Rikr, half-elf ranger, part of the Luna Kingdom Expeditionary Forces

The first room of the Unnamed Dungeon

When I came to we were already trapped.

Yes, there weren’t any walls or locks to keep us in place, but seeing our companions torn apart by the jungle born from living metal made us prisoners nonetheless.

There were about twenty rangers left. The rest was either killed by the undead or managed to retreat towards the Geinard Kingdom lines. We were too close to the epicenter and as such, we decided to take shelter in these underground halls. Still, it was a rather good outcome considering how surprised we were at dungeon emergence.

Ah. I almost forgot.

Trapped with us were also eight heavily armored human survivors, covered in wounds. One of the fire mage apprentices also made it, albeit only barely. Just as he entered the stairway the magical phenomenon we were warned about consumed the above.

My rangers weren’t much better off than humans. Some had broken bones, others - lacerations and bruises. One had been pierced through by the rusty sword… And now he was slowly dying in agony while being clutched and desperately cradled by his lover. This type of wound wasn’t normally considered severe, but the lack of sanitary conditions, healer mages and even curing potions decidedly tipped down scales of his survival.

That’s why I didn’t want to have any attachments. They get you killed.

I saw it all too often.

Either you get slashed trying to defend your loved one or he/she gets mauled trying to do the same.

And the survivor's guilt… don’t even get me started.

I sighed deeply and left the pair. They had the right to their final goodbyes.

It was time to check the surroundings, count our provisions and hopefully - find a way out of this mess.

To recount.

Currently, we were residing in a large, cavernous room. The ceiling was really up high, but not far away to completely hide few weird plants growing on it. They were somehow giving out enough light to comfortably move around. Such magical contraptions were often seen in the dungeons. Some of them used glowing rocks instead or even simple, wooden torches with fire enchantments. Plants however were… unique. And worrying.

It was long established truth in the ranger corps that the unknown was always the deadliest.

The ground under my feet was sandy, but uneven underneath. Few centimeters deep and I could feel the rough stone used as a sort of pavement. At least there were no traps concealed in the first room - we checked it thoroughly. This too was a usual occurrence and a piece of valuable information. All dungeons were trials from the Gods, so a place to ponder was only right. This one was a bit too bare for my tastes, but a large amount of space and bright lighting created a peaceful, yet eerie atmosphere. Perfect for those who would risk their lives here.

The walls supporting the whole place bore marks of chisel and hammer - clear hints of sentient races involvement. They were faded and delicate though, which meant that a lot of time had passed since their creation. The dungeons weren’t picky when it came to the environment, they would adapt and assimilate in order to create a place suited for their needs. The worrying thought was what it had already absorbed to create these metallic plants.

After all, I remembered well from my teachings, that there were times when an innocent dungeon devoured a site of a devil ritual or some necromantic energies and started spewing out cursed abominations. Or when people started to “feed” it in order to produce needed resources. Like the “meat dungeon” they created near Geinard Kingdom capital. It was one of the few such experiments that didn’t backfire.

I still shudder at night when remembering “Trash Dungeon”, which started to use poison, rot and crudely pieced parts of fecal matter as monsters. Absolutely disgusting.

No matter.

This site was close enough to Luna Kingdom borders that such things would not be tolerated. The humans laid a claim to this dungeon, but the situation was much more complicated. The whole world was watching its development with bated breath. It was after all the newest addition to the list of dungeons.

To tell the truth, the first room wasn’t completely bare - sparse bundles of sharp-leafed plants were growing here and there. Their silvery color was pretty eye-catching in the dull and brown atmosphere of the entrance chamber.

And of course - like it was in their nature - one of the humans already tried to tear off a few leaves out of it. He only managed to get his hands cut, even through the thick leather of his gloves. Cursing heavily he was forced to stop. I shook my head in disappointment. His companions laughed it off, but one of my rangers came closer in order to investigate the plant.

It only took him a moment and he was already back, ready to report.

“They’re certainly alive, captain.” Somehow they started to call me that, I couldn’t really figure why… Yet my position was a temporary one. “With a bit of green magic it would grow stronger, but…”

“Yes?” I pressed on.

“It was really hard to ask the plant for a leaf or two.” He had shown me a silvery knife. “At least they’re really tough and can be used as a throwing weapon from the get-go.” His tired face bloomed in a smile. Sadly I had to crush his hopes.

“You said it was really tough and sturdy?” He nodded, still not understanding my way of thinking. “The dungeons tend to create plants and let’s call them herbivores in order to quench the thirst of other monsters. And since these plants are so robust…” My voice trailed off.

“Then how strong are the beasts feeding on them?!” The ranger understood my concerns and paled in fright.

