Chapter 42: Turning The Heat Up Before Cooling Down
If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again
Chapter 42: Turning The Heat Up Before Cooling Down
I suppose I met my goal... Lieutenant Tanithil Alnus thought as he led what remained of the company through what appeared to be a swamp, constantly on fire. Captain Gleditsia is dead just like we had planned.
But at much too high a cost.
The 7th Floor appeared to be one long burning swamp. As the company had gotten an hour-long break, and with the Boss still trapped, the monsters no longer caused them any problems.
Except for the 'mimics'. Their species could only be seen once they had revealed themselves, and as they seemed to possess extra Strength during surprise attacks, they were naturally hard to deal with. Mistress Acacia appeared to be the only one able to detect camouflaged mimics. The elf threw her spells - which sometimes did odd things, though never anything truly harmful.
But with only one person able to notice the mimics, naturally the things would sometimes get through their defenses.
Sergeant Castanea had been their most recent victim. And while Tanithil hadn't really liked the man, he had known him for years and couldn't help but feel sad for his death.
Out of the original 6 sergeants, only two were left. Sergeant Luvon Tilia of his own platoon and one Tanithil didn't yet know the name of.
He would learn it, should the guy survive.
The Dungeon has already taken the lives of so many. Who knows what other dangers lurk in here?
A golem made of magma had left behind a blue token. As the Dungeon didn't give out loot at the moment, the token had to be for a puzzle. Hopefully simply one they hadn't seen yet. I really don't want to spend any more time in here than I need to.
They were about 70 meters inside the burning swamp when Tanithil noticed the massive increase in water intake.
At first he simply thought it a bit odd how everyone had decided the 7th Floor was the right time to hydrate themselves. Then he remembered they had just had a break. Surely people had taken the time to drink then...?
They were in a burning swamp of course. It would make sense for it to be a bit hotter here.
Except... That's not how Dungeons work. The fire would burn you if you touched it, yes. But it would not heat the surrounding area up, nor would it actually burn the wood it was on, nor create any smoke.
But why have we been coughing then?
Not knowing the answer, he instead conveyed his observations to their Dungeon expert.
"The effect must be caused by either a puzzle or one or more traps." Sarzina Acacia began. "We haven't seen any traps on this Floor yet, so I suspect the heat and the bad air to be the traps of this Floor."
Mistress Acacia started to look... Excited? "Which would mean staying on this Floor for too long can be deadly. Probably even regardless of one's tier!"
She mumbled a bit to herself, while looking around wide eyed.
"So, we best hurry up then." Tanithil interrupted her mumblings. "Right, ma'am?"
She shook her head and blinked rapidly before answering. "Yes, of course lieutenant! That would be the best cause of action."
With a quick nod, he ordered the company to move faster. And while his Morale Boost Skill had been activatived since the captain went down, it was only now his Aura of Speed was activated. Tanithil didn't have enough mana or mana regeneration to be able to keep them both active for long. If they didn't find somewhere colder soon, he would have to let go of his Morale Boost, so they could focus on speed.
"Let's make a sharp right here, lieutenant." Mistress Acacia suggested, all of a sudden. "I don't like how the ground looks around here. I suspect it might be a trap of some sort."
With their best Awa dead, the dungeon mistress-to-be had become the new trap-detector. Her main Score might be Intelligence but her Awareness was quite high as well.
Tanithil looked around confused, but could only see more swamp floor where the noblewoman indicated there was a trap. He didn't doubt her though and simply ordered the company to walk right around the area.
But when he wanted them to move forward again, Mistress Acacia again asked to avoid the area.
Several meters further right and they were now right up against the wall.
"I believe holes like this-" Mistress Acacia pointed to a small hole in the ground some meters in front of them. Said hole was partly covered behind charred sticks and foliage. Tanithil would have had no chance of noticing it, had it not been pointed out to him. "-are the air traps making us cough. Most likely by releasing some invisible gas of some sort. I suggest we hold our breath and run through it. Much faster than going around."
