Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 193 (Patreon)

Chapter 193 – Decisions

The Golden Host pushed forward into the dungeon’s entrance hall. The dungeon creatures in the shape of mortals were cut down without hesitation. They would cleanse the dungeon of its filth in its entirety. Nothing would remain when the purge was finished.

Belkis flicked her sword, sending the blood of the dungeon human that had dared ask her if she would be signing a contract flying. The temerity of such a question! As if a Crusader-Champion of Pofmis would bind herself to a dungeon!

Dungeon Law broken!

For   killing non-combatants in a designated Safe Zone, you, all members of your   party, and all organizations you represent, are disallowed the functionality   of magic items inside the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures. This effect   is permanent, and can only be removed by sacrificing three individuals not   affected by this effect for each slain non-combatant to be enslaved by the   Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures.

Belkis bit back a curse as she read the System notice. Damn that Demon! He had sealed his divine powers with Anathema, it was true, but he was manipulating the dungeon, and had set up dungeon laws in advance!

She looked down at the sword in her hand. It had lost the golden glow of its holy enchantments, but the blade was no less sharp. Her armor, too, felt heavier. When she checked her Status, she had to curse again. The Armor still offered some protection, but only so much as the mithral it was made out of could offer. The enchantments woven into it, enhancing her abilities, were clearly not working.

That damned Demon! She had been hoping to get through this without any losses. The Golden Host, seven hundred strong, against a newborn dungeon, even a managed dungeon? It was a foregone conclusion who would win. And, with the difference in their tiers, it should have been something they could easily do without any losses.

Now, however, they were going to have to work harder, and could not rely on their powerful enchantments to protect them. She was going to lose people, she was sure of it. But the Lady had demanded that this Dungeon and its Demon be purged, and so she would do it, even if she had to spend all the Host’s lives in the process. There was no other way.

Biting her tongue, she stalked forward, to the portal that would take them into the Dungeon proper. She hated the thought of losing people, but they were all holy warriors of the Chainbreaker. They knew that, sometimes, sacrifices were necessary to free those in bondage, and were willing to do whatever it took to serve the Goddess’s will.

To Whom it May Concern:

Greetings and salutations! It   has come to our attention that you are hoping to enter this dungeon, the   Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures, without signing a contract, and/or in   a group exceeding the maximum allowable size. Due to previous complaints   about unfairness, we are providing this automatic warning to all those who are   attempting to do such things, to ensure that all visitors to the Dungeon are   informed of these regulations beforehand.

Not signing a contract:

While it is permitted to enter   the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures without signing the Dungeon   Contract, we would like to remind you that doing so will set the dungeon to Hardcore   mode, increasing the difficulty of the dungeon for your group, as creatures,   tactics, effects, and other such things deemed excessive or detrimental to   the overall experience if put into general use will now be unlocked, and   available for dungeon creatures to use at will. In addition, it is advised   that you take the time to properly prepare supplies for your dive, as escaping   the dungeon while in Hardcore mode is only possible by defeating the final   boss of the dungeon, or through teleportation granted by one of the divine   entities enshrined within the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures.

Maximum group size:

While it is permitted to enter   the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures with any group size, please be   aware that many challenges scale in difficulty according to the number of   creatures in your party, including nonsapient animal companions. Because of   this, the maximum recommended group size is six sapients, with up to four   bound demons, animal companions, or similar supporting creatures. Entering   the dungeon with more than 10 sapients in a group will cause a stacking 10%   debuff to all attributes for each individual above 10 present in your party   upon entrance, lasting until you exit the dungeon, or the group size is reduced   to 10 or fewer sapients. With your current group size, this would bestow a   6900% reduction in all attributes for all party members. (Attributes cannot   be reduced below 1 in this manner.)

As always, the management here   at the Forbidden Chambers of Exotic Pleasures wish you an intoxicating dive,   and the best of luck.

Thank you,

Management

Halvar Telhan, her Crusader-Chaplain, frowned as he saw the message as well. Looking down at her, the knelfi priest sighed. “I am afraid that, under the circumstances, we will need to bow to the Demon’s will in this case. We are already going to be suffering thanks to the Anathema and this latest Dungeon Law. Obviously, signing the contract is not an option, but we will have to break into squads.”

Gritting her teeth, Belkis nodded. No matter how strong the Host was, such a penalty would be enough to reduce all their attributes to 1, making them universally weak and easy prey. There was no way that they would be able to get through the dungeon like that. “Fine! Have the Host break into squads, and go through in groups of ten.”

Sorting out the Golden Host into squads was accomplished quickly enough, as they were all well trained, and used to going into situations in squad strength, not as the full Host. Still, it was almost ten minutes before they were squared away, and ready to enter the dungeon. Looking at the Host, she said, “I will not lie to you, crusaders of Pofmis. The Demon’s actions have weakened us against his forces. But all I see are the actions of a desperate heretic trying to avoid judgement for his crimes!

