Chapter 30: Book 1: Chapter 12 (Part 2 of 3)

We looked in on Mrs Pritchard, but there was no sign of her in the reception foyer and the door was locked. It was early, so the cantankerous woman could have still been in bed. We left the key on the windowsill.

The porch had a cubby hole with some of her business cards inside it. I grabbed one and scribbled a quick thank you for renting us the room and advised her to level up. I placed the card under the key, not that I expected she would pay much attention to my note.

Quixbix’s explanations this morning had left me feeling the need to tell someone, anyone, even this unhelpful older woman, that we were experiencing the lull before the storm.

I wasn’t a bad person, but I didn’t need a sixth sense to intuit that with my class, and where the world was headed, it wouldn’t be long before I did bad things. Maybe some very bad things. To some extent I’d already made my peace with that, if I hadn’t, I’d be in Flint waiting for the inevitable end, not here. But paying forward a modicum of penance couldn’t hurt.

We cycled over the bridge and out of Lyons. Although we hadn’t had much time to scout Lyons before we bedded down last night, there were signs of damage and violence I was positive hadn’t been there when we arrived. Whether that was the spawned creatures or locals taking advantage of the lack of oversight remained unclear.

The Ionia recreation ground was about seven or eight miles from Lyons, and I knew the dungeon was in the centre of the recreation grounds, on the edge of a small lake. There was a road that led almost straight to it if you approached the park from the South.

The road from Lyons intersected with the grounds in the Northeast corner, but we stuck to the roads that skirted the edges and went South and around. This wouldn’t be the shortest route as the crow flies, but barring obstacles would be much easier riding, and therefore quicker.

The route took us past the Ionia County Airport. The control tower lay in ruins, it seemed they had the misfortune of somebody trying to land their aircraft during or shortly after integration and they had botched it badly. We didn’t have time to stop and investigate and cycled onward.

Apart from a few people who stared at us suspiciously as we passed, we encountered no issues, and an hour later rode up the Jordan Lake Road which curved to the right, directly towards the dungeon.

Just before we reached the end of the road, we took a hard right and cut across a small trail that led directly to the lake and emerged from the treeline on the lakeshore. There was a small strip of sand to the left at the northern end of the small lake. The beach didn’t look to be naturally occurring and behind it was the car park. Wedged between the two was a building I assumed used to be some sort of activities centre.

Parts of the building remained, on the outer edges, as for the rest it had been converted into the entrance for this dungeon, though the conversion appeared unfinished.

The partial transformation created an oddly disturbing juxtaposition of the brick walls of the former building and the new roughhewn black rock structure which resembled a medieval gatehouse nestled within it.

The way into the dungeon was on the same side as the constructed beach. Jagged stalactites hung from the portal that led downwards, giving the entrance the appearance of a gaping maw, prepared to swallow us.

Shana and I pulled up by the lake and I whistled softly at the intimidating edifice.

That was when I noticed we weren’t the first to discover this dungeon’s location, not that it had made any real attempt to conceal its presence.

There were four young men on the beach, who lounged a little way from the dungeon entrance. When they spotted by the side of the lake staring at them, they got up and moved in front of the dungeon and blocked the way in. Several of them did not look happy to see us.

This could be a problem, I thought.

In all the excitement and hurry to get here I hadn’t given much thought to the possibility we might not be the only ones seeking out or finding dungeons.

“Who do you think they are?” Shana mused.

With Quixbix’s help, I performed a quick dungeon sense scan. I got the locations of a few other dungeons similar to the three I had rejected when I decided to come here, but nothing of the same level and grade as this one. We wouldn’t abandon the current plan and head to a new location. Although even if that had been possible, it wouldn’t have been advisable. There would be no guarantee we wouldn’t face a similar scenario at a different dungeon.

“No idea, but in for a penny, in for a pound. We’ve come too far to turn back, and there isn’t a better option within a hundred miles. One way or another I’m claiming this dungeon’s core,” I declared.

Shana smiled and we pushed off and covered the short distance between us and my target’s impromptu guardians. When we were almost within conversation range, I analysed who was ahead of me.

The angriest looking of the foursome, was a medium-sized blond-haired lad who wore a breastplate, scabbarded backsword, and shield. His eyes literally glowed with a soft yellowish light.

