Dungeon dive

Rorgash had returned after two days of scouting, his expression calm as always. Liam listened attentively as the orc reported,

"Chief, there's nothing major nearby. Just a few small human villages scattered around with some orc ones throw in the mix.

They seem isolated and not much of a threat for now."

Liam nodded, processing the information. The lack of immediate danger was a relief, but it also left him feeling restless.

He knew that if he wanted to keep his growing settlement safe and expand his power, he needed to get stronger himself. The peaceful lull wouldn't last forever.

Later that day, after some thought, Liam made a decision.

His mind drifted back to the dungeons he had encountered.

If he wanted to grow stronger, this was the best place to start. The dungeon likely held treasure, experience, and maybe even something more valuable—answers about the world he was now a part of.

With resolve, Liam gathered five of his best grade 4 orcs, each handpicked for their strength and loyalty. He called for Grothar, who quickly arrived, eager for battle.

Liam, Grothar, and the five handpicked orc warriors entered the mouth of the Stonebound Lair, the ancient dungeon looming before them.

The stone walls were etched with faded runes, glowing faintly with a mystical energy.

As they stepped inside, the air grew colder, and the sound of their footsteps echoed ominously down the long, dimly lit corridors.

"This place is old," Grothar muttered, gripping his war axe tightly. "I can feel the weight of it... like it's watching us."

The five orcs behind Liam were tense, but ready—each a seasoned fighter, armed with heavy axes and shields. Their eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for any signs of danger.

The further they walked, the more the dungeon seemed to come alive. Faint grinding noises began to echo through the hallways, the sound of stone shifting against stone.

Suddenly, the corridor opened into a vast chamber. In the center stood five Stone Golems, their hulking figures motionless but imposing, eyes glowing with a dull blue light.

They were guarding a huge door. 'That might be the boos room' Liam thought.

"Prepare yourselves," Liam said, his voice steady as he held his axe. "These golems won't be easy, but we have the numbers."

Grothar cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Finally, a real fight."

With a low rumble, the first golem began to move, its massive fists raising high as it lumbered toward the group. Liam charged forward, Grothar right beside him, as the first clash of metal against stone echoed through the dungeon.

Grothar took 2 of the golems while the remaining three was teemed up by Liam and the others.

The battle had begun.

Liam and his group had already taken down multiple golems, their stone bodies shattered and crumbling across the dungeon floor. But something was wrong.

No matter how many times they smashed the hulking creatures into pieces, the golems slowly began to reassemble themselves. Stone limbs crawled back into place, and the creatures stood tall once more, glowing eyes fixed on the orcs.

"Impossible..." Grothar growled, slamming his axe into a golem's chest again, only for it to start reforming moments later. "These things should stay down!"

Liam gritted his teeth as he dodged another heavy swing from a golem. His mind raced, trying to make sense of the situation. Then it hit him—something he had read about golems in his past life once.

Golem cores.

The bodies were just vessels—what truly powered them was the core hidden within.

Liam's eyes narrowed as he focused on the golems, scanning them carefully. His gaze fell on their backs, where small, glowing crystals pulsed faintly with a deep, bluish light. Those were the cores!

"Stop breaking them apart!" Liam shouted to the others. "It's the cores! In their backs—those crystals! Destroy the cores, or they'll keep coming back!"

The orcs shifted their focus immediately.

Grothar, already in a battle-fueled rage, spun around a golem, gripping his axe tightly. He brought it crashing down onto the back of the nearest golem, striking the glowing crystal dead-center.

The moment the core shattered, the entire golem froze in place before crumbling to dust, this time not reforming.

One down.

The rest of the group followed suit. Another orc, leaping onto the back of a golem, smashed its core with his hammer, sending shards of crystal flying. The golem collapsed, motionless.

With each destroyed core, the tide of the battle shifted in their favor. Liam slashed through a golem's defenses and, with precision, pierced its glowing core with his blade. The creature collapsed instantly.

"That's it!" Grothar bellowed, laughing as he struck down another golem. "These stone giants aren't so tough now!"

