by Drew Jager
"Come on, Bel, you know he won't be gone long." He tried to console her, but he didn't think it worked very well.
"I know that! It's just... He looked so happy, and then they cut his head off." She scowled, and her expression darkened considerably. "These Adventurers better not leave alive."
Sol was silently stroking the top of her head. He had gone from the berated child to the nurturing parent in a matter of hours. At her declaration, he nodded his head vigorously, shaking a few loose leaves from his hair.
Both Herald and Treant were sitting on the shelves of the Crawl room, watching the Adventurers progression through his Crawl. Sol had Bel in one arm, and his strip of Silk cloth in the other.
"They won't." He assured her. He had claimed the lives of over fifteen Adventurers during the past few days, but he was ready to up his numbers.
They all watched in dismay as the Party breezed through the Trapped hallway. The worst injury they received there was when the ugly Human had tripped, and walked into a Fake Floor trap. Sadly, there was no Falling Boulder pressure plate underneath the thin sheet of rock, and she left unscathed.
When they reached the Flower room, he fully expected them tostruggle and die. Instead, they rushed to the wall on the left side, and crouched behind Lana's shield.
"Cowards. Die with some dignity." He heard Bel growl in her tiny voice. This new version of his Herald was kind of scary, and cute.
"Cowards." Sol mimicked.
They had completely avoided his small lake in the center of the room, and just waited at the wall for the Monsters to come to them.
As expected, his Monsters were too smart to fall for such a basic trap. Sadly, the filthy Dwarf had a ranged spell. When he spotted the Howlers, he easily dispatched them from the sky before they could land their attack. The sister Spinebacks charged afterwards, but Will knew they would not survive on their own.
"Bel, why does that Two-legs use so many spells? I thought they could only use a few before getting exhausted." It irked him that the lone Adventurer was causing this much trouble for him.
"It's his Level. He's probably a D rank, so he must be above Level 10. Why not check?" She asked casually.
He felt his Crawl darken, but he held himself back. Barely. "Sweetheart. Check what?" He forced out.
Both of them knew she had gotten caught, and Sol tried to distance himself from the Herald. She looked away in shame. "Didn't I mention... You can check the Adventurers Levels by Inspecting them..."
"No. You did not mention that."
"Right... Well, all you have to do is focus on them! It's... that easy?" She was trying to make it sound like he should have figured it out on his own. Maybe he should have, but he wouldn't admit that.
He wouldn't argue with her today, though. He just absorbed her bed sheets, and replaced them with moss. "One week."
She looked ready to protest, but Sol put a leafed fingertip on the top of her head. He nodded to tell her to let it go. She sulked even further, and kicked the post of her bed. "Fine."
"Can the Two-legs Inspect my Dungeon? Or is it a Dungeon only ability?" He asked.
After tearing her gaze away from the now far less comfortable sleeping arrangements, she responded. "Some do. Most don't. All Dungeons can do it, though. I'm sure at least one person in the town outside can, though."
That put his mind at ease, at least not every Adventurer could Inspect his Monsters. It would have upset him to no end if his power was comparable to that of a Two-legs.
Of course, Dungeons all have it. We're the best.
Once he was done patting himself on the back, he focused as intently as he could on the ugly Human.
Lana Aldritch - Human (Lvl. 5)
Affinity - Earth
Class - Fighter
Dungeons Completed - 0 Specialization - None
This disgusting thing has a higher Level than I do?
Other than that annoying fact, everything else was what he had expected. He turned his attention to the Cleric.
Michael Stormspear- Human (Lvl. 5)
Affinity - Light
Class - Cleric
Dungeons Completed - 0 Specialization - None
Are you fucking kidding me?
It seemed cruel that the Human would have such a cool last name. He thought back to when he had chosen his own name, and now wished he had picked Death Laser more than ever.
Life is cruel. Of course, he's Level 5 too. Just my luck.
He had saved the Dwarf for last, knowing it would only upset him more to end on a bad note. With a silent curse towards the Two-legs, he Inspected him.
Wren Giltrell - Dwarf (Lvl. 11)
Affinity - Water
Class - Mage
Dungeons Completed - 1 Specialization - Freezing
Come on! Seriously!?
"Bel, why the hell is that Dwarf Level 11. This doesn't even seem fair." He said, sulking.
"Oh, he is? That means he's a D rank Adventurer. That stupid Elf you killed was probably the same rank. It's the same as your Levels, Sweetheart. Once they go past Level 10, they become a lot stronger." She seemed just as annoyed as he was at this development, but she didn't look surprised.
"That's why they have been able to get as far as they did, the Dwarf is the equivalent to a Dungeon's Second Floor Monster. So, the ones we have now won't pose too much threat. Except the Boss, of course." She added, but this only upset him further.
"Well still, why does he have a Specialization? What does it even mean?"
