Chapter 42 42: Dungeon Crawling
After discovering an unconquered dungeon, me and my sister decided to explore it a bit. We are currently walking along the wide corridor as we wait for a monster to appear.
"Here comes the first challenger."
"A wild monster appeared!"
_____________________
Race: Goblin Elite
Condition: Normal
LV: 51
MP: 612
STR: 1220
DEF: 824
MAG: 488
MDEF: 736
AGI: 1016
Skill: Martial Art: 3, Sword Art: 2, Keen Smell
Magic Skill: [Elemental Magic: Fire: 2]
Resistance: Exhaustion Resistance, Fear Resistance, Pain Resistance, Hunger Nullification
Blessing: Dungeon Monster
_____________________
We walked for more than a hundred meters until we encounter our first monster in this dungeon. As we expect for a first floor, the monster that we encountered was an E-ranked Goblin Elite, an evolved Goblin.
Since it is an evolution, there are changes in it that differs to a Goblin. It is taller, around four feet, and bulkier. It equipped with leather armor and wielding an iron sword.
Unlike natural monsters outside, the monster inside the dungeons are produced by the dungeons itself. The Dungeon Monster blessing gave them fixed Level and restricted them not to fight with another Dungeon Monster. This blessing made them invulnerable to hunger and impossible to tame. Means there's no reason for them to fight each other, unless its territorial issues.
Monsters produced by dungeon sometimes had weapons and equipments like this Goblin Elite we are facing. But before the goblin raised its sword…
"Pew."
Splat.
Imitating the firing sound of a gun, a pointed my finger gun at the humanoid and silently casted a shot of Level 2 Water Bullet. The bullet flew fast and straight at the goblin. The goblin's head bursted like a watermelon scattering its contents to the walls.
"Can you be a bit more mindful with your surroundings? Its dirty blood almost came to a contact with my unblemished fair skin."
"I'll be more careful the next time."
Sister muttered her complaint about my attack as I am storing the iron sword and the corpse inside the Inventory. The goblin was just too squishy that it immediately explode after taking a shot of water.
(The blood didn't even reached a meter from you, you know?)
Since the first floor had a labyrinth structure, we just have to follow the path and to reach the end of the floor. We encounter and kill monsters along the way but they were so weak for us. It doesn't take us long to descend to the second floor.
"Hmph. Only weak monsters spawned in lower floors. Can you make a Portal or do Warp straight to the exit?"
"I'll try if possible."
After slicing a Level 52 Goblin Elite head to crouch, Sister suggested a direct transfer to the floor exit. The last time I entered a dungeon was like three years ago. That time I am not proficient with teleportation magic spells so I didn't have a opportunity to use it inside a dungeon.
As Sister suggested, I widened my Omnidirectional Perception up to the exit and send my Clairvoyance there. After talking a screenshot of the stairway, I hold Sister's hand and tried to cast a teleportation spell.
"Warp."
The walls were still dark grey but our position definitely changed.
"Oh. It works."
Seeing the stairs nearby, I concluded that teleportation is still working inside the dungeon. We passed the stairs and successfully finished the second floor.
"Do the teleportation again, Raphael. I don't want to play with these weaklings."
"Yes, ma'am."
As Sister ordered, I did the same thing as before as teleported ourselves to the exit of the floor. We cannot just waste our limited time killing some low-leveled monsters. So low that it almost add no EXP in our Level bar.
We continue to teleport to ignore weak monsters until we reached the tenth floor of the dungeon. But instead of dark grey narrow walls, a wide open space unfolded in front of our eyes.
"I've been into the tenth floors of some dungeons… But no matter how many times I see this floors, I couldn't help but think how wonderful and mysterious dungeons are."
"Indeed. I don't even sure if we're still underground."
We are under the surface right now, but the scenery in front of us was like in the outside world. Grassy plains, bright sky, white clouds, and the 4 o'clock sun.
Dungeons had day and night system that follows the sun just above the ground. Seasons also existed inside the dungeons, like these deciduous trees of this floor.
From the first floor to the ninth, the area only had a diameter of two kilometers, but this perfect circle dungeon tenth floor had a diameter of twenty kilometers. It's surrounded by three-kilometer high of pitch-black stone walls.
I tried to ascend my Clairvoyance to the sky but was stopped by an unseen force when it reaches the altitude of the walls. To make sure if there's a barrier above, I pointed a finger to the sky and casted a very sharp Level 7 Compound Magic: Obsidian Bullet to discover it was also blocked.
