Dungeon Danger: The Plan (1/4)

Lyon POV:

"Ugh..."

My back pressed against a hard surface. Sharp pains kick-started my disconnected senses, jolting me awake. Awareness followed as I locked onto Kana, Barrel and Terra, conversing in the distance.

'Good. They're alright.'

I ignored my broken arm and scanned the new environment. High above us, a waterfall crashed down to a bright blue stream below. It flowed all the way into the darkness at the end of the tunnel.

Pebbles were stacked along the riverbed, eventually joining the rocky surface that I was currently sitting on. There were no monsters in the nearby vicinity, so I took this time to check the map.

A light blue window popped into my vision, revealing the layout of the dungeon. The overall shape was like a spiral that had a dozen pathways. They curved into right-angle arches, forming something akin to mini pockets. Straight lines connected all of the pathways to the centre that appeared to be a large room.

"H-Hey! Lyon, you're awake!!"

Barrel dashed over to me, and I dispelled the map. He had ripped off parts of his clothes in order to create the sling that was supporting my arm.

"Thank you, Barrel."

He scratched the back of his head, shifting his gaze toward the exit that led to the straight pathway. A few beads of sweat ran down his forehead when Terra and Kana came over.

"A-actually... Even when you were knocked out, you were still fighting against the Orc Leader. It's only thanks to you and Kana giving us enough time to escape out of the area..."

'Oh right. I forgot Master trained me that way, too.'

A thin smile formed on my face before I glanced at Kana, looking over my body multiple times with concern. The moment our eyes met, she spun her head away from me. Whereas Terra sat down by my side, examining my injuries with care.

"L-Lyon... Firstly, I'm really s-sorry and thank you...!"

She bowed her head deeply while a few tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Don't worry, Terra. It's better that something happens to me than you. You're a very important person to my Master."

I grinned as a sharp pain shot through my arm. I was already accustomed to pain much worse than this, so I wasn't bothered by the nerves constantly reminding me of the horrible condition I was in.

"...T-thank you... But you are also Zane's precious disciple..."

Even in a situation like this, Terra's… deep affection for my master showed. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and got to her feet. Terra slapped her red cheeks lightly, somehow helping the blood drain away as she puffed out her chest.

"Okay! Let me explain what happened. As Barrel said, you and Kana bought us enough time to escape. Once we reached the centre of the dungeon, Barrel manipulated the earth to drag you both back towards us. We then retreated here... That happened 3 hours ago."

'What? 3 hours ago?'

I narrowed my eyes and stared at the exit.

"What about the Orc Leader?"

"About that... He suddenly stopped chasing after us. No, it would be more accurate to say that he couldn't enter the centre of the dungeon, so he walked away."

I nodded my head as a plan of action formed. There were two things I needed to do first.

"Alright, I understand the situation now. Barrel, I need you to check on whether the Orc Leader has moved."

"Understood."

He approached the hole, took a deep breath, and disappeared down the pathway. A few seconds later, his voice drifted into the area we were staying in.

"I see him! He hasn't moved at all... AHH!"

"What's wrong?"

I raised my voice, questioning whether my initial thoughts about our predicament differed from reality. Kana dashed toward his location but didn't get far before Barrel bolted back inside the tunnel. He panted heavily; his hands resting on his knees while sweat splashed against the rocky ground.

"It looked me in the eye... And smirked. Orc Leaders aren't very smart, but that one seems to know exactly what is going on. It's possible that this isn't the first time a situation like this has happened..."

'...'

I adjusted my feet and straightened my back, shifting into the lotus position.

"10 minutes. Give me 10 minutes, and I'll get us out of here."

"Um... No disrespect, Lyon... But that Orc Leader kinda ragdolled you earlier... If it wasn't for Kana..."

The corners of my mouth rose, and I closed my eyes. I needed to sort out the imbalance going on inside of me first. If I could reduce this disharmony by at least a third, I could handle that Orc.

"Ah... He's still meditating, anyway..."

"Shhh, let's leave him be. I'm also going to fight seriously this time!"

"...You sure?"

"...I'm going to try my best!"

Their voices faded away as I focused solely on meditating. A wave of calmness washed over me, and my breathing stabilized further. I felt my consciousness sinking, gradually reaching a deeper place, when something strange happened.

'!'

My hand appeared in front of me, even though my eyes were definitely still closed. I moved my other hand, which was no longer broken, as I continued to fall deeper into the darkness.

'What is going on?'

I remained calm, assessing the situation as best as I could without letting go of this feeling. I flipped in the air; my feet now standing in the darkness.

'...Feels so real.'

*Drop*

I observed the pitch-black area when I heard the distinct sound of a droplet of water splashing against the surface of something. I looked down at the black ground that now shimmered. Tiny waves rippled out from where my feet stood, spreading into the far distance in rhythmic intervals.

*Drip*

I moved toward the source of the sound. The black water reached up to my ankles, but there was no resistance as I walked through it.

*Drop*

Its intensity increased, and soon it came into view. My eyes rested on a large droplet of water falling from the dim sky. It split into several smaller droplets that crashed against the surface of the black water.

'!'

A transparent, light blue smoke covered my ankles. It swept over the entire area, pushing away some of the darkness. I stood still in the middle of what seemed to be an endless space, overwhelmed by the experience.

'!!'

My feet sank below the wispy fog, reminding me of the black water I originally stood on. Its colour turned bright blue, and rather than fighting against it, I let my body fall.

I didn't resist the flow.

It dragged me deeper, not stopping even after I was completely submerged. My descent continued toward the bottomless depths of the ocean when a white light hit the surface of the water. It fractured as it travelled through the waves, and I knew what I had to do.

My hand reached out for it; my body rushed toward it, and then…

Everything went white.

