“We fight and struggle every single day down in the depths. All while every other major power spits on us from their ivory towers. Even our supposed allies hurl insults at us and the Triumvirate only sees us as a way to keep their dungeons under control while they attack the other guilds. We are just a tool that facilitates multiversal conflict, no Mega Dungeon has emerged since the Vortex and it's possible that none ever will. It's time we took a more active role in the fate of the connected worlds. It's time we took a side.”
-Ignar of a Thousand Floors speaking to the Council of Delvers
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Deep underground on the planet Thurmvrel three wars were being fought constantly. A war between all dungeon denizens and their environments, a war between the delvers and the dungeons, and the last most puzzling war the delvers against other delvers. Down in the darkness of Thurmvrels tunnels there was no enforceable law save for the law of the strong. Underneath the surface of the planet the strong took from the weak and so it was the perfect place for an ambush.
In the darkness Olenic waited for the hydra to wade into the lake for its daily soak in the mana infused waters. Carefully taking in its every breath as he devised a plan to kill it with the least amount of risk. He and his team had been hunting this particular alpha for almost two weeks. The rest of his team was relaxing at the bottom of the lake and waiting for his signal inside a bubble created by their hydromancer.
Hydras were curious creatures in their base forms, but being an alpha added at least one entirely new dimension to the fearsome beasts. This one was no different. Monstrous regeneration, six heads on this one, and from what he could tell some kind of invisible breath attack that every head could use. He had seen it fight several different types of monsters but they all fell before that attack and none of its other possible abilities had been revealed.
That was why he was still waiting, Olenic was nothing if not thorough in his planning. So even as the hydra bathed in the lake, he did not signal for an attack. Too many years of losing teammates on half baked plans left him cold and slow. So while his teammate Karev yelled through their sending spell, Olenic wasn’t surprised.
“We need to hit it now, it's right above us! You haven’t seen it fight anything besides a few golems and they wounded it. Alphas aren’t smart enough to hold back when their life is in danger and you know it. Let's take it down and move to the next one, don’t let the past hold us back from the future.”
Karev’s words rocked Olenic more than he could’ve known. All this time he had been waiting, watching, and being careful. Those were lessons he had learned both from his mentors and the dungeons themselves overwhelming his original team. Fear of the dungeons was healthy and normal. Was what he had been taught his entire life, but at the council of delvers one man had challenged that ideology.
Ignar, the Firestorm had taken the Delver's Guild by storm with his natural charisma. Olenic couldn’t deny that what the man said made sense. The major powers ruled with their strength and to be strong risks had to be taken. Risks like attacking the hydra now rather than later and like attacking other major powers before they destroyed the guild. To stop that from happening Olenic and his team had to be strong. So they had to take the risk.
With those thoughts whirling through his mind the decision was already made. With a simple tap of his claws to his chest, a pulse of mana shot directly down into the bubble at the bottom of the lake. The hydra noticed the surge and turned to stare straight at him. A litany of curses escaped from his mouth as he began to move. His claws helped him pull himself over the large rocks on the edge of the cavern and his scales kept him somewhat naturally camouflaged while he bought time. Their trap was going to spring any moment now.
“Of course it had to be able to sense mana this whole time. Not that it'll help you now.”
Olenic snarled and pulled out his blades as his team erupted from the lake. Eliza the ever dependable hydromancer had used currents in the lake to slingshot the rest of the group up towards the hydra as it waded towards Olenic. Karev had taken the term slingshot a bit too literally and had his arms crossed over his chest hoping to hit the hydra with his body. Their archer siblings Luna and Eclissi were already high above the monster before Karev had impacted the alpha. Their skills formed a platform of air to rain down their arrows from.
The trap had sprung and now there was nothing to do but go all out. Olenic activated one of his skills just as Karev slammed into the hydra. Lightning coated Olenic’s claws as his speed increased further, until all that was visible was a blue streak of light circling the hydra. He watched as Karev raised a warhammer high above his head and brought it down on the scales that had been dented by the man's head. The strike split the scales as if they were made of paper and sunk deep into the body of the alpha.
‘What a fucking monster. Glad he’s on my side.’
Olenic thought to himself as the hydra struck back. Three heads tracked the scaled rogue no matter how much his speed increased while two decided that Karev was threatening enough. The two heads struck like snakes, faster than even Olenic could see. Yet Karev remained unworried as his hammer descended. Two heads sought to devour the barbarian and four arrows flew to stop them. The siblings had made their move to protect Karev. Two pale white arrows struck the hydra's eyes alongside their matched pair that glowed with an inner light.
