(James)

After a rushed visit to the toilet, and a rushed wash of his face, he led the group down the secret passage. He led because he could see the trap mechanisms with his metal eye, but only if he was closer to it. Because the skill rendered every material besides metal as an only darkness, he was being led by the hand by Dana. It was reassuring for both of them to be like this.

May followed them with mana sight, so she could see approaching monsters. It was a successful method as James had managed to help them avoid more than one trap that was activated by pressure pads. Blades were hidden in the cracks in the walls, and an entire section of the concrete tunnel might have fallen on them if he hadn't seen the wires and levers that triggered it.

He was somewhat disappointed that his initial assessment of the passage was far safer than it turned out to be, but at least he could help prevent them getting hurt. And he was confused by the length of the hallway. He felt they had been walking for a few minutes in a straight line. Surely the house wasn't this long.

"May, don't you think we've been walking too far?"

Though he couldn't see her nod, he imagined she Did, then replied.

"Much too far. We should be in the garden now. But we haven't been walking down, so... wait."

May formed a small glass sphere in her hand and put on the floor. It stayed completely still and she cursed at it.

"Yeah. This whole thing is flat. I don't get it."

James had deactivated his metal eye and was looking back.

"Does anyone have a way to highlight the area ahead? Fireball?"

Dana was his major hope, but her fire spells had a disappointingly low range. And anything May made could only go as far as she could throw it.

He sighed and gave a silent apology to the people who had built this house.

He drew his gun and aimed down the hallway as straight as he could.

"James-"

Someone tried to say something, but he was tired of walking with no definite target devoid of most of his sight.

The white mana bullet temporarily lit up the passage, and they could easily track it's progress as it got further away.

They saw a brief flash of light which was quickly followed by the sound of an explosion then shattering glass.

There was now a small light source at the far end of the hallway. Whatever was on the other side was light. James put his pistol away and began walking with a greater confidence. He could guess from the distance of the light that they were way past halfway and was excited to enter the light.

He resumed his trap checking and they reached the end of the hallway with no further issue.

When they reached the end of the hallway and the jagged hole that James had placed in it, Dom and Callum immediately began looking for a secret lever.

James could see that the vertical wall in front of him would open as soon as he pushed it, and ignored their brief vocalizations of their disappointment. On the other side of the doorway was an exquisitely decorated ballroom. It was like walking straight into a fairy tale.

Dungeon Safe Room Entered: Banquet Ball.

"Eat to your heart's content."

The ballroom was huge and must take up a large portion of the house itself. It was two storeys tall, and James saw ornately carved crafters arch and cross above his head. There were golden curtains draped from the ceiling and long wooden tables supporting fully set places for dozens of guests. Guests that would likely never be there. It was a shame. There were piles of food stacked on the tables in large dishes and bowls. The only thing missing was music.

"Wow."

James could only utter that softly to himself and squeezed Dana's hand as she had a similar reaction to it.

He looked around for the light sources, but the high up windows were all still blacked out and there were no candles or electric lights. It was as if the entire room was magically lit. And in all likelihood, was. Behind him was the doorway they had come through. It closed quietly and he looked back to see his own reflection. It was cracked as his shot had obliterated part of the mirror, but it was enough for him to truly appreciate how covered in ash he was. His face was mostly clean, but streaks still remained. He smiled at his reflection. It was reassuring to see how little he had changed.

They spread out, looking around. Even May was completely speechless at the sight. James suspected this was the nicest she had ever seen it.

Dom and Callum rushed to the food, eager to take a break from the cold food they had in their bags.

James saw Dom scrutinise a chicken leg thoroughly, then take a bite with a huge grin. It was enough to make him smile at Doms change in attitude.

Dana pulled him over to a table of desserts. There was nothing that immediately stood out from any other, because, well... every dessert looked phenomenal. James resisted the urge to stuff his face. He wasn't entirely sure this place was safe. Why on earth did this dungeon have such a nice safe room? He had to force himself to calm down. The system told him it was safe in here. It would do him no good to remain suspicious.

He sat down on one of the benches, then flinched as something cold covered his face. He recoiled and fell off the bench, dragging Dana with him.

