Soul of the Warrior

“That went as well as it possibly could,” Teilon commented.

Immediately below the boss monster was a hole about half the size of the creature. Once the boss was killed, its body shriveled up and floated away, revealing the passage. Reivyn led the team into the opening.

A short tunnel angling mostly down greeted them, and there was a small corridor off to the side that was pressurized in a way that kept the air in a pocket for people to take a break.

This would never work in the real world, Reivyn noted. Sure, a pressurized bubble of air could happen, but just sitting here is the issue. It would escape through this opening and make its way to the surface. I don’t need to be worried about that, though. System shenanigans and all that.

Since they weren’t anywhere close to pushing for the Hard Mode of the Dungeon, they had decided to take a short break before continuing on.

“Well, you have to keep in mind that these aren’t even real monsters,” Refix said. “They’re only shadows of real monsters. We might not even be able to find true equivalents to match these creatures on the outside.”

“Well, we know it’s possible these Dungeons capture a true event in the past, so these monsters might be extinct or something on the outside,” Reivyn answered with a shrug. “It could also be a combination of System alterations and extinction or whatever.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of scholarly studies on the topic,” Kefira replied. “It’s something my siblings and I had to be educated on before we were allowed to leave on our first Life Experience expedition. More so than the average Academy student.”

“Can’t blame your parents for that,” Refix said with a smile. “If we had access to the same amount of academic material, I’m pretty sure Ameliyn and I would have done the same for Reivyn. We don’t really have to worry about it for the girls, though. They seem perfectly content to stay within the safe confines of a city for their entire lives.”

“That’s no fun,” Reivyn said. “Don’t worry, dad, I’ll fix that.”

Refix quirked an eyebrow at his son.

“I’m not sure if I should feel gratified or scared about that statement.”

“I’m not saying I’m going to take them down into the deepest, darkest Dungeons I can find. I just think it’s a sad thing to miss out on the beauty one can find out there in the wilderness.”

“That…” Refix held up his index finger and paused for a second. “That’s actually a good point. We’ll make the first couple of trips a family thing. Your mother isn’t going to want to be left behind.”

“For sure,” Reivyn agreed. “But yeah, that fight went exactly as planned.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Teilon said. “I know the monsters follow a very strict pattern in boss fights. I was more saying that our teamwork was amazing, especially for the first time we’ve really coordinated together like this.”

“True,” Reivyn nodded his head.

“We’re all professionals,” Refix said. “Well, sort of. I’m not saying we’re literally professionals at this kind of Dungeon Delving, but this is what we do and what our Classes are for.”

“Alright, well, let’s rest for another five minutes,” Reivyn said. “Then let’s get going to the next floor. The second floor is mostly the same as the first, just a different variety of monsters and boss. The plan will be the same. We’ll locate the pockets of air, clear the surroundings of monsters, then move on until the whole floor is cleared before tackling the boss. Any questions?”

Everybody shook their heads. They had all read the information they had purchased, and after having spent a couple hours clearing the first floor, they all felt like they had a handle on how the Dungeon worked.

The main difference between the first floor and the second floor was the monster types and Levels. The monsters on the first floor were at the peak of Tier 3, and the monsters on the second floor were low Tier 4.

There were also different kinds of monsters. The first floor had some small octopi, sharks, and crocodiles. The second floor had larger octopi, larger sharks, and serpents instead of crocodiles. There was also the possibility of ambushers in the sand of the floor, and they would have to comb through it if they didn’t want any strays to join the boss fight.

The break was over before anyone knew it. Time simultaneously seemed to stretch and stretch, and yet it was over far too quickly. Reivyn nodded to everyone and they stood up to file back toward the exit of the pressurized air bubble. The exit just required them to simply walk straight out into the tunnel.