Both heads reared back at the sudden pain and let loose a roar that shook the cavern. Several stalactites splashed in the water as their plan coalesced from the chaos. Olenic circled still, waiting for an opening as Karev ripped his hammer free and struck once more. The already split scales wept blood as the weapon lodged itself inside the hydra as it healed around it. The siblings were raining down arrows and the alpha couldn’t even touch them if it tried. It was then that Eliza made her move.
The mana infused water that had nourished the hydra suddenly revolted against it. Forming massive chains of swirling power that locked down the alphas movement. At the same time hands of water grabbed the stalactites and slammed them into its scales. The powerful alpha was nearly helpless before the team of experienced delvers that could properly leverage their perks and skills together unlike the uncoordinated alphas and swarms it had fought.
Even with that massive disadvantage it wasn’t an alpha for nothing. For a moment it stopped attacking and then Karev clutched at his side as blood erupted from his chest. Something invisible was attacking the barbarian, but even with his advanced senses Olenic couldn’t tell what was happening. The sickening sound of Karev’s body being ripped apart echoed in the cavern as the barbarians' screams joined it.
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Watching his teammate get ripped nearly straight in half made Olenic see red. Even Luna and Eclissi let loose a rain of arrows that made the hydra look like a pincushion. Except some arrows were stopped in midair as a pair of invisible heads revealed themselves. One chomping down on half of Karev’s body that it swallowed and seemed to smile. That was when Olenic made his move. Aiming for the warhammer embedded in the hydra's already healed scales as he threw himself through the air.
His arc took him screaming past the alphas heads as they sensed the danger of Olenic’s lightning clad form. Usually this move was used on one of Luna or Elissi’s arrows and every now and then something really big that Karev had thrown. This time there wasn’t time to think about the best way to use the skill. Even with the hydra locked down it was only a matter of time before Eliza ran out of mana and Karev wasn’t going to get back up to deal damage anytime soon. Time slowed down as Olenic reached out and touched the embedded warhammers handle with his claw and activated his skill.
Perfect Momentum Transfer
Going from his top speed to zero in a split second made him want to vomit even if the momentum was transferred perfectly. The result of the skill was spectacular. Unmoving and embedded deep in the hydras scales the warhammer exploded into motion. Because of the angle Olenic’s claw had touched it at the warhammer spun through the hydra's body as if it was made out of paper. Destroying its internal organs with ease as the warhammer exited the hydra's body through its stomach.
Even with the catastrophic damage he had inflicted on the hydra, stopping completely within five feet of it was a bad idea. With all his momentum gone gravity took hold of Olenic as he dropped like a rock. Water splashed as he landed right next to what was left of Karev's body. Olenic only had a split second to process it before the hydra unleashed its attack.
It felt like he was being hit by a massive wave of gravity over and over again. This was the attack that had flattened all those monsters. Olenic realized as he struggled to get out from underneath the massive weight and his vision went dark even as he stayed conscious. The water helped his body remain relatively unharmed despite the pain.
Everything rested on his teammates now, with as much damage as he and Karev had done to the alpha it should be relatively easy. After what felt like an hour but was really only a few moments the immense pressure waves stopped. Olenic’s eyes cleared and he beheld the hydra as its final head was speared by a giant arrow whose center remained pitch black no matter how much gentle blue light spilled out of it.
With the fight over, Olenic surveyed the cavern and did a headcount. The cave itself was fairly damaged but not to an absurd degree. They had Eliza to thank for that, the hydromancer was amazing at locking down big targets. The archers were still standing above the hydra, likely checking to see how many points it was worth. Kavrev’s slowly reforming body still floated next to Olenic in the water.
The Lizardman kept his head above the water as he watched Karev reform from slightly more than half of his body. Blood diluted the water further as the barbarians head reformed after a minute or so. Choking slightly without lungs for a moment as Karev returned with a crooked smile. Finally coughing out a victorious battle cry.
“I fucking love greater regeneration but I’ll be damned it hurts worse than being ripped nearly in half. I wish I coulda regenerated inside its stomach and crawled my way out. Just like..”
Luna cut off the barbarian with a reply that cut Karev deeper than the hydra's fangs.
“Yes we know the story of your ancestor. Please don’t repeat it for the hundredth time. He ripped open a World Eater Dragon from the inside out to end your planet's two hundred floor dungeon. Besides, aren't you ten or twenty times removed from him?”
