"You have the [Cooking] Skill, don't you?" Caleb asks.
We've just finished cleaning up after breakfast, having decided after easily clearing the Boss Chamber yesterday that we would continue on through Zone 2 and see how well we do in it. Rather than pushing through immediately, we spent the rest of the day resting, then we went to bed. There were only a few hours left in the "day", anyway, so it's not like we would have done very much in the next Zone if we had pushed through.
"Yes, why?" I answer.
"I knew it!" He exclaims. "That's the only way someone could take whatever random ingredients they found in a Dungeon or brought in with them and make a delicious breakfast!"
"Er…" I try not to laugh. "Caleb, I spent most of my life having to cook for my younger siblings. It's not the Skill that gave me the ability to make a decent breakfast, it's experience with throwing together whatever random crap I find."
Caleb gives me a suspicious look for a few moments, then his expressions shifts back to a more normal one for him.
"By the way," he says. "The next Zone's path is the same as usual: different every run with the same base layout. It just opens up new entrances or closes off paths to change the route."
"Thanks for that," I thought I was going to have to beat it out of him.
"That said," he says. "I do know where the puzzles are for the previous upgrades."
"The… previous upgrades?" I ask. "They're all in the second Zone?"
"Well… no," he says. "I got curious about the upgrades when a Summoned is around and did some research into it. The only one that's known for Zone 1 is a really complicated one that takes at least six hours to do no matter what, so no one ever does it. Especially since the reward is a cloak at Item Quality 1 that has very little additional magic or durability to it regardless of variation."
"How many times has this Dungeon been upgraded?" I ask.
"First time was the appearance," Caleb says. "From what I was reading, Dungeons only appear if a Summoned is nearby, and it seems the very first puzzle is there from the start. They all start with one to three Zones. This one lonely had one Zone at first, the stone labyrinth that we're in right now. They all also start very weak. The cloak puzzle dates back to the first appearance of the Dungeon, which is how we know that it was likely initiated by the presence of a Summoned. The appearance, I mean."
So not only do Dungeons have a chance of upgrading when a Summoned is nearby, they have a chance of appearing when a Summoned is nearby. That must be why all of the Dungeons I've looked up while staying here in Caniton were the only Dungeon for miles – there must be some hidden list of requirements for their appearance and one of them is probably a lack of other Dungeons nearby. That, or a Dungeon in the area already heavily reduces the odds of a new one appearing.
"So Dungeon's spawn is the first one," I say.
"Yes," he answers. "Then about twenty years later, there was another upgrade. The stone statues appeared, though infrequently. Their increase in numbers occurred with later upgrades. No no one knows what the puzzle was, but we can assume there was one since there's always a puzzle with the upgrades.
"Third upgrade," Caleb continues. "The hedge maze got added in and there's a puzzle in there. Fourth, the monsters grew tougher and a puzzle was added to the hedge maze. Fifth upgrade added the tower at the center and a puzzle to both the hedge maze and the tower, and the sixth upgrade toughened the runs and added a puzzle to both the hedge maze and the tower."
"But none to the stone labyrinth?" I ask.
"Correct," he nods. "There's only one known puzzle in here, but four in the hedge maze and two in the tower."
"What are you thinking?" Katie asks me, and I look at her. "You have an expression like you're thinking about something."
"Yeah," I nod. "I think that the stone labyrinth has puzzles, too – but they're not as obvious as the others, so they were missed. Caleb, what's the puzzle for the first zone? The one that's known, I mean."
"Map?"
Chance pulls his map out of his belt and hands it to Caleb. We're storing nearly all of the supplies – including the packs – in my cuff now since it means less weight to carry around. Even archers can make use of added mobility, especially if we're fighting in a chamber instead of a hall. However, the archers still have the maps on them as it's easier for them to map out of the Dungeon if they have, well, the maps.
Caleb spreads out the map and examines it before pointing at one of the rooms.
"You start here," he points at the place where we entered the Dungeon into. "And when reaching intersections and not counting turns without an intersection, you take the first right, then the first left, then the second right, then the third left, then the fifth right, then the eighth left, and so on, alternating left and right while adding the two previous skips together to determine the number of skips needed for the next one. So if the last one was taking a left at the eighth intersection with a left-hand turn you've come across and the one before that was a right at the fifth intersection with a right-hand turn, then the next one would be-"
"A right at the thirteenth intersection with a right-hand turn," Adam says.
