Chương 13: The Sightless Dungeon

You pushed me!" Oscar exclaimed. Oscar watched as the faint light emitted from cigar wandered around the walls until it was sparked out on something. Those sparks brought flame and ignited a torch. One-by-one, Bruno lit up all the torches in the room, until finally the whole chamber was visible.

"Did I push you? Was that what happened?" Bruno said, feigning ignorance.

"I just thought you were really excited… eh, well nothing to be done about it now, is there?"

"So, how do we get out?" Gita asked.

"I don't know, I've never seen a dungeon like this," Bruno replied.

"Dorian got out, so there must be a way; we just have to find it." Oscar looked around, noting the strange markings that scarred the walls. Aside from that there was the torches, but the rest of the room was empty. There was just a singular pathway straight ahead.

"How about you find the exit, and we stay here?" Gita said.

"Put your cestus on and let's get going; no more whining," Bruno said.

"You need to get some experience in, otherwise you're going to be forever behind Oscar. And besides, you don't want to waste such a kind gift from the people of Ascot, do you?"

"You stole that out of that dead guy's display case," Gita replied. Bruno rolled his eyes and picked up a torch off of the wall.

"I was kind enough to not demand gold for my help, so some mild stealing from a dead guy is fine."

"You didn't even do shit! It was me that did all the work!" Oscar shouted.

"If it wasn't for my plan to have you separate from us then you'd have also been entombed in that crystal as well," Bruno said.

"So let's just call it even between us and say Gita was the one that was worthless." There was no winning with Bruno, so rather than argue further, Oscar reluctantly followed as he left the room. The air was stale and heavy, but also possessed a familiar quality about it. Whatever was in this dungeon definitely had some relations to his class. But what that meant for what lied deeper within this place… he couldn't even begin to guess.

As they trekked through the linear corridor, opting to light each torch they saw, eventually the path fed into a larger chamber. There was a stream inside that flowed downwards further into the dungeon. The sound of the trickling water pouring down was soothing, but not enough to dismiss his increasing uneasiness.

"I've never been in a dungeon before. Are they all like this?" Oscar asked.

"Aside from the gate teleporting us inside, yeah, it's pretty much standard," Bruno replied.

"Dungeons pop up from time to time, and they usually all have a similar flow to them. Each one is unique of course, but you'll encounter the same elements, but to varying degrees of intensity."

"Okay, so what do we do next then?" Gita asked.

"Well, we have three choices for paths to take now," Bruno said.

"There is a left and right path, but going downstream could be the right path. Sometimes there's multiple paths to reach the dungeon's heart, and other times it's just one path. I recommend plunging down the stream last, personally."

"Yeah, obviously," Oscar said.

"Why would we plunge into the unknown when we could walk into the unknown." Bruno whipped out a pair of dice and tumbled them onto the ground. Without consulting either of them, he then turned towards the left path, but then turned around and look down at where he'd rolled the dice. Using his foot, Bruno began to sweep at the ground, disrupting the muck and grime that stained the floor.

"Hmm… I wonder what this is." Oscar and Gita crowded around to see what had been discovered. It was a slightly raised tile that was covered in markings. To him it didn't look that strange compared to the rest of the dungeon, but clearly Bruno was seeing something that he wasn't.

"Oscar, lay your palm down on that middle marking," Bruno said. Seeing no sense in protesting such a simple ask, Oscar did so ignoring the small bit of wet grime. As he placed his palm down flat on the marking, his heart thumped once sending a surge of energy coursing through his body, and flowing out his palm. The marking glowed a bright blue hue, the light it produced was bright and potent. The blue light began to flow outwards in a multitude of directions.

It went in every direction, illuminating seemingly the whole dungeon. It even flowed down a path underneath the stream of water. While the torches had provided a comfortable amount of lighting before, now they provided zero purpose as the entire room and hallways were fully lit up. Curious to see where the stream dropped down into, Oscar ran over and peered down from the side, but for some reason, the light abruptly cut off midway down.

"How did I just do that?" Oscar asked to an equally confused Bruno.

"I didn't think it'd actually do anything, I just wanted you to get your hand dirty…" Bruno admitted.

