“Wow… you really have changed, Voker,” Ryan said while giving a broad smile and a pat on the shoulder.
“No, shit… did you get taller from the last ti I saw you?” Nick asked, eyeing up and down.
“A little bit, yeah.”
“Ah, even your voice! Well, you still talk the sa,” Ryan chuckled to himself. “Have you been well? I heard you survived the dungeon and—”
“And you killed a Wyrm? Why didn’t you ntion that!” Nick yelled while shaking on the shoulders.
“I have been well, Ryan. And I didn’t bring it up because… well, I had bigger problems.”
Adrian bellowed a laugh into the sky. “I don’t know about that one, kid! I saw it, and there is no way yours was as big as a Wyrm!”
“That’s not what I ant…” I groaned.
My ears and face burned with embarrassnt as Sylvia poked in the side. “What are they talking about?” Ryan gave a wry smile while Adrian looked about, ready to keel over from laughing.
Please… I already had a rough ti last night with all my embarrassnt, and I really don’t need more today.
I tried begging with my eyes for sobody to save , but it was at tis like this that wearing a mask had its downsides. Finally, in the form of a Human man with short black hair, my savior ca swooping in.
Nick had a wide grin showing off his pearly white teeth while extending a friendly hand to Sylvia. “Ah, don’t worry about it, pretty lady, just a friendly conv—”
“Don’t touch ,” Sylvia said in disgust.
Nick slowly retracted his hand while his grin beca more and more strained. Adrian started wheezing from laughing so hard while Ryan just continued to smile quietly.
A valiant attempt, Nick. Thank you for the save.
“I had no idea you were all so close,” Bella said.
Sylvia narrowed her eye at , and I could just tell she was pouting at . “Yeah, it seems I missed sothing important.”
Yes, you did, and you will never know what.
“I hope all this talking ans you are all ready!” an angry voice yelled out.
A lanky tiger Beastn man walked around the building. His orange and brown hair only slightly resembled a mane which made think he was doing it on purpose. As for his build, he was by far the smallest male Beastn I have ever seen. Including the ones starving from death and enslaved… and even so of them were bigger than him.
The Beastn narrowed his cat-eyes at while giving an appraising look. Then turned his frustrations on Ve. “I didn’t hire any Elves. Who are these people?”
Ve stepped forward and returned the man’s glare. “They are with . You won’t be paying or feeding them. Just consider them to be extra protection.”
The man didn’t seem convinced, but eventually, his eyes fell on my Ruby tag that I had purposely placed out in the open. Then, he rely shrugged and hefted a bag off his shoulder, dropping it in front of Ve.
“You have the map?” he asked.
“Yes, Mr. Artemius.”
“Pick that up, and let’s get going. I don’t want to spend any more ti in this dungeon than I have to,” Artemius ordered.
Sylvia watched Artemius leave and clicked her tongue in annoyance. “What’s that cat’s problem? And what are we even transporting?”
Ve already had the bag open, seemingly not caring about any kind of privacy. She swished her hand around and pulled out a handful of yellow grain that slowly fell back into the bag like sand. “Grain.”
Ryan nodded his head and offered a kind smile. “We are transporting foodstuffs to Luminar. Nothing all that glamorous, I’m afraid.”
“Fine by ,” Sylvia said.
At least we weren’t transporting valuables. But, then again, food costs quite a bit of money in Whieland. On the other hand, we probably won’t have to worry about bandits in the dungeon… just the undead.
The group geared up, and we all took a small pack provided by Artemius. I offered to carry Bella and Ryan’s load since they would be our Vanguards. Adrian, Nick, Ve, and Sylvia would be our warriors. And I was the lone mage of the group. On paper, we had no support roles in our party, but we always had Sylvia if things got tough. Well, I had the ancient Vampire dic.
Unfortunately for everyone else, I doubt she would be revealing herself to them regardless of the situation.
We walked through the small outpost that was set up outside of the dungeon. It was a hub for adventurers, rchants, and soldiers to mingle. Dwarves hamred away on anvils repairing gear for soldiers and adventurers alike. rchants carrying large packs guarded by adventurers moved towards and away from the dungeon.