"It's based off of their Affinity and Class. Freezing means he will specialize in offensive Ice spells. There are, supposedly, an unlimited number of Specializations. There are some common ones though, such as Freezing. Other popular ones would be Metal Shaping for Earth, and Lightning for Fire. It just depends on the personality of the Two-legs for what Specialization they get." That last sentence caught him off guard.
"They can't choose what Specialization they get?" He asked incredulously.
"Of course not. Nearly everything is random chance for the Two-legs. This was how Mr. Blue decided it should be." She replied nonchalantly.
This bothered him for some reason, but another question popped into his head. "Why can't I see more detailed information when I Inspect them? Is there more information, or is that it?" Then he realized he had never mentioned the Dwarf had a Freezing Specialization. "Can you Inspect them too!? Why didn't you tell me?"
She took on another look of guilt. "Honestly, I thought Dungeons instinctively knew how to do it. Yes, I can do nearly everything you can. Aside from Dungeon building anyways. Supposedly, some of the higher ranked Adventurers can see very detailed information with their Inspections. I believe, once you level up, you will be able to as well."
Stupid limitations...
He turned his attention back to the Adventurers, and noticed them looting the corpses of the Sisters. It filled him with anger, but he knew this was how it had to be. They hadn't even taken a single bit of damage from them, either. The quills of his Monsters were unable to pierce the new armor the ugly Human had. The spines would probably have hurt the two cowering behind her, but the Sisters had been unable to break past Lana.
"Just as they said, there's a little pond here now." The Dwarf said.
"It looks so peaceful." Michael added.
It was only natural the Two-legs would be admiring his Dungeon; it was the greatest.
"There's still at least one Serpent hiding somewhere, if we assume that Mini-Boss was the original Monster in the Ore room." The ugly Human said, looking around for a sneak attack.
She was right, of course. His Monster had been slowly slithering across the branches of the Silverbark tree, ready to ambush them. A word from Will, and the Serpent backed off.
Better to use him when they were unaware, than letting him die alone.
After a short swing across his vine pit, the Party reached the Troops room for the second time.
I really need to make that tunnel more dangerous... Just got to make su
re Bel doesn't notice.
"Plan is still the same, be ready you two." Wren said.
"Just try not to lose an eye this time." Lana remarked.
"If he does, I won't be able to heal you two much in the Boss room Don't lose to a Monkey again, okay Wren?" Michael joked.
The Dwarf grumbled at this, but he saw a small smile on his lips.
How cute, they care for each other.
He focused on his Troop, and commanded them. "Kill them all. Only the strong are allowed to fight Grizzly."
A series of hoots reverberated out from behind the door, and the Party all froze. It made him very happy to see how wary they were of his Monsters.
"Think they heard you, kid." Wren smirked.
They lined up in an orderly row, and pushed the door to the room open. Then, their plan fell apart.
"Is that a fucking waterfa-" The ugly Human was cut off by a Monkey jumping on the top of her head. It had been latched onto a vine above the entrance, and pounced on the first Two-legs it saw.
As she was flailing around, trying to dislodge the Monster biting her neck, the other two male Monkeys came out of hiding. They swung from the vines hanging from the ceiling, swaying from pillar to pillar, rushing towards the Party.
The Dwarf released one of those annoying Ice spells, and Will watched in frustration as one of the oncoming Monkeys was slain on the spot.
The Cleric had helped the other Human, and both were now tag teaming the lone Monster on the ground. They smashed and slashed, battering the poor Monster to a bloody pulp. Will hated the sight, but knew it was necessary. The damage it had inflicted on the Human was sadly minimal, but the Monkeys purpose wasn't to kill the one with the shield. It was to disorient, and distract the two Humans away from their Party Leader.
As the last living male Monkey descended on the Party, Will watched in fascination at the plan the Monkeys had concocted. In the male's tiny hands, was a large vine. Which he used to wrap around the feet of the Dwarf, tripping him. With a speed he didn't think possible; the Dwarf had been bound completely, and left immobilized.
While the two Humans finished his brother off, he began dragging the flailing Dwarf towards the waterfall in the center of the room.
He had no idea why his Monsters would sacrifice themselves just to potentially drown one Two-legs, but he soon understood why. His female Monkey, the Leader of the Troop, burst from underneath the waterfall. She hooked her claws deep into the shoulder of the Dwarf, and helped her fellow Monster drag the Two-legs into the water.
By the time the two Humans had finished off the initial Monkey, Wren was nowhere to be seen. Their Party Leader was hanging by the ankles, connected to a vine from the ceiling, submerged under the waterfall. Both Monkeys had left the Dwarf to his slow drowning, and moved to keep his comrades from helping him.
"These things are fucking psychopaths." Lana grumbled, readying her sword.
"We need to hurry. I'll cut him down, keep those two away. Go!" Michael shouted.
