Chapter 20

Drake and the party decided to spend the night in the dungeon’s safe zone, and ventured into the third floor the next morning. Unfortunately, according to Drake, there were separate rooms for men and women. He spent the rest of the evening maintaining his equipment and preparing potions and poisons from the ingredients he had collected in the first two floors. He was no master alchemist, but with level fifty-three, he was ranked as an adept, and had a wide base of recipes to draw from. Most of his preparations went into health and stamina potions, but he made a few mana potions for the healer, just in case. The rest were buff potions, increasing useful attributes to help him out of a tight situation. His main specialty was in poisons, however, and he prepared some especially vicious concoctions since this dungeon had been anything but ordinary so far.

He even applied some to his special poisoner’s daggers, since they could hold a poison for a long time without fear of degradation. He always slept with the poison dagger under his pillow, a habit that had saved his life on a few occasions. Some may think sleeping with a such an item was irresponsible, but his passive poison resistance was quite high after all his experimentation with the deadly substances, and an unintentional poisoning from the specialized dagger was a near impossibility. A simple nick from the blade wouldn’t cause a poisoning, the small vial of poison inside the handle had to be shattered to release any of the substance.

He slept soundly that night, despite the fact that he was in a dungeon with near total strangers. When he awoke the next morning, he was glad to see he was the first to wake. He spent half an hour equipping his gear, making sure every strap and buckle was properly fastened and placed. Years of adventuring had taught him the value of properly maintaining and wearing his gear. When he finished, the others were beginning to stir, breaking him from his quiet morning ritual. As they got prepared for the day as well, he went through his morning ritual of stretches and exercises, today focusing on speed and reflexes. Once everyone was up and equipped, they prepared a hearty meal, mostly consisting of meat and a dense basic bread. It was solid food, and fortified them well for a hard day of fighting.

They started their descent to the next floor, crossing the massive limbs of the central tree. The central trunk was hollow, and a large well lit double spiral staircase led down to the beginning of the third floor. The base of the tree had a few possible paths, all weaving through the tangle of roots and vines that covered the ground nearby. For nearly one hundred yards outside the tree, there was a bright field of verdant green grass, a perfect location to bring a pretty girl and a basket of food for a picnic. But just past the idyllic meadow, there was a near torrential downfall of rain, creating an impenetrable curtain of water. It seemed to almost be a waterfall it was so dense, and he could see rivulets of water running across the ground deeper into the mists of the third floor.

“Fuck, I hate water,” grumbled the man beside him, “always makes the day miserable once you’re soaked.”

Drake could only grunt in agreement, he also hated rain, it made his gear such a chore to maintain. There was only one way to go, however, and that was forward. The group dejectedly set off towards the wall of rain, glumly passing into its cold embrace. Drake was happy when after a few minutes of slogging down a muddy gravel path, they exited the downpour, and their view opened up a little bit, onto a wide misty swamp. Drake mumbled another curse, sure it wasn’t raining, but the dense mists and waterlogged land would be sure to soak him thoroughly, and never allow him to dry. The only consolation was that the rain had caused Cassandra’s robes to cling to her shapely form, distracting his teammates as much as it distracted him. She glared at the men, but Drake couldn't help but feel that her glare towards him had been a little less icy than the one she directed towards the others. He brushed it off, from what he had seen, the woman was a master manipulator, gaining a party of men who were at her beck and call. He refused to fall into that trap again.

He pulled himself from his musings, too much more of that and he’d have to visit another brothel to clear his head, and focused on the task ahead, not dying. They decided to stick to the paths since the ground everywhere else was muddy and verging on impossible. They hadn’t seen any enemies yet, but they had just entered the floor. They could hear their presence, however, and the air was filled with a cacophony of birds chirping, insects buzzing, rodents squeaking, and the occasional squeal of a dying creature. The eerie atmosphere was added to by random flashes of color darting through the mists, causing Drake’s head to turn and face each potential new threat. Most were just small birds, fluttering between trees, but some were massive dragonflies, darting amongst the birds, catching the slowest. The massive bugs were certainly a threat, something that massive could easily topple an adventure at a bad moment, or catch them unaware, especially in the misty swamp.

He was intrigued by the flowers and plants he could see, many of them brightly colored, catching the eye. Some might have useful properties for his potions, and he was excited to check. They set off down the path, thankfully it was nearly solid, and the occasional muddy puddle was easy to avoid. When they passed near a patch of clear water, where the current was stronger, Drake was impressed by the size and variety of the fish, not to mention the colors. He leaped back when he saw a massive form slide out of the muddier waters and across the floor of the pool, easily over a dozen feet below. Despite its distance, Drake knew that the lumbering giant was certainly a threat, and he quickly warned the others to be wary of venturing too close to the water. The massive fish had been over ten feet long, at the least, and Drake had no desire to tussle with the leviathan.

