Dungeon Chapter 7 (Patreon)

We pushed deeper into the bog for our first dungeon dive.

“This is excited we are actual adventurer’s now.” I couldn’t contain my excitement and had to share.

Desmonda flipped her hair. “Pay attention. The fog is trickier than you think it is. The boggarts can hide well in it, not to mention we don’t know if there are any traps.”

“It is exciting.” At least Charlotte was on my side.

A boggart came through the fog and I rushed forward as it lifted it’s arm.

Diving in, I cut at it’s chest with my sword, exposing it’s mana crystal and stabbing with my knife, shattering it and bounding back out of the smoke.

Des fired a shadow bolt over my shoulder hitting another boggart that had risen out of the bog. “Charlotte, send the bunny.”

“Bun-bun. Go!” The druid tossed her rabbit into the fray.

I took a moment to realize just how important Crimson’s advice had been. If I’d stayed in that smoke, I might have not seen the new monster coming.

My two partners took on the boggart in short order while I recovered.

Bun-bun playing her role and distracting the monster while Des finished it off with shadow blasts.

I looked at my CID, now with the inclusion of two more people in the party, it cut the experience in a third. Requiring three hundred boggarts to level.

The party helped keep me saver in the dungeon at the cost of expediency. Though, it was likely that I could solo parts of this first floor, it would be dangerous at my current abilities.

My encounters so far proved that much.

“Maybe we should speed this up.” Des picked up the loot from the two downed boggarts. “Can Bun-bun go attract more monsters while the three of us stay put and defeat them as they come?”

“What about the loot?” Charlotte asked frowning as Desmonda picked it all up.

“We all came in without any, right?” I asked already knowing the answer as they nodded. “Then I’m happy to pool all of what I pick up afterwards into a pile, we can split it up from there.”

“Reasonable.” Des nodded. “Can your rabbit do it?”

Charlotte wrinkled her nose and lifted Bun-bun up to her face. “Can you do that safely, Bun-bun? Bring a bunch of monsters to us?”

The rabbit let out a little cry and nodded its head before bounding out of her hands.

“You dote on that rabbit too much.” Desmonda said as soon as Bun-bun ran off. “You’ll replace it eventually.”

I half expected Charlotte to agree now that the rabbit was out of ear shot, but she surprised me.

“No. Don’t underestimate Bun-bun. I’ll feed it items from the dungeon and she’ll level with me. Besides, I don’t want a big scary bear or anything.” The green haired druid blushed.

“That’s expensive when you could just tame another. But those are your resources.” Desmonda raised her hand as Bun-bun ran back with a boggart following it. “Shadow bolt.”

I dashed forward, cutting into the boggart’s chest, but not revealing it’s crystal, stabbing it with my knife just for the damage and jumping back to dodge it’s swing.

Des fired off another two shadow bolts before I jumped back in.

“Another is coming.” Charlotte called out. “To your left Ken.”

“Finish this one then.” I ducked out of its next swing and took the approaching boggart like the others I tried to find it’s mana crystal but failed and ended up having to damage it.

“Move onto the next one.” Des shouted. “It’ll chase you and we can finish it.”

I nodded and shot past Charlotte as she swung her staff like a club at the boggart, and Des switched to her knife to help.

Like she said, the boggart that I had damaged, focused on me despite being hit by the girls.

The new one, I got lucky and got its crystal with the first swipe of my sword. Bounding out of the smoke I spotted another creeping up on the girls. “Behind you, Des.”

The warlock turned in time for another boggart and blocked it with her knife sending her skidding back.

“Heal.” Charlotte shouted and a soft green glow enveloped the warlock. “Ken, there’s more.”

I grit my teeth rushing to fight the new monsters that had appeared.

I take back what I thought earlier. Having a party was absolutely critical to success for us in the dungeon. Unless you completely out-leveled an area, I couldn’t imagine doing this on your own.

Not just fighting monsters, but the exhaustion that would creep in if I had to do all of this alone.

Everything fell into a strange monotony like when Grandpa made me jog for miles. One foot in front of the other, one swipe of my blades before the next.

I wasn’t sure how many we killed, but the bog around us was glittering with dropped loot after a time. “Phew. Let’s take a break and loot everything. Did either of you bring food?”

Both girls looked at each other before shaking their heads.

I sighed and pulled my duffel bag out of my CID. Grandma always slipped snacks into my bags.

Thankfully, she did this time too. It was just a single sandwich, but I tore it into three pieces. “Not a lot, but it’s all I have. Maybe next time we’ll know we are coming into a dungeon before we meet up.”

