Part Ten – Dungeon

::Entrance into E-Rank Dungeon confirmed.::

The inside of the dungeon was simple stone. A seemingly endless hallway stretched off into the distance. Unnatural light filled the air around us. There’s just one thing I’ve gotta check.

Behind us was another portal that would take us out of the dungeon. It looked like a natural cave opening. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to leave.

“So this is a dungeon? It doesn’t seem much different from a cave.” Alicia’s sounded perplexed. She was probably basing it off what if told her about the labyrinth.

“It’s because it’s a low rank Dungeon. They’re simple compared to the one I went through.”

I’d used Insight last night to learn more about dungeons. The results had been about what I was expecting.

Dungeon – Subspaces created by the System. Primarily used to train and strengthen mortals. Both the monsters and items found within are generated by the System.

E-Rank – The lowest ranking of dungeon. Their layouts are simply long hallways. Usually filled with F-Rank and E-Rank Monsters, with a D-Rank Boss.

D-Rank – Layouts are generally labyrinthine. Typically can take up to several days to complete. Contains D-Rank and E-Rank monsters. The Boss is usually C-Rank.

C-Rank – Layouts of dungeons can vary greatly, from traditional Labyrinths to fields and forests to man-made structures. Monster ranks and species will vary inside dungeons. Bosses are always C-Rank.

And that was that. As always I couldn’t see any information on ranks above C. This was becoming a pattern.

“I wonder what kind of monsters are in here?” Since they’d all be low rank, I wasn’t dreading the upcoming fighting.

If we knew what kind of monsters were in here, we’d be better able to prepare. It would depend on the type of monster, but there were many ways we could fight. Planning your tactics and strategies was an important step in ensuring survival.

As we proceeded through the cave, we soon heard clattering and shuffling footsteps. This was quickly followed by a familiar rancid odor. Oh no, I know this scent. Please, please, please don’t let it be zombies.

It was zombies.

“Aaaaaaaah!!!!!” Alicia screaming in my ear certainly wasn’t helping my mood.

After she’d screamed her throat hoarse, she latched onto my back and wouldn’t let go. I’ll give her points for not running away, but why did she grab onto me? Not that I’m complaining. No wait! This isn’t the time for this! Why are all these clichés happening lately?

I pushed Alicia off of me, then went to kill the zombies. They were accompanied by F-Rank Skeletons. So this dungeon is filled with undead? That could be a problem.

Once I’d dealt with the dozen undead, I checked the Nightmare’s Twin Swords. And just like I'd thought, undead weren’t counted towards the upgrade requirement. Nooooo! I want my swords to get stronger!

This dungeon was going to be a real pain. Not only was there little to gain for me, but Alicia was still flipping out. She was acting the same way my sister did when she’d freak out. Hm? Maybe doing the same thing here will work?

I lightly smacked the back of her head. Nope. She’s still freaking out. Does she really hate horror stuff that much?

This is annoying. Maybe I should just go clear the dungeon myself. As I turned to leave, she once again latched onto me. OH, COME ON!

It took twenty minutes and repeated assurances that the undead were gone to calm her. Even then, she still seemed like she’d panic at the first chance. This… this is going to be a long day.

“I-I-I-I’m not afraid!” She clearly was. “I’m not! I just don’t like the idea of undead!” Still meant she was afraid. I wasn’t going to try and argue with her. Trying to argue with someone in the grips of hysteria was an exercise in futility.

“Fine. Just don’t freak out again.”

“I-I won’t!” She wouldn’t even look me in the eyes.

“Aaaaaaaah!” Yep. That went like I thought it would. At least she’s not clinging to me again.

At this rate, she’d never get any stronger from this dungeon. The undead weren’t the best target for her, but we needed to make progress. That meant drastic measures. Time for some shock therapy.

I started killing the skeletons and zombies, leaving one alive. I cut the limbs off it, then stabbed it through the chest. This is pretty cruel, but if I’m going to help her get accustomed to fighting, then I’ll do whatever I have to.

“Alicaaaaaa. I’ve got a surprise for youuuuuu.” Speaking in this tone didn’t suit me.