Every “building” was a tent, and everyone here was combat-ready. Despite this, the atmosphere didn’t seem all that hostile. I was surprised to see that the soldiers didn’t seem to be clashing with the adventurers as much as I was expecting.
After all, this place essentially had two standing armies here in the form of Whieland soldiers and adventurers. Perhaps they have been around each other so long that they have just gotten used to things?
Countries tended to foist monster-related work off to the Adventurer’s guild so as not to waste personnel, ti, and money. After all, why mobilize an army to slay monsters when you had a group of expendable people who were willing to do it for you? In the end, it was cheaper to hire adventurers than it was to mobilize the military. And an average foot soldier wouldn't be able to handle strong monsters alone.
However, Whieland had little choice but to defend these areas. Dungeons were notorious for leaking monsters, and if a nation didn’t stem the flow of monsters, they would be quickly overwheld.
Which makes wonder why the dungeon we cleared wasn’t leaking monsters? Was it because it was a young dungeon that was big? Or was it an old dungeon that was hiding? Ugh…
It never got to this point most of the ti since adventurers were called in to clear dungeons and destroy the cores, but when you had ancient, nearly unbeatable dungeons like the Iron Citadel, this was your only option.
I can only imagine the logistical nightmare of a dungeon that can sprout new entrances and exits which monsters can flow from. There must be a dedicated team for handling this abomination, and they probably work themselves into an early grave.
The mountains that separated City State Whieland and the Kingdoms of Krunbar and Luminar were looming over us. I haven’t seen mountains up close like this in years. Even looking straight up, you couldn’t see the tops of the mountains anymore. The gray, snowy rocks seed frigid and uninviting.
Spring is still a ways away, so it was freezing cold in this outpost. Fires were being regularly maintained by children carrying wood piles while fire mages kept the flas roaring. Everyone who wasn’t moving or working was huddled around these fires. I was surprised to see that Whieland could afford such expenditure on wood but it just goes to show how desperate they are to maintain this point.
Once we left the outpost, it was a mile walk to the dungeon entrance. A stone fort had been built into the mouth of the mountain, light and warmth leaked out from the embrasures, and a small patrol passed us, heading back to the outpost. The soldiers seed to be in high spirits as they jovially bantered amongst each other.
Once we got closer, I managed to see the double-stone doors that had been built into the entrance. Iron bands were hamred into the stone, and a White Dragonkin was rappelling down the door, performing maintenance on it. A small line of people headed towards a smaller person-sized door cut into the more oversized stone door. Guards were checking papers as adventurers and rchants alike funneled into the dungeon.
Huh, this really is like a passageway. Is it just , or do these people seem way too relaxed about all of this? This is a dungeon… right?
“Papers, sir,” a soldier asked Artemius.
Whieland’s soldiers were less nurous than Sandervile or Ostela’s, but they were all well equipped. Every single one of them had iron or steel armor along with chainmail. The very little leather they were wearing was barely visible, and their weapons were all made of Dwarven Steel.
They were also better trained.
Just from the way they stood and held themselves, I could tell. Even the guards standing at the sides watched people closely, hands on their weapons, ready to react. It was a stark contrast to the soldiers who were walking toward the camp to enjoy themselves. This ans these n are highly disciplined.
The guard finished checking Artemius’s paperwork and slowly looked over all of us as we flashed him our guild tags. His pace was steady, and since I was bringing up the rear, I was the last person, and of course, this guard stopped at . I jingled my tag, but he kept looking at my face. We were about the sa height and I could tell he was watching closely.
“Why don’t you take that mask off for , sir?” he said. Sylvia flicked around and glared at him, but the guard paid her no mind.
I was about to leak so bloodlust and threaten him when a surprising person intervened. “Why are you bothering my employee? You saw my paperwork, and you can see his guild tag. File a complaint or let us go. What’s it going to be?” Artemius hissed. The guard scowled at , then turned to Artemius and shrugged.
It seems he was just trying to cause problems. I can practically drink the displeasure and hate rolling off of him. But he’s middle-aged and Human, so I’m assuming he fought in the war and was less looking for a particular wanted individual. He must have a thing against High Elves.
