Entering Ocean Dungeon

First Floor

There was water everywhere. Owin pressed his lips together and squinted. He used his free hand to cover his mouth as he quickly looked around. Colorful tree-like structures grew all over, covering rocks like small mountains.

Ernie squeezed Owin’s shoulder. “Breathe, you moron.” His voice was distant as he spoke through the water.

Owin looked at the alchemist through squinted eyes. Ernie dramatically took a long breath in and let it out, causing bubbles to rise to the surface. It looked like they had dove right off the sand bar, like the surface was so close.

“We can’t keep moving until you start breathing,” Ernie said. He shook Owin. “Don’t make us regret hiring you.”

“I don’t know if I’d really call it hiring if it’s all free,” Katalin said.

Owin took a quick gulp of air, and . . . found he could breathe perfectly fine. It felt like he was under water again, like in the labyrinth. It even tasted like he was under water. He tasted the salt and the fishy smell that had hung around the sandbar. But none of that stopped him from breathing in or out.

“You calm now?” Ernie asked.

“I’m fine.”

Ernie narrowed his eyes. “There’s no swimming required. Okay? We’re still moving through water, so pay attention to how things work. We can’t use most of our bombs down here because they’ll kill everything, including you and probably us.”

“I shouldn’t use Discharge, right?” Owin asked.

Katalin snorted. “Fuck no. Do you have anything else that does electrical damage?”

“A Bolt wand.”

“Keep that away. It won’t do well down here. You’d fry yourself with Discharge and the wand won’t do much of anything in the open water.” Katalin kept her pipe bomb in her hand as she dug through her bag and produced a knife with a serrated edge.

Ernie kept his hands free and waited patiently until Katalin was ready.

“I can’t lead, so I will just stay close to attack,” Owin said.

“Yes. That’s the idea. This floor should be easy, but remember that we’re only a half hour ahead of the Void Nexus hero, assuming he actually waits.” Ernie set off. His sandaled feet kicked up sand, muddying the water near the door.

Owin followed close, watching closely as each step of their small party stirred the water. Fish swam above, darting through the open water to different pieces of coral. There were so many colors and so much movement with fish swimming and seaweed waving in the water that Owin didn’t know where to look. He wanted to take in all the colors and new sights, but he also didn’t want something to jump out and stab Ernie in the face.

Of all the humans Owin had met that didn’t try to kill him, Ernie was at the bottom of the list. Katalin was only a step higher. The two alchemists were odd and rude, but to their credit, neither had tried to murder Owin upon first meeting him. That alone made them better than most humans, though they were far from friends.

Still, Owin didn’t want to see Ernie injured. Owin needed to prove himself as a valuable member of the Nimble Hogs by escorting the alchemists. It’s what Artivan wanted, and Chorsay promised to help Owin grow stronger. He needed more buff potions if he was going to make Nikoletta and Siora regret meeting him.

Blue mushrooms pulsed with light, sticking out from the bottom of a spiky orange sea anemone. Katalin plucked a mushroom and tossed it. Blue light shimmered over its surface as it glided slowly through the water, landing right in Owin’s hand.

“What is it?”

“It’s a blue mushroom,” Katalin said.

Owin held it in front of his face. Blue circles of different shades ringed the top, forming a pattern. “What does it do?”

“Nothing. It’s a blue mushroom.” Katalin lifted an eyebrow. “Not everything can be used in alchemy. You know that, right?”

Owin dropped the mushroom, which floated slowly through the water. “Yes.”

“Sure.”

Ernie swatted at some fish that swam overhead. They scattered, disappearing into the coral all around. “The first mobs will be right up here. Be ready.”

Owin hurried to get ahead of Ernie. “What am I looking for?”

“For now, green eels.”

They rounded a moss-covered rock. Another path split off, snaking through the reef. Owin waited, hovering in the middle, until Ernie shoved him to the left.

“There are so many ways to go,” Owin said. “This is way bigger than the goblin caves.”

“People say the caves are the easiest floor because of how short it is. Someday, you can explore on your own. There are chests guarded by big mobs on every floor of the Ocean. We don’t have time for that today,” Ernie said.

“I don’t even want to see that damn spider,” Katalin said.

Ernie grunted.

Owin swept his gaze back and forth, still unsure of what to look for. On the rock to his right was a thin, spiked anemone, and on the left was coral with what looked like massive flower petals, sticking out far enough to cover the whole passage in shadows.

“On your left,” Ernie said.

Owin looked left, following Ernie’s finger to a small space between a rock and a gray clump of coral. Two blue eyes shone in the shadowed recess.

“Is that a mob?”

“Yes, moron. That’s why I’m warning you. Don’t let it bite you or it’ll rip a chunk out of whatever it catches.” Ernie crossed his arms. “It will shoot out of its hiding spot if we keep walking, so go ahead.”

Katalin leaned her elbow on Ernie’s shoulder. “Waiting on you.”

Owin inched forward, Thunderstrike Maul in his hands, with his eyes fully locked on the two little dots in the shadow. He couldn’t even Examine the mob while it was hidden. Luckily, this was only the first floor. Whatever it was would be easy for Owin to kill.

