They chose to not lure enough slimes to make another pudding cube. The one at the end of the Dungeon more than enough for them. Instead, they advanced until they found the rocky cliffs of the third section. To their surprise, the cliffs didn't go up. They went down. Rivers of murky swampy water poured massive waterfalls down these cliffs, eventually spreading into a thick mist and hiding the depths from sight even faster than the everpresent fog on the previous zones. The roar of the waterfalls and the smell in the mist numbed their other senses.
"When I think this Dungeon couldn't get worse, it spits right back at my face," Nero protested.
Altia looked down, withdrawing after she became dazed by the height.
"Down we go. It seems there are lots of surfaces to climb down. Unless things go terribly wrong, we won't fall much."
"Yes. Let's. We need to be careful."
They started to climb down away from the waterfalls. It didn't help as soon the stone cliff and the two Adventurers were drenched in water. Nero stopped on a ledge and helped Altia the rest of the way.
"We should swap our cloaks to the [Hot Muffler]. It is getting really cold down here," He suggested. "And the smaller mufflers won't snag as easily."
Altia agreed. The mufflers would keep them warm despite the heat-sapping properties of the waterfall mist. Down a few more dozens of feet, another challenge presented itself. The light didn't quite reach down there. Nero had to turn on his Essence lantern and let it hang from his shield. They descended carefully and paused to rest. Climbing down strained their muscles. Nero checked the clock and gasped. They had used two hours to descend and still couldn't see the bottom. The roar of the waterfalls continued to block all other sounds.
"Two hours. For two hours we've climbed down this cliff, Altia," Nero announced and his voice took a hint of concern, maybe worry. "Where are the monsters?"
Altia blinked, surprised that they missed that, so focused they were on not slipping. Fighting in those conditions would be terrible.
"What is the monster of the third zone?"
"Mist goats. They are physical ambushers. They ram climbers in an attempt to make them fall down."
"There's nothing we can do if they won't show themselves. We should rest for half an hour and then climb down the rest of the way."
The descent didn't get easier. After only fifty feet down, Nero found a cave. it was steep and rivulets of water streamed down the cave.
"The water goes somewhere. it doesn't pool or the cave would be flooded," Nero mused.
"It doesn't mean the end isn't underwater," Altia rebutted. "Serena told me that if a cave has an opening to another body of water, the inside 2
won't flood but instead rises and lowers with the tides."
Nero sniffled. "That's crazy. But Serena knows her waters."
Altia snorted, "That sounded awful."
"Sorry, he shrugged."
Their banter didn't go unnoticed. Nero had little warning. The clopping of hooves on stone came slowly then accelerated. A gray quadruped blur came out of the cave and rammed him. Nero was shoved off the cliff and plunged into the mist.
Altia screamed in terror but instead of freezing, she went berserk. A wave of her hand and two magical arrows shot into the goat's head. One of them pierced its eye just as the monster was tilting its head to see where that sharp screech was coming from. The arrow pierced its brain and the goat died, vanishing in the next few seconds into a crystal and a card. She paid it no mind. The whole ledge went dark after the goat dissolved as the only light source went down with Nero. She stood close to the cliff face, protecting her back and trying to control her breath.
Another set of hooves clopped from the tunnel. Altia felt the world spin and gagged, swallowing the bile back. She wouldn't dare to live without Nero. With a prayer on her lips, she jumped after him. She felt her stomach chill from weightlessness and then plunged into the water. Altia quickly swam back to the surface and scanned around. Se was in a river but the current wasn't too bad. The water was murky and fetid. After a while, she saw a glow downriver and swam along with the current.
The light was getting closer. She hoped it was her husband. "Nero!" She shouted. There was no answer. Altia swam for a few more minutes and found Nero. He was unconscious, floating on his back, the Essence lantern attached to his shield shining on the surface. She threw a healing spell at him immediately, feeling a bit relieved when the spell settled. He was alive. She hugged him and wiped some blood from his forehead.