Turning in that Wyrm and getting a rank up was the best decision I’ve made in a long ti.
The guards ushered us through the door, and with that, we were talking in a dimly lit cave. Sporadic torches along the walls burned slowly. I picked up my pace to be beside Artemius. “Thank you for that."
The Beastn just gave a side-eye and huffed. “He was in the way. And I didn’t like the way he was looking at us. Forget about it.”
I rely nodded my head and decided to leave it at that. I was thankful for Artemius stepping in there. Most people wouldn’t, and I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary problems with the law if I had to.
I also didn’t enjoy intimidating people. I never did it on purpose in my previous life, but I still rember the fear people had when they looked at sotis. I don’t want that in this life…
I fell back into position, and Artemius joined in the rear. As the only non-combatant, he needed to be protected. In typical dungeon fashion, the stone cave continued for well over thirty minutes. But eventually, we ca to an end, and what I saw made my jaw drop.
“What is this place?” Sylvia murmured.
I’ve seen so fantastical things in my life, but this was a first for .
“Welco to the Iron Citadel,” Bella groaned. Bella’s nose wrinkled in disgust as she stared off into the distance.
The cave stopped abruptly and opened up into a wide-open area that was lit by a familiar gloomy blue crystal. However, these crystals were being used as sconces that were set inside of pillars along the many bridges—a bridge made of stone chunks lay out before us and headed off into the distance.
The massive space went as far as the eye could see in all directions. Only a single wall was visible on the far side. Platforms made of the sa stone were floating in mid-air, seemingly connecting to nothing.
Even what appeared to be a small stone house passed by overhead. Sotis the bridges would stop and connect to each other only to break away in the next mont and float off to reform sowhere else.
Peering over the edge revealed more pathways going in all sorts of directions and a bottomless pit that all but reminded of my first encounter with the Wyrm.
Standing tall against the far rock face was a building. It seems to be a part of the dungeon, unlike the fort outside. The bronze architecture could be seen from here, and platforms floated around aimlessly. It appeared that the building didn’t have any connection to the bridges around it other than the wall it was a part of.
The building must have been the first example of Dwarven architecture I had ever seen. It was a vast do set atop a base. The do was entirely made of what I was assuming to be bronze, while the base was made of a black and gray tal. Bronze or orange linings decorated the sides of the building, and I felt like my eyes could vaguely make out details, but it was too far away to see.
“Enough gawking. You are going to get sick and tired of this place quickly, so you might as well stop enjoying it now,” Artemius said pointedly.
You are probably right, Artemius. I can say I’ve never once had fun in a dungeon.
Sylvia glanced over her shoulder and I nodded at her. This place was all kinds of funky. Dungeons are supposed to be different, but this was sothing completely different.
Could this dungeon be using gravity magic? Is that building the core? What’s stopping an army from coming in here, building a bridge, and clearing the dungeon? No way the convenience overrides the safety benefits…
The party ca to an abrupt halt as Ve called out. We had stopped at what looked to be a three-way intersection. The path in front of us kept going, and the other party that had gone in before us was walking that way. The one on the right only went for a few more paces. While on the left… there was nothing.
“What exactly are we doing?” Sylvia asked out loud.
“Waiting for our guests,” Bella chirped.
“Guests?” Sylvia questioned.
Ve rolled her shoulders and looked back at . “Hey, Voker, can you send a single Fireball into the group that will show up on the left? They should just charge right at us. Everyone else prepared to take on the stragglers.”
I looked out into the empty nothingness and looked back at Ve. “What am I attacking?”
Ve’s wolf ears twitched, and I followed her gaze as I heard the sounds of tal armor sliding against each other. There was also another sound that I was unfamiliar with, but I continued to watch as the stone bridge emanating the sounds floated into place.
The bridge aligned itself with ours and connected with enough force to rock our bridge, almost like a ship docking into a space station. I understood what Ve ant by enemies and launched a barrage of Fireballs toward our foes.
