The next morning, I returned to the inn where they were staying a few minutes after sunrise, when they had told me to meet them. The lobby on the bottom floor was empty aside from a young man behind the receptionist desk.

  “Hello, welcome to-o-o-” A yawn truncated the rest of his sentence. “Whoo sorry about that. Welcome to the Jackalope Inn. Would you like a room?”

  “No thanks, I’m just here to meet some friends. They should be down soon.”

  “No problem. In that case you can wait in one of the chairs here–” he gestured to the large, cushioned chairs nearby, “–or if you want to grab a quick bite, you can head in there.” He pointed to a double-wide doorway to my right. “Actually, if you’re meeting people, they might already be in there. You might want to check.”

  “Alright, I’ll do that. Thank you,” I said.

  I walked in through the double doors and looked around the mess hall, which was not as empty as I expected it to be. There were two dozen people inside, but despite how populated the place was, it was very quiet, and everyone was focused on their food. It took me about half a second to spot my three companions. They were sitting at a table near the center of the room, scarfing down their food, while their weapons and bags sat on the benches next to me.

  Christine was the first one to notice me approaching. She had just taken a large bite of what looked like eggs and sausage, and when she saw me, her eyes widened, and she immediately tried to force herself to swallow, causing her to start choking. She pounded her chest a few times as she tried to force the food down while Al and Pierre looked on with a mix of amusement and concern. A second later, they followed her eyes, and they noticed me too, in a much less asphyxiating manner.

  “Lucy!” said Al loudly, causing some of the other diners to look up in surprise.

  “Hey Lucy,” said Pierre at a normal volume.

  Christine paused her chest pounding to wave.

  “Hey guys,” I replied.

  “Sorry, we’re almost done eating,” said Al before taking another bite.

  “No worries. I don’t care,” I said as I sat down next to Christine.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “G’morning Lucy,” said Christine once she had recovered.

  “Morning Chris,” I said.

  “Did you want to grab something too? It’ll be the last hot meal for a little while.”

  “It’s fine, I already ate.”

  She shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just give us a couple minutes, we’ll be done soon.”

  Al burped loudly as he pushed his empty plate away. “You’ll be done soon,” he corrected smugly.

  A second later, Pierre’s empty plate slid forwards as well.

  “Alright fine,” said Christine with exasperation. “Just give me a couple minutes while I finish eating. Why don’t you two fill Lucy in on our Dungeon strategies really quick?”

  “Good idea,” said Pierre nodding at her. He turned to me. “It’s all pretty simple. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, we’ll all do just fine.

  “There are two main strategies we use. First, is for when we encounter a group of weaker monsters. When we find one of those, I try to pick off as many as they can with my bow before they get too close. Then, Al handles all the ones that charge our front, while Christine and I pick off the ones on the sides to keep him from getting overwhelmed. If there are too many, Christine and I can also both hold our own in melee combat to back Al up while we retreat.

  “The second strategy is for if there’s one big monster. Al will draw its attention, and keep it within his melee range while I shoot arrows and Christine tries to find its weak spot. Sometimes, if Al is taking too much damage, we’ll retreat. I have a couple smoke bombs and things like that to help make quick escapes.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. “I assume I’ll be joining you in attacking from range for the big ones, but where do I fit in against groups?”

  “I think that in battles against groups of monsters, we’ll have you focus on mostly support spells, like that [Dome of Darkness] one you showed us, and the one that freezes the floor. And then also the one where you put the orb of water around your target’s head. That was called [Drown], right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, so you can use that one, since there’s no danger of you hitting an ally. We’ll be fighting in pretty narrow passageways most of the time down there.”

  “Alright, I can do that,” I said.

  “Great!” he said. “Also, when we’re in combat, I’m in charge. Not because I like telling people what to do, but because I’m the ranged guy, so I usually have the best view of the battlefield. You’re ranged too, but the three of us have been working like this for a while, so it would be best to keep the status quo, y’know?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine with me.”

  “Perfect,” he said.

  “Hey Lucy, check this out!” said Al, grabbing his new ax from the bench beside him.

  “Yeah, I was there when you got it,” I said.

  “I know… but look! It’s awesome!” he exclaimed. “And watch this!”

  He gingerly pulled the leather cover off, unveiling the gleaming steel beneath. Though I didn’t know much about weapons, I could tell that this was an excellent one. The whole thing seemed to be made out of one solid piece of metal, with no demarcation between blade and shaft. The shaft was carved with intricate patterns that swirled up and down in a mesmerizing fashion, but the head was smooth and uninterrupted.

  He brought the blade down to the table gently, but instead of stopping when it reached the wood, it kept sinking in, as if there was nothing in the way. My eyes widened slightly.

  “Al,” said Pierre in a warning tone.

