"Did you guys manage to clear out all the monsters?" Daisuke inquired as they neared the entrance to the hidden chamber.
The tank nodded in affirmation. "Yes, but it probably won't be too long before they all respawn."
"In that case," Lyanna began, "we probably shouldn't linger here for too long."
"We should make haste and decide on our next move," the samurai suggested.
As they approached the final turn leading into the chamber, Rexar's eyes widened in disbelief. Elena lay motionless on the ground, her body still bearing severe burns. Milo knelt beside her, his expression grave.
"Elena!" Rexar called out in a panic, abandoning Daisuke to rush to her side.
Daisuke stumbled briefly, his annoyance evident in narrowed eyes. He sighed as the tank hurried to support him.
"Milo!" Rexar shouted in exasperation. "Tha' hell are you doing? Why haven't you healed Elena?"
Milo recoiled as if expecting to be hit. "I'm sorry," he cried out, "I've run out of mana, and I don't have any potions."
Rexar clenched his teeth in frustration, his shoulders slumping in despair. "Dammit. Elena, I'm so sorry…"
Milo's gaze shifted to the motionless girl. "Even if… I had all my mana," he hesitated, "I'm not sure if I would have enough power to heal her wounds."
Lyanna lowered her gaze in dejection. "I'm sorry," she began, "I used up the last of my potions a while ago."
The others hung their heads in regret, realizing their predicament was more or less the same.
DING!
[Save Elena!]
[Quest Difficulty: E
Elena had always maintained a low profile, a strategy to shield her ambitions from the potentially destructive animosity of others. Yet, despite her best efforts, misfortune managed to seep through the crevices of her blessings, threatening to undermine her cherished goals.
Clear Conditions: Heal Elena so that she can fulfill her promise to her family and friends.
Rewards:
▪︎ Affinity with Elena, Rexar, and Milo +70%
▪︎ EXP +15,000
▪︎ A favorable encounter
Quest Failure:
▪︎ Elena will succumb to her wounds
▪︎ Affinity with Rexar and Milo -35%
▪︎ The party's morale will plummet, lowering your chances of surviving the dungeon.]
Without a word, Daisuke withdrew his arm from the tank's shoulder and slowly approached Elena. Kneeling beside her, he extended his palm and willed an item from his inventory.
Rexar's eyes widened in surprise. "Th-That's… are you really willing to use that for us? I mean… it must be worth a ton of gold."
"Do you remember what I told Osten?" Daisuke reminded them, prompting everyone to recall his words.
— "I don't think you clearly understand the situation we're in. We've fallen into a dungeon."
"Besides," Daisuke continued, "Elena's life is worth much more than just a handful of gold. All your lives are. If we want to get out of here in one piece, we'll need to pull together to make it happen."
Determined nods circulated among the group, reassured that their well-being was held in such high regard. At the same time, Daisuke uncorked the vial and carefully poured the pink liquid with utmost care over Elena's wounds.
[Burn Heal]
[A healing brew, concocted from a careful blend of five ingredients, with the Lunarfrost Lily as its core element. Upon application, it wraps the affected area in a cool, soothing aura, swiftly reducing inflammation and expediting healing.
Item Effect: Heals burn wounds of any degree and replenishes 450 HP.
Cooldown: 20 Seconds]
Everyone watched in delight as Elena's wound quickly disappeared, and the frown that once knitted her delicate eyebrows gradually faded. In a final touch, Daisuke gently lifted her head and administered a potion to fully restore her health.
[Small HP Recovery Potion]
[A potion brewed by combining Celestia Flowers and Vitaberries. Its restorative potency varies depending on the concentration grade.
Item Effect: Replenishes 450 health
Cooldown: 20 Seconds]
DING!
[The quest «Save Elena» has been completed!]
[15,000 Experience Points have been acquired.]
[Affinity with Elena, Rexar, and Milo has increased by 70%.]
"Thank you," Milo said with a deep bow. "I can't even begin to imagine what might've happened if you hadn't been here."
Rexar turned his head to the side with a pout, a rebellious blush staining his cheeks. "…I owe you one."
Daisuke cringed. Is he secretly some kind of tsundere? "Does anyone else need a potion?" he inquired.
Milo shook his head. "I've already taken one."
"Same here," said another.
"I'm fine."
Lyanna added her voice. "And you?"
"I'm good," Daisuke reassured them. "I did leave my dagger by the Floor Guardian's corpse though, so I'll head back out for a moment."
Nods of agreement circulated among the group.
"Be careful," Lyanna urged, her concern evident. "Our fates are intertwined, and we can't afford anything happening to you."
"On second thought," the tank began, "maybe I should accompany you, just to be safe."
"I'll be fine," Daisuke asserted. "In the meantime, the rest of you should get some rest. We'll discuss our next move when I get back."
In less than ten minutes, to everyone's relief, Daisuke safely reappeared, his Bonepick securely stowed away in his inventory. Elena had awakened, her cheeks brightening with color at his return.
"Good to see you're awake," Daisuke greeted. "How are you feeling?"
Elena fidgeted with her fingers shyly, her gaze struggling to meet his. "F-Fine… thanks to you."
"That's a relief," Daisuke replied. "You gave us a bit of a scare there."
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should've been more cautious."
"It's not your fault," Rexar interjected. "It's that rat bastard Osten; he doesn't have a shred of decency in him."
Everyone nodded in unison.
"In any case," Daisuke began, "it's all in the past now. Our immediate focus should be on understanding our situation and finding a way out."
"I can add some clarity to that," Lyanna offered calmly as she made her way to the center of the group with a stick in hand. "While you were away, I used my skill to map the immediate topography of the dungeon…"
A palpable tension filled the air at her ominous pause.
