Our evening excursion had been a sort of calm reflection of what we had seen in the morning. A place where there was no evident conflict. As long as no one instigated trouble, the city seemed at peace. Maybe things could be fairer, but what was the trade off for said peace? The inability to comment on the social matter? We had peaceful protests back in Titan City… I didn’t know if we could see the same here in Malagost. The city was far too gone, those with prey beast souls drunk on the power of the new order. I just hoped we could stabilize Titan City, make things fairer there without just a replacement of the prior order enhanced with an undercurrent of violence.

The ride to the dungeon was smooth, simple, undeterred. That didn’t make it short, but it did sooth the burden of travel. We had no problems, which was a relief. My nerves couldn’t handle the thought of running into more danger prior to delving into the dungeon. “This is serious right? This isn’t like the Culling Night where I overbought into the hype?” I asked Mia on the ride over.

“Sorry Perry, this is the real deal, but have more confidence in yourself, let alone us. We’re a strong team. We can handle anything it throws at us. I understand that you may still be new to the city but you’ve got to learn how to draw the line between fact and fiction.” She patted me gently on the shoulder before burrowing into a book once more, leaving me to pretend I didn’t catch her rude remark. It was admirable how much she tried to read even by the dimmest light of a lantern. Truly she was the picture of commitment.

The outside of the dungeon was a voluminous opening, tall enough to swallow five of me stacked head-to-toe. It was wide enough to allow three of our wagons through, but we wouldn’t even take our one wagon in. It was to be hidden against the outer wall of the dungeon, covered with a rock-colored tarp, our horse’s food and water left out for them to graze upon, although preferably they would sleep undisturbed.

“I don’t know what to say about this,” I said, staring into the dark depths of the entrance. I was overwhelmed by the prospect of our dungeon dive.

"May we all be guided by the doctrine and come out healthy and successful,” Vera said, hands clasped in prayer. No one wanted to interrupt her solemn moment— we were all feeling as though we would need all the aid we could get within the dungeon.

“No more time for hesitation then,” Javier said. “It’s time to enter. It’s time to begin. It’s time to delve into the heart of this dungeon and find something suitable to bring back.” We walked into the dark passage, only a faint flame from a carried lamp lighting the area.

The entrance of the dungeon opened into a giant cavern, little baubles of light strewn against the walls periodically throughout. The light they cast was faint, but it was enough to give a sense of shape to the room. “Where do we even start in here?” Mia asked. “It could take a lifetime to comb this place, and I don’t think we wanted to die that quickly in here.”

“Our prior research on the dungeon indicates that if we hang left, we should find a passage we can go through which should lead to an easier section of the dungeon, easy being relative, of course. We’re very fortunate to have what little information we’ve gathered from prior dungeon delvers who have successfully made it through the dungeon mostly intact, you know. Information is key to survival. I want to make sure to drill that into your bodies, so that one day, when you’re on your own teams, you’ll be able to function properly.”

We walked in silence, digesting his impromptu speech around the wall, taking in the vastness of the dungeon. “Where are the monsters?” I whispered, afraid of summoning hidden creatures to our position.

“Something about this room is a safe room, perhaps the only guaranteed safe place within the whole dungeon. It’s perfect for larger groups to use as a stronghold— you might see some remnants of base camps strewn about the ground from the few missions done here. Once we go down the next passage, we should expect to see some of the monsters,” Javier said.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding in a sigh of relief. I was a trained guard. I couldn’t keep holding onto these fears, not when I had the team with me. We would live through this. We would find what we needed so we could return to Malagost, and hopefully, learn as much as I could about the dungeon along the way.

It took about fifteen minutes in our pass through the perimeter, before we arrived at a metal door, sealed with an iron wheel. Javier turned it ever so slowly, muscles straining against his tunic from the exertion. Alain had moved to offer some assistance but our team leader had waved him off, trying to handle the matter on his own.

When the door swung open, the interior took a stark turn from the one we had just been within, a whole new realm within this subterranean cavern. The walls were covered with the same hard material the door was made out of, the hallway as though we were entering a building the size of the barracks back in Titan City.

