Authors Note | Long story short, I’m lazy and couldn’t be bothered writing anything. Mainly having trouble deciding on names, personalities and appearances, as well as minor background details for all the extras/adventurers. I’m a meticulous person, so even if they are unimportant characters, I like to have them with proper details. After this chapter, I won’t be describing them as much and will get straight into it, so I won’t have to worry about it in the future. For what I have planned, these details are important. Look forward to it!
Sorry for the delay, here ya go!
Plzdontkillme =P
PS: I’ve read some comments about some points that are brought up here and there. One was about why there is no pain experienced by the killing between the dungeon monsters, but there is when an adventurer kills them. This is because that thing called “experience” in typical games and settings. As our protagonist may never understand this, I’ll explain it now.
In this story, “experience” is more akin to one’s “life essence”. So having the monsters kill each other, they absorb the essence of the defeated. However, they are still part of the dungeon itself, so it has no affect as the ‘resources’ remain in balance inside the dungeon. When an adventurer kills them though, they take this resource; this life essence themselves. To give it an analogy, it’s like a bone marrow transplant. The adventurers are stealing something he has excess of by killing his monsters. And so those who think there is no advancement in the future, know that the reverse is true. Killing adventurers steals their life essence, supplying it as a resource to the Dungeon >=). That said, remember that the Dungeon governs over a vast supply of this essence, far larger than that of a single adventurer, so of course there is no noticeable difference.
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Chapter 04 - Exploration
A woman looking to be in her mid-twenties sighed as she walked along with her group of adventurers. Equipped with daggers on both sides of her waist, a short bow on her back and gauntlets on both hands, she seemed like quite the versatile adventurer, but rather lightweight compared to her heavily armored party consisting of two guys in full plate armor with tower shields and a mace or halberd. There was another archer who was equipped with a short sword, buckler, cuirass and long bow. The other two were a magician and healer. Even they were at least protected with leather armor.
But this woman only had gauntlets reaching her elbow, light plated greaves, plated boots and scale armor covering only the heart on both sides of the torso, as well as the liver. Her class was that of a rogue, though she had customized it to her own liking. Versatile, agile and manoeuvrable. With her in the center of the formation, the six man {S Rank Party} moved around the first floor of the dungeon. Although the maximum party size for an {S Rank Dungeon} was 15, most teams were those who had been together from lower ranks and unwilling to bring in an outsider to their team.
…
Sigh… That’s all I can do at the moment. My name is Synteia, nicknamed Tia by the rest of my party. As one of two girls in the party, it could be troublesome at times. For instance…
*SMACK*
… Having to fend off the men trying to cop a feel in this dark dungeon. Having smacked away the hand that was reaching for my ass, I glared at the one behind me who was trying it. It was Jear, as usual. One of our Vanguard, and the one using a Halberd. We agreed when we made this party that there would be no relationships between the party members, but that didn’t stop the guys from staring, sneaking a peek, or copping a feel when they could. Men will be men, after all. Those horny bastards.
They do release their lust on their paid for girls, as well as their partners whenever they actually get one. But still, this was also a means of distracting everyone and releasing stress, as well as lightening the mood. We were, after all, quite tense. Having entered the nameless dungeon said to be a veteran killer to the point it was elevated to an {S Rank Dungeon}, we have been on edge ever since. The abyss of the everlasting darkness was wracking our nerves too, since we had opted for a low-light spell to provide only a luminescent illumination that would allow us to use our eyes naturally instead of hindering it when looking at the darkness.
We are currently on the fourth floor, slowly making our way through the caverns while keeping an eye on our surroundings. We had to do our best not to get arrogant. We had killed several wolves so far, and wounded many more. But the monsters are smart. When they knew they were losing, they would back off, or protect the wounded. They showed intelligence that was not thought to exist in dungeon monsters. That said, each dungeon was unique. And this was merely a small part of what made this one dangerous.
Continuing to move, we kept talking to a minimum and kept a professional atmosphere around us. Our team leader, the archer, was giving out orders as needed. With a keen eyesight, he made sure we all stayed safe both inside and outside of dungeons. After an hour or so more walking, we came to the transitioning path between floors, and we could see light. That meant the following floor was going to be illuminated. Nodding to each other, we cancelled our light. But… This was the signal for hell to be released.
