by Dakota Krout
Chapter Twenty
“Dale, I’m not sure this is the best idea,” Hans spoke in a whiny tone as they settled in on the mostly empty third floor.
Dale glared over at Hans with a sour expression. This was the third time they had gone over this. “Hans, I’m serious about advancing my cultivation. The only reason I’m going to leave is to get new missions from the Academy, to drop off Mobs or requested goods, or attend my instruction with the Moon Elves. Or, you know, if we get hurt pretty bad and need help. Hurt by Mobs,” he clarified hurriedly as a knife appeared in Hans’ hand.
“How do you know that this ‘safe area’ will be honored by the dungeon?” Hans quietly inquired, twirling the knife over his knuckles and through his fingers in a beautiful display of dexterity.
“I don’t, and that’s why we are setting a rotating guard when we sleep.” Dale shrugged and fluffed his small travel pillow. It wouldn’t help much, but it was better than sleeping directly on the rocky ground. “But needing to defeat the Boss of the floor to get a token, finding the safe area kiosk, and the fact that it only lasts a few hours maximum all point to this being a serious effort on the dungeon’s part.”
“I’ve also noticed an interesting effect in the air after we inserted the token.” Adam was watching apparently nothing with his strange golden irises. “There isn’t any more Essence coming within the circle created when we put the token in. In other words, this isn’t somewhere that we can sit and cultivate. If it is a ‘safe area’, it is only that; this is certainly not a valid cultivating area.”
Dale seemed crestfallen, his expression exaggerated to the point that the others laughed at him. Tom lightly punched the ex-Noble, sending him staggering a few steps. The giant redhead was grinning. “Do you really want to cultivate in a safe area? You will end up like a greenhouse cultivator, unable to withstand the slightest breeze of adversity! No, we will grow against all odds, we will persevere where others would fail… like the weeds near the summit of Mountaindale!”
Dale burst out laughing and slapped the other man on his back. Tom gained a look of panic on his face - which twisted to one of pain - and he staggered away rubbing a hand-shaped bruise that was forming. Dale winced and sheepishly grinned. “Ah, right. Sorry about that, buddy. My strength is… I’m just not used to it yet. Great speech though!”
Tom nodded and tried to rub the spot on his back. “I understand perfectly, though I may ask Adam to look at this. Get some sleep; I’ll take the first watch.”
“Sorry…!” Dale called after Tom, who simply waved it off. Rose was laughing at him, as was Hans, so Dale decided to do as Tom directed and get some sleep. He lay down and drifted off, and a few hours later, he was shaken awake by Hans. “What? What’s going on?”
“Just wanted to let you know that the ‘safe area’ is working as it is supposed to.” Hans pointed at the edge of the circle that had appeared, where some frightening Bashers were staring at them menacingly. Dale hadn’t seen these types before and recoiled in shock when he activated his Essence sight and was able to see that they were C-ranked.
“What are those things?” His voice made them shift anxiously, but the huge, blade-horned rabbits didn’t come any closer.
“I’m thinking that they are the ‘Hopsecutioners’ that I’ve heard about. They supposedly give support to Raile when large parties try to work together against him. Now, I’m not sure what they are doing here, but if they stay here, they are going to be dead in half a minute.” Hans stated the last part loudly, and the knives spinning in his hands took on a dull edge of heat. The Hopsecutioners’ ears twitched, and after snorting softly a few times, they turned and bounced away.
“Did the dungeon give them new orders, or could they understand you?” Rose wondered aloud as the fluffy tails whisked around the corner.
“The dungeon didn’t focus on this area, so I’m going to assume that they could understand, if not his words, then at least the threat that he offers.” Adam had come over to stand by them and put forth his own interpretation, “I’m betting they are down here because this floor is almost empty otherwise. Even the Boss Goblin we had to fight to get this token was alone.”
“Bugbears!” Tom sat upright, blinking owlishly in the light from their campfire as he looked around. “Wazzat?”
“Go back to sleep, Tom. We’re all set,” Dale gently ordered. Tom nodded once and laid back down. Dale looked at the others and talked a little softer, “Tomorrow, we are going into the labyrinth. Do you think everyone is ready?”
“Is there any rush?” Rose poked at him. “Let’s cultivate for a few days on this floor.”
Dale shook his head. “The density of Essence increases as we go further down. We can increase our cultivation in a shorter time if we dance on the edge of oblivion.”
“How poetic. I assume you mean if we get especially close to that monstrosity of a Boss monster that has its own floor?” Hans shuddered in disgust. “I don’t think it would be happy to have us wearing clothes made out of its skin…”
“Maybe it will think we are smaller versions and just let us pass through?” Rose countered optimistically.
