NWMNch28-30

CH28

My boots thudded against the ground while my heart hammered. The T-rex was bigger than anything I had fought before. I didn’t have time to scan the monster as the distance between us shortened.

Grey skin, long dagger-like teeth peeking over a snout, and wiggling worms caught my attention as it opened its mouth to snap at me. On reflex, I stepped out of the way, took my momentum, and leaped into the monster’s side. As my momentum hit the animal's flank, I momentarily planted my feet on its grey scaley skin. As a testament to its bulk and sheer strength, it barely reacted, only opening its jaws and snapping at me.

I hadn’t used the double helix yet because I wasn’t sure if I could stab the monster and evade its counter. Finishing it off with a single stab might be possible, but I didn’t think so. That’s why this fight was such a struggle. I needed a crit to be sure this undead might be resistant.

I kicked off and flew just above the monster’s mouth when it lunged. Like a hippo, it opened its mouth 180 degrees to get me. I held my spear firm and threw it. The beast spasmed.

I caught myself on its lip while raptors leaped after my dangling form. With a jerk of my hand, I flipped over and stabilized on the handle of my spear. The monster couldn’t close its mouth without finishing itself off. My spear was happy to be freed of its impromptu sheath.

The boss slammed its head down, smashing me into the raptors below. I stabbed its head but failed to pierce the bone lining its jaw. An arrow caught the monster in one of its beady eyes, and it lost focus. I rolled over on the gore of crushed raptors and pushed my feet under me.

My next few steps were half drunk as I fended off raptors while my head rang. I punted one of the raptors and punched another into a broken mess. Every stab of my spear cleaning killed the reptiles. My stamina was finally running low, and I didn’t like it.

I stabbed the knee joint of the trex and ripped my spear free. The monster lunged, and I leaped back while another arrow hit dangerously close to its eye. At that moment, Dom hit the boss mob’s blindspot. A war hammer came down and dropped the beast. Before it could struggle back to its feet, I climbed atop its snout and stabbed it in the other eye. This time I felt my spear hit home.

When I pulled back, the Trex’s body was already becoming goo.

Three scrolls emerged along with a treasure trove of shards and rare gear.

From the gear, a red cube appeared.

Upgrade: absorb this cube to tier up a spell or ability up. Max tier 3

I absorbed it immediately.

Accel Burst: Greater amounts of mana are channeled into this spell.

Spell Tier: II

Effect I: 1D10 Light Damage after physical hit.

Effect II: x2 movement speed

T Limit: 30s

Set T Bonus: +10s x spells/Abilities with burst in their name.

Set DMG Bonus: +1D10 x spells/abilities with burst in their name.

Stat T Bonus: +10s x (WIS/10 Rounded to nearest whole number.)

Stat DMG Bonus: +1D10 x (INT /10 Rounded to nearest whole number.)

Cost: 25MP

Cooldown: 45s

That was so much better than a tier I; it was insane. I activated the spell and felt like I could teleport. I swept through the raptors punching them once or twice before light melted them. My double speed was a complete game-changer, and it would only get stronger if I could find a set of spells and abilities.

…

CH29

Everyone was pissed at me. It wasn’t my fault I saw an upgrade and took it. Moving double speed was an incredible advantage that I couldn’t pass up.

“Since we’re looking through the loot and taking what we wanted, it’s your turn,” Azizi said.

My eyes froze on Azizi’s rare steel breastplate and shoulder pads. Two rare pieces of equipment like that should offer a shit ton of protection. Normally I would have gotten one of them. Still, after taking the upgrade myself, I had last pickings under Melony, the possible traitor.

I looked through the rest and found a scroll among the loot. On its wax seal was a Sun. It said select beside it, meaning it wasn’t a gotcha. I could pick out which of the abilities/spells it contained. Why would they leave that for me unless they already had some to pick from.

“There were five of them; that’s why you get one. If you try something like that again, you’ll be banned from the party. As in, find your own way back, your own room, and your own friends.” Azizi said.

I picked up the scroll and opened it.

There were only three choices.

Spells

Sun Burst T2: A pointed direct spell with no recharge time. A constant cone of light and heat directed by the hands.

Solar Ray T2: A pointed direct spell with no recharge time. A constant direct beam of concentrated light directed by the fingertips.

