I peeked out from my hiding place, a large fissure in the wall. From there, I could see the newcors.
Humans... or humanoids at least. They are wearing armor with helts, so I can't see any characteristic that shows that they're humans or sothing similar, but there are no centaurs or tentacle-aliens at least. No female knights either...
The armor had the sa white-and-gold the, but looking closely, I can see so serious differences between the six of them.
There's one guy that looks like the model of Arthurian knights, complete with a cape and sword. But he's the most normal-looking one among all those guys.
A different guy's without weapons, but his gauntlets are so stupid-big that anyone else couldn't lift their arms if they had those equipped. Except for that, and so greaves on his legs, he's only wearing leather armor. Probably so pugilist or practitioner of martial arts. That's the feeling he gives.
Two other guys look like magicians that forcefully added armor to their robes. Is calling them "magic knights" alright? One of them looks more priest-ish, with the crosses decorating his armor. So, magician knight and priest knight? They're the ones with the biggest reactions from [Magic Sight], and the priest-looking one's got a golden-and-white aura to boot.
Musn't forget about the spear-wielding fellow. His armor's thinner than the others, probably designed to move around quickly. Even an amateur like can see he's got so smooth movents.
Last in the group is the guy walking in front of the other one. But calling him a knight may be stretching it a little. He looks more like a thief with that huge mantle covering most of his body and how he's checking the ground like that. Only his helt hidden underneath the hood and the tal boots, reveals that he's part of the sa group.
The knight group kept on moving, closing in towards the glued tortoise-duo. Not that they moved with any haste. The... thief-knight(?), kept on checking the ground for potential traps and such, but after a while, they must have decided that it was safe.
So that's how pro Dungeon divers do it. Kinda feel like what I've been doing's been blasphemy towards the real adventures... but hey, I'm a monster! Why should I move like the humanoids?
While I was thinking about the difference between monsters and non-monsters, the knight group had started to investigate the tortoise duo.
Or, I think they're investigating it? They've taken out these wacky thingamajiggies... whatever they are. Looks like video caras, or so scanning devices. There's mana in them, so... magic machines? No, that sounds wrong.
In any case, if those guys are so busy with their science project, let them be. I'm outta here! Having three of those tortoises in my Storage would kill my appetite for reptiles.
That, and they would rot before I could eat them all. Sotis, aning all the ti, I wish that [Spatial Storage] had so ti-freezing functions.
---
So tis after I ran away from the knight brigade, I arrived at a new crossroad of dilemma. A real crossroad! Okay, I'll stop joking.
The road is splitting into four, like the Greek letter Ψ (psi). The next floor is through the left-most upper road, while the first floor is the road at the bottom. The problem, however, is the middle- and right road at the top.
Both paths lead to a machine that needs to be bugged, but the right road is the most problematic. It's guarded by a freaking two-headed snake tortoise! I know that cause I saw it while exploring the floor on the first go. Ran away the mont I laid my eyes on the behemoth.
The middle path's better. Just your everyday frog hive... frog hotel? Frog society? A big area where the frogs in the area have made their official sleeping place.
The frogs are easy to slip by, but the behemoth is different. I can't reach the machine without reaching the end of my lifespan. Or can I?
This idea better work here. Now, where's a good stone when you need it?
---
"Zzzzz, quark, quark, quark. Zzzzz, quark, quark, quark."
What snoring sounds from these guys, er, frogs. Fine with , as long as they don't wake themselves up.
I'm at the entrance of the cave that contains the Dungeon machine... and the hordes of sleeping frogs. Even a tortoise will have trouble with this amount of frog legs.
No problem for though. I used a thread as a safety rope and traveled the cavern by walking on the wall. I needed to replace the thread as I walked, but in the end, I reached the machine.
*Click*
And there went the device!
"Zzzz, QUARK!"