She squealed and laughed as they went down and he realised what she had done. His face was covered in cream from one of the tarts that she had hit him with. He laughed too, and his mood lightened enough to appreciate how close he and Dana were. She lowered her head and licked some cream off his cheek and grimaced.

"Ugh. Ash."

James smirked at her mistake then went on the offence.

He kissed her hard, and while she was distracted, used a spare hand to scoop some cream off his face and smear it on her forehead.

"Simbaaa."

He laughed at his own reference, and after a moment of surprise, she joined in. She rolled off him and grabbed a cake from the table. While he couldn't see what she was doing, she lifted it over his head and prepared to drop it.

James opened his eyes at the last second and his eyes widened at his inevitable fate.

But instantly, his gun was in his hand, and he fired straight through the cake.

Skill learnt: Quickdraw (B)

Cake rained down around them, and Dana remained in the same position with her hands raised over his head. An expression of shock plastered on her face. He panicked for a moment, sure he had scared her, but she quickly transitioned to an expression of glee. She laughed loudly without care, and the other three onlookers laughed too.

James slowly stood and put his gun away. That Quickdraw skill would be invaluable if his previous display was any indication of its abilities.

There was cake and frosting scattered around a good third of the hall, and he hoped that he would never have to clear it up.

James found that one of the doors in the corner of the ballroom let to what probably used to be a large set of old cubicles. The place had been renovated nicely and there was a modern shower and sink amongst some other placements. James gladly took the time to wash himself a bit more properly, using a mirror to ensure that his face and hands were clean of all ash and cream. Then he promptly returned to the festive dining.

Once they had all eaten their fill, and Callum was laying on the floor almost passed out, James took a more in-depth assessment of the place.

At one end of the hall was a large set of doors. Probably the main entrance of the place. At the other was a small semicircular alcove. There was a curved door set into it and a hemisphere emerged from the ground in front of it.

He walked over to get a closer look and saw the hemisphere was made of the same white and grey stone as the floor but was divided into three distinct wedges.

Each one was embossed with glass that spread from the highest point into intricate patterns. The glass was either coloured red, blue or yellow and each one had unique patterns. The red had wavy but shape lines, resembling fire. The blue had jagged radiating lines that looked like shards of ice. And the yellow zig-zagged like lightning.

In the centre of each panel, where that patterns of lines originated, there a keyhole. James knew they had the red one, but this also meant they needed two more, and would likely have to fight two more bosses to get them.

He noticed there was an engraving on the floor that circled the risen hemisphere. It looked to be written in Latin, something he couldn't read, but when he concentrated hard enough on it, the message appeared as a notification.

"Disturb not the harmony of fire, lightning, or ice. Lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash."

James had no idea what it meant. Since they had killed the fire boss, was the balance now upset?

Or was this a warning for what was behind the door.

"Hey May!"

May rushed over, and the rest of the party followed.

"Yeah?"

"What's behind this door?"

"Um, it takes you to a kind of tower. There's nothing if you go up, but there's a small cellar below that's separate from the rest of the basement. There used to be a load of expensive wine down there."

"Ok. I think that's where the dungeon core is."

May looked closely at the new construct on the floor.

"Huh. That quote sounds familiar."

Dom and Callum voiced their agreement as they were examining it in the same way.

Dom came to his conclusion first.

"So we need to fight two more bosses. One of ice, and one of lightning. I know where the lightning one could be, but May? Where's the coldest part of the house?"

May had to think for a second.

"If not the wine cellar, then it would have to be the medieval fridge part of the basement."

Dom addressed the group, letting them all decide what their next course of action should be.

"So what do you guys want to do? Ice monster in the basement, or lightning boss in the modern wing?"

Everyone chose the ice boss. Dana had more powerful fire spells, and James and Callum were eager to fight something solid.

Dom had obviously been expecting this result. The knowing smile on his face confirmed it. In reality, May and Dana were the only ones who would be able to fight something made of electricity. But to be fair, he was only assuming that the lightning boss would be a sprite like the fire one was. It could be a metal thing made of wires for all he knew.

He indicated that May take the lead.

"So um. Let's go. Round two."