apologies believe

Are you hurt, Brutun?"

"My arm is stiff from the impacts, but my shield protected me from the worst of it. I am ready to continue, Minvar." The tallest of the Minoars looked to his team captain, who had asked the question.

Minvar was short for her people. She was just over six feet and well-built. Her fur-covered skin was light brown, and her horns were not very large, but she had learned to accept that. Brutun was an excellent example of the males of her people—seven feet and broad with truly impressive horns. The team [Vanguard] is the first into every battle. His sword was still drawn as he scanned the cavern, alert for dangers.

"That spider was the first to present a challenge!" Strix snorted.

"It was a big one!" Echoed Devas. Both broke out into laughter.

Minvar rolled her eyes. The two [Bulkward]s were not brothers, but they acted like calves at every opportunity. She looked to Xurak. Her groups [War Tracker] was a veteran of the army before becoming an adventurer. Scars marred his brown/white hide. He had collected the rewards for the kill, and he was counting the coins. The Dungeon was supplying respectable coinage as its reward.

"Are we continuing?" Nyminar asked. The group's [Combat Healer] was in the least amount of armour after Minvar herself. Nyminar was a great beauty with a snow-white colouring and two well-oiled horns that she had always been jealous of.

"We are. Brutun, take the lead." She ordered.

"Let's hope for a challenge soon. This is too easy." Strix moaned.

"We have three more floors to see, and then we will be done. The Elders want a report as soon as we are finished," Minvar reminded them. That got them moving again.

The next floor was different from the one above: rock and earth. The first room was a cavern not as large as the one that held the floor boss above. Brutun walked forward with no fear but was alert for danger.

The worm ruptured from the sand, striking his leg. It was too close for him to block, so he had to put his faith in his plate. The worm opened its mouth and bit.

The grunt of pain surprised them all.

"It has pierced my armour." As he spoke, he cut the worm in half with his sword. The head was still attached to his leg. The rest entered, and as soon as it was clear there were no others inspected the body,

Nyminar pried the head off the [Vanguard]s leg. Xurak knew the most about monsters, and it was handed to him.

"Its teeth are not bone but some form of hardened crystal." He held the head and used a dagger to move the teeth for his inspection. "They will be dangerous in numbers."

"Nyminar, are these things on the list?" Minvar asked. She usually would have investigated the local town to see what supplies or monster parts supplied by the Dungeon were in demand, but the regional representative of their people had delayed her.

"Yes, but low down. We can ignore them." Nyminar consulted a list she had produced.

"Very well. Brutun, we head that way." She pointed to the southern doorway. Brutun nodded and started forward. The next room was cleared, and they went to the next. Here, Brutun staggered and fell forward, crashing through a false floor with another grunt.

"What happened, Brutun!" Minvar demanded, managing to hide her concern.

"Tripwire across the exit. It caused me to fall into a pit with spikes with serrated arrowheads." He spoke as he got up. "I am slightly wounded."

Nyminar was at his side, supplying aid as the others entered the room. The two [Bulkward] 's cleared it quickly. Xurak looked over the traps.

"Thoughts?" Minvar asked the elder warrior.

"Simple but well-made and hidden. We should be more careful going forward."

"I will," Brutun answered, indicating he still expected to be the first in every room.

"Very well. We continue as normal for now." She was unhappy, but there was no reason to change.

Brutun walked ahead a little more cautiously now. It was that caution that saved him. As he stepped into the new room, he suddenly turned, raising his shield. He glowed slightly from a skills activation. A half-moon blade impacted him, slicing into his shield and pushing him back through the loose earth. He stopped the blade and looked down.

It was only a few hair widths from his stomach. His armour would have been hard-pressed to save him from a severe wound.

They cleared that room, and now Xurack led them forward. Room by room, they avoided the traps that the pedestals were and killed every worm that rose to challenge them. Now they had the measure of them; the worms died to counters as they attacked.

Things changed when they reached the floor boss's room.

Brutun went first flanked by Strix and Devas. From the size of the mound in the room, they were about to fight something big. The boss attacked and did not disappoint.

It triggered a skill as it attacked, allowing it to cross the room quickly. Brutun met it head-on with his own skill, but this time, he was knocked back as his shield let out a loud crack that almost covered his grunt of pain. The other two attacked to distract it. Minvar and Xurack flanked as Nyminar sought to reach the fallen Brutun.

"Keep it distracted. Hit any openings." Minvar ordered. She and the other struck at the boss. It was too large to dodge but tough enough to absorb much of their attacks. Nyminar worked on Brutun.

Devas lost the top third of his shield as the beast bit down and ripped it off. He cursed loudly as Strix used one of his damage improvement skills on his mace, which caused it to glow. His blow cracked the outer shell of the worm.

