Stocus was not a heartless man. While others might have looked upon his many actions in life as cruel, he knew them to be anything but. If he had not done what he did, others would have lost their lives. He had taken one life to save a hundred, had slaughtered a village to allow a country to prosper. His actions throughout his long career had helped ascertain the livelihood of millions. Millions could have died had he thought about the short-term.
“Are we ready to venture inside, sir?” one of the larger soldiers asked from the Warden’s side. While his size was quite impressive, it did little when it came to his ability to wield a sword, though it did make him quite endurable. That was why he worked so well as a scribe when the time called for it. “Papers have been prepared and are ready to be used.
The current situation wasn’t that much different from what the Warden had gone through for most of this life. If he acted concerning the shorter span of life, he would lose out on the benefits that came from taking the harder choices. One of those choices was to go out and investigate the Dungeon himself instead of making his soldiers fufill that task. While he trusted every man with his own life, Stocus understood what he had to work with. Men that were steadfast but lacking in some other regard, lest they would have never come to the prison, to begin with. It wasn’t like the royal knights of the empire but they were better than anything else.
“I do believe it so, [Scribe]” Stocus responded, looking onto the other side of the river. The workers had been quick to fell the trees, their hands able to wield an axe better than anyone else in that regard. They were about to set up a few fortifications as well but most of it was focused around making sure the Dungeon’s creatures didn’t overwhelm them if they tried to flee. “Follow my word as always, don’t venture further away from me than a few meters, and do not try to fight any of the creatures yourself. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” the soldier answered with perfect timing. While the man’s arms weren’t able to wield the sword, the pen was a formidable weapon nonetheless. And with the proper training to stay calm while under fire, the Warden saw the man as the perfect tool for noting down information about the place. “However, I do feel the need to go out of line and request that you bring along more men. Your security is of our utmost concern.”
“It would do well to stay in your line next time,” Stocus stated, calm eyes upon the slightly ignorant man. “I do not need more men in this venture. And making sure one of you doesn't die is a higher priority than a superficial act of superiority.”
With that, the two [Enlightened] began their venture towards the cave entrance. They were coming from the same side the previous group had used, Stocus making sure as much information as possible could be spent. However, there were a few key details that the man felt could have been more well-noted. And when he stepped within ten meters of the cave entrance, the wave of power over his skin reminded him of the need to survey his surroundings with a finer gaze than normal.
“Two water-based creatures are hiding in the smaller pool of water to the left. Initial observations put them at a mid-danger level for this area,” the Warden said as his first observations, letting the man note them down with rapid fervour. The small rumbling from below that came after his words were not missed at all. A moment was spent in silence to listen, both warriors having no trouble seeing the slight shaking of the bigger tree close to the cave. There were two of them in total, each with widely different looks. One was blackened while the other had a more natural look, only bearing streaks. “The brown tree beside the cave can likely attack any person that gets within a few meters of it. The black tree looks to be slowly growing fruits of some kind, though they’re not ripe yet. Note down that we need to get a sample of them in a few weeks.”
There were no small details to make sure about. First, however, was making sure that the area could be traversed without any dangers. How was such a feat accomplished? By removing the dangers within. Since the water-creatures were closest, the man decided to take care of those first, while making sure the [Scribe] was following along with a fair distance.
The Warden unsheathed his sword from his side as he got closer. While there was a desire to go the lazy route, it would be best to get physical descriptions before he liquified their insides. Or… he supposed that such a thing might not have been entirely accurate with the creatures before him. They looked too much like water to distinctly see their features while they remained inside the pools of water.
Not that they did do that for long. Even the calmest creature in a Dungeon had issues when the Warden approached steadily. When he got within three meters, both of the creatures launched themselves at him with fervour. As it turned out, the pools of water followed, being something of a protective sheet across them. While in the air, it looked as if they were encased in big bubbles. No matter how liquid-like they seemed, however, being slashed across the middle with a silver sword certainly worked perfectly and without issue. Organs had to be somewhere, after all.
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“Creatures seem to be an unnatural mutation from the local otter-population,” the Warden reported, watching the remaining creature move around on the forest floor. It had been cut but not as fully as the other one. Stocus needed a better look before he put it out of its misery. “Inner organs seem to have been simplified to an extreme degree, though those that remain are as vital as ever. The removal of any incapacitates them easily. There is little to no resistance when using a cutting edge.”
Clenching his fist, Stocus gave the wounded creature a smaller hit on its bubble. It bounced at this attack, the creature within seemingly no worse for wear, though it was still suffering from a cut on its side. It needed to die soon.
