“THIS is what you meant when you said you were a Dungeon Emperor?” Mira’s tone was sharp and full of wonder.
“Yeah, this is nothing like what I expected.” Lya added.
“Isn’t it great!” Aurelia added.
Duke looked at the two goggling women and asked. “What the hell did you think I meant?”
“Well, you know. Thought it was a sexual thing.” Mira answered.
“And you still followed me in here?”
“I wanted to see what it looked like.” Lya added.
“Me too.”
“Yeah. Ending that line of thought right there. This is a dungeon, filled with monsters that would love to have you for a snack. If you look out into the middle of the chamber, you can just see a pyramid rising from the jungle. That’s our destination and where we will find the dungeon boss.”
Aurelia interjected. “This seems pretty basic. I expected to see something more complex.”
Duke nodded. “Yeah, about that. This is only the second dungeon I have made where I directed how it would form, and I need a lot more practice to make anything special just yet. I’ll get there eventually. So, yes, this is a very basic dungeon with scattered monsters and a single boss monster in the pyramid with some supports. But, even with all that, it will give us a ‘first clear’ bonus in experience. You all could use that, right?”
It didn’t take much for them to assent to that and the four began down a path that wound down the cliff face and eventually into the jungle. As they descended, the occasional oversized bird came swooping down at them, but Lya and Mira each were able to either shoot them down or dissuade them from engaging with their sidearms.
“How much ammo do you have for those things?” Duke asked as they had reached the halfway point down the cliff and the bird attacks had become more frequent.
“I’m still at 92% power.” Mira responded.
“89% for me.” Lya added. “And I have four spare cores so I’m not running out anytime soon.”
“I have three so, yeah, we can keep this up for quite a while. This baby has served me well for quite a long time.” Mira smiled as she kissed her sidearm.
The rest of the trek down saw an increasing number of the large birds trying their luck but getting no closer as the pair of women had starting shooting them down whenever it even looked like the birds were headed their way. By the time they reached the jungle floor, the birds stayed well clear of the group.
Trekking into the jungle, however, was nowhere near as smooth. The jungle was thick and unyielding. At first, they tried pushing their way through, but vines clung to everything and all but barred their path. This is where Aurelia stepped forward. Her sword that was ideal for cutting through armor, cut cleanly through vines just as easily. Duke kept it from getting too covered with the irritating sap that the vines secreted with frequent doses of CLEANSE and the occasional RESTORE.
It was all of ten minutes before the real attacks began. The first warning the party received was the sound of a growl off somewhere to their left. Three sets of eyes turned in that direction, but Duke kept his forward. He was well aware of the deceptive tactic because he had been through a number of dungeons, but mostly because he was cheating. His DUNGEON SENSE had identified the movement of all the creatures around them. They were surrounded by a group of nine large catlike creatures.
Duke decided to let things play out and see how the newbies handled themselves in close-quarters. He was certain that Aurelia would be fine as these creatures were not higher than Tier one. If the dungeon had time to age, they might be a more serious threat but with things as they currently were, Duke settled back to watch, engaging a Skill he hadn’t used in ages – Stealth.
Aurelia was the first to turn around and check her back, giving her a split second to intercept the creature that was leaping for her. She interposed her shield and pushed its attack off to the side, spinning with the blow to bring her sword down on its hindquarters, splitting its hip open and severing one leg. For now, that creature was out of the fight. The rest of the creatures followed suit attacking the three women.
Mira had her sidearm out at the first growl and was able to get off several shots before she was tackled by one of the creatures. The creature’s jaws darted forward, open wide to tear her throat out. Mira’s panicked shots didn’t hit anything vital, and the creature’s jaws snapped shut to tear into the soft flesh of her throat. Only, the massive fangs never met flesh; instead, they impacted a FORCE construct that Duke had interposed to ensure her safety.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Lya had leaped aside just past the reach of the claws of the creature that had leaped at her. She did not notice that the claws were stopped short of tearing her side wide open. She fired three efficient shots finishing the creature off before activating a force shield around herself and beginning to scan the area for more threats.
Aurelia joyfully tore through any of the creatures that came within range of her as she made her way over to Mira to protect her. In seconds, Lya joined her as well and the creatures broke off their attack having lost six of their kind without taking any prey.
As the creatures moved into the distance, Duke stepped out of Stealth shaking his head. “Disappointing. Mira, you got your throat torn out and Lya you are bleeding heavily from a slash through your left side.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t get slashed.
“But my throat should have been hit.”
Aurelia looked at Duke asking, “You protected them?”
“Of course. The lesson here was that even though these creatures are new and relatively low-level, they are still dangerous. Having any of us get seriously injured is not on the menu. BUT, I might not be able to react as fast next time. You need to protect yourselves and be aware that some of these creatures are seriously clever. Be awake and keep your head on a swivel.”
