Chapter 13: First Race & Opening Day

When the countdown timer hit zero, Ferron threw the lever of the mine cart forward, activating the mana-driven chain system beneath the track. The cart jolted to life, moving slowly at first, the metallic clanking of gears echoing through the dungeon, but it soon picked up speed as it surged down the rail.

"Note to self: Lower the first room’s gradient to increase initial speed," Brent muttered, eyes wide as he watched Ferron's progress through his Dungeon Vision, excitement coursing through him.

Ferron’s cart sped through the first room, where spinning blades erupted from the walls at neck level. With a swift duck, Ferron narrowly avoided decapitation, the blades whirring inches above his head. Arrows shot from hidden alcoves in the walls, embedding themselves into the sides of the cart as it barreled onward.

"Go, go, go!" Brent cheered, his excitement palpable as Ferron skillfully navigated the obstacles.

As Ferron reached out with his stone club, he struck a switch plate jutting from the ground. The cart jolted right, switching lanes just as the center track collapsed into a pitfall trap, the wooden ties and iron beams falling with the door they had been attached to.

"Yes! It worked!" Brent shouted with glee, practically vibrating with pride.

The cart roared ahead, hitting the first bend in the track as it entered the second room. Overhead, Rustwing Gargoyles screeched from their perches, swooping down to antagonize Ferron. His metal body rendered him impervious to their sharp claws, but Brent knew fleshy humans would have a much harder time evading them.

Swinging axes fell from the sides of the room, triggered as Ferron crossed a hidden threshold. He was forced to slow the cart to time his passage between the deadly pendulums. As he reached the halfway point of the room, he shoved the lever forward once more, propelling himself past the last of the axes. His stone club swung out just in time to hit another switch plate as an Ironclad Beetle lumbered into the path Ferron had avoided, its heavy body perfectly positioned to halt the cart in its tracks.

"So close! That would’ve stopped it dead in its tracks!" Brent laughed, unable to resist a pun. "Tracks... ha, classic."

"This is... really stressful," Emil muttered, his voice trembling as he observed the chaos through Brent's Dungeon Vision.

"That’s the idea!" Brent cackled, his excitement uncontained. "It can't be too easy, or they'll always finish."

Ferron’s cart careened into the third room, which appeared deceptively empty at first glance. As soon as Ferron crossed the threshold, Kagejin exploded out of the shadows, tossing metal lines across the tracks. The thin, iron wires aimed to snag anyone standing too high in the cart. Ferron, not quite ducked down in time, was yanked violently backward out of the cart by the tripwires.

"Ooo... that's gotta hurt," Brent winced, watching as Ferron scrambled to his feet, chasing after the cart, which had begun to slow after being pulled backward when Ferron’s hand snagged the lever during his fall. "I’ll need to figure out how to make the carts stop so people aren’t just running after them. That could be... problematic."

Despite the setback, Ferron caught up to the cart, leaping into it with ease. Kagejin was right behind him, blades extended, the ninja automaton silent as death. Ferron turned just in time to block Kagejin’s deadly strikes with his stone club. They sparred briefly, the clash of metal-on-stone ringing out, before Ferron managed to push Kagejin away and propel the cart into the next room.

"I bet Kagejin will have more surprises for the second lap," Brent mused, his eyes glued to the scene as Ferron entered the fourth room.

The fourth room was a nightmare of moving traps. Three massive stone spheres rolled along their own tracks, crossing Ferron’s path with deadly precision. Ferron had to bring the cart to a full stop, waiting for the right moment to accelerate past the first rolling boulder. Just as he did, a spinning gear trap rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, sending his cart careening backward toward the first stone once again.

Ferron quickly threw the lever in reverse, dodging the incoming stone, only to face another trap. He deftly worked the lever, switching directions back and forth to avoid the deadly obstacles. Brent watched with awe as Ferron navigated the room with expertise, though he knew adventurers wouldn’t have such an easy time.

"Masterful," Brent whispered. "Adventurers are going to get smushed in here. I can almost taste the sweet, sweet kill XP already."