"Right," Caleb nods. "It's a long an annoying path that will always eventually end up here, even if the route itself is actually different every time and the number of times you need to take a turn varies based on the Zone's current maze. The cloak is found in this chamber once you arrive, hanging off of one of the vines."
I can see why nobody really wants to do that. This also explains why no one has really found the other puzzles in Zone 1. They do exist – I've been told that the puzzles remain if the Summoned leaves the area without clearing it. They're just not things someone would normally find even though they devolve down into something that can be solved by other people in this world.
"There are other puzzles in here," I say. "Four others, to be precise. It seems that there's always a new puzzle added to each Zone when the upgrade happens. Think about it – we honestly wouldn't have found the one for me in this Zone if you hadn't already memorized the map."
"Because the puzzle required already having a map that contained the section with the word," Katie says.
"Yeah," I nod. "I'm willing to bet that we had passed right by that part of the Dungeon last time but didn't go in. It was right in our path."
"Actually," Chance says. "We did go in it – just from the opposite end, and we didn't walk over the spots we'd already walked through for some parts."
"Which only proves the point," I say. "We completely missed the puzzle. I'm willing to bet that all of the puzzles for the first Zone involve something to do with the route itself. How the fuck the first guy figured out his, I don't want to know. But if I'm right, then that's the exact reason no one has ever figured them out."
"They're too complicated," Elise says.
"Yeah," I nod. "What are the puzzles for the second Zone?"
"Um…" Caleb thinks about it, then looks at the map. "One can be found here. There's a pond with lily pads in this chamber, and you have to sink the lily pads in the right order using stones from the chamber. The wrong order automatically locks the puzzle, but if you get it right, you get a ring. Sometimes it's a really expensive decorative ring, other times it has magic properties."
Because the rewards always have the same base form for that spot, even if the properties can be different.
"Over here," Caleb points to another section of the hedge maze. "Notice that the section of hall here is blocked off on both ends? That's standard for every run. There are four rooms there, one here, one here, one here, and one here. Each of these three rooms has a door leading into it from this hall. Here, here, here, and here."
I was wondering about that section of the maze and the door icons on the wall there.
"Each of the rooms contains monsters," Caleb says. "One has one, one has two, and one has three. Always goblins. If you clear all three rooms in order of fewest to most monsters, then the door to this room unlocks. The, uh, item is a jar of pickles. The type of pickle changes from run to run. No one really knows why that is a reward."
Considering that the gods submit items to be chosen by the Summoned and they seem to try to tailor it to the wants or needs of the Summoned, my guess is that the Summoned for that puzzle liked pickles, received that as an option, and picked it. That's assuming my theory that the future reward for the puzzle clears is based on what the Summoned picked.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
In other words, the items earned from my puzzle in the previous section will probably always be a cuff of some sort.
"Then there's this puzzle," Caleb points to another section of the second Zone. "The actual location of it changes from run to run, but it's in this general area. You have to find the vines that are wrong. Once you do, you can pull them off to reveal a hidden nook in the hedge that contains the reward, which is a thirty-ounce jar of… something. Sometimes berries, sometimes herbs, sometimes slime goo, sometimes lube, sometimes a salve, sometimes magic frog eyes. But it varies. Pull the wrong vines, and the nook never reveal itself even if you pull them all off."
Caleb looks over the map for a few moments before pointing to another chamber in the second Zone.
"Then there's one in this chamber," he says. "There are ivy growths with flowers in the chamber and some of them are used in the puzzle. You have to kiss the top-most flower on the ivy involved in the correct order. The order and how to tell what it is varies from run to run. If you succeed, then a stone in the ground sinks down and a pedestal rises with the reward atop it. The reward is always a necklace of some sort."
Rather than using the maze itself as the puzzle, the second Zone challenges people with the features of the maze. Lily pads, doors with monsters behind them, vines, and flowering ivy. That actually gives a helpful clue for what to keep an eye on as we travel through the second Zone.
"Since you did your research on this," I tell Caleb. "Do you recommend we go for those items if we can? Or no?"
