Chương 15: Dungeons

Dungeon Complex #1 of Aetherea 54 Days before the Battle for Trost Lewis decided he needed to break the silence. It'd been twenty minutes in this elevator so far. At least it felt that way, the four of them crammed in here while it descended to this Dungeon Trevor kept hyping up while refusing to mention what it was, and both Rebecca and Lisa had decided it would be easier just to endure this ride in silence. Or maybe they were just sleepy since they'd been dragged out here at four in the morning.

Either way he felt the need to end the silence.

"I don't feel ready," Lewis confessed, getting looks from Lisa and Rebecca.

"You'll do fine. You've fought monsters before," Rebecca reassured him.

"He has?" Lisa asked.

"I thought he spent all that time not working up the courage to ask out the counter girl at the bakery?"

"Rats," Lewis interjected quickly.

"I fought a pair of giant rats that got into the bakery's cellar. And by giant, I mean they were a foot long at least."

"That's the best length for Giant Rats. Big enough to get you the higher XP total, but small enough they don't pack a big punch." Trevor stood at the front of the elevator, watching the giant hand at the top as it moved to lower floor numbers. Lewis had stopped once it reached -50.

"That doesn't make me feel better. Neither does you not telling us what this place is. You said we needed to start combat trials, and you haven't said a word since."

"I think it comes better from the lips of the people who run it than me. They keep it operational, they know how best to explain it. But I promise you this, it'll get you from level ten to two hundred in a week."

"You just like keeping us in the dark," Rebecca accused.

"That too. Ah, here we go, bottom floor." The bottom floor was negative two hundred, going by the elevator. How many feet below the city's streets were they? They'd entered this on the ground floor of the Chief Adventuring Guild! Lewis stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened, into an underground chamber. Right in front of them stood a set of steel gates, dragons emblazoned on the probably inches thick steel.

Lewis looked to either side and found that the elevator had deposited them in front of one of many different gates set in the circular walls of the chamber. There could easily be fifty, and those were just the ones he could see. And he could see rather far, because the entire place was deserted, hardly a person in sight.

"It used to be busier before the wars kept everyone on the frontlines more. And well, after a while, you get diminishing returns," Trevor said, not bothering to explain further.

"Follow me." Two or three others stood in the central chamber, talking with a thin man over by one of the large metal gates. Trevor led them that way, waving to the small group, who waved back. Behind them, the steel gates, which Lewis could now see were emblazoned with a massive figure wielding hammers, began to open. The thin man next to them gestured for them to go inside before turning his attention to the approaching group.

"Who are they talking to?"

"Vrassai. The Gatekeeper of this place. Treat him with respect, he's essentially the overseer of this place. He's rough enough around the edges he might treat disrespect as a reason to make this difficult for you." Closer, Lewis could see the set of scars across the gatekeeper's face, five deep grooves scratched by claws, and a dead eye sitting in his left socket. The Aetheean reached for a rope and yanked it roughly. Next to it, another rope ran to a large bell beside his head.

"Ah, Trevor. Most of the staff are already in the Dungeons themselves. No one is off shift yet, although you would be seeing Gerai and Molat if you arrived at your scheduled time. Here a little early, are we?" Vrassai's voice resembled sandpaper, a rasp that almost made his words unintelligible.

"I knew you wouldn't have many visiting today, Vrassai. Wanted to get my new set of newbies in as soon as you can manage it." Vrassai's grin made the scars on his face dance as he looked at each of them. Lewis shivered. The look in Vrassai's eyes had been friendly enough, but it still felt like he'd been evaluating each of them in turn.

"While I would love to bring your group in early, I don't have a set fully ready for you lot yet. So until that happens, you stay out here. You should stick to the times we arrange Trevor."

"What do you mean by 'fully ready'?" Lisa interjected.

"You haven't told them?" Vrassai asked Trevor.

"It's better to have it be a surprise. Keeps them on their toes. Also, I know how much you love explaining this." Vrassai muttered, then scowled, "You just want them on their toes. This isn't a boot camp, Trevor."

"Excuse me," Lewis said.

