A Dungeon’s Survival

Connie

Wait. What?

I could not, for the life of me, figure out how Prism was still alive. The shocking sight of the Hero landing a direct hit on their core only for it to launch away harmlessly like a struck golf ball had been enough to utterly baffle me. I stared at the spot it landed, cracks spreading over it from where it had impacted against the wall, not from the literal blade that had sent it there. I was so transfixed on it that I almost missed Archie knocking the Hero off his feet.

“What is it, master?” Loot's voice rang in my head, concern clearly evident.

Um, Prism's alive? I explained lamely, That should've killed them, but they're perfectly fine and regenerating now.

“Is that an issue?” my familiar asked.

No? I answered uncertainly, At least, I don't think so? It is strange, though. Hmm, maybe I should give their abilities another look, just in case I'm missing something.

“Very well.”

I returned my attention to the fight at hand after that, bringing up the slime's status screen as I did. It was actually kind of impressive how quickly my three elites had managed to turn the tables on the Hero. I hadn't been expecting Stein's attack to be anywhere near as effective as it was. I was definitely going to need to rethink my usage of Mandrakes going forward if a copied Soul Shriek could prove so devastating, but that was a problem for later. With my remaining mana reserves totaling only a couple of points, it wasn't as though I'd be summoning another plant monster for the Mimicry Ghoul to copy an ability from anytime soon anyway. Besides, I had more important things to consider.

Mana Sense? No chance. Slime Body? Maybe? Mana Digestion and Elemental Shift? I mean, I doubt it, but possibly? Other than that, though, Segmented Mana Pool is the only ability they have, and it's currently locked behind restricted levels, so obviously, that can't be it.

While I was busy trying to make sense of Prism's survival in the hopes of finding a new advantage I could leverage, the fight continued all the same. Sean had been quick to recover, and it took him little time once he had to pay Archie back for the surprise attack he'd landed on him. In a single motion, the man both disarmed the Trenti my alchemist was controlling and sent him stumbling. A moment later, with a well-placed kick to the chest, the mushroom goblin went airborne.

Ouch! I exclaimed at the sight.

It was a good thing the pain experienced by the Trentis under his control didn't seem to bother Archie much because his current mindless proxy had to be in anguish right about now. Another hit like that and–

[Your Trenti (Level 3) was slain! 87 experience gained.]

Oh …

Before I could even finish the thought, the eventuality I'd been expecting came to pass. I was by no means surprised that it had, but that didn't make the sight any prettier.

“My apologies, mistress,” Archie's voice came soon after the body he'd been controlling was felled by the Hero in a manner that would've been more appropriate coming from a lumberjack with an axe than the swordsman with his blade, “It would seem that my proxy has fallen.”

Eh, it is what it is, I waved his concerns away as soon as I was able to tear my vision from the gruesome sight, How long until they're in position, anyway?

At the end of the day, Archie was no fighter. He could fill the role in a pinch, but I'd known better than to expect him to be able to punch above his level in the same way some of my other elites could. Still, he'd been an extra body where it was needed, landed a solid blow on the Hero, and acted as a diversion for the others. That was more than enough. Now that he was done with that job, however, it was time for him to go back to handling the things he was better at.

“They're already in place,” he promptly answered my question, “We can begin at your signal.”

Perfect!

It was clear that, while we had managed to seize the upper hand momentarily, the tides of battle were quickly shifting back to the Hero's favor. Even as I spoke to Archie, Stein was struggling to buy every second that he could against the man. I still couldn't tell if having him drop his mimicked Intimidation skill in favor of copying the Hero's Swordsmanship had been the right call, but after their first exchange, it had become abundantly clear that the ghoul couldn't keep up without it. Copying it at least leveled the playing field to a certain extent.

With his adversary's techniques turned against him, Stein had actually managed to deflect a strike or two from his opponent's blade. Sadly, a single improved skill was far from enough to solve everything. After the initial exchange, my awakened monster was quickly forced onto the back foot. A few additional strikes later, he was disarmed once more and forced to retreat. It wasn't hard to figure out the problem.

I'd gotten too complacent in the way I always resorted to using variations of the same modifications I'd already come up with. In most situations, it was more than enough to suit my needs, but there were still gaps in my knowledge. Increasing a monster's DEX was one such gap, one in which all of the speed and technique the ghoul could muster wouldn't be able to fully compensate for.