Eek! What was that for!? One of the frogs made a loud noise all of a sudden. I was preparing for the worst, but it looks like it was only sneezing in its sleep. Don't scare like that! But the stupid frog was already sleeping. Can frogs even sneeze? Weird.
I had no choice this ti, as the timing of the frogs' sleeping hours matched my purpose brilliantly, but thinking about it, shouldn't I have thought of so plan B? Believing that I can hide with [Stealth] all the ti will co back to bite sooner or later.
... Let's get that class with the Skill Points from this floor's Quest. Getting the skill for increasing DEX won't cost so much, and I can use Skill Points to force its level up. The only drawback is that I won't be getting any Skill Points when the skill reaches Lv.10 now, even if I make it reach that level naturally afterward, but with DEX being my most used stat, I'll have it reach Lv.20 when I get the Rogue class.
Since I need three more points for reaching 100 DEX, I need to spend 3 Skill Points to get [Dextrity Increase (Small)] at Lv.3. I've already completed the requirents of "Killing 10 or more beings undetected" thanks to the Shredder, or, in this case, having killed 10 or more beings before they could react.
Then there's the requirent of being in the presence of other creatures without being detected for a certain amount of ti, but since I've been in stealth mode for most of my second life, I'm not that concerned about that one.
Wonder if the knight group has arrived yet. As I thought that, I reached the psi-crossroad... only to find the spoken devil... Sorry, I ant the knights.
Did they take a break before moving on? Or rather, they must have moved slowly due to seeing that there's sothing in this Dungeon that can create birdli-like thread mass. That ca back to bite . Getting to check out if they're following my lead is a good thing, but damn that was close.
The thief-knight looked at the big rock that lent to the wall that divided the right- and middle tunnels. They started to discuss it with each other, so I sneakily ca closer...
"... What is this supposed to be?" - Thief-knight
"It looks like so drawing...?" - Pugilist-knight
Oi! Why do you say that as a question?
"I can see that, but what's the drawing supposed to be?" - Thief-knight
"A... mouth?" - Spear-knight
"A hole?" - Magician-knight
"A takoyaki?" - Priest-knight
It's a treasure chest! The right path leads to freakin' treasures(lie)!!
"Who made this? And for what reason?" - Knight
"Don't ask . It could be a trap made by the Dungeon... but which path should we take then?" - Thief-knight
"Logically, the path the drawing points towards would be the sa one, and the other two would be filled with traps..." - Magician-knight
They're both safe! All of them are safe! If it wasn't for the inhabitants...
"... But what if the Dungeon's ruler knows about this way of thinking?" - Pugilist-knight
"He's right. If that is the case, then they would know that people would take the right path since they expect that one to be the trap-less one. So instead, they placed all the traps that could be placed on the two other tunnels in the right one, creating one bonafide death trap." - Spear-knight
Why are you guys complicating this so much!?!?
"... But why wouldn't the ruler of the Dungeon lay traps in all three tunnels?" - Priest-knight
"Ah!" - Knights
Are you stupid or sothing!? If they could do that, then they would have placed them by the entrance or sothing! ...Speaking of the devil, I haven't seen any traps either. Is this place bad with traps?
"No matter, we need to investigate the whole Dungeon. The leads tell us that guy is also here, so we need to look for him while working on conquering, or destroying, this Dungeon. Leave no stone unturned." - Knight
"Sir!"
With that, the knight group went to the right tunnel. Finally! I was getting impatient here.
I left the frog tunnel and left for the next floor. Good thing I overheard the knights also wanting to beat the Dungeon. That increases the odds of them placing the last device after beating the two-headed tortoise.
I even considered a mont to join the fight between them, as both sides will lose so life if they clash, bringing a good chance for obtaining so free, high-quality EXP. Although, it would probably end with dead from a stray shot. I hope those art-haters get what they deserve!
... Wasn't this too easy? Getting to know the knights' plans and all that? Must be overthinking this. I an, after all my worries, why shouldn't I have a stroke of luck sotis?