"We'd appreciate some answers, and not you two fighting and not answering our questions?" The overseer turned his attention to Lewis, good eye affixed on him before replying, "Well, by fully prepped, we mean getting the creatures and such set up for your arrival. The dungeon here is the most well-stocked assortment of monsters, beasts, and other such freaks in Aetheria, all here in one nice little place for you all to blitz through.

Used to be, we could drug the creature or inflict HP damage to the point it was a little ways away from death, making it real easy for you to climb the levels. Well, the System has gotten a little particular about XP from kills over time. Now, the system barely gives you any XP for killing a creature in that status. Also, higher-ups wanted a crash course in training.

Of course, not as useful as it could be because most of our enemies are a bit smarter than most of the things in stock here, but we could hardly send you up against prisoners, could we?"

"Proba-" Rebecca tried to answer, only to be cut off by the Gatekeeper continuing on.

"Truth be told, prisoners were much more resourceful than we expected. Way too canny for low-level Travelers, even when only armed with rocks. Also, the entire blood sports aspect wasn't raising enough petty cash for the war. That's the Gatekeeper before me that tried this mess. One before that, she retired after drugging went out of style. Mind you, she kept getting those doses wrong as well, but who could blame her? Everything has a different weight.

Some weigh far more or far less, some have special resistances, and you could never quite get the dosages entirely right."

"Vrassai, you're rambling again," Trevor interjected.

"So I am. We got time to ramble through. Backstage staff should still be working on the prep. Note the unrung bell," Vrassai gestured towards the bell next to him.

"In all honesty, can't blame my predecessors for their mistakes. Those were hectic times, since this entire complex is only a decade old." That didn't sound right.

"Did you not have this beforehand? For levelling up?"

"Well used to be you could go out in the wilds. There also wasn't a war on, and we also did have you Travelers from another world. Damn System loves you all, reduced level ups, initial boons. Hell, you all even start in classes most people can't even qualify for. Even worse back when class levels meant even less individually. And back then we could afford to have you all be challenged. Now we just need you to get to a high enough level to fight the actual war."

"So we're up against monsters where there's no threat at all then?" Lewis could grasp the reasoning behind that. With Aethereia at war, high-level individuals would be needed, so whichever method gave those levels the quickest would be the most efficient.

"Oh, they're still monsters of high level," Vrassai rasped.

"Even when my staff react with the utmost haste, accidents do happen." His one good eye stared unblinkingly at Lewis. Lewis swallowed a suddenly dry mouth. That's what Trevor meant by Vrassai making the lives of those who didn't respect him difficult. Rebecca frowned.

"It seems a bit cruel, doesn't it? To drug them or poison them?"

"Well, we don't anymore, but also, it's war," The overseer answered, tone bemused.

"They're also animals, you know. Dangerous ones at that. If it weren't for war, you'd be mostly hunting these down before they ate some poor civilian, wrecked some crops, burned down a house, all the things magical creatures do, though. Speaking of creatures though, what misbegotten things are you off to, right? The Bursa?" The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Scaverians, Vrassai," Trevor answered.

"Pretty sure even if we put them in here for a month, they wouldn't be high enough level for the Bursa. And they're only here for a week."

"They're…. lizard creatures, is what we were told?" Trevor hadn't provided many details about them, not that Lewis would voice that out loud.

"You didn't tell them much about them? Don't answer that," Vrassai snapped at Trevor, before returning his attention to the group.

"Well, your average dragon-fucker is a bit bigger than us, on average, typically resembles what you'd expect from the name. Scale patterns, claws, maws, spit or flame breath, or something else based on their lineage. Creative little shits make all kinds of mechanical devices for hurting or killing people. Useful tools, can't use them any more of course." He paused, looking over the clipboard again.

"Scaveria's a good one to start with. That campaign has been winding down for a while. Honestly should have been over after our initial strike, but damn, Scale's are stubborn about giving up any inch. They nearly had us at the start as well. Pushed almost the heartlands before the Godslayers smashed them back sharpish." Finally, a name Lewis recognized. Godslayers, considered the pinnacle of Travelers, and killers of deities, were practically worshipped as deities themselves.

"Did they come through here?" Vrassai was flipping through pages on his clipboard, looking for something.