So, that's what they did.
Finally, the end of the long room was in sight. The door at the end had a circular indent clearly meant for the blue token.
But when the token was inserted, the door simply revealed another door. This time of the talking variety.
Muhahahahaa!
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
While taking a much needed break to cool down and catch their breath in the Safezone between the 7th and 8th Floors, the company began discussing whether or not they should continue on their mission.
Sarzina Acacia had long since fallen in love with the Dungeon and was determined to claim it as her own or die trying. The incredible fast growth, the unique monsters, puzzles, traps, the label floating over everyones head stating their name, species, Class and level, the slightly mixed environment - lava dripping from the ceiling of a forest themed room?! - the unnaturally powerful Boss, multiple monsters in the Boss Room and all the monsters being able to leave their rooms.
All of this screamed of mysteries needing to be solved and challenges to overcome. And Zina had always loved solving mysteries and overcoming challenges. So, getting to tame a Dungeon like this would surpass even her wildest fantasies.
And that was before mentioning how certain it was that a Dungeon like this would be known worldwide for all eternity!
Zina had to have her name associated with this Dungeon!
It has to be mine! We can't stop trying!
The rest of the company wasn't so determined. Their primary goal was to survive.
Something that no longer looked certain.
On one hand, they could do as Zina wanted and try to get to the Core. The monsters would slowly get stronger as they went further down, and as they weren't trapped in their rooms their numbers would only increase as the company progressed through the Dungeon.
And of course - most terrifyingly of all - they had no clue which Floor the Core Room was on.
On the other hand, they could retreat. They would know what challenges were where, and the monster horde would decrease as the company progressed. As the 'allow all'-tool had disabled the teleport function from the Safezone stairs, they would have to pass through everything again, with every trap and puzzle having reset after a Floor had been left behind.
Though, most puzzles were automatically considered solved - though without any EXP given - if you came from behind, as they were otherwise unsolvable. But puzzles like the talking doors would have to be solved all over again!
The company decided it would be safest to leave through the Core Room, if it was on this next Floor, but that it wouldn't be worth it, if there somehow was a 9th or 10th Floor.
This conclusion was largely motivated by the fact that the Boss couldn't harm everyone, and the desperate want to stay out of the heat they had just left.
Then the company voted on it. 12 believed there was a 9th Floor, while 27 thought the 8th was the last.
As such, the company once again began moving towards the Core Room.
The first room of the 8th Floor had a tree in each corner and grass at each end of the elongated room. Next to the two trees on the other side of the room sat two 3 meters tall dragonet statues. In between the two patches of grass the ground was covered with large square tiles. Each tile had one of 8 images on it: Grass - green in color -, blueberries, apple, plum, fish, pig, chicken, or dragonet.
Zina noticed that, interestingly enough, every tile was a pressure plate. Hmmm... To make it harder to figure out which tiles are safe perhaps? Dungeons rarely have that much forethought!
Naturally, this pleased the future dungeon mistress greatly.
The walls pictured various creatures eating: horses, cows and sheep grazing, a wolf pack feasting on a slain cow, humans roasting and eating a suckling pig around a fireplace, dragonets eating different fruits and berries, a bear eating a fish, a sea dragon of some sort about to eat multiple fish at once, chickens eating worms and several others.
At many points along the walls, there were circular lids blending in with the images. Must be where the punishment for failing to solve this puzzle will be coming from.
And with the company having exited the Safezone, the monsters were once again attacking. Zina could even hear people fighting in the Safezone itself.
The monsters were likely trying to get to the elves on the 8th Floor. It made some form of sense that they could enter a Safezone if they were only passing through.
Of course, not all elves had exited the Safezone yet, so the two groups naturally ended up fighting while there.
This tiled puzzle room had several dragonets in it, though none had moved from their trees yet.
Must be a part of the puzzle. Zina thought before ordering that the dragonets of the room be unharmed, unless they attacked first.
