Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

The Shadow Delvers had been training for more than a year before they felt they were ready to try their first Dungeon run. Their focus had been on individual skills and group dynamics to ensure that they worked smoothly and efficiently in combat.

Their group, as low ranked and low level Delvers, could only access the upper floors of the Westlin Dungeon. The strength and number of Monsters increased significantly as one went down towards the Depths. Only high level Delvers ever went beyond the Dungeon into the Depths below, but those that did lived lives of luxury and prestige on the surface.

"Alo you and Frea arranged for us to get this slot. What do you know about what we are going to encounter?" Shada asked as the group made their way down the Trunk's central road before turning off at the main Dungeon entrance to the south.

"It is hard to say for certain. The upper levels are mainly mutated animals and plants with the occasional undead critter. Anything that dies in a Dungeon has a chance to become undead, including Delvers. The upper floors are cleared regularly so there shouldn't be anything too big, but there are occasional swarm type monsters, mainly mutated crazed rats," Frea explained.

"Aye, nothing too dangerous on them upper levels, but for us it should be good practice," Alo replied as well.

"We are looking to gather Essence Crystals from the monsters right? Any other important things to look for?" Shada asked.

"Aye, certain monster parts are useful to da Alchemists and of course monsters be good eating if treated right," Alo said.

"I picked up a list of plants to watch out for as we go. Like the monster parts, they can be used by alchemists and herbalists once treated," Carsan added.

"So, Essence Crystals, monster parts, meat, and plants? Do we have enough storage for all that?" Shada asked next.

"Aye me and Carsan made sure everyone had a holding bag. Bit pricey that enchantment, but with the extra money you gave us from your company it twasn't hard to get them," Alo said with a shrug.

"Well I have an Inventory Skill and Loot Skill that should help, but Vreen is also carrying an Essence Collector in case my Skill isn't up to par. I have never really had a chance to use the Essence function of my Loot Skill," Shada said.

When they approached the entrance to the courtyard where the Dungeon pit/entrance sat they were stopped. The guard asked for their badges and delve slot papers before letting them join the procession leading into the Dungeon.

The instant they stepped foot on the ramp leading down Shada shuddered internally. Dungeon Essence was not pleasant. For someone with his level of sensitivity it was equivalent to stepping into a sewer. He had to forcibly restrict his Essence Perception in order to be comfortable traveling through the foul miasma that was the Dungeon's ambient Essence.

"You are all lucky that your Essence Sense isn't as strong as my Skill. This place is absolutely disgusting. I can taste the foulness in the air and I don't have taste buds or even a real tongue!" Shada said while making fake gagging sounds with his Material Mastery Skill's ability to make noise.

"We can still feel it, Shada. No one likes the feel of a Dungeon and everyone has to go through a cleansing ritual when they exit lest they suffer from Dungeon sickness. That's why people don't stay in Dungeons long term," Vreen said with a sympathetic look on their face.

"Aye, me pa once got stuck during a delve and was sick for week after. Took a High Priest to set him right it did," Alo said.

The upper part of the Dungeon Entrance consisted of the ramp leading down and rooms that branched off the ramp. These were places where people worked. They were mainly used for storing, processing, and purifying things before they were sent back to the surface. The true Dungeon didn't begin until they reached far below the city. There was a small fortress checkpoint at the bottom of the ramp where they were inspected again before being allowed through.

Shada had visited the Depths a few times to collect plants for Shinobin so he knew in general what to expect from the Dungeon, but nothing quite prepared you to exit a fortress into a massive underground cavern filled with life of all kinds. Dungeon chambers varied, but the deadly jungle spread out before Shada and his team weren't abnormal. Despite the massive cavern Shada knew that this was a small chamber compared to the ones found in the Depths.

Despite being underground the chamber was relatively well lit by bioluminescent plants and various glowing crystals embedded in the walls, floor, and ceiling of the Dungeon chamber. The multi-colored lights gave the whole place a dream-like feel. It would have been beautiful if Shada didn't feel like he was swimming through raw sewage.

Numerous paths branched off from the fort that guarded this entrance. Some led deeper into the jungle of dangerous plants and monsters. Others led to branching cave systems with their own unique ecosystems and one large path led towards the Depths below. Delvers had been mapping this Dungeon for centuries so the group had a good idea where to go. Shada had even gotten a chance to study a three dimensional model of the Dungeon stored at the Delvers Guild. To him it bore a striking resemblance to an ant hill or termite mound with all of the layers, tunnels, and chambers.

"Our destination is the east side of the north western quadrant of this chamber and side chamber 56. That is our assigned hunting ground for this delve," Frea said when everyone paused to look at the vista below them.

