The moment Levi stepped inside, he knew the treasure was indeed gone. There was a sense of emptiness about it, his Secret Seeker title alerting him that there was nothing to be found.
“Well, while we’re here, we may as well clear it.” It was level 2, but with the addition of Cen and Centoo, Gordon, and Flomper, Levi felt fully confident in their chances. Two or three people against a level 2 would be unwise. But five, all equal to or greater than the dungeon in level? Shouldn’t be a problem.
“You sure we'll be able to handle it?”
“Yeah. I wouldn't try to solo it, but with the whole team? We'll be fine.”
They set off into the first room, one occupied by the usual crop of door guard gremlins waiting to ambush them. Four this time, but between Levi, Gordon, and the two centipedes, they were able to wipe them out without more than a slight pause. If they were a little faster or a little tougher than their level 1 counterparts, it wasn't enough to save them.
Once the room was clear, Levi took out his life-sight lens and scanned the next area. What he saw was not encouraging.
Rust scarabs, as he’d expected. Some of his least favorite things about Destruction dungeons. They could descend on an unsuspecting flank and pick off a half dozen delvers before being stopped. At least there were only eight of them in the hall, unlike the swarms of hundreds he was used to, but eight was still enough to get in a few deadly bites before they could deal with them all.
He was still getting used to everything being so much weaker—himself and everything he faced. Too many of the abilities he knew by heart relied on specific equipment combinations he no longer had access to. If he'd had spare ability points, he’d have liked to take Gust for its area burst damage. If only it weren’t cross-class.
“Hey, Gordon, how close are you to leveling again?”
“Not very. I just hit level 3.”
Right. After resetting his levels, Gordon wouldn't be hitting his threshold anytime soon.
“I don’t suppose either of you have a ranged or area attack?” Levi asked the centipedes. “What’s your mana used for, anyway?”
Cen tapped his chest plates with his front eight or so legs.
“Enhancement of your armor? Better than nothing, but not of much use against the scarabs.”
“So they’re definitely there?”
“Yeah. If none of us has an area attack, I think I’ll have to take them on directly.” He gave his shortsword a quick swing and stretched his shoulders, mentally preparing himself for a flurry of motion as he waited for his stamina to fully recharge.
After days of solid fighting, his body was gradually beginning to move in the ways he wanted it to. There was a steady background ache as muscles he’d never exercised in his previous life as a noncombatant were strained to their limits again and again, but his regens and stamina helped smooth over the transition to protect him from the worst of it.
Without the system energy aiding his transformation, it would have been impossible to gain this kind of strength, flexibility, and definition in less than weeks or months, but the leveling and almost nonstop fighting were reshaping him far faster.
He still couldn’t move quite as fast or smoothly as he wanted, and unless he remained careful of his stamina and mana he was apt to run out, but those limitations were becoming more natural. It still felt wrong to fight without a light constant draw on his system resources, but until he had another few thresholds and significantly increased regen, his old fighting style would be more of a drawback than an asset.
He could adapt. Even if it was taking him a few days to find his new groove, he would survive.
And right now, that meant he’d have to move fast and very accurately.
“Once they come out of the walls—”
He caught a quick movement out of the corner of his eye and stared. One of the scarabs had disappeared. He squinted, then got out the lens again to verify. And he had to laugh out loud.
The scarabs crouched on the stone walls, prepared to jump down on anyone who passed beneath them. And Flomper was diligently burrowing up behind them, snatching them into the wall, and leaving them trapped inside the stone. Even as he watched, the life faded from the first scarab, and it vanished from his viewing glass’s sight.
“She can do that?”
“Her magical ability,” Gordon said smugly. “She can’t do it indefinitely or to something bigger than she is, but against these little vermin? No problem at all.”
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Soon, all eight scarabs were entombed in the walls, leaving the path completely clear. Flomper burrowed wearily up to Gordon and slumped against his leg. He picked her up, cooing as he stroked her short fur. “You did such a good job, good girl, yes you did.”
Levi laughed, his gathered tension over the scarabs dissipating. “I didn’t realize what a little secret weapon we had there.”
Flomper looked him over, then turned away.
“Not sure you’re forgiven just yet.” Gordon chortled and set Flomper on his shoulder. The oversized prairie dog looked simultaneously cute, scary, and smug. “But I’m sure you’ll get there with enough groveling. Flomper isn’t one to hold grudges.”
The way she watched him, Levi wasn’t so sure about that.
Flomper’s stealth run on the first set of scarabs was far from the only encounter they’d have with the creatures, and her mana regen wasn’t sufficient for her to handle them all the same way.
Levi’s sword got quite a workout, and he still instinctively jumped into instant readiness whenever he heard the buzz of wings, but the dungeon was on-level and suited to a group of their size.
