This brings us to Dale. Good ol’ Dale. He was a husky young man, and had the look of someone who had transformed fat into muscle through hard work. While his muscles were not as well defined as Tom’s, I knew for a fact that he could land a hit with the best of them. He had the common look of the area, brown hair with a well-trimmed beard and moustache, and common brown eyes. I was very familiar with Dale, and looked forward to absorbing him. During our scrutiny of them, they had finished cultivating and began to move to the next room, planning their attack on the first floor Boss.
~Dale~
“That *pant* was *pant* insane.” Adam managed. The Essence he had forced out of his body was slow in returning, and cultivation had only been able to restore it to a certain point. “What the heck is going on?!”
Hans looked troubled, which had the effect of making Dale very nervous. To see Hans without a sarcastic grin felt like a true portent of doom. He had even stopped flirting. Hans looked startled when Dale lightly punched him to get his attention.
“What's on your mind, big guy?” Dale prodded, giving Hans a look that conveyed his worry.
Hans shook his head. “This is making me remember a tale I heard a while back. I didn’t think it was true. According to legend, sometimes it seems that a dungeon is suddenly filled with danger, far more than is typical. There is always an event of some kind that sets it off, and the dungeon seems to be filled with raging creatures and sudden maliciousness.” He nodded at Dale, “We’ve had a taste of that, when we came here to find the cursed earth blocking the entry. I think… I think we should leave.”
The others, especially Tom, cried out in surprise and negation. Hans, the strongest killer in the group, wanted them to leave? They argued with him furiously for a few minutes, though he eventually won the argument with a simple reminder.
“Tom, as a Guild hopeful, cannot enter the lower level without a C-ranked cultivator to grant him permission, I will not grant it. He could enter, if he were to forever leave behind his chances of joining the Guild. The rest of you I outrank, and I order you to stay out of the lower level.” Hans calmly stated with steel in his voice. He began walking back to the entrance. Tom was the first to follow, face as red as his hair as his anger threatened to engulf him.
“Well, dammit.” Rose muttered harshly as she joined them. Dale and Adam fell into the line. They continued picking their way back to the entrance with Dale pointing out each trap to Rose, so she could familiarize herself with the features of them. Soon her sharp eyes were allowing her to point them out before even Dale saw them, making him swell with pride at his teaching skills.
The normally Essence-filled air had very little in it currently, making Dale nervous. Something was very wrong in the dungeon, and they were running away from finding the source. The dungeon was everything to him, a source of wealth and power that he was only just beginning to taste. His rumination was interrupted as he walked into Adam, who had abruptly come to a stop in front of him. Startled for a second, Dale started to glare until he saw what had caught the group’s attention.
A wall of light stretched the span of the doorway, shimmering and seeming to whisper secrets that begged for the attention of the listener. It was... seductive. Dale found himself drawn toward it, his mind lost in the pulsating glory he beheld. He was jerked off of his feet - to his great protest - and placed facing away from the entrance along with the other members of the group. His mind was filled with rage at the treatment, soon washed away by confusion.
“Wh-” Dale paused and cleared his throat. He was so thirsty suddenly. “What just happened?”
Hans was the only one looking back the other way. “Barrier spell.” He answered shortly. “Touch it, get fried by Mana. We may be screwed.”
“Someone trapped us in here?” Adam whispered, eyes getting round.
Hans shook his head. “No, someone locked everyone out. I think we must have missed something important. Frank wouldn’t just lock this place down without good reason. Something must have spooked him beyond a minor breakout of Bashers. Dammit! Why didn’t we wait for more information?!” He shouted abruptly, startling the group.
“Screw information, why did we skip breakfast?” Tom groaned, his stomach realizing it had been forgotten. His reminder made everyone realize they had not planned well for this dungeon dive. Stomachs rumbling all around, tempers started to flare. A few minutes of arguing got them no closer to a solution, forcing them to make decisions.
“Hans,” Rose started, “How long until this barrier is removed?”
Hans shrugged, knowing where this would lead the conversation. “Likely, they are building defenses around the stairwell. Normally, this would take a day, maybe two, but the earth Mages that would do that quickly are all tied up building a sewer system at the capitol. It could be a week before the door is open again.”
“Well, then our path is clear.” Dale announced. “Hans, there is no way but onward. We need to clear the dungeon and leave through the Boss room.”
Hans began to worriedly fret. “Listen, if there is something that spooked Frank enough that he would close the place instead of fighting it right away, I don’t think it would be wise to charge in blindly. It is very possible this will end with all of our deaths. Are you ok with that?”
“Of course not, Hans! We need to try though. We won’t last a week in here without aid. I’m betting no one brought more than a few sips of water, for one. Next, we have no food, and no shelter. We can either face whatever the problem is now, as healthy as we are going to get, or wait until we are weak from hunger and thirst. What say you?” Dale challenged him.
“I say it is still a bad idea. Sadly, it is the best we’ve got unless,” he looked around to see if anyone else had ideas, “No? Onward then, I suppose.” They shrugged and turned toward the deep dungeon, retracing their steps till they stood outside of the Boss room on the first floor. They shared their knowledge of the normal tactics, getting into formation as best they were able. Moving cautiously into the room, they prepared to fight.
~Cal~
Only the normal amount of Mobs stood in the room, the five members of the Boss squad. I had cycled out the normal squad with the Alpha squad that I used specifically for ambushes I knew would succeed. The Alpha squad had grown, and were easily the oldest Mobs in the dungeon at this point, the only group that had not died. Intelligence shone in their eyes, showing me that if they had a Beast Core they would be sentient by now.
The Essence that they absorbed from each kill had increased the potency of their attacks, adding their affinity as elemental damage. Their bodies were now striped in the colors of their Essence as well. This would be a win-win battle for me, either I rid myself of these persistent interlopers, or I reclaim the upgraded patterns of the Alpha squad. In both situations, I could only get stronger. Dale’s group entered the room, ready for battle.
I was actually taken by surprise, before I could send the attack signal to my squad an arrow accurately flew across the room and sliced the jugular of one of the two Oppressors, effectively reducing the number of my multi-attack Bashers to one. With a cry of rage the remaining squad left their bleeding, twitching brother to his fate. The Alpha squad was well used to working together at this point, which showed in their movements and tactics. Utilizing its ability to its fullest, the remaining Oppressor leapt off the earthen affinity Smasher and unleashed his attack from a distance. A blast of air as sharp as a blade raced away from him in a horizontal line, aimed downward from a high point of the jump to slash at an angle.