“Aaaaaaaah!” Maybe that strange way of speaking had made her curious, as she immediately looked up, only to recoil.

“Come on! It’s just a corpse. It’s barely even alive.”

“NO! Nonononononono! G-g-get it away from me!” Now she’s just being stubborn. I can see being afraid when they’re moving, but when they’re just a torso?

“If you can’t stand this, what are you going to do if a horde of zombies appears? You’ll just panic and get eaten!” I kept pressing the zombie closer to her while speaking. Hm, if I was a bystander, this would look extremely weird. I’d report anyone doing this in a flash. But, we’re alone here, so who cares!

“I-I-I won’t get eaten! I can fight back. Or I could escape!”

“Pffft! Do you seriously expect me to believe that? When you’re still shaking?” That was like thinking Vincent or Hansen weren’t scumbags.

“…” She couldn’t even formulate a response.

“If you really want to survive, you need to conquer your fear. It’s the only way to ensure your own survival. Now, stab this zombie in the head.”

She took one of knives I’d given her, and stabbed it into its head. Then she immediately jumped back and began to scream. Haaaa! Why? She was completely okay with fighting goblins and wolves. Is she just bad with horror?

I waited until she calmed down, which thankfully took only a fraction of the last time. She then graced me with another glare. It’s not gonna work this time! I won’t back down!

“I’m serious Alicia. If you can’t even stand to be around undead, how are you going to survive? I won’t always be able to help. Or what if we get separated? I’m not saying you have to like killing them, you just need to be able to protect yourself.” Her glare softened, and she shrunk in on herself.

“Haaaah. Alright. I hate this, but I understand. Just never do that again!” I don’t think I can promise that.

After that, things went much better. We were able to coordinate our attacks on the monsters without much difficulty. Alicia took care of the zombies, while I handled the skeletons. Though, after every fight, she would still flip out. These panic attacks were much easier to deal with. For the sake of my sanity, I hope we don’t deal with undead often.

With there being only one way forward, we encountered monsters rather frequently. In fact, we were fighting every five minutes. Well, every ten minutes. It took Alicia half that time to calm down. She’s getting better. I’m just worried she’s going to go ballistic when we get out.

In terms of Dungeon drops, we were making out pretty good. We’d already gotten a Soldier’s Set, along with an assortment of other items. The best drop so far was an E-Rank magic bag. But it wasn’t the only one.

Bone-Breaker Mace

Rank: D

Effect: Breaker Enchantment

Equipment Skill: Shatter

Description: A mace made from bone. It has been enchanted to increase the damage it deals to bones and metal.

This ironic weapon was extremely useful here. Both of its options were specialized in increasing destruction. The enchantment increased destruction on hard materials, like bone. Shatter was an Active Skill that basically did the same thing. Using both at the same time allowed me to completely crush a skeleton.

It’s too bad Shatter is a skill for blunt attacks. It seems extremely useful. It consumed some of my mana to activate, but was pretty fuel efficient. I could probably use it ten or so times before running out.

Aside from those, we hadn’t gotten anything else remarkable.

“This is getting boring. It’s just a handful of undead every few minutes.” I’d grown sick of fighting the same group of enemies over and over. Alicia had just grown sick.

“Well at least you’re having fun! Ignore the fact that I want to leave as quickly as possible. We’ve only come across undead for the last two hours!” I’d decided to ignore her complaining. If I listened to everything, I was sure I would’ve smacked her again.

Her ranting went on for a few more minutes, until I saw something ahead of us. “Looks like you’ll get your wish.”

“You better hope that there’s nothing you’ll hate, beca-" She cut off there, as she had seen what I had.

A set of ornate doors sat within the rock ahead of us. I recognized them as the doors to the tower in the labyrinth. Before, I wasn’t able to make out the insignia on the door, as it had been made of nightmare fragments. Now I was.

“I-its so creepy.” Alicia was right. It looked to be a ouroboros made out of snakes twined together. What the hell? Why? What is it? Is this connected to World Decay? Whatever it was, I knew what was on the other side.

The Boss.