Once more, the tunnel had its twists and turns but no forks. It was a single path all the way, for hours. The damp tunnel and slippery ground sapped our stamina, draining our SP ever so slowly. Hours passed without anything happening.
The first monster encounter was, unsurprisingly, an ambush predator. Giant mantises towering seven feet tall came out of the alcoves already slashing at the lead knights. They reacted quickly, raising shields to block the attacks.
The Knights had armor, good reflexes, and the HP from their high levels. One fun thing about HP was that it followed a quadratic curve. As one leveled, they gained both base HP and more Endurance. The two were multiplicative.
I didn't know if the monsters' opening assault had cost the knights any HP but they weren't wounded.
I aimed and shot at the ones in front, a salvo of three arrows in one second. My arrows bounced off ₢but shaved a lot of HP.
The Knights returned the favor. They slashed at the monsters, causing them to shriek. The one I shot at had one of its scythes severed. Green fluid squirted on that knight's tabard.
More mantises came from behind the others. They didn't have room to fight in the tunnel so the monsters just stood there, waiting their turn and pushing the ones in front onto the knights.
If only we had a mage or if Sleepy could use his species' lightning bolt attack. I wouldn't risk sending him there.
The other knights also lined up behind the others. The ones in the middle passed Hector while the ones behind our supply train left one man to guard the rear and all went to the front. Kara drew her sword. Before she could go ahead, I stopped her.
"Kara, stay and Guard Hector," I said.
Both seemed like they wanted to protest. I stared at Hector's right shoulder until he got the hint and nodded.
"Yes, Captain," the knight at the rear said. "Guard the Lord."
That settled it. Kara was better trained to deal with people than monsters. I ordered my bonds to defend the two. The porters, following instructions they received for these occasions, moved their wheelbarrows aside to let a corridor for anyone moving between the front and rear. We will use it soon.
It was hard to fight in such a cramped space. But for me, it was close to impossible to shoot an arrow with nine armored men bearing shining helmets in front of me. The second row of knights drew short javelins from their packs and stabbed at the mantises from over their companion's shoulders. The second row did more damage than the front one, who had to worry about defense. The monsters were fast, strong, and relatively tough.
Since I wasn't engaged, I used my Perk to learn about the monsters. Glad I did.
> Do you want to bond with Venomclaw Mantid?
Fuck. I immediately shouted. "Beware, they are Venomclaw Mantids! Poison!"
"Roger that!" The knights shouted back. The front row became more focused on defense.
Hector did nothing. and said nothing. He let Kara act as her bodyguard and stood in silence behind me.
I nocked an arrow and held it at a half-draw as I aimed and waited for an opening. It was hard and the risk of friendly fire was not worth it. But the monsters towered over the people. My opening presented itself when one of the front-row knights ducked to avoid a scythe coming at his head.
My arrow struck right between the bulging eyes.
> For killing level 25 Venomclaw Mantid, you earned 26 Experience points.
The System was dividing the awards ten ways. Group fight Experience was crap. Especially for me, who was used to fighting solo. But it was what it was. If I were fighting this swarm solo, I would have fled.
The chaos of battle held no mercy. We fought hard for minutes, the cacophony of scythe on metal ringing like the devil's marching band. We killed another four. The Knights held firm until one of the Venomclaw Mantids got lucky.
"Ah, it hurts, it burns!" One of the knights got hit badly and fell.
I punished the now exposed Mantid with two arrows, one in the torso and another in the neck. It fell but was still alive. One knight drove his sword down and stabbed the head of the monster.
> For killing level 28 Venomclaw Mantid, you earned 38 Experience points.
This was bad. The levels of the second-floor monsters were ten above the first. If this progression held true… I shelved it for later.
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A second-row knight dragged his wounded fellow back and stepped to close the gap, taking the front as he deftly moved the shield on his back to his left arm with practiced grace. The third-row knight administered an antivenom and a healing potion to the wounded one.
To avenge his friend, the freshly rotated frontline delivered a critical hit, chopping a head in one go.
> For killing level 27 Venomclaw Mantid, you earned 32 Experience points.
"Corpse cleanup!" A Knight called from the front row.
The knights at the rear started to pull the Mantid corpses back to clear the tunnel. We were slowly gaining ground but the dead monsters on the ground were a hazard should one need to move and dodge. The spilled fluids were slippery but the tunnel floor was irregular enough to prevent flooding. Puddles would form over time, though. The press of giant insects was endless.
I helped drag the bodies back and around the important people behind me. The lead porter then took them over and passed along until they tossed it behind the knight at the rear. Neither Sleepy nor William showed any interest in eating them.
I could see the fear in the eyes of the porters. The din of combat, the incessant chattering of the giant locusts, and the odor of dead bugs mired their willpower. The cloying darkness, the uncertainty of ever seeing the surface again, the fear of the unknown, and the finality of death grasped their hearts with an icy claw.
"Keep strong," I said to reassure them. If Hector the Wolfertinger Slayer was going to keep brooding, I would step in and keep the morale from plummeting into a mutiny.
"Yes, my Lord."
Wrong words. Hector made a face like he was sucking lemons. I didn't even make eye contact with him. There was nothing to gain by antagonizing him.
