Test Summoning: Apocalypse

I never much liked caves. I saw plenty of videos online of people getting stuck upside down in tiny places for little more than wanting to take a picture of a puddle. Then there was the new level of insane of wanting to do it underwater. I endeavored to never go into a cave unless there was something amazing like the Starship Enterprise waiting down there.

Now I'm voluntarily walking into a cave and one filled with water at that. Granted, it's for a good reason and it's more of a cavern than a cave. Still, it's underground and it has water.

I looked around the long tunnel leading deeper to the main cavern. The rounded passage was slick with moisture and a layer of moss. Affixed to the walls at a semi-regular interval were clusters of glowing mushrooms. I knew plants in the dungeon had alchemical properties, but I doubt the bioluminescent ones in an Advancement 0 dungeon were worth the effort. Or is it magiluminescent here?

Water poured from smaller tunnels bored high up on the tunnel walls and in the ceiling. The flow poured down onto the floor and produced surprisingly warm ankle-deep water, which we were now wading through. I had, in my preparation, forgotten to bring along waders. I'm shaming my Florida Man gator hunting past right now.

Up front, leading us down the glowing tunnel, was Lia. She had her greatsword in a ready position perched on her shoulder while she looked around cautiously. It was wise since the guide stated monsters would sometimes emerge from the waterfalls above.

Behind her was Tizek, who was mostly taking in the sights. He didn't seem to be much bothered about being in a cave and going to fight monsters. It was what his people loved doing, after all.

Next came Void. She was alert but not overly worried in her pace. She drummed her fingers on her rapier while she stared at the back of her Guild ID. She was reading up on the different monsters in the dungeon, which wasn't much since the strategy, apart from the miniboss and main boss, was "hit it until it dies".

Then there was me, the fearless dud from Earth, taking up the rear. I had my bow strung and my arrows ready at my hip in my field quiver. Otherwise, I was just making sure we didn't end up stuck in a narrow passage in the 10 meter wide tunnel. It was wise to keep an eye out for that trap even though this dungeon didn't have that kind. I hate being underground.

"Is that gate back there to keep monsters from getting out?" Lia asked, making conversation to quell her nerves.

I remained silent. When I didn't respond, Void looked back. "Is this something you don't know?"

"I know it," I replied. "I figure you'd like to explain since you're the one who told me in the first place. I don't feel right stealing your thunder." Void smirked at me after I made the comment.

"No, it's to keep unauthorized people from coming in," Void explained. "Monsters inside dungeons can't survive outside them. Monsters need the right concentration and mixture of mana to exist. In here, it's heavy Earth and Water. Outside is Earth and Air."

"Oh," Lia said as she darted her head to one of the small holes above dumping out water. "Is the concentration why we never get any in the city?"

"Correct," Void replied. "Settlements tend to form where mana levels are weak. Smaller towns sometimes have to deal with Advancement 0 monsters, but they build walls for that. Leoren can get away without walls since the area only has enough mana to passively run lighting."

"Why don't people use repellant crystals on towns?" Lia asked as she kept looking around.

"Their effect is limited to a smaller area, so they can't ring an entire town. I'm also guessing you're wondering why people don't use them on ships or carriages. They have to be immobile and affixed to the ground to work," Void added.

We continued sloshing on for another minute before Lia called out again. "Monsters coming out from above!"

About 20 meters ahead from one of the waterfalls, eight ugly fish creatures plopped out. I recalled they were called mannows after how they appeared. They were weird looking critters. They had a body of a bucketmouth bass and had beastmen legs and arms. They didn't have any visible weapons and stood around 90cm tall.

"Oliver? I'm thinking we do the same thing as the arena. Can you shoot two and I'll get the rest to focus on me," Lia said as she readied her sword.

"Does that include falling in the water?" I asked as I pulled two arrows to prepare for a pair of quick releases.

"Ha ha," Lia deadpanned. The eight mannows were still trying to get to their feet after plopping hard into the water from above. I didn't waste time and launched a pair of arrows to end two of the monsters with headshots.

Lia then went to work. She couldn't perform her spinning swings as well with the water around her feet. The liquid's was enough to make it harder to move and her blade would dip into the water and slow during the nadir of the attacks.

The slowed attack didn't matter much. Tizek and Void easily dispatched their first mannow, which caught the attention of one more each. It was mostly brief footwork as the duo observed the behavior of their opponent to get the timing down. Tizek then smushed his mannow on the side with his mace before following it up with a punch to the face.

Void got hit with a slap from one of the mannow's claws, which harmlessly glance off her leather armor. She bounced back with a splash and skewered the mannow through the mouth like she was preparing to grill it. A sideways flick opened up the monster and spilled its guts and black ichor blood all over the water.

