Dungeon from the Void - Book 4 - Chapter 15 - Unique Clearance (Patreon)

A new cover for Dungeon from the Void book 1.

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                                                                                        Fenrir

I watch with curiosity as the scy-wolf slowly progresses through the hall with its barrier covering the majority of it. Meanwhile, the dozen or so wolves in front of it continue moving forwards with the barrier at their back.

“I think this mini boss room design is working pretty well so far,” I say before glancing at Dawn, who is also watching the action and asking, “what about you?”

Dawn bobs up and down without taking her attention away from the intruders as she says, “I agree. Although the small tunnel does seem a little cramped for that number of wolves.”

I look back at the intruders again at her words before focusing on the big picture of the battle.

Yeah, guess she does have a point there.

But it’s even worse for the intruders, so it’s okay. For now, at least.

That aside, I focus on the mini boss itself.

I’m not really sure how the system itself works with a lot of things, but it’s incredibly confusing in regard to the mini boss and boss level jumps.

Technically, this mini boss is level 11. Which should make it Tier 2, but it doesn’t have the increased mana of a Tier 2 being. So I really don’t know what to make of it.

It’s almost like it’s just a Tier 1 being with a few extra Tier 1 levels of mana and overall power increase.

And it’s the same with the eighth floor mini boss as well.

It honestly makes me wonder if the lifeforce given to the monsters when making them a boss or mini boss is kept somewhere else; not actually in their real body, or not with the rest of the lifeforce they have.

Which makes some sense, considering that it would probably hurt to have a large chunk of your lifeforce ripped out of you just because you were demoted. But the monsters – particularly Fang, seeing as he’s the only one I’ve had move floors so far – don’t seem to feel any pain.

Anyways, putting the intrinsic details of how the system works aside for now, the party of intruders has slowly managed to take down most of the wolves whilst continuously being pushed back towards the wall by the mini boss. But they still haven’t managed to figure out a way around the barrier.

From my experiments using some goblins – rest in peace little goblins – the barrier continues forward no matter what is in its way, even if it’s a wall. But with people, or other living creatures in front of it and between the wall as it moves?

They end up going splat.

Which isn’t a very pretty sight to see, but it’s fine.

What works, works.

Although I do feel a little pity for the goblins I used as test subjects.

But these intruders?

No pity for them.

That said, it doesn’t look like they’re going to need it after all…

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                                                    The mini boss room of the ninth floor

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, this isn’t looking-” Elizabeth murmurs to herself as the group of intruders continue backing up towards the wall, near the location where the entrance used by the wolves once was before sealing itself back up. Before she can finish what she was saying, however, Sophia slaps her in the face and says, “Get it together!”

Meanwhile, Roland can be seen frowning from his place up close to the barrier as he tries and fails to hit it with his staff.

“Spells don’t do anything, and neither do physical attacks…” he mutters to himself before looking around the barrier at the very thin gaps between it and the wall. “And it doesn’t look like we have enough space anymore to attack around it.”

Roland then backs away from the barrier as the others continue either attacking it or trying to find a way out through possible hidden passages.

“If we can’t break or get around the barrier…” Roland continues muttering to himself before looking down at the ground and walls around him, taking a particular interest in the scratches and damage coating the walls from the battle so far, along with the spells cast.

Suddenly, his eyes go wide, and he turns to the others while the last of the wolf corpses is fading and shouts, “Aim your attacks at the ceiling in front of the monster!”

The rest of the group widens their eyes at his order as Elizabeth shouts, “Are you crazy! That’ll kill us!”

Sophia just hits her upside the head and says, “He wouldn’t have suggested it if he thought it would kill us. The dungeon itself should be sturdy enough that breaking a portion of the ceiling won’t bring it all down on us.”

“Which means…” she continues, her eyes going wide as she turns to look at Roland before nodding and focusing on the ceiling above the area right in front of the barrier.

Roland nods before focusing on that location as well, followed shortly by the others as each of them that has a powerful attack begins to ready it, with Elizabeth being the only one left without anything to do.

Right as the group is left with only a little less than a dozen meters of space between them and the wall, they all let loose their strongest attacks, with the Orc going first by throwing his axe, coated in a black energy, straight at the spot less than half a meter in front of the monster’s barrier.

The energy on the axe then travels through it into the ceiling, making little bits of it begin to deteriorate, with small amounts of rubble falling down to the ground. This is soon followed by a fireball spell from Roland, a light bomb from Sophia, and a pair of blue and red energy arcs from the twins; all of which end up causing the ceiling right in front of the mini boss to continue cracking until it all begins to fall down, right as the mini boss itself begins to travel underneath it.

The mini boss is completely crushed under the rubble, causing its barrier to fizzle out of existence along with it and its loud shriek of pain.

At the same time, the group of intruders hurriedly backs up the rest of the way to the wall so as to get out of the danger zone of the collapse.

After a few more seconds of rubble coming down, all that’s left in the area is a large pile of debris blocking the group’s way back, along with a lot of dust and smoke filling the air.

“Shit,” Roland says with a cough, “this isn’t good. If we can’t get out…”

As he’s saying this, the previously sealed off path behind them opens up, revealing the rest of the path to them.

Roland just turns around and blankly stares at the path for a few seconds as the smoke and dust begins to spread further into the path, clearing up their sight a little.

“That works,” Elizabeth says into the silence of the tunnel, prompting Roland to nod in response.

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