Chapter 15

Boredom

I was spoiled by my first dungeon being a corrupted, overloaded time bomb. Every room had a new, deadly challenge. Every chamber held a new spectacle just waiting for us to marvel at it. I even find myself missing the big, beautiful crystals that were actually massively condensed chunks of corrupted arcana.

After all, the Desert Cove dungeon is an absolute snore next to that experience.

There are no zombies lying like corpses to ambush us, no skull puppet with a magic sword, no collapsing ceilings ready to crush us, not even the simplicity of the haunting beauty of will-o-wisps. Every step just brings more shallow pools, giant bats and piles of guano as we navigate through the same wet, dank tunnels seemingly carved at random.

I was prepared for the drops to be worse, just because the arcana density isn't nearly as high. Ayre assures me, however, that the bat fangs and balls - I suspect the latter, in the form of white, chalky orbs, are magic bat turds, and I suck them into my bag with gratitude for the auto-loot skill - are still dropping at an incredibly high rate for us. Apparently, even a moderately-charged dungeon normally drops less than the rate of about one for every three or four monsters we're getting.

Still, it all feels like going spelunking. On the other hand, it doesn't feel like dungeon-diving. Since we're in another enclosed space and our opponents are just giant rats with wings, I'm even using the Noodle Spitter instead of my gun. The quiet thunk feels almost like a toy without the bang and kick of gunpowder.

It's hard to believe that even Forest Cavern, the only dungeon in the Serazin province, might have been this mind-numbingly dull if not for the Corruption.It finally gets to me enough that I can't hold back a groan.

"Is this what it's like to be a Silver-rank challenging a Bronze dungeon?"

It's just a rhetorical question, a voice given to my boredom, but Ayre answers, anyway.

"No, it shouldn't be like this," he confirms as his arrow easily drops another bat. "If the dungeon hadn't specifically stated it's moderately charged, I'd think it's on the verge of exhaustion."

"All of that energy must be going somewhere," I reason back. "If it's not going to monsters, what is the dungeon core doing with it?"

"I don't know." Ayre gives a shake of the head. "I've never heard anything about dungeon cores being able to plan. If it has energy, it should be using it. From everything we know about dungeons, there's no choice in it. Energy equals monsters."

"Like clotting," I refer back to the elf's initial explanation on dungeons when we first teamed up, and Ayre nods.

Since we've started talking, I continue my grumbling. "From a dungeon like this, I'd expect a lot more than just bats, too. Blind, tremor-sensing fish and cave scorpions with claws bigger than their heads!"

Ayre looks over at me with an expression that can only be described as disturbed. "Where do you come up with such wild creature ideas?"

I just grin back. "It's just the kind of wildlife you'd expect to find in deep, damp caves back home!"

"Tremor fish and massively-clawed scorpions? And you continue to insist your world doesn't have monsters."

I touch my chin in thought. "In fact, with all of these bats, it's a little weird that we haven't seen any rat snakes."

Ayre's expression turns confused. "What do bats and snakes have to do with each other?"

"Cave-dwelling rat snakes prey on bats," I happily explain. "The biggest on record was eight feet long, and they're excellent climbers. They scale the walls and hang from the ceiling to snatch bats out of the air when the bats go to leave!"

If, before, Ayre had looked disturbed, now the slender elf trembles in abject revulsion. "I shouldn't have asked! Now I'm going to be jumping at every stalactite! Thanks, Remmi!"

"You're welcome, Ayre!" That gets me a dirty look that makes me laugh. "I don't mean anything by it, honest. I'm just saying that it's downright weird to see only bats."

Ayre takes a moment to settle nerves and focuses on the original point. "Yes, when considering it from an ecosystem standpoint, I can see what you mean."

"Exactly," I insist. "There is no ecosystem. Just bats!" I shoot another one more out of spite than necessity and wave my hand toward the wing that drops, transferring it into the bag with the rest of the parts. Apparently, the leather of the giant bat wing is great for heavy-duty leather straps.

"I get it," Ayre says, exasperated, "you're tired of bats! What do you want me to do about it?"

I give my best creepy grin. "Misery loves company."

The elf scoffs. "What does that even mean?" Ayre then immediately holds up a hand even as I'm inhaling. "Rhetorical. Please, do not give me a language history lesson in the middle of a dungeon. Go look for whatever we say for it in that thesaurus of yours."

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Ayre turns to look at the sprawling cavern ahead of us. "While you're doing that, maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground that way and increase our odds of finding the core that much faster."

Well, that totally triggers my Do Not Do list. I drop the jokes and frown in worry. "Split the party? There's only two of us, Ayre. If anything happens, there's nobody to support us. What if one of us finds whatever the dungeon's spending all of that energy on?"

Ayre just beams back at me, leaning forward at the waist with the bow clasped behind the back. "Then you just give a big shout, and I'll come running to save you!"

"Har har," I flatly reply. "Fine, but I'm going on record that this is a bad idea."

"It's just bats, Remmi," the elf reminds me with a roll of the eyes. "Maybe the core is clogged, I dunno, but if this place is so dangerous for men, surely we would've found out why by now."

"Or it's waiting until we separate."

Ayre pouts. "It's not like you to be so paranoid."