Carl Fuchs (Celestial)
Crusader (Valiant) (S) 1
Potential: Medium	Value: Low
Threat: Low	1,320 XP

 

He was flanked on either side by two brown-haired men who looked enough alike one another to be brothers. Which was quickly confirmed when they were analysed.

Peter Finch (Human)
Swordsman (V) 2
Potential: Low	Value: Low
Threat: Very Low	60 XP

 

Lucas Finch (Human)
Archer (V) 2
Potential: Low	Value: Low
Threat: Very Low	60 XP

 

The last of the group was a small, weedy looking young man wearing glasses. He barely appeared old enough to shave and hung back from the trio at the front, far less confident or confrontational.

Jackson Templeton (Tainted Fae)
Sorcerer (U) 1
Potential: Moderate	Value: Low
Threat: Low	840 XP

 

We halted a few feet from them and dismounted from the bikes.

“Howdy, lads,” I greeted them pleasantly.

Carl stepped forward and glowered as he gave us the once over. “What the fuck do you want,” he grunted.

It was going to be like that, was it.

I removed my sunglasses and bandana with a flourish. Flashed him a demonic grin and squared up to the belligerent arsehole. Carl was an impressive six foot three, but I had him covered and then some. Instinctively, his foot edged backwards, he tried to stop himself, but it was already too late. The dominant player on the field had been established, one-nil to me.

“What I want is for you and your friends to stand aside, so my companion and I can head in and conquer this dungeon,” I announced with false civility.

He glanced about him nervously, but his backbone stiffened when the brothers stepped up beside him.

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“Sure, once me and my crew have had our turn. We found this dungeon first and we have dibs on being the first to run it,” he sneered.

I almost laughed in his face when he referred to the others as his crew. Which wouldn’t have been very diplomatic, but then I had taken an instant dislike to the boy.

“Dibs? How fucking old are you? Twelve?” I mocked. “Get out of the way.”

“No, we were here first, and we live here. It’s our right to be the first to run it, not some fucking out-of-towners who got lucky in finding the place,” Carl bristled.

<Oooh, I detect a quest incoming> Quixbix crowed.

I flicked my eyes to the dungeon and analysed it quickly.

Anastasia Ruslanovna (Dungeon Core)
Lifeforce Enchantress (N) 1
Potential: Very High	Value: N/A
Threat: Very High	24,000 XP
Location: Jordan Lake, Ionia Recreation Ground
This brand-new N-grade dungeon is still forming. In its current state, it is the equivalent of an S-grade dungeon. There is one hour until the dungeon reaches R-grade status and seventeen hours until it reaches its full N-grade potential   Rewards during this time are unchanged. Although the entry criteria is affected, please see below. The current minimum delving party strength is the equivalent of five levels of second-tier classes. Ten is recommended. Maximum of twenty. Level 1 Anastasia Ruslanovna is unconquered. Current Party Strength: 5 (Torin: 4 Shana: 1)

 

Hold your horses, Quixbix. I thought at the imp quickly. This dungeon is already much stronger from when I pinged it two days ago. Shana was only a Civilian then and even with her promotion, the threat has jumped from moderate to very high. Getting into a fight just before we go in is probably a bad idea.

<Hmmm, okay. That is a fair point. But you are going to have a problem with the Crusader. He has a Valiant class. He probably isn’t high enough level to know your class is Notorious, but he’ll be naturally prickly regardless> he advised.

I’ll bite. Why is that? I asked.

<Oh, yeah, you’re a newbie> he chuckled.

I think we’ve covered that about a dozen times already, I griped.

<Whatever. Valiant classes are the antithesis of Notorious classes. Like your class they have to perform a class-defined valiant act every week or suffer reductions in XP gains until they do. Actually, it’s more than that, if they go long enough without completing an act, they will start to lose experience and levels.>

<Also, unlike notorious classes they don’t have a Valiant stat, so they can’t supercharge their advancement by being more valiant> he lectured.

What’s the benefit of taking them then? I queried.

<They are stronger than other classes at the same grade. The Crusader is officially an S-grade class but will get the same stat boosts per level as a P-grade class, which is three grades above it. Yet, the XP required to level up is still set for S-grade, eleven thousand instead of eighteen thousand. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. Even if they jump to a non-valiant class later, though they will no longer be subject to the decrease in freshly earned XP, they can still lose any XP gained under the valiant class if they stop performing valiant acts> he informed me before continuing.