Lia also did well. One swinging attack sliced a mannow in half while the follow-on strike cut through the second mannow's face. I noticed her balance was off though and I knew the answer. I'd keep it quiet to see if Lia noticed.

And with that, our first encounter in Mermaid Falls was over. We had each dispatched two mannows with no more than mild scoring on Void's leather breastplate.

"Good work, everyone," I announced. "Especially you, Lia. You didn't hesitate and worked the enemy well."

Lia shifted her backpack. "This is getting in the way. The guild rep said the campsite is protected from monsters, right? I think we should drop our gear off before clearing more."

"Yes, friend Lia is right," Tizek said as he began cutting open the mannow to get the mana core. "It is not easy to fight encumbered."

"For now, let's do that," I said. "I think we should put some training in fighting with a backpack on after all of this is done. At least if you still want to keep being Exterminators after we repel the squid. Higher ranked dungeons don't have convenient Guild campsites set for us."

Lia agreed and began cutting out the mana cores from her kills. While she did that, Void slipped in next to me. "Aren't you thinking a little far ahead?"

"Preparation for the future is always important," I said.

"No, I mean, you know," Void whispered. "There's no guarantee."

"Don't think like that. This is going to work. A super concentrated beam from a control crystal will close the portal," I said confidently. I wasn't feeling it. However, Void seemed to be placated.

Our trip continued until we exited the tunnel to the massive central cavern. The cavern was roughly a kilometer across and, apart from a small central island, was entirely submerged in calf-deep water. Manaluminescent mushrooms clung to stalactites and more water gushed out of various holes in the walls and ceiling. Mannows were patrolling the waters in small groups and four moving piles of mud shaped like beast people were visible outside the central of the three tunnels at the far wall.

I looked up at the water flowing into the cavern as we made our way to the central island. My first dungeon, an outdoor one, had a similar water feature. Water was inexplicably pouring out of the top of a ruined building and into a pool below. I couldn't find any evidence of drainage or piping to explain it. My scientific mind couldn't comprehend the violation of the law of conservation of mass. Now? I just roll with it. Magic doesn't follow the laws of physics.

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We cut down a second group of mannows before we set foot on the central island. The island was an irregular shaped circle ringed with blue obelisk crystals. The obelisks were 30cm tall and were set around five meters apart along the perimeter. These were the monster repellants.

The center of the island had an open sided wooden shelter to keep errant drips from stalactites from disturbing your sleep. Underneath the shelter was a fire core embedded into a ring of rocks. The Guild also included a hook for cooking and additional hooks nearby to hang gear to dry. Off to one side of the island was a small bathing area, though I'm not sure why anyone would want to wash after wading through water all day.

"My lord? Something is strange," Tizek said as he hung his backpack on one of the drying hooks.

"What is it?" I asked.

Tizek pointed out to the mannows wandering around the cavern. "They all have the same arms and legs."

I looked at the mannows and the different groups. Tizek was right. While they all had beast people arms and legs, they only had jaguar-clan, otter-clan, squirrel-clan and raccoon-clan features. I looked at the four mud people at the central tunnel and they were the same clans as the mannow limbs.

"They're also real skinny and sickly looking," Lia added.

"Huh, mysterious," I said. "Alright, we should limit our time in the water to under 8 hours since we don't want trench foot. We should take a break for a couple of hours to dry off by the fire and then a little more before calling it for the day. Lia? Mind setting that fire for us?"

"I don't have a starter," Lia said as she looked at the empty stone on the ground.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Here, let me teach you how to cast Pilot Light," I said.

"You could do it," Lia said.

"You don't need to feel insecure about this. You've got the attunement. Besides, you want me to reserve my strength for purifying water and, more importantly, I can produce a warm blow-dry effect," I said.

"Yes, please learn it," Void quickly commented. She definitely would want me to dry her fur out after we got finished sloshing around in the water.

"Alright, if you think I can," Lia muttered.

I explained how to move the mana in her body and roil it up to her finger. I didn't need to explain how to shape the mana since she was already fire attuned. That was only something I had to worry about since I was all attuned. After a few false starts, she finally got a little lighter flame to pop out of her index finger.

"Great work! See? You're a natural," I said as I ruffled her head. She smiled and pressed the fire against the stone, lighting it. The stone didn't light up in flames. Instead, it began to gently glow while putting off heat. "Come on, let's get to killing critters. With what I'm seeing in this cavern, you three may even get to Advancement 1 by the end of our week if the mermaid boss has the essence."

"It'll take that long?" Tizek asked.

