Serist De and their three Instructors stood before the gate leading into Kobal, the smallest of the five dungeons below the Tower of Metris. The gates were manned by twenty Tower Guards who stood easy, not showing any interest in the students. Each guard was outfitted with heavily enchanted armor and their weapons were easily in reach. Their laxed attitudes changed as the gate to the dungeon opened. Dante easily felt the pressure of the Gaurds flare as they watched the mirror like metal gate move soundlessly on its hinges which was unnerving if you saw how much weight those hinges where supporting. When the gate stopped, the head guard gave a nod to Senior Instructor Williams and he led them into the tunnels below.
After the first few steps, a rush of air blew past the group. The students looked back to see the gate had already closed. The tunnel was surprisingly bright. Essence lamps dotted the sides of the smooth rock tunnels, only allowing small patches of shadows to hang near corners of the ceiling where the rocks weren’t completely even. The tunnel stretched straight and slightly downwards and the first turn was several hundred feet ahead.
Senior Instructor Williams voice broke the silence easily, his voice echoing off the rock walls. “You are now on your own. You need to acquire one hundred Essence each in order to pass the Trial.”
“Sir.” Kelsi interrupted. “How do we know how much Essence we obtain from the essence crystals?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal object that looked similar to a pocket watch. “This,” Williams stated. “measures Essence from essence crystals. You just hand the crystals to me and I record the results and tell you your total for each individual.”
“If it’s alright with you,” Dante said. “I would prefer we just add it as a group.” His team smiled in agreement. “We don’t plan on passing unless it’s together.”
Williams nodded. “Very well. Your groups goal is five hundred Essence. Remember, if you ask us for assistance, you fail. Simply state when you wish to rest or eat and we will pull out your equipment. If we feel the need to intervene on your behalf, you will fail. Make sure to take things slow and steady. No need to rush.”
The group nodded and turned to Kelsi. She was their leader and she would lay out their plan first before anyone added suggestions.
“Ferris, Dante. You both are up front in the wide sections. Jasmi and Gretta are in the back. I will hold the middle. At least five feet of distance. Does everyone remember the hand signals?” The group nodded. “Okay, let’s kick this dungeons ass.”
They formed up in an X pattern and walked the length of the tunnel. They paid close attention to the shadows they passed but it was clear this first tunnel didn’t hold any monsters. The tunnel was straight and true. No side tunnels were evident and at the first turn, they discovered their very first monster.
Ferris and Dante both peaked around the corner and held up raised fists, ordering a halt to the group. Before the both of them, was another tunnel but there were several side tunnels as well. At the first intersection, three large breaker beetles were milling about. They came up to knee height and must have weighed at least seventy to eighty pounds. Their eight legs were thick, allowing them to preform their signature jump and dive technique but luckily, the tunnels were only fifteen feet high which would hinder the beetles jump somewhat. Their shells were dark brown almost black in some places and their pincers were almost a foot long and had jagged edges to tear away at flesh. Dante and Ferris slowly backed up to the rest of the group.
“Three breaker beetles that we can see.” Ferris stated. “There are in the middle of intersecting tunnels so there could be more.”
“How far?” Kelsi asked.
“About thirty feet.” Dante replied.
“Okay,” Kelsi said after some thought. “Gretta is going to cast her Dancing Blades and then run back around the corner falling back into formation. Ferris and Dante will stay here. We three will stand behind them. Cast your first spells and then adapt as the battle develops. If we pick up more than one group, then save your spells for when they are most effective.”
With nods, they situated themselves into position. Gretta moved around the corner as quietly as she could. Once she saw the giant beetles, she felt a cold sweat break out. She had always hated creepy crawly things and these were even worse given their size. She stamped down on that fear. The team was counting on her and she knew she couldn’t hesitate here. She steadied herself and felt her magic hum around her violin and tore her bow across the strings. The Dancing Blades flew through the air, striking two of the beetles. When she saw her spell had actually slashed through the hard-outer shell, she jumped up and almost shouted but remembered herself in time. Unfortunately, that little moment had allowed the beetles to recover and they were moving her way quickly. With a small yelp, she turned and ran around the corner and was thrown to the ground as a beetle smashed into the ground behind her. Dante quickly helped her to her feet and pulled her behind Ferris.
“Only a few scratches.” Kelsi told her. “Nothing broken.” She gave Gretta a smile, breaking the tension that was building up in the red head. She had almost made a huge mistake and nearly paid for it. She gave Kelsi a quick nod and moved into position.