One by one, the golems fell for good, their cores shattered into nothingness. The once relentless onslaught was now just piles of inert stone.

With the golems finally destroyed, the dungeon fell into an eerie silence. 

Liam and his band of orcs marched forward towards the door and opened it.

The door led to a long hallway at the end of which lay what looked like a gigantic golem.

As they approached the golem its eyes started to glow and it stood up. It was an imposing figure of at least 8 meters. Its body adorned with many intricate ruins.

Its eyes fell upon Liam and his group as he began began charging towards them. 

Liam and his group battled the gigantic golem, but every attack seemed to barely scratch its stone body.

The beast was relentless, and with every blow they landed, it only seemed to grow more enraged. Sweat dripped down Liam's face as he realized brute force wouldn't win this fight.

"Fall back!" he yelled. "We need to rethink this!"

As his mind raced for a solution, Liam began searching the massive golem for its core, the weak spot that would disable it.

But no matter where he looked — chest, back, limbs — there was no sign of the crystal.

His frustration mounted as the golem continued its assault, its strength unmatched by anything they'd faced before.

"Grothar, hold it off! I'll find a way!" he called out, scanning the room in desperation.

That's when he noticed something peculiar — faint inscriptions on the ancient dungeon walls, barely visible beneath layers of dust and time's wear. He quickly approached, hoping they might hold the key to defeating the golem.

The markings looked ancient, but their meaning eluded him at first glance. Liam ran his fingers over the worn stone, trying to decipher the script.

He had learned countless languages from the basic guide he'd acquired, and though these runes were obscure, there was something vaguely familiar about them.

"Grothar, buy me some time!" Liam shouted again, as his hands traced the worn symbols, mentally piecing together the fragmented letters.

Grothar, a tower of strength, bellowed a war cry and swung his war axe at the golem, keeping it distracted while Liam concentrated.

After what felt like an eternity, Liam finally pieced together the ancient text. It was an incantation, a spell written in an old tongue used by those who controlled the dungeon's defenses. This had to be the key!

Taking a deep breath, Liam whispered the incantation aloud, his voice trembling with the unfamiliar words.

The room trembled as a sudden burst of energy surged through the air, the golem momentarily faltering.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Liam repeated the chant with more confidence. The inscriptions glowed faintly, responding to his words.

As Liam chanted the ancient incantation, the air around them began to shift. The ground beneath their feet rumbled, and the once dimly glowing inscriptions flared to life, their light so intense it momentarily blinded him.

Suddenly, instead of the golem slowing as expected, the stone giant froze mid-swing, its arm inches away from crushing Grothar. The entire room fell into an eerie silence.

Liam's heart pounded in his chest as the glowing runes intensified. The incantation seemed to be working, but something was wrong

— it felt like too much power was surging through the room.

The light swirled, twisting and coalescing into a dense, shadowy form above the golem.

Without warning, a crack appeared in the air, like reality itself was splitting apart.

From the fracture, a dark, swirling vortex emerged. A terrifying presence poured out, and Liam's stomach dropped as he realized what was happening.

A demon—its figure humanoid but twisted with dark wings and horns—materialized from the void.

The golem, which had been unstoppable moments before, suddenly collapsed into the ground, as if crushed by an unseen force.

The demon, its eyes burning with otherworldly fire, hovered silently above

the fallen golem.

For a split second, its gaze locked onto Liam, who stood frozen in awe and fear. The sheer weight of its power made the air feel suffocating.

Liam's mind raced—Was this what the inscription had summoned? Had he accidentally called forth a being far more dangerous than the golem itself?

Without a word, the demon extended a clawed hand toward the golem. Dark energy crackled, and with a swift motion, it drew something — a core, but not of the golem.

It was a swirling mass of dark energy, pulsating with immense power. The demon clasped it tightly, and then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it gave a final glance at Liam.

Then, with a powerful flap of its wings, the demon flew smashing the roof into smitheries.

Liam stood in stunned silence, his mind racing to comprehend what had just occurred. The golem was defeated, but in its place, something far worse had been unleashed into the world.