The group continued in a much more sober mood. Lya and Mira were constantly on a vigilant watch while Aurelia seemed more comfortable, as if she was feeling more confident with her relative performance. She stepped more firmly and was far smoother in her movements, showing more relaxed muscles despite her level of vigilance.
The next encounter was nowhere near as subtle. It started with a ground-shaking roar followed by the crashing of a tremendous creature pushing through the jungle towards them. Lya was the first to speak up.
“Whatever that is, it is big. Everyone, two-meter spread and prepare to scatter if it somehow charges through this stuff.”
“Sounds like as good a plan as any.” Aurelia responded, adjusting her shield slightly for comfort.
They spread out with Duke and Aurelia taking the middle spots. Lya had the left side and Mira the right. All three women had their weapons at the ready, but Duke still looked like he was taking a casual stroll down a country lane. He appeared completely unconcerned. His calm visage did not change as the approaching creature burst from the jungle into the clearing that they had cut for themselves.
The creature that burst into the clearing stood four meters tall at the shoulder. It was built like a great ape with massively muscled, long front limbs and thick fur that kept the thorns and barbs of the jungle at bay. The sheer mass and power of this creature gave the entire group pause for a moment as it slammed its fists into the ground, shaking the area enough to make standing an effort.
Lya recovered first and opened fire on the beast, shooting it in the chest as fast as she could pull the trigger. Mira joined in as well. The creature roared, seemingly more annoyed by the assault than injured. It charged the group, veering left towards Mira. As it charged, it slammed its arms to the ground and swung its smaller legs from behind to the front. It looked like an awkward gait, but it ate up the distance quickly. Duke stepped into its path to meet its charge.
The irresistible force met the immovable object. The impact sent out a shockwave that toppled trees all around them. When the trio of women got back to their feet, they saw Duke holding the massive arms of the beast as it struggled to crush him but could gain no ground.
Aurelia darted in, stabbing the beast with her sword, aiming for where she hoped a kidney would be as she couldn’t reach much higher and was not about to step between Duke and the monster. Lya and Mira each started firing from a half-kneel for additional stability, aiming for the creature’s head.
As the shots landed and Aurelia’s blade continued to stab and slice into it, the beast decided that it was in trouble and tried to disengage from Duke. He held it firmly in place, instantly shifting his focus from resisting the push to fighting the pull. If not for his technique of incorporating his FLIGHT Ability, the superior bulk of the creature would have easily pulled him from his feet. As it was, he acted like an anchor, holding it in place. The struggle lasted for nearly thirty seconds before the creature succumbed to its injuries. Duke let it fall to the ground with a final crash of its bulk.
“I need a heavier weapon for this sort of thing.” Mira remarked.
“Here, try this.” Lya handed her a rifle she had gotten from somewhere.
“Where did you…you have a dimensional storage unit!” Mira exclaimed.
Lya checked her holstered sidearm and pulled a rifle of her own out smiling. “I’m a fully licensed and registered hunter. Of course I have a dimensional storage unit. These rifles pack a much larger punch but they only get ten shots per core so they will use up our resources quickly. That, and they are shit in close combat. But, given how hard it was to hurt that thing, heavy might be what we need.”
“A good call, I’d say. Do either of you have any offensive Abilities that would help?” Duke asked.
“A bit late to be asking things like that.” Mira responded. “I’m a pilot. My entire Class is built around flying anything anywhere. My Abilities all lie in that area.”
Lya nodded. “My Class is related to being a researcher which was what I was before everything changed. I use all sorts of magitech to enable my current career. Maybe someday, I’ll find a Classchange stone but they’re not exactly easy to come by.”
Duke filed that desire away for investigation later. Wasn’t the option to change your class part of Tiering up? Hell, I don’t even know what tier Lya and Mira are. It would be rude to ask, wouldn’t it? Oh, fuck it. Going to do it anyway.
“OK, it’s personal question time. What Tiers are you two?”
“That is rather personal.” Mira replied.
“It is, but since we seem to be all in this together, I’ll go first. I am at peak Tier Two.” Lya confessed.
“And you took on a Tier Four contract? “That’s insane.” Mira replied. “I’m mid-Tier Three and I am only the pilot. They hired me to bring them to the target but Tier Two? That’s madness. You really should Tier up.”
“I know I should, but I was just into Tier Two when I lost Hollis. I haven’t been able to move on from his loss in so many ways. This is one of them. I feel like if I move to a new Tier and take a new Class, I’ll forever admit that he is gone.” The tears that followed had Aurelia holding her as sobs wracked her body. Duke stood nearby unable to do more than project emotional support. He kept an eye on the jungle with his Abilities and sent anything approaching away. He would not let this moment be interrupted.