Minvar was waiting for an opening. Her people trained hard, and the team did not need to announce their skills as other lower-pathed adventurers did. They were rated as a Silver Grade team for a reason.

They battered down the boss, but it was not going quietly. A spell triggered, causing it to glow a dull brown. This made it tougher, dragging out the fight. This did not stop its death. It collapsed dead.

"By the elders, that was tough!" Strix declared. They were all breathing harder, recovering from using their skills and fighting.

"My shield has been destroyed!" Devaus complained. He pulled off the pack from his back. From within it, he pulled out his spare.

"I, too, will need to replace my shield soon," Brutun said, examining the damage on his own.

"Xurack?" Minvar asked the male who was collecting the reward.

His answer was, "Not bad." She asked no more, as he would fully summarise what they had gained.

I waited for the others to prepare themselves for what was next. "Are we ready?"

They nodded, and they went on to the next floor.

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Minvar watched her team as they checked themselves over one last time before descending to the sixth floor. This Dungeon was strange, and they no longer treated it like it was beneath them. The two floors they had passed through were presented a marked escalation in danger.

The stair room was well-lit by blue moss. Seeing everyone in a blue tint was odd, but they had adopted it. Her people had sent them with strict orders. Something was happening here, and they were tasked with discovering what it was.

"Ready?" She asked, and the others acknowledged that they were.

"I shall lead." Brutun was still annoyed with his exploits on the last floor.

"Ready to fall again, oh great [Vanguard]." Strix needled. These comments were not helping.

"Enough!" Minvar snapped before it could escalate. "Xurak leads. We will be ready to support him."

Brutun snorted in frustration, and Xurak nodded. He stepped onto the stairs and started descending. They formed a line and followed. The stairs barely managed one person walking down them; two were but a dream.

"Damn human architecture!" Brutun snarled as he was forced to duck to avoid catching his horns. The others stayed silent. The taller agreed with the sentiment.

The next floor was again different. This time, they found an open cavern with tall grass growing all through it. The moss was concentrated on the ceiling and far denser. The cavern was the best so far. Xurak slowed as he entered the grass. He looked to the left and right as he walked. The rest of the team fanned out to either side.

Xurak tensed and froze. "Movement in the grass."

Before anything else could be said, the attack began. The snakes hit them from different directions. Their ability to blend into the grass was a nasty surprise, making fighting them harder. Being bitten was not fun either.

"Stay close together and call out as you strike back," Minvar instructed her team.

It took a few attacks, but they soon got an idea of what they were up against and started killing the snakes. Soon, the last died, and the reward for their victory appeared.

"More ambushers! Has this Dungeon no monsters of strength to face us!" Brutun complained.

"Peace, Brutun. This Dungeon is more dangerous than most, so beware the road of arrogance." Xurak chilled him. The younger warrior snorted but made no further comments. Control was something they all had to practice.

Minvar took stock of the group and then had them move on. Cavern by cavern, they advanced, fighting snakes in every single one. They were wounded from the bites, but they overwhelmed them in each fight. They were using up their healing supplies faster than Nyminar was happy with, and Minvar agreed with her position. They needed to be more cautious.

"Next should be the floor boss. We have sustained more injuries than we should have crossing this floor. I want no more foolishness where we are going into a fight that will be far harder than the last." Minvar glared at the three most responsible for the lack of supplies. Strix and Devaus looked guilty, but Brutun was defiant but silent. "Be ready. The boss will be an improved version of the ones we have fought. Nyminar, is there anything valuable about it?"

"Yes, Captain. The whole body as intact as possible will bring an excellent price." This caused the three hotheads to perk up.

"That means we kill it. DO. NOT. Seek to try to take it without help." Minvar knew those looks. Xurak shook his head sadly, knowing they would probably not listen, as Minvar also knew. The three were gifted warriors, which had allowed them to advance quickly, but they were still learning restraint—a flaw for most of their people. They had hardly encountered situations they could not fight their way clear of. The dangers of going down a dark path were always present.

The next cavern was the same as the others. Xurak led the way, with the others fanning out either side. Brutun tried to push ahead, but Minvar's glare stopped him. She was thinking about ordering him to…

"Arrghh." He suddenly staggered and collapsed to one knee as he snarled in pain.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"S-something just bit into the back of my knee." He twisted to get a look at the wound. "The padded cloth had been ripped right through."

"Nyminar, see to him. Everyone else, be ready. Xurak, did you see anything?" They followed her orders.

"Nothing, Captain. I suspect its hiding ability in the grass is far better than the earlier ones." The older warrior looked around, analysing what he saw and what had happened. "Captain, I fear this snake might be similar or smaller than the others."

"Understood. Strix will cover Nyminar while she works. Devas, I want you…" Strix started to move as she spoke and then yelped in pain as he hopped about.

"What happened?" Minvar demanded.