Down the hallway stood two misshapen creatures— it was hard to put a name to them. They were so unlike anything that I had ever seen before.

They were humanoid in shape but with no features, smooth faces devoid of any eyes, ears, lips— just blank slates. Their bodies branched out, balls where appendages met the core, but their torsos had arms jutting out from more than two spots, amounting to four total.

Spindly legs, like rubber javelins, sprouted from their lower halves, six narrow equidistant appendages terminating in forked feet. Their movement was lurching, not from lack of grace in their step but from a lack of continuous movement. It looked like each step was a measured moment to an exact destination and nothing further, their skittering legs beating a staccato rhythm against the ground with each stride.

“What tips do we have for these?” I whispered.

“Beat them hard and fast,” Javier replied, gritting his teeth. “Here’s where our information starts to become a bit less useful, but I’m certain we can take these down. The potential for collateral damage is much lower than a common spike feeder. Just be on guard, of course. Perry, Mia and Alain will handle the one on the right. Vera and I will take the one on the left, and of course, if your group finishes first try to weave in an attack pattern when an opening appears for the ones still engaged in combat. Is that clear?”

Our understanding was unanimously unstated, beast soul features overlaying our persons. I locked eyes with Mia and Alain, nodding as we got in formation, my body taking the lead as the two scuttled behind me, Alain doing much the same with Vera. One to take the aggression of the monsters, the others to do the damage. A conventional pattern setup for optimal efficiency.

I started to run forward, activating my Swollen Fur to absorb any attack the monsters would do, Vera’s horns growing larger as she charged forward herself. Our paths were straightforward ones. There wasn’t meant to be any misunderstanding in our trajectories. If we were obvious and understandable, that meant those around us could take the subtle paths.

That didn’t account for what else my electroreception picked up as we continued forward. I could feel the activity waiting to happen in the walls. “Jump,” I said, leaping over a bolt of electricity that flew out of the wall. If I had continued running forward I would have eaten the brunt of the trap.

Vera took an unexpected path, sliding underneath. The electricity clipped the top of her horns, burning through the magic keratin. She snorted in derision, continuing on towards our designated targets.

I couldn’t look behind us directly, and trying to discern exactly what the others behind us were doing with my electroreception was a waste of focus. I could only look forward at the monsters, who seemed to have finally taken notice of our presence.

They skittered across the smooth ground, legs beating a steady rhythm in their approach. They were fast— incredibly so. I hadn’t believed that they could move that quickly, but their legs moved with no hesitation, flawlessly cycling through each skinny cylinder so that there was no wasted effort. They were going to meet us halfway through the hall, right where a trap was laid underneath the ground.

It was stupid of me to believe that they would trigger the trap. Their spindly legs avoided that panel of the ground without a thought— not that I was even sure they could think. If I had a guess, whatever force was driving them was associated with the dungeon, which meant they were inherently aware on some level of the traps.

They closed the gap, their torsos spinning wildly, distance allowing me to realize in fine detail how half of their their arms terminated in sharp ends and the other half terminated in grasping claws. There was no empty space, the trajectory of their swipes covering any conceivable approach, at least, for people of a certain speed or those afraid of getting injured.

Wildly flailing was great against those without the speed to match the assault, but if there was one thing Mia had in spades, it was speed. The monster’s claws scratched helplessly against my Swollen Pelt, almost getting lodged in the tangled fur for a moment. That lag in motion was more than enough for Mia to work with, her beak skewering through the gap to the torso of the monster.

That, however, didn’t mean that she had enough force to break through the shell of the monster. Her beak bounced off, leaving her shocked at the interaction. “Well, that’s not good,” she muttered. Even the hardier spike feeders we had run into had still given purchase to her attacks, but this time her bread and butter seemingly wasn’t enough.

“Alain?” I implored, concerned that the monster could break through my defenses with enough time. It had started increasing its scurrying across the ground, taking lurching staggered steps, as though it was hoping to catch me off guard.