"Huh? Oh no, this was set up after them. They came around when you could still find these creatures in the wild. Well, in the wild here. Pretty sure there are plenty of them still free in the uncivilized lands. Watch out for drakes when you get to Scaveria. Might set you up with some of those on day three. But that's for much later, for right now, it's the starter gate for you lot. Follow me. Trevor, is there anything special about this lot that didn't make my papers?

Because I already got one marked in the other group for special treatment, and it will be a pain to arrange with our current stocks."

"Special treatment?"

"Fast-tracked leveling. Typically, for those, we need to achieve certain abilities very fast. Which means a lot of monsters in very quick succession. Bit more dangerous than normal dungeoneering. Higher injury rate and well…fatalities. Doesn't happen a lot, we promise," Trevor cut in "No special treatment Vrassai. What do you have to start them out on?"

"Wolves, wargs, then maybe some imps, frogmen, mites. Nothing sentient or too used to lurking around a cave. We can do kobolds later before graduating them up to the next cave. Do you want them trained in tracking and spotting? Files got them with no training at all."

"Either here or the two day training course at the army grounds. Probably here so they have more time to train it," Trevor.

"Wait, we're training on an army base?"

"Place of arrival?" Vrassai looked over his shoulder.

"Paperwork doesn't have it for some reason. That your fault again, Trevor or someone else's?"

"Not mine. They have a rail line and telephone, and the mayor told me he'd filled it out and sent it ahead."

"Probably lost at the office. Mine or the post's. What's your place of arrival for each of you?"

"Halice," Lewis said, echoed by Rebecca and Lisa. All three of them had portaled into the town within a few weeks of each other, right into the middle of the small farming and logging community. It had been a relaxing few weeks there before Trevor had arrived, getting used to this world, and meeting people.

"Alright, that's marked, next section-" The bell next to Vrassai started ringing violently, jingling all over the place.

"Ah, never mind, you're going in now. I need to give Malak a raise. That's half the time it usually takes. Four doors down, wolves on the steel door. We can fill out the rest of this later. Your pensions, your pay, your gender, your life insurance, etc." Trevor waved them on to follow him while the steel doors began opening with a squeal of metal on metal. Behind lay the tunnel. The tunnel was pretty bare, a square corridor with walls carved from the rock.

Occasionally an electrical cord would stick out going to the lights overhead, or a random hook, or some other device. Was the entire tunnel like this? Lewis couldn't imagine this was a good place to train. The doors shut as soon as they were thought, leaving them only the way forward. Trevor looked over his shoulder at the three of them as they walked.

"The three of you and your silence speaks volumes. Nerves or Vrassai?"

"Shouldn't you keep watch ahead?" Lewis replied.

"I got enough ranks in perception, and most low-level monsters have terrible stealth. Wildlands creatures don't have any advantages in caves. Come on, he probably can't hear us down here. Feel free to speak your minds."

"He seems a bit blunt," Rebecca answered, eyes focusing past Trevor instead of on him.

"And not really like someone stuck in a war for survival?" Lisa added.

"It all seemed a bit casual."

"Not to mention, well…gladiator games. And prisoners used to, uh, level people up. It seems a bit," Lewis paused, trying to figure out how best to put it.

"Not exactly what you imagined from a country on the brink?" Trevor said for him.

"I understand it's a little off-putting. Don't think of everything as an exact one-to-one to earth. Things are a little different here, but this is a good cause. We're keeping people safe, trying to bring this war to an end."

"Is the entire corridor going to be like this?" Lisa asked, changing the subject.

"No, it changes throughout. They just do it like this for the newbie areas so there's less chance of an animal bursting out of nowhere and tearing your throat out. You three still have a low enough level for that to be an actual threat."

"Oh" Trevor tried to keep up, only for his foot to suddenly be grabbed. He turned quickly to see if it was a wolf, awkwardly as whatever had a hold of his leg kept it's grip on it. Sunlight gathered in his hand as he completed the turn, staring at what restrained him. Oh, great, his shoelaces were stuck in one of the hooks. Why were there even hooks in this place? A howl echoed across the walls, followed by more answering it, the multitude of wolf cries echoing throughout the tunnels.

