章節 17: Descending into the belly of the beast
Behind them, Kayle was still rummaging through the fallen orcs' gear. He pocketed a few coins and a small trinket before standing up, satisfied with the loot. "At least we're making some coin out of this" he said, trying to lighten the mood. Once his work was complete, they resumed the march through the corridor from where the orcs appeared and downstairs, leaving the old forgotten forges behind.
The stairway was broken in many places, and they had to jump to not fall into the chasm that extended to the unknown down below. Raven looked down in one of those pits and she could swear she saw things moving, but it must be her imagination. What she understood, is that the dungeon scenarios were like a box with invisible barriers, you are not supposed to go beyond those borders...
'Would that be true?' Deep in thought, she kept walking behind the dwarf.
Thorsen marched ahead, hammer resting on his shoulder, his eyes scanning for any signs of movement... the staircase was massive, it was taking them to the depths of the dungeon, and it was strangely silent.
"Proceed with caution" Eruru said, by now the group understood they already knew they were here and this was probably leading to a trap.
It was until they reached the end of the stair that another doorway awaited for them. Raven instincts flared with danger, warning her of the room ahead, it was no good. She tapped the shoulder of Thorsed to warn him, and he nodded in agreement. The silence there was too unnatural, understanding the group reaction, Kayle laid down his bag and took a small metallic sphere, Raven hadn't seen something like this, but the warrior understood the purpose of this, so he grabbed it and threw it inside the room with strength...
They could hear the metallic ball bouncing on the hard-tone floor, it echoed in the room, and suddenly a bright flash illuminated the place, roars of angry orcs and from some whelps could be heard, then hell broke lose.
<<The enemies are infuriated because of the sudden light>>
<<Chaos has erupted in the enemy lines>>
Fireballs launched from the tinny whelps started crossing the room, grunts of pain and howls of anger rose even more, some shouts in a foreign language crossed the room, but it seemed as if with the sudden light the whelps panicked and started to attack their masters. As the blinding flash from Kayle's sphere still lit up the room, Raven's instincts kicked in immediately, her body moving before her mind had fully processed the situation. She darted forward, sliding through the floor to avoid the incoming fireballs.
[Brown Whelpling lvl1]
[Brown Whelpling lvl1]
[Brown Whelpling lvl1]
[Orc Brute lvl1]
[Orc Brute lvl1]
The room was wide, and cavernous, maybe it used to be some kind of material storage room in the past, but now it was scattered with orcish weapons and makeshift barricades lining the perimeter. Raven, now among the chaos, used the chance and extended her hand toward one of the barricades.
"『Fire Butterfly Swarm』!" She casted her only offensive spell, it may be weak but...
The tinny butterflies flew toward the barricades and they caught on fire. As she smiled wickedly for achieving her goal Thorsen came dashing behind her, moving his head to avoid one tiny fireball that impacted on the wall behind.
"Not a rogue it seems!" He said with a grin on his face, they hadn't revealed their status to one another, so the girl casting a spell was a surprise for him, as well for Eruru and Kayle who looked dumbfounded behind, but it was time for battle, not for idle chat.
The moment Raven's Fire Butterfly Swarm ignited the barricades, chaos erupted in full force. The wooden structures caught fire quickly, smoke rising and filling the already tense atmosphere. The whelps, frightened by the sudden flames, screeched in panic, their tiny wings flapping as they launched erratic fireballs in every direction. The orcs, trying to regain control over their charges, roared commands in their guttural language, but the whelps were too frenzied to listen.
Thorsen, charging in right after Raven, let out a thunderous battle cry as he swung his hammer with precision. One of the whelps swooped down toward him, trying to unleash a fireball at close range. But the dwarf was ready. He spun, his hammer connecting with the creature's side, sending it crashing into the burning barricade. The beast let out a final screech before succumbing to the flames.
<<The party has defeated a Brown Whelpling>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
'A clown class' Crossed the mind of Thorsen 'Interesting' as he moved behind the burning barricades to avoid a stone thrown by one of the orcs.
Raven was already moving, she was used to keep moving in mid-battle, even if she wasn't the fastest she had trained to use everything she can as an advantage. One of the brutes spotted her and came charging with its crude axe raised. It slashed downward, aiming to cleave her in two, Raven sprang backward, narrowly avoiding the brute's heavy axe swing. Her hands hit the ground, and with a swift push, she propelled herself forward, her body twisting with agility. As she closed the distance, she hooked her legs around the orc's thick neck, using the momentum to flip herself up. In one fluid motion, she drove her dagger into the side of the orc's head, the blade sinking deep as the brute let out a guttural roar, collapsing under her.
<<The party has defeated an Orc Brute>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
"『Wind Blade』!" Eruru casted again her spell.