"I just was bitten!" He snarled as he pushed through the pain and tested his weight on the leg in question. "I can still fight, but I am slowed."

"Gods! Did anyone see anything?" Minvar demanded. The choruses of no's did not inspire her confidence. She needed to take action.

"Listen, I am about to cast [Detect Life: Animals]. Attack it as it is revealed. Do not hold back." Minvar ordered, knowing this spell would demand all of her concentration. "Xurak leads."

The group formed a circle around her. She closed her eyes and focused on her mana to cast the spell. She created the spell form in her mind and let her mana flow into the design—a faint wave of energy swept out from within her across the cavern. Minvar had to focus on the spell and could not take action; she could only listen.

"There it is! The faint aura impression." Devas called out.

"Engage!" Xurak gave his orders. "Brutun, fight it. Strix and Devas block its escape routes."

The sound of a thud reached her ears. Brutun snarled. "It's fast! It's dodging my attacks."

"Keep up with it," Xurak ordered.

"Damn it!" Strix roared. "It has bitten me."

"Nyminar to him. Devaus, block it! Brutun, keep at it."

Another thud. "Stay still!"

The stress of keeping the spell active was now starting to affect Minvar. She could feel her mana draining away. Stay focused!

"It's attacking me!" Devaus yelled.

"It's trying to distract you." Xurak this time.

"The snake's glowing. I think it's a spell." Nyminar called out.

"Finally, a hit!" Brutun yelled in triumph.

"You have, but it's hardly wounded!" Strix countered.

"Stop arguing and keep attacking!" Xurak ordered.

The battle continued, and Minvar reached the limits of her tolerance.

"The spell is ending!" She called out as she fell to her knees in exhaustion and felt the backlash of mana depletion fast approaching. Around her, the sound of battle continued. Minvar fought against the pain in mind and opened her eyes.

The area around them was trampled flat with many gouges where weapons cut into the earth. Blinking through the pain, she finally saw the boss, causing her eyes to water.

The snake was still hard to see as it tried to blend in with its surroundings. Being forced to move and dodge to avoid her team's attacks was hampering this ability. It avoided a blow by Strix, who placed it before Brutun. The [Vanguard] struck true and cleaved it in half.

"Victory!" he bellowed. The reward came, marking that the fight was at an end.

Nyminar was at her side, inspecting her condition as Xurak collected it. With Nyminar's help, she stood up, still not steady on her feet. The others were showing signs of weariness from the fight, and now it was over. It seemed it had been more challenging than they thought it would be.

"Dammed ambushers!" Brutun expressed his opinion. The other two fighters echoed his view.

"Nyminar, what is the condition of the corpse?" Minvar asked. The female next to her looked at the body.

"Bad. Brutun was too aggressive in his strikes. We should still take it as we will get something for it." Xurak heard her and went over to the body, picking up the two halves and placing them into his dimensional bag.

Her team did not take long to form up and head to the last floor. Minvar had them rest in the stairwell room before descending. More for herself than the others. She had them descend but was concerned as her mana was still low.

The next room at the bottom of the stairs was different. It looked like an area still under construction or a storage area for further expansion. There was another difference between the two well-proportioned doors.

"This looks promising." Brutun sounded hopeful.

"Stay together. We do not know what lies beyond. I want no foolish actions!" Minvar snapped, still feeling the pain of the mana depletion backlash. Nyminar offered a pain tonic, but refused as she needed to stay clear-headed.

Brutun grunted and pushed both doors open. They opened with no sound or resistance. Before them was a different room again.

The room was more like a hall lit by torchlight, not the blue moss of the rest of the Dungeon. The room was carpeted with green moss and built to hold what was standing on the other side—an Ogre. It was larger than Brutun, dressed in armour and carried a shield with a mace.

Brutun bellowed a happy challenge and charged forward. His battlelust rising.

"Brutun!" Minvar yelled but knew it was no use. Brutun was losing himself to battle lust now that a seemingly worthy challenge had appeared. The ogre matched him and attacked.

The two quickly crossed the distance between them and collided with a crash. Minvar could have sworn she felt the impact. Both had triggered skills as they collided. Brutun was a hot head but had fought through many battles. Today was the first that Minvar saw him knocked down. The ogre's mass was more significant, and it won the clash. Brutun was on his back.

"Strix, Devaus, help him!" Minvar ordered. "We will flank."

The ogre did not relent, forcing Brutun to roll to the side or be hit by the mace. Strix and Devaus forced their attention away from Brutun, allowing him to return to his feet. Minvar saw him grinning like a foal in a meadow for the first time.

The two [Bulkwark]s struck but found the shield, which was actually a door blocking them. The ogre's mace glowed, and it struck a Strix. He got his shield into the position to block.

CRACK!

Strix collapsed back with a howl of pain.

"Strix!" Devaus called in fear. Brutun then rejoined the fight.

