TtOW! - Chapter 16: Carrying the Noobs...err 'Valued Allies' (Patreon)

Taog heaved a sigh.  Oh, he would have words for Ateia about impulsively signing what was clearly a magic contract with someone they know practically nothing about.  But nothing more could be done at this point.  They were committed, like it or not.  He could only hope that this would end well.

Ateia, meanwhile, was all grins, hoisting her pack on her shoulders.

“Well then, let’s get going!”

“Request: Please wait one moment, scan of surrounding area in progress.”

Ateia glanced at Taog.  He just shook his head and sighed.  To be honest, he didn’t understand half of what this girl said.  Which made sense, seeing as she must be somewhere extraordinarily far away if she hadn’t even heard of the Empire of all things.

“Scan complete.  Target located.  Query: new friendlies, please provide desired designations.”

Ateia tilted her head.

“Um, designations?  Do you mean…our names?”

“Affirmative.”

Taog couldn’t help but smack his forehead.  They had signed a magic contract with this person…before they had even exchanged names.  He felt increasingly pessimistic about their chances.

“Oh, I’m Ateia, and this is Taog, nice to meet you.”

Ateia extended her hand, and the wandering knight grabbed and shook it.

“Greeting: Affirmative.  Friendlies designated ‘Ateia’ and ‘Taog’.  This unit is designated NSLICE-00P.  It is nice to meet you.”

“En…slice?  Seero seero pee?  Um…”

Ateia leaned over to him.

“Taog, you heard of a name like that before?”

“Don’t ask me.”

“Query: Are friendlies Ateia and Taog capable of flight?”

“What?  Flight?  As in, flying?”

“Affirmative.”

The pair glanced at each other once again.

“Um, no?”

“Acknowledged.  Adapting travel method.”

NSLICE-00P walked behind the pair.  Magic circles formed at their feet, forming spherical Mana Barriers around the two.

“Um, Enslice Seero Seero Pee?  What are you doing?”

“Recommendation: Please prepare for transit.”

“What do you meaaaaaannnnnnn….?!!!”

With that, NSLICE-00P activated her repulsors and shot into the air, the two spheres carrying Ateia and Taog with her.

“Request: This unit asks that friendlies Ateia and Taog cease screaming.  Excessive noise increases risk of notice by hostiles.”

They were not, in fact, prepared for transit.

***

Taog clutched the ground with all his might, struggling to keep his breakfast down.  Ateia fell onto her butt, staring at NSLICE-00P with wide eyes.

“That…That…”

Suddenly she jumped up.

“That was incredible!  I never even dreamed I could fly one day!  Can we do that again sometime?”

Taog finished coughing and just glared at the two girls with a groan.

“Never do that again!”

“Negative Response: This unit cannot comply with that request, as flight is considered as a necessary capability for this unit.”

Taog just groaned, and tried to stand on his trembling legs.  Ateia helped him steady himself as he took several deep breaths.

And then he looked around, and his eyes widened.

They were standing in front of a huge tree…with a large black hole at the bottom, big enough for them to walk into.  Yet, the hole was pitch black despite the sun shining on it, and they couldn’t see what was inside.

“It’s…a dungeon.”

“Affirmative.  Query: Are friendlies Ateia and Taog ready for operation start?”

Ateia and Taog glanced at once another and nodded.  They double checked their potions and made sure everything they could need was easily accessible.  Ateia took out her bow while Taog drew a sword and shield.

They both took a deep breath.

They nodded at each other once more and turned to NSLICE-00P.

““Ready.””

“Acknowledged.  Activating dungeon termination protocol.”

And then the three made their way inside, braving the depths of a terrifying labyrinth of death…

***

“Hey Taog…”

“Yes Ateia?”

“So…dungeons are supposed to be super dangerous labyrinths of death, right?”

“...that’s what everyone says.”

“And…even the youngest dungeon is supposed to be super dangerous, even for a veteran, right?”

“...that point was especially emphasized, in fact.”

“And…under no circumstances is a non-combatant to enter a dungeon, right?  Since, between traps and monster ambushes, even a high-level bodyguard may not be able to guarantee their safety, right?”

“...again, so I’m told.”

“So…um…do you know what, exactly, is going on right now?”

“...not a clue.”

Ateia and Taog floated in the air, surrounded by spherical Mana Barriers.  Spiky vines twisted and turned all around them, spikes shot out at them, small trees with humanoid form began walking and lashing out at them.

And yet, not one attack made it past the barriers.

[The spell Mana Barrier (minor) is now level 5!]

Meanwhile, NSLICE-00P was burning the deathly forests with jets of flame launching from both her arms as well as magic circles all around her.

[The spell Fire Blast is now level 6!]

[The skill Fire Magic is now level 5!]

This…was not how they imagined a dungeon exploration to go.

“Knights are kind of amazing, huh?”

Taog shook his head.

“I…don’t think normal knights are supposed to do stuff like this, though.”

They watched as NSLICE-00P stopped walking and aimed her inferno at the ground in front of her.  Vines covered in flames shot out of a concealed pit trip, lashing about as they burned.

[The skill Presence Detection is now level 5!]

[The skill Trap Detection is now level 5!]

