It isn't long after he leaves that the new party arrives. Emphases on the word new. Have they even graduated from the training academy yet. Not only are they younger than Clyde's party but they don't seem to even really know how to use their weapons. I ask Clyde about it, and he confirms that they haven't. He then goes on to explain that while it is highly recommended graduating from the training academy is not mandatory for would be adventurers. That's interesting, based on the way Clyde and his party talked about it I would have thought that graduating from the training academy was part of becoming an adventurer.
Despite their inexperience they make it further than I would have thought. Mainly due to rats not having much inherent strength. Their luck ran out when they fought the four level 1 rats though. To be honest I thought they were going to return to the entrance earlier when the mage nearly had his finger bitten off. The party leader talked them all into continuing, however. Then it happened. One of the rats managed to bite the archer's carotid artery. She yelped in pain as blood began to squirt like water from a fountain. "Fuck!" the leader yells after turning to see the situation. The healer begins treatment immediately but against such a wound there isn't much an untrained level 1 healer can do. Not that I would expect her to know that without trying.
Another rat takes advantage of the leader turning around to run up and bite his achilles tendon. While he doesn't bite clean through it's still enough to cause him to drop to the ground. The mage manages to cook the rat with a fireball shortly after. One of the rats had been killed earlier. So that only left two. One ran for the healer and was hit with a fireball from the mage. Well, it's called a fireball but from what I could see it's more like a concentrated ball of fire mana than a ball of actual fire.
As he did that though the last rat jumped up and bite his ear. After getting knocked off the mage's shoulder the rat then made his way towards the leader. During all this the leader tried to get back to his feet but was unable to put weight on his right foot. Seeing this he swung his sword ending the rat's life. Unfortunately, before they have time to celebrate the healer announces that the archer is dead. The rat apparently having bitten clean through the carotid artery. "With only the most basic of healing spells there wasn't anything I could do" she says through tears of guilt and grief.
She manages to control her grief long enough to treat the others though. At least enough so they can make it back to the entrance. Their return to the entrance is truly a pathetic sight. The leader leaning on the healer for support while the mage carries the body of the archer. This scene is made all the worse by the knowledge that this could have been avoided if they had turned around when the archer suggested it. I sincerely hope he learns from this and becomes a better leader.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Meanwhile as morbid as it might sound to others, I'm actually celebrating. Her death gave me a boatload of mana and I can't help but wonder if I'd have gotten even more if she were a higher level. At this rate the second floor will be finished in no time. With no other distractions at the moment, I decide to use the mana I just got to continue my work on the second floor.
The next room I place on the second floor is another large one. this time I create a large hill in the middle. The hill is just large enough so that it's impossible to see the entire floor. On this floor I also place four level 6 wolves and two level 7 wolves. The reason for this is simple. Anyone who makes it this far I feel is ready for a little extra challenge. Up till now the enemies have more or less come at them one or two at a time. even if they had archers backing them up it was still just one or two melee units at a time. This will be the first time delvers encountered a large group charging them all at once. I also set them up so that the four wolves will engage the party first with the other two joining in shortly after. Delvers need to understand that fights are rarely fair. Even if I still do my best to never give them more than they can handle.
After that I place another medium sized room. In this one I place two level 7 wolves flanked on either side by a Level 7 skeleton archer. The brilliants of it being that, after the last room this size, they will be expecting either traps or other enemies or possibly both. The next room is another large one. in this room I place a level 8 wolf and four level 7 wolves. I also place a few miracle berry shrubs in the middle of the room. According to the brief description I got before buying the blueprint they have healing properties when eaten and are used as an ingredient in healing potions. I added them to this room because anyone who makes it this far will probably need some help. While I have no intention of coddling them it's not my intention to be completely heartless. I also don't want to just give it away which is another reason I placed it here.
Unfortunately, that's all I can really do for the moment. Placing all that dirt costs a lot of mana. Sometime later, I have no idea how much later since I can't see the sky anymore, Clyde's party enters the dungeon for a proper delve. To my surprise although they do fully clear the first floor, they decide not to challenge the boss. As they head back to the entrance though I learn that part of their reason for coming was to see if I had increased the difficulty after the other party came out minus one member and another having a sever limp. It's also why they waited for so long to come in.
I tell him what happened, and he starts to get angry. Not at me but at the incompetence of the other party's leader. Apparently, the way he described it I suddenly rushed them with an entire swarm of level 5 rats. His inability to take responsibility for his own poor decision making nearly caused my classification to be changed from cooperative to hostile. I guess I should pay more attention to our bond in the future. I don't want him to know that our bond extends beyond the dungeon, but passive listening shouldn't be noticed by him.