The moment the light spell was cancelled, three dozen wolves pounced at us from the rear. We neither detected them nor understood how so many of them had gathered up and coordinated so well in this dungeon. But the result was our leader, and our primary archer, being torn limb from limb before we could respond. With a sudden fear overcoming us, he dashed towards the light ahead of us. We knew it was too late for Leader.
Upon crossing the border between floors, we tumbled forward and looked back ready to attack. What met our sight was the different limbs of our leader in the mouths of the wolves who stood at the border with a glare, tossing the multiple limbs to us. Leader’s head was… right at my feet. With the gears in my head clicking, I understood what they did. They hunted the leader of our Party, brutally murdered him as an example, and then tossed the remains to us to instil fear.
And it worked. Having understood their aim, I shuddered as my eyes widened, instinctively kicking the head away. We had been friends for a long time, but this dungeon suddenly made me feel like that face was the most horrid thing ever. Looking at the rest of my party, they seemed to also understand, but gulped as we pulled ourselves together. We need to push forward. There was no way to head back through that after all. There would be other ways to head back out, this was simply only one path through the floor.
Turning away from the path we came in from, we looked ahead and immediately saw an ogre. Seriously, not a single break! But this was weird. It was just standing there, staring at us… Why? Wait, it was grinning… Just then, I hear the sounds of padded feet quickly approaching. Spinning around just in time, I see the pack of wolves sprinting at us with a glint in their eyes. It was a ploy! They were capable of going one more floor! Or did they have a floor restriction at all?!
Seeing the look in its eyes, it must have realized I would react as it pounced to my side and I immediately heard a scream. Without time to react or warn my other party members, they were set upon by the wolves. It was one on one at least, but they left me with the ogre to hold off. Impossible! Much to my own shame, I can feel a warm wet feeling between my legs. With face red and tears in my eyes, I dashed towards the entrance we had just come from, aiming to escape the way I came, not looking back.
I didn’t want to know what would happen. My death was almost assured. What else could I do? From behind me, I could hear the tearing of flesh, the splattering of guts as a blunt weapon was slammed into the ground, the cries of my probably doomed team members, and the howls of the injured wolves. I couldn’t hear their pursuit, and there were none in front of me either. My chance to escape---!
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
*KSSSHHHH PFFFFF VVVVVVRRRR*
As I was about to turn a corner, I heard a weird noise. In that moment of hesitation and stiffening of my body, runes began glowing under my body as I felt my surroundings distort and a wave of nausea and vertigo overpower me, causing me to throw up my already empty stomach in the darkness I found myself.
…
……
…
Where am I? Why am I on the floor? I… I must have passed out. With a groggy feeling, I get up. Or I thought I would. My body aches all over. As my eyes adjust, I realize I’m not alone, but I’m in a sort of case. Or perhaps its ruins? It looks like a partially destroyed room with stone walls. The only light source is coming from the cracks of a wooden door, falling apart yet somehow still holding together. And then my eyes fall upon the one on the other side of the room. They were dressed in an all black, full plate armor. Not a single bit of their skin was showing, and they appeared as if they were asleep, leaning against the crumbling wall.
The only solace I had was in the thought that I was away from the death of before, but the presence of the man put a damper on my feelings. That, and the fact I had no idea where I was anymore. I just want to go home. Maybe I’ll quit adventuring. I don’t have the mental fortitude to continue after this. If anyone did, they would probably survive anything. It’s mortifying. My lower half is damp, so maybe an hour has passed at the most. Maybe?
Seeing me stir, the armored being turns its head to me. It didn’t say any words. Instead, it stood up and pushed open the door with a creak, allowing the light to flood in. Moving into the illuminate corridor, the person turned back to me with a bit of a rigid movement, then motioned for me to follow. I’m distrustful, but there’s no other choice. The person looks strong, so I should rely on them, right? They were with me while I was unconscious, so they don’t seem to have any maliciousness to them. Was it another adventurer who had been subjected to the same trap as her?
There was a rumor of a dungeon clearing group which entered but never left at some point. Was this person a survivor? With wobbly legs, I stood up and followed the man. Why man, you say? His height is above the typical woman, and the bulky armor looks too heavy and bulky for the thin frame of a woman. With a bit of a gulp, I leave the room so see the corridor. Looking both ways, it looked like she was in a maze. There were luminescent orbs on the walls at set intervals which made it strangely convenient to see. Not that I was complaining. Nothing worse than maze in the dark.
