Chương 9: 1-8 Enter the dungeon

They ended up going as a duo, with Josef being accompanied by Cana. It had taken him the better part of the last evening to convince Zassa, as she had naturally been unhappy with sending their newfound healer into danger. He could not stay still, hide, and pray that no one would discover him. If things were to change, he had to step out of the shadows at some point. Josef decided to grab his future with both hands, and that meant getting as many levels as possible, as soon as yesterday.

It had been that conviction that ultimately convinced the naga lady to let them go on this trip. Not a naga, but a lamia, Josef had to remind himself. The difference was in the upper body, where a naga was still reptilian in nature. Zassa was decidedly mammalian in that regard. He had learned that from the books he got the day before. And neither minded being called snakes. They were rather fond of their heritage.

Unlike the lycans, like his current companion, who would definitely bite anyone who dared compare them to mere dogs. Though she would have some trouble doing so in her current getup, as her face was wrapped in cloth, with only the tip of her muzzle and her eyes visible. To Josef's modern senses, this just screamed suspicion, but it was apparently normal enough in Highsend. Not that he was any better, Zassa had insisted they both properly hide their faces.

"And we're gonna be fine with just the two of us?" Josef asked her, having expected something like a party of four, maybe five, to be the norm.

"Sure. The upper levels are easy pickings. Could do those blind with a paw behind my back." Cana boasted.

"Not gonna hit the double digits, though. Stuff gets a lot more nasty down there. Though it might not be so bad with you around."

"Do I hear a formal party invite?" Josef joked.

"Maybe. Gotta ask the guys first. Don't wanna pull a fast one on my delving buddies." She shrugged before continuing, "The real problem is convincing Zassa. She won't be happy to let you head deeper."

"I know, but she'll have to live with that. I am happy to help, really, but I refuse to stay passive," he said firmly.

"Anyway, where exactly are we headed, and how come no one will bother us at the entrance? I would have expected the adventuring guild to control a resource like that."

"They do, but there's a second way into it, that none of the 'fairer folks' wanna go near. You see, the dungeon is a sewer, and someone got the smart idea to just dump the city's waste in there. That's how we got the sewage tunnels. Smells like shit, but nobody's willing to stand guard there."

"So they just dump their waste into the dungeon? That's… creative." Josef was surprised they had a working sewer system, at least in some parts of the town. Having a magical hole to dump everything into probably made the logistics easier.

"Doesn't that back up or something, eventually?"

"Dunno about that. The water just pours down through the dungeon's channels, going down level by level. That's actually the best way to find your way down there. No idea how far it goes though. Haven't heard of anyone finding the end yet." Josef got giddy at that notion. It meant he could be among the first to clear that dungeon once he got stronger. That happy feeling didn't hold for long, as Cana led them down a manhole cover. It was rank.

"Better get used to this. The smell ain't getting better. Just be happy you don't have one of these." She tapped her nose as part of her explanation. Together, they descended into the dark below the city. Josef wanted to use his Light spell, but Cana had told him off. Apparently showing off shining lights in the sewers was a bad idea. After all, no one wanted to give the guards a legitimate reason to come down and check.

He had to trust her to keep him away from the sewage he could hear running through a channel next to them. Following her through the dark tunnels, he tried his hardest to memorize the route they took. After all, he might not always have a guide available. He had a surprising amount of success recalling all eleven turns they ended up taking. Maybe intelligence is improving my memory? The idea had barely come to his mind when he slipped on recounting the turns.

Whatever improvements he got, they weren't enough to account for errant thoughts breaking his concentration.

"We're here." Cana interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh?" Josef saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What'd you expect? Glowing portals and stuff?" She chuckled and grabbed his hand.

"Heard of dungeons like that, but ours ain't that fancy." A few steps later, a searing pain shot into his heart, as if someone had just stabbed him. He almost went to his knees as a notice appeared before his eyes. You have entered: Cradle of Pestilence, 1st Floor The pain immediately got better as a familiar weight pressed down on his shoulder. Dusty had joined him.

"You good?" Cana sounded concerned. Clearly, reacting to a dungeon like that wasn't normal.

"Yeah, my mana just felt weird for a second. Already better though." He tried to reassure her. Not wanting her to consider turning back, he forced a change of topic.

"Do we have to worry about running into other adventurers down here?" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She shook her head, "Nah. The dungeon usually keeps folks apart unless they entered together. Some kinda magic layers stuff. Though sometimes they can break down and shit." So it wasn't a concern, unless it was. Great. As he took in the surrounding sights, he noticed some differences to the tunnels they were walking through before.

Most notably, there were now torches interspersed along the walls, providing a scant amount of light. That, in turn, also allowed him to see the greenish slush that was flowing alongside their path. He was sure waste water didn't normally look like that, but apparently the dungeon imposed some creative freedoms, even if the stuff came in from outside. Or did the sewage from outside get its own magic layer?

