'A phantom dungeon...' Kael scratches his chin as they continue to walk deeper into the cave. "Oh~ The mana is real dense in here. This is going to be fun," Itto smirks before turning to Kael, "Hey boy, you go to school, right? What does dense mana mean?"
Kael looks up, trying to recall. 'I clearly remember writing how dungeons work. Every dungeon is named based on their theme, but this one... This one isn't named. The system stated 'a phantom dungeon' not 'the phantom dungeon.' What the hell is going on? Goddammit, I wish I knew more about this place.' Kael catches his head before looking at Itto. "The denser the mana, the higher the probability of powerful mutated beasts. I doubt we'll find many weak beasts," Kael mumbles, still lost in thought.
"Hmhmhmhmhm, get ready to die, human. You're too weak to survive this place. I'm sure you'll die once the pressure increases," the prince smiles while whispering in Kael's ear.
"Oh~ Zhzhzhmhmhm, it's the damn rat," Rotû giggles, grabbing the prince by the neck and throwing him back.
"Fuck you, you damn pickle-looking thing," the prince groans, getting up. 'Fuck, I just wanted to get rid of that kid,' he exhales in thought.
"Oooohh," Kael mumbles, looking up. 'I know who this guy is, Rotû. He got disowned by his family as a form of punishment. They thought he would apologize to regain his royal status, but instead, he told them to fuck off and left the country. He's one of the few adventurers that survived the Black Night,' he thinks, making eye contact.
"Hahaha, so you're the kid~" Rotû wraps his arm around Kael's shoulder. "Hahahaha, most humans your age are scared of other races," Rotû laughs. 'This kid... he's not afraid whatsoever... interesting,' his smirk widens, and his fang pokes out a bit more. Pushing his shades into place, he points at the prince. "Don't let that worthless man bother you. Give him a good punch if you get the chance."
Hearing Rotû, Itto joins in. "That's right, we can't punch him, but you can. Our guild master can't really punish you."
Kael blinks blankly and then heavily exhales, hearing them. 'They're supposed to be adults, old ones at that. Why do they act like damn children?'
BOOM! Everyone instantly stands still, quietly looking ahead to see the guild master slam her fist against the wall of the cave, sending cracks through the area. "Quiet," she states in a calm yet cold tone. "We're not wasting any time. Get ready," she mumbles, walking up to the huge doors. 'This better be worth it,' she thinks, slightly annoyed. 'The things I do for my people.'
With that, she places her palm on the door. As soon as she does, a slow golden hue of light flows out from her palms, the outlines on the door glow, and the vines start to move. "Shit," she hisses, pulling her hand back. The door starts to open, and she looks at the back of her hand. A tattoo appears, resembling a tree, a black tree.
"Hmm... It looks like a sigil," Bein mumbles, tapping his chin. 'It's weird. Sigils are usually loaded with mana, but I can't sense a thing,' he thinks.
"Move," Yula shoves people out of the way and makes it to the front. Yanking Cora's hand, she inspects the tattoo, her eyes glowing with mana. "Ugh... I have no clue. I can't feel anything," she states in confusion.
"We'll figure it out later. It doesn't seem to be affecting me." Raising her arm, Cora gestures toward the foggy entrance. "Let's go! Rotû get your ass over here!" she says before walking in.
The fog is dense inside, clinging to everything like a thick, oppressive blanket. Dark flowers grow on the walls, their petals a deep, eerie crimson. Black vines, pulsing faintly with life, snake over every surface, spreading out like the tendrils of some ancient, slumbering beast. The only place without some sort of plant life is the path, a narrow strip of stone carved meticulously through the labyrinthine cave.
'Hmm, I know what's on the lowest floor, but there's not much else I know. When I wrote this part of the story, I didn't mention much. It was mostly focused on a conversation. Damn, I don't like this. My plans can't be perfect if I lack info,' Kael thinks, his brow furrowing in frustration.
BOOM! Everyone turns to see the doors slammed shut. "The doors closed once we all entered," Yula grits her teeth, trying to force them open, but the door refuses to budge.
"Tsk, they'll open up later," Cora sighs as she continues to walk. 'The king clearly said the doors stay open. He's not the type to be misinformed, so the dungeon laws must've changed,' she muses, glancing around and lifting her sword. She slams it down, and at the exact same time, a dark green leaf appears, only to get slashed in half.
"Oh, I haven't seen one in ages," Bein mumbles with a small smile.
"I HaVeN't SeEn OnE iN aGeS," a cracked, hard-to-understand voice echoes.
"Ugh, I hate mocking flowers," Cora mumbles, looking at its body. It stands around ten feet tall, with vines and leaves forming a grotesque base. Its elongated body twists and turns, covered in dark, mottled green and brown hues. The most disturbing feature is its face—or what resembles one—a wide, gaping mouth lined with sharp, thorn-like teeth where it feeds. Swoosh! Half its body suddenly slides off, purplish goo spilling from the slash. Sheathing his sword, Bein exhales. "There should be more. These things grow in groups."
Looking around, Cora smirks. "The entrance to the first floor is up ahead. But first—" In an instant, she vanishes. BOOM! BANG! BOOM! The area shakes, and rocks fly and scatter everywhere. After a minute, she reappears, her long black sword covered in purple goo, dripping on the floor. "I killed the ones up ahead. Let's go," she mumbles with a serious face.
