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Seeing the enemy charge her backline was probably the most nausea-inducing part of any given fight. It was understood that tanks couldn't lock down an opponent permanently, but Natalie would still blame herself if anything happened to her teammates. She hadn't ever expected to fill the tank role, but since that was the fate that had befallen her, she took her responsibilities seriously.
She was pleased to see that everyone was fine. Tired, of course, but fine. While difficult, the fight had been routine, as far as these things went. They'd dispatched the monster without real difficulty. Natalie wasn't sure if they could have done so even just a few days ago--not to the same level of competence, at least. Even the half-week each of them had been down in the dungeon, practicing each evening, was paying dividends. They were noticeably better than when they'd started. And better at operating as a unit, too. That was almost more important than individual skill.
"Now," Sofia said. "Time to find the loot."
Natalie snorted at that. Still panting from the fight, and Sofia was already suggesting they crawl across the arena to find their rewards? She seemed to be the one bringing their attention to that most often. No delver was immune to the excitement of shiny new items, but Sofia in particular had a glint in her eye whenever the potential for loot appeared.
Putting her hammer away, Natalie inspected the arena with the rest of her team. There weren't any chests just sitting around, so it would take some digging around to find their reward.
They'd arrived to the Wispwood, one of the less common first-floor zones. Most dungeon floors were enclosed spaces, as the Cave had been, but the Wispwood was the opposite: wide and open, a sprawling forest set under perpetual dusk.
Even the dungeon's open spaces were limited, though. The trees grew dense where the dungeon didn't want its delvers to venture, and attempts to push in those directions was generally unwise. Keeping to trails and clearings came with enough threats; the shadowed copses were best left unexplored.
As for how there was an open sky underground... well. Who knew? Whether the dungeon sprawled beneath the surface, or some stranger place between dimensions, was debatable. Portals did lead them in and out, so it was hard to say.
The miniboss clearing they'd recently finished their fight in was a glade encircled by tall, crooked trees with gray trunks and blue-green leaves. Cast under a night sky, their surroundings only illuminated by the clean white light of their lanterns, a rather ominous atmosphere hung around the Wispwood. She kept catching glimpses of elongated shadow-monsters running between tree trunks, but it was probably her mind playing tricks on her. Trying to track the shadows never yielded anything. Plus, there were real monsters to worry about--no point in concerning herself with the fake ones.
And even if they were real, that just meant more monster cores. Always a good thing, in her book.
The glade itself, where they'd fought the troll, was torn up from their battle. Ground lay ripped and cleaved into, the hulking beast's attacks and even movements tearing grass wherever it had rampaged. It had been by far the strongest encounter they'd faced--obviously, being their first mini-boss. It made Natalie hesitate, considering what a real boss would be like. Then again, Natalie only had a sore shoulder and slightly dented shield to remember this fight by, and that would be gone in minutes as Liz's lingering healing effects patched her up.
The loot was trickier to hunt down than usual. Sofia found it in a hollow log on the outskirts of the battle-worn arena. The way she scrunched up her nose and used her rapier to scrape away the dirt and bugs clinging to the decayed lock-box was so aggravating. Aggravatingly... not cute. Because really, what kind of delver cared about getting her hands dirty? She was even wearing gloves.
And Natalie really wished that awful word kept intruding. Cute. Why did it appear whenever Sofia did something... Sofia-ish?
"Let's see what we got," Sofia said, sounding pleased that she'd been the one to track the chest down. "Hopefully, this time it's something we can use."
3.22 - Lockbox Yield
The lock-box, smaller than a typical loot chest, creaked open. Jordan and Liz bumped into Natalie as they all crowded together, peering over Sofia's shoulder to see what was inside.
In pristine white gloves, Sofia held up their first spoils of war.
***
Potion of Intermittent Invisibility
Description
For three minutes, alternate between invisibility and significantly increased visibility. Effect swaps every twenty seconds.
***
The thin vial of clear liquid had bits of golden flakes suspended inside; they glinted from the illumination offered by their lanterns, flickering and disappearing as Sofia turned the vial left and right.
"Invisibility," Sofia said. "That's a stronger effect than I'd expect for our level."
