Previous | Table of Contents | Next
“This is it,” Alice said, taking in a deep breath as she stared up at a pair of white metal doors. The group had traveled down the mineshaft next to the cabin and arrived in a dimly lit lobby. According to the guards, crystals used to illuminate the room, but those had been harvested and sold. All that remained of the lobby’s previous splendor were a few pockmarks in the walls and ground, the only source of illumination coming from the sun above. “Are we ready?”
“Yep,” Tafel said, her hand on her staff. “Remember, we have to clear this in a week and a half to make it in time for Mary’s birthday party. If we manage to find something inside that looks like it’ll make a decent gift, we can have an extra day to explore.”
“I was under the impression you didn’t like Mary,” Mr. Skelly said as he adjusted his helmet.
“She sincerely invited me,” Tafel said. “I’m not going to not go just because I lost to her once. And she did give me some useful advice. Not only that, but I also feel a little bad for her. She was tortured as a child, you know?” Her gaze shifted onto Vur. He was fidgeting with his pants, his gaze locked onto the ground. “Is something wrong?”
Vur frowned. “I don’t want to wear pants.”
“…Feel free to open the door whenever you want,” Tafel said to Alice, her expression neutral.
Alice nodded. “I’m starting.” Her shield expanded to a tower shield, and she hid half her body behind it as she pressed against the center of the double doors with her free hand. They swung open without a sound, revealing a brilliant light that forced the party to shut their eyes from the sudden change. The room was a simple, carpet-less foyer with a man made of red liquid standing in the center. Behind the name, there was a set of stairs leading down.
The bloody man let out an unintelligible scream as it reached over and picked up a coatrack, thrusting it towards the party as if it were wielding a spear. Alice sucked in a deep breath as she angled her shield and charged forward to meet the attack, deflecting it to the side. She swung her shield out, blowing the coatrack away, exposing the red man’s chest to an attack. As if she had eyes on the back of her head, Alice leaned over, narrowly avoiding a fiery spear that brushed past her head and embedded itself into the man’s sternum, causing bubbles to propagate outwards towards its limbs from the heat. The flaming spear condensed into a small ball before exploding, blowing apart the fiery man and splattering blood everywhere.
Alice barely managed to hide behind her shield in time, avoiding the blood flying towards her face. She turned her head and glared at Tafel. “An explosion, really? Wouldn’t you normally freeze a monster if it’s made of liquid like a slime?”
“I’m a phoenix, not an ice dragon,” Tafel said as the glowing rune on her head dimmed. “Burning things is much more effective. I mean, it worked, right?” The blood spatters didn’t seem to be moving. She wasn’t sure what held the bloody man together, but whatever it was had been destroyed in the explosion. “How was that fiery spear into explosion that I’ve practiced over twenty thousand times?”
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing,” Alice said, rolling her eyes. “But as the party’s tank, I don’t like having to dodge and block my own party member’s attacks. Why can’t you be more like Vur? Look at how he’s contributing without inconveniencing everyone else.”
“What? What’s Vur doing?” Tafel asked, turning her head to face her husband. Four glowing balls of light were floating around him, radiating different colors that illuminated the backs of his party members.
“Sheryl said elementals can give everyone buffs if I stick mana inside of them like this,” Vur said, gesturing towards the four lights. “Sheryl gives stamina. Zilphy gives speed. Deedee gives defense. Mistle … I forget, but she does something. You didn’t notice?”
Tafel scratched her cheek. “I thought I was just in good condition today.”
“Vur, as an ocean elemental, I increase natural healing and mana regeneration,” Mistle said, speaking in a tone as if she were pouting.
“Whatever. I’m still better,” Zilphy said as she pushed aside the blue light floating near the brown one. “Stop getting so close to my husband. Can you stick this seductress back inside your body, Vur? Please?”
“She’s useful,” Vur said. “Why don’t you try to get along with her?”
“She’s a horrible roommate, that’s why,” Zilphy said, the green ball of light flashing twice.
“Shall we move on to the next room?” Alice asked. “It seems like the knights already looted everything of value in this place. That’ll probably be the case for the next rooms as well.”
“What about the coatrack?” Vur asked, pointing at the bloody man’s makeshift weapon that had fallen into a corner of the foyer.