The group looked shocked when he told them why they should avoid the water, and they cast a few fearful glances in the direction of the stream. They continued down the path, running into a group of giant frogs, which they dispatched easily. There was a group of massive rodents, but they weren't openly aggressive, either running from the party, or backing against a tree and bearing their massive rodent teeth. Drake had no desire to fight a large waterlogged rodent, so he walked by them, ignoring his jumpy group members. These fools were going to get themselves killed if they didn’t pay attention. They were so focused on the defensive oversized beavers, that they didn’t see the massive snake on the side of the path. After a short internal debate, Drake spoke, “I’m going to collect some of these ingredients, get clear of these rodents before you make them feel like they need to attack.”

The group readily agreed, and Drake smirked as he watched them walk right into the snake’s ambush out of the corner of his eye. He had gathered a few ingredients when he looked up, faking surprise after hearing a shout of alarm. The group had been so focused on not spooking the rodents into attacking, that the lead tank had nearly stepped on the massive constrictor. Drake stuffed his bag and ran, drawing his blade as he crossed the watery ground. He watched as the group ineffectively slashed at the seething ball of muscle that had engulfed their friend, panicking as they watched him get crushed. Cassandra was casting healing spell after healing spell, and he saw her chug one of the mana potions he had given her, prolonging the death of their friend. Drake had to suppress a chuckle when he thought of the pain the annoying jealous man was going through. He arrived just in a flurry of blood and steel, slashing at the body of the massive snake. Now that he was close, he was shocked to see the massive beast was almost a foot in diameter, and had hidden its head behind coils of powerful muscles and hard scales.

He hacked at it a few more times, his enchanted blade cutting far deeper than the rest of his party had managed to, the snake hissed in annoyance, and started thrashing around, rolling off the path. He followed it, looking like the heroic savior, instead of the dastardly manipulator, hacking at the beast all the way. Even he had trouble damaging it, its vitals hidden deep in the writhing coils, but eventually, he got it to release its prey, and attempt an escape. With a flash, he darted forward, beheading the monster with one sweep of his blade. He paused breathing heavily after using his signature attack, a rapid forward dash that dealt incredible critical damage if he managed to strike a vital point. He pounded a stamina potion, and turned to look at the remains of their tank.

All that was left was a mound of paste, held together by mangled armor and tangled clothes. The powerful snake had liquefied every bone in the man's body, leaving something that looked as if it had rolled down a mountain. Something that should be adequate motivation for the party to pull their shit together. Drake smiled at the pile of goo, before wiping the look off his face and turning to the stunned party.

“What the hell were you doing,” he shouted.

“We.. we were doing what you said, if you had been he-”

“No. If you had paid attention this wouldn’t have happened,” Drake shouted, cutting the stammering man off, “we’re in a fucking dungeon if you hadn't noticed. Everything in here is out to kill you. Keep your damn head on a swivel and watch out for ambushes, especially in this dungeon that seems to love ambushes.”

He watched the pale-faced group absorb his words, then look at the pile behind him. Cassandra turned around and threw up her breakfast, followed by the group’s swordsman. Drake could only shake his head in dismay, how a group like this had gotten anywhere was beyond him. Well, it wasn’t, they had never faced a real fight, just the almost comically staged fights of a regular dungeon. This one had impressed him so far, so far, not one of the fights had been normal, and it was perfect training for a real world fight. There was no walking into a room full of monsters, killing them all, picking up the loot, and repeating. Instead, it was a perfectly crafted environment, full of dangers and enemies waiting to attack at any moment. He wished all dungeons were like this one, then maybe he would’ve been prepared for a real fight, and it wouldn’t have happened.

He looked back at the group, meeting each of their gazes, “I thought you were ready for a fight, and you’d be fine on your own. I see I was wrong, from now on, stick with me, and I’ll teach you how to fight, and how to survive.”

He was pleased to see that his gambit had paid off, and each member nodded at him, knowing that they had no other choice. They were adventurers, and although they had been naive, they knew that their best bet was to continue down the path they had set off on, and learn under the wing of a much more experienced adventurer. Drake smiled grimly as he looked at his now proteges, nodding at each in turn, happy to note that their eyes no longer had hints of jealousy in them, instead he saw acceptance, gratefulness, and respect. He fought hard to resist the chuckle that wanted to bubble up. His acting skill showed its worth, however, and he kept the proper expression on his face. He now had a group of adventurers that he could shape into the perfect party, along with a perfectly shaped healer to boot.

