Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Dungeon Exploration

An hour of waiting had now passed by. Slowly, the stone entrance to the dungeon creaked open. Emil and his assigned team stood around it, watching. While they had been waiting, their group ate lunch. That way people had time to get a little familiar with each other, and so that nobody was still hungry from the trip. But as of right now, the air was tense and every person remained quiet. In just a few moments, they would all step inside. Their group would be the first people to do so in who knew how many years.

When it finally came to halt, there was just enough room for two people to enter at a time, if they stood shoulder to shoulder. Their team’s Combat Mage entered first on his own. After him, the rest of them followed. Their group was composed of fifteen people, of which, three were maintaining spells to emit light around them.

The inside of the dungeon went only down a set of stairs. The air was dry and filled with dust. As soon as they got far enough from the entrance and the light of the sun, the darkness seemed infinite. Everything more than a few feet away from them was pitch black. Eventually, after several minutes of going nowhere but further down, the staircase eventually opened up to a larger area.

“Watch your step,” the Combat Mage instructed. “There could always be a trap hidden somewhere around the floor.”

The group began to look around and investigate. It seemed like they were definitely in a large, central room of some kind. Around them, there were nine corridors to choose from. With there being three on each wall, save the one they just came from with the stairs.

 

From what Emil had heard before, the layout of every dungeon was unique. As such, even seasoned dungeon divers didn’t always know what to expect, when it came to where everything was.

 

They would be right to follow the rules and stick as close together as possible. If the dungeon indeed ended up spiraling into more layers of stairs and corridors, then getting lost would be the last thing one would want to do.

Their team paused for a moment, the Combat Mage and professionals huddled together and began to discuss something. After a little bit, they broke apart, and looked at the six passageways on the group’s left and right. One of the pros stepped forward to the group of students.

“Ahem. While there is a large of degree randomness between dungeons, there are some underlying patterns. For example, the parts opposite of the entrance often tend to be the most challenging to traverse. And that sticking to the right side in choices like this is often the safer direction. As such, we decided to go ahead and start from another section, and use its danger level as an estimate. Also, from here on out, is when monsters may be still wandering or previous loot would still be around. So if you spot anything, please follow the proper guidelines.”

For Emil, this was a tricky bind to be in. Being so consistently close to this many people would make it near impossible to find a skill book without someone else also noticing. If the dungeon did turn out to be relatively safe, he could always break off and make up an excuse as to how he got lost. This was his first time at a dungeon expedition, after all, so surely it would be forgiven.

But on the other hand, if this place had monsters or traps more dangerous than what he could handle on his own, then he would be risking his life if he left the group. Would just a chance at finding a magic item to improve his skills and do better academically be worth potentially dying?

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“No, of course not,” should have been the easy answer. However, at that moment, if Emil was being honest himself, he really wasn’t entirely sure. But with a path now picked out, their team once again began to move.

By now, Emil wasn’t sure how much time they had already spent down in the dungeon. It felt like at least a couple of hours, but it also could have just as easily only been one. Supposedly, the magic contained within a dungeon’s walls messed with both time tracking spells and one’s own perception of it. As such, when groups like theirs entered one, they estimated how much time had passed by how hungry and thirsty they felt. That was probably a big part of the reason why they had everyone eat together before entering.

But even after all this time, the dungeon had been as quiet and empty as could be. No monsters, no traps, and no loot, nothing at all. Even if time had steadily decreased its danger level down to zero, surely something would still have been left over.

Even in today’s magic-centric society and entire fields related to dungeons, it was rare for one to be a hundred percent completed and emptied out. It takes multiple parties of people going right after the other, clearing the dungeon as soon as it resets with a higher danger level. Until eventually, it reaches its limit and effectively “dies”, becoming nothing more than an empty space. So for a civilization of the past, such a feat should have been virtually impossible.

And yet, as they walked on and took turn after turn, their group didn’t find anything. They eventually came to a dead-end and stopped for a break. This time would be just a shorter rest, and then later would be when they planned to stop to eat. As the team had explored, one of the pros had kept track of what directions they had taken. Both to ensure they could find their way back to the surface, but also so that a map of the dungeon’s layout could be made.

They had seemingly found the end of this section. As such, the next thing to do would be to turn back until they found the part where it had split off into multiple ways. From there, they would take a new way, and then rinse and repeat until they were back at the central room from the beginning.

Emil was just glad to have a chance to sit down. Even the cold, stone floor was a heavenly rest for his sore legs. The plan was to stay in the dungeon for a full day, and then sleep back outside. However, just in case, enough rations and supplies had been brought down to last them a full three days. But after a little time to rest, they were all directed to regroup into position and resume their exploration.

“Halt.” The Combat Mage raised a hand up, and everyone stopped. Their group had been moving for some time now without incident. They stood right next to a right turn, he was the only one just past it. He looked back at them. “Just where I’m standing, there’s a change in the air. Before we proceed, remain cautious and be prepared for anything,” he instructed them. Slowly and steadily, their group advanced forward and took the turn.

As the students did, most of them immediately stumbled, including Emil. “Change in the air” was an understatement. Everything beforehand had been dry and dusty, but now it was suddenly heavy and humid. Even after just a few seconds, he already felt beads of sweat form on his forehead.

But worse than that, was the odor. A foul, sour stench entered his nostrils, his stomach turned inside him. The only time he had smelled anything like this was back when he was a child, and had accidentally left raw meat out for too long. But it had to have been a thousand times worse than that. Because even though there was nothing in sight, the scent was still strong enough to feel like a punch to the gut.

Emil’s mind rushed with the possibilities. Maybe it was some kind of zombie? That would explain the smell of rotting meat, at least. And even after so many years of being trapped underground, the magic of the dungeon would preserve it from degrading into a skeleton. However, if they were close enough to smell it, they should have also been able to hear the zombie’s constant groans. But there wasn’t any noise that he could hear, so was it something else instead?

As they carefully advanced forward, he tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever would end up appearing from the darkness.

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