Chapter 134: One-Day Dungeon (2)
There were several spells for underwater breathing, but among them, the most versatile was the Air Pocket spell.
As the name suggested, it created a space filled with air, like a large pouch.
It had various pros and cons, but when it was actually used underwater, it would create a scene of swimming underwater in a large bubble.
A magical scene that anyone, whether on Earth or the Eurelia Continent, had imagined at least once in a fairy tale.
That was what it should have been.
The water is really dirty.
I didnt even hope for a scene with clear water and swimming fish beyond the transparent barrier.
But I hadnt expected it to be this bad.
Visibility was only a few inches due to algae, intermittently revealing unrotted garbage and unidentified bugs.
There probably werent any fish. How could they live here?
Fortunately, as Iris had said, neither smell nor water entered the Air Pocket.
As Carla maneuvered the Air Pocket and we descended, a blue glow began to appear from the bottom.
Is that where we need to go, Master?
Yes, thats it. Its brighter than I thought. I thought we might struggle a bit due to the murky water.
Conversely, maybe the dungeon entrance light isnt noticeable from outside because the water is this murky?
Thats possible.
Shrugging, I said to the others.
Were about to enter the dungeon, so everyone get ready.
A moment later, we reached the bottom of the pond, riding in a large bubble.
Whoosh!
As soon as our bodies touched the blue light, the surrounding green water disappeared, and our senses flipped.
Even though we were diving downwards, when we came to our senses, we were suddenly shooting upwards.
Whoosh!
It felt like someone had pushed the bubble we were in from behind.
We briefly floated in the air before being thrown onto the ground one by one.
Gasp!
Reacting quickly, Iris deployed her psychic magic and caught everyone in mid-air.
30 cm above the ground.
Wow. She caught it?
Indeed, a high-level magician is different.
Oh? Have you just realized the greatness of Teacher?
Hieeek Hueeek
Carla and I were admiring the swift and precise magic, and Elisha was boasting about her for some reason.
Faye was just shocked and gasping in surprise.
Iris, seeing our reactions, awkwardly set us down one by one.
I guess I was overly tense coming to a dungeon after a long time. I forgot that the starting point is safe.
No, you did well. The starting point is only safe from monsters. This place is fine, but sometimes magicians hide in advance or set traps, so your quick response was good.
Ahem. If the Master views it positively, I will continue to do so.
Okay. But unless its a really dangerous situation, dont take the lead. If Iris takes the forefront, theres nothing left for us to do.
Understood. I will watch from behind, so feel free to go wild.
Iris thumped her chest.
Watching her unshakable demeanor, everyone naturally calmed down.
Not just me. Everyone else looked serious, taking out their staves and wands.
Faye, come to the center.
Uh Can I create simple golems too? Theyll be weak since theyll be made on the spot.
How powerful are they? Compared to a Fisherman.
They can take down an ordinary Fisherman!
What about two?
We can stall for time!
That means if we meet more than three, were instantly wiped out.
Exactly
Faye was clutching her chest as if struck to the core.
Her erratic demeanor rippled through my heart as well.
She was so anxious
Fishermen were monsters that usually traveled in groups of at least three.
Well strictly speaking, it wasnt that Fayes golems were weak.
Given her exceptional basic skills, she could create above-average specs even without extensive knowledge of golem creation.
Even an impromptu creation, like in our current situation, wouldnt struggle against a few Fishermen.
The problem wasnt the weakness of Fayes golems, but Faye herself.
Dwarves, as a race, were naturally gifted in combat, but Faye, being a half-blood, wasnt great at fighting.
Was it because she was a natural-born crafter, or perhaps the cumbersome weight hindered her movement?
Every aspect of her combat skills was disastrously poor.
Her poison or bombs always missed the mark, and her golem control somehow only flailed in the air.
Plus, her timid nature hindered her ability to confront enemies head-on or react promptly to sudden situations.
It was the same in H&A, and it seemed not much had changed now.
If we were going to continue dungeon exploration with Faye, it was probably best to keep her out of combat as much as possible.
Faye, your role lies elsewhere, so for now, just follow safely in the middle.
Okay
Faye nodded gloomily. We arranged our positions around her.
As the pathfinder and to test the invisibility feature of my robe, I took the front.
Iris, as she mentioned, would watch over all of us from the rear.
The remaining Carla and Elisha positioned themselves on either side of Faye.
Lets start then. If we follow the route I mentioned earlier, we should be able to clear it quickly.
Yes!
Everyone nodded, and only then did I look towards the entrance.
A large circular corridor made of stones emitted a blue light. The water rose to ankle height, but unlike the dirty water outside, this was just ordinary, slightly salty, and fishy-smelling seawater.
Splash, splash.
