In dungeons deep, a valiant band,
Four delvers, hearts and souls in hand.
There's Anna, swift with blade and bow,
Her arrows piercing, laying low.
Next comes Ian, a mage of might,
Spells and Magic, taking flight.
With sturdy shield, stands Johann bold,
Protecting comrades, stories told.
And lastly, Stacy, the Demon Sword,
A metal arm, a hurtful tongue.
Together they delve, through shadows dim,
Facing perils, overcoming whim.
From goblins cunning, to beasts of dread,
They fight with courage, never misled.
-Part of a song 'Legend of the Four', composed in 54 AA.
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The party became solemn at Johanns' words. This was far from their first expedition, and Johann wasn't their leader for nothing. When he said that things might get tough, things usually would be tough.
Still, a change in scenery slightly lifted their mood, as sharp-eyed Anna pointed towards the horizon.
"Hey, there's a forest up ahead! This is the first time I have come this far east! At least we will have shelter if it rains."
Ian followed up.
"And there will be plenty of places for monsters to hide as well."
"Don't be so pessimistic, why do you always search for negatives!"
"That's called being smart, Anna."
As the duo was about to bicker, which they did pretty often actually, Johann intervened.
"That's good and all that you get along, but I'd rather get there by nightfall. Camping out in the wind again is not a thing I would want."
Letting out various sounds signifying agreement, the group increased their marching speed.
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Lan's Domain
Meanwhile, Lan was always basking in the light of new discoveries. This time it was respawning.
Having finalized his project, he was eagerly playi- *ahem* perfecting the process, by respawning various recently deceased souls. Sometimes it was rather easy, for example when the body was small.
The bigger bodies required more concentration though, as a small slip could botch the whole process.
One such failure was when he was trying to reconstruct the body of a boar that was hunted on the First Floor.
He mixed the internal and external structures together, which surprisingly didn't result in it simply dissipating into mana, but rather something more disgusting. It became a fleshy monstrosity with a functioning Heart Core.
Needless to say, Lan disintegrated the body but kept the memory of the process to note down the failure, and possibly for future reference.
Still, the excitement eventually died down, and he once again looked at his domain. This time in terms of structure.
The first problem was that he had 'Guardians', but no special room for them, and the tunnel leading below was still unprotected.
So, he got onto it. The Entrance Chamber was the first subject to change, obviously.
First, he looked at the living conditions of Tag and Nacht, in order to build something resembling that.
The pair no longer had the litter with them, as the pups were probably proper wolves by now, judging by their previous growth speed.
Still, Lan didn't see them anywhere in the domain, so the conclusion was that they either were dead (Which kind of depressed Lan), or they went away from the domain for whatever reason (Which was unbelievable as well, since mana concentration outside was severely lacking).
'Whatever, can't do much, either way, better focus on the present.'
So, he got on with making the 'boss room'.
The pair of wolves lived pretty humbly if he was honest. They dug out a small hole in the ground that could house both of them. It was also camouflaged by the bushes, providing sufficient cover.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Finally, he began construction.
Lan first started carving out the walls behind the entrance to the tunnel leading downwards, expanding them into a room.
As such, it looked like this: In place of the usual downward leading tunnel, there was a brief corridor that led from the chamber and into the 'boss room'. On the opposite side from the entrance into the boss room there lay the path to the depths.
Still, for now, the boss room looked simple and unadorned, though some moss was quickly sprouting about. Truly, this stuff was everywhere.
Lan did have a basic design in his mind though.
The room was 20x20 meters in size, providing sufficient space for any battles that would occur. He also wanted to add some trees and vegetation that would provide cover for the wolves, as they were ambush predators.
So, taking a few tree seeds available in the Second Chamber, he planted them around the First Boss Room. Lan also added a few berry bushes, various shrubs, and even mushrooms for good measure.
After that, he made sure that the room was thoroughly suffused in Life Mana, making growth near instantaneous.
Soon after, the previously barren and boring room became a patch of a lush forest, though lacking in fauna. Also, it was near pitch-dark, as Lan hadn't yet installed the illuminating Mana Crystal.
It didn't remain that way for long, as he created one in the ceiling, then made it shine in a way that only the central patch of the room, which was free from trees, was illuminated by the soft light.