Taking the lantern, she raised it and looked around. The mist from the waterfalls had cleared and she could see they were at the bottom of a canyon. She caught sight of a blur underneath the water and felt a bite on her leg. She yelped and fired a [Magic Arrow] into the water then healed herself. She had no idea if the arrow hit the monster. It didn't kill it because no lights came from a dissolving monster.
Fearing the return of the water monster, she scanned around and saw a stone beach a few yards ahead. She swam, dragging Nero with her and found purchase for her feet on some rocks. From there she was able to get out of the water.
She checked her leg, it was okay. Altia fired another two healing spells Nero's way and dragged him a bit further from the water, afraid the water monsters would be amphibious. She checked Nero for more injuries but it seemed he'd suffered a concussion when he fell. Putting him in a comfortable position, she sat there and let the muffler's power dry their bodies. One hour later, Nero woke up.
"How are you?" She asked in a whisper.
Nero did a quick check of his gear and himself.
"Altia? I'm fine. My head hurts but my ring triggered twice, once when the goat rammed me and when I hit the rocks. Where are we?"
"At the bottom of the canyon, past the waterfalls, down the river. I have no idea where to go from here."
The only way out of the rock bank they were on was the river. The cliffs around them were shrouded in darkness and apparently smoothed out from floods, impossible to climb.
"We can use [Egress] and hope the slime boss counts," Nero suggested.
They heard bleating coming from above, then to the left, to the right.
"We're surrounded by goats," Altia stated. "We killed a boss, our devices' diagnosis messages said as much. Let's get out of here."
"Right. Together."
"Always."
"Wait. I gotta drain the crystals so it isn't too suspicious. We go up and show one worth a thousand Essence, people will ask questions."
And so they finished their delve earlier. They were stinking of swamp water as they appeared outside, still in daylight for a change. After a few questions from the kingdom officers in charge of the Dungeon mine and a show of their empty pockets and pouches, they climbed on Lamuril's horseless carriage. It was already on and ready to depart.
"How was it? Did you kill the boss?" The elf asked.
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"Yes, we killed a boss, but we didn't reach the end of the Dungeon," Nero admitted. "And now that I think of it, we might have lost about three hours because we wasted time climbing down that cliff and almost drowning in a tainted river."
"That means we'll have that many fewer hours," Altia commented. "Fifteen hours for the last Dungeon."
The carriage was going faster to the next Dungeon. Lamuril didn't spare a glance behind, focused on putting the road behind them.
"Your cards and extra equipment are in the compartment under the rear bench," The elf said.
Nero pulled the drawer and checked inside. He found their cards and a lot of options. While they went, he sacrificed a few gray cards to [Card Trick] to clean and repair everything, swapping the Classes as he needed. He vowed to not shortchange himself again. He needed his classes. Worse, he needed a build for the 'Tomb of the Skeleton Lord'. It was a small Dungeon but focused on group fights. He decided to make a build centered on a fire AOE.
> [Mage] - Green - Bound to Nero.
>
> +2 Strength [+1]
>
> +2 Vigor [+1]
>
> +1 Agility
>
> +6 Endurance [+3]
>
> +14 Reason [+7]
>
> +12 Willpower [+6]
>
> +2 Perception [+1]
>
> Special: Your spells use 1 more point of mana and have 50% more effect.
>
> - [Fireball] - Casting time: 15 seconds. Spend 5(6) points of mana to create an explosive fireball. Deals fire damage based on 3/4 * (Reason + Willpower) over an area up to 3/2 * Reason feet. The range is Reason x 15 yards.
>
> - [Enlarge Spell] - Spend 1 point of mana and stamina in addition to other costs as part of casting a spell. Multiply the area or volume of a Spell by Reason / 3.
>
> - [Everburning Fire] - Spend 1 point of mana in addition to other costs as part of casting a fire spell. The spell now leaves lingering flames that last Reason / 2 seconds and deal 10% of the damage per second.