---
- The knights' PoV -
"Was that good enough?" - Priest-knight
"I think so, but one can never know for sure." - Knight
The knight group, an adventurer party that called themselves "The Grail Knights", walked through the Dungeon tunnel while discussing the monster that had tried to keep itself hidden from them.
"This better work. I hate acting." - Pugilist-knight
"No worries. The spider in question was skillful and intelligent enough to take care of two, maybe more, rank E monsters on its own. And from the information we got from the party before, this creature must have the sa thoughts about this place as we do." - Magician-knight
The knights had already discovered the existence of the spider monster of the Reha Zera race the mont the battle between it and the tortoises started. Who wouldn't notice a bunch of monsters making hell? Even if it was only the thief-knight that noticed them at first.
"It's better to have a local work with the sabotage of this monstrosity. Even with temperature regulating armors, we will not be able to explore much of this place without proper logistic channels." - Knight
The knights had t up with the Cheerful Hunters party on their retreat from the Dungeon. When these two parties t up, the Hunters told the Grail Knights the way to enter the Dungeon, saving them so ti and resources.
Due to that, the knights have quite the fair share of goods left in their Item Bags and Storage skills, but not enough to explore a Dungeon of unknown size. So of the more famous Dungeons could have 50, if not 100 floors and areas.
Due to that, adventurers that go Dungeon diving anticipate having to stay in the Dungeon for weeks, if not months. The number of materials needed for that is way more than a search for so mystery item that produces the drought.
"Just hope that the little bugger stays clear of that guy." - Spear-knight
"True. That guy is known to hate Darkness attribute creatures." - Magician-knight
"We got to et up with the Cheerful Hunters by following his tracks, but seriously, I wanna throw him in the slamr more than anything." - Pugilist-knight
"Ssh. Sothing's up there." - Thief-knight
The thief-knight hushed his colleagues and pointed forward, to the exit of the tunnel. As silent as their noise-reducing armors allowed them, the Grail Knights walked towards the exit of the tunnel.
What they found was a massive cave that contained not only a device bigger than the ones they had seen on their way through the second floor but also a massive tortoise, possibly three tis as big as the other specins that they discovered. The biggest difference between it and them was that the larger tortoise had two snakeheads.
"It's sleeping... right?" - Spear-knight
"... Dan, get a sleep spell ready. Cent, you place a soundproof barrier." - Knight
"The sa procedure as the last ti?" - Dan (Priest-knight)
"The sa procedure as every ti." - Cent (Magician-knight)
"Herman, Wulf, you're taking care of the left one. I will take the right." - Knight
"Got it." - Herman (Spear-knight)
"Oki-doki." - Wulf (Pugilist-knight)
"El, you-" - Knight
"'Look out for any reinforcents', I get it." - El (Thief-knight)
With all their roles decided, the knights moved out. In order not to create any disturbances, Dan and Cent matched their timing and released their magic spells. Soon after, the cave of the two-headed tortoise was covered in a pale green barrier, while the tortoise itself was covered in white sparkles that made it fall deeper into sleep.
Herman struck the sleeping left head with his spear and Wulf used the force of his massive gauntlets to smash the spear further into the tortoise's head. They had gotten the idea of this "combination move" from watching people building wooden buildings with nails and hamrs.
In the anwhile, the leader knight had effortlessly decapitated the remaining head, showing off the difference in skill between him and the other two. Not that they cared about it. It was a clear fact that their leader was heads and shoulders above them in combat power. The leader knight made a gesture to Cent and the silence-inducing barrier was turned off.
"Alright El, we'll take over for you." - Knight
"The luggage is my responsibility after all." - El
El the thief-knight switched guard duty with the three physical knights and started to store the corpse of the two-headed tortoise in his Storage skill. anwhile, Cent and Dan went to the big machine in the back to place the last device needed to complete the Quest.