Reivyn led the Party deeper into the Dungeon, angling ever further down. The ambient lighting in the Dungeon was still present in the depths, but the darkness on the other side of the phenomenon was darker than on the first floor. There was absolutely no source of natural light anywhere on this floor where there had been at least a little from the exit on the first floor. It caused a stifling, oppressive feeling in Reivyn’s chest.

Reivyn tried his best to ignore the feeling, but he could feel his heart rate accelerate due to it. He was still able to see perfectly within the sphere of his Divine Sense Skill, and the ambient light surrounding them was the same size as any other Dungeon he had been in, but it was like a wall of darkness separated him from the rest of the Dungeon. It was even more tangible than the Revenant Dungeon filled with undead.

The information packet they had purchased didn’t give exact locations of the air pockets that could be found on the lower floors, but it did give an explanation on how to find them. They followed a set pattern. All of the air pockets could be found in little alcoves in the ceiling, simulating rising to the surface to catch a breath. The first order of business Reivyn led the Party to do was locate the closest air pockets.

The exit of the tunnel was like a hole in the ground. If they weren’t in the water, they would need to secure a rope and rappel down to move any further. It made the first step of exploring the floor easier, though. Reivyn just slightly lowered his body and then immediately started moving along the ceiling.

Reivyn’s Divine Sense made finding the air pockets a negligible exercise. His perception was much further than what the ambient lighting allowed for the others. Having a narrow band of perception would necessitate having to make more passes along the ceiling to find all the available air pockets. Reivyn’s senses allowed for him to see more than double what the others could see, so the would have to make less than half the normal amount of passes if they wanted to find all the safe air pockets.

That was never the plan to begin with, though. There was no need to find every air pocket. Reivyn simply led them in a direction until he ran into the first one, noted its location relative to the mental map he was constructing in his head, and led the Party to find the next one. The direction and closeness of the next air pocket would determine their strategy for clearing the floor.

With Reivyn’s enhanced perception distance, it took them less than ten minutes to find two air pockets. Reivyn and the Party popped their heads up into the air of the second air bubble for a moment.

“Based on the distance between the two pockets and the entrance tunnel, I think we can safely ignore that first air pocket and clear out a large swath from this one,” Reivyn said. “If all the air pockets are equally spaced, then we can expect to use only every other one. Anyone have any other opinions?”

“Nah, you’re running the show just fine for my taste,” Teilon said with a smile. “In fact, I appreciate you seeking our opinions on each matter, but you can be more assertive. I say that unless someone makes a complaint known, just make the decision and we’ll follow.”

Reivyn looked to each of the other Party members and received nods of agreement.

“Ok. That’s fine, but don’t hesitate to make your opinion known if you disagree with something or have a better idea. In that case, let’s get started on clearing the floor.”

Reivyn led the Party back down into the depths. The second floor was seemingly deeper than the first floor, but it was an illusion. If they first floor had water all the way to the ceiling, then they would be the same size, but there was a quarter of the height of the first floor taken up by air. That extra quarter of height submerged on the second floor, though, was a considerable amount when taken all together.

There was more distance to cover, and there were more monsters filling the space. Not only were there more groups of monsters, but each group of monsters was also larger by one or two on average compared to their counterparts on the first floor.

The larger octopi and sharks were almost identical to the ones on the first floor. The only difference was their size, Level, and Stats. They didn’t pose any kind of real threat to the Party, though, and they had fully adapted to three-dimensional combat in the water. Reivyn found transitioning from two-dimensional to three-dimensional especially easy with his sphere of perception.

There others didn’t necessarily struggle to adapt, but it took them most of the first floor until they were fully comfortable. Unsurprisingly, the two Cultivators, other than Refix who Reivyn realized probably had experience with aquatic Dungeons in the past, were the two to adapt the quickest. It made sense to Reivyn that the two that could walk through the air and already approach combat in a three-dimensional method were able to adjust to water combat quite easily.

