I fell, or at least my brain said I was falling, I felt vertigo but I couldn't see anything, it was just pitch black and I knew that dungeons had a way of fucking with reality. Notifications appeared to distract me from my falling, or not falling.
Congratulations you have found a Tier 4 challenge dungeon, Spring Falls. As you are one of the first to enter you will gain higher rewards for completing the dungeon. As this dungeon is upgrading the party parameters have not been set.
You have received a new Quest.
Quest: Dungeon Spelunking
Type: Dungeon-mandatory
Description: Traverse each floor of the dungeon completing the challenges of the dungeon and exit through the treasury.
Reward: Access to dungeon treasury. New title. 2000xp. Extra rewards based on individual room completion.
Penalties for failure or refusal: Impossible to refuse
Accept: yes/yes
As this dungeon has recently upgraded your starting room will consist of a challenge that includes those by the entrance of the dungeon.
The falling sensation lasted for quite a while before reality finally warped around me. I felt the world squeeze and then elongate, things began to appear around me. At first it was a table, then a workbench, then some shelves, some more work benches and tables, then a whole forge including a bellows. Slowly what looked like a smithy appeared around me, lastly tools, ore, ingots and some partially created weapons appeared around the smithy littering the area as if a bunch of people had just vanished mid work. Then the first skeleton appeared and I fired my Identification spell at it.
Name: Elite Skeleton Swordsman
Level 47
Type: Rare
Description: An undead human. This human has been brought back to life and may still poses some of its skills and abilities..
Health: 4000/4000
Mana: 1000/1000
Effects: Vulnerable to holy damage, Vulnerable to fire damage. Immune to curses. Immune to death magic. Immune to poison.
*Note, as this creature is recognised by your Soul Reaper class as an adversary, all combat restrictions are removed from all class abilities (excluding disabled abilities or skills) and you will be able to gain xp from defeating this monster.
It was one of the elite swordsmen, the armour it wore was designed for a human, it had a few puncture holes showing that it had been looted from a corpse. The sword it held was solid steel and didn't appear to have any kicks or dents. A second skeleton appeared followed by one of the elite skeleton mages a few steps behind them.
Name: Elite Skeleton Mage
Level 45
Type: Rare
Description: An undead elf. This elf has been brought back to life and may still poses some of its skills and abilities.
Health: 1000/1000
Mana: 4000/4000
Effects: Vulnerable to holy damage, Vulnerable to fire damage. Immune to curses. Immune to death magic. Immune to poison.
*Note, as this creature is recognised by your Soul Reaper class as an adversary, all combat restrictions are removed from all class abilities (excluding disabled abilities or skills) and you will be able to gain xp from defeating this monster.
I tried to move but I was locked in place, I could still feel my body however it was like I'd been hit with a Hold Humanoid spell, thankfully the skeletons weren't moving either so they must have been under the same effect. Between us was a workbench with a large silver and black warhammer on it and the large metal anvil sat just beyond the workbench.
I took the time to quickly plan out what I needed to do. I needed to take out the mage first, killing it outright would be impossible but if i didn't deal with it it would be easy for it to stop me with a spell. The swordsmen might be the easier of the two however they would be able to block a physical attack, Death Bolt was my go to magic attack but it was severely limited against the undead, you know, with them being dead already. My planning was interrupted by a notification.
Challenge 1: Defeat your opponents by any means necessary.
As soon as the message appeared I felt the force holding me disappear and I made a decision, my feet settled onto the floor and instantly I was gone. I appeared next to the swordsmen on the left, I watched an orb of dark mana fly through where I had been seconds before and splash against the wall. The spell splashed against the wall leaving a sticky black goop wherever it touched, I had a feeling it would be really bad to be touched by the black goop.
I lashed out with my scythe and cut through the swordsman's spine just above the pelvis. I brought the snath of my scythe up to block the sword it swung and it bounced off harmlessly off the metal as the skeleton collapsed to the ground. I used Etheric Step to move to the otherside of the smithy as another spell passed through the place I had just been standing. I needed cover from the spells that the mage was casting. I heaved on the workbench I stood next trying to create a barricade, I stood there for a few seconds, like an idiot, trying to heave the workbench that I realised was either far too heavy or, more likely, was magically stuck to the floor. I wondered why my Danger Sense hadn’t triggered and I looked up to see that the skeletal swordsman was getting back to its feel, spine intact once again, I narrowed my eyes and realised that the skeletal mage had healed the swordsman.
Fuck.
