Chapter 20: The Dungeon

A glowing blue fungus illuminated the spacious walls of the dungeon. Salamanders chased beetles further into the depths, and the hunting cries of various magical beasts echoed from further within. The scent of magic fire tickled Sen’s nostrils, and the air was moist. The front of his uniform collected water with every step. He added an extra layer to his ward to stop that from happening. It was gross.

[Personally, I think your clothes could use a good wash.]

The early stretch was uneventful, though that hadn’t surprised Sen. Most dungeon-inhabiting creatures preferred it a little deeper. Further away from any penetrating sunlight and curious humans that would hunt them with magic. It wouldn’t be long before they crossed into the territory of one magic beast or another.

Milim’s excitement wavered with every step. “Do you think my dream magic will even work? Do monsters dream? What about nightmares? Oh my gosh, what if they don’t? I’ll look really dumb, and then I’ll get eaten. That would be so embarrassing.”

Girch looked over his shoulder and grumbled. “As long as they nibble on you somewhere that will kill you, you’ll teleport outside.”

Milim froze mid-step. “Oh my gosh, you just made this so much worse.”

Susanna stepped over and looped her arm in Milim’s. She offered a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe,” she said. Sen felt Susanna’s eyes on him. She’d noticed the wards he’d placed on Milim. How long had she known? He nodded, and Susanna didn’t resist as he placed wards around her as a gesture of goodwill.

He needed to be more careful around his fellow students. It was easy to forget most of them were as devoted to magic as he was. Not to mention they’d grown up with a system much more generous with stat points.

Snake held a hand up, and Girch turned slowly to look at him. “Something wrong?”

Snake leaned forward, staring into the darkness. “Prey.”

Joseia swallowed. “Why do I feel like what Snake would consider prey is probably some kind of predator instead? He looks like he eats magical beast jerky or something.”

Snake turned and stared directly at Joseia.

The curly-haired third-year looked like he might piss himself.

“Areech!” a creature screeched and leapt from the darkness ahead.

Snake didn’t flinch. Girch reached out and grabbed the monster by its scrawny neck. It looked like a chicken. Its body was larger than normal, about the size of a big dog, and its legs and feet were like a dragon’s. It screeched again in Girch’s hand, scrabbling at him with its feet. “Aree—” Girch crushed its throat mid-screech.

“Quiet, bird,” he said. He dropped it and kept walking. Snake studied it, and for a moment Sen thought his eyes were slitted like a serpent’s, but his green pupils quickly returned, and the boy walked after Girch.

[I’m starting to wonder if his name is a bit too on the nose.]

After a while, they entered a large, wide room in the dungeon, and Sen immediately readied himself for combat. The aura of danger was thick here, and he picked up the strong stench of beast. He wasn’t the only one. Snake, Girch, and Susanna tensed as well. It was only after noticing them that Joseia and Milim realized something was going on.

The walls of the circular room were made of thick trees with short, small gaps between them. The gaps were impossibly dark, and even when Susanna sent a beam of golden light towards one to illuminate it, nothing changed. It looked as if they were in a large forest clearing. The tops of the trees formed a thick, leafy ceiling where all of their branches interwove and wrapped together. The leaves bristled as if by wind or something within. Sen was more concerned about the gaps between the trees. Something was lurking in those void-black spaces.

Several somethings.

The way back was clear, in the event someone needed to retreat. But the path before them was sealed off by the largest tree of all. It wouldn’t move until they’d cleared the room. Time to see whose territory this was.

Growls.

Joseia shivered next to him. Sen placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Black wolves emerged from the holes around them and waited on the sides of the room as more poured out. Their heads shot up, and they growled in unison, as if controlled by a hive mind. It was likely just a tactic to confuse prey.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[Black Wolves. Commoner class.]

In Sen’s time, they’d be around level ten. But by the power rankings of today, they were level one hundred.

Sen sighed. Magical inflation was just as troublesome as the economic kind, apparently. The wolves leapt, and his team surged into action. Snake was a blur of green and white as scaled hands slashed wolves that approached him in two. Girch swung powerful fists, turning furred predators into piles of meat with each swing. Susanna sent out golden creations; hands, feet, and various golden weapons took out large swathes of the pack and sealed shut the gaps from which more emerged. A wolf flanked Joseia and bit down on his leg. Its teeth broke on Sen’s wards.

“I’ve got you. Just fight,” Sen called out.

Joseia hesitated for only a second longer before nodding and vibrating in place. Sen’s protective ward gave him confidence, and he moved quickly, grabbing the limbs of wolves and running fast enough in the other direction to separate them from their owners. Milim focused on her dream magic; several of the wolves stood frozen where they were, entranced by her hold. It dampened the tide, and his allies continued fighting.