> Entering "Verdant Ruins of Amara-Khan" - rank-I Dungeon.
The couple appeared in the front gate of a once-lavish palace. The portcullis and the iron bindings of a once-sturdy gate were lying on the ground, battered and rusted. Ahead of them, the daylight painted the scene with several shades of gray as nature fought to encroach and claim the wrought stone back into its fold. The palace of Amara-Khan, first of his name, was before them.
Nero was in his [Mana Bolt] build. He drew his clockwork sword and turned it on, without a care about the Essence spent.
"I'm going ahead, Altia," He announced.
It was their plan to finish this Dungeon as fast as possible. Nero would run through the palace killing everything in sight in a hurry to reach the throne room where the specter of the mage that killed Amara-Khan waited for him. Since the specter was incorporeal, he needed magic to kill it.
Altia kissed him. "Have fun."
Nero dashed ahead, crossing the courtyard. The first zone was inhabited by leper-chauns, small green men that resembled gnomes - never tell one that - with wicked talons, green skin, and a terrible demeanor. He swung his sword, cutting the tiny monsters in half easier than the rats back in the Goblin's Den. Doing a zig-zag between the now-dead monsters after his sword met their frail bodies, he reached the front gates of the palace proper, climbed the stairs and entered the structure.
He dashed down the main hallway, noticing some tapestry that turned into a vine planter. Sunlight came in from holes in the structure's roof and roots threatened to trip him. The corridors were patrolled by saprolings, mobile plant monsters that looked like small animals of varied types made of entwined twigs and leaves. Not that Nero stopped to watch them. He just slashed through them, never avoiding an encounter, sending a spray of leaves, sap, and sawdust. Whenever one was too far away, a [Mana Bolt] solved the problem.
Altia was a bit behind him. While he had to slow down and change directions to kill the monsters, his wife just picked up some of the cards and walked in a straight line. He got lost in the outer palace but Altia found the way. A massive coil of vines and bushes hid the archway into the inner palace. Nero's sword that didn't stop buzzing for a moment quickly opened a path.
The outer courtyard had the tortured spirits of the palace guards. Unable to defend their King, they remained behind in shame. These shadow creatures, made of a pitch-black substance almost darkness itself, lurked in shadows. Ambush monsters, just as usual. For Nero's goggles and enhanced Perception, It was as if they were waving at him. He moved from shadow to shadow, dispatching them and firing [Mana Bolts] when necessary.
He allowed himself a brief moment to catch his breath only before the door to the throne room on the west wing of the palace until Altia reached him. He received a bunch of cards from his wife and burned a few gray ones to replenish mana.
"See if your [Magic Arrow] does any damage. It's a spell anyway. If it doesn't, just support."
Nero wouldn't brag about how he thought the boss would not be a problem. He kicked the doors and ran inside.
"Oh, my! Oh, my! After all this time, guests for my ball!"
The doors closed with a bang and a cloud of dust.
The specter of the elf mage was floating above the throne. Several corpses were locked in place like dancers in an eternal and macabre art installation. Nero paid the immobile decorations no heed. He was already rushing the mage.
"Oh, what a rude guest! A sword made with technology can naught harm me. If you just list--"
"[Mana Bolt]!" Nero fired at point-blank.
The specter screeched, its confidence foregone. Nero's intention on closing was to keep the specter focused on him. He didn't need to go this length.
Undead mages could feel pain, Nero registered as the specter screamed for a long time. "Argh!"
"[Mana Bolt] - [Mana Bolt] - [Mana Bolt]"
Nero kept his relentless barrage. He had almost twenty points of mana and intended to burn all of it and then some cards.
"[Magic Arrow]" Altia also added her magic to the mix.
The magic arrow indeed could hurt the specter, but not as much as a pure magical spell, like [Mana Bolt]. Between both of them, whose Attribute values rivaled those of Adventurers raiding dungeons ranks IV or V, the specter died.
Only then he turned off his sword and allowed his body to feel tired.
"TIme?"
"Twenty-six minutes. I'm gathering the loot. One Anima crystal."
