Chapter 5- Life Changing Encounter –Sakura’s PoV

A massive man in excess of six foot tall clad in heavy leather roars as he charges like a monster into the final room of a dungeon called Upper Ice Rock Dungeon. He is a raging berserker wielding a two handed battle axe, one side bladed and the other spiked. Followed by a half sized stout dwarf clad in common leather like a rogue with 2 short bladed weapons. The dwarf is flanking immediately to the right. Flanking him to the left is a tall thin womanly figure with a bow drawn and knocked a glowing arrow. Behind those 3 lead characters follows 5 more including a human priestess, half sized wizard, and the three rear guards.

The Great Dungeon Lord (Sakura) in utter dismay raged at the loss in dungeon monsters, the frustration that all the traps have failed to kill the adventurer party, and now is essentially alone in the onslaught of adventures.

“no, No, NO!! How can this be? How could it all have failed?! These damn people are stripping my home of everything, slaughtering and skinning my servants. And NOW they dare to tread on my core room and are trying to destroy ME!” The core screamed as it loud as it could but no such words ever touched the party. No one in the party could understand this core had been using vulgarities, curses, pleading, lectures, and finally a complete refusal to admit defeat.

In the middle of the long rectangular stone block room measuring 20 x 40 x10 levitates a single red orb. Very quickly the orb overflows with the stored mana as it casts acid spear at the face of the lead berserker. He slows down as he drops into a roll and the acid spear is deflected in the second row from the wizard’s barrier magic. The orb glitters and bright sparkles pop and skitter through the air toward the woman with the bow before the arrow is shot, but she changes directions like a good dancer and spins toward the side with the dwarf. The dwarf naturally slower starts to take the lead in the race to the orb on the right, but he meet with multiple stones projecting out of the wall as he ducks, jumps, and is hit mid back during a misstep and it causes him to slow down only to remake the initial line of those that entered the room not a moment before.

In just a few scant seconds the 3 lead party members covered more than 10 of the 20 feet to the orb. The orb floating back further into the back of the room glittered black and released dark bubbles. Upon bursting the bubbles seems to bathe the room in unnatural darkness. The darkness snuffs out the torch light carried by rear party members. It felt as if everyone was soaked in a heavy inky darkness that didn’t belong to normal space. However the priest chanted a short incantation and as it finished she held up a silver icon that not only radiated light but seemed to push back the unnaturally viscous darkness. All adventurers could then move and breathe easier. But the moment was enough for the Red pulsating orb to get further back in the room and gather additional mana for release.

The three rear guards huddled with the priestess and wizard in the brightest part of the light. They were using tools to relight 2 additional torches behind the party in order to cover the dungeon escape. Meanwhile the three lead assaulting characters again attempted to separate into a line formation rather than a row just like before.

“I won’t let you get any further you foul, horrible creatures! If you want to bring me down I’ll have you BURN!!!” And the Orb seemingly pulsed as the room pulsed with a strange heat like wave as the whole room was covered in mana. As the mana rippled along the walls and floors it then settled and condensed into a slippery oily substance that coated everything and let out a peculiar smell.

As the Archer finished accumulating energy on the arrow it glowed a brilliant emerald green, and was loosed at that moment. It streaked across the room faster than any of the other people could see. But the orb had already started to rotate and as it attempted to dodge the arrow. It struck the orb and was partially redirected. But for the Dungeon Lord it was akin to taking a hard electrical shock directly on the funny bone. The arrow redirected ever so slightly high and left on contact and continued all the way to the back wall. But it sent the orb lower and right both because of the spin but also because the Dungeon Lord could not recover from the stunning blow.

“oooohhhhhh! Ouch, ouch, ouch… oooooo Oh, that hurt soo ba….” Was all the Dungeon Lord could think. Two different blades began to be thrust and swung repeatedly at the orb. The orb suffered repeated glancing blows after every few slashes. It bobbed and weaved and spun like a top to keep a single blow from landing a clean hit. But it had dodged too low and was in range of the dwarf. As the orb was escaping the dwarf reach he had to stop as every swing that wasn’t low enough cause him to over reach and slip and slide his feet on the oil.