The Knights had to resort to HP restoration potions. While healing potions both mended wounds and replenished some HP, these were specialized in restoring the resource only. They were similar to the MP potions Mages used on protracted magical engagements.
The battle was one of endurance and teamwork. Speed versus durability. Another knight got wounded and poisoned. More empty potion bottles clattered against the stone floor. The acrid smell of dead bugs assaulted my nose.
"Cycle!" Hector ordered. He actually startled me.
The knights in front switched with fresh ones. HP depletion increased the odds of letting a Mantid score a lucky strike.
We killed another fourteen Mantids but the reserves down the tunnel pushed another monster to fill the gap almost instantly. The knights with depleted HP pools had already swapped with the ones in the front once.
The second nasty hit was inevitable. A knight overextended when a Mantid dodged and was impaled through the side of the chest as the scythe found a gap between the plates. The way he wheezed spoke of a punctured lung. The pain of the venom froze him in place.
I shot at the Mantid's head and took an eye out, popping the bulging organ like a balloon. But it didn't stop the monster. Powerful mandibles crushed the knight's gorget and yanked it free.
"No!" The knight behind the impaled one tried to kill the Mantid. He swung his mace and was slowly cracking the arm holding his friend pinned.
The frontline Mantid kept the other knight from helping by accelerating its attacks until the two front limbs were a blur even to me.
I fired another volley of arrows but the combination of shifting lights, moving bodies, obstructions, a lean body, and a tough carapace reduced the effectiveness of my shots. I couldn't risk friendly fire when our ally was obviously out of HP. The chaos saved the Mantid and doomed our fellow raider.
The mandibles spat the ruined gorget and came down on tender flesh. The Dungeon feasted on a soul.
"No!" Several people cried in shock and horror. A porter vomited. Others prayed. We all felt this death as if ours would be the next.
Too late, the mace crushed the limb. Too late, my arrows avenged the fallen. That knight was only the first sacrifice Hector made on the road to glory and power.
> For killing level 29 Venomclaw Mantid, you earned 46 Experience points.
They pulled the body and dragged it back. No time to give our fellow delver the dignity of being carried. I was sure he would understand.
The monsters gave us no respite, no quarters. The ground we gained was paid with sweat, potions, and blood. We couldn't retreat. They were faster than anyone here. Maybe not Sleepy but definitely Kara and William. With no other choice, we fought like pirates on a sinking ship.
*
*
We fought and killed another fifty Mantids. We suffered another three critically wounded knights. I gained a level. The tunnel ahead of us was filled with corpses. None of them were ours, save for one.
"FUCK YOU, DUNGEON!" One of the knights took his helmet off and tossed it as far as he could. With his Strength score, it was until it hit the wall on a bend in the tunnel. It clattered out of our sight and we listened. No chittering.
That toss shocked me. "Sleepy, fetch!" Shouting that was my instant reaction.
The Wolfertinger dashed like a lightning bolt. You can imagine the Wolfertinger was already a fast monster species but Sleepy was fast even among his cohort. Maybe that was another of his unknown Perks.
He had to reach the helmet before the Dungeon absorbed it. It was a huge risk. What if a Mantid lied in wait to ambush stragglers? The shine around the tunnel bend vanished. Sleepy howled in frustration.
"Sleepy, come!" I shouted. He dashed back. The helmet was lost, food for the Dungeon. I had no basis to compare it to but I bet an enchanted item would be really tasty. Not as tasty as a high-level soul but regardless. We were here to starve the Dungeon, not the other way around. I let it go. With a pat and words of encouragement, I reinforced my little guy’s best behavior.
Things were starting to topple. I was tired and my SP had bottomed out. The civilians, and that included Kara, were terrified. The Knights' morale was low. And Hector had to keep everything together. This was the first encounter on the second floor. We had no idea how many floors this Dungeon had. Hells, I had no idea how many floors the Dungeon back home had but it was more than ten.
"We should go back," one of the porters mumbled.
The Lordling became furious. "If you–"
"This is fine," I cut Hector off. If his tone was anything to go by, he was going to mistreat the porter, put the peasant in his place, and make morale dip even further. I glanced at him, made a "leave it to me" sign, and earned a nod from the Lordling. I approached the porter.
"If you go back now, you will break your contract. Not only you won't get the reward but you will ruin your future with an Oathbreaker debuff. This is fine. Nobody received a crippling injury, and we gained levels. The next time we meet these mantids, it will be an easier fight. Such is the way of the System."
The dead didn’t count. It was not that we were quick to forget but keeping them out of their minds would stop the tragedy from reminding them of their own mortality.
"You are right, Sir George," the man told me. "I am sorry for my outburst."
"Think nothing of it. We are all tired. It is normal to have all kinds of thoughts. But trust me. Acting harsh and divisive is how the dungeons pick us out one by one. The Guild guide says we should leave our differences to settle outside."
Bomb defused. The worst that could happen right now was to have people panicking. They would run back to the surface and who knew what the Dungeon did to block the way between the surface and us. Just respawning the Gibbermouths back in the dust room would spell doom for any fleeing civilians.