31 Smith's Dungeon

Having left the building that Melody calls home, the odd group began to make their way through the small town. Many eyes followed them, stares of confusion all around.

"Whas Lady Melody doin wif beasties? Who's dat girl?"

Mina didn't even pay them attention, their comments passing by her as if they were no more than wind. Her eyes scanned the area, falling on what looked like a weapon shop. She turned to Melody and gave her a cute little smile.

"Any chance I can get some arrows?"

Melody didn't even bat an eye, pulling out a quiver of, twenty or so, arrows. Mina let it vanish into her inventory. The people nearby were shocked, having been used to the tyrant she was commonly seen to be.

Taking this as a chance, a man walked right up to her. His teeth were yellow and chipped, his belly large and exposed. With an ugly smile, he reached toward Mina of all people. The regret in his eyes as a spear gleamed through the air and rendered his arm a separate object, was almost funny to Mina. He fell to his knees, screaming as the stump spewed blood.

"Don't touch her."

Mina gave a small nod, trailing after Melody as they neared the center of the town. Leaving the man screaming, Mina could see something like a monolith erected in the middle of town. It was heavily damaged, mostly from age, yet it still stood strong. No markings were on it, either smoothed out or filled in.

"So this is?"

Melody approached the monolith, pulling out a dingy key that had seen better days. She placed it flat against the stone slab, causing immense tremors near it. Mina wasn't affected, but everyone else nearly buckled under the movement. As it subsided, Mina could see a staircase had formed. It spiraled down into darkness that was illuminated by torchlight.

"Alright, this dungeon has been seen as incredibly dangerous for some time. We don't need to fear going inside though, as we have a decent team."

Mina pointed to the key.

"Oh. No one can remove it. It has the ability to read the wielder, so only I can remove it. If I give it to someone else, they put it in, they can be the only one to remove it. The effect does end if the wielder dies. We can also leave it open due to a powerful ward on this stone. It keeps creatures from leaving, even making some fear leaving."

Mina nodded, watching Melody descend. As she began to follow, a message popped up.

[Entering Smith's Dungeon. Five floors with six rooms. Sixth room is a Floor Boss. Fifth Floor Boss is the final boss and may reward you with valuable materials.]

Mina tilted her head, noticing the others react to the message as well.

"Melody, how often does the stuff in here respawn?"

"Can take two to three days. Fastest I've ever heard was five hours. I got the greenlight on respawn, so we have loot to get."

Mina shrugged, her mind suddenly on Kat.

'She told me this dungeon would have ores and cores, but having only thirty rooms? How big are they?'

She continued to follow after Melody, everyone engulfed in intense darkness. The torchlight barely aided their vision, but a smile hit Mina's face.

"Chisana and Inferna can easily navigate in here."

Inferna took point, her tail swishing happily as she led everyone deeper. It didn't take very long before the stairs ended, leading into a corridor wide enough to fit three huge bodybuilders side by side.

"Well... this looks like it could be promising. Melody, what's this dungeon called?"

Melody shook her head, shrugging.

"I didn't care to name it, nor did it come with a name tag."

'So why is it the Smith's Dungeon?'

A message appeared again, Mina scowling at it.

[The Smith's Dungeon is a dungeon filled with materials based for smithing. No matter the type, whether it be weaponsmithing, goldsmithing or armorsmithing.]

'This thing is annoying sometimes, but at least it gives me information. Thanks Kat, I'll be sure to tackle you later.'

A loving smile graced her lips, causing Melody to trip. She fell to her backside, making sure to not injure herself as she fell.

"Master..."

She pouted as Mina drew close. Activating [Coalesce], she reached down and helped Melody get to her feet.

"My bad, but it's also your fault. You didn't need to look behind yourself, did you?"

Melody looked at the ground.

"I just wanted to look at you..."

'I have a puppy. Holy shit... she's a legitimate puppy.'

Mina patted Melody's head, giving her another small smile.

"Be careful."

They continued on, reaching a massive door. The door easily beat Melody on height, making her seem short in comparison. Around shoulder level was a handle, but it seemed dilapidated.

"This dungeon is so old... everything looks nearly broken."

Fubuki broke the silence as Melody reached for the handle.

"The first floor isn't a big deal. Last time I entered, I believe there were ten or so low tier ghost creatures. Incredibly weak to fire and light magic. Erm... Master?"

Mina nodded, understanding the worried look in Melody's eyes.

"I've never been struck by magic, so I'm not sure if it can actually harm me. I've also not met with something like me, so I don't know if they can touch me."

Melody shoved the door, her gaze determined.

"I won't let them even try to harm you. Any ghosts in here will be destroyed without mercy!"

Mina was slightly taken aback.

'Well damn, I'm kind of a ghost... sorta. Least she's on my side.'

--

Thank you,

JScott and croix!