After several minutes of wandering around silently, I followed the black armored knight who seemed to know where he was going. Tensions were high, but that wasn’t why I wasn’t speaking. Somehow, and I don’t know how or why, but the entire maze was under a silence spell. It makes it difficult as I can’t tell if there was a monster behind me, but we’ve yet to encounter any. Did this man clear it all out previously? Who knows. I just want to leave.
When we finally came to a stop, it was outside another room at the exit of the maze. There were bones everywhere. Just what floor had I fallen down to if there were undead around?! None of this was reported to the Guild! And more so, since when did a dungeon have such a variety of monsters?! I suppose that was why it had such a high rank.
Pointing to a path, the knight directed me to a side path and walked through the bones with a broadsword sheathed on his back. As we went down the path, the light seemed to dim, and then there were pillars glowing with a unique hue. A safe room! Safety! But… there was a problem. It must be why the Knight had me follow him. There was a monster standing in the way, probably something like a guardian to the safe zone. Even as the average sized humanoid skeleton drew its sword, no sound was heard.
The skeleton didn’t seem that strong, but appearances were always deceiving. Right on queue as I thought that, the exposed bones of the skeleton turned black, and the blade it held became jagged like a mess. It looked like it would be painful to be hit by it as it would probably carve out your insides as it hits you. But to top it off, it began to materialize a pure white armor. This was bad. Taking up a stance with my two daggers, I prepared to fight. The knight beside me slowly walked forward with its broadsword in hand. Seeing the two approach each other, it was like light and dark.
I could understand why it would be best to approach slowly. I began circling to find a suitable position as the black knight swung its blade, colliding with the white knight’s blade. They were even in power, their blades locked together as they began trying to push the other off balance. No wonder the black night needed help. They were even in strength, so it must have ended in a stalemate many times previously.
Seeing a chance, I dashed forward and stabbed my daggers into the gap at the neck of the plated armor. My damage was negligible, probably indicating I was vastly inferior to my target. Holding back the urge to once again piss myself as fear clouded my judgement and face, I saw the head of the helmet-covered skeleton turn towards me. In that moment of intense pressure, I backed off just in time as the black knight pushed the white knight and followed up with a powerful swing of its blade down on the head of the white knight.
I could see the white helmet crack and instantly I saw hope. The hope to win and survive. The black knight’s level must be really high to damage such powerful looking armor that may have been enchanted. Dungeon monsters were unique in that they had levels instead of ranks, probably to denote a better understanding of hierarchy or ranking between other monsters instead of broad terms like ranks that adventurers use. Therefore, adventurers assigned ranks to a range of levels. The one she was fighting now was classified as S Rank, no doubt. The black knight was probably the same. As for me? I wasn’t so sure she could fall under the rank of S anymore. My entire S Rank Party fell victim to tactics unseen of before. They were arrogant in their approach and lost their lives for it. I’m barely alive.
With the balance tipped, I watched the black knight begin to push back and overpower the white knight until unceremoniously, it was shoved against a wall and it collapsed. There was no more movement from it. It was over. I could reach a safe zone. I could possibly live and get out. As the black knight nodded to me, a smile came across my face as I turned to run to the safe zone. Safety!
…
Pain.
I can feel a searing hot pain in my abdomen. Why? The safe zone is a few steps in front of me. Looking down, I see my blood drenched on the blade piercing through my body. My whole body tense, I slowly turn my head around. My body no longer responds to my wishes properly. What I see in my somewhat blurry vision from tears, is a black helmet next to me. A gauntleted hand reaches up and takes off that helmet. Underneath…
It was a white skeleton head.
From its eyeholes which seemed like a void, a brief red light shined as I heard a voice in my head.
You fail. Now… your soul will be my sustenance…
With that, I felt my body grow cold, and an unbearable pain as what I assume to be my life essence being drained from me.
Why…?
Who… said that?
Why did I fail…?
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Authors Note | You thought I was going to make a female protagonist? HAH! This is just the beginning.
Later in the story, I’ll have an arc dedicated to adventurers exploring as many floors as they can, going by every 5 floors so you, the readers, can understand how varied this possibly stupidly OPed dungeon is.
I intended to make this longer, but because I stopped half way and left it for a long time, inconsistencies showed up so I cut it short so I can start fresh on the next chapter. NO IDEA when I will do the rest as I’m using this as a distraction from my assignments >_>
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