Chương 39: Chapter 30: Julian's First Dungeon Run is Too Boring (Part 2)
"Wait, what the fuck? What's happening?"
"What the…!? What do we do!?"
"Did the entrance just close on us!?"
[When two graves are dug, many will suffer. You are within the gods' reach and have been detected, Julian Winters. The punishment shall now be carried out.]
And while everyone was wondering what was going on, Julian was currently staring at the words floating in front of him. He looked at the others, but none of them seemed to be looking at anything floating in front of them.
Talia cursed under her breath, snapping him back to the moment. "Damn it, Cyrus! You raised the flag!"
Cyrus, looking genuinely confused, stammered. "I—what? What did I do?"
"You and your fucking flags!" Talia spat, pointing at him. "All your whining about wanting something to happen, and now the dungeon's shifting!"
"Wait, wait!" Cyrus raised his hands defensively, a nervous laugh escaping him. "It's true that I was setting up flags, but I didn't want a fucking Dungeon Shift to happen!"
Julian was confused as he glanced at the others. "What's... a flag?"
"A flag is—" Dyrroth began, but before he could explain, Talia cut him off.
"Are you seriously going to explain that right now!? The exit's blocked!"
The dungeon was rearranging itself, the walls trembling as the roots and vines twisted into new shapes. They were… completely being locked in on all sides.
Cyrus tried to force a grin, clearly trying to play it cool for the chat. "I mean, this is kinda exciting, right? A Dungeon Shift? That's... good content."
Talia glared at him. "You're an idiot."
Titus, who had been silent for most of the conversation, finally spoke up, his voice low and serious. "A Dungeon Shift... here, in the Ethaca Dungeon? That's not normal."
"Is it dangerous?" Julian asked, his hand already tightening around his shield.
"Very," Talia said flatly, her eyes scanning the shifting walls. "Ethaca's supposed to be a beginner's dungeon. This shouldn't be happening."
"We… we need to get out of here, my dudes" Dyrroth muttered, his stuttering.
Talia nodded. "Dyrroth, try to cut the exit open. We don't have time to mess around."
Dyrroth stepped forward, pulling out two daggers from behind him as he reached for the vine-covered exit. "Got it! I'll—"
Before he could finish, the floor beneath them gave way. And in an instant, the ground crumbled, and they were falling—sliding down into the dark, deeper into the dungeon.
"W…what the fuck!?" Talia screamed.
"No, no…!" Dyrroth tried punching his daggers through the vines, but the walls of the dungeon were too hard for his blades.
The descent felt like it lasted forever. The tunnel they fell through was steep, twisting, and Julian could not help but feel regretful that he was involving other people again with his ridiculous Master of Shadows quest. His heart raced, but there was nothing he could do but ride it out… literally.
And after a few more seconds of sliding, bouncing, and being thrown around, they finally landed—rolling on the cold, uneven, and rough floor. Julian thought he lost his vision for a bit, but it would seem all of them couldn't see anything because of the extreme darkness.
Cyrus was already talking to the chat again, his voice shaky but trying to stay upbeat. "Well, chat... things just got a little crazy. We're, uh, deeper in the dungeon now. Way deeper."
Julian groaned as he pushed himself up, the cold floor underneath him a sharp contrast to the intense heat they'd felt before. His body ached from the fall, but nothing seemed broken. Around him, the rest of the group was slowly getting to their feet.
"Everyone okay?" Talia asked, brushing dirt off her bulky armor.
"Yeah, yeah, just fine," Dyrroth muttered, shaking his head as he stood. "That was... not fun. Not fun at all, my dudes."
Julian looked around as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, taking in their new surroundings. The chamber they'd landed in was massive, the ceiling disappearing into the darkness above them. The walls, unlike the ones in the upper dungeon, weren't made of roots or vines. Instead, they were cold, dark stone. It was eerie—too quiet.
"Titus, light." Talia whispered.
"Roger that." Titus summoned a small ball of fire to light the room. Julian could not help but stare at the fire—no. At the magic. He had already seen several people using magic in Artemia, but this was the first time he was actually seeing it up close and personal.
Unfortunately, he was not able to admire it for long… as the flickering light revealed what had been hidden in the shadows—statues. Dozens and dozens of them.
"People…?" Julian's breath caught as he took in the sight. The statues were human-like, but not quite. Twisted figures, some missing limbs, others with their faces frozen in grotesque expressions of pain or fear, and some missing their heads altogether.
They were made of copper, their once shiny surfaces dulled and corroded by time. They looked broken, like they'd been forgotten down here for centuries.
"Living Statues," Talia said, her voice calm but serious.
"Living…?" Julian asked, glancing at her.
Talia nodded. "Yeah. They move. And they fight. But these ones..." She stepped closer to one of the statues, examining its tarnished surface. "...since they're made of copper, they shouldn't be that hard to deal with. The problem is the goddamn fucking number of them."
"How many do you think there are?" Julian asked, his voice low.
