Chapter 41 – Darkness Takes Hold.

“Can we hurry up? This place is giving me the creeps”

Eugene muttered while looking around nervously.

“Haven’t you gotten used to it, Eugene? You know we’ll have to come back here for other errands eventually. The Master likes fresh materials,”

Alanna replied while Eugene didn’t seem too thrilled at the prospect of delving into the dark, monster-infested dungeon again.

“Yeah, yeah, but I just don’t like it. Let’s get this thing back to the Master and be done with it. We’d already be out if you hadn’t brought that thing along. Why do I still have to carry it?”

“Hey, don’t call Anty a thing!”

Alanna shot back, angry at Eugene’s complaint about the strange white ant they had discovered. The ant was currently deep asleep, but carrying a monster made Eugene shiver with fear. He worried that once it awoke, it might attack him.

“Then you carry it! What if it has some poisonous skill that the cage can’t defend against, and my arms melt?”

Eugene retorted as the fear he was feeling was real and he wished to be out of this situation

“That’s not what a Gleaming Ant does… but I guess it could know a spell like that…”

Alanna grinned, watching for her friend’s reaction.

Eugene flinched at the thought of the spell, but once he realized Alanna was toying with his emotions, he responded with annoyance.

“Very funny. Just get us out of here before I regret agreeing to this.”

He grumbled, adjusting his grip on the ant’s cage and quickening his pace. They were nearing the stairs leading to the second level, and once there, it wouldn’t be long until they reached the exit. Despite the labyrinthine structure of the dungeon’s tunnels, with a map in hand, it was easy to navigate through them with relative ease. However, as they were approaching the last larger chamber before the stairs, some noise resounded from behind them.

“There is something there…”

One of the adventurers called out, and they all quickly formed into a defensive formation. They appeared bored and tired, not expecting anything troublesome. The creature that emerged didn’t seem overly dangerous as it was just a piece of living armor. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but one of the adventurers noticed something odd.

“Hey, doesn’t that thing look strange? Why doesn’t it have any holes or corroded areas…?”
The keen-eyed archer, accustomed to assessing details even in poorly lit chambers, observed some peculiarities. The monster resembled the living armors they encountered before, but it didn’t belong on this floor. In dungeons, monsters were typically limited to specific floors, and this version of the living armor should only appear around the fifth floor, not on the second.

“So what? Isn’t it just a Bronze Armor? It’s still an F-rank monster, leave it to me, I need some practice with these things.”

As one of the adventurers called out and began to approach the unexpected monster, their leader remained silent but vigilant, studying the new creature intently. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something unusual was happening in the dungeon. Rumors of strange living armor spawns had circulated before, leading him to consider the possibility that this encounter was another instance of such an anomaly. Dungeons were known to occasionally shift, making this theory plausible.

The monster was acting strangely at first as it looked not at the man that was approaching it but Eugene instead. It had no eyes to speak of but could still turn its helmeted head, which gave the young man another scare. This was quite unusual as dungeon monsters were known for attacking the person that was closest to them.

There existed a concept known as a hidden hostility rating, which could be heightened by various means. The simplest way to increase this animosity of monsters was to provoke them by attacking or making loud noises. Then certain classes possessed skills that amplified this hidden rating, and they were known as tanks. These tanks had provoking abilities that diverted enemy attention, allowing other party members to focus on offense rather than defense.

In this instance, the monster should have immediately charged at the approaching man due to his proximity. However, its reaction seemed strangely delayed and indicated a deviation from the expected behavior. It was acting more as an independent monster than one seen in a dungeon, and also one that had a functioning brain, not something usually found in living armors.

“Watch out, it’s acting strange.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t lose to a living armor!”

The man called out to the adventurer leader, armed with a shield and mace, the standard equipment for dealing with hollowed-out monster armor. The weight of the mace made it effective for staggering monsters, while denting their armor would gradually impede their movements. Finally, the monster took off, running in the man’s direction as it attacked.

“Come on then!”

The adventurer smacked his shield several times, creating an echo of noise typically intended to draw and hold the monster’s attention. The man hoped to divert the creature from Eugene, whom it was fixated on. However, to everyone’s astonishment, the monster’s behavior took an unexpected turn. Just as it was about to engage the adventurer, it abruptly halted, glanced to the side, and swiftly bolted toward one of the side exits of the chamber.

“Huh?”

Inside the dungeon, confusion reigned supreme. The strange behavior of the metallic monster defied all expectations and their understanding. The Adventurers scratched their heads in bewilderment, grappling with the bizarre situation that just unfolded before them. Then, just as they contemplated retreating to the first-floor staircase, chaos erupted.

“Wait… what’s that sound?”

An ominous noise echoed from the corridor the previous monster had emerged from. The clattering of bones soon followed, accompanied by groans and the grating of corroded metal. Before their eyes, every known type of monster for this floor materialized before them, and they converged on the group with a single-minded focus.

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“Where did all these monsters come from?”

“Why are there so many?”

The adventurers exchanged bewildered glances as the horde of monsters approached them. While they were all low-level mobs, they were coming in numbers that could even overwhelm a well-equipped party. Panic set in as they realized their predicament, but their leader quickly regained his composure.

“Stay calm! They are just low-level trash!”

The man stepped forward, positioning himself as the first line of defense. His heavier armor and larger frame served as a barrier against the oncoming horde. The monsters consisted of various skeletal soldiers wielding corroded bronze weapons, slow-moving zombies, and corroded suits of armor following close behind. They advanced rapidly, and the adventurers needed to protect the two non-combatants in their midst.

“Form up! Protect Eugene and Alanna!”

The leader commanded, his voice cutting through the clamor. The adventurers quickly assumed a defensive formation around Eugene and Alanna. The heavily armored man braced himself, raising his shield and prepared to intercept the first wave of skeletal soldiers. His mace swung down with a resounding thud, shattering bones and denting armor, buying precious moments for the others to ready themselves.