"I don't believe that'd have worked for anyone besides you either. This place really must be linked to Calus and your class." While he had already suspected as much, it was a dreadful feeling to have it confirmed. At least this time Bruno wasn't incapacitated and would be able to help this time. Gita was here too, but well… she was still classless. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

After their brief sparring session the other day, she had declared that swords were lame. Which was an insane statement in Oscar's eyes considering they had been using sticks. Her reasoning had been she liked the feeling of a fist crunching against someones face far more. So, she'd taken the cestus from Bruno with glee. Given what Oscar knew of classes already, Gita would most likely get a class relating to hand to hand combat, but first she'd need the opportunity to fight something.

And if this dungeon was corrupted… then that'd make it that much harder for her.

"Well, now that we got lights, which path do we take?" Oscar asked.

"A quick splash down in the pool below?" Bruno proposed. Gita picked up a small rock off the ground in response and chucked it at Bruno's head, missing but still causing him to duck and let out a short yelp.

"No one's taking the plunge into wherever that goes, don't be stupid." As if the hole had heard them talking about it, a strangled cry echoed out from within it's depths. Oscar being the closest, immediately ran out of instinct and peered down. The foundation near the hole had seemed stable before, but worry crept through him as he thought about the floor crumbling and dropping him down there. Once again, the hole proved itself to be sentient or something as the edge of the hole chipped away.

Deep cracks began to form on the slab he was standing on, forcing him to act quick lest his fears come true. Confident that his [Lesser Dexterity] would save him, Oscar leaped across to the other side of the hole. Letting out a brief laugh of pure anxiety, he looked over at the alarmed pair and let out a sigh.

"Fuck me, that was clos—" Oscar finished his sentence by letting out the sharpest scream he'd ever created as the ground instantly collapsed, send him tumbling down into the dungeon's depths. Alone. Yet again.

The large body of water quaked with Oscar's impact, as he was sent down into its watery bottom. Propelling himself upwards as fast as he could, Oscar broke free and gasped for air. As he calmed down and took the moment he needed to confirm that he was in fact still alive, he began to paddle towards the slightly raised ground ahead. It was a shameful thing for him to admit, but even at twenty years old, Oscar had never bothered to learn how to swim.

He wasn't completely helpless in the water, but neither was he graceful either. So, as he swam across in a violent flurry of motion, it must have alert something within the water because he felt something nip at his leg. Panic overwhelmed Oscar then, causing his already violent swimming technique to become a true hindrance. A large mouthful of water sank down his throat causing him to choke.

"Calm yourself, take my hand," A warbled voice said as Oscar had begun to sink under. A ghastly white hand rippled above the water, and seeing that there was hope for him yet, it spurred Oscar on to make one last desperate push. Kicking his feet and pulling himself up out of the water, he flung a hand out expecting to touch the flesh he had seen, but touched nothing at all. Which was still fine because he ended up touching land and something sturdy on it to pull himself up out with.

"Thanks for the hand, asshole," Oscar said with eyes closed as he laid on his back.

"You should be thanking me for even trying. If you weren't such a costly investment, I wouldn't have even bothered," the person replied, his words sparking a recognition that Oscar desperately wished weren't true. Opening his eyes, Oscar looked up to see Calus looming over him. He looked different again this time. He had short brown hair, no eyebrows, a thin mustache, and disgustingly pale skin. But it was that crooked smile that told him that it was Calus.

"How are you here?" Oscar groaned.

"It's similar to when I appeared to you during the fight with Ardeo. That's what I believe at least," Calus replied.

"Similar, but not the same though, as I can actually… see. I believe that this is a dungeon that I know all too well…" Calus walked around the room, reaching out his ghostly hand and trying to touch anything he could. Each time he tried to make contact, his hand passed through. After a few more attempts, he returned his focus back to Oscar.

"You've gotten stronger," Calus said.

"That's good. Perhaps you aren't as worthless as I thought. Do you think it's enough?" Oh, how Oscar hated dealing with this man. Every word was condescending, each look meant to belittle. And to make interacting with him even worse, the bastard had the gall to speak as if everything he talked about was so obvious.

"Do I think it's enough?" Oscar repeated.