I decided against trying to shift the table and instead went back on the offensive. I grabbed my scythe that I’d dropped on the floor and used Etheric Step to appear next to the mage, I quickly cast Empower Attack as I lashed out in an attempt to decapitate it. My blade hit a magical barrier and bounced off it but it left large cracks from the impact, I watched as the cracks slowly began to fix themselves and I frowned. I danced back and sidestepped as the swordsman lunged at me. The skeleton was a little faster than I was and I felt its sword slice through my robes and graze my side. I winced but rotated my wrists, my scythe swung around and just managed to catch its left wrist and sever it. The skeleton’s sword clattered to the ground along with its hand, I felt my Danger Sense go haywire and I rolled sideways on the ground as I felt the air around me become charged, I just managed to get out of the way as a bolt of dark lightning crackled and curved into the warhammer that was on the workbench next to me. There was a long bang and I cried out as a shard of metal slammed into my thigh. I took the time to pull it out and cast Lesser Regeneration on myself.
Stolen novel; please report.
As I got to my feet I lept high into the air swinging my staff in an overhead chop right towards the forge, at the last second I used Etheric Step to appear just behind the swordsmen. Combat Grace kicked in and my scythe cut through the metal helmet it wore. The downward momentum I had built up didn’t have enough to carry on through the skull of the swordsman but I was satisfied to hear two clangs as the helmet fell to the ground in 2 parts. I rolled forwards past the skeleton and gracefully got to my feet just in time for my Danger Sense to spike again and I rolled past the metal anvil before jumping up and over another workbench knocking leather scraps everywhere. A ball of dark mana exploded against the anvil behind me as I rolled over the workbench.
I imagine the fight looked really cool with me appearing and disappearing constantly and the mage not being able to hit me with a spell. If I’m honest I was surprised I was doing so well. I had trained with Raven to become more agile with my dodges and rolls and had worked hard with Taylor and Harold to get better at combining magic with non-lethal attacks. I was so impressed with myself I momentarily forgot that my scythe had its blade out. I was so used to fighting without the blade that it caught on the workbench and was whipped out of my hands. The jolt messed up my momentum and Combat Grace ended abruptly causing me to lose my footing. With all the grace of a bag of shit, I bounced off the top of the next workbench scattering tools before splatting onto the ground and having all my breath forced out of my lungs.
I winced and tried to look around for my scythe but I couldn't see it. I did see the skeletal mage charging a spell and the skeletal swordsman had grabbed my scythe and threw it away from me, it raised its sword in its only remaining hand. I watched my scythe fly through the air before looking back at the mage, I needed to wait for it to launch its spell before moving. The swordsman grew closer but I waited until the mage thrust its hands forward and I saw another black orb shoot out of its outstretched. I used Etheric Step to move away and appeared by the forge. I frantically looked around and quickly found my scythe half in the forge, I grabbed it and turned as my Danger Sense went haywire.
The bolt of dark lighting slammed into my chest and I cried out in pain as my limbs locked into place and all my muscles tightened. A cold sensation dove deep into the core of my body as I felt my strength leave my limbs and I tumbled over onto my side. I crashed to the ground like a statue tipped over by a group of rowdy drunkards, I tried to relax but I could still feel the magic coursing through my muscles keeping them locked in place. It took a full 2 seconds before I was able to move again and they were the longest 2 seconds that I’ve had in a very long time. I could only watch as the mage charged up another spell and the swordsman trudged across the room towards me. On the plus side I was still holding onto my scythe, albeit in a death grip that was causing my knuckles to pop one by one. When I could finally move again I used Etheric Step from the floor to appear behind the semi-melted anvil. I took a second to catch my breath and quickly checked my health.
Health: 1167/2500
It wasn't too bad, I cast Lesser Regeneration again as the spell had ended and then rolled to the left, a dark lightning bolt hit the anvil. I looked around and saw the skeleton swordsman had turned around and was heading back my way. I took 3 quick steps and used the anvil as a springboard to launch myself towards it. I brought my scythe around and used the Soul Lantern end to deflect a slash before the blade swung around to stab it through the head. I held onto my scythe as I landed and rolled, I heard the many crashes of bones scattering and felt a sudden lack of resistance on my scythe. I rolled again before popping up to my feet, I felt Combat Grace activate again as my Danger Sense once more alerted me to imminent danger. I threw myself backwards into a handspring and a ball of dark mana splashed against the wall in front of where I had stood.
The mage had tried to predict where I was going to go, if it hadn’t been for Danger Sense I would have continued moving forwards and been hit by it. I needed to kill the mage quickly as it had started picking up on my movements, if the fight went on for too much longer my dodges would not cut it and I would start getting hit more often.
My back handspring brought me back to the anvil and I cast Empower Attack before using Etheric Step just as the mage launched another dark lightning bolt at me. I appeared in front of the mage and heard its lighting splash against the wall behind me. I brought my scythe down in a heavy overhead chop aimed at its skull, my scythe slammed into the magic barrier once more and it was held at for a split second before the barrier parted like butter against a hot knife. The skeletal mage didn’t stand a chance as my scythe slammed into its face and carried down through its bones until it was cleaved in half and the blade bounced off the ground.
