The Tower in the Shadows

The word about the new floor spread quickly.

The sight of Guild Leader Woodland joining Doltum and Seela to enter the Dungeon would only increase speculation. Elian managed to stop herself from grunting at that.

"Ya know they are gossiping up there." Seela gave voice to her thoughts.

"Speculation will be rife, I am sure." Doltum agreed.

The pair were acting differently right now. Gone was the legendary banter and insults between them. Each was quieter and more focused on what was going to happen. Doltum was one of the most powerful adventurers on the continent and the second most powerful in the city after Averance. He was normally jovial and affable, but he was focused and dangerous at the moment.

A gold-tier team of adventurers had been annihilated in a brief and bloody battle. Such a group should have been able to hold their own against most dangers and retreat if the situation demanded it. Whatever they faced down there had taken them apart so fast that they hadn't even had the chance to try to retreat. Searider had reported that the order to withdraw had been given, but they never had an opportunity to implement a retreat.

His description had unsettled her. He reported a strange hybrid monster that he had never encountered before. When she was getting ready and the message was sent to Doltum, Albrot and her receptionist had scoured the tomes on monsters and beasts for anything that could match his description.

Nothing had ever even come close.

Averance had also confirmed that she had never heard of anything like it.

The three move down the stairs towards the unknown.

"I'm starting to sense the heat," Doltum said when they reached the seventh floor.

"Ya right. Subtle, but it's there." Seela agreed. Elian can feel anything just yet, but she trusted in the other two as their senses were far superior to hers.

When they reached the next floor, the heat was very evident, even to her. It was radiating up the stairs, pushing back the cold draft and driving the other way. It was a bit disconcerting suddenly moving from a draft to a dry and relentless heat.

"Reminds me of the Inferno Dungeon. In that the first assessment was correct." Doltum drew his sword as he spoke. That was a surprise to Elian as she never seemed to be concerned about danger. Seela mirrored him by pulling out her heavy club.

"Never like that one." She muttered.

Elian had never visited that Dungeon. Located much further south, it was initially a fire-based dungeon that evolved into a molten one. It was legendary for its lava and magma-based floors. The surface merchants made a killing selling anti-heat and dehydration spells and potions to the adventurers entering the floors. It was one of the last major dungeons left on the continent after the Folly.

"Elian, stay back with Seela," Doltum said over his shoulder as they continued to walk down. "I know you are an experienced assessor, but we don't know what we're walking into. Best to hold back until we know what we're up against."

"Understood," Elian noted the lack of argument from Seela. She was all right behind him, but here she was told back and seemed to be rummaging in various pockets and pouches scattered around her body as they walked. She was getting ready for trouble.

They reached the ninth floor, and the heat was far more intense.

"We should come back and test ourselves against these new floors later," Doltum told himself. Seela just grunted.

The tenth floor was soon reached, and the heat was oppressive.

Walking down the last few stairs allowed them to see the floor. It was a vision of what some would call hell.

"Definitely like the Inferno Dungeon," Doltum said as he looked up towards the cavern's ceiling. "I can make out several platforms and caves up there. But I can't see the monster."

Elian had here gear ready and started recording.

"Ya be careful. This thing is fast. Don't be fancy, just kill it." Seela reminded him. Doltum nodded and walked forward.

Elian knew that Seela was concerned, and so was she. But they have to trust in Doltum to carry the day.

He walked onto the floor across the blackened stone, his form shimmering in the heat. He held his rapier-like sword in one hand and a wand in the other. His walking pace was measured, and he constantly scanned the area for any potential danger.

They both felt terrible tension while waiting for the monster to reveal itself.

He reached the stone bridge, allowing them to cross the magma river running through the cavern's centre. He knew that there were no traps on it and walked confidently across.

He had reached the place where the first group of adventurers had died. He looked around for the piece that had killed them, but had no sight of it yet. He had reached the place and the cavern, and you would now have to walk around the bend and be lost from their sight if he wished to continue.

He paused for a few seconds and then continued.

He walked around the large stone outcrop and was lost from sight.

Seela started fidgeting. "It will happen soon."

Tense seconds passed.

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Elian was about to ask her what she meant when a flash of light and the echoing sound of a blast occurred from the other side of the bend.

Doltum backed up from whatever was over there. His wand glowed as he released another spell. He continued to back up, trying to get his companions a view of what he was fighting.

It followed him into sight.

It was as large as a horse, with bad wings and a scorpion tail. For its size, it was fast.

Doltum tried to cast a spell but was forced to deflect from a tail strike. He was still backing up to give himself more room, but the monster stayed with him. Its attacks were coming in thick and fast, forcing Doltum to remain on the defensive. Thankfully, Doltum was up to the task and was now able to defend himself.

Doltum had cast at least one spell, and as far as Elian could tell, neither had triggered any of their skills or other abilities. This was a battle of pure physical ability at the moment.

Seela was tense next to her and seemed ready to join the battle if needed.

The monster swept out with its claws, trying to strike at Doltum. He dodged again, but this time not as quickly, and the outer parts of his robes were ripped. Doltum never paused and kept moving, striking back if he saw the opportunity. The monster, in turn, dodged away from his strikes.

Doltum glowed as he triggered a spell, and he blurred. Elian recognised it as some form of haste spell that accelerated movements and reaction times. He struck out again, but the creature moved almost as quickly. She was unsure but believed he might have landed at least one partial blow on the beast.

