Chapter Fourteen

The rest of Sir Maxwell’s information aligned with what Prince Adric had provided, though maybe not as complete since the prince had both evolved in the capital and cleared the dungeon several times. Breaking down the information on what to expect in Nae’s Garden did take time away from using the ring to train or exercise, which was both an annoyance and a relief as she felt eyes upon their little group.

“If I go over the first floor one more time my head will explode. The only way to know if I’m ready is to face the floor. Hyacinth, it’s time to head to the guild entrance.”

The shadow toad materialized at the edge of the forest through the shadows, his hunger heightened by all the teasing he did in the woods, without being able to hunt to kill. The group waited for him to hop over before heading out.

Nae’s Garden, the tallest tower in the city of towers, all others are imitations of the dungeon's grandeur. Entrances shot out as tunnels like spokes, each entrance long since built over and controlled by the guild.

Hugs goodbye all around, except for Sir Maxwell, who tried to sneak one in but was stopped by Harmony’s glare. You earned that privilege.

Straight to the booth marked ‘dungeon entrance’. A crystal in front of the attendant glowed brightly, in response the back of Harmony’s hand tingled slightly underneath her glove.

“Welcome Eternal, you honor me with your presence.”

What was he calling her? An honorific for the lifetime membership? Never mind.

“I’m here to enter the dungeon.”

“By yourself?”

“Grrupt,” Hyacinth complained at being ignored.

“Of course, Eternal. You know best. “ The man in the booth reached below the desks and pulled out a small pouch, handing it over. “Your complimentary supplies for your run.”

Inside, were several restoration potions of much greater quality than the ones that sat in her small bag. Golds worth. The maid in her wanted to humbly say thank you. Complimentary meant this was standard for divers of her status. “Acceptable.” She squeezed out, keeping her tone flat.

The attendant nodded proudly.

That was enough of a dismissal that Harmony continued into the entrance, a long tunnel lit by glow stones. That simple entrance had been a relief, no guild master showing up, no one questioning who she was or if she should do this. The smoothest social interaction she’d had in a while. The tunnel ended in a large open area, presenting five paths of stairs leading up, each formed of roots, well worn, and wide enough to allow for a five-person adventuring team to walk up side by side.

“Gak.” Hyacinth complained.

“I know you hate stairs, but in Naewauld’s Garden we climb the levels of the dungeon.”

Flipping the marker on the oldest path, like they'd do if they dived into Old Bones, the pair ascended that route.

Together they emerged into a lush jungle, only a narrow game trail ahead. A real forest with this much traffic would have had a road pounded into it by the armored feet of five-man teams. In the dungeon growth quickly overtook any man-made disturbances.

Hyacinth disappeared into the shady undergrowth. Bait, always, bait, but with a trusty pair of eyes on her. [Stride Before The Fall] could give her an extra set of eyes, but it only lasted so long before wearing out. No reason to waste the newest weapon. Harmony pulled out a bone knife. {Manipulate Dead] lengthened, hardened, and sharpened the blade.

Woozes would be incoming. Unless the dungeon had surprises it would start with one, then slowly increase the number in the pack. Teeth and claws tacked onto a ball of excessive fur.

Hyacinth heard it first, huffing and rustling through the jungle. [Familiar Bond] Let him send the general direction and the time the wooze should arrive to his partner. He was confident she could handle one.

So, much fur gave her a way to track it with her class senses when combined with her Familiar’s warning. Even as the hair muffled the sound, it was dead, and outside of decomposing bits of plant life on the ground the biggest source in this life-filled jungle she could detect. Sideways out of the bushes slid the first wooze.

[Beautician] got to work, with a healthy synergy with [Manipulate Dead]. At this point, molding hair into fantastic shapes was second nature. Wild hairstyles on Ambrosia had been more than caving into the fan’s wants; it was practice. White fur moved like tentacles wrapping around the closest bits of shrubbery, tying the beast in place.

The furry monstrosity snapped furiously, creating a constant rattle, helpless as it was tied up a little more than two paces away.

In preparation for this trip there had been theories, planning, and training, but now that the wooze was here it was time to experiment.

The complicated combination of skills tying up the fur in knots around branches was a bit energy-intensive to use the entirety of this floor, let alone once she got to the brood-mother. [Cold Touch] was useless as the fur insulated them. Manipulate Dead in its destructive base form would explode a fist-sized patch of hair and the fur wasn’t dense enough to cause damage, absorbing most of it, and focusing on things like the beast's teeth or claws, could do more damage, but took extra attention and focus to merely partially disarmed them.