"Use it. Let's get out of here."
Altia consumed the crystal through her Arbitrium and smiled. "Agility. Running around paid off."
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They had recovered the extra time they spent clearing the catacombs. It couldn't be helped and it was even fast compared to other larger parties. Lamuril was with a clock and the engine ready to go.
"Welcome back. It's nine hours and thirty-eight minutes. Get in the carriage, we are driving to the last Dungeon. You'll have a bit less than two hours to clear it but the time you save can be used to rest while we go to the Spider's Nest."
Nero crashed on the soft leather bench. "Thanks, Lamuril. Wake me up when we get there." He closed his eyes and took a nap. Altia also did the same. It was a mentally stressful day but they nailed three out of five bosses.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Lamuril woke them. Nero looked around and saw they were next to a cave mouth, the shimmering portal to the Dungeon just beyond the mouth. He checked his gear, Altia replenished her potions from the storage. Nero thought and decided to keep with the [Mana Bolt] build. They needed to go fast, his melee abilities were enough for a rank-I even without a Class. A ranged ability with almost endless ammunition would come in handy.
"We're going. I don't think this will take longer than the ruins."
He held Altia's hand and they dove into the portal.
> Entering "Dire Hyena's Caves" - rank-I Dungeon.
They were in a savanna, in the last half of the afternoon. The sunlight banished their sleepiness as their biological clocks tried to cope with the signals their eyes were sending. It would come back to bite them later, but now it wasn't a concern.
"The first monster is called 'burrow mole'. They hide in holes hidden by the grass and spring from them to attack adventurers," Nero said. "We are running in a straight line to that grassy field near the river. That's where the frenzy badgers live. Then we head for that rock formation next to the river, the cave of the dire hyena."
Nero adjusted his goggles and looked. He could see the red haze from the moles coming from their holes. He turned on his sword and ran. The first mole was too slow to catch Nero. The young man was past the monster's hole by the time it came out, only to die to a [Magic Arrow] from Altia. That would be problematic. They were used to the speed of the stone serpents that even with their boosted Agility would still be fast enough to catch their ankles.
"Altia, run ahead of me," Nero suggested without stopping. He slowed down and let the girl overtake him. He kept his sword ready to sweep. Altia went past the next mole and it jumped after her. Nero split the monster and got a splash of gore on him. Shaking his head, he sped up and caught with her. "We go side-by-side. Let's put your traveler cloak's boost to good use. Forget the moles, if they keep chasing us I'll fireball them."
They ran past the first zone, leaving a train of moles behind them. The monsters were too slow to keep up and soon lost interest as Nero moved out of their detection range into the tall grass.
Nero swapped Classes once he saw how easy this Dungeon would be. He sheathed his sword.
"What are you doing?" Altia asked once she noticed the maddening buzz of the demonic sword was gone.
"I don't want more blood on us. Keep moving even if a badger shows up. I want to test something."
They moved through the grass, going deeper where it was almost as tall as them, trying to not lose sight of the cave. The blades of grass were rough and sharp and if you didn't take care, they would cut your exposed skin at the speeds they were moving.
A growl was all the warning they had as a badger came between the grass blades attempting to bite off a piece of their shins. Nero saw the haze before the attack and stomped down on the badger's head. A loud crack and the motes of light told him all he needed. His current strength was enough for what he wanted. They didn't stop to pick up loot until they were near the hyena cave. The stench of carrion announced the presence of the scavenging predator.
Nero stopped. "Altia, wait. I want to get something before we go fight the boss."
"And what is it? I saw no herbs in this grassland.
"Badgers. I have the [Monster Tamer] Class on right now."
"You'll tame badgers now." She stated but it was more like a question.
"Yes. They'll help us in the next Dungeon."
Nero didn't take long to find one of the largest badgers around since they were next to the boss zone. One that wouldn't lock them down, it seemed. The badger came to bite Nero's leg and he dove and caught it by the scruff of its neck. Nero used the left hand to catch its neck from the front, the monster a frenzy of claws as it struggled for its life. Most of the blows scratched the nigh-indestructible Arbitrium though.