The unfamiliar sound was the rattling of moving bones. The ten armored figures were short in stature and charged at us, weapons at the ready. So carried spears, axes, or hamrs, but they all had the sa empty faces. I guess they didn’t have any faces since they were all skeletons.
My Fireballs impacted the frontline of incoming enemies and sent bones and dark gray armor scattering into the void. Imdiately an odd yet familiar feeling washed over my mind. It was the sa feeling I got when I’d destroyed the dungeon core. Like I had done sothing good.
These feelings are not mine. I’ve never once killed a monster or person and felt this way so why are these undead any different? What the hell are the connections to a dungeon core, undead Dwarves, and this strange feeling tickling my mind?
Sylvia grabbed by the collar and brought face to face with her. “Hey?! Voker! What’s wrong with you?! Snap out of it!”
“Sorry… just had a weird feeling,” I said, unsure.
“A weird feeling? Like from back in the dungeon?” Sylvia asked.
“Yes… sort of. I honestly don’t know how to explain it…sorry.”
Sylvia let out a short breath and released . “Just focus, for now, okay?”
I nodded and watched as Bella and Adrian made short work of the last two skeletons that had survived my blast. Adrian’s scimitar was fast as it bisected the skeleton warrior, but Bella’s was a barely visible blur.
The rings attached to the hilt of her blade clanged against each other, and the sheer force of her strike blew the skeleton apart. This was the difference between a Topaz and a Ruby adventurer.
A sturdy gauntleted hand patted on the shoulder. “That was impressive. You’ve gotten a lot stronger since our last quest together,” Ryan said with a wide smile.
Nick lightly punched in the chest. “Not bad! How did you manage to put so much power into a Fireball?! And you cast three of them at the sa ti! Are you sure you aren’t looking to join a new party?”
“It was nothing,” my voice cracked slightly.
Was it that special?
My mana pool and output have increased, but I feel like I’ve been casting the sa spells. Maybe months of being in the dungeon have changed more than I thought. Those skeletons weren’t much of a threat.
I heard the sound of moaning and sothing sharp scratching against tal. Sylvia heard it as well, and I shoved Ryan and Nick into position. Sothing was coming, and it was moving fast.
“We’ve got company. Three of sothing,” I said aloud.
Ve scowled slightly, and her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Ghouls, for sure. They don’t sll rotten enough to be zombies, and they are moving too fast. Get ready.”
My ears told the way, and I fired off a Fireball in the general direction of the incoming noise. My magic exploded against a stone bridge. A grotesque monster let out a screeching howl. It was in the rough shape of a Dwarf. Long black hair covered its face and watched us with empty sockets for eyes. The flesh was between rotting and normal, but the sickly brown and green color left nothing to be imagined.
The Ghoul’s fingers were replaced with long bones sharpened into fine points. The creature ungripped the side of the floating stone bridge and leaped at us with surprising speed. Unfortunately, it caught a fireball directly to the face for its efforts and was reduced to ash as the nauseating sll of burning flesh filled the space.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t engage the other two Ghouls as they had co from different angles, staying in front of the party. The second Ghoul jumped at Ryan and latched onto his steel kite shield. A tal grating sound assaulted our ears as it scratched the shield, trying to force its way to the man behind it.
Ryan let out a bellow and slamd the Ghoul into the ground. The Ghoul’s bones broke as the total weight of an armored Human man drove it into the ground. The monster howled only for it to be silenced by Nick’s twin daggers.
The third Ghoul was being kited by Ve and Bella. The two Beastn deftly dodged and parried the monster’s wild blows. The Ghoul swiped at Ve, and Bella closed the distance, her scimitar impaled the creature through the spine, and with her free hand and a roar, Bella ripped one of the Ghoul’s arms off in one swift motion. Ve’s steel sword sliced off the undead's head with one fast cut.
“You could have helped them,” I whispered to Sylvia. Sylvia hadn’t left my side the entire fight and stood guard in front of Artemius and .
Sylvia rolled her head back slowly. “I’m not here to protect anyone but you.”
“Less flirting and more body burning,” Artemius groaned from behind .
Sylvia’s ears burned bright red as she was about to point her sword at Artemius, and I could already hear the torrent of words coming out of her, but I just dropped a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks.”