“Of course it's only a conjecture at this point.” I nodded sagely. “But please discreetly distribute information to the rangers. Humans don’t need to know yet.” He nodded and walked back to our camp.

Even now Geinard and Luna Kingdom people were camping in two different places. I call them “humans”, but in truth amongst my rangers too there were men and women of their race. Just like the beastmen and the half-elves humans were considered the bulk of our forces. But instead of being called human they preferred another word - freemen. To remind them of the choices their ancestors had made in the past and their constant dedication to our cause.

But enough of this. I had more pressing matters to attend.

This dungeon was dangerous. There was no doubt about that. I could feel it in my bones.

Never before seen flora usually meant never before seen fauna. And worse. I was just praying that the dungeon core hadn’t found one of the old Empire caches…

My train of thought was cut short. Another ranger reported to me in excitement, her braids jumping up and down as she walked.

“Captain! We found the entrance proper - it’s a confusing maze full of shorter and longer corridors!” She laughed happily. “And there are traps too!” Her excitement was overflowing.

“Once again, ranger. Calmly this time, please.” I asked while smiling at her youth. Suddenly I remembered. She wanted to spend a night with me, only to run away when confronted with my real age. Bitter memories, which she didn’t remember now. That was for the better I suppose.

“Yes, sir!” She saluted, straightening her back. Her not too large bust jumped up and down this time, just like her braids before. I wondered why it was always the redheads that were so aggressive. “We decided to scout ahead and encountered a maze. Just like we were taught our group decided on using the method of the right hand.” I nodded, when it came to mazes keeping to either right or left at all times was paramount to not getting lost.

”There were more plants out there - all metallic and weird. We wanted to bring some samples back, but since the food was most important…” She gestured towards the back. Only now I saw a large, rat-like creature lying in the pool of its own blood. It looked partly mechanical, but there was enough meat on its bones for a meal or two. If it wasn’t poisonous. “Did you check?” I asked and the young ranger nodded.

“One of the forerunners had enough knowledge and magic to give a go to consumption. He said it's similar to the gray rat common in the badlands. Nothing that delicious, but it will do in a pinch. The dungeon probably hunted it early.” For the first time, she looked a bit distressed. Eating rats wasn’t high on the list of my priorities either.

“Yeah, I know. Just leave the meat around the metal parts alone.” Neither of us were keen to try if the iron was somehow fused with the flesh.

It was time for a change of pace.

“And why did you retreat so soon?”

“Umm… we heard something.”

“Something?”

“It was a metallic sound, like iron knocking on the stone.”

“More like something darn heavy was knocking on the frikkin stone” Another ranger cut in while trying to carve rat meat in the short strips. “It rumbled louder and louder, so in the end, we decided that it wasn’t worth the risk and ran back to you, Captain!” The impromptu chef had a weird grin on his face, which with an addition of a bloody knife made him a rather terrifying character.

“Typical knife-ears, good at sneakin, weak at fightin!” A large man in a full chain armor came out from the human camp while dragging a large zweihander behind him. His bald head was reflecting the light and accentuating the black, curly mustache. “I’ll tell ya! Guide me towards this noise of yers and I’ll smack it good!” He boasted. His skin had a green hue and was difficult to look at. It reminded me of goblins.

“Kidaro.” I nodded while remembering the information. 6th level heavy warrior, decent attack and defense. A bit stupid, but also courageous to the fault. He managed to get his hands on some regeneration skill which in turn made him nigh unstoppable in normal fights.

Good enough I suppose.

“Jina.” I called out the redhead bouncy ranger. “You’re on scouting duty. I and Uliss will cover the attack power. Kidaro will tank and Callisto, can you aid us with your spells?” I asked the only mage amongst us. He had a pretty bad cut on his leg, but other than that his ability to cast spells was unimpeded.

The man in question gave me a long, tired look before answering.

“Only if I get a cut of that meat. My rations… were left in the aboveground campsite.” He supplemented with a bit of a blush. Because of his childish face and frame, his words made the girls in the ranger squad squeal in delight. His red eyes glinted, but he managed to keep his anger contained. “Please?”

“Of course, friend!” I beamed back. “We need you in the top form after all.” Noticing Kidaro hungry gaze I added. “You’re invited too, friend.”

Our preparations took only a few minutes and soon we began our walk.

The adventuring party gathered under the temptation of rat meat. Oh, how the mighty had fallen. I mused quietly while nibbling on my own piece of food.

This time we decided to move by the left-hand rule. It didn’t matter in the end as the rumbling my scouts reported started to grow louder and louder.

It was clear that we were being pursued. Instead of running ahead into who-knows-where I ordered the team to prepare. There were traps out here, so running ahead would end badly even with our scouting abilities.

As a large being emerged from behind a corner one thought rattled inside my head. Who the hell puts the boss monster in a second room?!