I took my time opening my eyes to the crashing sound of a waterfall that split apart on both sides of me. I stared at my hands, unsure of what had just happened.

My broken arm? Healed. My stamina? Completely restored. The water danced around me, responding to my call with little effort.

I turned my head to face the others and was met with similar reactions to my own. They stared at me with a mixture of shock and awe when I noticed the deep cracks along the rock walls around us.

"...Nagi."

Kana stepped forward, assessing me with narrow eyes.

"I've never seen someone breakthrough to Nagi like that before. Besides..."

Barrel stared at the eroded areas of the tunnel before scratching the back of his head.

"Are you sure that was really Nagi?"

"Great job, Lyon!!"

Terra jumped up and down before giving me two thumbs up with a bright smile. Kana and Barrel both stared at her, dumbfounded by her reaction as I grinned.

"It's really rare for people other than Vidrians to have the water Ki Nature."

Terra's eyes sparkled while she examined my perfectly healed arm to make sure there were no underlying problems. I removed the water from my clothes, flicking my hand back towards the stream.

"What's your plan?"

Kana sat on the ground, meditating. I fanned my fingers, calling up the map again before explaining my thoughts.

"The map represents a clock. Each pathway in the spiral points to a direction on the clock face. The reason why the Orc Leader can't leave his area is because that pathway is no longer open."

"Wait, wait. How can you be so sure that this spiral is actually a clock?"

Barrel crouched down and examined the map. His knowledge on dungeon monsters was extensive, but it was lacking when it came to dungeons themselves.

"The original meaning of the word 'dungeon' is a strong underground prison cell. These cells weren't just made to be sturdy, but they were also laid out in a way that made it difficult to escape, even if they did manage to get out of the cell.

In other words, dungeons aren't simple. The hint lies in why certain dungeons have requirements. For example, why would a rank F dungeon need a party of 4? I'm positive that each of us here could solo a standard rank F dungeon with ease."

Barrel rubbed his chin and nodded in agreement.

"I see. So you're saying dungeons aren't just about brute force."

"Yes and no. The name of this dungeon is called the Tower of Spiralling Despair. The first thing that we encountered when entering this place was an unknown situation designed to make us panic.

Hidden information, the changing of information, being unable to leave the dungeon from the safe zone and the final nail in the coffin: being greeted with a sudden party penalty. In most cases, that would lead to instant death for the average rank F party.

Even Kana's short temper was taken into account. So what I'm saying is, we are prey to the monsters once we step inside these dungeons. It would be best if you all keep this in mind going forward."

Barrel stared at me in silence for a while. Terra had a serious expression on her face while Kana's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"...Are you suggesting that something like this could occur in any dungeon?"

Kana opened both her eyes and glared at me.

"Not quite. It depends on the name and what other information we have available towards us. I would go so far as to say that ignoring the party requirement, in most cases, wouldn't lead to such a dramatic spike in difficulty. We just happened to choose a bad dungeon."

"A fair point."

She closed her eyes, resuming her meditation. I turned my attention back to Barrel, who had a solemn look on his face.

"During the three hours I was out, did anything happen? Any sounds? Any movements or other changes?"

"I think I heard a click once or twice, but I can't say for sure."

Terra gave her input as Barrel nodded his head, supporting her words.

"Then that probably confirms it."

I pointed to the map where the Orc Leader was currently staying and drew a circle around it. I drew a straight line to the zone we were currently in.

"Oh? You can edit the map like that? Interesting."

Barrel immediately started writing down notes on the map as I continued my theory that I was sure was our current reality.

"Notice how the Orc showed up in zone 8. 3 hours have passed since then, meaning the pathway to zone 11 is currently unblocked."

"Just a moment, Lyon. If the pathways are blocked when it's not time for them to be open, then why were we able to escape into zone 12?"

It was a good question. I couldn't ignore Terra's concern, but I had also thought of a couple of reasons as to why such a thing happened.

"Balance."

She raised an eyebrow before nodding her head. I decided to explain it anyway, just in case Barrel didn't understand.

"The tutorial instructor emphasized the point that the system information is 100% accurate when dealing with monsters. So if the difficulty suddenly spikes by a large amount, the system should make allowances in order to compensate.

It's likely that some of the zones were blocked, and a few of them were left open. If we had stayed in the zone with the Orc, we would have been trapped in there for 12 hours."

Kana got to her feet and looked down at me.

"So, your plan is what?"

"The next zone that is going to be unblocked is zone 12. Assuming that this is a 24-hour clock, what do you think will happen when it hits midnight?"

"All the zones will be unblocked."

Terra answered immediately while furrowing her eyebrows. Kana pressed the sheathed katana close to her chest, staring at the exit to the pathway.

"And what if it's midday instead of midnight?"

"That would be better for us, but considering we entered the dungeon after midday from the outside, it's likely to be the latter. It's also highly likely that time flows differently inside dungeons compared to the real world."

She let out a small sigh and walked towards the pathway.

"The plan is simple. We all run towards the centre of the spiral and climb the walls. Assuming they are as high as the tunnel we are currently in, Barrel will create footholds, allowing us to attack the Orc Leader out of its range. From above, we'll be able to make any adjustments to unexpected situations."

"I approve."

Kana leaned against the wall, wasting no time in voicing her thoughts on my plan. Terra agreed while Barrel went over the dozens of notes and calculations he had made on the map.

"It's fantastic. The pathways connect to walls that extend high into what looks to be an endless white ceiling. We can whittle away its HP from a safe distance and also rest if we run out of KP too. We should be able to avoid its highest jump if we reach the points I marked earlier."

'Interesting. So he already had a few ideas of his own.'

My lips curved into a smile as I got to my feet.

"Let's move. We're already short on time."