Shada made a throat clearing sound to get everyone's attention before switching to Spirit Speech. "Alright, Carsan stealth up and scout ahead. As for the rest of us, triangle formation folks, Alo up front, Frea left, Brumo right, Vreen and I will be in the middle. Remember we only attack what attacks us first until we get to chamber 56. From what these papers say it hasn't been cleared in a few weeks so there should be plenty of monsters," Shada instructed the group after consulting their information packet.

Everyone would be using Shada as a communications hub while in the Dungeon to help them move more silently. They had also learned basic hand signals for when Shada was otherwise distracted.

The group moved into formation and headed down into the jungle below. The light among the twisted trees and mutated plants was more subdued than above, but it was still clear enough for the group to see. They all, except for Shada, had Body Cultivation of 10 or greater, which enhanced low light vision among other things. Shada could feel the tension radiating from the group, especially Vreen who he floated near. This was the first visit to a Dungeon for most of them.

Shada of course didn't feel tension the same way as the others. It was more an intellectual worry than the physiological responses of his companions. The Dungeon was an eerie and disquieting place even for a spirit. He was on high alert and was in his intangible form. Periodically he would leave the center to circle the group and keep an eye out for ambush predators.

Carsan reappeared from stealth in front of the group. "Contact, there is something ahead. It looks like some sort of mutant boar with quills and it is blocking the path. Shada can you go Analyse it for us?" Carsan asked.

"Of course," Shada said as he zoomed down the path silent, unseen, and intangible. After using his Skill he returned to the group.

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"It's called a quillback boar. It has an Essence fueled Charge Attack, but is otherwise considered a low level Rank 1 threat according to my Skill," Shada explained to his teammates. "Let's get set up shall we? Carsan I want you to lead it back here. We will prepare the battleground."

The group had planned for similar scenarios so everyone knew what to do. Alo planted himself in the middle of the path and braced himself behind his tower shield with his spear forward. Shada created bumps and potholes in the path with Material Mastery to slow the boar's charge and hopefully even break an ankle. Frea had a throwing dagger in each hand, made of high quality steel from Shada's factory and engraved for sharpness and durability. Brumo had his great sword ready and Vreen was maintaining buffs on the group. Vreen remained behind Alo while Brumo and Frea stood on either side of the path waiting for the boar to impale itself on Alo's spear.

Carsan came running down the path with the charging boar right behind him. Without his high Body Cultivation Carsan would be ground into paste by the raging monsters. The boar was practically foaming at the mouth in its pursuit of the scout/ranger.

"Steady now everyone. Carsan is leading it straight to us. We have the advantage with our preparations, but everyone stay alert. As soon as it hits Frea and Brumo will attack to disable it, but aim for killing blows if they can," Shada said via Spirit Speech.

When Carsan reached the edge of the prepared battleground he jumped high and somersaulted over Alo and Vreen before landing behind the group. He then turned, drew his bow, and released an arrow into the air. The boar managed to shift his head at the last minute causing the arrow to deflect off a tusk, but the arrow had distracted the boar enough that it charged madly into the pitted ground and stumbled.

Seeing an opportunity, Alo stepped forward to stab at the boar while Frea peppered the monster's side with throwing daggers. Brumo waited until the boar had come to a stop then sent his great sword down into the helpless animal's chest, piercing its heart and killing it instantly.

If Shada had eyes he would be blinking. Everything happened so fast that it barely registered that they had entered and exited combat in under a minute. There were no long drawn out battles. No contest of wills between man and monsters. Just a quick and efficient kill. It almost seemed unfair how quickly the mutated monster boar had died.

"That…well that went surprisingly well everyone. Good job, good teamwork, I guess we will harvest it now?" Shada said reluctantly.

"Loot it for Essence Crystals then Frea and I can butcher it," Carsan said as he moved towards the bleeding carcass.

Shada watched as Essence flowed from the boar before crystallizing and falling to the ground in the form of 5 red Essence Crystals. A few seconds of combat and they already had more than a laborer would make in an hour. He could see the appeal of delving as a career even if he didn't much care for the combat part.

Once the carcass was butchered and anything useful removed the group moved further into the Dungeon. The meat and organs would fetch at least 5 red chips depending on local demand. Altogether a descent haul for their first encounter.

"Ok, everyone stay alert, but was there anything we could have done better?" Shada asked as they traveled.

"Aye, twas a bit of overkill there wasn't it? I mean Brumo here got himself the killing blow, but the boar was already down," Alo hummed in thought. "Otherwise twas a clean kill."

"I agree with Alo, my knives weren't even necessary. Brumo and Alo already had the monster dead to rights," Frea added.

Carsan was ahead scouting, but still sent a reply via the Spirit Speech channel. "My aim was off and I didn't expect the boar to be able to react fast enough to deflect my arrow."

"There wasn't much for me to do besides maintain the buffs so not sure if I could improve anything, but I guess most of them were unnecessary," Vreen added.