The closest groups of monsters to the second floor entrance, like the first floor, were groups of sharks. They were easily dealt with, and the Party didn’t have to use the air pocket all that often. Reivyn led them in a circular motion while slowly spiraling downward to clear a large section of the floor centered around their first air pocket.

Not being able to banter with his Party members while underwater really turned the clearing of the floor monotonous. None of the monsters posed any challenge to their group, and they were just swimming and killing.

Even the addition of the new type of monster, the serpents, didn’t change things up. Their method of fighting was completely different than any of the other monsters, but it was easy to figure out and deal with. The serpents were equivalent to the crocodiles on the first floor. They were the highest Level creatures on the floor other than the boss, and they were mostly solitary, though there was occasionally a pair for the Party to take care of.

The serpents’ main form of combat was attempting to close the distance quickly and constrict around one of the members. The Party member in question just had to pay attention and lead the serpent on a chase as it mindlessly chased after them while the rest of the Party pelted it with attacks until it died. The fact that they were single-minded in who they chose to pursue was what made them the easiest fights so far in the Dungeon. If they were able to use more complicated tactics like feinting who they were going after, it might have been different, but like Refix had said, they were only shadows of real monsters. Unless they were designed to specifically fight in such a manner by the System, they wouldn’t do so.

The extra quarter of space to clear plus the higher Health Pools and larger number of monsters turned the clearing of the second floor into an ordeal. Reivyn simply turned the time it was taking out. He was mechanical in his movements and just led the Party to kill the monsters as quickly as possible.

Finally, after close to four hours, the Party slew the last of the regular creatures on the second floor. The ambush monsters in the sand were a combination of octopi that could alter their appearance to blend into their surroundings and serpents that hid just under a layer of sand. Reivyn’s Divine Sense was instrumental in finding them and killing them without a single problem. It didn’t add to the complexity of clearing the floor like it would for a Party that didn’t have his advantage.

Reivyn led them to the tunnel leading to the next floor. The boss creature on the second floor was not what Reivyn would have expected if anyone had asked him. It was a giant clam. Upon reading that, at first, Reivyn had been skeptical how a clam could put up any kind of challenge. He changed his mind after reading the notes regarding the boss.

The outer shell of the clam was basically impenetrable. Kefira would be able to pierce it quite easily with her Space Mana as long as she could overwhelm the inherent defense against intrusive Mana that everything naturally had. It was just that this particular clam boss had not only a high resistance to physical attacks, but it was very resistant to Spells and Mana in general.

The clam’s main attack method was magical, too. It would just sit there, shell closed, as it shot water lances and other water intrinsic Spells at the intruders. The mechanic of this boss was simulating hoarding water to fuel its Spells. It would launch a barrage of Spells while sitting with its nigh-indestructible defense until it had used enough Spells. Once a threshold had been reached, its shell would pop open as it “accumulated” more water for its Spells. That was the opportunity Parties had to wait for. It was vulnerable to attack at this time, and the bonus was that it wouldn’t retaliate at all while charging.

The difficulty lied in the window of opportunity. As it accumulated more damage, it would be more efficient with its “fuel.” It would launch more Spells relative to the amount of water it absorbed, it would absorb water faster, and it would passively, slowly heal as its shell was closed.

If a Party didn’t have enough damage dealing capabilities, it could be literally impossible to kill this boss. Some Parties ran into situations where they would reach an equilibrium in the amount of damage they could cause and the healing the clam would do while its shell was closed.

Reivyn wasn’t worried about their damage capabilities, though. He was confident they would even be able to penetrate its shell-defense and hurt it even during its offensive phase.

Reivyn looked to each of the Party members to see if everyone was ready, and he was met with affirmative nods. He led the Party to engage the clam. All they had to do was get within range, and it immediately started launching Spells at random targets.

Reivyn and his companions spread out around the clam. The Water Affinity Spells the clam used were nearly invisible in the water. If one didn’t have a decent enough Sense Mana or Mana Sight, they wouldn’t be able to see the actual Spells. Reivyn’s combination of his Mana Sensing Skill and Divine Sense once more made the issue negligible for him.