So far, I'd gotten away with prioritizing certain stats I considered to be the most useful. AGI, STR, END, and SOUL, I knew how to emphasize them efficiently, and by specializing my monsters in those few key attributes, I'd managed to get by while keeping costs down so far. For a while, that had worked exceptionally well, but as I was steadily being forced to deal with greater and greater threats, the downsides of doing so were becoming as clear as day. Each and every shortcoming was a weakness, and weaknesses couldn't be afforded against such powerful opponents.

The agility stat did a lot for a person. It allowed them to move faster and increased their reaction speed. What it didn't do was improve the accuracy of their attacks or their physical control. DEX was what governed a being's precise manipulation of their own body, and without a sufficiently high value in the stat, no one could hope to hold their own in a sword fight against someone of sufficient competence, especially when that individual was physically stronger than them. This was the consequence of my failures, and without a standardized method of increasing DEX through Monster Customization, this scene was the only result that could've been.

Do it!

Those shortcomings were another thing I was going to need to consider deeply once all of this was over, but for now, rather than through overwhelming power, I had other means I could rely on. Playing fair had never been what got me results in this world anyway, and as Archie had just informed me, all of the necessary preparations for our final trap were in place. If we couldn't match the Hero in outright power, we'd best him with trickery.

Now, as for Slime Body …

I returned my attention to Prism's status sheet as I handed things over to the rest of my forces as Archie relayed my order. This was my home, and like every part of it, I'd meticulously carved out the entirety of my new room with intent. The terms of battle here were mine to decide, and I wasn't about to concede that right to anyone.

* * *

Sean

I had no intention of allowing the undead to reclaim its sword this time around. As soon as I managed to force a retreat from it, I took the chance to sheath my own blade in favor of the monster's. Its quality was noticeably worse, but if that meant depriving my enemy of their weapon, that was a small price to pay.

As soon as I turned the low-quality weapon's point toward its former wielder, I fell right back into a guard stance. Without letting the greater threat out of my sight, I shifted my position so that I could also see the spot where the slime had landed. In the brief moment I'd taken my eyes off of it, it had disappeared once more.

Tensely, I scanned my surroundings again and a step toward the walking corpse. I was hyperaware of every blind spot in my vicinity. If that slime popped back up, I wanted to know before it began suffocating me again. That was the only reason I noticed it. In the corner of my peripheral vision, something was soaring my way. Before I could identify what it was, I was already swinging for it.

For the second time since entering this place, my reflexes were turned against me as the object I struck shattered, showering me with more of that vile, black fluid. It was just like those birds that had assailed us in the bog area. This time, however, it hadn't been a monster I'd struck. It had been a glass vial.

There!

I wasted no time in tracing the projectile's path back to its source. Near the ceiling of the room, there were holes in the walls. There, figures not too dissimilar from Sir Archibald II were gathered, and each of them, much like the first, were taking advantage of my distraction to hurl vials of various colors at me.

I dove out of the way, a bottle crashing into the spot I'd just been a moment prior. As it did, the fluid within mixed with the black liquid and burst into flames. Two more landed a second later, darkness erupting from them as they encroached on the light of my lantern. Rising back to my feet, I swung my sword in the direction of the monsters above. As I did, I called an ability that had only just come off cooldown.

Piercing Light!

A glowing projectile burst forth from my weapon. Rather than hitting its mark, however, it ended up falling short. The slime had intercepted it.

“Glug!” it gurgled as my magic ineffectually came to a halt within its body.

Before I could even internalize just how strange of a thing that was, I was forced back into motion again. The rain of potion vials flying toward me was constant, but it was an annoyance at worst. What I couldn't shrug off so easily was the undead creature that was quickly closing the distance between us. Unarmed or not, it was approaching fast, and it had already proven just how dangerous it could be. Still, if it was coming into striking distance, I wasn't about to waste the opportunity.

As it closed in, I raised my weapon. Just as it was about to reach me, I swung. In the next moment, my blade was passing through the spot it had just occupied with such ease that it left me stumbling. The monster had vanished.

My eyes went wide, and I turned to look for my opponent, but before I could spot it, a hand landed on the back of my neck. Then, I was somewhere else entirely. I was still in the Dungeon; I could tell that much from the stone floor and walls, but this room was different.