He turned the critter around just in time to avoid a spray of musky body fluids. Holding the badger's belly and neck, he pressed the monster against his chest and whispered soothing words on its ear. The critter weighed more than forty pounds.
It seemed that it did the trick. The badger's struggle ceased and it became docile. Nero walked away from the stinking patch of grass. He put the badger on the ground and it stayed there, waiting for orders.
"Aww. she's cute. Stinky but cute!" Altia cooed.
He was checking her... the badger's status in his Device. "She?" He snapped back. Why these girls insisted that all monsters were also girls? What was wrong with genderless? Or unknown?
She replied, amused with his ignorance. "Yes, it's a girl! didn't you see?"
"No. What did you see?"
Altia hissed and crossed her arms. "Nero! You held her there, showing her... her... nether regions to the world! That was indecent!"
Nero considered checking but he felt it would be more trouble than what was worth. It was a level six frenzy badger and the Attributes weren't much.
"Look, why don't you girls stay here, bonding. Think of a name for her. I'm going to find her a friend."
"You intend to sacrifice her to the spiders, don't you?" Altia's tone sounded hurt.
"It's a dungeon monster! They aren't real! Don't name her then!"
"Too late. She's Maria now." Altia blew a raspberry. "And I'll make sure she comes out alive from the spider's den."
"Awesome," Nero said with his back to them.
He went to find and tame another badger. He returned a couple minutes later with a level five male.
"Oh. That bad boy is Bruce," Altia said right out of the bat when Nero approached.
He froze. "How do you know?"
"He stinks twice as much as Maria and she was very interested in him when you approached," She purred, full of innuendo.
Nero groaned. "Let's kill the boss. Badger one, badger two, you protect Altia. Do not engage the boss."
"Maria and Bruce," Altia corrected.
"No. During missions, their callsigns are Badger one and badger two," Nero replied, adamant.
Altia shook her head. "Boss. Kill. Midnight."
Nero couldn't swap classes or he'd lose one of the tame badgers. He turned his sword on and rushed into the cave. The area outside was littered with bones and dried carcasses. The dire hyena was wasteful with its food, a sign it had plenty. From where nobody would dare to ask and scholars doubted the hyena would answer. That was the Dungeon scenario, and that was what they saw.
Inside the cave, a growl and a snarl warned the intruders of their impending doom. Nero stood next to the cave mouth and the hyena laughed, daring him to enter. He waited for everyone to be close by and crossed inside. No blocks of stone, no doors, and no bars fell to block them. While Nero mused on the changes, the hyena attacked.
"[Magic Arrow]!" Altia fired the spell before Nero could react to either, the arrow splitting in two and piercing the hyena's snout and mouth. The shafts stuck out and the monster bit the wood to break the half, coughing and gagging as blood dripped from the snout and lips. Nero shook from his reverie and stabbed the sword down the boss' head. It died.
"Damn," Nero gasped. "That was some shot! Awesome, Altia!"
She preened, elated by the compliment. "I killed the goat that dropped you from the river like that. It seems my Dexterity is already giving me improved critical hits."
"Yes, very good. What did it drop?"
Nero was surprised. The badgers ran past him and picked up the crystal and the cards, raising on the rear paws and offering them to Nero, their striped snouts wiggling.
"Good job!" Nero praised and picked up the cards and crystal. The [Egress] they needed to get out of there, and a green Skill.
> [Animal Magnetism] - green Skill.
>
> +4 Charisma
>
> "What do animals want most? Healthy partners!"
>
> Effect: Add two-thirds of the average of your Vigor and Endurance to Charisma when dealing with non-sentient creatures out of combat.
Nero equipped the Skill to his [Monster Tamer] Class immediately. They used [Egress] and went outside. Thirty-five minutes they spent on the fourth Dungeon, leaving them with a bit more than one hour to midnight, more than enough time to reach the Spider's Nest.
Or not, because Lamuril demanded that Nero cleaned up his new pets before letting them anywhere near the precious prototype carriage.