"Only twenty seconds," Jordan said. "Useless in a fight."
While invisibility would, of course, be enormously useful in normal circumstances, it was rendered rather useless when the effect swapped to the opposite: increased visibility. By the sounds of it, if a damage-dealer took the potion to flank opponents easier, when they switched to the detrimental half of the potion, their movements would become even easier to see--and maybe the effect implied it would draw a monster's attention to them, making Natalie's job that much harder.
"But great for utility," Sofia said. "Making it through a hot zone, maybe. Sneaking a reward out. Something like that might be coming up."
The dungeon had a tendency to provide consumable rewards like this when a challenge suited to it was nearby. Not always, but often enough that over the centuries, a noticeable pattern had emerged.
And even if they didn't want to use it, it'd sell well. Invisibility, even short and alternating, was a better drop than they could've hoped for, being level one. Though the 'increased visibility' did make it far less valuable than if it'd been the real deal.
Sofia handed the vial to Liz. The healer would be the person least likely to be tumbling around, and therefore possibly damaging the potion. Not that dungeon potions shattered easily, but they were far from invulnerable, too. They wouldn't block a weapon blow, say, or even landing the wrong way on it.
The next item out barely fit inside the lock-box.
***
Phantom Quiver
Uncommon
Lv. 1
Effects
- Minor increase to Prowess.
- Phantom Arrows. Fabricate ghostly ammunition that deals minor additional magical damage and has a low chance to apply a disorientation effect.
Description
Crafted from shimmering blue-and-silver fabric with a long, sturdy strap for carrying.
***
It was their first uncommon.
The rarity of an item wasn't the ultimate deciding factor of how valuable or useful it would be, but it was a pretty solid one, especially when combined with the level requirement. The gaps between rarities were fairly significant. An uncommon, on average, sold for at least three times as much as a common, and likewise, a rare over an uncommon.
The higher rarities--epic, legendary, and divine treasures--were essentially impossible to find at lower levels, and especially at the beginner stage of level one. Triply so the last two rarities. Maybe there were a few epic pieces of loot floating around at level one, but probably only a couple across the entire world. The upper rarities were more typical at higher levels.
As for the item itself. A quiver. It wasn't the best piece of loot for their team. Jordan could handle herself with a bow, and was even quite skilled with it, but her class was a melee-focused poison one. She might receive more ranged abilities as she leveled, but that was only a maybe--and once she leveled, the quiver would become outdated. So, while a decent item for her, not a perfect one, or even especially great.
Sofia handed the item off to Jordan, probably making the same assumptions that it wasn't amazing on her, but even so, it belonged on the rogue. It wasn't like Sofia could use it, or anyone else. Maybe they would end up selling the item rather than using it on future delves, but for now, it would be wasteful for Jordan not to make use it in the interim.
Jordan inspected the quiver, running an eye over its design as she turned the item around. She removed her previous quiver, slung the new one over her shoulder, and shifted her shoulders side to side as if to test the weight. Finally, she reached back and activated the item, withdrawing a ghostly, silver-white arrow, the supernatural object materializing with her intent. Most artifacts responded intuitively; Jordan didn't have to spend much time puzzling out how to use it.
She nocked the arrow, lined her shot up, and released. It thudded into a far tree.
"Pretty nice," she said. "It's a shame I'm not an archer."
Which summed up everyone's thoughts.
They continued looting. This being a mini-boss encounter, there was more to pick through than just a potion and a single piece of equipment.
The next out was a bag, one of the more typical rewards from the dungeon: raw currency. Somehow, the bundle of coins ended up in Natalie's hands as Sofia continued to rummage.
Idly, she opened the bag, then picked out one of the silver coins and turned it back and forth. The front had a symbol of a scythe, and the back, a deer. Or... sort of. Some of the dungeon's artwork could be breathtaking--as the mural from their first delve--but some of it could be rather shoddy, as now. She could tell what the depictions were supposed to be, but they were crude, mis-proportioned and overall poorly made. The scythe was crooked in the shaft, and the deer's legs didn't seem quite right, even if she couldn't place why.
