[An adventurer from Gastrium Point of view]
A new dungeon found by a little girl from Amleth. I heard that the little girl is a little sister of none other than the SS Rank Adventurer, The Saga Khamisah, who is planning to retire soon. She's part of the Vars family, along with her two little brothers, who were once an S-rank adventurer-turned-knight, known throughout the land as The Hero of Amleth, who repelled the Empire's invasion.
(Heroes... If only my countrymen...) [Valdrid]
"Come on, what are you waiting for?
"You're a B-rank adventurer, we're counting on you"
"I hope I won't disappoint you" [Valdrid]
Me and my companion, after the tedious process of getting permission from both the Adventure Guild and the Ministry, finally enter the dungeon, a dungeon with a mirage and castle theme.
They say it's a seven level depth of a dungeon, though, last I heard, it was only four levels deep. It must have something to do with the sudden energy burst that was rumored to have happened in Amleth. Even we in Gastrium indirectly felt the effect, as evidenced by some of our mana stones malfunctioning. Not only that, but the land is also temporarily devoid of mana, causing some plants and creatures that depend on it to become restless. Worst of all, I have heard from the Knight of Gastrium that this sudden burst of energy has been used by the Empire that has infiltrated us. They have successfully stationed many of their various strange devices throughout our land. What are they planning? Haven't they had enough?
"Valdrid! Look! That teddy bear monster is so cute!"
"We must catch it and sell it to the nobles!"
"That teddy bear uses a knife, a great one" (I wanted one, too, for myself and to sell to pay for my mother and sister's medical treatment) [Valdrid].
It's a cute monster in the form of a teddy bear. It's cute, but when it noticed us, it brought out another of its friends, with a larger yellow teddy bear, arms and legs sewn, with a large bow. A shot from the bow can literally mean death, as it is capable of penetrating even a stone, but it's sluggish. After all, it's just a teddy bear.
The first floor isn't too challenging, but the second floor is where things get interesting. According to the previous report, the first floor itself is supposed to be covered with a heavy layer of Mirage Mana, so we need to buy special equipment to deal with this problem. However, probably due to the sudden change in the dungeon, we will have to wear the equipment from the second floor onward.
The monsters here are all capable of casting a mirage spell. Whether it's by confusing our hearing or sight, it's a foe to be reckoned with. The insects that have adapted here, especially the vile centipedes, have a particularly deadly poison. It camouflages itself with a fungus that can glow in the dark, and if one of us is careless enough, it will start injecting a small amount of poison without anyone noticing, and when the prey begins to show signs of mirage poisoning, it will strike.
"That's when it strikes, so you better watch out" [Valdrid].
"You really do your homework.
"As expected from a B-rank adventure"
"These new map device from their ministry, it's a good one. I can learn a lot from it" [Valdrid].
"The one called Magical Mapping Device?"
"Do you really think the creator is the legendary witch Merlin?"
"Nonsense. First the Devil King and now the Legendary Witch"
"Let's focus on the dungeon first. Look, there's the teddy bear and..." [Valdrid]
The monsters began to vary as well. From a monstrous Aswang, to a marionette, to a puppet dressed as a noble and a knight. Furniture trying to smash us. Books flying over our heads trying to catch us. Ghouls and ghosts playing tricks on us. It gets more and more challenging as we go deeper and deeper into the dungeon.
We have no choice but to start taking frequent breaks. We also have no choice but to team up with other adventuring teams if we want to go deeper. It's getting harder and harder, and none of us wanted to share the reward.
The oppressive atmosphere of the mirage, sometimes we all wonder if what we have heard and seen is the truth or just an illusion. The prankster ghost whispering to us, the smell of bread and butter making our stomachs growl. The sign inside the dungeon, I read it as beware of danger, but others read it as treasure ahead. Truly a terrifying dungeon
After almost seven days of grueling dungeon diving, with many of us mysteriously disappearing after falling in battle or suddenly vanishing when taking a short break, only five of us remain to challenge the boss of the dungeon, and just as we were about to open the door, a skeleton opened it for us, pulling all five of us inside as he introduced himself
"Welcome, welcome, I am The Jester here and this is my prince and princess along with our audience. Everyone, give them a big hand for not dying" [Jester].
That skeleton who introduced himself as Jester, I can tell he's the boss of the dungeon. It's strong, and it keeps telling us to entertain it.
"I will, my jester! Let me strip for you!"
"You're our guiding light"
"Truly, a worthy light, surrounded by magnificent castle"
"I'll give you all my possessions! Please! Take my coins!"
"Hey, stop it! That's our budget!!" [Valdrid]
As I tried to stop one of the party members, a bolt of lightning shot out of the tile, paralyzing me. The Jester taunts me for not being fast enough to dodge it. The marionette, the puppet, the doll, the skeleton, they all laugh and laugh and laugh. With that, the others also began to laugh. They began to worship the jester. I tried to stop them, even with holy water, but
"You're good, so how about you fight all of us?" [Jester]
"All of us?" [Valdrid]
"But what's good if you're alone and get crushed in an instant, it'll be boring. So very boring, so as your first opponent, let it be this giant mirage scorpion, and riding it will be one of our Dulahan!" [Jester]
I tried to prepare myself, but, my friends, they stripped me naked and gave all my possessions to the Bone Jester, and before I knew it
"Looks like you're doing well" [Red Hair Adventure].
"Thank you, Randy the Berserker, for your precious potion.
"Don't mention it. Just be proud that you actually made it that far" [Randy].
How did I get out alive? Where's the treasure I collected? Some are there, but some are missing. No, no, no, no, no.
(If you can't pay for her treatment, how about we...)
No! I won't let that bitch of a priestess hurt my family. Money! I need
"Easy there, you're still affected by the mirage..." [Randy]
"Get off me!" [Valdrid]
I wanted to dungeon dive right away, but I was stopped by all my friends and those we teamed up with. How are they all still alive? What actually happened?