Both lunged towards the waterfall from opposite sides, and the Monkeys split up to intercept one each. The female went to attack Lana, and the lone male for Michael. Wren was still thrashing under the water, trying to cut himself loose. Sadly, his arms were too short to reach his ankles from his position. It was hilarious to Will.
The female Monkey clashed with the ugly Human, and she raked her claws against the shield the Two-legs was clutching to. The wood creaked and groaned, but held. Deep furrows had been gouged into the wood, and it didn't look like it could handle many more attacks like that. His Monkey kicked the ground in front of her, and threw up a large amount of dirt into the face of the Human. Lana staggered back from this, trying to rub her eyes.
The Troop Leader wasted no time, and started gouging out the insides of the Human's thighs. Sadly, the snake scale armor on her body proved to be an effective defense. Instead of the 2" deep furrows her claws would normally make, she only managed to leave superficial cuts.
Will could practically see the gears turning in his Monsters head, and he cheered her on. He watched as his Monster leapt from her place by the Humans knees, and onto her chest. Lana shrieked at this, and started trying to push the Monster off of her.
"Get off me! I will not lose to a god damned Monkey!" At this declaration, Lana grabbed the Monkey by the back of the neck. The armor on her arm was mauled beyond recognition because of this, and the flesh on her shield arm was now a bloody mess. She dislodged the Monkey, though, and proceeded to slam his poor Monster into the dirt.
The very ground rippled from the impact point, and his valiant Troop Leader was crushed beyond recognition from the force of the blow.
"What the hell just happened!?" He yelled towards Bel.
"It was her Earth Affinity. She did that spell last time." She said with a small sigh.
He remembered when she had sent a wave of earth out, and it had tripped up his Monsters in their earlier dive. Apparently, it was an effective offensive spell for close quarters as well.
Michael had been fending off the other Monkey throughout Lana's ordeal, but had been unable to slay the Monster. The Cleric just wasn't strong enough to land a finishing blow, but the disgusting Human didn't have that hang-up. She walked over, and severed his Monkeys head off from his shoulders. She had struck the Monster while his back was turned.
Cowardly Adventurers.
Both of them rushed towards the now unconscious Dwarf, and dragged him out of the water. They laid him on the ground, but he was unresponsive to their questioning.
He watched in interest as they pounded on the chest of the Two-legs, and felt disgusted when the tanned Human put his lips to the Dwarf's.
"Gross."
"It's a common technique for resuscitation." Bel said with a frown.
"It's still gross."
It had worked, though. After an obscene amount of water was ejected from his body, Wren stood up. He didn't look any worse for the wear, even after nearly drowning.
After checking each other for wounds, and the Cleric scolding the ugly Human for letting a Monkey get the best of her, they began moving forward again.
"Are you sure? I don't think I can do more than one large Heal before I become exhausted. If both of you are injured, I can only save one of you."
"I nearly drowned, and I still want to go. Don't be scared, kid." The Dwarf chided.
"I'm not scared! I'm being practical. You really think Lana will be able to hold her own against a fucking bear!?"
"If I can't, I'll hide behind you. Now get moving, Drama Queen." She started shoving him forward, and he let out a long sigh before moving on his own.
"There better be some good Loot at the end of this. If not, I'm retiring." Michael grouched.
"You haven't even started your career as an Adventurer. Once we kill the Boss, and clear the Dungeon, you will understand." Wren said with a small smile.
"Understand what?"
"The sense of accomplishment." He replied with a large grin.
Michael huffed at this, but kept moving forward. They had entered his room with the statues, and paused to admire his work.
"God, that's ugly." Lana said, and the entire Party visibly shuddered while looking at his work.
Stupid Two-legs...
His statues were still a sore spot, as he hadn't been able to capture the essence of what a Deer should be yet. One day, he would. Then they would stop insulting his work.
All three stopped in front of the door, and the golden jewels set in the wood stared down at them.
"We can still back out. No harm, no foul." Michael whispered. He was staring at the yellow stones, transfixed.
The ugly Human rolled her eyes, and started pushing the door open. She heaved, and grunted, and made many other disgusting noises. Wren had an Ice spell at the ready, and Michael with his staff in hand. Both were ready to attack at the slightest sign of movement.
Will knew they would enter unscathed, as Grizzly was currently resting in the inside of
his cave.
"Bel, why isn't Griz going out and attacking them? It's like he wants them to be prepared for him." He remarked.
She just sighed, and cracked a small smile. "I figured this would happen. How would you feel, Will, if you had spent your entire existence cooped up in a small room? Your purpose to kill Intruders, yet no Intruders come. Isn't it obvious? He wants to put on a show."
At the end of her lecture, Grizzly stood up from his resting position. He let loose a roar similar to the one they had heard after Verne's death. The walls vibrated from the power, and the Adventurers all hunched in anticipation.