"This went smooth. So now what?" - Wulf
"We're going to the next floor after those three are finished. There's sothing I want to confirm." - Knight
"As expected of our great leader. And, the reason is...?" - Herman
"Checking out why the Black Baron is in this Dungeon." - Knight
"Oh, good idea. I knew he had a base out here, but still..." - Herman
"Then there's the question of why he had the base here at all." - Knight
"Wasn't he searching for the source of the drought? Just like us?" - Wulf
"And how did he know where the potential source was?" - Knight
"Fair point." - Herman
"Not that many people wouldn't notice the connection of a 'dried-out region' and a 'Dungeon that's got more moisture than anything else we've ever seen." - Knight
"As expected of Percel! You notice stuff like that fast!" - Wulf
"Well, you have to either be so idiot or having lived in this place for all of your life for not noticing that." - Herman
"Or maybe both." - Wulf
"Like that spider-thingy from before? It looked like it didn't notice we had noticed it." - Herman
"A local idiot could be just what we need to close down this place. I just hope that it steers clear of the Black Baron. He's a complete Darkness-attribute monster hater..." - Percel (Leader knight)
---
- Back to Garami -
Hmm, that's not too bad of a skill those dinos have... even if it hurts to admit it... who would have thought that getting [Discern] to a high enough level to see rank E creature's skills would backfire like thi-hi-hi-haaAA-CHOOO!
*Sniff*. Is soone talking behind my back? Impossible. My reputation as a phantom demon would be worth nothing if that was true.
Chain Quest:Bug the Knot (II)Quest giver:Ultimate Goddess of Water, LusalkiQuest Description:
Keep on the good work! Plant tracking devices on the second floor of the Dungeon. This ti, try to plant them on the floor's important locations. It is suspected that the second floor has certain facilities that are crucial for the Dungeon.
Quest Content:Place 5 Tracking Devices on different Dungeon facilities on Floor 2 of the Water-Knot of Glavras. 5/5Rewards:2.0 Skill PointsIf having cleared the previous Quest, [Bug the Knot (I)]:
Skill Scroll: [Fear Resistance]Unlocks: Bug the Knot (III)
SYSTEM SSAGE:
You have earned 2.0 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 2.0 Skill Points were earned.
Quest Clearance EXP acquired.
Chain Quest unlocked: [Bug the Knot (III)]
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Level has increased. Reached Lv.8
You have earned 0.2 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.2 Skill Points were earned.
Finally! I was afraid that I had to go back and finish the job myself. A scroll-like thing appeared in front of , probably the reward, so I stuffed it into my Storage to use at a later date.
After seeing off the knights towards the floor boss, I went straight to Floor 3 to make a base, but I got sidetracked when [Discern] reached Lv.15 all of a sudden. Looking at those dinos that populate the floor used so much ti that I forgot about buying the skills I wanted. Now I can... wait a sec. I level-upped again, didn't I? Then...
Na:GaramiRace:Reha Zera | Gender: FemaleLevel:8Karma Value:-96Skills:39Skill Points:12.4HP: 61/61MP: 69/69SP: 63/63STR: 77VIT: 55MAG: 62RES: 82SPD: 93DEX: 101INT: 120LUC: 150
I knew it! 101! One more than I needed! And without buying the enhancent skill!
And why's my Karma Value fallen again? I could swear it was a negative 94 the last ti I checked. Is it because I tricked those knights? Don't co and tell that my drawings are so bad that I got a decrease in my Karma Value because of that!?
*Sulk*. I'm gonna make myself a nest and cry a little in my bed before picking the class. That, and for so reason, I've got the feeling that soone's staring at . It gives the shivers, so I wanna stay sowhere safe when focusing on the Skill Shop. So, what type of ho does the miss want? Just kidding~.
---
......
"TARGET HAS INITIATED STEALTH-ABILITY. TARGET LOST. RETURNING TO BLACK BARON FOR FURTHER ORDERS. PROMISE SAVED IN DATABANK. WILL KILL SPIDER-BASED DEMONIC BEING." - ???
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