Outside of it, the edges of the room were shrouded in shadows.
Now that the general layout was done, he needed to provide the proper 'living quarters'.
He didn't want his wolves ambushed when they were sleeping, so he dug out a small opening in the wall to the side of the boss room, making a den big enough to house Tag and Nacht. To add comfort, he even covered the floor with a patch of soft moss.
Now that the room was done, he could send the soon-to-be tenants the 'memo' to move in.
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Forest not far to the West
As shadows lengthened and dusk fell, the Investigation Team of four trudged through the forest, with Stacy occasionally swinging her broadsword through particularly dense growth.
The darkening forest made for a gloomy atmosphere. Still, that didn't deter Stacy from nagging.
"Why. Is. This. Damn. Forest. So. Bloody overgrown?!"
Her arms were sore from constant swinging, as this forest was unusually lush and as such there was no clear path to walk through. She even wondered why no one packed a machete.
Ian was once again the one to answer questions.
"Well, at least it means we are closer to what we seek."
"Whaddya mean bookboy?"
Ignoring the nickname that Stacy gave him as always, he answered.
"Do you not remember the signs of a monster nest? Well, overabundant vegetation is one of them. At least read the advice old Larring has written down."
"Books ain't my thing... Well at least his grandson explains it well enough."
Ian didn't answer the compliment.
As the party continued in silence, Ian suddenly called for attention.
"Careful now. The massive source of mana is up ahead, just beyond those trees."
Though it was hard to see in the dark, everyone subconsciously tried to peer through them. Though only Ian was a Mage, even the other three felt the gradual change in the air.
Soon after, once they stepped past the treeline, a shocking sight unfolded. Even the usually quiet Johann muttered.
"What the hell are we getting into..."
They could now see a massive tree, the kind that they had never seen on their previous expeditions. Its branches sprawled across the clearing it was in. The sky remained hidden, as if they hadn't entered a clearing at all.
The Mage among them was especially shocked.
"...This mana... Is it possible for it to be so much?.."
He could feel the sheer quantities of mana emanating from it. Having never felt such amounts, he was near hyperventilating, struggling to breathe it in, that was how pure it was.
Still, he was snapped out when Anna patted him on his back.
"Hey, you Ok? Is that our target? You look a bit out of it."
Under her usual torrent of questions, Ian turned his attention back to the tree, trying to ignore the mana.
"Y-yeah, it seems so... No wait."
As he glanced about, he noticed that among the roots of the tree, an opening in the ground stood, and from it even greater amounts of mana radiated, impossible to be ignored.
"No... Look over there... If a monster nest is here, then it would be there."
The other three looked where Ian pointed his finger, looking apprehensive.
Stacy was the first to speak up.
"Now not that I have a great intuition, but if even I feel somethin', then that means that whatever lives there is strong... And I kinda want to fight it."
As she grinned, she was reprimanded by the group's leader.
"Don't be reckless, especially if a strong monster is possibly ahead. We are tired after a day's journey, so we will rest before doing anything else. However, what we do tomorrow remains up for debate. Stacy probably wants to proceed, however, our mission is only Location and Investigation, so we can also go back and report it. My vote is in favor of returning."
Anna, cheerful as ever, expressed her opinion.
"Now not that I don't want to go back home, but... Just coming all the way here with nothing to show for it would be lame as hell! I wanna know what's down there! And if we can't beat it, we can... Probably run away!"
"So, Stacy and Anna are for, and I'm against. As the leader's vote counts as two votes, we got 2v2. Ian, what do you think?"
The mage, looking at the eager faces of the women and the stone-like Johann's face, slowly made up his decision.
"...I know it might be dangerous, I really do. But... I have never felt such quantities of mana, this is clearly an abnormal place. It may be highly dangerous and unpredictable if left alone. So... I think we have to complete the investigation properly. I'm for going down there."
Johann looked silently at Ian, making a bit nervous, but soon said.
"...Very well, we will go down tomorrow."
After that, he started unpacking supplies in the bag.
"Set up the camp, I will take the first watch."
And with that, the party of four began to prepare for rest before going into the unknown.
...Little did they know that this simple scouting mission was going to be later named as the First Expedition.