"Yea, buddy. It's not an easy task," I replied.

"I heard it doesn't take that many kills," Lia said.

"Right, for the usual Exterminator. 9 in 10 Exterminators are rated between 95% and 105%. Finding many people rated like Dane or higher is very rare," Void explained. "That's the Exterminators. In the public, 7 in 10 are rated between those levels while most of the rest are below 95%. Since the three of us are rated higher, it takes more to Advance."

"There is the upside," I added. "When you reach Advancement 1, you'll be somewhere between the average Advancement 2 and 3 Exterminator. Same with Tizek. Void will almost be equal to the average Advancement 3."

Tizek, predictably, looked happy. His thick tail was thumping on the ground while his frills ruffled with joy. Lia looked thoughtful as she peered at her hands. She flexed them a few times. Lia looked up and spoke. "Alright, let's get going then."

"I think we should avoid the mermaid boss for now until we get a little more experience. So, Lia, you can pick either tunnel you want to go down or we can clean out the cavern," I suggested.

Lia glanced at the entrance where the mud people were milling around then her eyes turned over the cavern. I could tell she was feeling overwhelmed with the number of monsters, along with potentially more pouring out of the various spouts and waterfalls all over the ceiling. I'd mentioned the parable about eating an elephant, but people here didn't know what an elephant was.

"I think we should go to the left tunnel," Lia finally said.

"Lead the way," I replied. Tizek and Void also agreed. And off we went getting our poor boots soggy.

The slog wasn't too bad. We ran across three more of the groups, two of which poured out from above, on the way to the tunnel entry. I took a few hits from one of the bunches when they rained down on top of me, knocking my health down a little and leaving some bruises. Tizek's hesitation took a back seat when he saw his lord take a hit.

Tizek got in trouble with the bunch patrolling the cavern when he charged in and also took a few blows. I had to pause our trek to explain his role. His cultural instincts kept taking over and he was struggling with holding back to let Lia take the lead.

The tunnel looked very much like the entry tunnel. It was a miserable experience with all the water dumping on us and even more mannows launching surprise attacks out of small burrows along the walls. We were getting wetter as we went.

The tunnel was long and twisting when it finally ended in a smaller cave. Our eyes lit up when we saw it at the back of the cave, a treasure chest formed out of coral and seashells. Guarding it was a hideous creature.

The creature was completely bald and it had a red tint to it like it had been baking in the sun. Its snout was peeled away from the skull and had a tangle of long exposed teeth which pointed straight out from the front. The nose had two uplifted flaps of skin like a bat and it looked blind. Its feet were black and shaped like flippers while it had floppy ears. The thing was rolling around in the water like a dog in a fresh snowfall.

"The guide says it's a fenisnort," Void whispered as we observed the hideous thing splash around in the pool. "It can flatten itself out and move fast under the water. It can use its front teeth as a spear."

"How's the guide say we should kill it?" I asked.

"Not too hard. It suggests watching the wake where it moves and dropping something solid in its way to stop it from swimming," Void read off the back of her Guild ID. "You have to time it right since it has amazing reaction times under the water. Lia's greatsword would work as a barrier."

"Alright, sounds simple enough. Want to lead us off, Lia? I'll stand back and let you three handle it," I said.

Void gave me a playful glance. "Scared?"

"You know I'm not," I said. "If I kill it, the essence is wasted on me. Based on respawn time, each of you can kill it twice before our trip here is done."

"I can do this," Lia whispered to herself. "Who wants to get the first kill?"

Tizek was bouncing with anticipation. "Can I? Please?"

"Go for it," Lia said. "Ready?"

Tizek and Void both gave their affirmation and the three waded toward the fenisnort. I watched as the depth of the water increased and the three were now up to their calves. I knew that was enough to drown, so I unstrung my bow and strapped it to my back. I had to be ready to help if one of them got pinned. Recalling the guild rep telling us no one died in here by monster didn't reduce my anxiety.

As they approached, the fenisnort didn't seem to react. At least, until one of the small wakes Lia was kicking up with her shorter legs touched the monster's skin. It then immediately ceased moving and waited. When a second wake touched the fenisnort, it submerged.

The three paused and waited. I kept an eye out for movement on the surface of the water and saw nothing. Either the fenisnort was keeping still or it was moving slow enough to avoid kicking up a disturbance on the water.

After a minute of nothing, Lia began creeping closer to where the fenisnort was last seen. Then I caught a wake forming out of the corner of my eye. The monster had flanked Void and was now charging. "Void! At your three!"