With all the fighting happening behind her, Zina began solving the puzzle.
It didn't take her long. She was a smart girl after all.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 42: Turning The Heat Up Before Cooling Down
I suppose I met my goal... Lieutenant Tanithil Alnus thought as he led what remained of the company through what appeared to be a swamp, constantly on fire. Captain Gleditsia is dead just like we had planned.
But at much too high a cost.
The 7th Floor appeared to be one long burning swamp. As the company had gotten an hour-long break, and with the Boss still trapped, the monsters no longer caused them any problems.
Except for the 'mimics'. Their species could only be seen once they had revealed themselves, and as they seemed to possess extra Strength during surprise attacks, they were naturally hard to deal with. Mistress Acacia appeared to be the only one able to detect camouflaged mimics. The elf threw her spells - which sometimes did odd things, though never anything truly harmful.
But with only one person able to notice the mimics, naturally the things would sometimes get through their defenses.
Sergeant Castanea had been their most recent victim. And while Tanithil hadn't really liked the man, he had known him for years and couldn't help but feel sad for his death.
Out of the original 6 sergeants, only two were left. Sergeant Luvon Tilia of his own platoon and one Tanithil didn't yet know the name of.
He would learn it, should the guy survive.
The Dungeon has already taken the lives of so many. Who knows what other dangers lurk in here?
A golem made of magma had left behind a blue token. As the Dungeon didn't give out loot at the moment, the token had to be for a puzzle. Hopefully simply one they hadn't seen yet. I really don't want to spend any more time in here than I need to.
They were about 70 meters inside the burning swamp when Tanithil noticed the massive increase in water intake.
At first he simply thought it a bit odd how everyone had decided the 7th Floor was the right time to hydrate themselves. Then he remembered they had just had a break. Surely people had taken the time to drink then...?
They were in a burning swamp of course. It would make sense for it to be a bit hotter here.
Except... That's not how Dungeons work. The fire would burn you if you touched it, yes. But it would not heat the surrounding area up, nor would it actually burn the wood it was on, nor create any smoke.
But why have we been coughing then?
Not knowing the answer, he instead conveyed his observations to their Dungeon expert.
"The effect must be caused by either a puzzle or one or more traps." Sarzina Acacia began. "We haven't seen any traps on this Floor yet, so I suspect the heat and the bad air to be the traps of this Floor."
Mistress Acacia started to look... Excited? "Which would mean staying on this Floor for too long can be deadly. Probably even regardless of one's tier!"
She mumbled a bit to herself, while looking around wide eyed.
"So, we best hurry up then." Tanithil interrupted her mumblings. "Right, ma'am?"
She shook her head and blinked rapidly before answering. "Yes, of course lieutenant! That would be the best cause of action."
With a quick nod, he ordered the company to move faster. And while his Morale Boost Skill had been activatived since the captain went down, it was only now his Aura of Speed was activated. Tanithil didn't have enough mana or mana regeneration to be able to keep them both active for long. If they didn't find somewhere colder soon, he would have to let go of his Morale Boost, so they could focus on speed.
"Let's make a sharp right here, lieutenant." Mistress Acacia suggested, all of a sudden. "I don't like how the ground looks around here. I suspect it might be a trap of some sort."
With their best Awa dead, the dungeon mistress-to-be had become the new trap-detector. Her main Score might be Intelligence but her Awareness was quite high as well.
Tanithil looked around confused, but could only see more swamp floor where the noblewoman indicated there was a trap. He didn't doubt her though and simply ordered the company to walk right around the area.
But when he wanted them to move forward again, Mistress Acacia again asked to avoid the area.
Several meters further right and they were now right up against the wall.
"I believe holes like this-" Mistress Acacia pointed to a small hole in the ground some meters in front of them. Said hole was partly covered behind charred sticks and foliage. Tanithil would have had no chance of noticing it, had it not been pointed out to him. "-are the air traps making us cough. Most likely by releasing some invisible gas of some sort. I suggest we hold our breath and run through it. Much faster than going around."