He lead them back to the safe room to regroup, and told them that he would explore the floor on his own. He always enjoyed going solo, finding peace on facing nature one on one. But he needed a group for more difficult challenges, and this new party would be a ball of clay in his hands, creating the perfect support group for future missions. He worked slowly through the floor on his own, going off path and mentally cataloging the plants and animals he saw. There were incredibly venomous snakes, dangerously poisonous frogs, and spiders that could even harm him through his poison resistance skill. Luckily, a skilled alchemist like himself carried large amounts of antidotes, and nothing ever harmed him. He often tested poisons on himself to gauge their effectiveness, and the poisons and venoms of animals were no different. He discovered many new strains, most of them useful for his work. The potential damage he could cause by using some of these creatures natural substances as a base was intoxicating. If he had his hands on these creatures before, the damn guildmaster would have never noticed, and died without revealing Drake to the guild, leaving him in charge. Now he would have to build his own guild from the ground up, but at least he had the start of a solid group.

He saw a few more of the massive snakes, but avoided them as best he could. There was no reason to start a fight with them when it could be avoided, despite the large amount of experience they provided. For now, he wanted to classify the plants, and scope out potential dangers for when he decided to train the group he was founding. There were all kinds of critters in the swamp, few of them friendly. He was even attacked by the giant dragonflies, but he easily swatted them down, collecting their wings as a useful catalyst in a swiftness potion. He found many plants with alchemical properties, many of them new to him. With the variety of new ingredients, he would be able to level his alchemy skill quickly, despite its high level. Doing something new and experimenting was the fastest way to level after all.

As he was exploring the areas of swamp farther from the trails, he came across a monster that froze his blood in his veins. At first, he thought it was some sort of dragon, because of its incredible size and armored body. But it was too small to be a dragon, and it had no wings. After the near heart attack, he realized it was a sleeping crocodile of incredible size, easily over twenty feet long. Something like that would have no problem dismembering even him if it got ahold of him. He snuck away slowly, even more careful to avoid the water of the swamp. The massive fish couldn’t hold a candle to a crocodile in terms of strength and danger, and he doubted his ability to kill one quickly. The crocodile had been different too, it was better armored, larger, and much more powerfully built than any he had seen before. This dungeon was truly a breeding ground for strange and deadly beasts.

He worked away from the monster, collecting plants as he went. He even took some of the small poisonous frogs he came across, for future reference. He reached one edge of the swamp, a massive gray wall of rock, covered in various slimes and vines. There were clouds of mist billowing out of holes higher up the rock, and he assumed that the cave was filled by these vents. He decided to start working his way back to the safe room, and prepare his new students for the next day. He was also excited to begin his work with the new ingredients, who knew what potions could be made with these undiscovered ingredients?

As he made his way back to the central tree, he came across the strangest thing he had seen so far in the dungeon, which was saying a lot. There was a forest of trees, but they were covered in massive sheets of white silk curtains. He could see large yellow spiders scurrying around the folds, waiting for him to ensnare himself in the tangle of web. Drake had other ideas. Spider silk was a valuable resource, but was difficult to work with since it was usually sticky. He was a skilled alchemist, however, and he knew of potions that could dissolve the adhesive, but leave the strands untouched, he had gathered his own spider silk. This was the largest concentration of web he had ever seen, and gathering a huge amount of web would be easier here than anywhere else. This silk forest alone would make this one of the most valuable dungeons in the kingdom. He gathered some of the material, noticing much smaller spiders scurrying around the webs as well. At first, he assumed they were the babies of the large spiders, but after one bit him, he knew that wasn’t the case.

The effects of the venom were the strongest he had ever seen, and only his strongest antidote saved him. There was no damage done, but even through his poison resistance, the confusion effect had started to take hold. But more surprisingly, he noticed that his mana was inaccessible while he was poisoned. He allowed himself to be bitten again just to confirm that observation, and when the same thing happened, he swallowed hard and broke into a sweat. What he had here was a counter to a mage.

Usually, the best way to kill a mage was to catch them unaware, but they usually had magical counters such as shields for those kinds of attacks. But here was a poison that would prevent them from using mana, all he needed was a delivery system. He collected a few of the spiders for study, he would find a way to incorporate their venom into a poison. Drake was already daydreaming about ways to infect a mage with the status effect, and his favorite so far was a thrown bottle of a volatile compound, reaching the mage via a cloud of gas. He practically sprinted to the central tree, needing to reach the alchemy labs as fast as he possibly could.