As they walk, Kael reaches down to grab some petals. 'These can be used to make painkillers,' he smirks, picking up as many as possible. They all stop at the first floor, where through a narrow entrance, a forest can be seen past it. The sky above is dark and cloudy, pouring rain down on the muddy ground.
"Hmm, a terrain level. This should be relatively easy," Bein says before jumping down into the forest.
"First levels are usually tests to determine whether a person or a group has the right to go deeper," Itto explains to Kael as they slide down into the forest.
"So if we fail this test, we won't be able to move forward?" Kael asks, scratching his head. 'I know this, but I need to act like some stupid kid.'
As everyone lands on a tree, Itto nods. "It's impossible to move forward without passing the test. Even the strongest people in the world can't break the laws of a dungeon. But don't worry, passing this test won't be a problem for us."
Kael nods and then suddenly his eyes widen as he looks down at the mud. "Oh~"
Itto smirks, rubbing his chin. "You noticed? That's impressive, you've trained your senses quite well." He sits down on a tree branch and points down. "There are some beasts down there called Mudus. They're similar to two-tailed earth gators. They swim around deep in the mud and wait for anything to step in. When that happens..." He breaks off a large branch with ease and drops it. Once it hits the mud, a massive Mudu shoots up into the air, swallowing the branch whole. It's weird, despite being in the thick mud, once it got out, the mud slid off like water, leaving no trace on its spotless dark blue body. It has countless large spikes shooting out of its back and its mouth is long and pointy.
"This one's a B rank," Itto observes. BANG! A hole the size of a basketball is made right through its skull. "Thanks, Ryua!" Itto turns to look at a tree far in the distance. 'No way, he found her that fast?' Kael thinks in disbelief as he zooms in. 'Where is she?' After a second, he finds her leaning on a tree at the far end of the group. She ignores Itto and looks elsewhere.
"Hmhmhm, she acts all cold but ends up looking after everyone," Itto mumbles, looking down at the dead body.
"Hey, does that taste good?" Kael asks, rubbing his chin.
"Huh? Ugh..." Itto scratches his head. "I don't think anyone has tried eating one yet. They only live in specific muddy terrains," Itto responds, confused. 'Don't tell me he wants to eat it...'
Kael glares at the mud. 'I don't sense anything else,' he thinks before turning to Itto. "Can I go down there? I want to butcher it."
Itto stands up, rubbing his eyes. "You can't butcher that one. We can get you a different one though." He grabs his sword and stretches. 'It's right there though...' Kael thinks with an exhale. But at that exact same moment, a different one appears, throwing the other's corpse into the air. It jumps out, tearing it to pieces. This one is three times the size, with a darker purple color. Its scales shimmer with a faint iridescence, and its eyes glow a malevolent red. Massive claws protrude from its limbs, and its maw is filled with rows of serrated teeth.
"Hmhmhmhm, this one has mutated at least twice." As soon as he says that, Itto disappears from his position. ZZzzzZzzZ 'Huh?' Kael taps his fingers. 'I can't see the lightning...' At that instant, the creature stops moving before half its body slides off as Itto cuts it perfectly vertically in half.
[+3 Points]
'This must be part of the test,' Itto thinks, reappearing on the tree.
[Level One]
[Group test]
[Kill beasts to collect points]
[Collect points to pass the test.]
[5/500]
[50/125/210/285/330/401/485]-[For every point-checkpoint, a random restriction will be applied to everyone. Restrictions can stack]
"Okay, this should be quick," Itto mumbles.
Kael looks around. 'Looks like everyone got the message,' he thinks. "Isn't this going to take some time? The restrictions will probably slow everyone down."
"Hahahahahaha! Kid, did you forget we're all above S rank?" Itto laughs, wiping his tears.
"You're still weak," the prince scoffs.
"Fuck off, pretty face," Itto mumbles coldly before pointing outward. "This is probably the easiest floor since we don't get restrictions off the bat. Oda can deal with this himself; he has the advantage here."
Kael looks where he's pointing and sees Oda. It's hard to miss him; he's one of the tallest people, his vista blue hair and magenta eyes making him stand out more than the others. 'I don't think I know him; he's not someone I wrote about,' Kael thinks before turning back to Itto. "What sort of power does he have?"
Itto doesn't say anything and points. Oda jumps from his tree onto the mud, but his soles stand on it as if it were a hard surface. Right below him, a Mudu attacks. BANG! It crashes against the mud, unable to break the surface. He extends his hand outward, and a chunk of mud slowly forms itself into a perfect long spear. BOOM! He sends it down with a shockwave, slicing through the beast.
"Where is he going?" Kael asks as Oda walks downwards, the mud making a staircase down underground.
"He's most likely trying to confirm their locations," Itto mumbles. After a minute, pillars of mud start to rise up all over the place, each with a living Mudu struggling, trying to break free. Hundreds of pillars rise. After casually walking out of the mud, Oda clenches his fist.
[10+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+12+6+3+4+8]
The mud pillars compress, killing the Mudus in the process.
[Restriction applied] [Restriction applied] [Restriction applied] [Restriction applied] [Restriction applied] [Restriction applied] [Restriction applied]
[500]
[Second level unlocked]
[Restrictions removed]
'What the fuck...' Kael scratches his head, his thoughts a whirlwind of disbelief and confusion, 'what a cheat.'