Book 3: Chapter 24: Dungeon Gate (pt.1)
Chapter 24: Dungeon Gate
Everyone stood facing the massive stone doors, the arc of half-rotten offerings spread before them. For a long time, no one spoke.
At last, it was Selka who spoke up. She sounded flat but edged with incredulity. “You’re all looking at it like it’s a gift from the gods,” she said. “But you didn’t learn from the from your past experiences? This Dark Den, you’ve mentioned? You don’t just walk into a dungeon blind. That’s suicide.”
Rynel folded his arms. “She’s right. First-entry dives are worth more than the dungeon points. The information that pioneer dungeon divers come back with… Information is what guilds pay for; Maps, Layouts, Monster types, Weaknesses, Traps. That’s the real currency. People die in droves when they charge into a dungeon without it.”
"What, but the System won't let you tell people what's in a dungeon if they haven't been in it." Alex said. He knew that for a fact, he had tried with the Dark Den.
"There are ways around things. After thousands of years, people come up with work-arounds. You know that don't you?" Sarson said. "Info is the money maker, because dungeons are dangerous, and knowledge is power."
“Maybe,” Kate countered. “But power is also power, plain and simple. And, people also grow fast. There’s no better opportunity than this. Dungeon points, loot, cores, cultivation treasures, you think the villagers left this alone for generations because it wasn’t valuable?” She jabbed a finger toward the offerings. “They fear it because they’re weak. We’re not.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed. “Or they fear it because it’s something different. Something worse than the usual System Dungeon? Terrified villagers don’t make offerings to just anything. They’re trying to appease it, maybe?”
That made the group fall quiet again. The wind seemed to sigh across the ridge, and Alex felt a ripple through the aether, like the doors themselves were listening to them argue.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged, though the grin never left his face. “Either way, it’s not going anywhere. Opportunity like this doesn’t fall into your lap twice. We came all this way, we’d be idiots not to at least prepare to go in.”
“Prepare how?” Devon piped up. He glanced uneasily at the looming archway, then at the offerings, like he half-expected the food to start crawling with maggots and undead to start pouring out of the gate. “We don’t know what’s inside. We don’t know what kind of element it favors, what monsters spawn in it, how deep it is, how many floors—”
“Exactly,” Selka cut him off. “That’s why you don’t just dive in.”
Sarson scratched at his beard, his tone more lax than before. “Standard protocol for a fresh dungeon would be: a stockpile of potions, plenty of curatives, talismans, spell tablets, escape tokens if you can afford ‘em. And at least a week of conditioning. You train your formations, sharpen your timing, drill your teamwork until it’s second nature. First-entry isn’t a simple gamble you take, it needs to be a sure thing, as sure as you can get anyway.”
Alex’s brows lifted. “Funny, nobody told me that last time, yet here I am.”
“Because last time,” Allie snapped backed, “you got lucky. Walking into the Dark Den without prep was insane.”
Obby chuckled dryly in Alex’s head. “Finally, someone said it out loud. You got lucky, because you had me, though.”
“Well, I didn’t really have a choice at the time did I?” Alex scoffed.
The argument spun back and forth, tension drawing tight as a bowstring. Kate and Ghrukk both wanted in immediately, hungering for the rewards. Selka, Rynel, and Sarson argued for caution, hammering protocol into the dirt with every word. Because Rynel was on that side, Cole took it as well, backing up the archer’s every argument. Meanwhile, Devon looked like he’d rather be back at the caravan. Even Garret, usually the first to leap into danger, looked uncertain.
Eventually, Eric raised a hand, he spoke strongly with an air of command. “Enough. We’re not charging in tonight. Not tomorrow, either. We can take some time, push our cultivation, hone our skills. Restock everything we can. When we’re sharp, when we’re stocked, then we’ll decide if this dungeon’s worth bleeding for.”
That seemed to settle it, if only barely. A compromise, but one most could live with.
Alex rocked back on his heels, eyes locked on the massive stone arch. His [Aether Sight] still burned with the vision of that perfect, ordered rhythm of energy pulsing from within. The heartbeat of something vast, waiting for them to step close enough.
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He couldn’t help the thrill that tightened his chest. That tingle of anticipation he got before every mad surgery he performed on his body, each crazy ritual, each push of his attributes over a threshold into another tribulation. He was addicted to the thrill of overcoming the roadblocks between himself and more power. This dungeon was no different. Whatever was inside, it would hold the potential to change them.
And Alex Pierce had no intention of walking away from that.
“Its decided then?” Eric finally asked. He got a smattering of nods and verbal confirmations.
Then Alex’s vision pinged with a new notification. He brought it up quickly, curious by what the Heavenly System decided to bless them with this time.
Hidden Quest Complete! Secrets of the Mountain:
The villagers around the area are skittish and weird, like angry forum-board users, they seem to want you out of their space, and fast. Find out what has their basement all in a twist.
You have discovered the reason for the villager’s strange behavior. Turns out they were hiding a Dungeon away in the mountains and trying to keep it all for themselves. Luckily for you, you are a nosey little fucker and don’t know the meaning of “minding your own”.
+5,000 Experience
+ Access to New System Dungeon
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