“Blunt attacks have lessened effects,” he continued, clenching his first again and going in for a strike much harder. The creature plattered into bits at that, the liquid inside hitting his armour. It looked like water perfectly, though it was thicker overall. “But they are not immune. Harder hits will take care of them nonetheless.”
“Which method of execution is preferred?” the [Scribe] questioned, the man’s hand never stopping its movements. Along with a quick hand and a durable body, Stocus did love his ability to remember it all. Any other person in the nearby area would have asked him to repeat more than he felt comfortable with.
“Slashing if possible. Skill-based attacks if not,” was the answer given as he moved away from studying the creatures. There was no need to sample them yet since they hadn’t set up a research station outside the Dungeon at the current time. And neither did they truly have anybody to ascertain the material’s value.
But that mattered little. With time, merchants would come around, researchers from the kingdom’s finest would take a look at the monsters, and more than a few who sought riches would feed the Dungeon enough to be satiated. What was important at the current moment was just that the Warden could be sure about his men having every piece of information needed to survive inside without fail.
“Prepare to dodge if needed,” the Warden ordered the man behind him. “Current range of this tree’s attacks are unknown.”
But the range was exactly what would be figured out in a short time. The roots below weren’t too far away and they had the power of movement. The only thing that the Warden needed to make sure of was that the tree understood he was there.
A kick to the ground was all that was needed for that. Without fail, a root a few meters away shot up from the ground, heading right towards the Warden’s ankles. They were allowed to reach their goal, of course, a blade cutting the tip off without fail. That certainly made the creature retreat a small bit.
“Estimated distance is seven meters,” the Warden stated, staring into the creature’s bark. There were no eyes on the thing, so it was likely based on vibrations in the earth entirely. “To avoid detection, the best strategy is to use boots with the [Lightness Runes] on them. It may be possible to avoid the tree entirely if done right.”
Now was the question that plagued the man more than anything. What did the inside look like? Stepping further into its range, the [Scribe] following, the Warden made quick use of his sword to avoid any roots that tried to come his way. Even the branches on the top were allowed no mercy, as they swung themselves at the man with no thought about how stiff they should have been. The bark on the tree couldn’t have been normal if it could bend to such a degree.
With time, the tree had little to throw at them, forced to sit still as a larger knife was dug into the trunk. No blood or darker liquids came spilling out which the Warden found rather pleasing. It was an actual tree turned homicidal instead of a malignant creature simply disguising itself as one. That was a rather good discovery, the man able to think heavily about the uses of the tree. While he had been able to cut through it with ease, that was only due in part to his sword being designed for such uses. It would take much more work for any others to accomplish the same feat. If such material was to be used commercially, it would sell for quite fair prices.
“The bark needs further studying and we need to set up a routine for removing the tree from the dungeon’s vicinity,” the Warden noted to the man, even if the current trip was supposed to be about making a survival guide. “High dexterity is required to take care of the tree without too much danger or the reaction speed needs to be that of a warrior in the high tens. It is recommended to only take on the creature when in larger groups due to the larger amount of health it has.”
Even now, it was likely still alive at some level. It could do nothing, and likely see just as much, but the Warden hadn’t felt the life escaping the creature. He deliberated on killing it right then and there but thought better of it. When they finished, they would make short work of the creature again and then remove the tree from the Dungeon so it could be processed at a later date.
After that smaller venture, the time for entering the cave itself had arrived. The entrance was slightly ominous, light from outside being quick to fail. If anything else, the Warden saw it as a sign of a skilled [Mage]. Perhaps the idea of a more experienced creature inside wasn’t mere delusions.
“Use your [Night-Vision Talisman] to see when going inside,” the Warden instructed, glad that he didn’t have to instruct the man to write it down as well. “There are signs of magic being used to darken areas so there is a need to prepare for potential blindness.”
Not that it would be able to do much to the Warden himself, the gear he wore was able to [Dispel] the less powerful [Skills]. It was more of a warning to the other man that would be venturing inside. Being panicked would do them no good after all.
The potential mining inside was obvious the moment Stocus’ eyes were allowed to adapt to the cave. [Ore-Veins] littered the walls, even the ceiling had some signs of them. It seemed that the Core’s instincts had thought them important. A flaw in its thinking to be sure but certainly, one which would be relied on heavily. The stupidity of such creatures was surprising sometimes. They held enough power to create powerful monsters but they could not similarly understand what was going on, acting out of instincts more than anything else. If only one could be trained…
Hearing the chittering of steps further inside, the Warden stopped his daydreaming and focused once again. There was movement close by and needed to take at least a few of them alive.