<They are often popular classes on freshly integrated worlds, due to the early power boost and perceived moral superiority. The smart ones figure out it’s a trap, switch out as soon as they can and accept having to essentially start over. The stupid or unlucky, struggle on and usually die. And that leaves the worst of them all, the only ones who can make these classes work. The fucking zealots.>

<Who get off on pushing everybody around and claiming they’re doing it for the greater good and not because they are even more hate-filled than the ‘bad guys’ they seek to persecute. Carl, here, has the stench of zealot all over him. Look at him, he picked the ‘stick up their arse’ Celestial’s as his species> he griped.

Thanks for the info, I thought, ending the conversation.

“It wasn’t luck that brought us here,” I rumbled at Carl. “If being first is so important to you then be my guest, go in and we’ll follow in after you, second. Dungeons can handle more than one party at a time.”

I had no idea if the latter part of my statement was even remotely true, but that’s how it worked in MMO games.

“Yes,” the thin fellow named Jackson interjected. “I’ve read through all the Framework help files on dungeons and even a freshly formed level one dungeon like this can accommodate three instances running simultaneously.”

He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as he finished. Something about that flicked at the back of my mind but my concentration was on Carl who yelled.

“He didn’t need to know that Jackson.”

“Jackson, thank you for being the voice of reason,” Shana purred in a sultry tone dripping with sex appeal.

She stepped up to my side and entwined her arm with mine and winked at the nervous lad. Jackson blushed bright scarlet, Peter and Lucas adopted leery grins and dropped their aggressive stance. Only Carl remained unaffected by my beautiful elf’s seductive allure.

Whether that was because he was gay, protected by his class, or he was just naturally this disagreeable with everyone, I couldn’t say.

Carl didn’t matter, though. Shana had efficiently reminded me that when dealing with young heterosexual men, a drop-dead gorgeous woman was the greatest weapon in your arsenal.

Deftly ignoring the scowling Carl, Shana addressed the blush-cheeked Jackson. “Why haven’t you ventured inside already, Jackson?” she cajoled.

“Ah…um…our party isn’t strong enough with just the four of us, Miss,” Jackson mumbled.

“Shut the fuck up, Jackson,” Carl bellowed at the smitten lad.

“Oh, my!” Shana breathed and covered her mouth with her hand. “How unfortunate.”

“Yes, indeed,” I cut in. “If you haven’t got what it takes, I think any claims of ‘dibs’ are just hot air. Make way for those with the stones.”

“If the four of us aren’t strong enough to go in, the two of you can’t either,” Peter scoffed from Carl’s left shoulder.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Tweedle-Dum,” I sniped.

“Bullshit,” yelped Lucas from Carl’s right shoulder.

I manifested one of my scimitars and twirled it about for emphasis. “No bullshit, Tweedle-Dee.”

“Ah…” Jackson started. “He’s not lying, I just tried adding them to a dungeon party invite. They…um… they count as five towards the strength level, that’s the minimum requirement, so they could go in by themselves.”

“I’m telling you for the last time, Jackson. Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Carl screamed at the poor boy.

“Yes, sorry, Carl. I won’t speak out of turn again, I promise,” he apologised and stared at the floor.

Carl scowled at me, I so wanted to flatten the prick. “We were still here first, and the rest of my crew are on the way,” he hissed.

“Jackson, is this true?” Shana asked the frightened lad kindly.

He didn’t answer verbally but couldn’t help himself. He looked up at Shana and nodded in the affirmative. Carl stewed angrily at Jackson’s semi-defiant act but kept his cool. Jackson hadn’t said anything after all. The tension was building, and I decided to allow things to cool off before it erupted in all-out war.

We would win, easily, but then we’d likely have to use out Hit Point pellets or wait. Which could lead to another fight when their friends showed or the dungeon would get stronger and we’d no longer qualify to enter by ourselves.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s your lucky day. Last night I had several hours of truly outstanding sex with this one,” I boasted, and cupped Shana’s firm ass with my free hand to make the point. She giggled and leaned into me. “So, I’m in a generous mood this morning. There is about one hour before the difficulty of this dungeon jumps another grade. I’ll give the rest of your ‘crew’ thirty minutes to get here, so you can claim the first run, but no longer. If they aren’t here by then we are going in, even if we go through you to do it,” I threatened.

I turned with Shana on my arm, and we wandered nonchalantly down to the lakeshore. The sand of the beach crunching underfoot.

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