*Wooosh*
A chilling wind swept across my face as I arrived on the first floor of the underground dungeon.
I squinted my eyes as the floor was brighter than the previous one.
Slowly opening my eyes, I was startled by the sight of an enormous icy tunnel before me.
I quickly squinted again as the wind stung my eyes.
Above and beside me were icy walls that emitted a mysterious blue glow, casting an eerie aura over the tunnel.
"Disgusting," I thought and shook my head.
The tunnel was mercilessly windy, with icy gusts that seemed intent on freezing anyone to death.
The wind carried tiny sand particles, and even I, with my layers of clothing, felt a slight stinging sensation on my skin due to the extreme cold.
I narrowed my eyes and looked down at the ground. I realized I was standing on sand, and there was a sandy path stretching into the distance.
It is about 20 meters wide and seemed to reach almost to the walls of the tunnel.
I wondered if my soldiers had melted the ice, as I could still see some ice fragments near the wall.
It appeared very smooth, which was fortunate, as I needed to follow this path. So, I did, and with each step, I heard the sand crunching under my feet.
The wind relentlessly attempted to drive me back, and every few hundred steps, I encountered the lifeless bodies of dungeon monsters.
"Revolting," I muttered, observing these abominations of the dungeon.
How could these grotesque creatures even conceive the idea of creating life?
Such blasphemy and arrogance!
My anger and disgust grew stronger, and I vowed that if I ever encountered one of these ice monsters, they would perish without knowing how.
I continued on with a sour mood.
Wait a minute, why are the monster carcasses still here?
According to the records, they should have disappeared after some time. I quickened my pace and tried to find some clues in the disturbed sand.
After a while, the tunnel widened, forming an ice archway. Behind it lay a vast chamber.
In the center was an enormous iceberg.
I was awestruck and disgusted.
Until now, I had only read about dungeons and their uncanny ability to create massive things. What I could see now is an iceberg the size of Eisenburg, which already housed more than 500,000 people and was quite large.
(A/N: The iceberg is as large as the Greek island of Kos.)
I stood still in front of the stone archway and observed. Is this already the end-room? I wondered.
An unrelenting wind circulated in the chamber, swirling around the iceberg in the middle, carrying ice and sand particles. It seemed to have no pattern, coming from the right, left, above, and the ground.
What was strange was that the iceberg appeared to be floating, even though there was sand beneath it.
Through the storm that partially obstructed my view, I noticed it tilting slightly.
"What in the world?" I exclaimed as the wind suddenly ceased.
Just like that, the iceberg stopped floating and was now stuck in the sand. It looked slightly askew.
With the end-room wind stopped, the wind in the tunnel ceased as well. The iceberg was probably about a kilometer away, and due to its tilt, I could see some small protrusions on its surface.
The largest one in the center was quite noticeable. I watched it for a moment and thought I saw a wooden door on the peak, similar to the one that brought me to the first floor.
That was my first goal, to destroy this monstrosity!
Suddenly, something caught my eye as it moved over the sand towards me. It was a soldier.
I noticed his initial anger slowly dissipating as he got closer.
"Your Majesty!" he knelt in greeting.
I nodded in response. "Rise, my loyal soldier."
He did so. "What are you doing here?" he asked me.
"I am here to support you and fulfill my duty," I replied.
He looked at me quizzically.
"Manara has personally instructed me to carry out her will." He gazed at me with wide eyes, utterly thrilled.
"Manara spoke to you?"
I nodded.
"She has blessed me with her grace. She tasked me with ridding the world of the evils, which includes these dungeons and Scalaris."
"Incredible," the soldier murmured with enthusiasm.
"But tell me, my loyal soldier, what are you doing here?"
He seemed lost in thought until I cleared my throat.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," he said, bowing his head.
"Orion Darkwood assigned me and the purification squad to keep the first floor monster-free."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"Do you know your way around here?" I asked him.
"Absolutely, Your Majesty!"
"Then lead me to the door that leads to the next floor!"
"Do you really trust me with this?" he asked with wide eyes.
I nodded.
He was completely enthralled and began to tell me how much of an honor it was for him.
I listened for a moment, but impatience got the better of me, and I asked, "So, can we get going?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Your Majesty! I think unfortunately, the storm is about to pick up again, and we won't make it to the iceberg in that time."
I gave him a puzzled look. "I'm not that weak; the storm won't kill me. Will it kill you?"
"It's not the storm that will kill you. It's the ground."
I looked at him, surprised. "Are there sand monsters or something?"
