It was a very unique experience trying to crawl their way out of the room. The slime was wet and provided no hold. It also started dissolving them as soon as they went into it. The more time they spent in it, the worse off they would be.
They had to nick it here and there using their nails to make an opening and climb out. It felt similar to emerging out of a womb. He shuddered at that, they did not want a repeat of that.
The cavern walls were laid down with large black blocks. They moved their hands along it and something was moving around in there. It's light leaked through the walls and provided a modicum of illumination. (1) What is that?
(2) I don't know...but its huge.
They heard a low growl and turned to find a pack of four hyenas. The corridor was small and packed in. They could barely stretch their arms in here.
The lead dog barked in a raspy twitching voice and the pack was upon him. They didn't have a weapon so, they grabbed the first one, its dry, cracked mouth was trying to rip one of the heads off. He smacked it against the wall. There was still some movement so, they smacked it against the wall again.
Now, they had a weapon. He used it to smack down the other hyena, they were ripping off chunks of his flesh. There was a satisfying crunch and its spine was broken. Two down, two more to go.
They turned to find the other two hyenas whimpering but the rot made them think they were invincible. They tried to go for his feet again but it was inevitable. A few good smack-downs and he'd taken out all of them.
It was amusing but not productive at all. They decided to take out Jester, the translator. (1) How many floors does this dungeon have in total?
They were aware that it went in quite deep. "I don't know. It is a low-grade dungeon so, above twenty and below fifty."
(1) That's a huge margin of error.
(2) He's just useless. Let's find some other human.
[You've Been Rewarded 20 Coins]
[New Kill: Basic Heyna Pack]
[Name: Unnamed]
[Title: Dungeon Monster]
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
[Title Buffs: None]
[Strength: 7]
[Magical Power: 6]
[Agility: 5]
[Vitality: -]
[Skills: None]
The fact that only 20 coins were rewarded meant that 'human' kills were worth a lot more than these hyenas. There was a clear incentive system at play here.
He did come across more packs but taking care of them was child's play. Now, they were slinking along the walls, the shadows concealed them.
The corridor opened out to a wider room. Sounds of battle were coming out of there. They peeked into the room and it was a strange sight.
The room was covered in innards, green flesh and in its centre was a group of four people. They had dispatched whatever was in there with an efficient brutality. They observed the party's actions for a few minutes. Now was the time for the translator to shine.
(2) Oi, translate.
J- "They're talking about you and how to hunt you."
A primal anger wormed its way into his head. He was not cattle, well, they would see how strong these people were.
The zombie stepped out of the shadows into the room.
...
..
.
Dempsey's POV
Everybody became quiet at the zombie's sight. It was unlike anything they'd ever seen before, with its two heads. They stared at its foreheads. It was a bit hard to understand where they should look.
It was wearing pants, and even a chain-mail vest. "Do you think it's intelligent?" Dempsey found herself asking. Something like this shouldn't exist up here. Intelligent monsters didn't start until floor 16.
She took out her wand and focused. She moved to the back, the tanker moved up to the front and the ranger stuck with her. The rail-thin swordsman was right behind the tanker. She was equipped with a rapier.
It was a first floor monster, dealing with it was going to be easy yet, a seed of doubt was wriggling around in her mind. Why was it wearing that...?
...
..
.
He'd decided to mess around with them. He felt no hunger or thirst which meant he could keep this up indefinitely. So, he decided to circle around them.
They were so tense, it was laughable. Every now and then, he would roar and they would flinch but he didn't get close to them.
The tanker started trembling. He smacked his shield down on the ground and composed himself.
The zombie was getting bored of this now. He decided to take out the copper coin and ordered Jester to go into their midst.
(2) Let me just modify it a bit...
A few quick manipulations of the construct released it a little bit, the most important thing was its wails. It was visible now and could continue screaming.
For the zombie, it was just a mild annoyance but for them the wails burrowed their way into their mind and rattled their souls.
The zombie observed. The lady they'd been keeping behind them took out a wand and performed a spell.
A warm golden glow surrounded the soul but there was no effect. Was it interacting with the construct or the soul, it was an important question.
(2) Stay with them. If they can't deal with you, make note of everything they do. Scream around whenever they're about to go into battle.
(1) PAY ATTENTION.
A little rattling of its construct got the point across. Jester was not wise or careful while, alive.
The zombie decided to not repair the construct completely, it would mean they would have to keep it in the coin.
(1) Go be useful.
This was an experiment of sorts. The zombie decided to wander off into a separate cavern. There was a gust of wind and a dagger was at its left throat.
It was the ranger.