It feels good hearing that.
Sylvia imdiately backed down while giving a ek nod. I set to work and burned the monster’s bodies while Ryan, Adrian, and Nick tossed the bones into the void.
“Were Ghouls part of the plan?” I asked Ve.
Her hair swayed side to side as she shook her head. “No. But nothing unexpected. Exact monster information is unreliable at tis. We need to get onto the platform.”
The party moved onto the bridge that had magically connected, and I couldn’t help but notice that there were no seams at the point of connection. No indication that these were separate pieces at one point.
Magic is the worst. Why do dungeons get to break the rules?
The platform jerked and broke free from the three-way stop. Surprisingly, the sensation wasn’t all that jarring, and although we were moving through the air on a stone bridge, it didn’t feel like it.
Definitely gravity magic. No doubt about it. I wonder, if I were to reverse my gravity, what would happen?
I picked up a piece of splintered bone that had missed the clean-up and checked to make sure nobody was watching. I changed the gravity, and the Bone just ended up floating in place until my spell core fizzled out, forcing it back down to the ground. I tapped it with my foot and tried to reverse the gravity the other way, but the bone ended up floating again.
So these bridges have their own gravitational fields? How interesting. Not to ntion gravity magic still costs so much mana. I need to train more.
I walked over to Ve, and she turned to face . “I understand the map has its own cost, so sharing it with us before coming in here would have been disadvantageous for you. However, now I believe you should share what you have.”
Ve nodded her head. “Agreed. I planned on showing the map at our first stop. We have two more platforms to cross and more skeletons to kill. Everyone gather around.”
I was surprised Ve was willing to show the map to everyone, but it made our next steps easier. Traversing the platforms was a confusing ss, and I was unbelievably happy that we ran into Ve.
Without a map, there was no way Sylvia and I would have been able to travel this dungeon efficiently.
Besides the surprise ghoul attacks, everything went as planned. We took two more floating platforms and wiped out two squads of skeleton Dwarves. None of us have suffered any significant damage, and morale is high. But the mood began to change once a new obstacle showed up.
Upon waiting for another bridge to arrive, a tunnel appeared instead. The tunnel would connect us to a far-off structure sowhere that we would have to navigate. Despite knowing it was coming, it didn’t make anyone feel better. Apparently, this four-person wide tunnel was laced with traps and fewer but stronger undead.
Ve looked back over her shoulder, and Nick nodded his head. “Guess it’s my turn,” he chuckled awkwardly.
Ve pointed to the space right where the bridge and tunnel connected. “First trap is a pressure plate trap on the left side of the bridge. Then, an arrow shoots out from the right.”
“Right. Ryan?” Nick said.
“On it.”
Ryan moved into position and extended his shield in front of Nick. Nick was almost being hugged by Ryan. He fumbled around in his pack and brought out a small pouch about the size of his palm. Nick bounced the bag a few tis, and I heard sand moving inside. Then he tossed it.
The bag slapped the ground, and a stone chanism moved, followed by a whistling sound. Then, sure enough, an arrow fired off from the right and bounced off the opposite side of the wall.
“One down,” Nick said proudly.
Bella scoffed. “Yeah, and what seventy-eight more to go? You got enough sand for that?”
“The traps don’t rearm imdiately. So you should be able to retrieve your bags as long as we move quickly,” Ve said thoughtfully.
Nick looked back at and smiled. “What’s the odds of you knowing wind magic?”
“Low.”
“Ah…this is going to take forever…” Nick let out a deep breath, and Ryan consoled him with a pat on the head.
This was to be the longest portion of the dive. After this, we had a large room of skeletons to clear, and then we could camp out and get so rest. Then it was just smooth sailing to the exit.
—
Clearing the trap hallway wasn’t so much bad as it was long. Continually stopping and going as Nick carefully diffused traps took more of a toll on your ntal state than your physical. The nagging feeling in the back of your head that every trap might be another trap was always present.
Ve and Bella were straining their noses and ears to the maximum while Sylvia and I were doing much the sa. We listened for any oddities, but nothing ca as a surprise. Two more ghouls assaulted us in the tunnel, but I carefully dealt with them. I couldn’t miss a Fireball down this hallway if I tried.