<<The party has defeated a Brown Whelpling>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
<<The party has defeated a Brown Whelpling>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
The announcement popped twice inside Raven head, it seemed like the clever girl used her wind spell across the Barricade, turning her spell into a dual element carrying the fire from the burning boxes and wood and struck down two enemies at once. From behind her lady, Kayle had been aiming with a slingshot towards the last whelp, and then shotted at it, hitting the small creature with a metal round on the head, causing it to fall to the fire near the first one that had died.
<<The party has defeated a Brown Whelpling>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
The last orc was fighting with Thorsen, or at least trying to.
"『Double Impact』" said the dwarf calmly.
The orc had barely parried his mace, but then two attacks from opposing directions came to the orc at the same time, getting squished by the sheer brute force of the stone hammer. His body compressed terribly as he erupted in blood.
'Sheesh... level 2 ain't no joke' thought Raven seeing the display.
<<The party has defeated an Orc Brute>>
<<Experience points have been distributed>>
"Let's move on!" Proclaimed the dwarf pointing to another room "Leave the loot, if we don't leave soon the smoke will get us!"
As Thorsen pointed toward the next room, Raven wiped the blood from her dagger and nodded in agreement. The thickening smoke from the burning barricades was starting to choke the air, and it wouldn't be long before they'd have to deal with that threat as much as the orcs themselves. The crackling flames and the stench of scorched wood and orcish bodies filled the cavern, reminding them that the fight was far from over.
Kayle, usually the one to scavenge for any remaining valuables, hesitated. "You sure we want to leave everything behind? There might be something..."
"Leave it!" Thorsen barked, already marching ahead toward the doorway.
With no time for arguments, the party moved quickly toward the doorway Thorsen had pointed out. It was a narrow archway, partially crumbled, leading deeper into the dungeon. Raven took a final glance at the burning room behind them before disappearing into the shadows of the next corridor.
The new passage was much narrower, the walls pressing close, making it hard to move with the same freedom they had in the previous rooms. The only light came from the faint glow of their weapons and Eruru's staff, casting long, eerie shadows on the stone walls. The silence returned, broken only by the faint crackle of fire behind them and the occasional drip of water echoing through the cavernous depths.
At least they avoided the mortal trap of the smoke, and the path led them towards a small room, it was another storage room but filled with wooden furniture used to store goods, they seemed crude, definitely not made by the dwarfs, this was orcish manufacture...
"We are safe here for now" Exclaimed Raven as she fidgeted around.
Kayle gave Eruru a bottle of water and offered the rest some. It was a good moment for a brief rest before they can continue to delve inside this place. Raven grabbed the crystal flask containing water and drink a couple of sips before giving it back to Kayle with a nod. She kept searching around the goods stored by the orcs and find what she was looking for.
"Kayle dear, save this for me, don't cha?" She said with a fake innocent smile, she was holding a dry jerky and a jar with what seemed to be booze"
"What!?" He said surprised "You have a death wish eating that!?"
"Hey, lass you have to share that!" Said Thorsen.
"Eeeeh!? No way!"
As Raven and Thorsen bickered playfully over the orcish jerky and booze, Eruru and Kayle exchanged tired but amused glances. The tension from their earlier battle had subsided, and the small moment of silliness was a welcome break. It seemed for them that Raven and Thorsen were used to killing stuff, this was a new experience for Eruru, and she was terrified, even if she was keeping her cool.
"It seems like we took a different turn, but we have to use this moment to recover, this scenario isn't too big, we should be encountering the rex monster of this floor soon" She said sitting on a create while rubbing her hands.
"Aye, you're right, elf. But I'll be keeping an eye on that jerky" Answered Thorsen looking at Raven.
Raven, with a mischievous grin, tossed the jar of orcish booze to Kayle "Fine, you can have it if you're that desperate, but don't come crying to me if you end up sick"
Kayle caught the jar with a chuckle, for some reason he came to feel more comfortable around the cat girl since he had met her yesterday, almost forgetting that they had fished her out of the slums, giving it a playful shake before tucking it into his pack. "I'll save it for when we're out of here then"
"No way, now everybody wants to steal my stuff!" Raven pretended to be offended with exaggerated theatricality using her artistic vein.
Thorsen grunted, still eyeing the jerky "You might be right, lad. No sense in celebratin' before we've made it through this mess"
Eruru, who had remained silent during the banter, took a deep breath and leaned back against the crate "This is... different than what I imagined. It's hard to wrap my head around it all"
Raven looked over at her, sensing her discomfort "First time in a real dungeon, huh?"
Eruru nodded "It's not the fighting, not exactly. It's how real it feels. I've trained for this, I've studied for it, but when you're here, facing creatures that want to kill you... it's overwhelming."
"That's normal" Raven said, her tone softer now. "Everyone feels it the first time, be it creatures or people. The important thing is you kept your head, you used your spells, and we got through it."
Thorsen, nodding in agreement, added "Aye, you're tougher than you think, elf. You have done well"
Eruru smiled, a little more at ease. "Thank you. I'll try to remember that"
Everyone in the room felt it, they were near the end of this assault. Now they had strengthened their resolve to push forward.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票