“If we could survive on deeper floors, I would have just had us pop down to them through a portal. The fifth… sixth floor? The one after the Manticore… does his level count as a full floor? Anyway, they are too dangerous for us to cultivate on. We are only taking the scenic route because we need to load up on Mobs and plants. The labyrinth is going to be different; that is where we will end up staying for our extended cultivation training.” Dale was confident in his plans.
“Works for me.” Hans stretched and cracked his vertebrae. “Can’t get ordered to do things if you can’t be found, know what I mean? As for the floors, as far as I know, there are the two rabbit levels, this empty floor that used to hold the Goblins in their fortresses, the labyrinth, the Boss room, followed by two golem-filled floors of ‘paths’ from the Tower of Ascension.”
“I thought there was only one floor of those at the end?” Adam voiced the question before Dale could.
“I hear things,” Hans shrugged, feigning nonchalance, “so if you count all of those as floors, there are currently seven.
Dale was raring to go but feeling ever more powerless. “All I hear is that there are unexplored treasures under my feet that I can’t access. I was taught my limits in here. A while back, I was in the room with the Manticore as a few Mages fought it, and its Mana was so overwhelming that I could not move no matter how I tried. I hated that feeling, and I want to be able to fight that thing on equal terms!”
“Give it a few decades, Dale.” Hans smiled at the glare that was shot his direction. “You’ll get there!”
“A few decades is too long.” Dale’s mouth set in a firm line. “That’s where this training comes in. We, together, are going to become strong enough to protect ourselves, our interests, and each other.”
“Ugh, so serious all the time.” Hans pushed Dale on the chest, causing him to stumble. “You have the option for a near-unlimited lifespan; have fun every once in a while!”
“Where?” Dale blandly asked Hans instead of rising to his bait.
“I’ll take you into the city and we can… hmm.” Hans’ brow furrowed, then a devious grin jumped into place. “We can go to the Golden Sands Broth… nope. Huh. To the Abyss with it! Necromancers should be renamed ‘Joy Assassins’. They literally killed all the fun in the world. Fine, I’m in. Let’s go get strong.”
“They might have killed the fun, but couldn’t they revive the area?” Rose tried to banter with him. “I heard that the tourist areas of the city were dying, maybe that is what got them all hot and bothered?”
“Dale already proved his point, Rose! Why must you taunt me with your beauty and honeyed words? Are you just trying to get close to me?” Hans fluttered his lashes at her.
“With our history, you are still trying that?” Rose’s hands inched toward her bow.
Hans stepped toward her,
shaking his head. “Rose, feel my arm. Just do it.”
“Why?”
“It’s part of me, so it is obviously made out of boyfriend material.” Hans dodged gracefully, catching two arrows in his hands before the anger left her face. “Careful with that! You might actually hurt me someday!”
“Oh, I will. Dale, I’m fully on board with this training.” The last sentence was said in an almost sickly-sweet tone.
“Well, let’s not waste time.” Dale woke the others, and they walked to the entrance of the labyrinth. They headed down the winding stairs, entering into the welcome room of the enormous maze. Dale felt a sudden pain and flipped backward as a Flesh Cat missed a swipe at him. He was bleeding, so perhaps ‘missed’ was the wrong word. Failing in its attack, the Cat ran off before a retaliatory strike could be made.
“A few weeks of this, and we will be sufficiently battle-hardened!” Tom was entirely too cheerful in Dale’s opinion. After a bandage was pressed to his fresh wound, they moved deeper into the maze.
Chapter Twenty-one
I was hovering over the location of the almost-Mana-using dungeon that was on our map. Everything was ready for this dungeon to be destroyed; I just needed to make it happen.
Dale was fighting Snowball right now and wasn’t taking my interruptions very well. “Quiet, you over-talkative rock!”
An arrow whistled through the air, and I nudged Snowball’s mind to have him duck. Dale got slapped by a dinner-plate sized paw and tumbled away as Tom stepped in to block the Cat from pressing his advantage.
“Cal, I have no political power!” Dale wheezed, blood trickling from his lips. Snowball hit with the force of a high C-ranker. “All I am now is a low-ranked fighter.”
“Why not go bother Minya with this?” Dale bellowed as he dove back into the fight. He rolled onto Snowball’s back, straddling him and punching the Cat in the head repeatedly.
“Not until- Ahh!” Dale shrieked as steam blasted onto him. His enhanced body took the heat without killing him instantly, but nasty blisters now coated his skin. Now, I know it is strange to be happy about seeing him in pain, as he is me, but it was oddly satisfying to watch him writhing around on the ground as Snowball turned on him. Good thing that steam was natural and not Essence-created, or Dale’s armor would have just absorbed it.
