A Dungeon’s Survival

Cameron

Adventurers Through the Ages was a book that told of prominent individuals and battles throughout history. It spoke of people who had risen to prominence, things the average person in the profession would have faced in different time periods, and common trends observed among other things. One thing that had stood out to me while reading it was the mortality rate of berserkers. Their life expectancy was the single lowest out of any known class.

That was because of something the author had referred to as the precipice of madness. There seemed to exist various classes that directly impacted the mental state of those who had them. Those classes were rare and disproportionately powerful, but they all came at a cost. They tugged at individuals, constantly pushing them to act in certain ways.

They accomplished this through various means. Some inflicted those who had them with an insatiable hunger. Some reflected ideals that needed to be upheld to get the most out of them. Others were more straightforward than that. The Berserker class was a perfect example of the third case. It came with an ability that directly influenced the individual's mind.

Anyone with a berserker type class was inflicted with an inextinguishable spark of anger that they felt at any given moment. It clouded their judgment and impaired their ability to properly assess risks. Inevitably, a time came for nearly everyone who took it. At some point, they found themselves biting off more than they could chew. Worse, their inner fury made it impossible for them to realize it until it was too late, and even then, it was usually enough to also take the option of retreating off the table.

In spite of that, the book told of several prominent berserkers that had overcome the downsides of their classes. They all had one of two things in common. Either they practiced meditation and seized control of their emotions back from the power that clouded their minds, using it as a tool rather than letting it use them; they were the ones who stood on the precipice of madness, or they slid down that slippery slope and gave in to it. The ones who did that were far more terrifying. They only survived because they were too powerful to die.

Berserkers grew stronger the more they gave in to their anger. A calm berserker was as useless as they were improbable. One who properly managed their anger was a force to be reckoned with, and one who gave into it in full was nothing more than a rampaging monster that brought calamity with them wherever they went. From the looks of it alone, it was clear that I was dealing with one who had gone off the deep end, and if I'd learned anything from the book's accounts of berserkers and the way they were treated as disposable weapons of war by nations worldwide, it was that, up until the moment their lives came to an end, anything that stood in their way was bound to be reduced to dust.

Seeing such a beast before me, I wasted no time in ordering a retreat from the Horned Dracos in the hallway and taking command of the Bloodthorn Vines. By the time I was in a state that could loosely be called ready, the Berserker was already barreling down the passage, through the Crystal Puffers as though they weren't even there, and into the room where I intended to make my stand. It was now or never.

Vines shot up from the holes in the ground as I commanded my monster to crush her. She'd faced my boss before, so there was no point in trying to maintain the element of surprise. Instead, my goal was simply to end the fight as soon as possible. It quickly became evident that that was going to be harder than it sounded.

Despite their bolstered numbers and the eight points I'd added to their agility when I'd leveled them up, my vines moved far too slowly. One came from above, two from the side, and another came from the opposite direction. A moment later, all of the attacking vines were being shredded by a whirlwind of wild slashes. I wasn't even entirely sure if the display before me was the result of an ability or not. It was entirely possible the woman was just that fast. She was a walking disaster, and I needed to stop her before it was too late.

Go, I ordered one of the dracos.

It swooped in from above and aimed itself for her blade. All it would take was for it to redirect a single attack back at her for this mess to be over, or at least, that's what I'd been thinking. In actuality, as soon as the woman spotted and swung her blade at it, even though it activated Velocity Transference in time, it wasn't enough.

The blade sliced the monster apart, almost imperceptible in the way it slowed as it connected from the ability trying her redirect her strike. Then, that was that. Her weapon had been moving faster and with more force than the flying lizard had been. She had overpowered it with ease. I shuddered internally.

This is going to be a problem.

I paused for a moment as I frantically searched for an answer. None came to be, so I reached out for help.

Hey, Fabe, I know you're still at the council, but really quickly, I don't suppose you'd have a good way to counter an overpowered berserker, would you?

A moment later, I got a response, “What!?”

Really quickly, I repeated.

“Magic,” he replied, “Berserkers don't get any free attribute points. They can still have a decent COM from before they get the class, but they can't raise it afterward, and their Rage ability doesn't impact their magic resistance.”

Thanks!

“Cameron, what's going on?”

Sorry, no time to talk. Bye!

“Cameron? Cameron!”

Unwilling to have his voice distracting me in my head as I desperately tried to get myself out of the situation I found myself in, I clearly stated, “I need to concentrate right now. Sorry, I'll talk to you later.”

