Drew managed to fend off her lengthy explanation on the basis of resting and dedicating the next day to it. By the time he awoke to the filtered sunlight, she was awake and waiting for him.

The explanation she gave was long, convoluted, and tedious only for it to boil down to intent. The artifacts react to a strong burst of emotion and desire to activate for the first time.

Once the pathways are unlocked, the regulated and measured use of their powers becomes available to the host.

That led to the other bombshell she dropped in the conversation. The artifacts are parasitic in nature and use the energy in the host as a source for their abilities.

That explained the weakened state they both experienced after their usage, leaving his sword as the only mystery left.

One had turned the projectile into a literal laser beam while the other enlarged parts of the body. The wacky nature of the other two artifacts increased the interest Drew had in awakening it.

What type of ability would it provide? Could he gain immense speed and talent in sword fighting? Could he send out a wave of sword energy to cleave his enemies? Could he make it into a lightsaber style weapon?

The possibilities were endless and the ability to enact them were unlikely.

Drew glanced back at the cyclops. His arms and legs were longer and more powerful since he woke up, rising all the way up to his knee.

While the conversation prattled on, Nurgle stretched his sore arm and devoured some of the leftover food.

With nothing to do while his companions spoke, he stumbled around looking for things to do before settling on throwing rocks at the creatures down below.

The mind-numbing diatribe ate at Drew’s concentration with each passing minute.

+ 40 xp for defeating Toadismile [Summon small monster] has inherited the xp in your place. 1450/9600 xp

He was shaken out of his numbness by the new message. What was going on?

He looked around for the cause of the message and saw Nurgle near the side of the landing. He had enlarged his arm slightly and was hurling boulders he could scavenge around the cliff at things down below.

How he managed to actually kill something from so far away was a wonder, but throwing rocks off of high places must run in cyclops if Drew’s memory of mythology was correct.

The thoughts shocked him into action.

“I think I get what you're saying. Let's go test out your abilities in action now that both of you can use the powers at will. Plus, I really need a new shield.” Drew stood up and had them prepare for a dungeon dive.

He repaired his harness to house Sapphire and packed extra food to support the usage of their abilities.

With all their preparations done, the trio headed inside the entrance.

The normal path they followed down to the first floor was interrupted halfway down by a split in the path.

They both had signs indicating which floor they led to.

“That simplifies things now, doesn’t it? Well, I still need a shield so do you guys want to see how fast we can blitz through the first floor?”

They walked down the stairs to the skeleton level and jogged down the path, shattering groups of skeletons with ease, only stopping to loot armor and the rare shield.

The run through the halls only lasted for 20 minutes when they reached the boss room.

A quick shuffle of the puzzle pieces finished it in seconds and allowed them entry to the final beast of the floor.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The large monster stood opposite of them waiting for noise to send it off.

The trio were confident in themselves now that they were all together and powerful enough to fight anything they could come across on the first floor.

The dull ax served its purpose well now that all Drew needed from it was blunt damage. The monster’s skull cracked incredibly quickly compared to most of the kills they had on it.

The fight went exceedingly well now that they could all wail on it without fear of permanent disfigurement.

The skeleton fell to an empowered blow by Nurgle, scattering the bleach white bones to the ground and ending the boss fight in minutes.

Congratulations on clearing the Dungeon Hidden Behind the Falls floor 1 You are the top clear time recorded. Congratulations! Maximum additional rewards provided.

For clearing an appropriately level dungeon and obtaining the fastest clear time, you will receive an experience bonus until your time is dethroned. Obtain the highest clear times for all floors of the dungeon to receive a permanent reward.

“Hell yeah! That's amazing. Well, we have a nice goal now.” Drew collected his small friends and began the descent to the next floor.

“That is fabulous. An experience bonus will allow us to gain immense benefits from even paltry sources of xp.” Sapphire sat up in her harness and looked over his shoulder.

“We are going to clear the entirety of the second floor for now. We can do a quicker run once we get it completely mapped out and understood.”

The next floor was much the same of methodical killing of small groups of the rotten shamblers until they came to the room with the statue

Drew inspected the sides and saw the button to the side of the door, ready to be pushed at any moment's notice.

“That shit better not just let us out if we push it.” He advanced to the statue until he heard the stone trap begin to activate.

Taking that as his cue to retreat. They made it through with plenty of time to spare and watched as the monsters peeked over the side of the walkway, reaching for any wayward travelers.

The large stone came crashing down to the floor, blocking off any of the rotters behind it.

A light clicking noise stole Drew’s attention as the side of the blockage showed another button, presumably to allow access back into the room.

“Lets come back in a bit once some of them are crushed against the wall by the others.” They explored more of the floor’s winding pathways, finding traps and the occasional useful item along the way.

While avoiding one of the more obvious trip wires, sapphire tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“Master, is that a doorway over there?” The plushy pointed to a wall that was devoid of any defining characteristics beyond a slightly different shade of rock.

It was hardly noticeable due to the presence of traps stealing all of your attention away and the dim light the moss provided.

He hopped the line and walked over to the side. It seemed to be less shiny than all of the other rocks near it due to the absence of moisture on its surface.

A closer look showed off what appeared to be a button ready to be pushed. Drew reached his hand forward and felt for the hard stone texture, only for it to pass through. The familiar sensation called him deeper into the secret room.

As they walked in, bright lights hit their eyes, blinding them. The overhead lights that were commonplace in the city appeared above him, lighting up the entire space.

His eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the abrupt change when they finally acclimated well enough to take in the sights.

The large room that laid before them held one central figure. A massive silver statue that glimmered under the lights.

It depicted the same women he saw the day he was brought to this planet with one key difference. Half of her body was that of a rotten banshee with long flowing hair, exposed teeth, and sunken in cheeks.

At the base of the statue sat the body of a skeleton with a large pack and several weapons scattered about.

The trio inched forward, careful of any possible traps that could lay before them. Drew glanced around the room for any more clues as to why it was so different than everything they had seen before.

The way the body laid across the floor looked to be reminiscent of something kneeling down and praying.

Once they were within a few feet of the downed skeleton, he felt confident it was not a threat. The meat had long since rotted away leaving only the non-organic bits and the toughest materials of the body.

The pale floor was stained a dark brown color where the viscera had melted off the bone and sat for an untold time. It wasn't a skeletal enemy; it was more likely that it was a victim.

“Master, if this person was an adventurer like us, I doubt he would care if we took anything useful from the remains.” Sapphire glanced from behind his back at the odd scene.

“Yeah, I’m not gonna say no to something that will help me stay alive anymore. That boat sailed a while ago.” They approached the bones and pulled it back by the pack it carried.

The bones fell apart scattering the remains around the floor, causing the bone rattling sound of the skeletons of the first floor.

“.....sorry about that.”