Tiger Glades Dungeon (4)
Ethan had made a set of runes before going into this place.
Runes are curse magical writings from an unknown language which is universally called runic.
The ability to create and engrave runes is typically reserved for those who have studied them extensively.
But Ethan was a bit of an outlier. He was a regressor who was well-versed in runes. Because runes are frequently used as substitutes for potions, he became familiar with them.
Runes began to appear in the middle stage of the game. It could be from old scrolls obtained through drops or discovered in excavated sites.
And as time go by, players also learned to engrave runes, in fact, there's a sub-profession of it.
Runekeeper.
A person who can create and engrave runes on objects like weapons, defensive gear, and even human body parts.
However, because runes are using curse magic, once consumed, they will destroy or inflict negative status on the parts they cling to.
A weapon for example, if not destroyed, will receive a status debuff such as a decrease in power attack or sealing the special skills it possesses.
Rune engraving is such a double edge sword. But not until the players discovered the thing called 'curse sheet'.
A curse sheet can serve as a medium between the runes and the objects.
A player can write runes on the curse sheet and then paste them into the object. After consuming the rune, the only thing that will be destroyed is the curse sheet, not the actual object.
That's why Ethan went straight to the Mage Guild to get some of them. So he can use his rune engraving skills to raid the Tiger Glades dungeon without losing anything.
"A rune? Err... What is that?"
Hateful Gaze asked, puzzled by the gibberish words written on the papers in Ethan's hands.
"Let's see... Runes are powerful words that can grant abilities or an extra boost, for example," Ethan paused as he stored the other runes until only one piece of paper remained in his hand.
"This rune is called the
"Oh!" "Wah!"
His party members look at the paper with awe.
They were amazed to learn that this semi-old paper with unintelligible writings could grant such amazing abilities.
They'd never heard of it before. They were aware of some potions and scrolls that could temporarily boost stats, but the paper on their front was different.
It can grant abilities!
"Using this, we can now go to the secret path I mentioned earlier," Ethan said as he operated the party interface.
"I've sent the stuff in the party interface; there are two types of runes in there. The
Ethan stated.
In Utopia, a sub-profession can be obtained by completing a specific task, completing a series of quests, or unlocking hidden conditions.
Ethan only obtained the sub-profession Runekeeper after manually engraving the runes into the curse sheets fifteen times.
This implies that he was not a runekeeper at the time he engraved the runes, and thus the runes he created only have partial effects.
"The other rune is called the
Ethan casually warned, and when his party nodded, he closed the interface and turned his back.
"Then let us begin. Let's be the first to clear this Lunatic dungeon."
He set off with a grin on his face.
***
The Tiger Glades dungeon is set in a dense forest in the middle of the night. The forest is large because it is a special dungeon.
Aside from the three territories, there are several areas in the forest where no particular type of monster is living.
Because only 'roam' monsters can be seen here, it is called a free zone or roaming territory.
As a result, Ethan's party moved silently to the dungeon's left side to avoid these monsters.
They followed Ethan's instructions and were extremely cautious.
After several minutes of walking, they arrived in front of a peaceful lake.
They say when the water in the lake is noisy, it is shallow. But if it's quiet, expect it to be deep.
"Hic! I'm nervous all of a sudden."
Little Hands abruptly stated while gazing at the solemn lake.
The rest of the party remained silent. Unlike Little Hand's thoughts, they were just looking at the moonlight reflected on the face of the lake.
The lake's surroundings are tranquil, with a gentle breeze and fresh air surrounding them.
You can't imagine that this place is full of monsters crawling around.
"Alright, enough admiring the view. Since we only have nine
Therefore, I only gave Hateful Gaze, Muscleguy, and Patty Ham one rune each. Because the three of you have a higher CON attribute, you can hold your breath longer than us.
In retrospect, since you three can't see well underwater without the rune, the rest of us will be the guide and also the ones who'll activate your rune."
Ethan briefly stopped explaining and looked at his party members. After seeing that they understood what he said, he continued.
"Muscleguy and I will go first. Just follow me. Make sure to use all of your stamina in swimming to reach the destination much faster. You'll be able to recover it when we reach the secret path, anyway."
After his explanation, Ethan then put the curse sheet in his chest. He proceeds to gather the mana in his fingertips and channel it into the paper.
He didn't need to show this to the others because they already knew how to do it.
Transferring mana to objects necessitates precision and proper control.
A rune, on the other hand, only required a small spark of mana to activate. Because of this, teaching everyone how to create a small mana spark was not difficult.
The curse sheet lit up in blue and Ethan felt that he was suffocating.
This is the result of activating the
But Ethan remained calm as he quickly dives into the lake while holding Muscleguy's wrist.
His breathing suddenly eased. He also noticed that his surrounding became clear as if it wasn't night outside.
Ethan eventually felt the other's presence behind him, which is why he began swimming in the lake's west direction.
He and the rest of his party arrived three minutes later in front of a small hole in the lake's wall.
They can also feel a slight pressure pulling them inside.
Ethan raised one of his hands to signal his party members to enter.
He entered first followed by Solemn Rain and Little Hands while the remaining three also followed.
They had to swim faster because they had already activated their second batch of runes.
The pressure allowed them to move quickly through the narrow passage.
After exactly one minute, they were already out of the hole and could feel a small light above them.
They silently followed Ethan when they saw him swim upward.
The rune on their chest faded as the curse sheets dissolved into powder and were washed away by the water.
They forcibly increase their swimming speed. It would be a shame if they died here; all of their hard work would be for naught.
Fortunately, it appears that their party leader had already calculated this because they arrived at the surface just as they began to feel suffocated.
"Haa..."
When they finally reached the surface, they were greeted by a small cavern dotted with lighting rocks.