Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) - A Dungeon Core LitRPG

by Jonathan Smidt

  The group stood outside of the dungeon, once again preparing for their dive. The three days of rest had gone by quickly, and everyone seemed in high spirits. They were eager to dive again.

  They had met late in the day outside of the dungeon, knowing the other groups would take a while to clear it. While the first day had resulted in zero casualties on the dives, it seemed the later groups had met with more difficulty. Blake wasn’t sure what it was, but each day had seen one or two deaths, along with some rather serious injuries. As such, teams were taking longer on each dive, and some weren’t even attempting to fight Steve

  “Fifty gold pieces,” Karan said. “I like to think it was a good investment.”

  She shared a smile with Jack, who looked down at his new armor. As promised, Karan had bought him his full set of class gear, as well as a new shield for Blake and a new bow for Matt.

  “I would have gotten Blake and Matt a class piece as well, but since I don’t know their affinity or what class they will choose at Silver, I couldn’t.”

  Class gear started out basic, with neutral mana racing through to help augment an adventurer’s class. However, for a little more gold, it was possible to buy gear that was not only class, but also affinity specific. This gear increased the effectiveness of any affinity use, while also decreasing the mana cost to use these skills.

  “I knew you were going to get me the class gear, but the wind thief set?” Jack’s face was filled with adoration, and were those tears in his eyes? “I really don’t know what to say, Karan.”

  Blake grinned. That was a first. Jack always had something to say.

  “’Thank you’ is always nice.” Karan offered him a smile – a genuine one. She looked the thief up and down. He was clad now in a fine set of leather gear with strange, swirling, wind-like traces of silver throughout. On his chest, as well as the gloves he wore, sat smoky, crystalline stones. The stone was a type of quartz known to boost wind affinity.

  “Thank you, Karan.” Jack drew his daggers, also brand new. He twirled the blades, each set with a crystal on the pommel. He spun them skillfully, eyes looking lovingly at the blades. “I promise you, I will do my best.”

  “That’s all I ask,” Karan said.

  Her voice held the faintest hint of sorrow as her eyes once again seemed to skip to the past. Blake wasn’t sure if the others had noticed, given how everyone was fawning over Jack’s new gear. Just what had happened to Karan?

  “Now, is everyone ready? Anything else you guys need to do before we begin our dive?” Karan suddenly asked, snapping out of it.

  .

  “I think we’re good.” Blake looked at the rest of his team, who all nodded.

  “Yup,” said Matt, who was stringing his new bow, caressing it lovingly. It was of uncommon quality, with reinforced steel on the limbs, ideal for close range fighting. Karan had likely taken account of Matt’s tendency to use his bow as a staff when he couldn’t land shots. She had also gotten Blake an uncommon iron shield, which would likely fare much better against the skeletal creatures. It was, however, heavier than Blake was used to.

  “Agreed,” Emily said. She had switched her basic adept robes for the silk robes that had dropped from Steve. They were a deep crimson, and of rare level. As Karan had mentioned, the robes were part of a mage’s class armor, which meant Emily was already better equipped than Matt and Blake. Talk about lucky.

  “All right, well, the last team should almost be finished,” Karan said.

  She glanced at the entrance, motioning towards Rasha. The assassin was impatiently tapping his foot, looking down at the sphere in his hand. Even from a distance, Blake could see one of the five crystals had gone dark, and two of the others were dimming and flickering.

  “Doesn’t look like they fared well,” Jack said.

  His words were somber, and the rest of the group grew quiet. The cleric standing next to Rasha kept peering into the darkness of the dungeon, worry on her face. She was Gold level, just like Karan.

  However, while Karan wore basic robes, the cleric the guild had hired to help heal adventurers was clad in fine white robes. These robes were embroidered with golden silk, depicting the scales of the Goddess of Justice. Blake wasn’t sure if her obvious anxious attitude was because she was worried for the adventurers, or discomfort about the dark dungeon.