"Nyminar!" Minvar indicated to the fallen warrior. She nodded and was already moving.

The two were trading blows, as each was able to block the other. The ogre started to back up, opening space between him, his attacker and the rest of the group. Minvar and Xurack were now moving to get behind it.

Brutun thought he had the advantage and pushed forward.

The black/purple glow surrounding the ogre shocked Minvar.

"Brutun get ba…" Minvar yelled, but it was too late.

Black tentacles reputed from Brutun's shadow, as the fourth-floor boss had done. He never had a chance as he was trapped, and the ogre swung with its mace. The tentacles prevented him from getting his shield fully up. The mace started glowing as it approached.

It impacted the top of Brutun's shield but was not stopped as it rolled off and hit his helmeted head. The impact rocked Brutun, and his head turned with the strike. Blood and spit flew from his mouth as his face contorted. He went down face-first into the moss. Nyminar was trying to get to him.

Xurak made his move to save the fallen warrior.

He triggered his skills, and his arm blurred with [Multi thrust]. His sword slashed across the back of the ogre, cutting into the armour of their opponent. The ogre grunted but stayed focused on Brutun's fallen form.

Devaus stepped and blocked the ogre's path. His skill enchanted his shield, stopping the ogre's mace. Minvar could not see his face but knew he was struggling. She attacked to help him. Minvar triggered a skill knowing the risk in her action. [Multi thrust- 2 strikes] caused her arm to blur as the strain of the skill swept through her body. Her blade slashed across the ogre's back as Xurak did, and it ignored her, too.

The ogre's mace smashed into Devaus's shield, knocking him to the side. The ogre then turned to the two attacking from behind. Both quickly backed away. The ogre could use its size to knock them to the ground and kill them with its mace.

It followed with an attack, allowing Devaus to re-enter the fight as he was not severely injured. He cut into the ogre's back, adding to the wounds already there. This time, the grunt of pain was louder. The ogre glowed before another blow could be struck, triggering another spell. Devaus hit it again as it turned but failed to injure it in any meaningful way.

"Xurak, keep hitting it and pulling back. We must wear it down." Minvar felt the strain from the skill use and got concerned. The ogre was throwing out skills and spells without showing any signs of tiring.

Devaus was forced to take another heavy blow to his shield, knocking him back. He was gritting his teeth. This ogre was far stronger than the ones they had fought in the past. Minvar saw that Brutun was returning to his feet with Nyminar's assistance. Strix was still not in the fight but was cradling his shield-bearing arm. The shield had been removed. It seemed his arm was broken.

Xurak stabbed the ogre in its mace-holding arm, cutting in deep, causing the urge to drop the mace as its hand spasmed. The ogre backhanded the [War Tracker] in return, knocking him away. The ogre bent to retrieve its mace when Brutun slammed into it.

The ogre was knocked back as Brutun followed up his attack. The ogre used its shield to prevent another blow, and then glowed, countering Brutun's charge with one of its own. The [Vanguard] sidestepped, but not enough to avoid the impact. He staggered back and turned his attention back to the ogre, which opened him to be punched in the face. The blow snapped his head back as he staggered back. The ogre was not finished reaching out as it was taller and grabbed his horns. With a savage yank forward, Brutun was taken off balance and fell forward. Straight into the ogre's knee as it went up and connected with his face.

The sickly crunch of the collision made all of his teammates wince. Brutun went down hard, and it did not seem like he would get back up any time soon.

Xurak and Devaus were back at it, stabbing at the ogre. Without its mace, it used its shield and hands. They had the advantage and did not want to suffer Brutun's fate if they stayed out of its reach.

The ogre's wounds were piling up now, and Minvar now saw it was starting to take its toll. But the fight was not over. Black tentacles ensnared Xurak, who then was punched by the ogre, knocking him down. Minvar joined Devaus in attacking. Nyminar was treating the wounded.

Devaus triggered his [Taunt] skill to keep the ogre focused on him as Minvar stabbed its vulnerable back. The ogre was beating him down but gave both Minvar and Xurak time to kill the ogre. The injuries added up to the point where it could not ignore them anymore and fell forward as Devaus scrambled out of its way.

With a flash, the reward appeared. Minvar looked around at her team and could not hold back from saying.

"Well, was that enough of a fight for you?"

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Minvar had just left Elian's office. She was leaning back in her chair, looking at the ceiling rafters. The report from the Minoar's team that had just returned from the Dungeon. They had recovered a Moonlight Rose, which will be sold to the Merchant Guild today.

The report of the battle with the single occupant of the seventh floor. She had rated it low silver grade but planned to raise it to silver or even high silver. A Minoar team was battered badly in the fight. That alone would cause many to pause before going to the new floor.

Her door opened as Altor entered the room. He closed the door and sat across from her, activating the anti-scrying crystal.