“Even as squads, we are more than enough to end his reign and purge this place with the holy fire! Each squad will progress through the dungeon. Without the force of the full Host, do not concern yourself with the small players. Instead, our goal is to reach the Demon, slay him, and shatter the Dungeon Core. That will collapse the scattered instances into one, reuniting us, and purging the Demon from existence. Then, we can cleanse the rest of the dungeon.”

She paused, looking at those nearest to her. “Understood?”

As one, the Host answered, “Understood, Milady!”

“Then let’s move out.”

Dungeon Law

Welcome,   victims! You have chosen to enter the Dungeon’s domain without signing a   contract, thereby making you a threat to the dungeon. As such, normal   restrictions that were in place have been removed, and new restrictions have   been implemented. The following changes have been made to the dungeon as a   whole:

· Dungeon   Creatures will always appear at their full strength, rather than limiting   their level to that of the challengers.

· All   teleportation spells, effects, and powers are disabled, unless they are of   divine origin, and the user worships one of the entities enshrined in the   dungeon.

· All   methods of exiting the dungeon save by finishing the final floor and reaching   the exit have been disabled unless the Demon of the Dungeon allows it.

· Mana   regeneration is disabled outside of marked safe zones unless an entity is   wearing the symbol of Kuronoth, Demon of the Dungeon.

· Health   regeneration is disabled outside of marked safe zones except for during sex,   and for thirty minutes afterwards.

· All   challenges that were previously optional are now mandatory.

· Lethality   of traps has been increased.

· Other   changes may be instituted on a floor by floor basis.

Stepping through the portal with her command squad, Belkis was in no mood to play by the Demon’s games, especially when she saw the long list of rules governing this ‘hardcore mode’ of the dungeon. “Yardan, in front. The information we have says that the Demon loves his traps, so be watchful.”

The Riyran male moved forward, putting his skills to the test. Immediately, he sighed. “There is a trap here, multiple layers. Two mechanical, one magical. Have to disable all three simultaneously, I think. Or we can just trip the one that sprays the aphrodisiac gas, and cleanse quickly.”

Belkis nodded. All the members of the Golden Host were able to channel the divine might of the Chainbreaker to some degree, even if it was just in being able to cast the simplest healing or cleansing spells. It was a requirement of joining the Host, after all. Yardan, with his Divine Assassin class, was one of a few that could mix a rogue’s abilities with holy power. So, they were all more than capable of cleansing themselves in a pinch. Assuming they couldn’t fight off the low-tier drug naturally.

Yardan turned back to the string across the doorway, and broke it. Immediately, there was an explosion of gas, a mixture of pink and grey, which was Belkis’s first clue that something was wrong. After all, every report of the Demon’s ‘Enflaming Gas’ said that it was a pink mist, not pink and grey. Quickly, she checked her status for debuffs, and found two.

Enflaming Gas

You   have been affected by Enflaming Gas. Increased levels of lust and desire,   increasing further over time until you engage in sexual intercourse with   another creature.

Time   between increases: 2 min.

Magebane Poison

You   have been poisoned by Magebane Poison. This poison prevents the victim from   speaking, effectively removing their ability to cast spells without certain items   or training.

Duration:   5 min.

Belkis groaned, but made no sound with the action. The poison’s effects were relatively short-lived, of course, but combined with the stacking effect from the gas, it posed a potential problem. Without the relatively rare training to cast healing spells silently, without uttering a prayer to the Goddess, they had to use potions, but they only had a limited number of the poison and drug cleansing potions. Was it worth not dealing with two increases in the level of lust around her to drink one of the precious potions?

The Crusader-Champion shuddered as she felt a burning between her thighs, and was made acutely aware of her nipples hardening and pressing against the wraps that bound them. By the Goddess, this was only the beginning of the gas’s effects? If that was the case, then the answer on whether or not to use the potion was simple. Yes. Yes, it was.

Her squad was looking at her for orders, and she could see her thoughts mirrored in their eyes. It was only their battle-hardened discipline that kept them from acting, either to get a potion, or sate their desires. In the battle sign language that every crusader learned when they were an initiate, she signaled them to wait.

With a practiced motion, she dropped her hand to her potion belt, grabbing a cleansing potion and drinking it before she had a chance to reconsider, or give in to the heat in her loins. Drinking down the potion, she breathed a sigh of relief as the heat died down, and she found that she could speak. Calling upon the Chainbreaker’s might, she then cast an area cleansing spell, to remove the two effects from the rest of her party.

Shaking her head, she sighed. “All right. We’ve all gotten a taste of the Demon’s trickery. The silencing bit is new, but it shouldn’t be an issue, so long as we keep our heads, and don’t go taking on more than we ought to. Concerns?”

No one raised their hand. They all knew how things were. This was a holy quest, and they weren’t going to be thrown off because of little problems like this. Just like she trained them to be.

“Good. Move out.”

They moved as swiftly and carefully as they could, moving through the hallways. Thanks to Yardan and his second-tier trapfinding skills, they were able to move at what approached a walking pace, without worrying about traps. The slimes they met in the hallways would have been easy enough to dispatch under normal circumstances, but the effects of the debuffs, and the fact that the damage the slimes took was further reduced because their weapons were effectively nonmagical at the moment.

This was going to be much harder than they thought it would be.