"Looks like the pack has caught our scent," Trevor said, pulling the faceplate on his helm down.

"Let's move everyone! Stick together!" Cursing, Lewis tried to yank his shoelaces free. Instead, he tripped, falling flat on his face.

"Everyone, just give me a second!" He yelled over his shoulder as he sat back up, finally freeing the shoelaces. By the time he scrambled to his feet, nobody else was in the tunnel. They must have turned just up ahead. He ran after them, not bothering to tie his shoelaces back together. Lewis rounded the corner, and no one was there. He paused, blinked, and went back around the corner. No one was behind him. Mouth drying, he turned the corner again. Again, no sign of them.

"Rebecca? Trevor? Lisa?!" Lewis ran further back along the tunnel, only for it to split, and he definitely did not remember there being a turn there. He kept running, but the tunnel never ended, and by the time he stopped, taking deep breaths of air, the tunnel didn't resemble the ones in the dungeon. Tight and claustrophobic, a roof of rock and packed dirt just above his head, wooden support beams set along the walls. Cords and ropes and other pieces of equipment hung from them or were strung between them.

Lamps flickered along the tops of the tunnel, spaced out from each other to the point some parts of the tunnel were in complete darkness.

"Hello! Anyone?" Was this still part of the Dungeon? The tunnel shook, something thundering up above as dirt fell from the ceiling above him. He stared up at the ceiling with dread, then turned to head down the tunnel, only to stop. Three soldiers in dark grey camo and metal masks moved down the tunnel towards him. Snarling draconic visages etched into steel as they looked around, rifles at the ready. One of them hissed something in a strange clacking tongue, and they spread out. He needed to hide. Somewhere.

He didn't know if these things could see in the dark but he couldn't risk it. One part of the wall had a small indentation in the wall, a little cubby in the wall he could try to hide in. He headed there, even as the creatures hissed and clicked as they moved closer. These had to be Scales. He tried to squeeze further into the little indentation in the wall, trying not to make noise. Another inch, maybe two, and he'd be out of sight. His foot stepped on something suddenly moving, frightened squeaks filling the air.

The rat he'd trodden on scurried away. Heart pounding, he looked out of the cubby. Two of the Scales were facing him, rifles raised while the last ran down the tunnel. He moved first, hands raising, spells charging. Two Lances of the Sun sprang forward, inch-thick rays of sunbeams blasting at the masks. The first Scale dropped, a charred hole punched through their chest. The second one hissed in pain as the lance burnt through their bicep, charring flesh and severing bone, its right hand going limp.

It charged forward, dropping its rifle, left hand reaching for Lewis' throat as fire bloomed in its mask's mouth. Sunlight blasted from both his hands, melting the mask and bursting through the Scale's head. The thing shrieked briefly before the sunbeams blasted through the middle of its face, leaving a round crust of roasted flesh, like some kind of charred-flesh donut in place of a head. Lewis forced his gaze away from the horrific sight towards where the last Scale had run.

The last one stood at the end of the tunnel, grabbing onto a cord. Next to Lewis on the support slats, a thin cord pulled taut. The fading spears of sunlight illuminated the support struts and the small packages strapped to each of them, cords running from one to the next. Lewis' heart sunk as his gaze turned back to the Scale. The last Scale hissed, the sound resembling a laugh, before pulling the cord.

Explosions raced down the sides of the tunnel, each support breaking as attached explosives blasted through them. Lewis ran, sunlight gathering at his fingertips. The roof of the tunnel came down on him, dirt and rock crashing down. Lewis went down, trying to scream as dirt filled his mouth while rocks pummeled him. Everything went dark in an instant, the noise of the explosions and the falling debris cutting off. He couldn't see, he couldn't move, and worse of all, he couldn't breathe.

Dirt clogged his throat, choking him as he tried to push his hands, his legs, something, anything to break loose. Nothing budged. He couldn't even move a pinky!

"Lewis!" Wait. A voice. Someone outside? He tried to move, to make a noise, anything. More dirt flooded into his mouth choking him, strangling him.

"Lewis, wake up!"