It hardly mattered, though. Silver was silver. Likely not all the way through, polluted by some lesser metal, and so the bag wasn't quite as valuable as a hefty bag of silver and bronze coins would normally be, but it would still fetch an impressive price.
Bags of currency and gems, among other raw valuables, were a common drop. Though not the pinnacle of what a person could receive--rare equipment being that--raw valuables were still welcome. They could be liquidated and traded for an item suited to your class. Especially when items could turn out as simply duds, neither fitted to the party's use or valuable to the market, raw coins were never a bad drop. Silver and gold wasn't going out of style any time soon.
She tossed the coin back into the bag, then tied the string. She tucked it into a pouch and returned her attention to Sofia rummaging through the loot chest.
***
Nature's Branch
Uncommon
Lv. 1
Effects
- Moderate increase to magical Furor.
- Nature's Blessing. Single target heals apply to friendly targets the splash effect, [Minor Rejuvenation].
Description
A gnarled wooden wand covered in moss and leaves. It emanates a gentle, earthy aroma, and is rough to the touch.
***
Natalie's eyebrows went up. There was an item suited to one of them.
"Oh," Liz said. "Neat."
She sounded sheepish rather than excited. Natalie understood; it could be awkward having such a great, personally-tailored item dropping for you, because the standard way teams worked was that items someone 'needed' went straight to them, without accounting for perfect distribution of delve earnings.
So, the fortune was almost entirely Liz's, not the team's.
Loot could be a tricky thing to navigate for some groups, but Natalie doubted anyone here cared overmuch about it. Jordan and Sofia just seemed intrigued by the item, and Ana--well, Ana was Ana. Maybe she was cared, maybe she didn't. Her expression didn't provide any hints.
Plus, gearing out the team's healer was never a bad thing. That applied to every role, but especially tanks and healers. Those two kept the rest alive.
Liz played around with the wand, testing it out, and when Sofia closed and opened the lock box one last time, it revealed an empty interior. Dried up--no more loot. With two uncommons, it had been a good yield, though nothing crazy.
Natalie was a bit disappointed she hadn't gotten anything herself, but that was the way of the dungeon. With a day and change of delving ahead of them, there were plenty of opportunities left.
3.23 - Others
They continued to work through the dungeon. For all of the labyrinth's infinite variance and complexity, it could be oddly formulaic, too. Fight monsters. Deal with puzzle rooms. Look for traps. Seek out hidden loot. The exact shape of each encounter changed--and often by a significant amount--but the overall structure was quite similar from run to run.
Their ultimate goal was to find a boss room. Beyond wanting an access way down to the second floor, bosses came with incredible loot--and a big boost to experience. However, they were found far away from 'spawn-in' points, and could take time to track down. Luck played a factor, as it always did in the dungeon. Or life in general. But with enough time and consistency, they would find one. It would just take more or less effort.
Their steady progress through the dungeon, seeking out a boss, was interrupted by something unexpected.
Other delvers.
The encounter happened rather suddenly. One moment they'd been progressing through the dirt pathways lined by thick vegetation of the Wispwood, then they'd turned a corner, and at the end of the long, twisting route, a formation of five armored individuals appeared, swinging around the far end and arriving to the junction at the same time as Natalie's group. As if by providence.
Likely, the dungeon had engineered the meet-up. Or, it could be a coincidence. You couldn't ever know for sure when it came to the dungeon.
Regardless, they had company.
Bumping into other delvers was rare. Not extraordinarily so, but far from common. Most delves, even long ones, a party wouldn't ever stumble onto another group. This was Natalie's first time having it happen, and at a guess, Ana and Liz's too.
Their nerves were immediately set on edge, and by the tensing posture from a good distance away, the other party of five, too.
The reasons why were obvious. Surviving the dungeon's monsters was difficult but feasible, but going up against an aggressive party of equally prepared delvers? The risk of a lethal encounter leveled out much closer to fifty-fifty than any reasonable person would be comfortable taking.
Especially because, if it turned out they were hostile, then coming out unscathed, without anyone being injured or killed, was shockingly difficult. Monsters were tough, but other delvers--entire parties of them--obviously much more so.