  Apparently, members of the church did not like the fact that a darkness dungeon had been allowed to exist. However, no one dared to challenge Alice’s word when it came to what dungeons could and couldn’t be left in existence.

  “Here they come,” Jack said as a light shone from within the dungeon’s maw.

  The leader of the group, a Silver Five Warrior, was bleeding profusely. His left arm hung limp, while in his right hand he held a torch. Many groups had started bringing torches to help light the dungeon and burn the plant room. That poison ivy caused an extremely irritating rash that lasted for two days. Luckily, as promised, Jack had provided Blake’s team with a salve to heal the rash.

  “That doesn’t look good.” Jack motioned past the leader, who was missing both his swords, towards the next figure.

  He was a Silver Eight knight, their tank, the member of a party meant to draw the enemies attention, and protect the other, lesser armored members of the party. His armor was dented in countless places, and a bladed piece of bone – one of Steve’s – was lodged deep in his arm. Another adventurer, a Bronze warrior, was helping the knight carry their fourth member. He was barely conscious, and dark blood oozed from countless wounds. Zombie bites.

  “Did they try to fight Steve after being so injured?” Blake wondered aloud.

  “Aye, it seems they got a little too confident after their last go-around,” Jack mused. “I’m guessing they thought everyone else’s stories were exaggerations.”

  The first four groups had apparently had a much easier time in the dungeon than Blake’s group and those that followed. He wasn’t sure why, but they had all seemed overly confident about how easy the dungeon was. Guess this time they found out that isn’t the case.

  “Remember, everyone, a dungeon is always evolving,” Karan said as she watched the cleric begin healing the group. “Even if you have an easy time on a dive, the dungeon can change before the next one. A dungeon is always figuring out new ways to take down adventurers. It is living, and it will be challenging. Never, ever drop your guard.” Her eyes were far away again. “Becoming too relaxed, too confident, will only lead to death.”

  The group turned away from the scene before them, the very air seeming heavier with Karan’s words. Blake looked at each member, noting the looks on their faces, seeing the specter of fear creeping back on the group. The lighthearted excitement they had felt was fading quickly.

  “Welp, that was deep.” Jack was the first to break the silence, putting a sly smile on his face as he looked at everyone. “But the difference between those groups, and ours,” he twirled his blades, small winds whipping up around them, “is that we have the most awesome thief around.” He shot a wink at Karan, followed by a sincere smile. “And a leader dumb enough to spend a small fortune on making sure the thief is ready to keep everyone safe.”

  Jack sheathed his daggers, sending a light blast of air at everyone around. “Now, how about we go work up a sweat, and cool off tonight with a nice, hearty round of drinks?”

  “You’re still limited to hot chocolate, to match that hot air of yours,” Karan replied, offering Jack a sly smile. Just like that, the mood once again turned around, and Blake could tell everyone was excited to take the dungeon on once again.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Ugh, what is with these guys today?” Ryan groaned.

  He was in a foul mood. Not even skeletal fight club could improve it. The last four adventurer groups had all been unusually stupid, and as a result, each team had lost at least one adventurer. Ryan appreciated the experience, he really did, but the deaths had been completely avoidable.

  “Well, you did
make the dungeon really easy on them last time.” Erin’s voice was quiet, and Ryan knew she was just as upset as he was. While she was a strong advocate for his need to kill adventurers in order to level up, they were both upset over how the deaths had happened.

  “Yeah, but still. Even at regular strength, all the rest of the teams over the past four days were at least cautious,” Ryan said. “Seriously, that last group just casually walked up to Steve, even with all of those wounds. The guy with the ratbie bites was already showing weakness. Why didn’t they just turn back?”

  He knew why they hadn’t turned back. He had heard their conversation, obviously, before they entered the room.

  Their leader had convinced the group to just kill Steve quickly, and then they could get out and treat their injuries. After all, their tank was confident he could block all of Steve’s attacks, and the rest of the team would be able to easily just defeat him.

