Chapter 88: 89. Circus Fight

The Room of Mirrors breathed through unseen pores right beneath their feet. Each countless mirror in this bizarre place seemingly turned to face them as they powered through.

There were no anomalous properties as far as Frost could tell. Her passing appearance was as clear as day despite there being only a single light. The mirrors made it impossible to tell how exactly large this place was. It was no maze, but the mirrors distorted their surroundings making it appear as such.

For someone with near flawless omnidirectional vision like Frost, it was rather easy navigating through. The same was true for the triplets who had a keen understanding of their surroundings. But for people like the Elves, the Dwarves, and humans alike – it was almost expected of them to lose themselves here.

To combat this, Frost dug her fingers into her palms and wove an intricate rope made of metal strands. She laid it down and fed it towards the back. It was essentially their lifeline, held by a rugged, hooded man at the far back as the others held on.

With this it would be difficult for them to split from the party. And as usual, Frost’s abnormal display of her abilities brought her identity into question. But none said this aloud. Small talk and chattered were ill shared here.

Only the humming sound of the horrific music played from deeper within, coupled with laugher and cheers.

“… distorted mirrors are here as well huh. Hey Res. I got a prompt. It said not to break the mirrors.” Frost said, her voice only heard by the triplets as she saw an elongated version of herself.

“They inflict damage onto you depending on where you break it. But it’s not a problem for us.” Res assured.

“It’s a Monsoon dungeon. You’d have to be weak to take any damage.” Cer proved this by scraping a finger along the length of a mirror, slicing her reflection’s face.

The person in the mirror began to bleed, but the real Cer remained untouched. And as if realizing this, the reflection deflated into a husk of skin right after scowling at her.

“What these mirrors like to do is poke at you. Prod. Try to get under your skin.” Res explained.

“More like to get you into theirs.” Ber said.

“Is there a reason for that?” Jury questioned.

“Dunno. But Frost will probably be the first to figure it out.” Cer hummed.

Each step was dampened by loose brick and wet soil. The ground here was uneven, as if to trip people onto one of the mirrors and shatter them. Frost took a good look at herself, and still found nothing odd.

Jury and Ignis didn’t seem to react either. As for Snap, it didn’t really seem to be affected by this in the first place for some reason. They wandered this place for only 5 minutes, and by now the unease had solidified into a dense, near unbreathable atmosphere.

“… the fuck are you looking at?”

“Oi, keep your eyes off it.”

“That’s not me… I’m not like that.”

“Am I really that beautiful…?”

There were a few that began to speak as if on the onset of a mental episode. The mirrors clearly showed them something they despised, feared, or adored. A blonde woman heavily dressed in plated armor, a shield and a spear instantly erected what appeared to be a series of magical circles, each containing symbols which Frost was able to read.

They all pertained to the idea of protection, so naturally, Frost guessed that those things were barriers of sorts made from magic. It surrounded only those that expressed these deranged symptoms, all the while others kept themselves close to these people in the event that they attempt to destroy their reflection.

Curious of the mirror’s properties; Frost snatched one on passing, ripping it straight from the ground with utter ease.

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She snapped it into three good, even chunks and began to stealthily eat at it like it was circus food. To her shock, it tasted of flesh and blood. But there was a tinge of sweetness to it, with an addictive flavor not too different from cotton candy.

… it’s oddly pleasant. Disgusting knowing that these probably have some human origins, but I could find myself enjoying it if I didn’t know any better. Nav. Is there a proper way to stop people from degrading their mind further in this place?

“Physical restraint perhaps. A cognition censor even. But it is ultimately up to oneself I believe. People are affected on an individual basis by these things.”

I would hit them with Darkness stacks, but their RESIST stats are way too low. Let’s see…

“Hold onto the line. Shut your eyes and just follow it. You’ve entered a Monsoon dungeon knowing the risks.” Frost suddenly spoke aloud, gathering the attention of all. “I’m giving you the choice to leave now. If you’re already being affected by these things and chose to keep moving on, then I cannot guarantee your survival.”

If people were already mentally crumbling already, then they had no place here and were frankly a major detriment to them all. As much of a threat as this was, it was a painful reality that could not be changed. And as confident as she was in the strength of her own group – there were no guarantees to protect all 20 of them.

This sentiment was shared equally amongst the Adventurers, some reluctantly, and others like it was a natural course of life.

“Are coins worth risking your life for? There are easier dungeons than this.” She further added, her eyes piercing right through them as they came to a sudden stop.

They were only a few minutes left from reaching an orange light which she assumed was the exit. This was sternly confirmed by Res. The Animal – no, the Blood Festival Dungeons were among the shortest and were usually cleared in hours.

What made them so difficult in the first place was when it turned into a rescue mission rather than a subjugation.

“Coins are our livelihoods. Don’t talk like you know anything about us. Even we high rankers are struggling now that it’s become nearly impossible to prove your completion without you Golden Thumbs.” One blurted out.

“It’s our power. It gets us things we can’t get any other way. Some of us just like to hoard it as well. It’s our life. With a bounty of platinum coins, you can’t blame us for not resisting.” Another explained.

“Adventuring is about choice. Risk versus reward. Ever since the dawn of civilization currency’s always been one of the better motivators. Death isn’t uncommon in our work. You’re speaking as if you’ve never seen someone die. It must be nice being you.”

Their stance on morality was different from Frost’s. It was a profession with a high mortality rate to begin with, especially regarding the subjugations of dungeons. The glory and rewards remained at the forefront of their minds over their own life, although she could tell that if push came to shove, then they’d certainly value their lives in those last moments.

And that was enough for Frost to begin her efforts into understanding these people better.

She asked them to state their specialties in magic, combat, and anything relevant. The one other Blessed present, who also happened to be the highest levelled amongst them, revealed her Professions instead.

It was the spear and shield-wielding woman. She was a human Paladin that specialized in defensive and party-buffing skills. Her name was Perla.

 

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