"Heads up Josef. There's your warm up." Cana warned him. It was hard for him to see in the sparse torchlight, but he could just barely make out the scuttling creatures in the dark. It was rats. He sighed as he called on his mana. Of course, it was rats. Small and hard to hit. This promised to be a bad time for him. Then again, he wanted to train himself. Might as well start with a high bar. Water. Ball. Shoot. The water sphere came easily to him, the images and intent clean and simple.

Make a ball of water and shoot it at an enemy. ☆ Water Sphere (Pinnacle) While water can bring both life and death, this one is meant only for the latter. The most basic water spell. Focus on forming a sphere and move it by your own will. Like the world's biggest dewdrop, mana coalesced in front of his outstretched palm. The watery ball appeared almost unnaturally blue as it shot out of his palm and streaked down the hallway. It wasn't natural, but magical, after all. The resulting impact was impressive.

Impressively weak. That the shot hit with such a low velocity was already a miracle, and the magic had likely just surprised the rat. There was also no discernable damage as it smacked the rodent with all the force of a water balloon chucked by an angry, middle-aged man. At least it got thrown back a little.

"Are you trying to fight, or giving them a bath?" Cana howled next to him. Josef, annoyedly decided he would not waste his breath to answer that one. Instead, he focused on finding a solution to his dilemma. Clearly, he couldn't give the sphere enough velocity to do any damage. It was only a sphere after all, not a bullet. And its rank was still low to boot. No, he had to be smarter about that. Forming another Water Sphere he didn't shoot it off, instead he kept it close and ready.

He didn't have to wait for long as an infuriated, wet rodent came lunging for him. Reacting with the speed of intent was unpleasantly difficult for Josef, as while the sphere moved by his will, it didn't translate as quickly as he could think. Even so, he managed to move the sphere between him and the rat. And as the two were about to touch, he focused. Hold. Trap. Imprison. He felt his mana shudder as the two collided, the rat's momentum abruptly cut down into nothing as submerged in the water. And that was that.

No fancy effects, no ruined body or fountains of blood. Why go for something excessive if he could just drown the critter? The system agreed. Spell Upgrade: ☆ Water Sphere (Pinnacle) -> ☆☆ Water Prison (Moderate) Countless have drowned in the sea throughout the ages, a concept you have now touched upon. While its shape remains unchanged, this sphere has become more than a simple shape. It is now a prison of your making. For what it was worth, the rat didn't have to struggle for long before its body went limp.

Maybe magic water drowns more quickly? Either that, or rats sucked at holding their breath. He was satisfied either way. The first monster to fall before his magical might.

"Good on you, Josef. Looks like you are figuring things out." Cana's words immediately made him realize how much tunnel vision he had during his fight with the... rats. He frantically looked around. Wasn't there a second one?

"Looking for this?" The lycan's words were teasing. She held up the limp remains of another rat.

"Never lose sight of your enemies, or it'll be the end of you. At least you got two outta three. Not bad for a beginner." Two? Josef was at a momentary loss. When did he take out a second? Before he could make a fool of himself by asking, a crunching noise got his attention. Turning towards its source, he found the third rat. It was with Dusty, who had bitten down on its neck and was shaking it like a mad dog. The bunny was not at all concerned with the blood he got all over himself.

Josef may or may not have dropped his own rat at the sight of the gory display.

"Yeah, I totally planned for that. Yay me." He pointedly ignored the deadpan stare he got from both of them.

"Let's just push on, alright. I'll do even better next time…"

"Hold up, they might not be worth much, but we still gotta loot'em." Cana held him back. Then the body of her rat quickly dissolved into motes of light, which dispersed and quickly disappeared into the surrounding walls of the dungeon. All that was left was a tiny pebble. He recognized the sight from his time healing Coco. It was another magic core. So that's the loot they were going to collect.

As he attempted to figure out how to loot his own drowned rat, he was surprised as the one in Dusty's mouth also dissolved.

"Huh, didn't expect your summon could push mana too. Neat." Cana remarked. Push Mana? Josef decided to give that a try. As he touched the wet rat, now on the floor, he moved his mana. Unlike his past experience with healing Coco, this one didn't take any effort at all. The moment it entered the rodent's body, it was quickly sucked towards the core. The moment it reached there, the body broke down. It was over before he had much of a chance to try and analyze the process, as a tiny magic core dropped to the ground.

As he picked up the stone and handed it to Cana, he gave it a quick look. ☆ Crystallized Magic (Inferior) Solidified magic, as it is found commonly in almost all creatures of Aurum. Barely a dreg, this one is almost worthless. Even so, countless droplets make up rainfall. Looking at Cana and the backpack she brought along, he should get one for himself, he decided, "Let's hunt until you can't fit any more into that bag!" Cana laughed as they continued on their way.

She was clearly unconcerned with remaining stealthy in this part of the dungeon. She didn't know that Josef was serious about his declaration. He had tasted first blood. Now it was time to loot and level!