So, that's what they did.
Finally, the end of the long room was in sight. The door at the end had a circular indent clearly meant for the blue token.
But when the token was inserted, the door simply revealed another door. This time of the talking variety.
Muhahahahaa!
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
While taking a much needed break to cool down and catch their breath in the Safezone between the 7th and 8th Floors, the company began discussing whether or not they should continue on their mission.
Sarzina Acacia had long since fallen in love with the Dungeon and was determined to claim it as her own or die trying. The incredible fast growth, the unique monsters, puzzles, traps, the label floating over everyones head stating their name, species, Class and level, the slightly mixed environment - lava dripping from the ceiling of a forest themed room?! - the unnaturally powerful Boss, multiple monsters in the Boss Room and all the monsters being able to leave their rooms.
All of this screamed of mysteries needing to be solved and challenges to overcome. And Zina had always loved solving mysteries and overcoming challenges. So, getting to tame a Dungeon like this would surpass even her wildest fantasies.
And that was before mentioning how certain it was that a Dungeon like this would be known worldwide for all eternity!
Zina had to have her name associated with this Dungeon!
It has to be mine! We can't stop trying!
The rest of the company wasn't so determined. Their primary goal was to survive.
Something that no longer looked certain.
On one hand, they could do as Zina wanted and try to get to the Core. The monsters would slowly get stronger as they went further down, and as they weren't trapped in their rooms their numbers would only increase as the company progressed through the Dungeon.
And of course - most terrifyingly of all - they had no clue which Floor the Core Room was on.
On the other hand, they could retreat. They would know what challenges were where, and the monster horde would decrease as the company progressed. As the 'allow all'-tool had disabled the teleport function from the Safezone stairs, they would have to pass through everything again, with every trap and puzzle having reset after a Floor had been left behind.
Though, most puzzles were automatically considered solved - though without any EXP given - if you came from behind, as they were otherwise unsolvable. But puzzles like the talking doors would have to be solved all over again!
The company decided it would be safest to leave through the Core Room, if it was on this next Floor, but that it wouldn't be worth it, if there somehow was a 9th or 10th Floor.
This conclusion was largely motivated by the fact that the Boss couldn't harm everyone, and the desperate want to stay out of the heat they had just left.
Then the company voted on it. 12 believed there was a 9th Floor, while 27 thought the 8th was the last.
As such, the company once again began moving towards the Core Room.
The first room of the 8th Floor had a tree in each corner and grass at each end of the elongated room. Next to the two trees on the other side of the room sat two 3 meters tall dragonet statues. In between the two patches of grass the ground was covered with large square tiles. Each tile had one of 8 images on it: Grass - green in color -, blueberries, apple, plum, fish, pig, chicken, or dragonet.
Zina noticed that, interestingly enough, every tile was a pressure plate. Hmmm... To make it harder to figure out which tiles are safe perhaps? Dungeons rarely have that much forethought!
Naturally, this pleased the future dungeon mistress greatly.
The walls pictured various creatures eating: horses, cows and sheep grazing, a wolf pack feasting on a slain cow, humans roasting and eating a suckling pig around a fireplace, dragonets eating different fruits and berries, a bear eating a fish, a sea dragon of some sort about to eat multiple fish at once, chickens eating worms and several others.
At many points along the walls, there were circular lids blending in with the images. Must be where the punishment for failing to solve this puzzle will be coming from.
And with the company having exited the Safezone, the monsters were once again attacking. Zina could even hear people fighting in the Safezone itself.
The monsters were likely trying to get to the elves on the 8th Floor. It made some form of sense that they could enter a Safezone if they were only passing through.
Of course, not all elves had exited the Safezone yet, so the two groups naturally ended up fighting while there.
This tiled puzzle room had several dragonets in it, though none had moved from their trees yet.
Must be a part of the puzzle. Zina thought before ordering that the dragonets of the room be unharmed, unless they attacked first.