Des devoured her piece as if it was a task to complete. “We probably should just remain prepared. The CIDs can keep food good for a very long time. Longer than we’ll likely ever need.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Thank you.” Charlotte tore off a piece of her third and fed it to Bun-bun. “Say thank you to Ken, Bun-bun.”

The rabbit gave me a grudging squeak before nibbling on the sandwich.

I finished mine and started walking around the area picking up look. It was mostly the moss that could be used for potions, but every now and then there was a low grade piece of material.

“It’s an item!” Charlotte picked up what I thought was a stick, but stepping closer I lifted my CID to identify it.

The stick was a wand, a basic one at that.

“You should have it Des, it is a warlock weapon.” Charlotte offered it up to the warlock.

But Des frowned. “No. If I am feeling low on mana I can fight these guys with a knife. Let’s be honest, Charlotte, you suck at melee combat.”

The druid looked down at her feet. “Well, I’ll just have to practice.”

“Or stick to your strengths. Crimson forced us all into an uncomfortable situation to make us aware of our weaknesses and to make a point.” I said. “If you can, stick to your strengths. You have enough magic power that it’ll probably do more damage than your staff anyway.”

Charlotte held out the stick and concentrated a second before a small light shot out from it. “She held it close. Thanks you guys. This is our first piece of loot and I’m honored you let me have it.”

“It’s just a basic wand.” Desmonda rolled her eyes. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Bun-bun perked up and I thought she was going to chatter at Des, but instead her ears focused away from the group.

“Hear something, Bun-bun?” I asked the rabbit.

She turned and chittered at Charlotte.

“Someone screamed out there.” Charlotte repeated. “Should we go check it out?”

I nodded. “Yeah, if a classmate is in trouble we should help. This is just practice and there might have been people who were unprepared. Which way Bun-bun?”

The rabbit started hopping in a direction and checked to make sure we were following.

Back on the move, we had to defeat a few boggarts on the way, but at this point the level one monsters were simple for us to take on as a team.

We made it through the fog to see another group gathered under a tree.

Two of them were standing, while the third, was huddled on the ground clutching her stomach.

I recognized her as the bard from earlier who had used the bow. Harley was it?

“Hey, are you okay?” I stepped up to the fog to help the group out. Maybe they needed a healer.

“Stay out of this.” One of the girls that was standing snapped. “She deserves this.”

I wasn’t stupid, suddenly the situation was very different than I had expected. “Get lost you two. Didn’t you hear Crimson’s warning? Honor your teammates in the dungeon.”

The girl flipped hair out of her face. “You don’t get it. We are in the dungeon. The number one rule of the dungeon is that what happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon. This bitch seduced my boyfriend in highschool.” The brunette kicked Harley again. “Think I’d forget or forgive you for that shit?”

She spat on Harley. “Slut’s get cut.”

That’s when I realized there was a pool of blood forming beneath Harley and likely why she wasn’t getting up to defend herself.

I stepped forward, but Desmonda caught my shoulder.

“We have nothing to gain here.” The warlock eyed the situation. “If you fight them you need to be sure that you can win, otherwise you might be in the same position as Harley, or worse, you’ll but us in that position.”

There was a weight that her words put on my shoulders.

I couldn’t recklessly go help the pink haired bard. The thought of Charlotte getting knifed by them and ending up like Harley was a nightmare.

“Look. The CIDs we have record everything, not to mention Crimson is in this bog, if she sees this.” I warned the girls, hoping they’d back off and Charlotte could patch her up.

“Then what? These things only track general location and the mana we absorb from killing monsters. If the CIDs tracked killing in the dungeon that would set a cycle of revenge. Besides, I’m from the Gorean family. Crimson won’t do shit to me.” The girl stepped on Harley as if to prove a point as she ground the poor bard into the ground.

“Everyone here is someone. Don’t think you are the top of the food chain.” I warned her.

She snorted. “This is just a slut, nothing more and nothing less. Now get out of here so we can finish this.”

But I couldn’t bring myself to leave and just let one of my classmates murder another.

The Gorean girl, grabbed Harley’s hair and pulled her head up. “Tell them that you are a slut and that you deserve this.”

Harley’s face was emotionless, like she’d fallen to a new rock bottom as she stared up. “I deserve this.”

“Okay. I’ve changed my mind.” Desmonda clicked her tongue. “Ken you get Chatty and I’ll get her friend.”

“Charlotte, can you and Bun-bun get Harley clear and healed up?” I asked the druid who nodded firmly, her eyes set with a new determination.