  That was how they had managed the fight last time. What they didn’t know, though, was last time Ryan had severely limited Steve’s fighting powers. The adventurers were completely unprepared for Steve’s long-range attack, and with a weakened team member, they were lucky they only lost one person.

  “I told you—“

  “Don’t,” Ryan said. “Not now, Rin.”

  Ryan couldn’t stand to hear her say she told him so. He had become used to one or two adventurers falling in his dungeon every day. He understood it was necessary for him to grow stronger, and they knew the risks. But these last four teams, their deaths had seemed pointless.

  And Ryan knew he was to blame. Just when he thought he was getting past his moral dilemma, the guilt of setting these teams up for failure and pointless deaths had returned.

  “I’m sorry, Ryan.”

  Erin’s emotions flooded into their bond. He could tell she was really beating herself over the latest development. She likely blamed herself for his pain. She was his guide, his teacher, after all.

  “It’s fine, hun.”

  He calmed himself. Just one more team today, and then he could try and sort through his emotions.

  “On the plus side, we’re Bronze Four now.” It really wasn’t much of a plus side, in Ryan’s mind, but he knew telling Erin might help cheer her up a bit. Over four days, he had killed eleven adventurers out of the hundred that had entered. Nine had been Bronze, and two had been Silver. With the last Bronze member he killed from the last team, he had managed to jump to Bronze Four.

  Two ranks in less than a week has to be good. Right?

  “Well, I guess that does help a little,” Erin said begrudgingly.

  “Should we do anything with our points?” Ryan asked.

  He had eighty-five now, meaning he was currently sitting on twenty spare points. If Erin didn’t want him to increase the difficulty anymore, that just meant he might be able to improve his skeletal fight club even more. That thought lifted his mood just a little. He had no qualms killing off his mobs for evolution, after all.

  “Not today. Maybe give them another week to get stronger.”

  “Works for me.”

  His voice held a little more cheer than he intended, as his mind was already racing towards the possibilities his extra points could mean for skeletal fight club. So far, his evolution pits had given him a new skrat and skuirrel, each costing two points instead of one. He could only imagine what else his pits could provide him with. Maybe he would try with his—

  “Oh, look who it is.” Erin’s voice had taken on an excited tone, and pulled Ryan from his musings. Skeletal fight club could wait just a little longer.

  “Who?” He turned his attention to his entrance. He had been purposefully avoiding it, wanting the poor last group to be out of his sight. Seeing their beaten state made him feel guilty.

  “Blake.” Sure enough, the young fighter was standing with his group next to the strange dark-clad man who was standing outside the dungeon. Ryan knew his name was Rasha thanks to the speech given on the first day the adventurers had begun diving. However, he knew nothing else about the man.

  When Ryan had tried to look at Rasha’s information earlier, all that had come up were question marks. Maybe he couldn’t see his information because Rasha hadn’t actually entered his influence? Erin hadn’t had an explanation for him either, so it was something he tried not to think about. However, Ryan hated not knowing something.

  “Thank the Goddess,” Ryan said. “His team makes me smile.”

  Ryan’s mood was improving as he watched Blake’s team touch their strange pendants to the disk held by Rasha. He could feel excitement filling him as Blake and his team marched towards the opening of his dungeon.

  Something about Blake’s team – their comradery, the sense of accomplishment they had given off after their first dive – made Ryan immensely excited. He really liked their team, and maybe they would serve as the distraction he needed.

  “Here they come,” he said, and through his bond, he could feel Erin’s excitement as she settled down to watch their favorite group in action.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  “You can do it,” Jack called out to Matt and Emily while he stood back with Karan.

  The group had sent the three Bronze members to the center of Ryan’s first room, but their two strongest, Karan and Jack, simply stayed back to watch.

  “Oh, looks like Matt got a new bow,” Erin said, and sure enough, it looked like the archer had replaced the bow he broke. Having absorbed it, Ryan knew his old bow had been a low-quality common item. This new bow looked much better.

  “And look at Blake’s shield,” she went on.