"Same as other dungeons, seems like no one can break or pass that invisible invincible barrier above."
"Even our parents' Divine Arts, Absolute Severance and World Magic cannot dent or make a scratch on that barrier and those pitch-black walls." we discussed as we looked up at the sky.
Absolute Severance can cut basically everything and could only be blocked if the DEF stat of the Ultimate Art user is higher than the attacker. So if dungeons are Ultimate Art users, it had absurdly high DEF stats that rendered Midnight (100% stat boost from the Monarch of the Night) Mother's Absolute Severance useless.
"I want to survey the entire floor. Take my hand, I will teleport at the center."
"Okay." Sister took my offered left hand and immediately cast Warp.
Arrived at the center of the floor, I opened my Omnidirectional Perception that covering the entire floor.
(As expected, those black walls blocked my detection again.)
From what I've perceived, the whole Floor had a cylindrical shape like a tuna can. Radius of ten kilometers with the height of five kilometers. The earth filled two kilometers or forty percent of the floor's volume.
Every ten floors of a dungeon are called Safe Areas. These floors are in plain terrain and void of monster infestation. There's even a crystal clear lake for clean water source. Some dungeons have towns constructed inside Safe Areas.
"Hold me again. We will move to the Domain Guardian Room."
"Okay." this time, Sister put her hands over my shoulders from behind.
The reason for its certainty is for the adventurers to prepare their upcoming battle with the Domain Guardian located on the same floor.
At the furthermost end of the floor, there's a quadrilateral room where the Domain Guardian guarded the passageway to access the lower floors. This place is where we are going to enter.
"We're here. The entrance of the chamber of this dungeon's first Domain Guardian."
With our footgear on the grassy surface, we teleported in front of the doors of the Domain Guardian Room. We cannot go further if we don't pass this room first.
"Let's go."
We placed our palms against the cold metal doors and push it inside. The doors made mild creaks as we keep pivoting its hinges.
Unlike the large dungeon gate, the doors of this room are smaller, lighter and easier to open. The metal is still the same with the golden-black gate, indicating its rock hard durability.
As we opened the doors enough for us to pass through, we entered the room with expectations painted on our faces. The doors slowly closed as we're inside the room and saw a lone monster standing in the middle.
"So that's this floor's Domain Guardian."
_____________________
Race: Redcap Goblin
Title: Unnamed Dungeon 10th Floor Domain Guardian
Condition: Dormant
LV: 100
MP: 800
STR: 3000
DEF: 1000
MAG: 600
MDEF: 1000
AGI: 3200
Skill: Martial Art: 3, Dagger Art: 5, Enhanced Senses, Detection, Weakness Finder, Danger Detection
Magic Skill: [Elemental Magic: Fire: 2, Wind: 2]
Resistance: Exhaustion Resistance, Fear Resistance, Pain Resistance, Hunger Nullification
Blessing: Dungeon Monster
_____________________
The Domain Guardian of the level was a D-ranked Redcap Goblin, an evolution of the Goblin Elite that we fought earlier. They had the same height as the Goblin Elite but this one was slimmer.
This goblin wore light armor and an iron dagger in each hand. A red cap covered its green bald head that made everyone know its race at first glance.
Redcaps had different fighting style compared to its predecessors like the Goblin and the Goblin Elite. While Goblins and Goblin Elites had various types of capabilities, Redcaps focused on one type of ability. The Redcap in front of us was a rogue type and specialized in daggers if you look at its stats, skills, and gears.
Since this Redcap was a Domain Guardian, it's just standing straight in the middle of the room, asleep, while folding its arms.
Shut.
"…"
After the doors completely shut, the goblin finally opened its sharp eyes for the first time after the long time of dormancy. It stared at us for a while before it starts brandishing its daggers.
The fight with a Domain Guardian started when the doors shut. The doors will automatically close in a slow manner as the challengers stepped in. The slow closing gives time for the challengers to determine the strategies to defeat the Guardian.
The room is closed with no other way to escape aside from defeating this goblin first. The room is quite spacious, measuring a hundred meters at all sides. Wide enough for us to have a decent fight.
"Wanna fight it with our Limiter activate?"
"Good idea. Fighting a skilled humanoid monster is a rare opportunity. It would be boring if we're overpowering it. Let's have to be fair." she replied as we unsheathing our blades.