The massive man used his forward momentum to continue onward but couldn’t run on the slick floor. He raised his axe to the side instead of over head. He readied his swing as he approached closer and closer while the orb ascended to escape the dwarf’s reach. As the opportune moment arrived he let loose with all his coiled muscles and ….

The Dungeon Lord used a powerful blow of mana to slap its own orb high as it bounced off the ceiling and then started to ricochet round the room from the spin and slick liquid.

In one moment the orb was there and the axe was about to make contact and in the next it seemingly vanished. Then the momentum carried this great man round, and round, and onward. And he spun at first in perfect form with the axe out. But each consecutive spin the form started to break. And the axe started to slip and that created more momentum. While his feet were in like a ballerina when he attacked with the axe out, he quickly started to separate his feet as he tried to regain his balance and slow down. Unexpectedly it felt like something in his gut rose up to hit his throat. Just then he did the unspeakable. He let go of the axe and it struck the back wall. And half a heart beat later so did he.

The dwarf prepared to attack the orb, but paused as he watched it bounce from one surface to another. The archer having used the wall to halt progress knocked arrow after arrow and attempted to fire off shots at the Red orb. The arrows were clipping it or missing all together. The Priestess held focus on the light to keep the darkness at bay. The two rear guards held overlapping torches next to each other while the third guard tried to light them. While everyone was trying to acclimate to slippery feet the wizard took a couple of sniffs and started to ponder as he looked at the floor. He took a finger to scoop a little residue between his fingers and thumb. The wizard while holding a barrier spell was a little slow to think. The Dwarf rubbed the wall as he slowed to a stop, then glanced at his hands. He was a little shocked and surprised at the realization of why he was sliding to begin with. Like the Dungeon core was the cause of a mini volcano, but without lava.

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The final bounce of the dungeon core strikes the top of the berserkers head as it slap into the corner of the room for its final few spins. Just then the berserker lets out a slight gurgle and spews his guts out straight up in the air. His prone position on the floor against the back wall made it look like his head was the source of a mini volcano. Straight up and straight back down was the natural course of the fluid. The archer being unable to take it jerks their head sideways in disgust causing the hood to fall down. That action reveals long hair and pointed ears with a grim expression.

The wizard having almost figured out what the substance is gets the words on the top of his tongue when he hears the sound of a flowing liquid. He then glances up and a horrible sight assaults his eyes. The mini projectile (V) volcano sprays up in the air the full three and a half feet, as high as himself , only to fall back down on the berserker who’s laying flat on his back at the end of the room. His unflappable concentration is broken and his barrier pops without a sound. His jaw drops open and his only thought is “oh, that is … inconceivably disgusting…” Then he frowns and puckers his lips like he’s trying to keep his mouth closed.

The Great Magnificent Amazing Dungeon Lord gasps as it is way too close to the hazardous material. It flees away from the back wall a little too eagerly. The Dungeon Lord only pauses when it is better than half way between the ever too long lasting projectile volcano and the other intruders. It protests the abuse of the dungeon room in many words in a very short amount of time without anyone being able to hear it.

As the last few spirts erupt from the mini volcano, the Dungeon Lord gathers mana in a panic hoping to burn away the contamination. “Oh, no no no no no…. get it off me… uh. I don’t have a body but I think I’m about to be sick too.”

Several strikes are enough to light one torch, but neither torch holder is watching. Both are stunned at the scene in the far rear of the room. And about that time he looks up to see why the room fell quiet after the sound of spilled liquid echoes from the rear of the room. “OH man! That’s so grose!”

“Ohy, Lad! Snap out of it. Get up you big dumb oaf!” Shouts the dwarf as he prepares to take out the dungeons core once again.

Focusing energy on the fletching the archer recites an incantation and readily looses one arrow as it seems to flicker and blur in sight. The arrow heading directly toward the dungeon core is traveling slower than it should. The core tried to dodge and spin up, but as it did the arrow seemed to blur more and travel a little slower as the trajectory bent further following the direction the core is attempting to dodge in.

Giving everything it could the core swerved as best it could in the most milliseconds it could. But it wasn’t enough to completely dodge the arrow. The impact sounded with a loud CRACK. While the arrow didn’t sink in it did break the surface of the core and a little spray that appeared like steam started to leak out.