With those words, I felt our mental connection snap shut as I unintentionally invoked the part of our pact that allowed us to request privacy from each other when we needed it. I made no move to remedy that. My attention was already back on the fight at hand. I needed to move and start issuing commands immediately.

Vie, Pee, hang back. She might be weak to magic. I need you to be ready to take advantage of any opening you can get. Archie, potions. Get anything useful from your lab, preferably the dangerous ones, and bring them over to the pit. Lizard Men, you're in charge of throwing them.

“Blurb?” my thoughts came to a sudden halt as Prism asked for their orders.

Uh, I grasped for something that the level three slime could help with before giving up and saying, Hang back and get ready to eat. I'm not sure which element would be best for you to take on here, so just wait for now. I'll make the call once I've gotten a better feel for the situation.

The blob gurgled discontentedly but did as I said. Next, I turned my attention to Adraugon and the Horned Dracos. I only spent a moment thinking about how they could best be used before dismissing the idea. There was someone else who could answer that question that far better than I could.

Horned Dracos, follow Adraugon's orders.

With that taken care of, I resumed controlling the Bloodthorn Vines. Their tendrils were already in tatters, and the woman was fast approaching. I did not like how one-sided this fight was looking so far.

* * *

Lawrence

I panted, out of breath as we approached the cave's entrance.

“You really need to invest in some stamina,” Autumn's words struck me like a giant rock-colored vine.

“Uh, right,” I stammered out as I could feel my face heating up, “but that would mean less points in my magical stats.”

“Endurance also makes you sturdier. All the magic power in the world isn't going to do you much good if a stray attack is enough to put you down.”

I opened my mouth but found myself without a response. Then, words broke me from my stupor.

“Get your heads on straight, guys,” Lance ordered, “Monsters are naturally attracted to Dungeons. If there's something powerful causing this horde, it's likely to come here.”

“Then, why isn't Flur with us,” Dan questioned, “and what about the branch head and old man Gyle for that matter?”

Lance sighed before saying, “They're needed in town. If something too strong shows up, we'll aim to escape. Protecting the Dungeon isn't worth our lives, but we still need to be prepared.”

“What? Escape? We can't just leave it behind to get destroyed!” I shouted before I could even register the words flowing from my mouth.

“If that happens …,” I choked out the last bit, unable to bring myself to finish the sentence.

My mentor, the man who had taken me in when I had nowhere else to go and given me the tools I needed to forge a path for myself in this cruel world, desperately needed this Dungeon. I wasn't sure why or what he needed it for, but it didn't matter. I'd never seen him desperate for anything before it showed up, but now, that had changed, and so had he.

Whereas he was cold, cynical, and, in large part, apathetic to the world at large before, almost as if he was just waiting around for the hands of death to finally catch up to him, ever since it had shown up, there was life in him again, hope. It made me so incredibly happy to see. At long last, by helping him, I was able to repay the slightest bit of the care and kindness he had shown to me over the years. That was why, even if it cost me my life, I couldn't let anything happen to this Dungeon. I owed him far more than that; I owed him everything, so I couldn't let it be lost under any circumstances.

“We wouldn't be letting it get destroyed,” the swordsman refuted me, “Between those mutant Bloodthorn Vines, the green Horned Draco, and the two-headed snake, this Dungeon is far better equipped to defend itself than we are. Also, unless whatever is responsible for this horde can either fly or climb as well as Flur can, it won't be getting up that hole on the second floor. All we need to do is limit the monsters making it in–”

He paused to raise his blade and strike down a bird monster that was swooping toward the entrance. Afterword, he shook the monster's blood from his weapon and added, “especially the flying ones.”

“Right,” I found myself agreeing halfheartedly as I took in my surrounds in full for the first time since arriving.

The forest was a mess of frantic monsters. Gummy Caterpillars, Carrier Rats, and other weak, local monsters were everywhere. Most of them looked to be insignificant threats, but some were much larger than the others, probably at or approaching level ten. Individually, they were weak, but with how many of them there were, they were a serious threat, if not to Lance, then to my other party members and myself. Also, there was always a chance that there was something stronger around, and we just hadn't seen it yet.

Swallowing down my fears and apprehension, I raised my staff and took up position behind the others. Normally, my healing and alchemical concoctions were useful and helped after a fight, but they were rarely crucial during one. It looked like that wouldn't be the case in this situation, though. If I wasn't at the top of my game, the diseases and negative effects the monsters present utilized would debilitate my allies. I couldn't let that happen.

“Well, then, let's get started,” our surrogate leader said.