  Al quickly lifted it back up and out of the table. “It’s so sharp!” he said.

  “Yes, I can see that,” I said.

  Just then, Christine’s plate finally joined the other two in the center of the table.

  “You’d better keep that thing wrapped up while we’re walking around,” she said.

  Pierre chuckled.

  “Shut up, Pierre.”

  “Well, now that Chris is finally done,” said Pierre, still smiling, “you guys ready to head out.”

  There was a short chorus of affirmation.

  “Good, now let’s get going.”

  An hour later, we arrived at the outside of the Dungeon. It looked very similar to when I had emerged from the Dungeon four months prior, with dozens of adventurers crowded around, doing one last check of their gear before heading down. We did the same. Christine pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket that contained a checklist of all our needs, and we went down, double checking that we had each item, and enough of it to last the week we planned on being there.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  Once we verified that everything was present, they handed me everything except their weapons to put into [Greater Inventory], and then we went up to the entrance. I was slightly surprised at their lack of hesitation when entrusting me with their belongings. As far as I knew, there was no way for them to get things out of my [Greater Inventory]. They would have to trust that I wouldn’t run off with everything as soon as they turned their backs.

  Then again, their new weapons were probably worth more than the rest of their belongings put together. Even if I hadn’t earned their trust yet, Sylvia had bought it.

  The guards at the gate checked our Adventurer badges before nodding and letting us in. As soon as we stepped inside, Christine turned to me with a wide grin on her face

  “Here, accept this,” she said.

  As she said that, a blue window appeared in front of me.

You have entered the Halls of Abomination

Adventurer Christine has invited you to join [Party] ‘The Ravellian Lions’

[Accept]

[Decline]

  “The Ravellian Lions?” I read aloud.

  “Yeah!” she said excitedly. “It’s becau-”

  “It’s because we’re sponsored by the Lyon family now!” said Al loudly, cutting her off.

  “Hey!” said Christine.

  She balled her fist to punch him, but seeing his armor, changed her mind, and instead shoved him. This didn’t go well either, though, and she ended up forcing herself a few steps back while Al didn’t move an inch.

  “I was about to say that!” she said as she regained her balance.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said sheepishly.

  “But yeah, as I was about to say, it’s because Lady Sylvia is sponsoring us! We’re not officially Ravellian Lions, but it’s practically the same thing.”

  “Is that what adventurers hired by the Lyons are called?” I casually asked as I accepted the invitation.

  The three adventurers stared at me blankly for a few seconds.

  “You don’t know who the Ravellian Lions are?” asked Al incredulously.

  “You’re an Adventurer being actively recruited by the Lyon family, and you don’t know who the Ravellian Lions are?” asked Pierre, even more incredulously.

  “Have you been living in a cave?” asked Christine.

  “A forest, but yeah I don’t know much about this country or who’s important or things like that.”

  “But they’re the Ravellian Lions! Everyone knows who they are!” said Pierre.

  “Not me,” I said. “Are they an elite group of Adventurers who work for the Lyons or something?”

  “They’re not just a group of elite Adventurers,” said Christine. “They’re the group of elite adventurers. They’re literally the best of the best.”

  “Every adventurer dreams of being a Ravellian Lion someday,” said Al.

  “Does that include you guys?” I asked.

  “Of course!” said Pierre. “That’s why we’re going to Claude once we’re done here. We’re already one of the strongest groups here, and we’re not even 24 yet. If we can keep growing like this once we get to Claude, we’ll be able to get in, no problem.”

  “Wait, Al’s younger than 24!”

  “You thought I was older?” he asked, looking hurt.

  “See, I told you you shouldn’t have grown out your beard,” said Christine smugly.

  “It looks awesome, though!” he said.

  “And it also makes you, the youngest one here, look like you’re the oldest,” said Pierre.

  Al looked at him with a betrayed look. “You said you liked it!”

  “I do,” said Pierre with a mischievous grin. “It makes me look younger than you.”

  “B-but- but I-” Al stuttered.

  “I think it looks cool, Al,” I said sincerely. It was definitely a cool beard, regardless of how old it made him look.

  “Ah, you idiot,” Christine said to me. “Now he’s never gonna shave it.” She pointed at his beaming face. “Do you know how much trouble that thing’s caused us?”

  “How does a beard cause trouble?” I asked.

  “A better question would be how doesn’t it cause trouble. He spends forever taking care of it. The reason we were late this morning is because he was washing it. And it gets in the way of everything he tries to do.”

  “It got tangled in one of the second floor’s amalgams once,” said Pierre. “It took us an hour to get him unstuck because he refused to let us cut it.”

  “It took four years to get it this long!” said Al.

  “He once dodged a fire attack instead of blocking it because he didn’t want his beard to be singed,” said Christine. “We had to end the dive early because Pierre got burnt.”