Finally, Ferron exited the fourth room and entered the fifth and final standard room. The moment he crossed into the space, a chain net fell from above, entangling him. Ferron struggled briefly before tossing the net aside and continuing forward. Jets of flame erupted from the walls, bathing him in scorching heat. His iron body glowed a bright orange, absorbing the heat but remaining intact.

Ferron hit one track switch plate to veer left, then another to return to the right, narrowly avoiding two massive hammers that slammed down from above, each blow powerful enough to crush the cart and its occupant. The Chain Golems behind the hammers pulled the massive weapons back into position, ready to reset the trap for the next lap.

"This is almost too much for me," Emil admitted, covering his eyes with his tiny metallic hands.

"That’s how you know it’s good," Brent replied with a sinister grin. "If it’s making you nervous, it'll definitely have the adventurers on edge."

The final obstacle was a magnetic wall near the exit of the room. As Ferron passed, his iron body was yanked sideways by the powerful magnetic field. He gripped the cart tightly, holding on to keep from being pulled completely out of it.

"Heh... putting that there right before the boss room is really going to be a pain if they lose their weapons," Brent chuckled. "That’ll teach them to hold onto their gear."

The boss room was a vast, cavernous space, its ceiling lost in shadow high above, with jagged stone formations jutting out like the teeth of some ancient beast. Tracks crisscrossed the room, weaving intricate paths toward the finish line at the far end. Flickering orange light from the magma veins in the walls cast ominous shadows that danced across the uneven ground.

Ignarok lumbered into view, his massive form casting a dark silhouette as he moved, his fists clenched into enormous, armored hammers, glowing with residual heat. The ground shook slightly with each of his heavy steps, and the fiery veins running along his chest and arms pulsed in rhythm with his low, guttural growls. His crimson eyes locked onto Ferron as the Iron Golem approached the tracks, the boss minion’s movements calculated and menacing.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Ferron’s cart sped forward, the screech of iron wheels echoing through the chamber as he narrowly avoided a crushing blow from Ignarok. The colossal fists slammed into the ground with a thunderous crack, leaving deep impressions in the stone floor. Ferron pushed the lever forward, speeding up to avoid the next swing, only to slow down at just the right moment, dodging another attack as Ignarok’s frustration mounted.

Ignarok let out a deafening roar, shaking the very walls of the dungeon. His movements became more frantic, his massive form struggling to keep up with Ferron's quick maneuvers. Ferron, confident in his timing, skirted past the hulking creature, but Ignarok was far from done.

With a ground-shaking growl, Ignarok turned, yanking on a thick chain embedded in the wall. The sound of grinding metal filled the chamber, followed by the rush of molten rock. Magma poured out of a hidden vent, filling a deep trough that cut across Ferron’s path, glowing a bright, fiery red that illuminated the room in a hellish light. The air shimmered with heat as the magma bubbled and hissed, blocking any passage through the track.

Ferron’s glowing eyes widened. He gripped the lever of his cart and pushed it as far forward as it would go, forcing the cart to accelerate faster. The screeching wheels echoed through the cavern as he charged headlong toward the bubbling magma. At the last moment, the cart hit the trough, tipping forward and launching Ferron out of the cart and into the air. He tumbled across the stone floor, sparks flying from his metal body as he skidded to a halt.

Brent let out a long sigh. "Well... that was effective. But we need a way for them to get past that. It can’t be totally obvious, but we can’t have them stopped every single time," he mused, rubbing his metaphorical chin as he watched through his Dungeon Vision. "Alright, Ferron, that’s good for now. We’ve got more work to do."

After a few more hours of careful adjustments and tweaking the dungeon’s layout, Emil approached Brent in the Core Room.

"We need to focus on the entrance now," Emil said, his tone serious. "It’s time."

"Alright. What do we need for that?" Brent asked, feeling a renewed sense of urgency.

"The entrance has to be inviting—something that will draw adventurers in—but it shouldn’t look too menacing or sinister. So, no skulls or spikes or anything like that," Emil said, waving his hand to dismiss the typical dungeon tropes.

