James held up a piece of swamp wood that burned as a torch to keep him warm. Wes as usual held the other torch along with his spear secured to his back. James would not let that slip away ever again.
He felt the cold on this floor, but it wasn’t as harsh as before. Ian while using some of his burgeoning ice powers was able to redirect some of the cold winds which lessened the pressure on all of them. When they fought the demon Ian’s new ice powers stopped all of the boss’s attacks allowing them to attack endlessly. When it tried to get up close Ian was still at an advantage. When James threw his mana arrow into the mix they were able to clear the floor extremely quickly. James had since lost count of his previous time records but knew that this time around was one of the fastest so far.
When they hit the bridge and some of the steeper inclines of the hike Ian was able to shape the ice. The dungeon resisted the change somewhat but relented and gave control to Ian temporarily. With him controlling the ice better footholds were available and their feet were able to gain traction on the bridge. The icicles and snow on the ropes froze over allowing it to stay in place and stiff while they went across the most dangerous area of the floor.
With Ian’s assistance, they made quick progress through the 21st floor and even dealt with a few frost giants along the way before entering the 22nd floor.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
James awoke with a jolt. His heartbeat raced as he looked around. He was back on the 17th floor.
“Are you ok?” asked Wes concern written all over his face.
“It's nothing. I’m not a fan of blacking out in dungeons is all. Ian has left for the exit then?”
“Yeah, he and Derek left a minute before you woke up. We’ve been waiting for you,” answered Naomi.
“Then we better catch up with them. They will be fighting the skeleton knight boss by the time we meet up with them.”
James skipped most discussions along the way to the exit in place of talking with all the novices once they were gathered together. The journey through the skeletal floor continued as it had in the past until James saw the boss fighting Ian and Wes. With an arrow, James blew off a chunk of the boss’s armor and Wes finished off the boss with a cut bisecting it.
“Everyone gather around.” James ignored Ian’s glares after he interrupted the boss battle. “We have a problem.”
Everyone’s ears perked up at that announcement.
“That got their attention.” James thought.
“The dungeon is not operating normally. I don’t know why that is, but you can see for yourself.” James pointed to the single portal waiting for them. “There is a single portal waiting for us. Not two as should be expected. That means a few things. First is that we will have to travel further into the dungeon than expected. I would prefer to leave now but that won’t happen. Secondly, because we are going further we will have to be careful with our resources. We may need them on lower floors so we should be careful about when we use them. Lastly, because the dungeon has changed I don’t know when we can be let out. I hope I will do so on floor 25.”
James hurried the novices through the portal not worrying about the dead boss at their rear. Entering the minotaur maze James led them through the halls. He stayed in the front and had his bow ready for each of the minotaur groups. When they ran into groups of three he used his mana arrows. The mana arrows broke through the monster’s thin armor. After their armor had been torn apart the novices finished them off.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
This pattern continued until they hit the minotaur final boss. Its spiked armor and jagged sword took more effort to get through as James fired off volleys of arrows and another mana arrow. The minotaur boss pushed them back with a roar causing them to stumble back. Still, they redoubled their efforts and were able to successfully kill the minotaur leaving the portal out of their open.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
James awoke with a jolt. He sat up quickly and looked around confirming he was back on the 17th floor.
“Are you ok?” asked Naomi concern written all over her face.
“I am fine.”
“Yeah, he and Derek left a minute before you woke up. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Then we better catch up with them. I have some things to discuss along the way. ”
The journey through the skeletal floor continued as it had in the past until James saw the boss fighting Ian and Derek. James watched as Derek finished off the boss with a cut bisecting it.
“Everyone gather around.” James ignored Ian’s glares after he interrupted the boss battle. “We have a problem.”
Everyone’s ears perked up at that announcement.
“That got their attention.” James thought.
“The dungeon is not operating normally. I don’t know why that is, but you can see for yourself.” James pointed to the single portal waiting for them. “There is a single portal waiting for us. Not two as should be expected. That means a few things. First is that we will have to travel further into the dungeon than expected. I would prefer to leave now but that won’t happen. Secondly, because we are going further we will have to be careful with our resources. We may need them on lower floors so we should be careful about when we use them. I want to go over some training with all of you. With it, we will all be stronger, and I hope we can all escape.”
Once they reached the 19th floor James started going through the sparring routines he knew in preparation for the drake fight.
James spent time with Naomi going over the mana arrows. As the practice was wrapping up he left her to practice and improve on her own while checking on Derek and Wes. The pair went over the use of the spear and killed spider monsters while James assisted from the rear.
In the meantime, Ian was focused on bringing out his ice magic. He went to the edge of the swamp where it opened up into a muddy lake and focused. In time he opened up his affinity for his use.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
James awoke with a jolt. His heartbeat raced as he looked around at the floor 17 entrance.
“Are you ok?” asked Wes concern written all over his face.
“It's nothing. I’m not a fan of blacking out in dungeons is all. Ian has left for the exit?”
“Yeah, he and Derek left a minute before you woke up. We’ve been waiting for you,” he answered. Wes stood up and gathered his bag and weapons.
“Where is Naomi?”
“She ran up ahead to follow them. I volunteered to wait for you.”
“Then we better catch up with them.”
James skipped most discussions along the way to the exit in place of talking with all the novices once they were gathered together. The journey through the skeletal floor continued as it had in the past until James saw the boss fighting Ian and Wes. With an arrow, James blew off a chunk of the boss’s armor and Wes finished off the boss with a cut bisecting it.
“Everyone gather around.” James ignored Ian’s glares after he interrupted the boss battle. “We have a problem.”
Everyone’s ears perked up at that announcement.
“That got their attention.” James thought.
“The dungeon is not operating normally. I don’t know why that is, but you can see it for yourself.” James pointed to the single portal waiting for them. “There is a single portal waiting for us. Not two as should be expected. That means a few things. First is that we will have to travel further into the dungeon than expected. I would prefer to leave now but that won’t happen. Secondly, because we are going further we will have to be careful with our resources. We may need them on lower floors so we should be careful about when we use them. Lastly, because the dungeon has changed I don’t know when we can be let out. I hope I will do so on floor 30. Any burning questions?”
“How will we be able to get out of here?” Naomi asked.
“By going through this delve carefully. Being more careful than usual and not taking any unnecessary risks. Follow my instructions and we will be able to get out of here in one piece. That I can promise you. Ian, you will use your fire and ice magic to help us through the bosses. And Derek,” James paused. “you will use your spear and shield once you are comfortable with it. One more thing. Ian, I know you have a bonded beast. Summon her will you?”
Ian complied and let Kira out into the field. The gray wolf circled its master and licked its paw before sitting down.