I stepped into the dungeon at eight in the morning ready to fight beetles. The dungeon was a bit more lively than yesterday. I could make out several groups venturing out, cutting through beetles with ease or ignoring them entirely in favor of venturing further out. I assumed they were heading to deeper floors, though I didn’t actually know where the entrances were. I hadn’t visited Prim yesterday after all my progress, so I may as well start my delve with that. With this in mind I stepped into the shrine. Prim awoke stretching, and I gave them a moment before asking.
“Hey Prim, could you tell me what my sync is at?” Prim happily answered as they finished stretching.
“Of course, you have reached 70% sync, and should be able to maintain your avatar for 21 minutes” That was great progress, though I think it was a hair less than last time at this rate I would be at the next tier in two days… which meant that I needed an orb. Maybe I can trade shards out for different types? But then I still need to figure out what type of orb I want to make next. I guess once I’m out of the dungeon I’ll have to look into trading shards, and what type I want.
“Is there anything else you would like to do Ethan?” Prim asked and I realized I had just been standing thinking for a moment.
“No, I think I am, good now, thanks.”
“Alright, I hope you have a nice day!” The statue said cheerily, and I answered on instinct.
“You too.” Prim smiled and waved, and I gave a quick wave before leaving the shrine. Prim’s enthusiasm always made me feel a bit better, and I felt ready to face whatever came next.
Outside the shrine I looked out across the roots, seeing which ones had people on them already. If a root had someone on it then it was likely that everything up to them was already slain, so I picked a root that didn’t have anyone on it that I could see and started down it. I made sure to walk slowly and keep my eyes peeled for any beetles.
It only took a minute before I saw a group of five tier one beetles skirting up the side of the root, and I got ready, grabbing my hammer and shield, and with a grabbing motion manifested my avatar. The beetles noticed me as my avatar manifested over my shield, and as they reached me along the side of the root I swung my hammer underhand, and though it didn’t shove the beetle off the edge like I hoped it did smash part of its face with an uncomfortable crack. The rest of the beetles got up and I backed up, body low to get more of me behind my shield. I wanted to attack the rightmost beetle like usual, but it was the closest to the edge, so instead I smashed the middle beetle. To prevent retaliation I quickly moved my shield to cover me from the beetles on either side. I felt the right beetle make contact with the shield as I got it up. I smashed the beetle trying to get around my shield, leaving three beetles trying to surround me. I backed up to stop them, and then once the new rightmost one was nice and away from the edge I was able to use my usual strategy and make quick work of the remaining three beetles. Unfortunately none of the beetles had any shards, but at least I didn’t have to look at what I had done to them.
I dismissed my avatar and put away my gear before continuing on my way. I quickly encountered another group of four beetles. This group had a tier two beetle leading the rest, but it was also closer to the middle of the root so I decided to go for it anyways. Not wanting to take chances I flipped my hammer to the spike end and before the beetles could position around me attacked the tier two, driving the spike into its head and killing it. I tried to pull away my hammer, but it was lodged deep in the beetle, which wasn’t dissolving. I grabbed closer to the head and pulled, getting the hammer out, but my delay let the beetles attack. The one on the left couldn’t get past my shield, but the right beetle managed to attack my hammer arm, its jaw snapping closed. I felt a prick of pain, but looking down I saw my avatar had blocked most of the damage.. I punched the beetle off with my shield before it could attack again and backed up. Where I had been bit the usually invisible avatar overlapping me had a slit cut through it. I couldn’t get bit there again. I flipped my hammer to the crushing side again and made quick work of the other three beetles.
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When the fight was over only the tier two remained, and I pulled a plant attuned shard out of it. That had not gone too well. My arm was mostly fine, and my avatar was quickly regenerating the sliced portion, but a thin red line on either side of my arm reminded me I wasn’t invincible. I shouldn’t have come here without a second person. I should go back. I really should have looked into if there was a delver tinder or something before just deciding to delve alone. The foolishness of my decision determined I dismissed my avatar, put away the shard and my gear, and turned to start leaving the dungeon for now.
Halfway down the root I spotted a group of eight beetles ahead. They were all tier one, and the root was thicker than the last fight, so I could probably take them. I grabbed my gear and manifested my avatar, and then cautiously approached. The beetles turned to fight me, and I stepped forward, dashing right to start picking them off like usual. I had defeated four of the beetles when a new combatant arrived, announced by the buzzing of their wings. I barely managed to raise my shield in time to catch a stinger from above. The lance stabbed through my avatar and deep into my actual shield. I looked to see the wasp that had nearly ended me just now, its black eyes staring through me and into something inside me. It wouldn’t stop until it had pulled it out, and I froze. The stinger was right in front of me, open to hit, but I couldn’t even breath as the wasp retracted its stinger and prepared to attack again. All I could hear was my heart pounding, and I knew I was about to die.
*snap*
A beetle jumped up and clamped onto the wasp, and the rest followed suit. The wasp was pulled down to the ground, its stinger unable to hit any of the beetles, and one by one they let go and bit again, tearing chunk after chunk from the wasp. I watched in horror as the tables turned. All the wasp could do was buzz helplessly as its clear blood gushed out. Slowly its buzzing quieted and it stopped struggling. Finally the wasp evaporated, and from within it thin streams of origin energy flowed out and into the beetles. Two of the beetles began to make creaking sounds, and then their carapaces broke into pieces and evaporated as they grew, leaving two newly tiered up beetles which began to approach me without hesitation. I watched as the hunted became the hunter, and I was the prey. If I didn’t move in time they would pull me down and tear me apart like the wasp. There was a voice in my head repeating something, but the pounding of my heart drowned it out. One of the tier one beetles bit my leg, and the voice got louder: run run run RUN! I felt control of my limbs return, and I tried to yank my leg back. The beetle held tight, and to my horror I fell back. My brain realized running wasn’t an option, and the voice changed: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
My hammer crushed through the beetle on my leg as I jerked up. The rest of the beetles were here, and with strength I didn’t know I had swung my hammer arm right, crashing into the second tier one and knocking it off the root. I rolled away from the tier twos on my left narrowly avoiding their bites and instead falling twelve feet from the root to the ground with a crunch. dull pain shot along my stomach, but I was better off than the rapidly dissolving beetle I landed on. I pushed myself to my feet, and looked up at the two beetles standing over me. They jumped down, aiming for my torso to knock me over, but I dashed forward along the root before turning to face the last two monsters. They came toward me side by side, and I swung at the fight one, and then punched the left one with my shield before it could take advantage of my position. Both survived slightly stunned. I flipped my hammer and drove the spike into the right beetle, tearing it out before doing the same to the left beetle.
I felt my adrenaline fade away, and I let my avatar drop. I was alive. The entire front side of my avatar was flickering in and out of existence, but my avatar had absorbed most of the fall. My leg was also unharmed, though the chain greave was damaged. Despite being unharmed I had never felt more fragile, especially when I dismissed my avatar.. Neither beetle had faded away, and I pulled out and pocketed plant and stealth shards. I tried to climb up the side of the root, but I couldn’t get a good grip on the root with how it curved inward. I looked around hoping to see an easy way up, but I was blocked on both sides. To get out I would need to go further out and find a spot where the root went underground.