"What in the gods' names was that? Its strength was unfathomable" Grothar grumbled, still catching his breath from the fight.

Liam swallowed hard. "I... I don't know. But whatever it was, we were lucky it didn't turn its wrath on us."

The victory felt hollow. The dungeon held far more secrets than he had anticipated.

They hadn't just deactivated the golem. They had summoned something ancient... and possibly even more dangerous.

Liam snapped out of his thoughts as the adrenaline of the fight began to subside.

His eyes fell on something he hadn't noticed in the chaos: a staircase leading downward, carved into the stone floor at the far end of the room.

His heart skipped a beat. "The second floor?" he muttered to himself. There was no way in hell they were ready to face whatever awaited them down there.

As he was about to turn back, his gaze caught sight of something else — a chest nestled against the rubble where the golem had stood. It shimmered with a faint purple hue, indicating its rarity. A purple-tier chest.

Liam stepped toward it, his boots crunching softly on the stone. He reached down, brushing off the dust and debris before carefully opening the chest.

Inside, the faint glow of the chest illuminated its contents — valuable loot awaited, no doubt.

He couldn't help but grin. The battle may have taken an unexpected turn, but this reward might just make the trip worth it.

"We'll take the chest and get out of here for now," Liam said, standing up with a determined expression.

Turning to Grothar and the orcs, he added, "We'll return when we're stronger. But first, let's see what treasure we've earned."

[Obtained purple tier chest. Do you wish to open it?]

"Yes"

*Ding*

[Obtained 1 random hero summon token (Blue - Gold). Obtained 5 random blueprint(Use to reveal what they are). Obtained 1 advanced class change token.]

Liam was extremely pleased with the loot he had obtained and started their journey back.

As Liam and his group approached their camp they spotted some orcs, Grothar's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Those orcs!" he exclaimed, quickening his pace. The figures were familiar, a mix of warriors and scouts from the Ironblood Tribe.

When Grothar reached them, they erupted with excitement. "Grothar! You're alive!" one orc shouted, clasping his shoulder. "We thought you were lost!"

Grothar smiled, his pride evident. "I've been busy. What brings you here?"

"We have a message from the chief," another orc said, his voice filled with urgency. "He needs your strength for an upcoming battle."

Liam watched the reunion, feeling a sense of camaraderie. He stepped forward and gestured towards his camp.

"Grothar take them in the camp. There you guys can talk comfortably"

The group of orcs followed him back to the camp, where Grothar took charge of them.

As Liam entered his hall, a weary-looking orc approached him. "Chief Liam," he said, bowing slightly. "An old orc has come to visit. He claims to have something of great importance to discuss."

"Send him in," Liam instructed, curious about who this old orc might be and what wisdom he could offer.

Moments later, a frail but commanding figure shuffled into the room, leaning heavily on a gnarled staff.

"Greeting young chief. I am Uldren" The orc spoke in a raspy yet resonant tone. "Were you the one who freed the demon sealed in a dundeon?"

Liam hesitated, the memory of the golem and the mysterious incantation still fresh in his mind. "I... may have encountered something," he admitted cautiously.

"I never thought I would be able to witness what is happening in this lifetime, Hahahahaha" The old orc threw his head back in laughter.

"Did I do something I should not have?" Liam asked nervously

"Worry not, young chief! You've merely unearthed a fragment of history. Allow me to share a tale."

He settled into a nearby chair, his staff resting beside him. "Long ago, during the Great War between humans and orcs, the tides of battle were turned by celestial forces.

Angels descended to aid the humans, while demons—yes, demons—aligned with the orcs. They were powerful beings, often misunderstood, just as you may have found that demon in the dungeon."

Liam listened intently, captivated by the old orc's words.

"The demons offered strength and cunning, and in return, they sought freedom. But the war was brutal, and as the balance of power shifted, both sides were forced to make dire sacrifices."

"The Seraphims were forever bound to Heavens and the strongest of the demons were sealed away at the lowest levels of hell to prevent them from wreaking more havoc."

"But they were some that defied their punishment and thus they had to be forcibly sealed in the mortal plane indefinitely"