"My what?" Void shouted back. I had barely registered we hadn't gone over the clock method when the wake collided with Void's legs and knocked her off her feet. I was about to splash-sprint over when she got up and signaled she was fine. The wake circled around behind Tizek after striking Void and vanished.

"Let's place our backs together," Void called out. The other two agreed and they moved to meet in the middle of the cavern. As they did, Tizek took a hit to his side and stumbled. He splashed his mace in the water and didn't hit anything.

The three of them turned outward and started backing into each other. Before they could move, the wake started again, this time moving toward Lia. "Lia! Behind!" I shouted.

Lia wasn't able to turn in time before she was impacted. This time, though, something weird happened. Instead of taking Lia's feet out from under her, the fenisnort's buckled up out of the water. I could see its neck bent against Lia's leg as the body flipped up and slapped Lia on the back. It fell to the surface of the water and writhed while it screamed.

Tizek took advantage of the now broken necked monster and began beating on it with his mace and punching it with the edge of his buckler. It didn't take long for the creature to expire.

After it was done, I waded over to the three and we all stared at the deceased fenisnort floating on the water. I could see its face had crumpled in and blood was pouring out of where the front teeth shattered. Tizek poked it with his mace. "What just happened?"

I looked down in the water and saw a small dribble of red floating up from where Lia was impacted. "Tizek? Lia? I think you two should go up on the dry spot by the chest and get that wound patched up."

Lia looked down at her back. "Oh, I barely noticed it. That's why I lost a little of my health bar."

Lia and Tizek went over to the ledge with the chest and Tizek worked to heal Lia's leg. The fenisnort's teeth had punched into the leather hard enough to cut Lia's skin but not hard enough to actually penetrate the leather.

I looked back down at the fenisnort to try and decipher what had happened when realization struck. I started to chuckle. Void looked at me puzzled. "What's so funny?"

"Remember what the guide said? Put something solid in front of the fenisnort to knock it out of the water," I said.

Void nodded. "Yes, but we didn't do that yet."

"Hey? Lia? What's your ability again?" I called over to Lia.

"Stalwart," Lia said. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh! I'm the solid object that got in the way!"

I snickered. "Right. If you don't mind just standing there and letting it hit you, this thing is going to be easier to kill than a mannow."

After I pulled the mana core out of the fenisnort, Void and I stepped onto the dry spot. I gestured at the chest. "Do the honors?"

"This is weird after being a Guard," Void said as she unrolled a leather tool wrap, revealing a set of lockpicking and trap tools.

"Just pretend there's a falsified testimony in there," I said with a grin.

She gave me a playful glower before she started looking the chest over. "There's just a simple spring trap in here to smack you in the face with a rock. It doesn't have a lock." Void reached in some tool and wiggled it around before she pulled the chest open.

As Void opened the chest, I started whistling the chest opening tune from that famous 64-bit era action-adventure game. All three turned to look at me. "What are you doing?" Void asked.

"Sorry, making it dramatic," I replied.

Void reached in and pulled out a pair of leather gloves. "For this? There is also a small handful of copper chunks in there. Hardly a big haul."

I couldn't help myself and whistled the last bit where the item came out. It felt like pulling a green rupee. I looked at the gloves closer and noticed they had an unusual embroidering on them. The intricate swirls were stitched on with a lighter brown leather than the gloves were made from. The design made me think of a country western singer.

Lia looked at the gloves. "They're pretty. Can I have them?"

"Not until we get them checked," I replied. "Never know if they're cursed."

"From an Advancement 0 dungeon?" Void said. "Clothing from these dungeons is so worthless they usually get donated to the slums."

Void was right. Clothing made manually from leatherworkers or tailors could be repaired. Items pulled out of dungeons couldn't. When dungeon items became too worn or damaged, they dissolved back into mana. The only people who wore unenchanted dungeon clothing were the grindingly poor.

"Most of my clothing at the orphanage came from dungeons," Lia added. "I never saw any this nice though."

I put my hand out to ask for the gloves. When Void handed them to me, I did notice what Lia meant. In addition to the fine embroidery, the gloves were unusually soft. "Well, it's a habit we need to form. Never wear anything unless it's checked out. Licensed appraisers will destroy anything cursed and we won't get into trouble."

"Then can I have them?" Lia asked.

"Of course. They are nice," I said as I folded the gloves and stored them in a little hip pouch. "So, how about we go fight some more critters and then take a break?"

The others looked at the dry spot we were standing on and hesitated. "Come on, we're just soaking in our boots here. The longer we wait, the fewer mannows we get to kill. I also want to see if the other tunnel has a chest."

The prospect of a few chunks of copper and worthless clothing didn't sway them much. Still, they all piled back into the water and we made our way back into the tunnel.