If it was Artivan with him, the old knight would have been the one to approach first, to trigger the trap. Artivan had been Owin’s escort through the first four floors of the Great Forest. Now, it was Owin as the escort. It still didn’t feel real.

As he took another step, it was as if he had stepped on some secret switch. The mob shot out of its hiding spot with jaws wide enough to swallow Owin’s head whole.

Ocean Mob

Gnarled Moray

Level 6

The green eel was twisted like a bundle of roots. Small teeth lined its whole maw as it darted through the water.

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Owin immediately swung the Thunderstrike Maul, ready to smash the eel’s head in, but the hammer moved slowly through the water even as Owin used his strength to force it onward. The eel crashed into Owin, biting down on his upper arm with needle-like teeth. His feet slipped out from under him as the collision tossed Owin back against a rock.

Blood blossomed from the wound, leaking from the eel’s mouth. Owin dropped the Thunderstrike Maul as his hand went numb. The gnarled moray bit down harder, digging its teeth into Owin’s bone. Before it could rip his flesh free, Owin reached over, grabbed the eel’s head, and squeezed.

Bones cracked, then collapsed under his grip.

0 Experience

The twisted tail of the eel went limp and floated upward. Its teeth were dug deep into Owin’s arm, causing the whole corpse to pull up on his wounded arm as it bobbed in the water. It took a minute for him to peel its mouth open enough to remove it without tearing more skin. He tasted his own blood as it continued leaking into the surrounding water.

“That doesn’t bode well,” Ernie said.

“Not smooth,” Katalin said.

Owin shook out his arm. His health had barely ticked down with the injury, though the blood wasn’t letting up. “I’m fine. The hammer isn’t going to work down here. Can you carry it?” He held it out to Katalin.

“Me? No.”

“You’re stronger than Ernie.”

Katalin sighed and took the hammer.

She immediately dropped it. “Shit, that is heavy. You’re carrying that around all the time?”

Owin nodded and drew both knives. His old jagged stone knife from before he awoke was strong enough for the early floors, but neither of the knives had any magical properties. He needed to keep an eye out for something better that wasn’t the lich bone knife. The lich bone was weak to luminous and could be destroyed easily. It was good to have a variety of weapons for a variety of enemies. He just needed to figure out how to carry them all.

“I can’t carry that.”

Ernie grabbed the metal shaft and tried to lift it. The hammer wobbled. “Oh. Nope.”

Owin put Naxile’s knife back in his belt and grabbed the hammer. “I’ll just drop it for fights.”

“Not efficient, but our only option,” Ernie said.

The alchemists awkwardly waited until Owin started again. They didn’t warn of any more mobs, so Owin continued on a little slower than before, keeping his eyes on the hidden spots between rocks and coral.

“I have the mobs memorized on this floor,” Ernie said. “You can stop being so paranoid.”

Ernie and Katalin had spread out, standing farther to the sides behind Owin to avoid the trail of blood he was leaving in the water. He hadn’t even noticed the red trail.

“I thought there would be a lot,” Owin said. They had been walking for a while and had only come across a single mob. That seemed too easy.

“Remember this is the first floor. Not a whole lot here. There are some traps like that one, the spider guarding the chest, and a snail that we’ll avoid. This floor kills people by confusing them with the maze of coral and the hidden eels. It’s not like the goblins. Honestly, I think the Ocean has the least amount of mobs per floor.”

“Why do people say the Great Forest is the easiest then?” Owin knew from experience that was a lie. He had killed a number of heroes just from the moment he awoke, and at that point he was still just as strong as any other goblin on the floor.

“Short first level and you can get through the second without any fighting if you choose. Both factions can give quests and let you pass,” Katalin said. “No other dungeon has a floor you can just walk through without any fighting.”

“Some can be close if things go perfectly, but not like the second floor of the Great Forest,” Ernie said.

Owin led them around another massive rock spotted with coral and bits of moss. It was obvious how people got lost. Everything looked so colorful and so chaotic that it all somehow looked the same. Without Ernie telling him where to turn, Owin would have probably walked in a circle a few times. That is, unless he saw his own trail of blood.

“Where is the secret on this floor?” Owin asked.

“The what?” Katalin asked.

“The secret?” Owin repeated, sounding less certain. “I thought every floor of the dungeons had a secret.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. The guarded chests?” Ernie asked.

“I think the secret would be more hidden than that. How easy is it to find the chests?”

“Well, it’s not difficult,” Ernie said.

“We don’t know anything about secrets,” Katalin said. “Are you sure that’s a thing?”

”Yes.”

The narrow passages of coral faded to a small field of sand. Fish of all kinds swam through, some calmly together as schools, others darting to catch a meal. On the left was a tall pile of coral, rocks, and mushrooms, and beyond that was the shimmering boundary wall. Straight ahead, through the field, was a three way split. The left had a blue glow like the mushrooms, the center was narrow like a passage through a canyon, and the right looked far away where it curved past a piece of orange coral.