“Oh, she found another one.”

“Looks that way.”

“And she just turned left immediately, no hesitation.”

“Maybe she has some sort of skill?”

“Hey, um, Enslice Seero Seero Pee?  Do you even know where you’re going?”

“Affirmative.”

“Um, how?”

“Explanation: This unit is tracking the mana signature indicative of a dungeon core, and comparing it to the internal structure map developed via ground-penetrating radar in order to map the most efficient route.”

“Oh, right, of course.”

Ateia turned back to him.

“Do you have any idea what any of that means?”

Taog just shrugged.

Well, whatever this was that was going on in front of him, it still beat how he had expected this trip to go.

***

In what Ateia and Taog were certain was a record of some kind, NSLICE-00P brought them to the center of the dungeon.

“Warning: This dungeon is about to be terminated.  Recommending dungeon master surrender…”

A large tree shrieked at her, launching spikes the size of logs at the group.

“Negative response acknowledged, activating termination protocols.”

NSLICE-00P began evading the blows, taking to the skies.  Once again, several jets of flame filled the air, dousing the entire tree in a raging inferno.  The creature shrieked and screamed and lashed about.

But not for long.

[You have slain Tree Dungeon Master (Level 11)!]

[Gained 10 Personal XP and 8 Dungeon XP!]

[Level up! Your Personal Level is now 13!]

[Level up!  Your Dungeon Level is now 15!]

NSLICE-00P then shattered the dungeon core with a Mana Beam, and the whole group found themselves outside once again.

[You have absorbed a dungeon core (Nature’s Wrath)!]

[Gained 6 status perk points, 6 dungeon perk points!]

[Gained Dungeon Affinity: Nature (minimum)!]

[You have conquered the Nature’s Wrath dungeon!]

[You have accomplished the feat: Dungeon Conqueror (Nature’s Wrath)!]

[Dungeon Conqueror (Nature’s Wrath): Unlocked by conquering the Nature’s Wrath Dungeon.  Grants +1 perk point, grants +1 level in Nature Magic skill]

“Mission Report: Mission accomplished.  Dungeon has been terminated.”

Ateia and Taog glanced at each other.

“That was…much different than I imagined it would be.”

“...same here.”

“Well…all’s well that end’s well?  I mean, it’s good that it was easy, right?”

Taog froze.

“...Ateia…”

Because he just remembered something crucial.  Something that all his instructors had repeatedly stressed, whether his parents, Ateia’s father, or the Exploratores examiners.

There’s no such thing as a free level.

“...Taog…I don’t like the sound of that.  I know that look.”

“...did you…receive the message?  Achieve the Dungeon Conqueror feat?”

Ateia froze.

Her eyes widened.

She started to tremble.

“No…I didn’t…how could this be…”

Taog grunted and held his head.

“Everyone always told us…a feat it only matters if you actually contribute, right?  The Aesdes can’t be deceived…they only reward those who deserve it…”

Ateia went silent, her trembling growing stronger.  Taog took a deep breath.

“So…if we didn’t do anything…”

“...no…”

“Then…it doesn’t count as us conquering the dungeon…does it?”

Ateia fell to the ground.  She spoke in a soft voice, practically a whisper.

“So…we have to find another dungeon…don’t we?”

“Observation: Friendlies appear to be in distress.  Is there a hostile in the area?”

The two turned to NSLICE-00P.

“W-Would…you be willing…to do this over?”

“Query: Why would this unit need to terminate a second dungeon?”

“T-That’s…um…”

Taog took a deep breath and interjected.

“Look…the deal was to help us conquer a dungeon, right?”

“Affirmative.”

“Well…it seems you did too much of the work.  Since we didn’t contribute…it didn’t count as us conquering the dungeon.  So…it didn’t work, and we still need to conquer a dungeon on our own.  At least partially…I think…”

“Revelation: This unit was not aware of the contribution requirement.  Mission status set to ‘not complete’.  Adjusting dungeon termination protocol with friendly contribution parameter.  Scanning for new target.”

The two teens glanced at each other and both exhaled a sigh.  Well, at least NSLICE-00P was still willing to help.

Though, Taog now had a million more questions on who exactly they had asked for help…

***

Meanwhile…

“Ugh.  I’m, like, trying to comfy this place up but the boss is, like, moving around too much, or something.  Boss, can’t you, like, hide for a second so we can, like, go back to our rooms, or something?”

“Stop-cease complaining, yes yes!  I don’t have any threads-silk at all!”

“Heh, I thought you were, like, a king, or something?  Why don’t you, like, ask a subject to get something for you?  Oh, like, that’s right, you’re the subject, or something.”

“Shut up!  And it’s Great-High King of all the land, yes yes!”

Author’s Note:

Dungeon terminated!  Well that was easy, barely an inconvenience.

Too bad NSLICE-00P ended up doing all the work and therefore got all the credit.  Sorry 00P, when we asked you to carry the noobs, we didn’t mean literally.

Anyways!

Can Ateia and Taog make a non-zero contribution to the next dungeon termination?  Will Taog ever get answers to who exactly they asked for help?  Will Lilussess and Rattingtale ever make it back to the monster hanger?  Tune in next time, to find out!