Lin hovered near the bottom of the stairs. She looked between the stairs where skeletons, walking bone monsters, and towards the hallway in front of her where a large shadow hovered at the first set of hall torches.
It just stood there and waited. Lin watched it idly scratch its rear with its large claws. It wore nothing but a loincloth and a headdress but the flickering lights of the torches illuminated its scales and lizard features. It was some sort of odd dragon man or walking gator with a human jaw.
Lin stared because she didn’t dare move. She ran down to this floor screaming and the monster had been waiting for her, it clawed at her but seemed unable to go past the set of torches on the wall closest to the stairs.
Lin had also noticed the Skeletons hadn’t come down the stairs either. After a few minutes, her mind began to crank the gears of her mind that had been glued together with fear and confusion.
Lin had cast magic, fact. She was something called a chaos mage, fact. Her magic had turned to chaos and transported her to a dungeon, fact, if the monsters and lack of sunlight were to be considered.
That odd orange message box…
Lin let out a shuddering breath as the creature scraped its claw against the stone tunnel. Over and over, the scratching dug deep into Lin’s ears like an itch she couldn’t reach.
“S-stop it!” she said and the creature began to do it faster and faster. Lin grit her teeth and tried to cover her ears so she could think but the sound itched at her teeth and skin.
“Stop it!” she snapped out and with an accusing finger point, a bout of flame shot out the end of her finger, not even reaching the creature before dying out.
The creature hissed viciously and moved quickly back down the tunnel, the hissing fading after a few seconds. Lin stared at her finger in awe, her fear momentary gone.
That was the fireball spell… sort of! Lin looked at her menu to see her Mp had gone done by 2. She only had 8 left in total.
Lin swallowed a gulp back as she came to the conclusion that she only had 5 max fireballs to use.
If… and this was a strong 'if', her magic behaved.
Looking around her menu, she failed to see any MP recovery tab or bar. There was no way for her to know how long it would take for her magic to return. She paused as she sat down on the last step.
What if this magic system only gave so magic a day? Waste all in one attempt and that was you done for the day? Lin almost prayed for it not to be but barely remembered there were actual deities in this world supposedly.
No need to call out blindly, cursing God for banging your toe off the coffee table probably did not endear you to them.
Having a moment to herself, Lin decided that there was only one option available to her. She would have to escape this dungeon and return back to the city of Calamer.
Or she could live here on these stairs forever until someone came to rescue her, licking wall moss to survive the coming winters and try to ignore the shambling horrors.
Lin was truly blessed with options.
Standing she turned to look up the stairs. The distance flickering torches of the previous floor awaited her at the end of the curving steps, only visible as a light on the walls.
Lin lightly slapped her face with both hands and jogged in place to psyche herself up.
“Come on, you can do this, just pretend you’re doing a sneaking mission or just pretend you're in control,” she instructed herself and then began to climb the steps.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
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She hit her first snag as she turned the first corner.
A single skeleton stared into empty space, a rusting axe in one boney grip. Lin mentally cursed and pondered what she was exactly in control of. Something floated in her head, a long distance memory.
Something about the undead and… fire? They didn’t like each other or something like that? Lin flexed her fingers at this thought, she could do fire.
The memory niggled at her attention but Lin crept closer to the motionless skeleton until she was almost within touching distance. She rather be further back but just in case her fireball would short out again, she decided it would be best not to miss and waste MP.
She was happy to see it had gone up by 1 in her pondering and sneaking time.
Lin let the rivers of her magic flow down her palm and her hand glowed ominously. Lin grinned and shot her hand forward, aiming for the skull of the skeleton.
Then an orange window appeared in her vision.
[Chaos! Birthday Celebrations!]
The fireball popped like a balloon and confetti covered the skeleton who turned to stare at Lin then at the falling pieces of colourful paper. A single birthday hat rolled and stopped against the skeleton’s foot.
There was an awkward pause between Lin and her soon-to-be murderer. Lin inhaled once and then turned, running back for the stairs.
She wanted to scream at the unfairness and stupid chaos but she settled for puffing down the stairs, hoping the stairs held some mystical monster repellant as before.
Lin now had to adjust her plan somewhat. Moss for dinner then escape…
---
The skeleton stared at the pieces of paper, it felt nothing.
It stared at the fleeing meatbag. It felt purpose.
It stared at the odd colourful hat. It felt… confused.
It put the hand on and felt happy.
The skeleton didn’t react as a window appeared with a message.
Happy Birthday! You are now [00.00.00.12] old! As being undead, you don’t really age but it's the thought that counts. Now go get your presents!
The skeleton had never seen a window before. It didn’t really see, as it had no eyeballs but it felt it had never sensed a window before. It was its birthday.
This was pleasing.
How long did birthdays last? Was it’s birthday going to be over soon? That was was worrisome.
It should get its presents. Whatever they were. The meatbag from before may have them but the person had gone down the stairs…
It knew that it was not allowed to leave the second floor. It was created here and here it was meant to truly die.
Again and again.
Plundered by adventures to gain the treasures of the dungeon as the dungeon fed off the adventures life energy. This was listed in the basic monster handbook created by the dungeon core as it could not be bothered talking to all its creations.
But it was its birthday.
The skeleton adjusted the cherry red birthday hat and walked slowly towards the stairs. Now that it was thinking (it didn’t know why it hadn't tried this before) it had to wonder why the handbook didn’t list what would happen on creature's birthdays.
Perhaps a re-read was in order, surely the loving father, Dungeon core and heart, would not forget his second level creations as it went on to form its fifth floor, right?
The father would not forget it as he learned to create more interesting creatures… right?
Perhaps, after it got its presents, it would visit father and ask. Clearly, an update to the handbook was needed. Father would most likely listen to it.
It was its birthday after all!
[Quest Gained!]
It felt… excited.
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Lin paced slightly and decided she really was beginning to get hungry. The skeletons wouldn’t really help in the food department. But as she stared down the tunnel that lizard thing vanished into, she saw lush green dotting the end.
Green mean life, life meant nature, nature meant food.
The only thing holding Lin back was the lizard. It hasn't reappeared but she had heard movement in the distance.
She wanted to go, head strong into the hall and get it over with but she felt unsure as she stared at her hand.
Lin didn’t feel safe with her magic. It had failed her when she needed it. What if next time it wasn’t a slow skeleton but a fast monster who she threw paper at?
It would be bad. She liked having her insides on the inside.
So maybe she could just slowly scout ahead, one step at a time? Then Lin could snatch what food there was and scurry back to the stairs.
After all, giant lizard have to eat poor animals, those poor animals would have to eat something leafy. Ecosystems needed a basic system or it collapses in no time at all.
Feeling the cool logic of science and facts helped Lin steel her nerves and she took a brave step forward into the hall.
Her eyes darting for any movement, her nose twitching as she tried to smell for food like a dog.
Lin was ready to fight for her share and no lizard or skeleton could stop her.
She hoped.
She… really hoped.