In the boss chamber, the boss monster was a Captain Toad, a human-toad mutation with the physique of a human and the abilities of a toad.
Just like any other boss, it was waiting for aspirants, seated calmly, savouring the silence that heralds a bloody fight.
Once the door to his chamber opened, he knew his enemy had arrived. The Captain Toad rose to his feet and started to say something, but he was interrupted.
Schlk!
A spear pierced through its heart.
Luke frowned as the boss monster died on the spot. He looked at his arm, rotten with the skill, Vecna’s arm.
He was just too excited to use the skill before it died away.
The skill was meant to plague anything it hit with instant death. The only problem was that Luke’s gauntlet was already powerful on its own, meaning he couldn’t even tell which had killed the monster.
The strength behind his throw or the effect of the skill?
〖Congratulations! You have cleared the Beta-Rank Dungeon: Mongrel Sewer!〗
〖You have defeated a Boss!〗
〖XP + 200〗
"Ah... what if he was about to say something important?" Luke muttered to himself, rubbing his chin as he walked over to the withered corpse of the Captain Toad. "I really need to learn to be more patient next time."
He reached the remains and scanned the area.
As expected, there was no dungeon core, but there were rewards just like the loot from the second floor.
Out of everything, only one item dropped by the Captain Toad piqued Luke’s interest.
〖Item: Second Chance〗
〖Expiration: 14 Days〗
〖Description: Sometimes your best might not be enough. Cheat death once. You will need it. *Only usable in a manifestation. *Cost: Soul fracture: User will lose connection to summon.〗
Cheat death?
Luke swallowed nervously as he read the description. He read it two times just to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him.
Second chance? No way. He had a problem with this, but the problem wasn’t about how broken it was...
The problem was why an item like this was here in the first place.
These were just beta-grade dungeons. An item of this magnitude had no business here.
Was there something ahead that he should be aware of?
Luke was still staring at the Second Chance item, thinking about what it meant.
Suddenly, Vivian ran into the boss chamber, yelling and urgent.
"Luke, we gotta hurry!" she screamed. "The party behind us is right on our tail!"
Raven and Scarlett came in too, and neither looked relaxed. They had no idea how strong the other party was, but that was the problem.
That party had already cleared the first two floors and was entering the third floor right behind them. That meant they were no joke, so everyone had to be on guard.
As long as the final floor of a pentegate hadn’t been cleared, all the previous floors would be resimulated for new entrants. That meant another party could enter the same dungeon and receive their own monsters, allowing them to chase after the first group, and not just find an empty dungeon.
"We shouldn’t run," Raven said, already preparing herself. "We should stay here and fight them. Running won’t do us any good if they’re strong enough to catch up anyway."
"No," Luke replied. "We should still keep moving forward, but we need to keep our eyes behind us too. Scarlett and I can stay ahead while you and Vivian defend the back. If we see that they’re too strong, we switch positions."
"No, I’ll stay back too. You and Raven should be ahead," Scarlett said. "If there’s anyone I can let my Phoenix hurt, I’d rather it be the people chasing us."
Luke understood what she meant. Scarlett still couldn’t fully control her Phoenix. So, the further away she was from her own allies, the safer it would be to let the Mythic beast attack.
He wanted to point out something but decided not to argue. What’s the point? He had different armor for different situations, so if Scarlett got herself into danger, he could always find a way to get her out.
But what if two got into danger at the same time?
Could he save them all?
And if he couldn’t, who would he go for first?
Among Scarlett, Raven, and Vivian, one was least likely to defend herself. Vivian.
As they moved to the next floor, Luke passed something into Vivian’s hand and tapped her on the shoulder.
While he walked ahead, she looked down at her palms, feeling undeserving of the reward. This feeling made her give it to Scarlett.
"Lady Scarlett... uhm, you should have this," Vivian said with shaky hands. "You’re more important than me."
Scarlett was left without an explanation. Vivian disappeared before she could ask any questions.
When Scarlett opened her hands, she saw a spectral substance resting inside them, something that looked very rare.
********
〖Warning: You are entering a Beta-Rank Dungeon: Upside-down Temple〗
〖Objective: Survive the Temple and reach the other side!〗
〖Level 4: Hell〗
The Upside-down Temple was actually a traversal dungeon, not a battle dungeon. The objective was to navigate through it, survive, and reach the exit. You didn’t have to kill monsters, even though a few were lurking around.
Luke and his party were lucky because they didn’t have to waste time fighting these monsters. They could keep moving and put some distance between themselves and the party. More importantly, they could use that time to beat the timer and reach the final floor.
〖You have been gifted: Gravity Seed | Reverse Candle〗
〖Gravity Seed: Temporarily increases or decreases the user’s weight.〗
〖Reverse Candle: Its flame burns downward and illuminates hidden paths.〗
The Gravity Seed and Reverse Candle were Bronze-tier entry gifts meant to help hunters traverse the temple. Most hunters needed them because their summons couldn’t fly. Even if someone managed a flying summon, it was usually weak.
But Luke’s party didn’t have that problem.
Out of all four of them, only Raven’s summon couldn’t fly.
Luke had his Seven-Tusk Elephant Sabatons that controlled the laws of gravity. Scarlett had her Empyrean Phoenix. And Vivian’s bunny had wings.
By using Echo, Vivian could fly on her own while allowing her summon to carry Raven.
This is why they ignored the entry gifts.
The Upside-down Temple was an otherworldly dungeon, a temple pointing downward into an abyss. Parts of the temple floated. It was withered-ly, alongside slopy roofs, broken paths, and hazardous scaffolds.
The temple was divided into three parts.
The first part was filled with Golems and Gargoyles, making it the most dangerous for anyone who couldn’t handle simple aggro.
The second part focused more on dangerous traversal. What looked like a wall could actually be a floor, and vice versa.
Finally, the third part was where the temple itself became the enemy. The exit would be visible, yet every step forward would make hunters question whether they had actually made any progress.
As explained, Luke and the girls didn’t have to suffer through this since they could simply fly past the dangerous parts.
Luke surfed smoothly through the air using his sabatons, confident to his very bones. Whenever gargoyles tried to attack them, he launched his spear. The weapon turned three times in mid-air, netting him kills before the monsters could even reach him.
Finally, the hunter party trailing them caught up. It was the Vampire, the woman with her bear, and the young man.
They were shocked by the state of the dungeon, but that didn’t stop them from entering.
"NYMERIA!" Scarlett yelled, playing her role as she called out her phoenix.
The graceful beast answered her call. A beacon of godship, spreading its wings wide and lighting up the temple.
"Pyrokinesis!"
The Phoenix obeyed as flames gathered around its body.
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A/N: Thanks for reading!
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