Then again, I wish I hadn’t. The stench of burning undead was awful, sohow even more repugnant than burning a living person. I should ask Ve for so of her Jinx Beans so I can shove them up my nose.
Then suddenly I heard sothing. I was the first to react as I launched another Fireball down the hallway. Another boom followed and a shockwave buffeted us, but the sound didn’t cease.
Ryan took front center and raised his shield just in ti as a decaying black two-handed ax crashed into his shield. One of the blades was wrapped in a weird-looking cloth while the other was disfigured and warped. It looked like sobody had tried lting the blade but couldn’t produce enough heat.
The impact sent Ryan flying backward, but we all stepped to the side, letting him pass by us. The black ax freed itself from Ryan’s shield and flew back down the hallway, whirling like a blade of death.
The gloomy blue crystals illuminated the figure clad in black armor barreling straight for us. Its hideous visage was covered in rotting flesh, and a pair of glowing blue eyes sat in the sockets of the skull. Curved horns protruded from a black tal cap, and despite being larger than a Dwarf should be, the monster was moving quickly.
A Dread Knight, huh? If my monster book was holding up, that thing was a threat level of one hundred and fifty. The sa as a dungeon. Not to ntion it was a “high level” undead, hence the glowing eyes.
The Dread Knight let out a snarling mucousy sound as it closed the distance on us. “Everyone, cover your ears and get down on the floor, now!” I ordered.
Thankfully everyone obeyed as Bella and Ve flattened their fuzzy ears to their heads. The Humans covered theirs, and Sylvia had summoned a spare shirt from her ring to wrap around her head while she crouched down.
Despite being a backline mage, I was still a Ruby-ranked adventurer. Even if they didn’t listen to , I would have still fired off the spell if I was being honest. Why fight that thing when I can just do this?
The sll of ozone tickled my nose as the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Then, a deafening bang bounced off the walls, and my ears began ringing as a bright light blinded .
My lightning bolt raced off down the hallway and went straight through the Dread Knight’s chest. The creature fell forward and rolled across the ground, so I fired off another two Lightning Bolts for good asure.
By the ti the smoke cleared and the stench assaulted us, the Dread Knight had been reduced to ash. The only thing remaining was its grotesque decaying armor.
Just like I thought. I pretty much fried it using its armor. Not so tough, after all.
Nick gave a look of surprise. “What?! You can use lightning magic!? That’s like, super rare!”
“Is it?” I asked. rubbing my ears to make them feel better. Of course, lightning magic in enclosed places like this wasn’t the most ideal thing…
Ryan gave Nick a friendly shove and a wide smile. His deep blue eyes practically glead with excitent. “I told you he was probably High Elf royalty.”
What does being able to use lightning magic have anything to do with royalty? Magic isn’t locked by blood even Grandpa taught that much… unless you are Sylvia.
“AH! NO! We don’t know that for sure! Right, Voker?” Nick squeaked.
I shrugged. Ryan slapped Nick in the face, and Adrian started crying from laughing. What a sight.
“Why did you just slap him?” Ve asked, sounding confused.
Nick rubbed his red cheek and sighed. “Slap bet… since gambling is forbidden in his stupid religion, we make slap bets to keep things interesting,” he groaned.
“Isn’t that still gambling? Just with pain instead of coin?” Bella questioned.
Ryan put a thumbs up and grinned. “As long as no money is involved, it’s okay. Personally, I enjoy this much more. Gold goes away, but friendship lasts forever. Right, Nick?”
“Shut it…” Nick growled.
If you slap your friends, wouldn’t they hate you? What an odd tradition. Then I looked over to Sylvia… maybe not…
Artemius groaned and started pushing everyone forward. “You Humans and your lack of working noses! Let’s go already! This sll is killing !”
“Agreed. We have eleven more traps to disarm. Voker, can we leave it to you to kill any more of those Dread Knights?” Ve asked.
“Consider it done.”
I ended up killing three more of those monsters. They weren’t supposed to be here either.
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