The boss would still be a challenge, but for the moment, traversing it was... fun. Challenging, yes, but not desperate. He had to pay attention and stretch his currently meager abilities to their limits, but he was able to rely on his team to have his back. He even had time to give Gordon a few more tips on using his sword effectively.
It felt more like what he was used to—a group against the dungeon, instead of recklessly hurling himself against it alone—only better. In this timeline they were surviving and winning, preparing in advance rather than scrambling to catch up. They could take their time, resting between encounters to recover. The frantic urgent pace of his first days no longer felt essential.
They cleared the first three rooms with only minor injuries.
Skarm got a little caught up in a battle against a smaller scarab swarm, but Centoo coiled around him protectively as soon as his health started dropping from their paralyzing corrosive bites. Levi was able to jump in and finish off the swarm while they were distracted trying to get through Centoo's many-legged defense.
The next room was a trap room, an active-moving-spikes type that required timing and precision to get through.
“Three distinct sections, each with a gap before, so it should be pretty easy once we find the pattern.”
Gordon stared at the rhythmic slamming of stone against stone. “Nope. I think I'll wait here.”
“There's a chance more monsters will appear out here, and if they do you'll be left to face them alone.”
“Yeah, I'd rather that than run into a spike chomper.”
Levi considered for a moment whether he should press Gordon to continue, but between Skarm and his centipedes, he was in a pretty solid place as far as fighters went. Gordon was unskilled and probably more of a liability in a boss fight than anything else at present, as Levi would have to worry about keeping him safe. Flomper had great utility in a few specific situations, but she was something of a glass cannon. And aside from those exact right circumstances, just glass. 28 health was barely over half of Skarm’s pool, and gremlins were hardly the gold standard for sturdiness.
But even so, Gordon and Flomper could handle a few stray gremlins or scarabs without him, and Levi and his minions could tackle the boss on their own.
“You sure you want to miss out on the experience? Bosses are the best source of quick levels you're going to find anywhere.”
“Yeah, I'll pass. Thanks. Good luck. Have fun.” Gordon backed into the previous room.
Levi shrugged and turned back to the first trap. “Cen, Centoo, do you think you can get to the end without getting caught?”
Cen sized up the corridor, skittered back and forth a moment, then surged forward. He ran up one wall as the spikes started to move, crossed the space with inches to spare, dove down beneath the second set as they descended, and wove between the alternating set of the third area with only a single nick to his tail. His health dropped by 2, but he stood proudly at the other side, clicking his front eight legs against his chest in triumph.
Centoo, not to be outdone, immediately set off after him. Skarm squealed and ducked, clinging tight to Centoo's back with his arms and legs as the giant centipede followed his brother's path, weaving through the final gauntlet effortlessly and avoiding even a single scratch.
Skarm laughed in glee, and Cen regarded them without expression. Or perhaps he did have some expression, but Levi didn't know how to interpret emotions a centipede's mandibled face might be conveying.
“Well, nicely done. Guess it's my turn.”
The first block was the largest and moved the slowest, with about three seconds between the spiked section sliding right or left, and about ten strides to traverse in that time. Levi waited until it cleared one direction, then took off in a stamina-assisted sprint. He cleared it with a full second to spare.
The second trap moved vertically, a grid of spikes ready to slice him to ribbons. It descended fast, then drew slowly upward before abruptly slamming down again. It took about two seconds to ascend between strikes.
Levi timed it four times to be sure he had the rhythm down exactly, then jumped atop it as the grid of spikes began its ascent, ducked and ran along it until it neared the ceiling, and dove off the far side. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up just before the final trap.
This one had upward-facing floor spikes in grid patterns. Half would stab up, then slowly withdraw. Once they were back down, the other half would spike up. It was the slowest of the traps—taking four seconds between attack resets—but also the longest. The ceiling was lower, and the spikes reached all the way into it, forming a deadly maze. If you didn't keep careful track of where you could safely step between sets, it would be easy to end up speared.
Levi timed the attacks, memorized the pattern, then dashed forward in a blur of motion. He wove his way through the spears, stopping just before each next batch sliced upward, then darting through the new openings. Due to the uneven nature of the distribution pattern, it took him half a minute to get through. He couldn't weave between them quite as effectively as the centipede had.
He arrived at the far side safely, and could see why Gordon was hesitant to attempt it. He tried not to begrudge the man his respite. Gordon had been through a lot in the past day and a half, almost nonstop.
Not everyone could keep up with his desperate pace, but he wished the man would at least try. Giving up at the first sign of opposition, hesitation, finding excuses for inaction, these were qualities that led to defeat.
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