"From what I can gather," she continued, using the stick to illustrate, "this dungeon has 12 floors, and we're currently here." She pointed to a crudely drawn bubble a few levels down. "We fell into an isolated chamber on the fifth floor, and we're surrounded by bedrock."
Daisuke frowned at the news. According to Thalia, dungeons had a minimum of at least 10 floors, but there were those that had as many as 100 or more.
Luckily, this particular dungeon only had 12 floors. But the fact still remained that they had fallen into an incredibly dangerous place and was now trapped at nearly half its depth.
"What exactly does that mean?" the tank inquired.
"It means that unless we can all fly, there's no way back up. The walls around us are impenetrable, so our only option is to descend. If we follow this vein," she drew an uneven line leading several levels down, "we should reach the tenth floor. From there, we can begin ascending to the surface since all the floors will be interconnected."
"Are you kidding?" Rexar exclaimed. "You seriously want us to venture deeper into the dungeon?"
"Do you have a better plan?" Lyanna challenged. "If so, I'm all ears."
"Dammit!" Rexar drove his fist into his palm. "I feel like I want to punch Osten square in the face; this is all his fault!"
The samurai coughed, peeking through one eye playfully. "Well, if I recall correctly, you were one of the first in line to grab a Mana Crystal."
Rexar stammered. "Ah—well, that was… you see…"
Laughter erupted among the group, a moment of relief amidst their challenging circumstances.
***
Following a unanimous decision to venture onward to the tenth floor, the party embarked on their slow and perilous descent through a narrow crevice in the ground. Daisuke had Zephyr cradled in his shirt, the pup still soundly asleep.
To ease the sense of claustrophobia, they engaged in conversation as they descended. The luminescent fungi clung to the walls, casting a soothing blue glow upon their faces. The atmosphere was chilly, and the air hung heavy with mustiness and humidity.
Surprisingly, Milo remained calm despite his earlier nervousness. As conversation flowed, Daisuke discovered that the tank's name was Gavric, and the samurai's name was Finnian. Like Elena, Rexar, and Milo, they had been adventurers for a significant period of time but struggled to make substantial progress.
As they carefully descended along the vertical path, Daisuke took a moment to inspect his rewards from the Floor Guardian raid.
[Novice Dagger Mastery]
[Rank: Normal
Classification: Passive Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
Dedicated practice and extended use of dagger-type weapons have sharpened your proficiency with these blades.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Enhances Physical Attack Power by 5% and boosts Attack Speed by 10% when wielding a dagger-type weapon.
▪︎ Expands your foundational expertise in diverse dagger-fighting techniques. As your proficiency in this skill grows, so does your mastery of these techniques.]
I figured it was just a matter of time before I got this, Daisuke thought mentally, but why does it feel like it took way longer than the polearm and archery weapon mastery that I don't even use? Is the System messing with me?
[Magic Chains]
[Rank: Normal
Classification: Active Skill
Lvl: 1
Proficiency: 0%
Using the art of shape manipulation, mana is forged into golden chains designed to ensnare and immobilize targets. The chains' strength depends on the concentration of mana and the unwavering will of the caster.
Skill Effect:
▪︎ Entraps targets at a cost of 5 mana per second. For more formidable adversaries, the mana cost scales with their strength.
Mana Cost: 10
Skill Cooldown: 10 Seconds]
[Swift Leather Boots]
[Rank: Rare
Type: Footwear | Light Armor
Durability: 53/53 | Physical Defense: 9 | Magical Defense: 16 | Movement Speed: +10% | Evasion Rate: +10
Finely-crafted leather boots that bestow the wearer with exceptional speed and agility, allowing them to dart through challenges with grace and swiftness.
When a speed-type skill is activated, either by you or a party member, there is a chance of activating the Haste skill, granting a 30-second burst of heightened speed.
▪︎ Agility +3
▪︎ Int +5
▪︎ Chance of triggering Haste +10%
Conditions of Use: Lvl 21+ | Strength 70+ | Stamina 50+]
Alright, I take it back, repented Daisuke. I suppose the System isn't so bad. I've got plenty of titles and passives, but Magic Chains is only my second active skill, and it's not just your typical active skill either—it's a CC skill.
CC skills, short for «crowd control», grant the ability to partially or fully incapacitate one or more individuals or monsters, hindering their movement, weapon usage, or ability deployment using skills such as stuns and knockbacks.
In any situation, CC skills reduce the number of adversaries actively participating in an encounter and makes it possible to down enemies without sustaining much or any damage. Being overwhelmed becomes less likely as well.
With Magic Chains, I can immobilize multiple foes and deal with them at my own pace. My innate speed coupled with the haste skill on the new boots will make that pace pretty impressive. It's a shame the trigger rate is only 10%, and I'll have to wait until I get to the next level before I can equip it.
But—
[Commoner's Boots]
[Rank: Normal
Type: Garment
Durability: 3/5
Unremarkably common, unassuming boots with subpar durability, typically seen on the feet of ordinary folks.
Conditions of Use: None]
Even without the options, it's definitely better than the pair of junk I'm currently wearing, Daisuke thought embarrassingly. If I make it out of this dungeon, I really need to invest in better gear—
"Whoa!"
A poorly placed step sent pebbles plummeting down the narrow crevice.
Gavric, who was climbing down above Daisuke, looked down in concern. "Are you alright?" He asked, his deep voice echoing through the cramped space.
Daisuke grunted as he shifted his weight to regain his balance. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, his voice slightly strained.
"Watch your footing; this climb isn't forgiving if you slip."
"You're definitely right about that. I'll be more careful."
Daisuke sighed. I probably shouldn't be multitasking while I'm up here; it would be a shame if I got done in by falling to my death rather than in a fight against the monsters.