Multiple little daggers started to get thrown from the dwarf. One in every few strike the orb and each strike started letting out little popping sounds, and 2 more loud cracks echoed in the room.

In those moments the Dungeon’s Core launched the mana it accumulated as a fire ball the size of a beach ball. It erupted in the back of the room like a small mushroom cloud when it came in contact with the oil. The flames quickly spread across the floor and up the walls. The archer moved swift enough and with just enough speed to get a lead on the fire and headed straight back to the rest of the party. However the dwarf was a little too slow and was slower in ground speed and the flames caught up to him as he fled toward the party.

Having spun too much and been splashed repeatedly by a liquid (we’re not going to talk about), the berserker regained his consciousness just in time. He turned his back on a flame that was quickly coming right at him. The liquid protected his body to a minimal extent, but it still burnt his left exposed arm badly along with his wild hair. It also ignited the slick dungeon oil that was on his back armor. He scuttled toward the corner where most of the nonflammable liquid had pooled. Soon his fingers felt the axe, and they gripped it while he clamored to his feet. He held his other hand up to help guard his face as the flames rose in the room and was half as himself. He also caught a few glimpses of the dungeon core as it bobbed in and out of the flames in the room. Then he dashed for the rest of his party on the far end of the room.

As each of the party members started to gather back together near the entrance the priestess tired to clean everyone’s feet from the oil as they continue to back up. The wizard wove a spell to pull water out of the air and dilute the oily material on the floor, but it was only so effective as the oil still rose little by little to the surface of the water as it broke from the floor. Yet with so much water on the far side of the room it prevented the whole floor from becoming engulfed in flames.

Using some of the smallest amounts of magic as possible the dungeon launched small darts that peppered the adventurers. While the armor blocked such minor attacks the priestess and wizard took cover behind the dwarf and rear guard as soon as several darts struck them. The Great dungeon core took the retreat as victory until it noticed the berserker glaring at it as he neared his party.

Grabbing a pouch off his belt the wizard stuck a hand full of another pocket into it and threw it deep into the room past the dungeon core. The result was the pouch landed with a -shlop- sound into the oil and he shouted at the party inciting a retreat.

In mid stride the berserker tossed his two handed axe at the dungeon core and it spun end over end in the air. It was his last ditch effort to destroy the core. With all the skill he could and with all the practice he used during his off time. He used the same focus he used to gain prestige with his own people.

The dungeon used it best focus to get the orb out of the way of the axe. Sure it was difficult but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the archer’s magic arrow at near point blank range. However as the axe turned end over end it came down on the floor, blade down. When the axe blade came down in contact with the floor it also split the bag the wizard threw in. As soon as it did the oil soaked in and the fire ignited the pouch and exploded. This sent the axe blade going right back up in nearly the same path it just traveled except more toward the ceiling.

The dungeon core not only was shocked at the sudden explosion but the axe blade sliced a line directly through the back of the orb. As the axe spun in the air the handle struck the ceiling of the room and came back down only to strike the orb this time with the point and take a chunk out of the orb.

The resounding explosion caused a fireball to roll out of the dungeon core room on the heels of the adventurers. But the air and fire exhausted the remains of the oil in the core room. Mana started to pour out of the cores broken sections. All the mana used to make and reinforce the dungeon starts to flood out of the broken places on the core. As soon as the mana that was used to create an area is lost then that section of the dungeon falls apart. The core is exactly like a balloon with a leak, and the result is a systemic failure.

Once the personal mana was exhausted the dungeon started to collapse. Mana was used to create the dungeon and when there is no mana left and the core is broken then all the mana used to make the dungeon it escapes. and the dungeon itself shrivels like a balloon with a leak.

While everything the Dungeon Lord had done it has ended in defeat. Was it dumb luck? Was it fate? Who knows. But how could the Great Dungeon Lord receive defeat in such a way? It cannot! But who will help? How does a Dungeon Lord ask for help? Dungeon cores can’t heal them self when broken and on the verge of such death.

Just then the Dungeon Lord remembered in a series of flashes it’s whole history. As if all the memories come through in just a few moments.