"The Guild has the rose. We will receive our due later today." Altor spoke. Elian just grunted. "Have you seen the team's condition?"

Elian sat back up, looking at him. "The team captain was just here and reported some injuries."

"Some injuries?" Albrot laughed. "Multiple broken bones and battered bodies. A single-occupant floor. You see those in the deeper sections of older Dungeons."

Elian eyebrows raised. "That bad?"

"Yes. They will be out of action for a few weeks."

"Well, they have the money to cover the living expenses here. How much are they getting?" Elain mused.

"A hundred gold. Ten in commission to the Guild, then 5 to us and another 5 to Ranus." Albrot recited from memory.

"Not bad then."

"No. But they used a lot of supplies in the final fight against the ogre." Albrot pointed out.

"Speaking of the ogre. I want to raise the threat rating to a high silver tier."

"I agree. Make the announcement when you are ready." Albrot was relieved that she had been thinking the same. He did not want to overrule her, and it looked bad.

"It will be done in an hour."

"Word will be spreading now." Albert sighed. Elian understood why.

"Where is my new assessor?" Elain asked pointily.

"He will be here next week," Albrot promised.

"You said that last week."

"Well, he was delayed. What can you do?"

She snorted. She had been preparing to assess the new floor when Albrot appeared and was informed that she could not do so. This had led to an argument, and Albrot put his foot down with a hard no. He reasoned that she was a Guild Leader and needed a high-Pathed assessor to map the Dungeon from now on. He confirmed this with the boss, and she sent one.

He was late.

## ## ## ## ##

I had been a lazy Core.

I have come to this conclusion in the last few days: the long periods of inactivity as I waited for my essence count to reach the next level made me this way. There was some experimentation (okay, periods of much experimentation) and tomfoolery, but I should be doing more. Maybe I was suffering from bouts of depression?

I had set out to change this.

Starting with mana stones. I had created more, quite a few more. I now had twenty-five in total. They surrounded my Core in its hidden alcove. I had space for a few more but was leaving them for future stones. I had done a few experiments along the way.

I discovered that the further away from my Core the stones were, the worse their regeneration rate was. I had Puck and Larry move them around the Dungeon to different locations and monitor them. Shadow and Earth were the least affected, depending on where they were placed. The other's rates dropped so far that they were effectively dead.

I spent many hours trying to understand this. The only reason I could come up with was that the essence being drawn to my Core was also charging these stones. I had seen that they had essence passing through them, and the corresponding "type" never left.

So, some progress?

Again, I had been neglecting my skills. My Mana Sight has improved since my recent studies. Creating Krag had also pushed my Enchanting up a whole two levels. Everything else was stagnant. That was something I had to address.

How? I was still working on it.

Now that the seventh was finished, I had to turn my attention to the eighth. What will this floor be?

I had been thinking more about mixing two different minions on this floor, as it needs to be more challenging than the seventh. How I was going to pass Krag was going to be complicated—until I realised that I did not. The floor guardian would need to be close, but I would have to spread my resources out more like the other floors. Krag would remain unique for now.

I wanted another flyer.

I could use the first-floor guardian as the template for some new wasps, maybe with a few more alterations. This would reduce development time because I would work from an established design.

The only problem was that the wasps did not play well with others according to their restriction. So, what else did I have?

Bats.

"Well, Larry, that's the problem. Bats are the only other flyer I have, but they are pretty pathetic."

Larry was showing me his back.

"I have Puck, but he is resource-intensive to create. My new mana stones, when charged, will lighten that load now…."

Possibilities. I opened the bat design I had.

"Need to focus on speed…. Making it too tough will slow it down… What mana type?"

I thought about what I was seeing. Another question popped up. What would I pair them with?

Puck was based on Illusion Mana, which worked very well with Light. Bats did not lean that way. I discovered that the monster leaned towards different Mana types and interacted badly with others. The number of exploding experiments proved the theory to me.

Do I make more Pucks?

Now, that was a thought. I entertained it for a little while but knew that even with the mana stones, I would not yet be able to support such a floor. But it was one for the future, maybe.

Back to the bats. They were the only option right now.

I felt Illusion and Light were out, but I would try a few options if I had time. Earth also did not "feel" right. That left Ice and Shadow. Shadow was my sort of go-to as it fits with most of my Dungeon and its aesthetic. Ice… now that was something I had not worked with.

"Ice bats?"

Could that work? I started listing things to try with my experiments on the bats.

"Let's get to work."

## ## ## ## ##

The mood at the table was not pleasant. The adventurers around them were giving them an even wider space than normal.

Minvar looked at her team and found out the reason. This was their first time together since leaving the Dungeon. The healers had released the last two, and even after the victory, one group member was sullen.

"Come now, Brutun, being knocked out is not so bad. It just meant you missed the end of the fight." Devaus was needling him.