"Yes but this is not he problem, Your Majesty. You must have noticed that the iceberg seems to float when the storm rages. Orion Darkwood explained that when the wind blows through the sand, it becomes as fluid as water, and that's what's happening here. So, if you step on the sand during the storm, you'll suffocate."
I examined him briefly and then nodded.
"What a devious trap!" I said with frustration.
*Fuu*
A light breeze began to blow.
It gradually grew stronger until the storm raged once more.
As seen before, the iceberg swayed slightly in the storm.
I knelt in the shelter of the stone archway and felt the sand. It offered little resistance, and as the soldier explained, the sand had a water-like consistency during the storm.
"Your Majesty! This is dangerous!" he exclaimed.
I stood up and looked at him, ignoring the warning, and asked a different question. "Tell me, if the iceberg floats, could we use some sort of ship to cross this sandy ocean?"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but sandfish inhabit the sand and fighting them out of a ship is very difficult."
"So, you've already tried that..." I nodded thoughtfully. "When will the storm end?"
"It's hard to say. It's a bit irregular. It could be minutes or hours."
I nodded and asked with a hint of bloodlust, as I was eager to finally confront this dungeon: "What kind of monsters are you dealing with here, and when do new ones appear?"
"There are mainly seven types of monsters on this floor, Your Majesty."
"Which are?"
"The bodies you've probably seen in the tunnel are what we call 'Ice Camouflagers.' They have smooth icy bodies and lie or stick to the ice, shooting ice spikes when someone gets too close."
I nodded, leaned against the archway, and crossed my arms.
"And there! Look!" the soldier pointed toward the storm. "If Your Majesty looks closely, you'll see 'Sandfish.' They're not actual fish, more like worms, but because they can swim through the liquid sand, we call them fish."
I squinted and tried to see something, and indeed, if you looked closely, you could spot worm-like creatures emerging from the icy blue sand. They were well camouflaged, having the same color as the sand.
"Don't you kill them?" I asked, furrowing my brow.
"No, Your Majesty! Fortunately, the Sandfish only appear during the storm, and it's already dangerous enough during the storm without having to fight against monsters."
"Tsk," I clicked my tongue in annoyance, as all monsters deserved to die.
But wait, had I really picked up that habit from Mia? It's not something I usually do.
"What's the time it takes for the dungeon to form new tumors?"
"Tumors, Your Majesty?"
"The monsters!" I snapped. "They're the tumors of the dungeon, just as evil and abominable as hell!"
He bowed slightly and apologized for his ignorance and unintentional offense, though I didn't take it as an insult, and I repeated my question after acknowledging his apology.
"Twice a day, Your Majesty!" he replied.
„And when will their bodies disappear?"
„They don't disappear, your Majesty!" he looked puzzled at me
I nodded and thought if the records were wrong.
"You've got quite a workload. Do you take breaks?"
"Yes. My team and I deal with the monsters, and when we're done, we have the rest of the time for breaks."
"Is that enough?"
"Yes, because every week we rotate with another team and return to the fourth floor, where the main camp is currently located."
...
About half an hour later, the soldier named Fabian suggested we should get ready.
We stood up and positioned ourselves to run.
I watched intently as Fabian concentrated on the end room.
The wind suddenly calmed.
"NOW, Your Majesty!" he called and sprinted forward.
I followed behind him as he led the way.
We had to run swiftly due to the danger of the storm and the [ICE Birds].
Even though Fabian and his team took care of them, birds were challenging to chase down, and some could escape.
*Whoosh*
I felt a tingling in my neck and took a small step to the left.
*Boosh*
A one-meter-long icicle now stuck where I had just been standing. Thanks to my danger sense I could avoid it!
While running, I informed Fabian that an [ICE Bird] was attacking us.
"Then run faster, Your Majesty!" he called back.
"Don't we want to take it down?" I shouted.
"Far too dangerous, Your Majesty! Once the storm starts again, we're history, and the bird itself is not weak!" Fabian shouted.
The bird shot again, this time with two ice spikes, which I dodged.
Without a word, I drew my sword, infused it with mana, and swung it.
This time, it wasn't heavy and hard but quick and repeated.
*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Whoosh*
The flying blades cut through the air, with some passing the bird, but two hit their mark.
~KRAAR~ the bird screamed as it lost two icy wings and fell to the ground.
Since I had lost some speed, Fabian was already on the iceberg.
He stood there with wide, enthusiastic eyes.
Then he suddenly shouted, "FASTER, Your Majesty!"
In a light jog, I heard him and asked why, until I realized a slight breeze had already begun, and my feet were sinking into the sand up to my ankles.