All around me, there were counters and what looked to be various plants, vials, and magical crystals lining them. In the center of the room, directly in front of me, there was a large, metal cauldron. It was bubbling intensely and filled with a familiar, black ooze. From its disgusting visual appearance to its horrid stench, I was certain it was Failed Mind Enhancement Fluid.

“Hmm, that's no good,” a voice came from somewhere behind me.

A part of me wanted to turn and see just who the speaker was, but that part felt like nothing more than a distant whisper. While I could observe and identify some of what I was seeing, my mind itself refused to hold any thoughts. Any attempt I made to force one into it was met with heavy resistance before it was snuffed out. It was as though I was merely an observer in my own body.

It was with that realization that I was able to correlate what I was experiencing now with something that'd happened to me earlier. It was different in a way, but what I could feel resembled what happened had when that shadow creature had touched me in the second room of this place. If that was the case, I wondered if that made this some kind of illusion.

It was hard piecing things together when my mind was refusing to work properly, and before I could get any further than that, the fluid in the cauldron in front of me began bubbling more fiercely. I stared at it apathetically, emotion proving as difficult to grab hold of as thought. Then, it exploded.

The pain I felt as the gunk coated me was indescribable. Back when I'd been crossing through that bog, plenty of the stuff had gotten on me, but the effect had been minimal. Now, however, it was as though my body couldn't resist it in the slightest. It was eating away at me, and all I wanted to do was scream. In spite of that, sound refused to form on my lips.

Die quietly, a wordless order filled my mind, and I couldn't help but to obey.

Twitching uncontrollably, I writhed in agony. I could feel the world slowly fading away, and in that moment, I craved the sweet, comforting embrace of death more than anything. It was coming for me, sure enough, but it was far too slow. As I laid in the pile of alchemical goop that was slowly dissolving every inch of my body, the voice returned, speaking words as casually as one might comment on the weather.

“How unfortunate,” it said.

I couldn't turn to face the speaker, but from the corner of my eye, I could make out its form. It was a Trenti, but unlike the others I'd seen in this place, the mushroom atop its head was far larger and shaped like a hat. It also had a beard of moss that dangled from its chin and was shaking its head regretfully.

“Rose,” its voice came one final time, “prepare some new Mandrakes for us.”

That was the last thing I perceived as everything faded into darkness, my essence ceasing to be. Then, in the next instant, I was back in the room I'd been in before all of that. I wasn't sure how much time had passed or if any actually had. All I knew was the lingering memory of indescribable pain and the blissful release of death. That was why it took me so long to notice the jagged, decaying teeth that were sinking into my neck.

It wasn't real, I told myself frantically, Just like with that shadow creature before, it was only an illusion. It wasn't real!

I didn't believe my own words. It had felt too real, too absolute, for me to just accept it had never happened. It was a memory I would likely never forget. Even so, I clung to those words to ground myself as I forced myself to moved. With my sword, I slashed at the foul creature, activating Light Slash as I did.

Just like before, it disappeared into thin air before my blade could cut it down. Unlike last time, though, it reappeared a moment later in two pieces. It seemed my ability had been enough to counter whatever that vanishing act had been.

[Mimicry Ghoul, Stein, (Level 1) slain! You have gained 3,770 experience!]

My eye bulged at the exorbitant sum of experience that killing the level one monster had awarded me. I was at the point that only the strongest of criminals in the first tier could even give me experience, yet this thing, at level one, awarded more than five times more than the strongest of them. That went against everything I knew about how experience worked. It also distracted me long enough for the slime to get the jump on me again.

“Blur!” it gurgled as it bounced for me.

I spun the moment I heard it, but I was too slow. It reached me, clinging to my shoulder. Then, it exploded in a burst of blinding light. It felt strangely warm and comforting as it filled my vision, as though the luminescence was only trying to offer me a warm embrace. Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished. The slime was still there.

No.

I'd had enough of this place. If it'd taken an ability to hit that undead, maybe this thing was similar. With that logic, I swung my head into it, knocking it free from the spot on my shoulder I couldn't hope to hit with my one working arm. It fell to the ground, and I wasted no time in bringing my blade down on it with every last ounce of strength I could muster.

Light Slash!

There was an audible cracking sound as my attack hit. Then, my shoddy, stolen blade shattered. The slime, however, for its part, seemed no worse for wear. It made no sense.