Kefira accumulated a decent amount of Mana in her hands. Reivyn was actively dodging the Spells from the clam, but his Danger Sense suddenly screamed at him. He trusted his instcincts and the Skill, and he flashed away using his Traveler Affinity. Just as he moved away, Kefira’s Space Blade Spell launched at the clam, but it just ricocheted off the shell and slashed right through where Reivyn had previously been floating.

Everyone paused for a second and looked at Kefira in surprise, but they didn’t let it stop them for long. They still had to continue dodging the occasional Spell tossed their way from the clam. Kefira shook her head to herself and accumulated Mana once again. She put twice as much Mana into her Spell the second time. She looked around at the others to make sure everyone was paying attention to her this time, though, before letting it loose.

The Spell once more zipped toward the clam. It once more bounced off the shell, but it wasn’t nearly as cleanly repelled as the first time. A fist-sized chunk was actually torn off the clam’s shell this time.

The clam was huge. It was easily larger than the octopus boss they had fought on the first floor. Most of it was the shell protecting the vulnerable interior. Kefira’s powerful, overdrawn Space Blade Spell had basically scratched it. Kefira made eye contact with Reivyn and shook her head. Reivyn simply shrugged his shoulders.

Looks like we’ll have to do this the traditional way, he thought.

They waited and dodged for another minute before the clam exhausted its supply of “fuel.” The Spells didn’t gradually slow down. There was no indication before it happened. The clam simply stopped casting Spells, and the shell popped open to expose the interior of the clam.

It looked just like a normal clam. If one could scale it down to normal size, it would literally just be a regular clam. There was even a pearl sitting in the middle of it that was relatively sized for the clam.

The pearl was huge, and it was an actual treasure. Reivyn looked over and could see the happy gleam in Teilon’s eye at seeing the pearl sitting there. It didn’t add to the capabilities of the clam at all. It was purely a spoil of war they could claim after killing the clam, and there was only a 5% chance that it would spawn on any Dungeon Delve.

Looks like our Party’s aggregate Luck Stat is quite overpowered, Reivyn chuckled to himself. He obviously realized his own Luck Stat was most likely carrying most of the weight for the Party. When it came to Dungeons and their loot and other random variables, individual Luck Stats paid much less of a role than the average Luck of the Party. It was still possible to get the favorable random chances Dungeons provided with a Party that literally had 0 Luck, but it was far less probable.

The Party members each immediately attacked the meaty interior of the clam. The melee fighters dashed in and started hacking and slashing away at the giant blob of meat. Kefira and Vyria stood at a distance and attacked from range. Kefira used her Spells and Vyria used her Sword Qi.

Reivyn didn’t have a Skill that let him see another’s Status other than their Level and threat, but he could tell visually that they were causing devastating damage to the clam. Huge chunks were ripped from the undulating meat ball, and blood streamed away in multiple places.

Depending on how much health it can recover while its shell is closed, we might only need one more opportunity to kill this thing, Reivyn thought. The information packet mentioned that a Party of 8 with an average of Tier 4 Level 20 would need five, maybe four if they were lucky, passes to slay the clam.

Reiyvn mentally nodded to himself at his Party’s prowess.They weren’t just better at coordinating and maneuvering than the average Adventurer Party. They were proving that they were far more deadly with straight up destruction, too.

With how quickly we’re dealing with the bosses, it begs the question of how any Party managed to figure out how to unlock Hard Mode. Did they all just have superhuman lung capacity or something?

Now was not the time to contemplate the issue with Hard Mode. The shell snapped closed and the clam went into a frenzy of Spell casting. Not only was the clam more efficient as the fight went on, capable of casting more Spells than earlier phases, but it also Cast the Spells much more quickly. The total time between each phase of Casting and gathering “fuel” was always the same. The clam could just fire off a lot more Spells in that time-span.