Brutun was carried out by Devaus and Xurak and had been in a foul mood since he woke up a few days ago. Strix was still nursing his bandaged and splinted arm. He was going to be out of action for at least another ten days.

Minvar was still dealing with the aftermath of meeting with the tribe's trade representative in town. The Moonlight rose had caused a massive stir that was still being felt. She had had nineteen requests to get more from the seventh floor.

She was in no hurry.

"It was a lucky blow. Captain Minvar, I demand as soon as we can return to the seventh floor, and I will crush the ogre alone!" Brutun was getting louder as he spoke. His pride was hurt, and he sought a way to soothe it.

"No, Brutun. We will return, and we will fight it together." Minvar fought back the need to sigh in weariness. "The ogre has been classed as a higher silver-tier monster. I will not have you run off to chase your vain desire to satisfy your pride."

He snorted but let it go for now, which she was thankful for.

## ## ## ## ##

Ranus was sitting in his office smiling.

The amount of money flowing from his dues from the Dungeon was increasing. Elian had even hinted that they might be able to send in more teams soon, as the Dungeon could handle them if they were so many floors apart. The Adventurer's Guild was waiting for a new assessor who would confirm if it was possible.

He had some breathing room—not much, but he welcomed it. Amya reported that she expected the town's reserves to be higher at the winter solstice than last year. He knew the cost of lives lost to the Dungeon, but it was starting to provide.

He had heard about the Moonlight Rose sold through the Merchant Guild. This plant was the foundation of elixirs of great potency and value. The Merchants had told him they had nearly fifty requests for the flower already. If even half of these were met, the town would receive one hundred and twenty-five gold coins from the Lord's due. That would see half the budget for this year filled.

The future was looking better, and he had Amya stop supplying him with loan options from other bodies. He still found them strangely unsettling and was happy to see their end finally. He started planning for the future and the threats he could see.

He had the black communication crystal safely hidden away. He had resisted the urge to talk to the Dungeon as he found it difficult and always left the conversations confused and his mind hurt. He would leave it where it was until he needed to speak with that strange being.

He reached over to the small pile of vellum on his desk. It was a report on the town's population and buildings from Vulus. He read it over and frowned. The land available for building was nearly at its limit. Ranus had reserved several plots, but the others were now almost exhausted. The land across the river was also being filled fast. According to his projections, the land plots will be gone by the end of the season. Many were already building up with requests to add third or above levels, increasing from nineteen to fifty-three.

Ranus spoke to himself after a heavy sigh. "It looks like I will have to meet with Vulus and discuss this sooner than I hoped."

It was tiring, but Ranus was happy that these were the only pressing problems at this time. He knew this would change.

## ## ## ## ##

Oda was sitting in his "office" within his realm and was secretly happy.

Things had not turned out completely as he had planned, but everything was happening within its boundaries. The other Gods were unaware of his deception, and he was free to find the traitor.

The only major issue was the Dungeon Core.

Above the table was the Dungeon's holographic display, and off to the side was the Core's status screen.

It was developing faster than he thought it could. He had been truthful with the soul and had not made any changes to it. That was done by the Core he had constructed. He had tried to curtail its development, but he was straining against the restrictions placed within its vessel.

Looking over his latest floor and the Guardian was a bit of a revelation. Bhaldor was finding weaknesses within the system he had created to exploit to his advantage. Oda knew he would have to watch the later developments more carefully, even with the Dungeon's new oversight group.

They were in a minor panic over the ogre's creation. Oda understood their concern, but as long as none escaped into the world after the Core's destruction, there would be no problems.

The Core was processing corrupt void essence at an excellent rate and was ahead of his predictions. The actions of the corrupted at Folly's End were a concern and quietly supported the moving of more assets from the other Gods' temples and churches to act if the monsters crossed the river.

His ally watched the Core more closely and would alert him if any trouble occurred. The Core went through periods of activity and then inactivity. Oda believed that the Core was going through bouts of what was called "depression" in his world. The Core seemed to realise this and went active to combat it but fell back over time. Would this have a long-term effect on the project Oda was unsure of?

He could take action, but that would endanger the plan.

No, he would stay the course.

His world and its realms depended on it.

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Vicdrum Searider was looking at the old-style Cythian watchtower.

It did not look like much, but such things would get you killed in his line of work. The Guild had sent him to this place to be the [Dungeon Assessor]. The previous one had been promoted to run the Guild in the local town.

Vicdrum was not impressed with the community that was growing up around here. He was from the coast and the city that held the Dungeon of Ocean Depths. As he was from a family of good, noble stock but a younger son, he had been allowed to pursue his academic inclinations. This led him to his current profession, which his family were actually happy with.

He had been progressing well in his home city until the day he received his marching orders to come to this backwater. He had tried to get out of them until he read the name attached to giving the order and knew it was a hopeless cause.