The beast struck back, taking a deep breath. It released a form of magical fire tinged with black. Doltum, still under the effects of his hate spell, was able to move out of the way just in time. The edge of his robes got caught in the fire and burned away.

"Infernal infused fire," Seela muttered. "Not a good sign."

Elian never looked away from the fight and realised that the spell enhancing Doltum was ending. He still struck out with his sword in blistering direct strikes at the beast. She was sure that now, if you had connected, the beast was still moving, defending itself.

This was a rotating attack, executed with its claws and tail. Doltum was deflecting or dodging each of these, but they were getting closer to connecting. Doltum triggered a skill that caused his blade to glow with a soft, white light. He then slashed at the beast.

The effects were sudden.

A mighty roar of pain erupted from the beast as the sword slashed across one of its legs. A fire line mark was made where the blade contacted.

"A basic blessing magic spell combined with an attack skill, smart." Seela approved as Elian understood what had happened. She had only seen the skill triggering, not the spell.

The beast leapt back to put distance between them. This fight was far from over.

A light grey surrounded the beast. Doltum jumped to his right as a spell was triggered. From behind, several black tentacles emerged from below him. He avoided most, but one caught him tripping him slightly.

The beast leapt forward as he was off balance. He saw the danger and threw himself to the side just as the beast passed where he had been standing. Its claws raked him slightly as his escape was not a clean one.

He scrambled back to his feet as the beast turned to face him again. Its back was to Seela and Elian, now blocking their view of Doltum.

The two started the dance again, striking and dodging, constantly moving to gain or deny advantage.

"Ya beast is dangerous. Platinum, my bet." Seela spoke.

"Platinum? Doltum will beat it then?" Elian asked, not taking her eyes off the fight.

"Hard to say. He is alone without a team backing him. He has not seen all the tricks yet." Elian heard the tone of concern in Seela's voice.

The beast then appeared, glowing as it triggered a skill and charged Doltum. He side-stepped, but the beast had planned for that. Its wing flashed out, hitting Doltum, knocking him down. It arrested its momentum and turned with the grace of all felines. Doltum was getting back to his feet when it pounced.

They collided, but a glowing sphere of magic protected Doltum. The beast leant on it, attacking it with its claws, and failing under the monster's attacks.

"Going in. Ya wait here." Seela spoke as she moved with a speed that Elian was surprised at. She was under the effects of a spell or skill.

Doltum cast several spells, saving himself from a mauling and pushing the beast away. The monster was injured but not severely.

Seela entered the fight by throwing bottles at the beast.

It dodged away, but several contacted it. The area was covered with flashes of different-coloured light as the condensed matter reacted violently when released from their containers. Elian recognised half a dozen different attack potions being used.

Doltum returned to the fight.

Together, the two put the monster under pressure. Seela was a far more competent combatant than people realised, even with the oversized dimensional storage bag on her back.

The fight progressed, but it was hard for Elian to say who was winning. The pair scored wounds but received them back. All of the combatants were triggering spells and skills, and the battle was hard to follow at times.

Suddenly, something shifted as Doltum ran his blade into the monster's body. It shuddered and staggered several steps, pulling the blade from his grip. It paused and then collapsed. Seela ran up to hit, striking its prone form with her club on the head.

It made no response.

It was dead. The reward flashed into existence, confirming this.

Satisfied with this, they both collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Seela waved for her to approach.

Elian left the stairwell and approached the pair. Even with her anti-heat enchantments, she was sweating from the heat and the stress of witnessing the battle.

"How are you both?" She asked when she was closer. Both were drinking restorative potions.

"Damn that was hard!" Seela blurted out.

"Indeed. This monster was a most challenging adversary." Doltum added breathing hard.

"Challenging! It almost killed ya twice!" She snapped back.

He is too tired to make a comeback but lies out across the dark stone floor. Elian can see the pair up close and is shocked at their condition. Both wore heavily enchanted clothing that had been extensively damaged. Burns and tears can be seen across the two.

Elian walked up to the corpse of the monster they had just fought. Marvelling at what she saw and wondering what sort of mind could create such a beast.

"What is your opinion of it?"

Doltum was the one who spoke. "A hybrid of different creatures. Now we know what some of the strange requests the Core made of Lord Goldwind were for. Fire, Shadow and Infernal mana are involved in its creation. Likely more."

"Infernal mana will get the temples' underclothes in a twist." Seela snorted. She had gotten up and started collecting the reward for the kill.

Elian looked across the floor around the bend and noted the new stairwell room on the other side of the floor. She recorded everything and the chest nearby.

"There is a chest near the other stairwell." She pointed out.

"Ya be with that shortly." Seela was still picking up the reward. "Oh! Nice ruby!"

Doltum stood and walked over to Elian. "I sense no other monsters on this floor."

"Like the seventh, then." She did not look up from the map she was adding to.

"Yes. Let's see what else the floor has to offer."

The rest of the floor's explanation went on without incident. The chest was explored and found to be trapped; its contents were removed and recorded. A high-quality iron vein was discovered and added to the map on the floor.

That left the new stairwell room.

"That's where the Core is located," Elian said as they were nearly finished. "Shall we check it?"

Doltum looked thoughtful. "I don't think that would be wise."

"Why do you say that?" Elian asked.

"Remember, I said there were no monsters on this floor?" Elian nodded at his words. "While that is not part of the floor."

"There's a monster there, then?"

"Yes, but from what I can tell, it's in some form of stasis."

"A Guardian, then."

"Yes, I believe it will be fine as long as we do not disturb the Core. Come, let us be away; we have much to speak of and report."