There had been some horror stories about naive adventurers using fire skills on them, if a wooze caught fire, it would eventually kill them, but you had twenty minutes of angry balls of fire with teeth and claws attacking you. It also destroyed what dungeons farmers liked to collect and sell. That fine white fur. The capital's main export. Easy to dye, weave, and as soft as silk. You might as well be melting coins to light woozes on fire.

[High Kick]. Harmony let the skill take over and kicked the trapped beast's side. It let out a squeal of pain and she could feel one rib break. The force of the kick ripped several branches it had been tied too off, enough that the monster could now partially move enough to try to lunge at her again.

She activated the maid-necromancer combination again on the hair, this time straightening it. A pillar of hair, longer than the wooze’s legs grew out and stabbed into the ground anchoring the beast in the air as it peddled furiously to no avail. Too much padding. [High Kick] was out. All the guides said the fur was resistant to slashing. Two steps forward and she pierced the monster through the eye and into its skull. As sharp as the bone knife was, none of her skills provided any ability with blades, so slaughtering the immobile target the same way she’d kill any pest was best. There’d been more things to test, but Hyacinth was already warning two more were on the way.

It was a methodical slaughter. A grind like any chore from Coodly Manor, where pest control had often been assigned to the maid. Most energy efficient was matting and knotting the Wwoze’s up in self-made cocoons. Hyacinth got involved out of boredom.

“Grrrak- Hck -hkkk-” The wet hairball of mashed-up wooze splatted out nearby. The Shadow toad groaned uncomfortably. The beasts were more of a choking hazard than any real threat to the oversized familiar.

“I told you not to try to eat one.”

Hungry, He complained through their bond.

Manipulate dead artfully sheared a corpse nearby. Revealing it was a skinny thing with thin skin and a pile of dense wiry muscles controlling the body.

Not Fun. The predator complained but ate it anyway.

That did spark a new idea. [Manipulate dead] Poofed the charging Wooze, blowing off every bit of hair, as though she’d just blown on dandelion fluff. Chained onto that skill a fraction of a second later [Cold Touch] hit. Woozes needed that fur to maintain the optimal body temperature, one of the reasons lighting them on fire merely inconvenienced them is that it was near a furnace underneath that extremely long and thick layer of fur. Cold hit with a vengeance. Shutting down organs, and locking up joints, the shock alone might have killed the beast eventually, but she settled on quick knife work on the twitching body.

Even using two different skills was the most efficient way yet to kill, as only a low-effort amount of mana and authority was needed to kill them. Perhaps if she maintained an area of cold around her then poof, strip them naked, and have them drop dead would be most efficient. [Cold Touch] wanted to seep out of her and freeze everything these days.

That was the thirtieth wooze, so that experiment would have to wait for the next run of this floor. Even Hyacinth couldn’t sense any more prey nearby.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

With a push of willpower, she pulled back all the loose fur and tied it into a neat package. Hyacinth lumbered out of the shadows, He’d been dozing off his earlier disaster of an attempt at lunch. Twenty-nine bundles of fur sat strapped to his back, almost creating a cloak of white on his black body. No point in leaving money behind when you’re already down to selling your body for a place to live.

“Let’s go kill this Brood mother. I’m sure everyone is nervous about my first dive into this dungeon.”

“Rrrupt.” Hyacinth croaked with intent clear through their bond.

“Yes, and I have a dinner to get back to. “

Perpetual social dinners at Ma Bell. It almost made her want to spend the night in the dungeon, totally against recommendations. Max promised to get her the information on who would be at this one with enough time for preparation. That did require finishing this floor in a timely fashion.

Unlike the undead dungeon, Nae’s Garden had a predictable lineup for what to expect. One option had been to ignore the boss on the first trip and head back to the entrance it had been what Adric pushed for. Everyone else agreed it would be best to tour the dungeon floor and complete it tomorrow. But thirty dead woozes and still no level of her class, if she had to defeat the champion of the first floor she would do it. The description of the brood mother in the guides is Extra Large Wooze who stood guarding the clearing before the stairs allowing you to go to the next level or out. Too big to comfortably fit in the jungle, it was resistant to range attacks trying to snipe it from the edge of the woods.