I didn’t give warning, jerking forward and closing the distance on the girl standing on Harley.

She blocked my first attack and rolled to the ground to avoid my knife.

Though admittedly, I might have been a little slow on that strike.

I hesitated, killing a boggart was one thing, a student was another.

Besides, what if Crimson or even the headmistress used this as a reason to take action against me.

I slowed in my attacks and the girl saw the opening.

She stabbed in around my right guard. Her face a wide grin as she thought she had a killing blow.

I stepped back and pulled back my knife, taking the cut on my forearm, but that was better than my neck.

She was out for blood.

“Charlotte, do you have her?” I called behind me.

In just the quick exchange, our druid had Harley on an enlarged Bun-bun’s back. The bard was looking in better shape, no doubt after a heal from Charlotte.

“Let’s go, Des.” I swiped my foot in the bog kicking up water at my opponent and jumping back, grabbing Des and pulling her with me as Charlotte led us away.

“Get back here!”

“We should kill them.” Desmonda frowned at him, but kept up with Charlotte and her rabbit.

I shook my head. “Crimson’s warning wasn’t some idle threat. If we killed them, she very well might kill us.”

“You are too soft.” Desmonda said before throwing a shadow bolt off to the side, attracting a boggart to chase us.

That way hopefully it tangled with the two girls if they didn’t stop.

We ran for a solid fifteen minutes before Bun-bun shrank back down and Charlotte leaned against a tree to catch her breath.

Des and I were breathing heavy, but still in fine condition. “Let’s handle these.” She lifted her hand. “Shadow bolt.” The spell few out to the three boggarts that were still chasing us after our flight through the bog.

I rushed forward, catching the second one’s crystal in two blows and jumping on the back of the first thrusting my sword all the way through it and to it’s crystal before leaping off and working with Des to damage the third.

“Not bad for basically not having a class.” Des said. “Let’s deal with our newest member.” The warlock rounded on Harley who had pulled herself forward to lean against the tree. “Why did you lie back there?”

“Hmm?” Harley made a confused noise for giving a small chuckle. “Was I seen through so easily?”

“Lie?” I asked.

“She didn’t sleep with the girl’s boyfriend.” Des explained.

Harley ran her hand through her pink hair, which was a mess from laying in the bog. “Shit. Are you a lie detector?”

“No, you are just a shit liar.” Desmonda crouched down next to Harley. “I just don’t understand why you’d lie and let her leave you for dead.”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

I sat down but tried to stay vigilance. “Try us.”

“It was just a thing that got out of hand. I dated this guy just so people would stop gossiping and then let him brag about how he slept with me.” Harley pulled her knees up to her chest.

“But you didn’t sleep with him?” Charlotte asked.

“Eww. No.” Harley said quickly before an array of emotions crossed her face. “Look, it just got out of hand. He let some of his teammates lie too about how they were double teaming me and other weird things, but it made the gossip stop.”

I frowned trying to understand. “What gossip?”

“That she was a lesbian.” Des answered for her. “Right?”

Harley struggled with herself for a minute before letting out a sigh that held far too much weight for her small frame. “Yeah. I like girls.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” I said holding a hand out to her to help her up.

“If that’s who you are, then that’s who you are.” Desmonda said.

Charlotte shrugged and kept petting Bun-bun who looked worn out in her arms.

“That’s it?” Harley said sounding shocked. “I—“

“This isn’t some petty high school drama.” I took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “All I really care about is if you can dive a dungeon as a team. Harley, we are all putting our lives on the line in here, so what if you bat for the other team? I won’t be offended.”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish out of water before she hugged him. “I’m going to be the best wing woman you’ve ever fucking had.” She laughed and I felt awkward as her breasts pushed against me.

I tried to think of other things and not let their softness get to my head.

“I mean you and me are in fucking heaven here at Haylon.” Harley pulled away with a big grin. “So many hot girls. I mean you could make a badass adventuring harem from our class. You already have the start with a hot warlock and a cute little druid.”

“That’s not what’s happening.” I was quick to deny it.

“Look at him, he’s getting all flustered.” Harley laughed.

I just shook my head. What happened to the bard that looked like she was about ot give up on life. She bounced back so quickly with just a little acceptance.

That and he could probably use a friend to help him navigate the all girl school. One that had zero interest in him was probably for the best.

“Okay. Enough play. We need to get back at it.” Des pushed the excited Harley forward even as the bard pulled out a flute from her CID and started to show us a little of what she could do.