With all the fighting happening behind her, Zina began solving the puzzle.
It didn't take her long. She was a smart girl after all.
Chapter 42: Turning The Heat Up Before Cooling DownI suppose I met my goal... Lieutenant Tanithil Alnus thought as he led what remained of the company through what appeared to be a swamp, constantly on fire. Captain Gleditsia is dead just like we had planned.But at much too high a cost.The 7th Floor appeared to be one long burning swamp. As the company had gotten an hour-long break, and with the Boss still trapped, the monsters no longer caused them any problems.Except for the 'mimics'. Their species could only be seen once they had revealed themselves, and as they seemed to possess extra Strength during surprise attacks, they were naturally hard to deal with. Mistress Acacia appeared to be the only one able to detect camouflaged mimics. The elf threw her spells - which sometimes did odd things, though never anything truly harmful.But with only one person able to notice the mimics, naturally the things would sometimes get through their defenses.Sergeant Castanea had been their most recent victim. And while Tanithil hadn't really liked the man, he had known him for years and couldn't help but feel sad for his death.Out of the original 6 sergeants, only two were left. Sergeant Luvon Tilia of his own platoon and one Tanithil didn't yet know the name of.He would learn it, should the guy survive.The Dungeon has already taken the lives of so many. Who knows what other dangers lurk in here?A golem made of magma had left behind a blue token. As the Dungeon didn't give out loot at the moment, the token had to be for a puzzle. Hopefully simply one they hadn't seen yet. I really don't want to spend any more time in here than I need to.They were about 70 meters inside the burning swamp when Tanithil noticed the massive increase in water intake.At first he simply thought it a bit odd how everyone had decided the 7th Floor was the right time to hydrate themselves. Then he remembered they had just had a break. Surely people had taken the time to drink then...?They were in a burning swamp of course. It would make sense for it to be a bit hotter here.Except... That's not how Dungeons work. The fire would burn you if you touched it, yes. But it would not heat the surrounding area up, nor would it actually burn the wood it was on, nor create any smoke.But why have we been coughing then?Not knowing the answer, he instead conveyed his observations to their Dungeon expert."The effect must be caused by either a puzzle or one or more traps." Sarzina Acacia began. "We haven't seen any traps on this Floor yet, so I suspect the heat and the bad air to be the traps of this Floor."Mistress Acacia started to look... Excited? "Which would mean staying on this Floor for too long can be deadly. Probably even regardless of one's tier!"She mumbled a bit to herself, while looking around wide eyed."So, we best hurry up then." Tanithil interrupted her mumblings. "Right, ma'am?"She shook her head and blinked rapidly before answering. "Yes, of course lieutenant! That would be the best cause of action."With a quick nod, he ordered the company to move faster. And while his Morale Boost Skill had been activatived since the captain went down, it was only now his Aura of Speed was activated. Tanithil didn't have enough mana or mana regeneration to be able to keep them both active for long. If they didn't find somewhere colder soon, he would have to let go of his Morale Boost, so they could focus on speed."Let's make a sharp right here, lieutenant." Mistress Acacia suggested, all of a sudden. "I don't like how the ground looks around here. I suspect it might be a trap of some sort."With their best Awa dead, the dungeon mistress-to-be had become the new trap-detector. Her main Score might be Intelligence but her Awareness was quite high as well.Tanithil looked around confused, but could only see more swamp floor where the noblewoman indicated there was a trap. He didn't doubt her though and simply ordered the company to walk right around the area.But when he wanted them to move forward again, Mistress Acacia again asked to avoid the area.Several meters further right and they were now right up against the wall."I believe holes like this-" Mistress Acacia pointed to a small hole in the ground some meters in front of them. Said hole was partly covered behind charred sticks and foliage. Tanithil would have had no chance of noticing it, had it not been pointed out to him. "-are the air traps making us cough. Most likely by releasing some invisible gas of some sort. I suggest we hold our breath and run through it. Much faster than going around."So, that's what they did.Finally, the end of the long room was in sight. The door at the