"I'm just worried about you!" I insist. "I'll take on a hundred giant bats before I'd want anything to happen to you because we got careless!"

He sighs at that and his shoulders slump. "Yeah, okay. How about this? This place is pretty open. We move apart, but never more than a room away from each other. That way, if anything happens, we can respond quickly while still expanding our range of sight."

Well, I guess that isn't really splitting the party. It's technically just ... spreading it out a little. "Okay ... but if we see anything other than giant bats, we immediately join back up."

"Deal."

* * *

*Ayre*

With my bow pulled over my shoulder for the climb, I clamber up an outcropping where another opening waits otherwise out of reach. Once I get to the top, I dust myself off and get my bow back into my hands. There's almost certainly going to be more of Remmi's hated bats in the next room.

Speaking of the Gunslinger Hero, I turn to meet her gaze across the dungeon's open main tunnel, and I wave to her to let her know I'm good and that I'm heading in. She gives a hand sign back and I head for the opening.

The Desert Cove dungeon lacks the light-giving crystals of the Forest Cavern, but it's not quite pitch black in here. The walls do glow ever so dimly. So dimly, in fact, that it's useless for navigating its uneven, earthen corridors by normal sight alone. Most would bring torches or lanterns, but I have the Dark Sight spell, which makes it more than enough illumination to see clearly.

It's a common spell for hunters like me to learn, as it's invaluable for traveling, scouting and hunting at night. Remmi is also using it in lieu of a light source, but, of course, she simply purchased it with her points. It's not some hard-earned spell like Spiral Shot, so I'm not bothered by her cheating ways this time.

One might think this would grant a huge advantage over nocturnal and underground monsters, but the truth is that it only evens the playing field. Any creature that is active at night or otherwise lives in near-perpetual darkness can be assumed to already have innate Dark Sight. This makes things like torches or lanterns, magical or mundane, stand out like bonfires, the bright light a dead giveaway to human presence.

This can be both to the benefit and detriment for adventurers and travelers. Many creatures will shy from the light, fleeing from it, kept at bay the same way a campfire serves. On the other hand, anything that isn't afraid of the light knows exactly where you are, even when they are still far out of your range of vision.

The same applies to me, and I'm only poking around for a few minutes before I see the telltale bobbing dance of a set of lanterns. Like one of the native creatures, I hide at first. It's coming out from deeper in, and as far as I know, it could be some sort of trap. It wouldn't be unheard of for a monster to mimic torchlight in a dark place just to lure in prey.

But it's no trick. Sure enough, soon, three young women come around a stalagmite in the path, chatting amicably among themselves. I can't make out what they're saying, though. The tunnels cause reverberations over anything further than within arm's reach. It's why, once we separated, Remmi and I used hand signals even though we thought we were alone.

They must be another party of adventurers. That would explain the lack of monsters if we just had the bad luck to come in right behind somebody else. The dungeon is famous enough that it has an entire tourist economy built around it, and it's not like the place seals up the moment a group comes in.

Really, we should have expected another party was the cause a lot sooner. The dungeon's arcana levels could still be pretty good, especially if they hadn't finished their run yet, even though they'd cleared out a lot of monsters.

A thought occurs to me. They're coming back. That means they've already found the dungeon core! They could show us the way and save us maybe hours of fruitless searching!

I jump from my hiding place and head toward the light of the lanterns. Toward the end, I slide down a rocky embankment, causing all of them to stop sharply and pull their weapons.

"Friendly, friendly!" I say before I'm ever within their zone of light, then hold my hands up as I step into it so they can see I mean no harm. "Just another dungeon-goer. Have you guys made it to the dungeon core already?"

They look confused by my arrival and share several looks between themselves and back to me. But, in what I consider progress, they put their weapons away and nod to each other.

... And then they're right up in my face. I get flustered by the proximity immediately. "H-hey, personal space, please!"

They act like I've not said a word and continue inspecting me. One lifts up one of my arms and runs a finger down it as if inspecting its smoothness. Another squeezes my cheeks, making my lips pucker. I yelp and finally jump away when one bends down and pokes my thigh.

"Wha-what are you doing?!"

Again, they just ignore me and step back to confer with each other once again.

"Arrr," one says.

"Yarhar," the second agrees.

They nod to each other again, then turn back to me as the third one concludes their decision-making process.

"Matey."

I flounder and panic as they close in around me from all sides again, afraid of more prodding. But this time, they just grab me by the arms, legs and head and heft me over their shoulders.

As I go up into the air, I scream.

* * *

*Remmi*

The girliest scream I've ever heard pierces the caverns, causing the bats ahead of me to startle and take flight. For once, I ignore them.

"Startled Sylvans, Batman! That has to be Ayre!"

Ignoring that nobody is around to hear my quip, I beat a path back to the passageway the elf took, burning mana for Empower as I leap up the cliff he climbed and dart through the entrance.

There's noises in the distance, but the echoes make it impossible to pin down. Thinking something must have gotten him from deeper in, I follow as directly as I can, doing my best not to be waylaid by the sounds coming from different directions.

Soon, I see lights ahead, but I slow down rather than head toward it.

Because I see enough lights moving in different places to represent whole patrols.

What in the world did we bump into down here?