  “I have a [Fireproof] hair skill now!” protested Al.

  “And you never use it!" shouted Pierre "You still dodge fire attacks!”

  “It’s too low level!” said Al.

  “Because you refuse to level it!”

  Suddenly, the door to the Dungeon opened again, and another group of adventurers walked in. Realizing that we were still standing in the hallway, we stepped aside to let them pass. They watched us, giving us confused looks as they went down the hallway a little bit before turning down one of the many side routes. Pierre opened his mouth to say something again, but the doors opened again, and another group walked in. We stood in silence for another thirty seconds while they also chose a side route to take. Pierre watched the door warily for a few seconds before speaking again.

  “Anyway, we should probably get going,” said Pierre. “And don’t worry about Al’s reliability. We like to make fun of him for his beard complex, but Al is actually the best brawler around.”

  “Yeah, he’s really good,” said Christine. “As long as we’re not fighting a monster with powerful fire skills, you’ll be safe if you’re behind him.”

  “Good to know,” I said, smiling. “So, how does this work? I’ve never been to the fifth floor before. I’m in your party now, so I guess I get to join you, but how do we get there?”

  “Oh it’s simple,” said Christine. “We just walk to the end of the hallway and then I interact with the System a bit and a staircase will appear. C’mon, follow me.”

  We walked down to the end of the illuminated hallway, and once we got there, as promised, the wall opened up to reveal a spiral staircase leading down into the darkness. Even with [Dark Vision], I could barely see the bottom. We went down the staircase, and found ourselves at a pair of doors similar to the ones at the entrance to the Dungeon.

  “Alright, from here on out, stay alert,” said Pierre.

  “Heard,” said Christine and Alphonse simultaneously.

  “Heard,” I echoed.

  Pierre nodded and then gestured to the doors. “Now, Al, if you’ll do the honors.”

  Al put both arms on the doors and pushed, and the four of us entered. While the halls in the first floor had been normal sized, the ones down on the fifth floor looked like they were made for giants. They were wide enough that all four of us could comfortably stand side by side as we walked if we wanted to, and the ceilings were at least twenty feel high.

  We advanced in a pseudo-formation, with Al at the front, Christine a step behind him on his left, and Pierre and I a few steps behind both of them. We quickly came to our first set of crossroads, and Christine fulfilled her role and scouted ahead in each. Our goal was to eventually find the boss room, but there was no easy way to get there. After a lot of unofficial research, it was generally acknowledged that the boss room was generally down the path of most resistance, but even doing it that way, it could take upwards of two weeks to find it.

  Christine returned from the first branch after just fifteen minutes. “Pair of globsters a quarter mile in,” she said. Then she went down the other passage without waiting for a response.

  I had read the list of monsters that spawned in this Dungeon a couple times, but it took me a second to recognize the slang she was using. She was referring to what the book called ‘Nephrocabras’ which were strange amalgams that looked like a cross between a goat and a lobster. Hence, the ‘Globster’.

  Fifteen minutes later she came back from that one as well. “A dozen will-o-woofs.”

  Probably the flaming dogs, I thought.

  “I vote Globsters,” said Al immediately.

  Pierre sighed. “As much as I hate to say it, yeah we should go with the Globsters. They’re stronger.”

  “Globsters it is,” said Christine. “There are two turns in the hallway, and then we’ll come to a room where they’re sleeping right now. They’re on the opposite side from the entrance, so we should have time to do some good damage to them before they get to Al.”

  “Good,” said Pierre. He turned to me. “Lucy, you and I are going to pick one, and we are going to focus all of our fire on it. I recommend [Stone Bullet] for this one. Globsters have tough shells. We probably won’t be able to kill it, but we’ll at least be able to injure it and slow it down so Al will only have to deal with the one.”

  “Heard,” I said nodding.

  Pierre looked at the other two. “And you guys know what to do. Alright, let’s get going.”

  “Heard,” we said.

  We continued down the passageway, and just as Christine had said, after two turns, we found ourselves at a much larger room, with the two beasts in question sleeping on the opposite side. They were larger than I had pictured them. Even lying down, they looked like they were as tall as me, and they were as long as pickup trucks. Their shells looked just like lobster shells, and they had the claws too, but their legs were clearly mammalian. Their heads looked somewhat like goats, but not any kind of goat I had ever seen. Their horns were twice as tall as the rest of their heads, and I could see sharp fangs poking out from their mouths.

  We stood just outside the room with Pierre and I on either side of the hallway, Al in the center, and Christine just behind him. I looked over at Al, as Pierre drew back his bow and then also looked towards Al. Al held up 3 fingers, then curled one, then another, and as soon as the last one went down, he stepped forwards, drawing his ax, and Pierre and I began to fire.