Ability

Burst Burn T2: A second burst ability/spell is needed to use this ability. When enemies are damaged, they gain a status ailment that is infectious.

New Ability Acquired: Burst Burn

Burst Burn: Inflict a stackable status when using burst spells/abilities.

Effect I: 1D10 VS enemy resistances to inflict light burn.

Effect II: +50% STR Gains

Set Bonus: +1D10 x burst spells/skills

Stat Bonus: +1D10 x (INT /10 Rounded to nearest whole number.)

Cost: Passive

The rest of the loot was uncommon shards which I devoted to endurance and some common plate mail. While it wasn’t the best, another layer of protection felt good.

We traveled the second floor taking small breaks, fighting armies of mobs, and looking for pieces of a clock.

We were taking some downtime between mob raids to change out equipment and get a few minutes of rest. My endurance was well on its way to 1000, and lvl4 was just around the corner. Hati was messing with a clock changing out parts to see if we could earn a key. Zeff decided it was the right time to open his mouth.

“You know the first four upgrades are ours since you fucked up. Even if you find them first, you must turn them over.” Zeff said.

“Yea, that sounds fair.” My words seemed to piss the Zebra off more than if I said nothing. “We should turn around, don’t you think. Maybe you should find another party. I don’t trust someone who steals from the party.” Zeff said.

I sighed and bit into a protein bar. Zeff wasn’t the party leader and didn’t like me much from the beginning.

“Aren’t you going to say something, Azizi?” Zeff asked.

“We agreed to give him another chance, and if he leaves, that’s the end of this run,” Azizi said.

“I can always say he’s the one who kidnapped me,” Melony said.

The wind blew, bending stalks of red grass in the distance. In the sand, a puzzle cube sat plane as day. I picked it up and started working on it absently. If the dungeon wanted to make it easy, who was I to deny it. The others glared at me like I was doing something wrong.

The puzzle opened once the final piece was in place, revealing a bronze key. I pocketed the key and glared at Zeff, daring him to say a word.

“We aren’t kicking Vincent from the party for making a battlefield decision. That is insanity. Let's head back and work off some stress; we all feel tense.” Azizi said.

“No, we’re getting this done,” I said and tossed my trash.

…

CH30

Melony had the slenderest fingers, so she handled fitting the clock gears into the old grandfather clock near the elevator. Each slotted gear was music to our ears after 8 hours of backtracking once Melony informed us we had them all. Zeff found a book with a riddle and was busily deciphering its hidden language.

A final click followed the tolling of a bell. A compartment opened on the bottom of the clock, and a bronze key fell out. Two down, there was only one to go, and we could leave the second floor behind. I felt great because my endurance had already capped at +100 from shards.

The looks the others were giving me had begun toning down after the second puzzle was solved. Slowly the clock’s hands started turning, and a bubble appeared around us. The words hidden event appeared in the air, and a cabin appeared near a crystalline blue lake. A real forest appeared around us with only the distant stalks of red grass to inform us we were still in a dungeon. A fish leaped from the lake, and I caught it out of the air.

It struggled as I felt for its weight.

“It’s a 5-pound bass.”

“I’ve heard of these little rest areas in dungeons but only on the later floors. We shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Azizi said.

Zeff snorted. “Trust me, all gifts had strings, and the dungeon didn’t proclaim this place a safe area. It said hidden event. Those have an altogether different type of rumor about them. Be ready for powerful enemies that should only be on lower floors.” Zeff said.

We entered the cabin and found a fridge full of beer and food, four beds, two baths, and a basement full of old smoked meat. I locked the basement door with some chains I found and continued sweeping the place for threats.

I tossed the fish on a bed of ice from the freezer and checked the drawers for a scaling knife. Melony was the only one around. Dom was in my card for safekeeping.

“Do you think the food is poisoned, or maybe the fish? Perhaps I should swallow it, and if it's still good, I can regurgitate it for you.” Melony said.

“That is too kinky even for me,” I said.

“I apologize for speaking against you earlier. We would be safer if our group was only four.” Melony said.

“Maybe, but there are advantages to the sheer loot we find,” I said.

“We should find upgrade cubes reliably on the 3rdfloor. The number of scrolls has recently increased with the increased numbers we face. Soon we’ll have to ditch our extra equipment to make room for more scrolls. A five-way payday is nice but wouldn’t 4 ways be better.” Melony said.