"I'd wager that no it's not enough to beat someone like Ardeo. And neither do I know if I'm strong enough to deal with this dungeon. Especially now that I've been separated from the others." Calus raised a hand, aiming it at Oscar, but stopped himself after a moment of hesitation.

"As much as I'd love to teach you respect, it's in my best interest to aid you. When I asked if you thought you were strong enough, I wasn't referring to the ultimate goal, you oaf." For the first time since arriving down in this place, Oscar noticed that despite the power source having been cut off, it was still well lit. Calus had moved away and was now looking down the only way out, which seemed to be a path even further down.

"What did you mean then?" Oscar asked, unable to keep the worry out of his voice. Calus looked back at him, his smile somehow even more crooked than before.

"Do you think you're strong enough to face Peeper?"

"Do you think he's dead?" Bruno asked, looking down the hole and then back up at a shocked Gita.

"I don't know! How about you jump down as well and see?" Gita replied. That wasn't going to happen. But he did need to do something. The boy was becoming an worthwhile investment, and he didn't want that to go to waste. Looking at the two other paths, he didn't really know which one to pick.

"These paths have to lead to where he is at eventually, so lets just pick one and commit. No sense in wasting time over thinking things," Bruno said, turning towards the west path and entering it's hallway. Gita didn't protest, and quickly tagged a long behind him. She was a bit of a liability right now. He'd only offered to bring someone along with Oscar because he thought it might make him more trusting. Now he was regretting that decision as she'd only slow him down when they encountered some monster in here.

And they would encounter something, that was inevitable when inside a dungeon. The west path snaked in seemingly random directions, but offered no distractions. It was purely a hallway and that was all. Which was… odd. Most dungeons were challenges created by some old deceased hero, villain, or some rich bastard, meant to entice adventurers with the allure of great wealth and reward.

Monsters were either bred specifically for the dungeon itself, or the creator believed their traps potent enough to challenge anyone who found themselves within their walls. Monsters still somehow found themselves in those types of dungeons anyway, so those were especially dangerous. But what was this dungeon? Strange lighting, linear corridors, a seemingly random flow of water with no real source. It was almost as if this dungeon was cobbled together ideas, but not fully fleshed out.

There was no sense of cohesion that he could find, and that concerned him for the potential threats that might be lurking within,"Gita, how confident do you feel in your combat abilities?" Bruno called back behind him.

"Against what? Monsters? Not all," Gita replied.

"Against teenagers and children? Very confident." Bruno let out a fake sigh of relief, making sure it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Okay, thank the great god Praxios. I had gotten the feeling that this dungeon was infested with toddlers, so I'll be sure to let you take the the lead."

"Who the fuck is Praxios?" Gita asked.

"Girl, just what backwater village did you come from?" Bruno asked.

"Being apart of one of those villages that has you pick a class late, I can understand, even if I think it's stupid. But not knowing Praxios? I'm not even a religious man, but even I've heard enough of the guy that I think I can picture what his cock looks like." Gita scrunched her face up in confusion.

"There's scripture about some god's cock?"

"Unofficial, but it's out there. Not that I've seen it, but I believe in it," Bruno replied.

"Anyway, point being that there's a lot of strange peculiarities about you two."

"I'm just a big, dumb, stupid kid, I suppose," Gita said sarcastically. Bruno was about to question her further, but a loud plea for help ahead overtook his thoughts.

"Oh, finally! Something interesting in this place!" Bruno said as he took off in a full sprint towards the source. It wasn't much of a sprint as the hallway pretty quickly funneled into another large chamber. Standing on a magically conjured stone pillar was a girl that looked to be around Gita and Oscar's age. She wore some obnoxiously pink robes that were somehow still pristine-looking despite how disheveled her hair looked. She was swatting down with a staff at a couple of… searsilk spiders?

Those weren't native around these parts. They were basically exclusive to the region of Kor. What were they doing down in a dungeon near Dynarus?

"Gita, there's only four of them. I want you to get some experience in, but be careful. Their silk can flay you in an instant if you lose focus," Bruno said.

"Uh, yeah, I mean… they're close in size to a toddler… kind of." Bruno couldn't help himself from snorting in amusement.

"Maybe you and I will get along after all."