“Corpse-strewn luck.” Harmony nearly turned back to the entrance. Legs had to be the size of tree trunks. Comfortably unable to fit was an understatement, the beast's size would prevent it from entering the trees it towered over. Time backtracking held a chance of being late to dinner and being blindsided again by the guests.

[Stride Before the Fall] Too close! With a face full of fur, [Manipulate Dead] ripped a healthy-sized chunk away shearing as close as she could get. The leg revealed was bigger than the size of tree trunks in the dense dungeon jungle.

How do those solo evolved…? [Small Armor] caught the twitch before Harmony’s brain clicked onto it, so she was already rolling her armored shin toward the point of impact. Even armored, getting kicked by the brood mother wooze hurt. Almost enough for her to give up that strided version of herself. A shave like that shouldn't have alerted the beast. A wave of her hand had Adric clean-shaven every morning without a hint of tugging. Yet here… Harmony charged [Mana Rotation] feeling it supercharge her next ability as she tumbled away. If she was going out she would take as much hair as possible and this time it would hurt. Harmony’s Skill gripped tight as she let the momentum she’d gained from being punted play into the force to rip the hair out.

The floor Guardians' painful yelp shook the trees. Not that it slowed its pounce on the offending necromancer tumbling on the ground.

While one of her couldn't tell up from down, Harmony watched from the trees and decided that the shaken and shocked version of her was done. [Stride] ended and the brood mother was left unsatisfyingly empty of revenge as its claws landed on nothing.

Echos of the pain lingered in the maids' memory. Outside of removing one chunk of hair along the rear leg and a greater bloody bare patch on the beast's underside, there wasn't any real damage. No way will there be tying that wooze into a nice little package. Even now it searched and sniffed the air in frustration.

[Manipulate Dead] and [Dust] pulsed around her and Hyacinth, catching what she could. The technique didn’t eliminate scents but restricted what she could of the components the skills affected. Would [Stride] have a scent trail to the new location leading back to her? There hadn’t been any testing, hunts with Adric and Bowe, or other experiments. Not enough time.

The guides all talked about tactics to defeat the boss as a team. The most survivable one or two members got the brood mother angry at them while the rest took the monster down. Once the brood mother targeted someone it wouldn’t stop and ignored all others until the target was eliminated. It was an unfavorable position to be in. Many teams hired professionals rather than risk friends in that role. Defensive-minded folk who could take the brunt of the attacks, or those quick enough to lead the beast on a chase for however long it took the others to win. Going into the woods only had the giant furball switch targets.

It was the same trait that caused the little woozes to doggedly attack those who entered the first floor.

The brood mother sniffed at the spot where Harmony landed, its mass of wicked teeth wide and snarling. That would be a problem.

[Stride Before the Fall] could have been an option. One of her to distract and another to work on killing the best. Doubt that she could do enough damage before the target failed, and if they were both her, would it really distract the brood mother from either target? The two “hers” didn’t smell different. While not the only source of tracking the brood mothers primarily used scent. It was all a problem. She'd also have to wait until she felt she could use the skill again.

“Grrupt,” Hyacinth complained softly beside her sending his feelings to her. The fur on his back was hot, and he was hungry again. It had been bad enough to eat the one she’d killed first, the woozsicles were a big no as he didn’t like his food cold.

“Too bad you nearly choked on the damn hairballs or you could have had your fill.” The necromancer hissed back.

Hyacinth was weighed down by the massive pile of white fur she’d bundled onto him. The pile was bigger than she was.

“Ackpt.” Why are you looking at me that way? Her familiar asked through their [Bond].

It took some work and enough time that Harmony worried about Ma Bell's dinner tonight. Exhaustion prepped to settle in. A life-sized doll made of hair. Scraped clean of any old Wooze funk. The hard part was then making it smell like herself. More than a little bit raw and tender from exfoliating as much of herself over to it, even trimming her hair some. [Renew Spirit] and her Connections stat to give the doll an aura of her life force was either inspired or a massive waste of time.

“Grack” Hyacinth complained about his role in this scheme.

“That big beastie will totally ignore you and go after Hair-mony White over there. You just need to hop out and get its attention.”

Her familiar had noted the complete lack of shadows in the clearing. He'd even hinted that she should [Stride] in and haul The fur on her back rather than have him hop about with it attached to a long stick strapped to his back. The doll was larger than her, that was a no-go.