>
> - [Fire Juggling] - Casting Time: 2 minutes. Spend 3(4) mana to create 3 * Reason / 10 flames that shed light like a (very bright) torch. These flames can move wherever you want up to Perception feet around you, lasting for 1.5 hours or until dismissed. At will you can shoot one or several of these flames at a targets up to Willpower x 3 feet away, dealing damage based on 3/8 * (Reason + Willpower).
>
> - [Holy Wrath] - Your attacks and spells deal 50% more damage to undead.
>
> - [Ignis Victoria] - Small chance to recover mana equal to a fraction of a target's level upon a kill with fire spells.
Altia looked at Nero's arrangement of Skills and sighed. "This would come in handy against those slimes."
"Yes, I won't leave my Class cards behind ever again. I can fit ten in my Class slot. They won't look inside."
The Class slot of an Arbitrium was as private as one's privates. What Valaanasshole did stuffing the [Rogue] card was aking to violating Nero's... nevermind. He shook the idea out of his mind, disgusted.
"Wish you'd known that before we left the [Archer] with Serena."
Altia was a bit unsure after their close brush with death in the sludge river. Nero decided to tease her a bit.
"What did they say about hindsight again?"
"It was written on your [Foresight] Skill. I don't remember."
The carriage shifted onto a side road. They were still inside the city but in an old neighborhood. The buildings were old and the architecture seemed sinister. They circled a long lot surrounded by a gothic metal fence, entered through a wrought iron gate and a few minutes later they stopped. Nero looked around. It was a graveyard.
"We are here," Lamuril said. "The portal is in that mausoleum. The entrance room of this Dungeon is very small and you'll probably see the first wave of monsters right away. It is a short Dungeon but there are lots of monsters bunched together. Take care."
"Okay. I'm going in hot," Nero joked.
They got down from the carriage and looked around. The moonlight created creepy shadows in the tombstones. But something was missing.
"Why there are no guards here?" Altia asked.
"They are at the cemetery gates, but it is past their turn. It seems professor Holmes got this one as a free ride. You won't have to pay the tax. Despite the difficulty level, this is a tier-II Dungeon. There are a few Adventurers that come to clean it regularly, once or twice a month so it is not under danger of an overflow. Now, hurry. Go inside and have a good hunt."
They did. Nero and Altia held hands and crossed the portal.
> Entering "Tomb of the Skeleton Lord" - rank-II.
They appeared in a very cold forest clearing at night. Their breaths condensed into a plume of vapor. It wasn't the same night as before, but one where the full moon seemed so close you couldn't jump in fear of hitting your head on the celestial object. Gnarled trees with few leaves casting scary shadows surrounded the clearing, their branches and roots so entwined there was only one way out, a small and short trail that led back to the graveyard and the mausoleum. The sound of dozens of things shuffling and rustling along with the rattling of bones hitting each other.
The couple moved forward slowly, Nero unwilling to use [Fire Juggling] for lighting to avoid drawing the attention of the monsters. Once they were almost out of the beaten trail and into the Dungeon's rendition of the cemetery, apparently a few centuries earlier than the real one, Nero lowered his goggles and looked around. The red haze from the monsters' Essence mixed and it was impossible to pinpoint an individual's aura from that. He saw the yellowed bones of dozens of zombies walking around the graveyard, looking for things to kill.
They were exactly as described. Corpses in varying degrees of decomposition, bones exposed here and there, dried viscera visible where flesh didn't cover the body anymore. Their eyes were dead and milky and they moved around with jerking movements as if they had to win over some kind of stiffness to do so.
Nero studied their movement pattern for a bit. There was none he could glimpse. The zombies just moved around, better yet stumbled around. He saw some of them scraping their hips against a pointy tombstone several times.
"We're doing it. I'll start drawing them and tossing fireballs. You kill the ones that come close to us," Nero said.