So, he came in winter.

He was dressed in several layers and shivering. His home was never this cold, and the amount of snow he saw just at the edge of the mountain range was more than he had seen in his entire life. He had discovered that he hated the stuff. His home city had a pleasant temperature all year round, and it only changed when a storm rolled in from the sea. His deep olive skin did not like the cold air's touch.

"Where are they?" He demanded to the Guild watcher assigned to monitor the Dungeon.

"Just coming, sir." The young man pointed behind him, and he turned. A team of adventurers were approaching the entrance.

"Team Captain Gran?" He asked the lead adventurer.

"Yes, Assessor Searider. We have been tasked to get you through each floor to the sixth, when another team will take over and escort you the rest of the way." It was the Guild's policy to have the team captain recite their orders to make sure there was no confusion. He did not add the orders that were for him alone. Both the Guild Leader and Master had told him not to seek the Dungeon Core.

"Excellent. I am ready when you are." It was not considered rude for a new assessor to go through an already mapped area of a Dungeon as it sometimes showed changes or missed things. In fact, a matching report was seen as a good thing for both assessors.

They entered the watchtower and Vicdrum thought they would be out of the wind. Inside, he felt a strong draft of cold air. It was here that the group drew their weapons.

"My notes indicate that an animal lives in the rafters here." Vicdrum was holding his mapping board with notes on the Dungeon listed.

"Yes, Assessor, it is in the rafters right now, watching us," Gran replied.

Vicdrum looked up sharply and it took several moments for him to spot the creature. "What is it? Is it dangerous?"

"A local beast called a sharoon. Not very and will avoid us unless it is trapped."

"A Dungeon monster or squatter?"

"All indications it is a Dungeon monster."

"Then we continue."

Vicdrum mapped the surface building. It matched the design style of all other buildings of its kind. The legions built things well and used the same templates. The "sharoon" was added, and several odd things were noted. The building had several hatches located around it. For the moment, Vicdrum was at a loss as to why they were there. The next was damage to the building structure in one of the storerooms. It was minor and easy to miss but he spotted it and recorded the information as the damage was recent.

They went back to the stairs and started to descend into the Dungeon. The walls on the stairs curved with them and were soon covered by blue glowing moss. This gave the area a low level of light. Vicdrum activated his light crystal to illuminate himself. Each adventurer had magic lanterns that gave them light.

At first glance, the first floor appeared to be the basement of the tower above, but the differences were soon apparent. There was a door that was designed only to be opened from the other side. A small but dense tin ore vein was in the first room. This matched with his notes. When the Dungeon first opened, it had been a copper vein. It was not unusual for such resource nodes to be moved.

The group's rogue, a woman named Kimor, exposed the first trap. It was a pitfall trap with a light stone covering and spikes at the bottom. Now, this was something that concerned Vicdrum. It showed a level of advanced thinking not found in younger Dungeons.

"Team Captain Gran, when did the Dungeon change from the original traps to these ones?" Vicdrum asked as he knelt next to the pit, taking notes.

"This is the original trap, Assessor Searider," Gran told him.

That caused Vicdrum to pause as he worked. "It has been here since the opening with no changes?"

"That is correct, Assessor. We were with the first assessor to enter this Dungeon."

The floor monster was a wasp. Another local breed called a grey stripe which showed signs of mutations. More spike traps were revealed, and the wasps were quickly dealt with. The floor boss was in a unique room. The floor was almost one giant open pit trap with a walkway running through it. The boss was killed with no issue. The floor supplied old empire-grade copper coins as its reward. No wonder tins were flocking to this Dungeon.

The next floor made Vicdrum uncomfortable. It had a different environment. As far as he knew, Dungeons of great age and size did such things, but only on their later floors—not on the second. The stories he had dismissed started to sound authentic. This should not be possible as nothing he had read on Dungeons had ever spoken of one such as this place.

The floor had toads and rooms with knee-deep water. His boots were not high enough, and his feet got wet, which did nothing to improve his mood. Another local breed of beast taken and changed by the Dungeon. A few traps were thrown in for good measure. Copper coins and flowers that could be used in alchemy were the reward.

Once they returned to the stairs, he looked over his notes and the map he had just drawn.

"Team Leader Gran, we shall hold here for a few minutes." He needed to dry his feet and think.

"Of course, Assessor Searider."

He removed his boots and used a heating crystal to try to dry them. Questions crowded his mind and he realised he could get the answer for many from this group.

"Team Leader Gran, do all the floors follow a circular shape that leads you back to the stairs?"

"On the floors, we have seen, yes, Assessor Searider, but we have heard the seventh is a bit different."

"Oh, that means you have never passed the fifth floor then?"

"Yes, Assessor. The floors below are a bit too much for us right now."