Ferris collided with the first two beetles. His claymore sweeping from the side and hitting both at once. Dante hurried toward for the beetle that had smashed into the ground. It was slowly recovering but he had time. He dismissed his swords and a large two-handed mace formed in his hands. He jumped forward pulling the mace over his head and smashing it over the beetle with his weight behind swing. The beetle already had a deep gash on the side of its shell. Dante’s hit might not have killed it out right before, but with the weakened armor, the shell gave way, the mace crushing though and splattering Dante with a pungent green liquid. He had to hold back a gag when the smell hit him but he let the mace go, disappearing into nothing, and turned back to the two other beetles that Ferris was still dealing with.
After a few more minutes, the beetles lay dead and Ferris and Jasmi took overwatch of the tunnel while Dante retrieved the essence crystals from the beetles.
“Why am I the one harvesting the crystals?” Dante asked in an annoyed whisper.
Kelsi looked up at him and smiled. “You are already covered in beetle guts.”
Dante looked over to a smirking Ferris. He had been as close as Dante to the beetles but his Wind Armor had kept the flying guts off of him. He looked at the silver mist surrounding him that was his Essence Armor. “Why didn’t you stop the beetle guts from splashing onto me.” He mumbled quietly. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he felt amusement coming from his Essence Armor.
Once he retrieved the crystal, he washed them of from his canteen and handed them to Senior Instructor Williams who pulled out the device to measure Essence.
“Hmm.” Williams said. “Six Essence altogether.”
Dante groaned. “Six Essence for all that?”
Williams laughed. “Sucks doesn’t it?”
Dante moved back to the team and the groaning that followed elicited a chuckle from the three Instructors.
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The team had checked every side tunnel that they had come across. Those tunnels were smaller and dimly lit, but markings had been made at each entrance, probably from past Adventurers. They encountered several more groups of beetles and one very ugly looking centipede, but they finished each fight with only scratches and a few bruises.
By the end of the day, they entered a small cavern that only had two exits. It looked like a spot where Adventure’s would normally camp. After checking the cavern and the opposite exit, they settled in for the night. The Instructors pulled out their camping gear and they quickly set up a rotating guard at the tunnel at the far end of the cavern. The tunnel was still well lit so they would have plenty of warning if something tried to attack.
Dante refilled the canteens by the small stream near the cavern wall and then cleaned himself and his armor off. If he had to continue smelling that gunk that had been covering him the whole day, he was certain his nose would be permanently damaged.
Once he was finished, he joined Kelsi, Jasmi and Gretta by the fire. The Instructors had brought a large tent that unfolded magically. It was quite the site and the team wondered how much it had cost. Kelsi had opted to make dinner and set a rotation for meals. Thankfully, the Instructors brought enough food and water to last them.
“I had no idea how much actually went into going through the dungeons.” Dante said. “This is the smallest dungeon and we are not even halfway through the first level.”
Jasmi nodded. “The storage bags must cost a fortune and each of our Instructors are carrying one.”
“It will have to be the first item on out list.” Kelsi sighed. “Before we can dive into the dungeons, we will need storage bags, food, camping equipment. They never tell you about the logistics in the stories.”
Dante smiled. “Just another surprise, I guess. We did well enough for our first day.”
“How much Essence did we get?” Gretta asked.
“Forty-six.” Dante answered. “And six of that was from the centipede.”
“So, maybe eleven or twelve days? Gretta asked.
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“It’s not certain.” Kelsi said. “The monsters will drop more crystals the stronger they are but it will take longer to kill them. I would say a month at least, just to take into account what we don’t know.”
“A month of bugs?” Gretta groaned. The group chuckled and Kelsi handed out bowls of stew.
“I’m going to take one to Ferris.” Kelsi said, taking two bowls with her.
“Question.” Jasmi whispered. “How long have they been…you know…a thing?”
Dante looked over to see his two friends talking quietly. “Since they first met, I think. They never made a move but they have been dancing around since then.”
Gretta smiled. “Dancing. I like that.”
Dante looked across the fire at the two girls. He noticed Jasmi smiled at him before turning back to her stew. Dante shook his head. He didn’t have time for those thoughts just now. He needed to be ready for the next day. He headed to bed early but his dreams were filled with his mother’s brilliant red eyes staring sadly at him.
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Dante stepped forward quietly. He had been scouting the side tunnels and the lights were fewer and far between, leaving the larger shadows looming in the smaller tunnels. He paused between steps, hearing the silent scraping of carapace on stone. He sent out his Essence Pulse and felt the familiar sense of his Essence coming into contact with a monster. He didn’t know why the rock didn’t affect his spell but he was more than thankful for it.
“Thirty feet and to the right.” He moved as stealthily as he could manage, avoiding any loose rocks on the tunnel floor. He smelled the creature before he could see it. A stench of rotting meat assaulted him but he kept moving forward, doing his best not to be distracted. When he peaked around the first corner, a shadowy shape loomed mere feet away. There were no lights nearby to know what he was dealing with but the smell told him it was something different. As he stepped back, his foot hit a small rock, sending it bouncing behind him. He froze as he watched the shadow turn quickly and let out a hiss. At first, his feet didn’t want to move but when the creature pulled itself up to its full height, Dante was finally able to turn and run back to the main tunnel.