He spent 12 points of mana and conjured [Fire Juggling] three times for a total of eighteen flames, getting 3 points of mana back at the last casting because of his amulet. He had enough mana for 3 fully powered fireballs left. The flames felt warm and they took a moment to adapt their eyes to the light. The forest around them now looked as it would under daylight and altia gasped. The trees had faces. The zombies didn't miss it and started to convey into Nero's position.
They were fifty yards away when the first fireball hit them, with all the buffs. It expanded to a glowing inferno seventy-two feet in radius, almost reaching back the couple. The magical flames vanished a second after that as if they never existed, leaving a wake of burning zombies and grass behind. Some of them started to dissolve into motes of light an instant later, while the others scrambled to kill the living.
Nero wouldn't use another fireball for fear of damaging the drops from the lower-level zombies. He gave Altia some stones and she shot the nearest zombies with her staff-sling. She shot twice and the second lowest-leveled group of zombies died from the damage over time burning effect. She didn't seem bothered by the burning corpses of several races in front of her anymore. The thrill of seeing monsters die overwrote her squeamish self.
The twelve seconds of burning debuff ended. Nero checked his resources and found he'd recovered five points of mana from the zombies his fireball killed. The charred and dried patches of flesh flaked off from the zombies, leaving the blackened corpses even more exposed. They kept coming but the fact they hadn't crossed even half of the distance yet showed their weakness. Their strength lied in numbers and the narrow space of the outer graveyard.
Once they were too close to shoot, Altia fired some magic arrows at the healthiest ones. There were twelve zombies left.
"What now?" She asked.
"They look like they'll crumble if the wind blows too strong. I'll finish them myself."
She held his arm, unwilling to let him go like that.
"They are quite strong if they are this slow. Take care."
"Yes, and if it fails, I have the perfect potion machine with me."
Altia pushed him forward. "Oh, please. Do get some wounds I can heal, darling," She said with a sardonic tone.
Nero drew and activated his sword. The buzzing sound was now very familiar, welcome even. It made him feel strong. He ran at the rightmost zombie and brought his sawing blade down. The zombie offered almost no resistance and was sliced in half. Nero paused for a moment, astonished. The next zombie reached him and he barely had time to block with his targe shield. That snapped him back in the flow of combat. Nero shoved the zombie away from him. It stumbled back and fell on a headstone, breaking its fragile spine. Shaking his head, he walked around and broke the other zombies.
He looked around and sent his flames in a circle to the edge of his range and as high as he could, leaving one above him. Altia came next to him and called his attention. The ground was littered with red glowing gems.
"That's nice," She waved a hand around. "We should clear this one more often. I wonder why people don't come here."
"Most Dungeons are made of narrow tunnels. Not many Adventurers invest in AoE spells, they think that if you need AoE you are screwed anyway. And this cemetery is downright creepy. Aren't you creeped out?"
"I was. But don't you see? Not even the smell of corpses is around. I think your fireball cleared it all. And look at all those crystals and cards!"
He looked. Then he remembered to put on his goggles and he saw! He and Altia spent the next ten minutes gathering the loot. Fifty-four crystals fluctuating between one-hundred-twenty to two hundred and seventy, plus about thirty cards, fourteen of them Classes.
"And there it is. Why this Dungeon is not commonly visited. Its main drop is Classes."
"Yeah, that is bad. Ordinary Class cards don't fetch the same price as a Skill or a piece of equipment."
White Classes were garbage, honestly. As people would be stuck with whatever Class they used first with no chance of an upgrade, nobody with a half-functioning brain would ever use a white Class. Green was common for the impoverished that had to repay loans for their Arbitrium while Blue and above were valuable even if they had crappy values, like Altia's.
He stopped next to the open mausoleum. A set of chipped stairs led down into the darkness.
"Let's get this over fast and dispatch another boss. No surprises this time."
"Sounds good to me," Altia sung.