end had a circular indent clearly meant for the blue token.But when the token was inserted, the door simply revealed another door. This time of the talking variety.Muhahahahaa!While taking a much needed break to cool down and catch their breath in the Safezone between the 7th and 8th Floors, the company began discussing whether or not they should continue on their mission.Sarzina Acacia had long since fallen in love with the Dungeon and was determined to claim it as her own or die trying. The incredible fast growth, the unique monsters, puzzles, traps, the label floating over everyones head stating their name, species, Class and level, the slightly mixed environment - lava dripping from the ceiling of a forest themed room?! - the unnaturally powerful Boss, multiple monsters in the Boss Room and all the monsters being able to leave their rooms.All of this screamed of mysteries needing to be solved and challenges to overcome. And Zina had always loved solving mysteries and overcoming challenges. So, getting to tame a Dungeon like this would surpass even her wildest fantasies.And that was before mentioning how certain it was that a Dungeon like this would be known worldwide for all eternity!Zina had to have her name associated with this Dungeon!It has to be mine! We can't stop trying!The rest of the company wasn't so determined. Their primary goal was to survive.Something that no longer looked certain.On one hand, they could do as Zina wanted and try to get to the Core. The monsters would slowly get stronger as they went further down, and as they weren't trapped in their rooms their numbers would only increase as the company progressed through the Dungeon.And of course - most terrifyingly of all - they had no clue which Floor the Core Room was on.On the other hand, they could retreat. They would know what challenges were where, and the monster horde would decrease as the company progressed. As the 'allow all'-tool had disabled the teleport function from the Safezone stairs, they would have to pass through everything again, with every trap and puzzle having reset after a Floor had been left behind.Though, most puzzles were automatically considered solved - though without any EXP given - if you came from behind, as they were otherwise unsolvable. But puzzles like the talking doors would have to be solved all over again!The company decided it would be safest to leave through the Core Room, if it was on this next Floor, but that it wouldn't be worth it, if there somehow was a 9th or 10th Floor.This conclusion was largely motivated by the fact that the Boss couldn't harm everyone, and the desperate want to stay out of the heat they had just left.Then the company voted on it. 12 believed there was a 9th Floor, while 27 thought the 8th was the last.As such, the company once again began moving towards the Core Room.The first room of the 8th Floor had a tree in each corner and grass at each end of the elongated room. Next to the two trees on the other side of the room sat two 3 meters tall dragonet statues. In between the two patches of grass the ground was covered with large square tiles. Each tile had one of 8 images on it: Grass - green in color -, blueberries, apple, plum, fish, pig, chicken, or dragonet.Zina noticed that, interestingly enough, every tile was a pressure plate. Hmmm... To make it harder to figure out which tiles are safe perhaps? Dungeons rarely have that much forethought!Naturally, this pleased the future dungeon mistress greatly.The walls pictured various creatures eating: horses, cows and sheep grazing, a wolf pack feasting on a slain cow, humans roasting and eating a suckling pig around a fireplace, dragonets eating different fruits and berries, a bear eating a fish, a sea dragon of some sort about to eat multiple fish at once, chickens eating worms and several others.At many points along the walls, there were circular lids blending in with the images. Must be where the punishment for failing to solve this puzzle will be coming from.And with the company having exited the Safezone, the monsters were once again attacking. Zina could even hear people fighting in the Safezone itself.The monsters were likely trying to get to the elves on the 8th Floor. It made some form of sense that they could enter a Safezone if they were only passing through.Of course, not all elves had exited the Safezone yet, so the two groups naturally ended up fighting while there.This tiled puzzle room had several dragonets in it, though none had moved from their trees yet.Must be a part of the puzzle. Zina thought before ordering that the dragonets of the room be unharmed, unless they attacked first.With all the fighting happening behind her, Zina began solving the puzzle.It didn't take her long. She was a smart girl after all.