“No, I doubt we would find the loot; we are with four people in the party. The risk we’re taking is what is giving us this unique problem. Scrolls are rare; we kill tons of mobs to compensate. A four-man party wouldn’t get the mobs we are.” I said.

She frowned as I started descaling the fish. “I don’t see why you don’t cut it into five portions and divide it between us,” Melony said while I made sure not to leave any bones in the filet.

Catch your own, then this one belongs to everyone.

Hati opened the door and tossed me 9 more fish, one after the other.

“Melony, if you’re done trying to subvert party members for a mass betrayal leaving only you alive, I need help picking apples.” Hati froze for a moment, then looked at me. “I did not agree with how we treated you after the first dungeon surge. Zeff claimed it was a lesson you needed. Azizi is on the second floor and might want to know there are no hard feelings.” Hati said.

I nodded and quickly cleaned the other 9 fish with practiced ease. While my hand-eye coordination was infinitely better, doing the first one slowly was better. Once the filets were seasoned and ready to cook, I started the deep fryer and left to find Azizi while it heated.

The stairs groaned under my armor, but I refused to leave myself defenseless in a dungeon. Azizi wasn’t hard to find; her scent was thick after days in the dungeon. It might be another week before we finish up.

I found her laying on her stomach armor off while the overhead ceiling fan blew on her fur. Her ass happened to face me, giving a good view of her beyond perky ass, black-as-night asshole, and pseudo penis. After my eyes zoomed in on the most important details in the room, I focused a little on the rest. There wasn’t a speck of dust in the house except the basement. The room functioned with electricity and LED bulbs, but there was still an oil lantern beside the electric lamps in the room. I didn’t see any locks on the windows, and the sun outside seemed to move visibly. It would be dark soon, and then something was bound to happen.

“What are you going to do when this place turns hostile?” Her ear twitched, and she groaned. “You should stop pushing yourself so hard,” I said.

“It was Zeff’s idea to make a big deal out of you snatching the upgrade. I agreed it was a field position and blatant disrespect to the party. You hurt us, and you needed to know how that felt.” Azizi said.

I sighed and sat on a dresser. My chain and plate mail scratched the piece while I got comfortable for an annoying talk.

“Maybe you would have a point if we weren’t in a dangerous position. I was out of formation and needed every advantage I could get if a second boss ran in. If it makes you feel better, I think we were both wrong. Oh, and Melony is a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.” I said.

“She sure is precious. How did her former team fall for her shit?” Azizi said.

The white feathers, big brown eyes, and cute thick rear flashed in my mind. I pictured her playing the victim, causing guys to get jealous and throwing fuel on the fire of arguments. Melony was trouble far too much trouble.

“You got me,” I said.

Azizi stood up and started putting her armor back on.

“This isn’t a rest area; it’s a puzzle. Something is here, and I think Zeff’s book has something to do with it.” Azizi said.

“If the transportation to the cabin in the woods wasn’t obvious enough.” I turned my attention to the trees where something hid. “Maybe there is nothing to worry about,” I said.

“Do you find it strange that no other parties are in the dungeon?” Azizi said.

“I did, but it's better to keep my mouth shut than to speak and reveal myself to know nothing,” I said.

She turned to me while buttoning her gambeson coat. The little silver buttons were giving her trouble. Azizi paused and gave me a helpless look.

“What’s the point of all the dexterity if you can’t button a shirt?” I asked.

Once she was dressed, Azizi fastened her helmet, and we descended to stairs to see the rest of our group. Zeff was in the den reading under candlelight. Hati had taken to making some kind of pie with Melony’s dubious help. I added spices to some flowers and fried the fish. Grease popped in the quiet background while we prepared the food.

While I didn’t touch the beer, I made sure to use everything in the fridge I could, even the hot peppers for hush puppies. Hati found some corn which promptly went into a pot with red potatoes, more peppers, and a haunch of lamb I found in the fridge’s bottom. I found a quart of vanilla ice cream in the freezer with a polar bear on the cover. Zeff cracked open a beer drawing my attention to some lobsters in a tank.

Zeff seemed alarmed when I snatched the lobsters out and heated the oven.

“You would eat bugs,” Zeff said.

“None for you then,” I said.

Azizi found pasta in the cabinets and cooked Alfredo sauce while the water boiled.