"Everyone makes good points, but better overkill than underkill. We can be more efficient, but we will work on that during our next training session. Otherwise good job everyone!" Shada tried to project enthusiasm into his mental speech.

The rest of the trip to chamber 56 was uneventful. The group had requested this chamber for one specific reason. It was known to have a high concentration of undead monsters that Shada's Holy Steel would be particularly effective against. The Holy Steel weapons were actually not crafted by Shada alone. It turns out that while he could create daggers using his skills they weren't very good and were poorly balanced. Instead, he contracted one of the smiths at Shadow Steel Industries to create better weapons. They all had something made from Holy materials. This included Brumo's great sword, a replaceable tip for Alo's spear, arrows for Carsan, daggers for Frea, and wand for Vreen. Shada of course could just use Holy Essence to power spells as needed. The Holy Artefacts were kept hidden in their planar storage bags and Shada's inventory as they were rare and expensive commodities. He was still deciding if he should sell some to the church, but Conjuring the materials with Holy Essence was hard on him and Luca.

"Alright everyone get your Holy Artefacts ready to go. I will use a Holy Essence empowered light spell to keep the undead at bay and create a bubble of safety, but remember it can actually attract regular monsters and drive them into a frenzy so being on alert," Shada explained to the group.

The Shadow Delver's pulled in closer, forming a box around Vreen and Shada. Their weapons were poised as they crossed the boundary marking the entrance to chamber 56 also known as the Necropolis. Why Dungeon's had themed rooms like this no one knew, but knowing what could be found where was an important part of Delving as a career.

After passing through a small tunnel the group got their first look at the Necropolis of chamber 56, which was a lifeless city of solid stone structures and monoliths. To Shada it reminded him of parts of the cemeteries of New Orleans before the flooding. It didn't take long for the undead residents to react to their presence. Shambling zombies and the occasional low level skeleton were the primary monsters in this area. Deeper in were more serious enemies, though what kind was somewhat random and unpredictable. The undead consisted not only of people of various races, but animals and beastial monsters as well.

The first attack was by one of the shamblers. They were relatively slow and they flinched back once they got in range of Shada's Holy light spell. It was easy for Alo to skewer the monster with his spear. Of course Alo overdid it a bit by using an Empowered Strike Skill and caused the zombie's head to explode in a burst of a gore.

"Dammit Alo, be more careful! These fucking things are soft, you know! No need to Empower your spear like that!" Frea shouted at the flustered Alo while picking zombie brains from her clothes.

"Sorry there, got a bit excited didn't I?" was Alo's shamefaced reply.

"Let's focus, people. Analysis is telling me these are all low level and squishy as Alo so aptly demonstrated. So I say it is a good time for target practice. Spread out so you each have a clear line of fire and start taking them down. Don't get too part and call out your targets. Nice and neat folks!" Shada directed.

With more than a year of practicing together and Holy weapons the shambling zombies stood little chance. Even Vreen got in on the action by firing off the occasional Holy Smite. Shada mainly watched and went behind the others to Loot the twice dead corpses. The undead didn't really provide any useful loot besides Essence Crystals that would later need to be purified, but they still each represented a few red chips each.

It didn't take the group long to clear the first area filled with zombies. They then ducked into an empty mausoleum to get a break and do a post battle assessment.

"Next section will be a bit harder. From what I read it will be skeletons and they are a bit studier than these shamblers. Their bones are magically toughened and blunt damage is the preferred form of attack normally, but your Holy weapons should disrupt the magic holding them together. Aim for joints if you can. Vreen and I will finish them off. Everyone else focus on disabling blows, am I clear?" Shada asked, and got a chorus of 'yes boss' back.

Brumo and Alo took the lead together. Alo would shield bash the skeletons and Brumo would break bones by using his greatsword to bludgeon rather than slash. Carsan and Frea used Holy daggers to target elbow and knee joints where possible. Vreen used Holy Smite to snuff out the necromantic magic animating the skeletons while Shada's approach was more nuanced. Once he memorized the pattern he was able to use Essence Mastery to banish key parts of the Essence keeping the skeletons moving before using his Loot Skill. The skeletons actually provided less Essence than the shamblers, but there were more of them so the overall haul was comparable.

The skeletons caused a few injuries that Vreen was able to quickly patch up and the teams practice paid off with a descent hall of Essence Crystals before they decided to call it a day.

—

Exiting the dungeon was uneventful until they reached the checkpoint. There the spoils of their labor were catalogued, accessed for taxes, and they were sent on their way up the ramp. Upon exiting the Dungeon they were directed to a side area to be checked over. Everyone had to pass through a purification Ritual and it was here that their goods were exchanged for chips. Everything they pulled out of the Dungeon would then go through a separate purification and cleansing process before being placed on the market. The Dungeon essentially funded the entire local government this way. Income and sales tax did not exist in Westlin from what Shada understood.