Titus, scanning the room, let out a low whistle. "There's probably more than a hundred of them."
Cyrus, looking pale, finally spoke. "Uh, chat... I don't think we're supposed to be here."
"Brilliant deduction, Cy," Talia snapped, her tone sharp. "Now shut up. You got us into this mess."
"How is this my fault?" Cyrus protested, looking genuinely offended.
"You raised the flag!" Talia shot back.
"Dudes, chill," Dyrroth said, trying to keep things light. "Relax. These things aren't even moving. We can just sneak past them."
Talia frowned. "Don't get too comfortable. Living Statues usually don't move until something triggers them. Titus, lead the way."
"Great. So let's not trigger them," Cyrus muttered, clearly uncomfortable as he stayed near the back—but not because he was truly scared, but because he still wanted to capture Julian even despite the danger they were in.
And as the group began to move, Julian caught something in his sight, something moving in one of the Living Statues—just a slight shift. The head, maybe? Its position had changed, ever so slightly.
Julian stared at it, and the statue's copper eyes, once blank and lifeless, seemed to be looking directly at him now.
"...I think this one is looking at me," Julian said quietly.
Talia turned to him, her brows furrowing. "Please don't say that right now. Did… is it really looking at you?"
Julian didn't answer right away. His eyes darted around the room, catching similar movements from other statues. They were completely still when he looked directly at them, but he knew what he'd seen. They were waiting. Watching.
"Shit, you're right," Talia said as she noticed too, her voice barely above a whisper. "We need to get out of here without triggering them."
Julian gave a tight nod, his grip on his shield tightening. The others followed Talia's lead, moving cautiously toward an arc that seemed to be the only exit from this mysterious chamber, trying their best not to disturb anything.
The air felt heavy, every step echoing slightly in the dark, cold space. The copper statues loomed over them like twisted sentinels, their empty eyes following the group even though they hadn't moved—yet.
"Stay calm, and try not to touch them," Talia warned again, her voice barely above a whisper.
Cyrus, walking carefully behind Julian, muttered under his breath. "How am I supposed to find a good angle for the stream if we can't touch anything?"
"You're… still streaming?" Julian whispered, glancing back at him in disbelief.
"It's not like I can turn this off," Cyrus replied, his voice tense. "And someone just donated 300 credits. You… should probably thank them."
"...Now?" Julian blinked.
Talia shot Cyrus a glare. "Are you fucking serious, Cy?"
The group continued to creep forward, the arc still too far for comfort. Julian kept his eyes on the statues, scanning for any sign of life. For now, they were still—too still.
Suddenly, Titus, who had been walking in silence, froze. He lifted a hand, signaling for everyone to stop.
"Ssh," Titus whispered, his head tilting slightly. "I think I heard something."
The group went silent, their breaths held.
"Sorry, my dudes. But—" Dyrroth's face flushed as the loud, unmistakable sound of a fart echoed through the chamber.
Talia groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "God damn it, Dyrroth!"
"I—I'm sorry, my dudes! I was trying to hold it in!" Dyrroth stammered, his face red with embarrassment.
For a moment, the tension in the room seemed to break. Even Julian cracked a smile. But the relief was short-lived.
A loud scraping sound cut through the chamber, coming from somewhere in front of them. The scraping sound came again, and another statue seemed to have moved, just a little. Then another. And another.
"They're moving," Julian said quietly, his voice tight.
The statues, which had been so still moments before, were now more obvious with their movements. Their limbs creaked and groaned as they began to shift in place. And all of a sudden, they were all just looking at them.
But still, none of them were attacking just yet, and the group continued to move toward the arc.
"S… shit…"
"What? What is it?" Talia turned to look at Dyrroth as he once again made a noise, "Don't fucking tell me you're—"
And before she could finish her words, she noticed that Julian was pulling Dyrroth by the arms… and that a copper sword was stuck in Dyrroth's stomach.
"This… is not good, my dudes." Dyrroth chuckled awkwardly as he took a step back and pulled out the copper sword. His eyes widened in shock as he stumbled back, blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched the wound. "I… didn't even notice."
Fortunately for Dyrroth, Julian was able to hear and feel the air shift—because if Julian hadn't pulled him the moment he did, then the wound would have definitely been bigger.
"Titus! Heal him!"
"I got it!" Titus roared, quickly rushing to aid Dyrroth.
But it would seem the rest of the statues weren't going to wait anymore. One by one, they started to move even wilder, their twisted copper forms coming to life as they closed in on the group, surrounding them from all sides.
"Get ready!" Talia shouted, finally drawing her longsword as she looked at all the Living Statues slowly walking toward them. "Julian, you might want to stay back! We know you're strong…
…but this is way beyond your—"
And before Talia could finish her words, Julian already stepped beside her and unsheathed his sword, and tightened his grip on his shield.
"No," Julian breathed out as a small smile crawled on his face again.
"Let's just get this over with."
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