Chương 7: Armored lizard

The dungeon is dark as usual. As if that weren't enough this one is also a damp shithole. That smell made my nostrils want to sew themselves shut but I can't let them. Some monsters can only be detected by their smell. Limiting your senses to feel more comfortable leads to death in the dungeon. I won't make such an idiotic mistake!

"So Jade, think this place is safe? We want to set up camp now."

The same thing can't be said about my teammates. I don't know what had possessed me to agree to join them for this delve but I begin to suspect it was something they put in my drink.

All three of them were wearing filter masks that emitted fruity odors inside them. They'd offered me one as well but I had declined. A good choice on my side. When a group of toxic slimes tried to ambush us I'd been the only one to notice the rancid odor in the air.

Unfortunately, that has prompted my new teammates to make it my responsibility to detect any monsters.

And now they want to set up camp! Are they out of their minds? This place has no light, we are in a narrow tunnel without any cover and we don't even know where the tunnel leads!

"We can't stop here! This place is extremely disadvantageous for us."

"Don't worry so much. Even if we are at a disadvantage we can still take anything the dungeon throws at us. We'll set up camp now and continue after resting."

Those idiots! They could take it? Their levels were only between 30 and 40 and they still had basic classes. Even I, a level 80 sanguine swordsman didn't dare say I could take whatever the dungeon throws at me. But what could I do? Teams like this had a system of majority rule and they wanted to set up camp.

Sighing in discontent I begin to lay down my sleeping bag. Meanwhile, the other three are yelling at our two carriers to get their tent set up. The carriers work very quickly and efficiently so half an hour later the tent stands and a fire burns in the makeshift fireplace.

I'm holding a steaming cup of tea in my hands and vigilantly scan the dark surroundings as I take small sips. Suddenly there are small ripples on the tea's surface. They are small but they come from something and they are also getting stronger.

I chug down the rest of the tea and start to pack up my things in a hasty manner. The other three were looking at me confused.

"Something's coming. Pack your things in case we have to run, quick!"

By now we can hear a low but rapid pounding from the tunnel out of the direction we came from. Then a guttural roar reminding of an angry crocodile's shakes the tunnel. We are screwed!

That roar is dreaded by all those who enter this dungeon. Armored lizards are rare in this dungeon but due to their innate ability to grow different metals on their skin, they are tough monsters to fight. Usually, they keep to their nest and feeding grounds so finding one of them here is strange.

"Do we fight it?"

"Do you think you can win?"

Thomas is a shield-bearer at level 32. Since his class gives him doubled defensive stats he isn't opposed to getting into dangerous situations. However, his strength stat is at about 40 points so he certainly won't do much damage to the armored lizard.

"We can't leave yet! The carriers need at least ten minutes to disassemble the tent and other equipment. We have to stall it until then."

"How do you want to stall a massive lizard that's coming at us with the speed and weight of a freight train?!!"

All three of them only care for their comfort! Alain, the team leader, is a level 40 swordsman while Louis is a level 35 archer. Both of them don't have defense-heavy classes and they still want to stall that monster.

"So what? You are level 80 and have an advanced class, surely you can stall that lizard."

"My stats may be higher than those of the lizard but it's already gained too much momentum! I can't stop it without killing it and for your information, I can't do that before it tramples me to death. We have to retreat along the tunnel now and find an open area to fight it."

"But our equipment!"

"You need to be alive to use that equipment!"

"Dammit, we're leaving, now!"

Finally, Alain manages to use his brain for multiple consecutive seconds and orders a retreat. We begin to sprint along the tunnel walls leaving the camp behind.

The good news, lizard's speed seems slower than I anticipated. The bad news, we are not running in the direction we came from so we don't know what's ahead of us.

I have to drastically lower my speed so the others can keep up and the carriers are struggling hard to keep up. As the stomping intensifies, I look back and see a hulking dark mass in the tunnel behind us. We are too slow and this stupid tunnel seems to have no end!

The distance between us and the lizard shrinks further and I can now see its stone covered head and angry eyes. The carriers are driven by the fear of death and manage to keep up the pace but then Louis kicks one of them sending him flying at the other one.

Both of them lose their footing and get crushed under the lizard. The lizard seems confused that some of his prey was suddenly eliminated and slows down a little. But soon it regains its focus and is once again gaining on us.

What Louis did was a heartless act. Sure, it had helped the rest of us gain some headway but at what cost? Two lives were lost.

Then the tunnel around us suddenly opens up into a large cavern. With this, our chances of survival increase greatly and the sacrificing of those two carriers becomes all the more unreasonable.

Now, it's time to fight that lizard!