My electroreception made reading their movements easy, so while I didn’t know what it was thinking, I could sense their next steps. I wasn’t going to be caught off guard by a few attempts at being tricky— it was as honest in its motions as Vera was devout.

“Think you can slow it down more?” Alain asked, clinging to the wall. The monster didn’t even seem to notice him, fixated solely on the large target that was me. Alain’s eyes tracked every motion, body tensed to leap but not a moment before the right second to ensure a critical blow.

“Fine,” I said, figuring that my Electromute should do its traditional effect and lock up the monster for a moment. The monster’s body froze, limbs drooping to its side and I stared with confusion, wondering if this was another ploy for it to come to life and lurch at us.

Alain, however, was not one to wonder such things, leaping off of the wall and slashing through the monster’s chest. His claws rent the flesh in twain, but what was underneath the skin was glittering tubes, sparking blocky wheels and black blood oozing out of its still form.

“Strangest beast I’ve ever seen,” I said, before turning to the other squad just in time to see Alain batter the monster to death with his giant tongue. The monster crumpled to the ground, body sculpted by his mighty blows. It seemed like it would be easier to execute these monsters compared to spike feeders given the lower chance of collateral damage. Perhaps we would make it out of here with no major injuries at all.

“Well done, team. Perry, continue scouting for any potential traps with your electroreception. Alain, see if your whiskers can detect anything that Perry’s senses don’t. We’re not going to get by the monsters only to get injured by the traps.” His tone was resolute, focus already on the next problem.

The more I learned under Javier, the more I understood why he was held in such high esteem by Amalaris. He didn’t have a predator spirit and yet he was a highly competent fighter. He had a great sense for tactics and other non-violent pursuits. He even knew how to delegate to the rest of the team and employ other’s strengths where his would be lacking. I had to make sure not to lose any of what he taught.

“Your Electromute was quite effective there, Perry,” Alain said, walking ahead of the pack with me. We had already stopped each other a few times before, the more mechanical traps getting past my senses and the electric traps hidden deeper into the walls. “Maybe these monsters are affected extra by it.”

“Or maybe I just went up in proficiency. Let me check,” I said.

Electromute Proficiency: 20%

“Nope. Still 20%. Guess you’re right, Alain,” I said, feeling a slight blush come to my face. The prospect of being able to contribute extra to the mission was filling my head with warm sensations.

“I can’t imagine how strong it will be when you hit 100% efficiency,” he replied, turning his head around the corner of the exit to the room. I followed shortly thereafter, noting another long hallway, this one devoid of the monsters. It opened into a square room, empty in every way but for another exit at the other end.

“That room seems as safe as we’re going to get,” I said, straining my senses to scan the room once-over. “Maybe that should be where we set up camp.”

Alain nodded back at me, walking closer to the room. “Let me take a glance as well. If I also sense nothing, then it’s all but agreed.”

I started heading back to the rest of the group, seeing Mia’s frustrated face before anything else. “How am I supposed to help here when I can’t pierce those stupid monsters?” she said, gritting her teeth.

I could understand her frustration. Feeling helpless in light of one’s training was a solemn sensation. It was a reflection of one’s own efforts, seemingly gone to waste. The inability to act when one needed to was a chain that bound you, suffering you couldn’t express in the moment lest you distracted others who were able to push ahead.

Javier took her to his side, patting her lightly on the shoulders. “This is just a bottleneck,” he said. “You’ve already shown you’re quite the powerful fighter, but your beak isn’t meant for such things. We can try and come up with alternative attacks for you or see how you’ll break through your limits when you reach your third tier. An enhanced beak would no doubt massacre the monsters. I know I wouldn’t be able to effectively kill them without my third tier, Mia.”

She calmed down at his touch, pulled in by his words. It was reassuring to hear that. I took in the message, knowing that once I hit my third tier I would be even more powerful than I had been. My prior struggles would pale in comparison, ebbing away. But for now, the struggles of the present would be guarded against in our need for sleep.

“The room seems fine,” Alain said. “Javier, let’s make camp. It’s been a long day.”

He nodded and we setup our supplies, preparing for the long night ahead.