  The adventurer was sporting a brand new, metal shield.

  Nice.

  “Aww, Emily is wearing the robe Steve dropped,” Erin said.

  Ryan paused in his inspection of the adventurers. The robe was nice quality, a deep crimson silk – a great item for sure. But he still disliked the mage who had owned the original set of robes. Honestly, Ryan was sure Blake had to have remembered those robes as well.

  “Just try to focus, Matt,” Jack called out.

  Jack’s encouragement was met with a curse of frustration as Matt let fly another arrow, only to miss a skuirrel. The beast leapt at Matt, but Blake was already moving. The flying skuirrel glanced off of Blake’s shield, and clattered onto the floor. The mob was missing a leg and tail now but was still ready to fight.

  “Come on, Blake, what type of block was that?” Jack laughed, while Karan watched silently, her eyes taking in the scene around them.

  Skuirrels were launching themselves at all different angles. Matt was trying, unsuccessfully, to shoot them. Blake was trying with mixed results to block them all, but wasn’t launching his own attacks. Perhaps he was getting used to his new shield? Meanwhile, Emily stood next to the two men, her wooden stick in hand, looking nervous.

  “You just going to sit there talking, or you going to help us?” Blake called back, in the middle of blocking another flying skuirrel. This time, he got his shield positioned properly, and the poor mob shattered.

  “Eh, you got this. Besides, I’m doing this for you. Helping ya’ll get stronger and whatnot.” Jack had a wide grin on his face as he stood lazily near the entrance to the first room.

  Ryan was curious about the thief’s new gear. While the others seemed to have just replaced what had been broken, Jack seemed to have undergone an entire wardrobe change. Unfortunately, Ryan couldn’t inspect the gear the adventurer was wearing. While he could see the adventurers’ names, ranks, and classes, their mana restricted him from understanding what they were wearing. The only way he could figure out their gear was if they died and he absorbed it.

  “Then shut up until we finish, damned thief,” Matt yelled across the room, failing once again to hit a skuirrel.

  Erin winced as she watched the shot go wide.

  “So close,” Ryan quipped, watching the arrow land a foot away from the skuirrel.

  The archer did seem to be getting a little be
tter at aiming at the mobs, but at this rate, Blake was going to kill them all with his shield before Matt managed a good shot.

  “It’s your turn, Emily,” Karan said in a sweet, firm voice.

  Emily, the poor adept, nearly leapt out of her boots at the sound of it.

  “But– “

  “No buts, Emily,” Karan said. “Just believe in yourself.”

  “You got this, Em,” Matt said. He put the arrow he had drawn back in his quiver at his side, motioning towards the adept.

  “Don’t worry, Em, Blake’s a surprisingly good meat shie—“

  Jack’s words were cut short as Karan punched him in the stomach. Judging by the way he bent over, she had hit him hard.

  “Worth it,” the thief groaned, before falling to his knees.

  “Just focus on the target and envision your mana bursting on it,” Karan said. “Your wand will help channel it in the direction you need, but ultimately, your mana will obey your wishes.”

  “If you say so,” Emily muttered. From the tone in her voice, Ryan figured Emily really didn’t believe in herself.

  “You can do it, Emily,” Erin said. The fairy was watching the scene intently, cheering the young girl on.

  Seven skuirrels remained in the room, three having been smashed by Blake’s shield. One of the remaining seven was still missing a leg and tail, courtesy of Blake’s aggressive blocking. Ryan nudged the injured mob forward, and the poor creature stumbled into the open, directly towards Emily.

  “Skuirrel,” Matt called out, directing his sister’s attention to the injured beast.

  It was moving fast, but nowhere near as quickly as the others. Emily pointed her wand towards the skuirrel, and without warning, part of the skuirrel burst apart.

  “Huzzah!” the entire team cried out as Matt and Blake patted Emily on the back. Ryan held his skuirrels off for a moment, letting them celebrate.

  “That was nice of you,” Erin whispered, and Ryan could feel her joy through their bond.