the magical power within him. It was a rare potion he had been seeking for a long time now. His total mana had grown. He could feel its power and it was intoxicating. He felt the mana flow through him a little bit faster than before as well.
“That felt amazing. I can likely use mana arrows in quick succession up to three times now.”
James turned to the others and felt the magical power radiating off of Ian. A blue stone rest in his hands now crumbling to dust. Ian grinned as the power sank into him. A chill roused form within himself and he summoned ice around his hands. He had awakened the ice affinity within himself.
The other’s gifts were much more knowledge-based. Derek was given a book and absorbed its contents regarding sword skills. Naomi learned how to channel mana into arrows like James had used to kill the drake. As for Wes. His influx of knowledge was about the spear and how to effectively use it with his shield. He adjusted to the knowledge immediately and looked much more comfortable holding it than before.
“Everyone gather up,” James said getting their attention. “I just want to start off by saying how amazed I am at your progress so far. Getting to this point was not something I thought would happen when I first stepped in the dungeon today.” He paused.
“But there is still only one portal open to us which means that the only way out is continuing down into the 26th…”
“Bullshit. You said that the 25th floor would be our way out,” said Ian. “That we could get out of here once it was finished. And I believed you because there was little else we could do. But now what? We have to fight the dungeon’s final guardian as well?”
“Yes we have to,” James answered solemnly.
“The loot on this floor was pretty sweet but we almost died. And the monsters only get even harder from here. I only know four spells for god’s sake. Well, five now that I have access to ice until I can learn some more. Fireball, Fire jet, Greater Fireball, and Explosive Flame. I need to be able to do more the next enemies will easily brush off my flames if we go further.”
“Actually.”
Naomi interrupted James. “He is right you know. Even if we can somehow survive with our limited supplies we are going to reach a point where our damage output is completely negated by the enemies we have to face. Even after facing the drake, we might be considered tier 4 adventurers instead of tier five but to go much further we would be at least 3 if not 2. How are we supposed to get that good?”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“I don’t have the exact answers, but I will help you all get through it the same way we got through the last 25 floors. I will help lead you and train you in the time we have in the dungeon. I won’t always be the perfect tutor for you, but I can continue to show you some tricks. We will probably have to spend more time on each floor to do so. Just like with floor 24 I will have to teach you and prepare you for each subsequent floor. While I have not been on the future floors often I know what to expect. The enemies we will fight, traps, and more.”
“I am not sure we can trust you anymore,” said Wes. “What happens when we run out of food?”
“It has been recorded that dungeon beasts are edible if claimed and..,”
Ian scoffed. “And you expect me to cook it for you. I am out of here. I have new powers to test, and I would rather die alone than deal with more of this.”
Ian turned to leave, and James went to stop him. Ian brushed him off and stepped through the portal. Wes went to follow and so did the others. James sighed and stepped through the portal to floor 26.
James breathed in the fresh air of the forest. He looked to his left and saw the forest peter out as the trees followed the mountainside. He was interrupted by the sounds of explosions. Up ahead Ian threw fireballs indiscriminately causing smoke to rise.
“Stop! Stop what you are doing right now. This isn’t the floor to be burning things down,” said James, “This isn’t some goblin forest you can burn down without consequences.”
Ian didn’t listen to James and instead added ice spikes into the mix causing branches to snap and break off.
“Fine. I won’t tell you what is coming because they are likely already circling behind us hiding among the trees.”
That statement got Derek and Wes to give him a look. They moved to group up closer together and Naomi joined them.
“They are just going to get us killed,” James thought. “Now I need to try out my new power or survive until I can use it. I will have to see about adjusting what I say in the future but I am glad for the progress we made. Having the specialized loot with be extremely beneficial. In fact, if I can see them use the skills and abilities they gained then can I change the outcome of the loot in the future? That brings up many interesting probabilities for Ian. That stone is a special tool to help activate someone’s inborn affinity. Like his father. If I can help him gain access to ice spells early how would our previous fights have gone? What would his loot change be?”
As James went through those thoughts and more he started climbing the nearest tree. As soon as he was past the first branch he felt the ground shake. A rope of vines and roots snaked below his position and toward the burning fire.
“Look out!”
Naomi turned and yelled out as the roots grabbed hold of her legs and forced her to the ground. Derek and Wes spun around to help her. With his sword, Derek started hacking at the vines to try and get her free. They in turn stuck to his sword. At the same time, the natural rope split apart and went underneath Wes’s shield. He smashed it down onto the ground and they just went around.
Ian ran back to them hearing their cries and started targeting the ground with flames. James did what he could as well but ultimately had to switch to his mana arrows. He brought out his water mana and poured it into the arrow. Neither lightning nor air mana would be effective. James charged it up and hit the vines on the ground below him.
The vines seemed to tremble and slow with each mana arrow. Them in combination with Ian’s fire slowed them completely for a time. Naomi was trapped in tree roots and vines unable to move. Derek had switched to using one of Naomi’s knives to cut her free. As the last of the mana arrows were fired the owners of the nature magic stepped out from the trees.
Five of them stood motionless. The tree-like humanoids were stiff in their movements but quick. One looked directly at James. Its eyes glowing green. Some of the vines split off and started to snake up the base of the tree James was on. He was able to fire off one volley of arrows at the treants before having to jump out of the tree.
With James back on the ground the treants rotated magical abilities. The one he had shot with arrows eyes glowed purple. Flowers began to sprout from the roots. The smell made James and the novices cough. Ian tried to burn away the plants near him and Wes used his spear to break them apart but the toxic gas had already spread around the entire area. James felt himself growing weaker. He fired off a few arrows to little effect as the treants regenerated their bark-like skin. Quietly he fell asleep and returned to the 17th floor.