"Only if we come across them," he shrugs. "If it involves going out of our way, then no. They're good for selling, but with our ability to loot everything we come across and not having to worry about space, we'll easily make more than what they sell for."
"Got it," I say. "Let's get moving, then. If we do well in the second Zone, we can give the third one a try. Not so sure about the fourth, but-"
"There are only three Zones," Caleb says. "The stone labyrinth, the hedge maze, and the tower. Which, admittedly, started off with four floors and then gained eight with the sixth upgrade, so probably has twelve now, but that's the last Zone."
"First, third, and fifth," I say. "All caused either the appearance of the Dungeon or a new Zone within it. There's a new Zone at the top of the tower, we just don't know it yet because of how long the Dungeon is and how few people actually even do the third Zone. Chances are, no one's found it yet. Or if they have, they hadn't left the Dungeon before we entered."
"How would that even work?" Caleb mutters.
"It's fucking magic, why would it need logic?"
"He's got a point," Adam says. "Let's get moving."
We head into the second Zone using the gate leading into it, immediately finding ourselves in the next Zone. Just like the first one, the halls are tall with an arched roof and twenty feet in width. The hedge itself is rather thick, about five feet thick if it's the same as the stone labyrinth in that regard. Very little light can make it through the hedges, but some does filter down to us from above.
Judging by the actual color of the light and the dimness of it, I'd hazard a guess and say that the sky above the maze is more like one filled with thick clouds.
Most of our light is provided by the ivy and moss, both of which emit a faint green light with the occasional blue flower on the ivy emitting a faint green light instead.
"Remember," I say. "In addition to the naked stone men and the goblins, we'll have to face off against snakes and falcons as well. All of the snakes are venomous with ones further in inflicting a stone curse with their venom. We do have counters for that and for the normal venom, but try not to get bit. As for the falcons, they can generate [Air Slash]es, small arcs of compressed air. They can also emit a high-pitched screech, which I guess might be hell for you guys."
"We'll do our best to take out the falcons and snakes immediately," Katie tells me. "As we discussed yesterday, that would be better than the three of you attempting to fight them head-on."
"Yeah," I nod. "Thanks. Let's get moving, everyone!"
I'll need to be a little bit better at combat in this Zone as I was in the previous, since the monsters are a little bit stronger than they were in the last one. Though I can still fight them, I need to be better now.
The first monster we come across doesn't take long to make an appearance, a stone statue that steps out from a passage into another hall that we were discussing taking as we approached. The plan is for me to tackle it first, then Adam will join in if I need help. Caleb only will if we both need help. We'll alternate like this on lone statues, and all three of us will jump in if there's more than one. The archers will only assist if necessary.
Since it's my turn to attack, I dash forward and duck under the statue's attempt at punching me, my right fist connecting with its stomach. The statue attempts to kick me, and I block the attack with my right leg before deflecting another punch with my right arm. Spinning around the statue's body, I deliver a quick punch to its lower back before it turns around swinging.
Act better, Jamie, I tell myself. Faster. Superior.
I grab the statue's arm with my left hand as it attempts to strike me again and punch it in the side. The statue yanks its arm out of my grip, nearly toppling me from the sudden movement, and I'm unable to block as it punches me in the chest.
A small grunt escapes me, and I'm glad for the leather vest armor I'm wearing. I quickly find my foot before stepping back to avoid a kick. As the statue finishes the kick, I kick up and strike the back of its leg, unbalancing the heavy statue from the force and the fact that it was now moving faster in that direction than it was expecting.
Taking advantage of the statue's temporary lack of balance, I shift forward and punch it square in the face. The monster reacts almost immediately, somehow finding its balance and attempting to kick back toward me. I block the kick with my arms, grunting as I'm slid back a little from the impact. Without hesitation, I immediately move my hands and grab the statue's cold, stone leg and pull.
"Hyup!"
It takes a lot of effort to pull something that heavy, even with my current 35 Strength. However, it does exactly what I expected and I take advantage of the statue suddenly coming toward me to elbow it straight in the stomach. That hurts my elbow like hell, but I manage to crack the monster's stone.
The statue quickly takes a couple of steps back and I charge toward it, punching its chest with as much force as I can before it's able to bring its arms up to defend. Then I shift my body, twisting my torso as I kick upwards and forward, delivering a solid strike to its stomach with my calf. That hurts as well, but it knocks the statue off-balance again.