“Get! Before the magic runs out.”

The disgruntled toad took off contemplating this idiocy. Maybe he should have found a nice frog to partner up with to have tea and cats with. Possibly exchange letters. Harmony worried too much. A streak of pain from the burden of their binds flashed as if to correct him there.

The inky black toad on the sunny field of green stood out, clashing with the vibrancy, the white hair-doll attached, not so much.

Hyacinth hopped forward and the brood mother's attention snapped its attention towards him. “Aaaaaaaak!” He screamed and darted sideways.

I’m not prey! I’m not prey! He projected through their bond.

Stay in my area! Harmony projected back and headed in the direction he took off along the edge of the tree line.

The brood mother was faster than both of them. Harmony flinched as it pounced, thankfully at the giant white blur. Chronostasis kicked in slowing her perception of everything. The necromancer delved into the connection she had with [High Kick] and [Small Armor], watching the angle, and momentum of the strike. A trickle of relief as she saw it would land just short of her panicking familiar and on target.

Flexing her kick to push off a tree at the edge of the clearing, she flung herself into the fray as the brood mother’s mouth surrounded the life-sized hair doll.

Choke on this! If she hadn’t spent so much of her maid service working on hair, Harmony doubted she could have managed the tactic. While not a thing of beauty, [Beatician] working in conjunction with [Manipulate Dead] reached out to knot the thing in the floor guardian’s throat. [Mend] helped gum things up even further.

Still attached to the doll, Hyacinth found himself lifted up as the giant woozie started to buck. He kicked mid-air detaching himself from the trap, tumbling to the ground.

The wooze retched, trying to dislodge the hair-person while Harmony fought to keep it in. She could feel the tipping point as she sealed it away from breathing. Not that it was giving up as it wheezed in the last bit of air it could. Acceptance of death and rage. All things must die and sometimes you go peacefully and other times…

It's life over, the brood mother lashed out. Expecting it to go at her, Harmony readied [Small Armor]. It didn't go after Her.

The enraged floor guardian streaked toward the toad hopping away even as it processed its final breath. Hyacinth wasn’t stupid in that he'd assumed he was safe. Neither was he quick enough. Leaping away last second, three sharp claws raked his armored back, slicing it easily.

Those bonded to familiars weren’t supposed to feel their partner’s pain. Her unlocked stat of connections threw that expectation out the window. A fire burned down her back, heat buffeted by Hyacinth's rage.

I am not prey!

Harmony activated [High Kick] as its purest form, aiming for the back of the unpadded leg she'd shaved earlier

Hyacinth launched his attack. No fleeing here. His version of that same attack. Familiars didn't get their bonded skills, but they got something. That had always been clear as Harmony grew.

The maid's armored foot collapsed the leg forward at the Joint, cracking the bone where the femur and tibia met. Hyacinth’s strike took advantage of the flinch that caused, his armored bleeding back ramming into where the wooze’s throat should be as he plunged into the fur.

Both maid and familiar had seen enough of the beasts stripped bald to get a sense of where the vulnerable parts were.

The brood mother jerked back, Harmony expected Hyacinth to land groundward after his strike. The giant beast twitched and Hyacinth remained enveloped in its furry white mass. Focusing her senses on the hair she could detect vigorous pulling and yanking, corresponding with the twitching movements of the already distressed and choking wooze.

Harmony hopped back a few feet, still concentrating on making sure its airways were blocked. Its rage didn’t help it control its body this far into its inevitable death. The twitches and fails continued until it collapsed into a white lump.

Help. Hair! Hyacinth sent through his bond.

Harmony cleared the patch her familiar was in. The toad fell out a ball of fluff, the extra-long individual strands wrapped around his body and limbs. The maid continued to cut the strands and tangles off him with her skill. “You didn’t plan to get stuck up in there did you?”

“Grupt.” He responded saltily.

[Mend] with [Renew Spirit] sealed up the wounds on his back as best she could. She wasn’t a healer, so forced him to drink one of the healing potions, despite grumbling that he was “Fine and predators don’t need help.”

Brood mother dead, she’d need to harvest it next, harvesting and packaging the hair, claws, and teeth had some value too. It was dead. The two of them had managed it alone. And yet… her class had not leveled. Inside, where her skills, class, and profession existed it twisted uncomfortably under the weight of authority rampaging about.