“I’ll store it,” Tafel said as she walked over and stuffed the coatrack into a portal. “It feels like an ordinary coatrack though, nothing special about it.”
Alice snorted as she trudged through the bloody puddles that the previous fight had left behind. “Watch your step,” she said as she walked down the stairs, coming face to face with another door. “This one is supposed to use magic. I’m counting on you to counter whatever comes my way because blocking magic isn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world to do.”
“But you’re so good at it,” Mr. Skelly said with a smile.
“Aren’t I?” Alice asked, puffing her chest out. She chuckled to herself as she kicked the door to the next room, but instead of it swinging open, her leg bounced off.
“It’s a pull door, not a push,” Tafel said, staring at Alice with a lukewarm expression.
“Shut it; I knew that,” Alice said with a flushed face. She pulled the door open and wrinkled her nose as the smell of mold assaulted her senses. The room was green, completely covered in moss and algae. There was a toilet and a bathtub off to the side of the room, and a red woman was lying in the tub. The bloody person’s head turned towards the open door, and she shrieked while pulling the moldy curtain to the side, blocking off the party’s view. The next moment, ten bloody spears pierced through the curtain, surging towards Alice, curving towards her from all directions.
A wall of ice appeared in front of the guild master, and the spears froze upon contact. Alice furrowed her brow, turning her head towards Tafel. “I thought you weren’t an ice dragon.”
Tafel shrugged. “That doesn’t mean I can’t freeze things.” She gestured with her hand, and the wall of ice charged forwards, slamming into the side of the tub. However, a bloody hand reached through one of the holes in the curtain and pressed against the ice, causing it to vanish in an instant.
“Was that teleportation or null-magic?” Alice asked, crouching further beneath her shield.
Tafel made a face. “Null-magic.”
“Got it,” Alice said as she charged towards the broken tub. “If those knights could beat it with physical attacks, I don’t believe I can’t do the same.”
Vur tilted his head as Alice ripped aside the curtain and clashed against the bloody person. “Can I beat it up too?”
“No, you just stay there and support us,” Tafel said. “It won’t be a challenge for you.”
“This is kind of boring, huh?” Alora asked from behind Vur. She patted his shoulder. “I’m going to take a nap in the sun outside. Wake me up when you’re done.”
Mr. Skelly turned to watch the polymorphed dragon leave. Then he lifted his visor and grinned at Vur, who was making a face. “Don’t feel bad,” Mr. Skelly said. “Everyone has a role in this party. Alice is the tank. Tafel is the damage dealer and luggage bearer. You’re the support. And I’m the scout; though, I don’t have anything to do until we clear the third room. Did you know that the support is the most important role in the party?”
“It is?” Vur asked, his eyes lighting up. Sobs and wails came from the bathtub as Alice and Tafel smacked the poor red woman with their shield and sword.
“That’s right,” Mr. Skelly said. “Without the support, the tank won’t have the confidence to charge in. If the tank is unconfident, then the damage dealer won’t be able to do their job properly. Because you’re here, everyone can fight in their optimal condition without fear. You’re the pillar that holds this whole party together.”
Vur coughed twice as he brushed dust off the front of his pants. His chest swelled as he smiled. “Of course. It’s only natural for a dragon to take on the most important role.”
“You’re impressed too easily, Vur,” Stella said, poking her head out of the rose tattoo. “Don’t forget, as the most important person, you deserve the best loot from the dungeon. And if you don’t need the loot, feel free to give it to me. Your soul could use some more furniture. And I could use a weapon to rid myself of a pest called Mervin since you won’t do it.”
“Phew, this dungeon’s easy despite the fact that it’s a white-ranked one, don’t you think?” Alice asked before Vur could respond. She wiped away beads of blood and sweat from her face with a handkerchief. The red woman was lying in the tub, unmoving, the tub half-filled with red liquid even though it was empty before.
“We’re just getting started,” Tafel said. “Don’t relax. What if there’s a room with twenty of these things and half of them can cancel out magic and the other half is freakishly strong physically?”
“Well, that’s when we’ll rely on out awesome support, right?” Alice asked, smiling at Vur.
“That’s right,” Vur said and nodded. “I’m awesome.”
Tafel sighed and muttered, “Please stop inflating his ego.”