Everyone agreed to enter the dungeon without a second thought. Despite that, they were all extremely aware that the monsters in this place were stronger than they were. However, they now saw some differences between level and actual strength. The Steam Elemental was killed considerably quickly, even if they had the advantage of seeing its weakness right away. This difference was only due to their skills and equipment, which made up for the difference in raw levels. However, Helena made sure to remind everyone that even if they were able to fight the stronger monsters, they should be careful since those beings had more powerful attacks that could pose a real threat. In essence, they should all be treating themselves as glass cannons. Something that can deal a lot of damage but can be broken really easily.
The one potential advantage they had above everything else was the legacies. Between Hera increasing their numbers, Blue being able to control the weather to give them an edge, Shane using her enchantments to control the environment or just give everyone more power, and the new addition, Alex being able to remove buffs from their enemies, they should be a force to be reckoned. But that could also be their downfall. Overestimating their abilities would surely lead to someone being seriously injured.
They were all inside the dark cave by the fake loop while Helena talked about all that. They were inside the dungeon already, but so far, the only notification that they saw was the one asking if they wanted to enter. Moving towards the other end of this tunnel, it didn't take long for the group to see some light and smell something different. The Thirmal Waters didn't have a scent per se, but instead, the heat of the steam overpowered any possibility of a perfume. Inside the dungeon, things changed. Everyone could already recognize the smell of flowers and grass coming from the other end of this passage.
As they walked out, they saw how they were on top of the valley, even above the place where Sammy and the doorway they used to get here were located. The entire place looked starkly different. In the actual room, they could only see the pools of water and some plants here and there that the small number of creatures would use as food and the actual small population of monsters. Here, the flora was flourishing. There were several large trees and bushes with berries. The number of thermal pools was also very different, being much smaller here. Not to say that there were few ponds of the heated water, but in comparison with the regular room, where it was hard to walk around without touching water, here the pools of water were more spread out, allowing for movement between them without worry. Another benefit from that was that the dungeon felt much more refreshing. The entire room was extremely stuffy, being always covered in hot steam, but here that was far from a problem unless you ended up downwind of one of the ponds.
Bonnie saw one of the capybara-like creatures in a pond and approached carefully to see if they were just as peaceful. The monster allowed her to not only get close but even pet it. However, when it moved, the researcher let out a loud yell as the being kept coming out with a body that was ten times the size anyone was expecting. Instead of capybaras with six legs, the large rodents were called 'Centepybaras,' mixing them with centipedes instead of caterpillars. Seeing those animals with long bodies and dozens of legs was eerie, to say the least. Despite that, their legs were still animal-like, and, all in all, they were just like very long, wiener dogs.
Distracted by the encounter, the group failed to notice a large white monkey with a red face approaching. Only when Mylo accidentally stepped back and stumbled on it that the party realize what was going on. Just like the Centepybara, this creature wasn't aggressive, and it just looked at the fighter before continuing its path. The monkey was very similar to the one they saw outside, but its limbs seemed longer, and its face, singular, was the biggest difference. The all-seeing monkeys had two faces, one on each side of its head, but this monster called 'Two-Faced Monkey' had two faces merged into one. They shared one central eye, with another eye on each side of the head, one largemouth that seemed to join at the middle, and a nose with three nostrils.
"You know. When you look at them, and at the version we know, you can really see their evolution," Helena said.
"Yeah, but doesn't it feel like it regressed?" Adriel asked.
"Not really. I mean, I'm assuming they have more food here, so that would explain the Centepybaras. As food became scarcer, their bodies became smaller to need less food. And for the Two-Faced Monkey, as finding food became more difficult, they might have evolved to have two mouths so, when they found food, they would eat their fill faster," Helena continued.
"That could also work in the opposite way. The Caterpybaras could have grown to have longer bodies, and the All-seeing monkey could have its face slowly becoming one," Bonnie suggested, "But that would mean that this is the future, not the past, and I highly doubt that. I don't remember ever seeing a dungeon where, on normal mode, we would see the future of the room."
"I don't think those are a thing. Not on normal mode, at least," Shane added.
"Ok, but what are we supposed to do here?" Alex looked around. The dungeon still had yet to show them what the quest was.
"Look at that," Mylo pointed to the other side of the valley. There were a small group of green pastel shapes floating around, being carried by wisps of wind.
"Shane, can you deactivate that enchantment just for a moment?" Hera asked, curious about how the Steam Elementals looked in here.
"Oh, sorry. I should've told you guys sooner. When we came out of the cave, I already dropped the spell. It didn't seem necessary," the enchantress replied.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"So they are like that?" Hera looked back to the pastel cores on the other side of the valley.