A paw reared back, then dropped again as I warned Snowball about an incoming dagger. The blade stuck into the wall, and Hans laughed. “I guess it’s learning our tricks!”
“That’s great; help me!” Dale shouted in reply as he rolled to avoid a pounce. He should have gotten some rigid armor; he wouldn’t have needed to prevent every little thing from striking him. Too bad someone doesn’t listen to my advice!
Snowball tried to spring forward but yowled as he was pulled back to the ground. A golden chain - which looked too thin to hold my Cat in place - had kept Snowball connected to the ground. Adam was smiling with too-white teeth as his eyes shone bright gold. He blinked as Rose slammed the bladed end of her bow into the colossal Cat’s head, killing my poor kitty. The chain vanished, and Adam’s facial features returned to a fairly neutral expression.
Dale stood up, reached into the new wound, and split Snowball’s skull open. He dug around for a moment before popping the Core out of the skull and into his hand. Just before he crushed it, I coughed into his mind to get his attention. “What, you annoying puddle-loving rock?”
“You don’t have a face.”
Dale rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He winced as he carelessly pressed against a blister. “Fine, fine. You’re right, puddles are great, and bubbles are fun.”
Dale ignored most of what I had to say, staring at the Core in his hand with trepidation. “This could become intelligent?”
I snorted at him.
“Come deep into the dungeon and learn great secrets, be healed of your wounds, and have your cultivation bottlenecks shattered!” Minya was shouting above the guards’ orders.
“You are under arrest for the suspected massacre of over a dozen people!” One of the men surrounding her was shouting back at her. “Be silent, wench!”
Minya backhanded him, snapping his jaw and sending his unconscious body to the ground. No one tried to catch the fallen human as Minya continued shouting, “The Guild sends a new police force, removes those in power, and sends our lives into turmoil! For stability, for honest work, and a boost in your abilities, join me in serving the dungeon!”
I started to return my attention down below, but Minya’s eyes widened and she began yelling, “Even now, the dungeon speaks to me! What service is it that I can perform for the Great Spirit?”
“The dungeon calls for a crusade! Who will join me in destroying the impertinent dungeon we are above? I call upon my fellow Mages!” Minya looked around, beaming at the growing crowd.
“What would we get out of it?” A B-ranked man stepped forward, greed warring with incredulity on his face.
I threw out the first thing I could think of,
Minya’s eyes widened even further. Somehow. I was surprised they hadn’t popped out. “The dungeon offers a path advancement for any Mage willing to do this task!”
“You’re lying or insane.” The Mage who had stepped forward stated flatly, turning away and vanishing into the crowd.
“Mages! What risk are you taking?” Minya called over the laughter the Mage leaving had generated. “Either you do nothing and laugh at a perceived falsehood, or you are offered a path advancement! If the rewards are not as promised, it will be easy for you to tell the others that I do not speak true, will it not?”
The laughter faded t
o muttering, and soon enough, a few people had stepped forward.
“Welcome friends!” she brightly greeted her temporary companions. “Shall we begin immediately, or do you need time to prepare? Can I get your names?”
“I’m Shanara. Call me Shan.” A green-eyed Elf was standing next to her and staring unblinkingly at Minya. “I’d normally charge you for my services directly, and I warn you that if the dungeon does not follow through on the promise you made, I will charge you the normal fee plus danger pay.”
“A mercenary? Ooh. A Wild Elf, then?” Minya grinned as other people quickly stepped away from the group with looks of fear or disgust, depending on their race. “What are you bringing to the group?”
“Poison and ice. Take it or leave it,” Shan hissed with narrowing eyes. She did not particularly care to have her exile brought up in casual conversation. “I’ve destroyed dungeons before if that helps.”
Minya’s smile never wavered. “Oh, it does. I’ll learn the rest of your names as we go, but let’s do this!”
I called to her as the Mages began running toward the edge of the mountain.
“Don’t worry about it, Cal.” I saw the smirk on her face just as she jumped off the cliff. “I haven’t failed you yet.”
She and her team were outside of my perception, so I could only groan and try to avoid a headache that shouldn’t exist. Since, yeah, no head. Alright. Well… if they couldn’t succeed, I was going to be in real trouble. Already I could see that ‘Barry’ was getting impatient if his tapping foot was any indication. Each ‘tap’ demolished some of the ground around him, so it was an obvious threat to me. I listened in on his muttering for only a moment and shuddered.