His friends were waiting, keeping watch down the main tunnel and the tunnel he had been scouting. When they heard Dante’s boots striking the floor, they immediately moved into a defensive position at the tunnels entrance. The group saw the large insect-like creature chasing after their friend and Kelsi yelled for Dante to dive forward when he made it back to the group, not knowing that the monster was pulling back a claw to swing at his back.
Dante dove past Ferris and a ring of steel sounded as his claymore met the claw of the creature. Dante was finally able to look up and see the eight-foot-tall monster covered in black carapace. The creature, however, was standing on two insect-like legs. They hadn’t come across and bi-pedal monsters yet and this thing was huge. Its arms were razor sharp blades with two shorter claw-like arms underneath. Dante jumped to his feet and made a spear from Essence. The tunnel entrance wasn’t big enough for him and Ferris to stand side by side and fight.
Ferris batted the sword-like limbs away but hadn’t found the chance to strike back yet. The creature was large and strong but the attacks were simple so Ferris had no trouble blocking. Dante pulled up just behind the Tank and stabbed his spear into the monster’s chitinous leg. The armor was thick but the joint was easy to spot and the spear head dug in. The creature hissed in pain.
Jasmi had cast her spirits long before the creature had made it down the tunnel and the spirits were a little large than cats at this point. The entrance was already crowded though, and Gretta, Jasmi and Kelsi stood behind waiting.
Kelsi watched the fight, noticing that this creature was more heavily armored than most of the other insects they had seen so far. She smiled as that gave her an idea.
“Gretta,” Kelsi said. “Cast Tristen’s Echo at the beast.” Realization hit her quickly and she grinned, moving over to where her spell wouldn’t hit Ferris and his light plate armor. She struck the chords and the magic leaped out at the creature. It visibly vibrated and hissed loudly in pain. Gretta cast the spell again and again until the monster stopped swinging its arms at Ferris and fell back into the side tunnel with a crash.
Ferris moved forward, cutting off the head of the beast as the Instructors moved forward to see what they had fought.
“Brundle Sythe.” Williams said. “These big bastards don’t show up much.” The student’s looked at their Instructors.
“Senior Instructor Williams?” Kelsi asked. “May we ask about a little about the dungeons? There are some things we would like to know.”
The Instructor thought it over but nodded. “As long as it’s not about directions or how to kill the monsters, then you may ask, but I suggest you wait until we get to our next camp site.”
The students nodded and watched the tunnels while Ferris dug into the Brundle Sythe looking for its essence crystal. Once he retrieved the large crystal, they moved ahead as normal. Checking the side tunnels and weaving through the dungeon until they found another small cavern where they could rest.
Serist De moved quickly, setting up their camp site and clearing the cavern. The caverns used for rest stops were always a little more well lit and fresh water was always nearby. As the students made dinner, Williams sat next to the fire.
“Alright, ask your questions.” He said.
Kelsi spoke first. “How often is this dungeon, Kobal, cleared out by Adventurer’s?”
Williams rubbed his beard. “This dungeon is used every few days, usually by newer adventuring teams. It takes a few days for the monsters to respawn. As for completely cleared, that’s a harder estimate. Do you know what dungeon bosses are?” The group nodded. “Well, dungeon bosses are a little different. No one knows when they will respawn. It could be the next day or next year.”
“But how do monsters respawn?” Dante asked.
Williams grinned. Not many kids asked that question “Every dungeon has a heart. Not a flesh and blood one like you or I have, but a large crystal that is specifically affected by Essence. When enough Essence comes in contact with a Dungeon Heart, it comes alive and starts building a dungeon around itself. The bigger the dungeon grows, the more Essence it gets. More Essence, means a stronger dungeon, which means stronger monsters. The stronger the monster, the bigger the essence crystal it has inside.”
“Can we destroy the heart?” Ferris asked.
Williams shook his head. “No one knows how. I’m sure it was done way back when, before the towers were in place, but now there is no reason to. The dungeons offer us too much.”
“But if we destroyed the dungeons, we wouldn’t have to worry about the monsters.” Kelsi stated.
Williams looked pointedly at the girl. “There are worst things than monsters.” Seeing her look of confusion, he continued. “You know what else we don’t see? War. Before these towers, war was everywhere. People fighting other people for more land, more resources. The towers and dungeons provided us a way to stave off the worst monsters of all. Humans.”
The group was silent and Williams stood without another word and walked back to his tent. They had heard briefly about war but it was never really explained in detail. The way their Instructor had said it, it made them feel a little lost. Adventurer’s die every day. Could that be less horrendous than war? Dante felt a shiver run up his spine as the Essence hummed around him. The Essence was telling him that Williams was right and that truly scared him.