Killer parties--delvers hunting other delvers with lethal intent--weren't that rare, either. Rare, but not exceedingly so. Delvers were walking boxes of loot, from an enterprising and morality-lacking perspective. Wiping another squad meant five people worth of gear, and whatever loot they'd gathered from their delve so far. Even taking out a level-one party meant a major payday.
Strangely, the dungeon both encouraged and discouraged party-versus-party combat. Or maybe the system encouraged it, and the dungeon did the opposite. Because killing other delvers gave huge experience boosts--it was maybe the fastest way to level.
But oddly, the dungeon pushed back on that; killing other delvers was, in a similar but opposite vein, the quickest way to have the dungeon doing its best to kill you. In the best of cases, the dungeon wasn't friendly, but to parties actively seeking other delvers to kill? Natalie obviously didn't know first hand, but apparently, the dungeon turned into a hellscape. Doubly so for delvers who were overleveled, such as a party of level fives seeking out level threes. The dungeon would eat people like those alive.
All that said, robbing was more than on the table. One party pummeling another into submission, then stealing their gear and earnings, wouldn't bother the dungeon. Only killings. Which were less frequent but still happened.
Hence, why the two groups tensed at seeing each other.
For a long moment, there was an awkward stare-off.
"What's the plan?" Natalie asked, keeping an eye on the five individuals. From a distance, she couldn't make out many details. Three women and two men, at a guess, though the vanguard--the tank--wore enough heavy armor for it to ambiguous. His helmet obscured his, or her, face. By his tall and bulky figure, though, Natalie assumed a man.
"If they let us, we leave," Sofia said. "I'm not interested in... whatever." She frowned. "But I don't think that's going to be a choice we have."
Indeed, the opposing group had decided how they wanted to handle this much faster than them. They had started approaching. Notably, without sheathing their weapons. They didn't hold them up and at the ready, either, but not dis-arming themselves wasn't a great first indicator. At the same time, Natalie couldn't blame them. She had zero intentions of putting her weapon away, either. They at least didn't seem to be heading for them with hostile intent.
Retreating wasn't an option. Or, it was, but not a smart one. Fleeing into the unknown pathways of the dungeon--even pathways they'd cleared--could throw them into an encounter with a monster, only to have a charging enemy delving party crashing into their rear. It'd be a tactical disaster.
Better to face it head on. She took solace in the fact killer parties were rare, and in the more likely worst case scenario, they were simply in for a brutal fight where their attackers tried to rob them.
The average case would be a tense, uncomfortable greeting, then everyone going their way. Most people didn't want to deal with the headache of a party-versus-party fight. While lucrative, it caused problems with political and legal situations on the surface, and beyond that, was too risky from a immediate standpoint. Who knew how strong your opponents were? What if you lost? Even in the best case, you'd probably be dealing with a squad with their own set of serious injuries, even if you came out on top.
"Who goes there?" a masculine voice shouted. The man in heavy armor, the tank, was indeed a man, then. "Identify yourselves."
As the party came closer into view, Natalie's eyes widened in surprise.
Following to the tank's right, daggers held down but still ready, was a tall woman with long, bundled up red hair and sharp green eyes. Natalie didn't recognize her immediately, because she usually wore her hair straight, even during spars. But not, apparently, in the dungeon.
Elida.
Which made this group of five, likely, one of the few teams at Tenet who could flounce them. Not easily, but a fight would be close to a foregone result. Natalie understood why they hadn't hesitated to approach; as far as teams went, this one didn't need to fear much. Possibly even from a group higher level than them.
More importantly, Elida. Aligned with House Parda-Halt--bumping into Liz, of House Beaumon. Perhaps the most antagonistic relationship within all five major Houses.
Surely that wouldn't be causing any issues.
3.24 - Fortuitous
It technically wasn't the worst case scenario. That would have been a party hunting down enemy delving groups with intent to kill. Indeed, their opposition was a group of other Tenet students, so their literal safety--in the lethal sense--was assured. Maybe tensions between House Beaumon and Parda-Halt were high, but Natalie was ninety-nine percent sure that murder wasn't on the table. Especially since Liz wasn't that important inside House Beaumon. Though maybe that was worse for their situation. Natalie really wouldn't know. Politics.