"I understand. Let us continue."

The third was another environment—open grass rooms with mud pits. The boars were another step up in danger. This floor was the most popular among adventurers as the hides and meat were in demand. The team assigned to him took their time stripping the corpses after clearing each room.

The floor boss was the first elemental-infused monster he had encountered in the Dungeon. The boss was another enlarged version of the one found on the floor. This one had Shadow Mana enhanced abilities. The team worked together, targeting the boss's weak points to take the boss down with minimum damage to its body. As soon as it collapsed, they were on it, stripping the corpse. His notes and what he had learned strongly indicated the value of the hide. More flowers were found in the room and added to the copper and first silver coins. The silver was of the same quality as the copper coins.

He had spent the longest time in this Dungeon so far. He had been checking the essence levels as they were stopping. He had noticed the strange essence flows through the Dungeon. Normally, the essence could be easily tracked, flowing through a floor to the boss. After that, the flow went down to the next floor. Here, the essence was confused and disjointed with the strange floor pattern. He felt the draft through the Dungeon, and the stairwell was acting as a vortex pushing air through the Dungeon. He suspected this was altering the flow of essence.

"Team Leader Gran, do all the floors follow the same circular pattern?" He had to ask the question again as he still could not understand why.

"All apart from the seventh floor, Assessor Searider." He replied. "From what we have heard, it is a single room."

"Really, that is odd." Vicdrum did not know what to make of that.

They descended to the fourth floor. Again, the environment was different. He was now sure he would have to drop a note to the family to have them establish a presence within the town. This Dungeon was too strange to be ignored. Other communities with Dungeons had contact and connections to allow trading resources, access or even marriages between the Lords. These families were some of the most powerful on the continent. They had to be apprised to get here fast.

Would this violate his oath to the Guild?

No, as he would only suggest that it might be a good idea. He would have to be careful with his language, but his family knew what to look for in his letters.

Moving through the floor, he discovered a new thing about himself. He hated spiders, especially ones large enough to kill a man. The six-leg abominations were a terror to behold. The way they moved and the great number of eyes. No, sir, he did not like this floor and would be glad to go beyond it.

Gran and his team fought the spiders as they appeared. They had crossed this floor before, and the spiders were a known quantity. They stopped to collect the coins and harvest spider silk webbing. Vicdrum wanted to yell at them to get a move on but held his tongue as it would not look well on him.

One room contained eight of the scuttling horrors, which took several minutes to clear, but they died. The next contained a mutated version that forced him to get close to get a better look. He hurried through this as fast as possible.

The boss was the stuff of pure nightmares. The giant spider was a canny opponent. It struck from a different ambush point than the team expected, and they were soon in a fierce fight. The Spider demonstrated several skills and spells that he noted as the fight went on.

He let out a deep sigh of relief when it died. The reward for the kill was collected, and he recorded it. The amount was within what the Guild deemed acceptable for such a monster.

Another floor, another environment. This one was traps, earth, and worms. The shift was now expected. The traps were based on the earlier floors but showed a marked improvement in lethality and design. The team's rogue worked the hardest on this floor. Some traps were disarmed, while others were circumvented using novel ideas. They were seeing more silver now.

The worms were a challenge. Their hides were tough and their mouths were covered with crystal-like teeth that could slice through armour. This meant the threat rating of this floor was raised again. Every floor had this happen, meaning that this Dungeon was one of the smallest known and most dangerous. If it followed the standard pattern, it would be an iron tier with only seven floors, not high silver.

Watching the fighting, Vicdrum could not refute the threat tier at this point. He shuddered, wondering what was still to come. This floor contained a large copper vein that was regularly visited and provided a good source of income to the town. Everything matched his notes. He could see that the team was now being stressed fighting on this floor. They were showing signs of tiredness as the use of skills and fighting were taking their toll.

When they reached the floor boss, things became intense. The giant worm was a moving siege ram. Gran and his team did not hold back, throwing everything they had into the fight. All their skills were being used, but still, it was a close-run thing. The boss died but left several of the group wounded.

They collected the reward and returned to the stairwell.

"Assessor Searider, this is where we leave you," Gran told him.

"Understood, Team Captain Gran. I will wait for the next team to take me the rest of the way. They should be waiting at the entrance."

Gran and his team ascended, leaving Vicdrum alone. He was a little afraid, as this Dungeon was strange and still had many unknowns. He inspected his floor plans and notes while he waited to keep his mind off the fact that he was alone, standing in a very dangerous place.

As he worked, he suddenly stopped and looked up the stairs.

"What was that light?" He asked aloud.

He was sure he saw something from the corner of his eye—a brief flash of soft pink light against the blue from the moss. He moved to get a better look. All he saw was the stairs and curve of the wall with the ever-present moss.

"I know I saw something."

He waited there until the next team arrived.

Watching.

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