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They moved through what seemed an endless series of twists and turns. This was their seventh day in the Kobal dungeon and they hadn’t even made it to the second level. All they had seen was rocks and insects. They encountered between five to eight monsters a day, so it wasn’t boring, but the walls of the tunnel felt like they were closing in on the students.
Ferris stopped, raising his fist, the rest of the team held still while Ferris inched forward. He heard the slight trickle of water. He went back to tell the team.
“It’s couldn’t be another rest stop already. We haven’t been moving two hours yet.” Kelsi said, pulling out her pocket watch.
“We won’t know until we move forward.” Dante said. “I will take point and use my Essence Pulse to see if anything living is around.” The team agreed and Dante switched to the lead with Ferris close behind.
As he stepped closer, Dante could hear the water and smelled vegetation. It was easy to tell since they had been surrounded by rocks the past few days. He moved as the tunnel slowly curved and he was greeted by a small waterfall plunging into a small pool of dark water. There was moss covering the ground near the pool and the cavern was well lit. He moved closer, looking above and around and used his Essence Pulse continuously.
The familiar feeling of his spell hitting something alive stopped him in his tracks. He looked out towards the pool, the dark surface not revealing anything. He turned to Ferris.
“Something is in the water.” Dante whispered.
Ferris looked over his friend at the pool but didn’t see anything. “Are you sure?” He asked, looking down at Dante.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m-”
He was cut off as a long tentacle wrapped around his waist and pulled him off his feet, dragging him towards the water. Ferris shouted for help and pulled at Dante’s legs, fighting against something very strong.
The other’s ran into the cavern and saw a black tentacle edging Dante closer to the water. Kelsi moved to one side of Dante and Jasmi ran to the other. They started pulling along with Ferris and something in the water started to thrash about.
They all watched as a dark bulbous mass erupted from the surface. It’s large, fish-like eyes stared at the people who were interrupting its meal. It lifted its tentacles, revealing a large beak that screeched at the students, forcing them to cover their ears. Dante was pulled towards the monster and could only watch as he inched closer and closer to the sharp beak. He formed a large shield on his left arm and blocked the beak from tearing him in half. The rest of the group had recovered from the monster’s assault and ran towards Dante.
Ferris cast Dash, moving quickly with his sword held high and sliced through one of the large tentacles. Jasmi called her spirits, sending them racing towards the creature and then cast Death’s Grip on one of the tentacles, disabling the limb as it was held down with skeletal arms. Gretta cast her Dancing Blades at another tentacle that was about to smash into Ferris. She scored a hit and the tentacle recoiled, leaving off its attack.
Kelsi grabbed hold of Dante’s legs again and attempted to pull him out but she wasn’t strong enough. She moved to his side and used her staff to stab at the monster’s eyes. The creature moved its arms wildly but continued trying to eat through Dante’s shield. His arm was being pulled and he could feel his shoulder give way as it dislocated. He grunted through the pain and summoned a knife to cut through the tentacle reeling him in.
Kelsi watched helplessly as her team fought. She could only hit this creature over the head but its soft, rubbery body took the blows easily. She suddenly felt her magic stir in her, through her hands and into her obsidian wood staff. The dark glass-like wood started to glow with brilliant yellow light. She stepped back and then jumped forward, smashing her staff over the monster’s grotesque head once again. As the staff met the rubbery skin, she felt the magic in her staff explode outward, blasting into the creature. The staff hadn’t left a mark on its dark skin, but the creature stiffened up and blood shot out of its eyes and beak. It collapsed a moment later, halfway out of the water and the team quickly pulled their friend to safety.
Dante laid on the soft moss holding his shoulder as his teammates collapsed around him. Kelsi started healing his shoulder as the Instructors moved in to get a better look at the creature.
“A cave octopus?” The Historian asked. “That creature shouldn’t be here.”
Perez nodded. “It depends when the last team came through and if…if they made it out.”
Williams just grunted at the sight of the large monster. The creature had to have killed a team or two to absorb enough Essence to get that big.
Dante glanced at Ferris. “Next time, don’t play tug-of-war with me as the rope.”
Ferris snorted. “Hey! You make an excellent rope. Nice job on the shield by the way.”
Dante grinned. “I figured it would remind Kelsi that you refuse to use one.”
Ferris looked at Kelsi who was laughing at the two. She looked up innocently at Ferris. “A shield does seem useful.”
He shook his head and stood guard while the others healed up and harvested the crystal. Jasmi moved forward with a crystal almost as big as her head.
“Now that is a good crystal.” Williams said happily. He took the crystal and measured its Essence. “Fifty-eight. That brings your total up to two hundred and fifty-four.”
That had them just over the halfway point, Dante thought. Five or six more days and they would pass.