I dash around the statue and jump up onto its back, putting its body into a lock as I bring it down to the ground.
[Martial Arts Mastery] is now Level 1.
Looks like I've done enough to reach that point, but I can't focus on the increase right now.
"Now!" I call out as the statue attempts to break out of my grip.
I might be a little bit stronger than the statue, but it will break free if it moves its arms enough. Unlike a creature of flesh and blood, it's not too worried about possibly breaking bones to get free. Even with stone in its limbs cracked, it can still move around. Some of the speed might be lost, but the beast will still fight.
Arrows of arcane force, ice, and stone blast into the statue's head, three waves of arrows striking the creature in the face before it dies.
+3.21% [Martial Arts Experience]!
"There we go!" I say. "Getting a little bit more again now that we're facing tougher monsters."
"Yeah," Katie nods. "Almost double what we got in the previous Zone. The monster didn't seem that much tougher than the ones we fought toward the end of Zone 1, though."
"It was only a little bit tougher, yeah," I nod.
"There's a bonus to Experience with each Zone you progress," Adam says. "So monsters in Zone 2 give more Experience than the ones in Zone 1, even for two monsters that are exactly the same."
"Huh," I say. "That's certainly… nifty. Adam! You have plenty of Mana. Come loot this."
"What?" Caleb asks. "But it's not hard! I mean, it's stone, so of course it's hard. But it's not erect! All it'll give us when looted is a stone! We've got dozens of them from yesterday!"
We looted all of the statues on top of anything that might give us value after I received the cuff yesterday. I know it's frustrating him, but it's not like I'm asking him to do the looting.
"A heavy, durable stone perfect for construction," I tell him. "We can still sell it. Not many people loot them because they're fairly heavy and so aren't good for carrying around. We can definitely sell it for a little bit of coin."
Caleb sighs and Adam snorts. Adam approaches the remains of the statue and presses his right hand against its chest. A glow forms around his hand and sinks into the statue, which then dissolves into ash. A dark grey stone block one foot in length and almost six inches in width and height plunks onto the ground.
[Heavy Stone] Quality: 2 This heavy stone is quite durable, making it useful for setting foundations that won't break easily.
I'm sure there are other uses for a heavy stone that's highly durable, and also that it will sell for a decent bit – especially since it's Item Quality 2.
I place my right hand on the stone, and it immediately disappears into my cuff, which I'm wearing on my right wrist.
"Alright," I say. "Let's keep moving. Caleb, you have a lot of Mana, so I want to see what happens if you try looting one of the trees in here."
"What?" Caleb asks. "Are you insane? Maybe a branch. Or some of its leaves. Or fruit if it has some. Even vines or ivy that might be hanging off of or growing up it would be fine! But the entire fucking tree? Are you insane?"
The various parts of the trees can apparently award different objects when loot. One might get just a branch or some firewood, or they might get a staff or a wooden carving. They might get jam from a fruit, or some sort of extract from leaves. There's also a chance nothing will drop at all.
But the entire tree? That will probably cost at least 50 Mana to try and loot, and I'm not sure if the archers will have enough after we clear out any monsters around it. While we could wait for their Mana to recover, Caleb will probably have the Mana then.
"The only person who's insane is the one who doesn't try to loot everything."
"…is that why you've looted some of the moss and ivy we've come across?" Caleb asks. "I mean, I get putting some of it into your storage since it can be sold. But you were even using the looting technique on them!"
"Didn't we teach you how to do that?" I ask. "You owe us, Caleb. Use your Mana for the good of the Party!"
"You're planning on cutting down a tree, aren't you?" Katie asks. "You had axes for 'cutting off branches', you claimed. But now that you can actually store a tree, you want to take some out with you, too, don't you?"
"Hey," I grin. "A Dungeon-grown tree might have properties you wouldn't find elsewhere. Let's keep moving. And Caleb? Just imagine what interesting object might drop if you loot the entire tree rather than just part of it. It may actually sell for quite a lot. Enough that you won't need to scrape by for money or leech off of the generosity of others."
Caleb grumbles under his breath.
"Come on, guys," I say. "Let's not waste time here. We don't know how long it the route for this run will take before we reach the center, so we should keep moving as much as possible."