The sound of water splashing filled the corridor with each step.
The silence was probably due to everyones tension inside the dungeon.
What was initially a single large corridor soon split into two, and then three paths opened up, rapidly complicating the route.
This was why labyrinth-type dungeons were dangerous.
If regenerating dungeons enforced endless battles with continuously resurrecting monsters due to tangled timelines, labyrinth-type dungeons were tangled in space, making paths confusingly intertwined.
Of course, having memorized the dungeons map, it wasnt a big issue for me.
As I started to utilize the information from H&A in earnest, I realized perhaps my most powerful trait was not exceptional combat skills but my extraordinary memory.
Back on Earth, I used to flip back and forth between someones guide on my phone and my play screen.
But now, those memories come back vividly, allowing me to navigate effortlessly.
However, even after walking for a while, encountering only crossroads and empty rooms, the tension seemed to ease a bit. Elisha tilted her head and asked.
Its a completely different environment from outside the dungeon. During practice dungeons, even if the structure varied, it was always the same forest.
Oh, the inside of a dungeon might relate to the external environment, but it often doesnt.
Is that so? I learned that dungeons are essentially spaces carved out with monsters, preserving a snapshot of 300 years ago, right, Yandel?
Thats correct. Most dungeons retained their appearance from 300 years ago.
This meant extinct flora and fauna or rare metals with reduced mining yields could be found.
That was why some dungeons were continuously managed without being cleared to harvest resources.
But the problem is that dungeons dont always form in spaces that are cut out.
Dungeons not matching their external environments were quite common.
Originally, dungeons occurred when a space was distorted and almost cut off but not quite removed.
Imagine crumpling a piece of paper and throwing it toward a trash can, only for it to hit the rim and bounce off. It was scattered everywhere. That was the analogy.
The dungeon in Gef City that Carla and I went to was in the underground, but the inside was a swamp.
Oh, the place where the Big Mouths appeared?
Yes. But 300 years ago, Gef City was a land of good traffic, so there wouldnt have been a swamp.
Really? Do you know where it originally was?
It must have been near the entrance to the Witchess Forbidden Area on the outskirts of the Levantin Empire. The witches living there were scattered by the Big Mouths, servants of the Evil God, leaving only monsters behind, and it turned into a dungeon.
The origin of a dungeons transformation could be inferred through documents found inside, after carefully examining the interior.
In every corner of the Gef City dungeon, one could find crumbling huts and notes left by witches.
By the way, this dungeon were in now was a facility of the now-destroyed Mermaid Kingdom, Atlantis.
Atlantis Its been a while since Ive heard that name.
Iris nodded in a distant voice.
Faye cautiously asked Iris.
Uh Iris, have you been to Atlantis before? You seem nostalgic
Right. I visited it once when I was younger than Elisha is now, with my Teacher.
Your Teachers Teacher What kind of person were they?
A great Spirit Magician. They bravely fought during the great war and fell in battle.
Spirit Magician?
Back then, spirits were legal.
Iris shrugged.
No wonder. It gets complicated with long-lived races involved.
Shocked momentarily by Iriss reminiscence, we refocused.
Iris, looking around, shook her head regretfully.
But I dont recognize this place.
That makes sense. This is a sewer.
If Iris had visited as a guest with her teacher, they would have shown her impressive places, not sewers.
Carla tilted her head at my casual reply.
Uh Arent mermaids aquatic? Do they need sewers?
Of course. Especially underwater, sewers are even more important.
Otherwise, all sorts of trash and waste would be floating around.
As a side note, in H&A, mermaids never actually appeared, they only existed in the setting.
During the War of the Gods, the Mermaid Kingdom fell to underwater monsters because they couldnt receive timely support from other races due to being underwater.
Some mermaids did escape
But those who fled to the sea were hunted by the new underwater rulers.
And those who fled to land were tossed around in the chaos of war and eventually perished.
Mermaids were a minority race with a small population to begin with.
Atlantis, though called a kingdom, was just a large city in terms of size.
However, the power the mermaids held was significant enough to be recognized as a kingdom.
They were unbeatable in water, but the kingdom shouldnt have fallen so tragically
During the War of the Gods, when the Evil and Good Gods clashed directly.
When the biased usurper God lifted the entire kingdom above water.
The mermaids, unable to wield their power out of water, were annihilated by the Fisherman army, adept in both land and sea combat.
Thats why the water here is only ankle-deep Ah, everyone, hold on.
I stopped talking and halted the group.
Then, pointing towards a room far away, I indicated with my chin.
That room has monsters. Iris. Cast invisibility on everyone except me and follow.
I planned to test my robe.
I infused magic into the pitch-black robe I was wearing.
Whoosh.
Then my body seamlessly blended into the surroundings, becoming transparent.
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