The now literally half clothed barbarian sputtered with indignation.
“Well. Aren’t you supposed to be splitting the points? It felt like Olenic and I took all the risks today.”
Karev slapped Olenic’s scales with a reforming hand and had to grit his teeth through the pain. Brand new skin was quite sensitive but Karev had more practice than anyone. With that Eliza came swirling up from the depths and with a wave of her hand pushed the two frontline fighters to the shore of the lake. The voice of reason in the team spoke up, even if she clearly was hungry for points.
“Is it two or three points each? And what was it called?”
Ever the mage Eliza had the mage instinct drilled into her from Corribaan, The Palace of Mages at a young age. The hydromancer had serious training to make the cut and to survive that place.
“It was an Evolved Shimmerveil Hydra like Olenic guessed. Got three points for each of ya damn fools, and the loot is at the shore too. Looks like a gold chest for you Karev, hope it's got some armor or at least some clothes.”
Eclissi was typically soft spoken compared to his sister Luna but when he did speak he liked to get directly to the point. He had a friendly rivalry with Karev that helped brighten even the worst days for all of them. Eliza made a few quick notes and smiled as she snapped the obviously magical notebook shut. The loot from the chest would go to whoever's turn it was to open it and then it could be traded between the party or sold once they made it off planet again. The profits would be split between the whole team if it was sold so that didn’t happen very often. This time it was Karev’s well deserved turn and as the still regenerating barbarian crawled to his feet on the shore Olenic turned his attention to the paths.
3 Points shared for slaying Evolved Shimmerveil Hydra
Three steps further down any path he wanted to go down. Years of work and information gathering had led to unlocking as many hidden paths as possible. If his intel was right only more path had to be completed before he could get his hands on a hidden guiding path evolution. The hunger was still there, the purpose that flowed through him as he completed the guiding path. Olenic wanted to feel that again more than anything and there was only one way to advance for non nobles such as himself.
Of course right as Karev was about to open the chest and claim the loot inside the cavern started to shake. Much worse than when the hydra had knocked off some stalactites. The shaking nearly knocked Olenic off balance as he tried to stand, and Karev did fall face first into the chest. Which made Eclissi and Luna laugh from their stable air platform. When the shaking didn’t stop after a few moments and even more stalactites from the ceiling began to fall into the water the laughter stopped.
“Everyone onto the platform! The environment is shifting!”
Luna shouted as she looked down at the rest of the team as she frantically threw down a rope. Redeploying the platform would take time and personal mana that they didn’t have. Using too many skills in the fight had taken its toll on the ambient mana in the cavern.
Eliza once again showed why she was a cornerstone of the team. Large hands of water grabbed Olenic, and Karev in a gentle embrace and placed them down on the platform. Karev didn’t let go of the golden chest despite the pain lancing through his brand new right hand. Beside him a third watery hand spat out Eliza herself and a massive warhammer without a scratch on it. The hydromancer took a deep breath and shook her head. A few water droplets splashed on the hardened air of the platform and joined the rest of the water forming a half dome around the team.
“Go on Karev, open the chest. We’ll be safe here for a little while I think.”
With a grin the now fully regenerated and half clothed barbarian opened the chest. Eyes alight with greed as Karev saw what lay within. Then the human began to laugh as the roof of the cavern broke above them, sliding along the water barrier that protected them. Sunlight broke through from the surface as the rest of the party looked down and saw that the floor of the cavern had broken away as well. Revealing two other teams far below them that fell into the growing hole in Thurmvrels’ surface and lower levels.
Something odd had happened, even when dungeon territories expanded this wasn’t usually what happened. A hole going down far enough that nobody in the team could see the bottom. At least eight miles was clearly visible. Six teams below them had survived, and to the sides there were two camps that had fallen and splattered on the now invisible tunnels. The blood at least helped Olenic see where the tunnels were likely to lead to. What terrible luck they had to get some exotic dungeon claiming a large amount of territory all at once.
Even dungeon entrances and exits within the now empty space still hung there spewing out monsters that fell to their deaths. Then suddenly the monsters weren’t falling, they were standing on air just like Olenic and his team. That was when they heard a loud bang and the entire team’s heads snapped up so fast they nearly got whiplash. Standing directly above them on an invisible ceiling was a young man wrapped in what looked like a comfortable cloak. For a moment everything was still, and then the human spoke.
“I’m Demaras. With the Delver's Guild. Is there any chance you know anything about what just happened?”