Ernie pointed to coral that reminded Owin of orange and black flowers. “There’s another gnarled moray hidden right around that piece. Take that out so it doesn’t try to eat us with our backs turned, then we’ll follow the right.” He pointed at the far path.

“Isn’t that faster?” Owin asked, using the hammer to point down the narrow center path.

“Faster doesn’t mean smarter.”

“Sometimes it does. The Void Nexus heroes will be starting the floor soon, right?” Owin wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since they were on the beach outside the dungeon, but it had to be close to thirty minutes. A little level 6 eel wasn’t going to slow Akos down if he wanted to hunt down Owin, just like Siora had tried to do.

“He’ll clear the floor, including the chest guardian. We have time. The center path has a snail that I’d rather avoid,” Ernie said, gesturing to Owin’s bleeding arm. “We don’t need a repeat.”

“There won’t be a repeat.” Owin dropped the Thunderstrike Maul into the sand and walked forward with both knives in his hands. He watched for blue eyes in the mass of coral and rocks. It only took a moment to spot it. He shuffled to the side, facing the gnarled moray until it shot from its hiding spot. Owin ducked and cleaved the eel’s stomach open from jaw to tail with his jagged stone knife. He put the knife back in his belt and snagged the eel’s corpse, which he promptly walked back and handed to Ernie.

“I can do this,” Owin said.

Ernie looked at the dead eel in his hands. “Yeah, I see that. I never doubted you.”

Owin raised his eyebrows.

“What do you want me to say? This thing is a simple mob. Prove yourself against real monsters.” Ernie tossed the eel to the side. It floated in place, leaking blood into the water.

“I’ll fight the snail.”

“No, you won’t. One sting from it will paralyze you. Then Kat or I will have to blow you up. The far route has one more gnarled moray, which you can obviously handle. If you want to conquer the dungeon someday, you can go fight the damn snail on your own. Now, let’s get moving so we don’t need to talk to the Void Nexus ass hole again.”

Owin didn’t love the idea of avoiding a mob just because it could paralyze him. Artivan wasn’t scared to fight a lich even knowing it could use mind control. Still, Owin was meant to be helping Ernie, not arguing with him. He grabbed his hammer and led the way through the open area, past all the mindless fish.

Despite his mishap against the first eel, the Ocean dungeon was proving easier than the Great Forest. It was obviously because of his increased attributes, but it was still relieving to confirm that he had gotten stronger.

Before leaving the Great Forest, Owin was certain he needed to be at least as strong as Artivan. Physically, Owin was stronger, but Artivan had the talent, knowledge, and other abilities to make up for that physical power.

Without the ability to level up to get new spells, Owin only had his strength to improve, and he couldn’t stop thinking about how big of a gap there was between himself and Chorsay Eoghet. Artivan had talked about the old man frequently, but it wasn’t until the face off against Taralim that Owin witnessed true strength. When the Shard flared, Chorsay’s strength was enough to stop a blade with his bare fist.

If Owin conquered a dungeon, no Void Nexus hero would stand in his way.

Katalin lagged behind to pick some random plants off the rocks. She even picked up a small shelled creature, which she put into her bag without killing. Ernie didn’t acknowledge any of it while he stayed right at Owin’s side and pointed at another gnarled moray hiding spot.

“Do you know all the mobs in the dungeon?” Owin asked.

“No. Just this floor. The second floor is a lot more confusing, and the third is complicated to explain, but you’ll see soon enough. Kill that so we can move on.”

Owin dropped the hammer again and baited the eel out, easily killing it with his knives. He let the body drift away as he recovered the hammer and led Ernie and Katalin around a tall, sharp rock lined with golden ore.

“And there it is,” Ernie said. He placed his hand on Owin’s shoulder and pointed into the distance. It was a little hazy and difficult to see so far underwater. After a second of focusing, Owin noticed the exit door right beside a staircase down.

In front of the door was a figure, nothing more than a silhouette at the moment.

“Ah, shit. Is that Amkati?” Katalin asked.

Ernie put his hand over his eyes as if shielding them from the sun. “I think so. Why would he be at the stairs?”

“Who is Amkati?” Owin asked.

“He’s a girhuma who wanders the floor. If you don’t give him a fish, he tries to kill you.”

“What’s a girhuma?”

“A water elf? No? I guess you’re going to find out. He’s not moving.” Ernie whispered something to Katalin, who shrugged. “He’s stronger than anything else on this floor. Careful in this fight. We usually avoid him easily or snatch a fish in the open area back there.”

The open area with all the fish was at least ten minutes back, which would bring them too close to Akos or any other heroes entering the dungeon. Would a wandering mob on the first floor really be a concern?

“I can handle it.”

“I like the confidence,” Katalin said. “He usually has a good drop, so kill him and take it.” Katalin grinned and adjusted her headband. A few black strands of hair came loose and floated in the water.

“He’s basically a boss. Two things you can expect on every floor of the Ocean. Chest guardians and wandering bosses.” Ernie slapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

Owin dropped his hammer once again and pulled out his knives. He had taken on the Malignant Spirit, the Doomed Harbinger, and a whole party of heroes before.

He could take on a first floor boss.