I stood there panting as more bones clattered to the ground, I looked around to make sure that it hadn’t healed the swordsman. Nope, it was still in a pile on the floor. I sighed in relief and collapsed to the floor. I appreciated Harold just a little bit more, I did not like being hit by offensive spells and he tanked them like an absolute boss. A slew of notifications vied for my attention and now that I was out of immediate danger I looked through them, most were damage notifications but there were a few important ones and one that made me break out in a huge smile.
You have slain a Elite Skeleton Swordsmen Level 47, as this creature is recognised by your class as a foe, you do not receive any penalties. You have earned 50xp.
You have slain a Elite Skeleton Mage Level 45, as this creature is recognised by your class as a foe, you do not receive any penalties. You have earned 45xp.
You have levelled up and reached Level 11. You have gained 1 Class Ability point. You have gained 5 Characteristic points. At level 11 you have a choice of 1 out of 3 new class abilities.
Challenge 1 has been completed. Please collect your rewards and enter the next door.
After I read the final notification a section of the floor started to rise up out of the ground with an extremely loud grinding sound. I grabbed my scythe and readied myself for more fighting, the grinding sound continued on for a few seconds but thankfully no more enemies appeared. I looked over to the section of the floor that had risen up and saw that it had turned into a pedestal that had a small statue on top of it. I gawked at the pristine statue, it was of me launching myself off the anvil and swinging my scythe at the skeletal swordsman. It was a work of art that I was totally not jealous of, not one bit, Dungeons get to cheat by just magicing things into existence whereas the rest of us have to work hard to make something that looked half that good. A section of stone slowly lowered to reveal a golden box that looked like presents and they even had large golden bows on the top of them.
I stared at the prize boxes for a second before I broke. Instead of diving into my rewards and what the Dungeon had decided to give me for completing its challenge, I remembered how close I had been to ending the necromancer.
I’m not proud of what happened next and I’m going to gloss over the few minutes, or 20 minutes, of screaming, shouting and destruction to the smithy I caused. Thinking about it I acted more like an overgrown toddler had been told that it wasn’t allowed desert before dinner. In my anger and rage I even managed to slightly move one of the workbenches, I think, maybe?
When I had burned through most of my anger and most of the contents of the smithy was destroyed or burning in the forge, I sat down. I was still pissed but I managed to get myself into a meditative state and I felt my mana and stamina start to replenish. I cast Lesser Regeneration to fix the damage the dark lighting had caused and continued to meditate. Once I had finally equalised out my mental state, I stood up and looked at the reward box. I was excited by the fact that the box was golden. Most challenge dungeons rated rewards by colour, the rankings went; Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum then Crystal. There was supposedly another tier above crystal but I had never seen it before. With a glee that could only be found in goblins who’ve stumbled across an unguarded cave filled with cooked food, I opened the box.
Item: Honest Cog's Always Ready Trousers
Rarity: Uncommon
Weight: 0.5lb
Description: The always ready trousers are everyman's best friend. These simple trousers are able to change into a variety of different colours and styles as well as being self cleaning and repairing. Nothing will get in their way or stop the wearer being ready for anything.
Requirements: None.
Item: Prize Upgrade Coin
Rarity: Rare
Weight: 0.1lb
Description: This coin can be used to upgrade the rarity of a reward chest by 1 grade. Place on the lid of a closed box to use it.
Requirements: Must be used on an unopened chest. Must be used within the Spring Falls Challenge Dungeon.
The trousers were definitely cool, they were self cleaning and self repairing which would save me a lot of money from not having to buy new ones after every fight. Looking underneath my robe showed that I currently needed to put on a new pair since the ones I was currently wearing were nothing more than strips of fabric. I was thankful that Dungeons never gave out cursed loot else I would have been tempted regardless of how cursed the trousers were. I paused for a second wondering if I should be worried, the loot challenge Dungeons gave out was meant to prepare the person for future challenges. I wondered what self cleaning and repairing trousers was meant to mean but I pushed those bad thoughts to the side. The prize upgrade coin was an incredible reward and I knew that I would be saving this for a platinum or, if I was lucky, a crystal reward box. I stashed the coin in my bag before looking at a set of notifications that I had been hoping to see for the last 10 years. I sat down with my back to the stone podium and read over the first notification with a huge grin on my face.
You have levelled up and reached Level 11. You have gained 1 Class Ability point. You have gained 5 Characteristic points. At level 11 you have a choice of 1 out of 3 new class abilities.