The amount of Spells being flung about actually caused the Party members to have to focus all of their concentration on dodging the attacks. Reivyn still had it relatively easy with his ability to see the attacks before and during their Casting, but the others couldn’t perceive the clam’s offense nearly as accurately as he could. Teilon, especially, would need to focus on his Mana Sensing Skills in the future.

Kefira didn’t even try to attack the clam while it was in offensive mode this time. Reivyn didn’t blame her. He would have made the same decision. The Party members were constantly moving as they swam back and forth and up and down to avoid the Spells launched at random Party members in quick succession.

After another minute of dodging all of the attacks, the clam once more ceased Casting Spells to recharge. The lid popped open, and the Party members dashed in to wreck devastation once more.

Reivyn was once again proven right in his conjecture. Just before Reivyn sensed it was time for the shell to clam up once more - No pun intended, Reivyn snorted to himself - the clam let out a soundless wail as its flesh fiercely vibrated before going still, dead.

Teilon immediately dashed in and grabbed the pearl. If someone had attempted to take it during the fight, they would have found that it was protected by some sort of invisible barrier from the System. While the clam was alive, it was impossible to steal the pearl from its perch. Taking the pearl was further proof that the fight was over.

Teilon held the pearl above his head in a victory pose, a beaming smile on his face. Reivyn rolled his eyes at his friend, but Teilon didn’t care. He simply stashed the pearl away in his storage pouch.

The clam didn’t shrivel up and float away to reveal a tunnel like the first boss. The way to the third floor was actually inside the clam shell, behind the meat. It was more System shenanigans. There was no way such a thing would be possible on the outside of a Dungeon.

The Party once more followed Reivyn into the tunnel leading to the next floor, and they stopped at another pressurized side room on the way down.

“Well, that was interesting,” Reivyn said once they were all inside. “I never would have guessed that the clam’s shell was that tough. We even proved just how much damage we can cause by killing it in less than half the time most other Parties around our Level take.”

“Yeah, if my ethereal arsenal didn’t do physical damage, I would have taken a stab at it,” Refix said. Teilon sniggered at the comment. Refix just gave a short chuckle after realizing how he had worded the statement.

“I was definitely surprised,” Kefira agreed. “Especially considering the nature of Space Affinity Spells. They typically shear right through defense, even Mana defense.”

“It’s not really that big of a deal,” Reivyn said. “We’ll just have to keep it in mind when we try for the Hard Mode in the future. If our strategy is to blitz through the Dungeon, having to spend multiple minutes on the clam no matter what will be a real headache.”

“I still haven’t figured out how anyone managed to get to the final boss and kill it on a single breath,” Teilon said, shaking his head. “There has to be some sort of trick to it that we’re not seeing.”

“I think I have an idea, but I want to wait and see if anyone else thinks the same thing before I reveal it,” Refix said. “It’s a good problem-solving opportunity for you all, and just giving you the answer would rob you of the chance to critically think about it.”

“That’s fair,” Reivyn said. “I’ve not really thought too hard about it, yet, only in passing. If we can’t figure it out before it’s time for the last Delve before leaving, we’ll ask.”

“Sure, no reason to prevent you from making the attempt trying to let you figure it out for yourselves,” Refix agreed. “That would do more harm than good.”

“Alright, then,” Reivyn said. “Twenty minute break before moving on to the next floor. The next one is the labyrinth. I don’t think it’ll pose too much of a problem for us with our unique advantages, but I can see how it could be annoying for most other groups. It apparently takes the most time to clear, especially for first-timers. After that, the last floor is basically just a boss room and we’re done.”

The others nodded their heads before relaxing to catch their breath and calm down after the boss fight. They were nearly done with their first Delve, and then they could focus on figuring out how to do it with only one breath, a task that maybe only Refix had figured out just yet.