I reacted immediately, feeling my energy and strength channel into my legs.
I let some mana flow into my heart to make it beat faster.
I was now in a crouched position, and I could feel the tension in my calf muscles.
I hadn't felt this kind of nervousness in a long time, and my body tingled slightly.
All of this happened in less than half a second, and as I sprinted, I moved explosively forward.
I was hardly slowed down by the sand; it was only stirred up.
Behind me, there was a *BOOM*, and suddenly, I felt a gust of wind at my back.
*WHOOSH*
In just six seconds, I covered the last two hundred meters with the wind at my back.
(A/N: Approximately 120 km/h)
I couldn't brake quickly enough, and the ground was icy, so I zoomed past Fabian and crashed behind him into a... sand dune?
*Kaboom* was the sound of the impact, and a lot of sand was stirred up.
"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Fabian came running, looking concerned.
"Ptui," I tried to spit the sand out of my mouth. "I'm fine; something like this can't harm me. But why is there a sand dune here? I thought we were on the iceberg."
"As you know, the characteristics of this dungeon are ice and sand. That's why you'll find several sand dunes and smaller deserts on the iceberg."
I nodded then I spit again and mumbled : „Ptui! Disgusting!"
"So, there are probably more monsters here, right?"
"That's correct, Your Majesty. We should have taken care of the majority, though."
"That's good. Show me the way to the next floor."
Fabian bowed slightly. "Then please follow me, Your Majesty!"
...
On our way to the next floor, we encountered some monsters despite the soldiers' efforts to clear them out.
Among them were [Dune Demons], [Frosty Sandworms], [Sandstorm Spirits], [Frosty Ice Crystal Spinners], and a few more [ICE Birds]. None of them were particularly strong, so I dispatched them with joy.
The only problem with these monsters was their ability to hide and camouflage.
Especially the [Dune Demons], which concealed themselves in sand or snow dunes and attacked from ambush.
I found these monsters fitting for the dungeons, which were known for being cunning, malevolent, and abominations of hell.
I also noticed more soldiers searching for and exterminating monsters, working in groups of a hundred soldiers.
I asked Fabian why he was alone.
He explained that he had been assigned to guard the entrance today. He proudly pulled out a telescope from his pocket and showed it to me.
I nodded and urged him to continue leading the way.
Interestingly, at some point, we started following a path leading into the iceberg, rather than towards the peak.
"Do we not need to climb the iceberg?" I asked Fabian.
"No, Your Majesty! This is merely a reflection created by the dungeon with its ice. At the summit, you'll find only death and the worst storms!" he replied with a slight hint of trauma on his face.
I stared at him for a moment, realizing that he didn't want to talk more about it.
"Then where is the path to the second floor?" I asked him.
"Right under the reflection, deep inside the iceberg. Just follow me, Your Majesty!"
I nodded and continued to follow him.
We followed the path made of ice and sand deeper into the iceberg.
Initially, it was a narrow trail, but it soon led into a menacing cave.
We traversed it, and the blue light and the large icicles on the floor and ceiling gave off an eerie, malevolent appearance.
It felt as though the iceberg wanted to consume us, luring us into its depths.
Sand was trickling from the ceiling onto hollow ice spots, creating a grating sound in the silent cave. Moreover, it seemed to come from all sides due to the echoes.
I was close to drawing my sword, not because I was scared but because this whole atmosphere reminded me of the nature of dungeons, which deeply angered me.
Fortunately or unfortunately, my soldiers had already killed all the monsters in the cave system, so we had a smooth journey since entering the caves. But my anger couldn't break free I had to suppress it with a lot of effort the whole time.
After about four hours since arriving on the first floor, I now stood in front of the wooden door leading to the second floor.
"Thank you, Fabian!" I thanked the soldier. "After I've destroyed the dungeon and made it feel Manara's wrath, I'll reward you with something small!"
"That's too much to ask for!" Fabian said as he knelt. "As your subject, it's my duty to serve you!"
I nodded, turned around, opened the door, and said, "So that Manara will accompany you on your journey!"
Although Fabian didn't desire a reward, I still wanted to bestow a small blessing upon him, which I did just now.
Then I took a step forward through the door, and a kind of status screen appeared before me.
_____
[Floor 2]
[Floor 1]
[Exit]
_____
Of course, I had read about this already in some chronics.
With a smile on my face and thoughts in my mind, I selected the option [Floor 2].
"I'm coming, DUNGEON!" I laughed, just a little bit crazy.