It was strange—an eerie sensation neither of us had ever felt before. As we opened our eyes, the dungeon walls loomed ahead, glowing with a sinister red hue. Banners hung from the stone, tattered and faded, while piles of books and empty bottles littered the floor. The smell of dampness mixed with a metallic tang filled the air.
I glanced at James, who was already looking at me. We both spoke at the same time.
"Morgana."
This wasn't the dungeon we were hoping for. Morgana dungeons were infamous for their dangerous summons, and this one would likely be no different. My wish didn't tell me which dungeon we were entering, only the loot it held. That was a disadvantage we hadn't considered until now.
"It's fine. We've got this," James said, though his voice betrayed a hint of nervousness.
"Yeah, and if things get too intense, we can always retreat or find more people to join us." I tried to sound confident, but I couldn't shake the unease creeping up my spine. Even though we wouldn't die, the idea of feeling pain wasn't exactly reassuring.
"Alright, let's move carefully," James suggested, gripping his sword tighter.
I nodded and drew my bow, ready to proceed. We moved cautiously through the dungeon, the silence around us only broken by the occasional dripping of water from the ceiling. Every shadow seemed to hide something, and the deeper we went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
Eventually, we spotted two monsters ahead. Humanoid figures, clad in dark robes, with glowing eyes peering out from beneath their hoods. Thankfully, there were no witches in sight—just regular heretics.
I crouched low, drawing an arrow and activating my bow's damage-boosting ability. My mana surged, and I could feel the power flow through me, increasing my attack strength by 23%. At the same time, my armor's ability kicked in, making me faster, allowing me to reload and fire arrows 50% quicker. I took aim and released the first arrow.
It flew straight and true, striking the heretic in the head. The monster crumpled instantly, dissolving into particles of light. For a moment, both James and I stood frozen in disbelief. I quickly reloaded and fired again before the other monster could react, sending another arrow straight through its skull. The second heretic fell, vanishing in the same way as the first, leaving behind a small pile of silver coins.
"Dude… what the heck just happened?" James asked, still staring at where the monsters had been.
"I have no idea," I replied, equally confused. "That felt… easier than it should've been."
Curiosity getting the better of me, I pulled the book from my inventory and asked it a question.
[Question: Do monsters have health bars in this world?
Answer: No. While some game elements, like the inventory, remain, monsters and animals do not have visible health bars.]
I showed James the answer, and we both grinned. This was a significant advantage. If we could land precise hits on vital areas like the head, we might be able to take down enemies quicker than anticipated. The fact that most Morgana, heretic, and undead enemies were humanoid in shape meant that headshots could be our key strategy.
With renewed confidence, we pressed on. Stealth became our greatest asset. I picked off enemies from a distance, while James handled any that got too close. The monsters summoned by Morgana's books were more troublesome, but we quickly adapted, learning to anticipate where they'd spawn. By the time they fully materialized, we were ready to strike.
The real challenge came when we encountered the witches. Their powerful spells could devastate us if we weren't careful, but their attacks required chanting. That gave me just enough time to shoot them before they could unleash their magic, or if they dodged, James would close in with his sword.
After a grueling fight, we managed to defeat two mini-bosses. Exhausted but determined, we finally stood before the entrance to the boss room.
"This one's going to be tough," I said, eyeing the imposing door. "But we can handle it. Same strategy—we'll stick to our strengths. I'll draw its attention with my arrows and use my boots to boost my speed. You hit it from behind while it's focused on me."
James nodded, his expression serious but determined. "Just make sure you don't get yourself killed, man," he said, a grin breaking through his otherwise tense face.
I grinned back. "You too."
With a deep breath, we pushed open the door and entered the boss room. The chamber was massive, lit by torches that flickered with dark, unnatural flames. At the far end of the room stood the boss—an enormous Morgana Knight, clad in thick armor, wielding a massive two-handed sword. His eyes glowed red with malevolent power, and as he noticed us, he let out a deep, guttural roar that reverberated through the room.
"Here we go," I muttered, nocking an arrow and activating my damage boost.
The Morgana Knight charged at us with surprising speed for his size. I fired off a shot, aiming for his head, but the arrow bounced harmlessly off his helmet. "Great, he's got more armor than I thought!" I shouted as I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding his sword swing.
"Go for the joints—he's got weak spots at the elbows and knees!" James called out, positioning himself to flank the boss.
I aimed for the Knight's exposed elbow and fired. This time, the arrow hit home, causing the Knight to stagger. James seized the opportunity and slashed at the back of its leg, cutting through the armor at the knee joint. The Morgana Knight roared again, swinging his sword wildly, but he was clearly weakened.
We kept up the pressure, working in tandem—me firing arrows at weak points while James struck whenever the boss's attention was on me. The fight was intense, each of us narrowly avoiding several close calls, but our strategy was working. The Morgana Knight grew slower and more erratic with each hit we landed.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, James delivered a powerful blow to the Knight's back, and I fired one last arrow into its exposed neck. The Knight let out a final, enraged roar before collapsing to the ground, his body dissolving into dark mist.
We both stood there, panting, as the mist cleared to reveal a blue chest at the center of the room. I couldn't help but smile. We'd done it.
"That… was intense," James said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"No kidding," I agreed, walking over to the chest. My heart raced as I opened it, revealing a collection of silver, enchanted materials, and a powerful Tier 3 weapon.
"Looks like we're moving up in the world," James said with a grin as he examined the loot.
"Yeah. But this is just the beginning." I looked around the room, thinking about what lay ahead. The dungeons would only get harder, but so would we.
After gathering the loot, we made our way back to camp, knowing that the real challenges were still ahead of us.
To Be Continued…