Brent thought for a moment, his mind racing. "Hmm… I think I’ve got an idea."

Drawing on the stone he had gathered from his expansion, Brent began sculpting the entrance. He started by molding a stone track that wrapped around the entrance, carving out a section that made it appear as though a mine cart was hurtling out of the cave. He shaped the stone with care, ensuring the cart looked as though it was in motion, its wheels barely touching the track. Then, he crafted a second cave-like structure on the other side, making it seem like the cart was racing from one opening to the next.

Once satisfied with the stonework, he created the actual entrance to the dungeon: a massive stone door, smooth and imposing, that would rise and fall to allow adventurers inside. The entire display had a roller-coaster-like quality to it, combining the thrill of speed with the mystery of the dungeon.

He stood back, inspecting his work. "What do you think? Modeled it after a theme park ride I used to visit back on Earth," Brent said, nodding with pride at his creation.

Emil tilted his head, taking in the scene. "It definitely fits the theme you’re going for. I think it’ll work well enough for now. Just don’t expect anyone to really understand the concept at first."

"Now, the last thing you need to do is set up the variables for entry," Emil continued. "You’ll want to limit it to one party at a time, and I’d suggest keeping the maximum number of adventurers per party at eight. That’s a standard size and will ensure balance in the early stages. We can always adjust it later if needed."

Brent opened his Dungeon Menu and navigated to the configuration settings. He set the parameters as Emil had suggested and confirmed the values.

"Done. Anything else before we open?" Brent asked, scrolling through his pages to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

"That’s it! And not a moment too soon. The grace period ends tomorrow morning," Emil said, visibly relieved. "Honestly, when you wanted to start over, I thought for sure we’d blow past the deadline."

Brent chuckled, though a small pang of anxiety formed in the back of his mind. "What would’ve happened if we’d missed the deadline?"

"The System would’ve opened the dungeon without your say-so. We’d have been scrambling to get things set up properly, and adventurers would’ve stormed in whether we were ready or not," Emil explained.

Brent’s core pulsed slightly as the realization hit him. "Wait, it would’ve opened the dungeon without us being ready?"

"Yup," Emil confirmed. "We’d have been in for a disaster. But hey, we made it in time!"

Brent’s glow dimmed slightly as he processed what could have been. "That would’ve been good to know a bit sooner, Emil."

"I did say it was bad," Emil replied, a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, but you didn’t say ‘we’re about to be thrown to the wolves’ bad." Brent sighed, his irritation fading as the weight of their accomplishment sank in. "Whatever. We made it. So, how do you feel about it?"

"I think we’re in good shape. Traps are set, the minions are in place, and we’ve got a solid layout. I’m confident we’ll score some kills early on. We can always tweak things after the first few runs," Emil said, smiling for what seemed like the first time in days.

"Great. I’m excited to see how adventurers react to the whole setup," Brent said, his excitement returning in full force.

"They’re probably going to be pretty confused at first," Emil added. "But we can put up a sign in the lobby to explain the rules. We don’t want them completely lost."

Together, Brent and Emil crafted a large wooden sign, carefully etching the rules and advice on how to handle the carts and switch plates. Once it was completed, Brent set the sign firmly into the stone wall of the dungeon’s lobby, ensuring it would be one of the first things adventurers saw when they entered.

"And now… we wait," Brent said, feeling the anticipation build. "Tomorrow morning, we make our debut!"

At dawn, there were no grand celebrations or fireworks to herald the opening of the dungeon. Instead, a quiet sense of curiosity settled over the crowd that had gathered outside. The first party of adventurers stood at the entrance, their eyes widening as they took in the sight of the mine cart, seemingly frozen in motion, perched above the door. The scene was equal parts mysterious and thrilling, beckoning them to uncover the secrets hidden inside.

With the final preparations complete, Brent activated the dungeon’s entrance. The massive stone door lifted, revealing the shadowy interior of the dungeon, inviting the first challengers to step forward and face the race of their lives.