"I think so… that's just weird," Blue frowned.
"Yeah…." Hera trailed off, but she noticed something approaching. It looked almost like a mix of a snake and a ferret with about a dozen legs altogether. The creature looked around, sniffing the air. Then, it turned to the monkey that had just passed the group, who was now near a tree picking some fruits. It would eat a few and place others on its arms.
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Steamweaver - Level 40
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Seeing the monster, the Empress gestured to the rest of the group but made sure to tell them all to stay quiet without making any noise. The ferret huffed, barely making any sound and letting some steam out of its nostrils that flowed around its body before dashing at full speed toward the monkey. It jumped and curled itself into a large wheel before hitting the Two-Faced Monkey in the back of the head, causing it to fall down and drop all of the fruits it was gathering. The Steamweaver picked a couple of the fruit with one of its many arms and ran towards the center of the valley, moving down the steps and vanishing from sight.
The monkey roared and looked at the ferret as it escaped, and before it turned back to the tree, the Steamweaver popped its head up and stared the Two-Faced Monkey down with a smirk before vanishing again.
"Did… did that monster mess with the monkey just for fun?" Blue asked, still unsure if she understood what had just happened.
Almost as an answer to her question, a notification appeared.
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You have discovered a dungeon quest.
Valley Prankster
The Steamweaver enjoys messing with other monsters. However, even the most peaceful of creatures have their breaking point.
Teach the Steamweaver a lesson before its antics bring it to ruin.
First Completion Rewards
Thirmal Water's treasure, 300 thousand gold.
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You are the first to ever enter this dungeon. If you complete the Dungeon Quest, you will receive the following bonus rewards:
Steamweaver shiny treasure
+1 Level
These rewards are permanently forfeited if you leave the dungeon without completing this quest.
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"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Blue cheered.
"Weren't you the one who wanted to go home soon?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, but we are here, and the whole point was to get something interesting. This is definitively something fun," Blue replied with a smile.
"Ok, but we still need to finish the quest to get the reward. And the wording feels weird, don't you think so?" Hera turned to the group.
"Yeah… Teach the Steamweaver a lesson… it doesn't say anything about killing it, or defeating it, just teaching it… do we have to tame it?" Shane turned to Bonnie, who was carrying Ruby on her shoulder.
"Maybe, but I don't think what I did with Ruby will work here. I mean, to make this work, I, quite literally, kidnapped her and brainwashed her into being my friend. I don't think usual taming skills work like that," Bonnie replied.
"I don't know why, but I feel like this is more of a mafia thing," Alex added.
"Mafia?" Adriel turned to her.
"Yeah. Like, 'Teach it a lesson' by breaking its kneecaps or something. The MAZE always sounds like a 60's gangster to me," the assassin explained.
"Really? To me, it's more like a tour guide from a museum. That neutral and calming voice of someone who is just doing their job," Helena chuckled.
"I never considered any of that. To me is just like one of those robot voices we can find online," Hera looked to her blades, 'Do you guys have any opinion about it?'
'I think we all hear it the same way you do. Well, I say hear, but we don't actually hear it, just read the notification with you,' Armory replied.
'But it's kind of fun to think of it like a gangster. It changes a lot of things,' Frost said with an amused tone.
'Let's not go there. That will just make things weird,' Core replied.
"OK, then, what do we do?" Hera asked the party.
"First, let's chase after it. Then we figure out what we should be doing," Shane suggested.
"That's a fair plan, who thinks it will be at the bottom of the valley?" Adriel raised his hand, and as a response to his question, everyone else did the same, "Ok then. Let's head down."
"Anyone thinks it is a good idea to have Nimbus bring us there?" Hera looked down to the valley, they were around 100 meters up, and there were several floors for them to go down before reaching the bottom.
"I don't think it's a good call. I mean, what if the monsters feel like he is a threat?" Helena looked down as well, "Then again. Maybe he can bring us up."
"Oh, I didn't even think about that. The way back is going to be a bitch," Alex sighed.
Feeling like they didn't have any other options, the group started heading down, Nimbus would always try to help anyone who was struggling to climb down the floors of the valley, and Lurize did the same, going ahead in his weapon form and then turning into the armored beetle to catch anyone who would jump down. Everyone was more than able to fall from these small heights without getting injured, but the problem was the soil. Even if they were no longer in the same steam-covered area, the ground was still slippery, and the plants could, at times, be hidden and in the way. Not to mention it was better for them to be careful instead of just jumping down right away. It took them about 20 minutes to carefully go down and reach the lower floors of the valley once more, but now came a new problem. How were they supposed to find the Steamweaver in here?