Chapter 110. Light's Watch

After downing the Weak Fire Resistance Elixir, Michael boldly entered the Dungeon.

On the other side, he found himself on the walls of the Watch, though he couldn't see anything due to a raging snowstorm.

[ Dungeon Quest issued - Light's Watch

Objective: Slay the Watchmen (0/2) ] 

The Dungeon didn't give him much time to sightsee, though, as it prompted him to get moving. Still, the strangeness of this independent space made him more curious.

While it was indeed winter outside, there was no snowstorm. Also, the Dungeon was said to have been a space that the Burning Hells conquered and took away from the Sanctuary. 

'Does that mean that right now, I'm in Hell? Or is it still the Sanctuary? Or maybe even a space somewhere in between? The weather doesn't make much sense, but... what if, at the moment when the Light's Watch was 'stolen' from the Sanctuary, the Dungeon automatically captured everything, including the state of the place, the weather, etc? Wouldn't that make sense, then? After all, with how clean some Dungeons are, it made me doubt there would be people to go in and clean them only for memory's sake... This requires further investigation.' 

Pondering the situation for a while longer, Michael continued walking while taking in his surroundings.

The burning cross symbols on the walls signify the faith in the Light held by the people who stood watch. Furthermore, the architecture of this place would surely stun even the people back on Earth.

'Most of the place is only cliff sculpted, but there are wooden buildings on top of that. Then, the halls ahead, which seem a combination of both, should be even better. At least I can get out of the cold, windy weather. Hmm... I wonder what type of monsters I can find here. Somehow, I doubt that there would be demons that use fire. And even if it were, this puny Elixir I took wouldn't have made much difference... *Sigh*' 

Looking at the strange status added to his interface after drinking the Weak Fire Resistance Elixir, Michael wondered if he could add more statuses after drinking a different type.

[ Fire Resistance increased. Experience gain increased by 5%. ]

And that was it. Still, thinking about how he could have gained at least an extra 2,500 experience points if he had used an Elixir during the brazier and the World Event fights, Michael was slightly bummed. 

Nevertheless, the fact that he had only this Elixir he could use, while the other three were restricted to level 30, was even worse. The feeling of having something but being unable to use it... was unspeakable.

'There's also the problem of the Equipment Inventory. It's almost full... Let's hope I don't get too lucky in this Dungeon. I decided to live a life free of regrets... leaving equipment on the cold floor of the Dungeon... doesn't sit well with me.' 

Looking at the ground and inspecting the red carpet he was walking on, his previous guess regarding the condition of these independent spaces was further confirmed.

Furthermore, if the Burning Hells could constantly replenish these Dungeons with the souls of their servants, it wouldn't be too strange to either have them maintain it or if the 'time' of the said Dungeons is stopped.

Michael used his scythe to cut the carpet under his feet to verify his conjecture, but no damage was done. 

"Now, this is interesting! Very much so... Eternal items? Stasis? Now that I think about it, when I fought with the knights in Mercy's Reach, the Unique Elite at that time had the Explosive modifier, yet even after all those blasts, neither the floor nor the surroundings were damaged. Strange... how very strange..."

The more he thought about it while cautiously advancing through the halls, the weirder ideas he got. One that stood out was the painting theory he read about in a novel on Earth. 

The world is a painting in the novel, but the characters don't know it and go about their lives as if nothing had happened. If the Dungeons were something similar, then it would make sense.

'But then, the chests and the barrels you can interact with make no sense. It is the same as the doors that are locked. Could it be a combination of items you can destroy while others stay in place without taking damage? It's like a preset when loading a saved game. Everything remains the same, even after you've loaded the game tens or hundreds of times. But the moment you continue the game, you can interact with the environment. Then, the 'painting' or the 'saved game' makes a ton of sense...'

[Hey!](?)

Michael was rudely brought out of his thoughts by a loud shout, almost scaring the pants off him. After all, he continuously checked the mini-MAP, which had the radar function.

If there were any enemies, he would see them on it. The voice didn't care about his complaints, though, as it continued admonishing someone.

[No nodding off!](?)

[Tsk! Nobody is coming in anyway. Nobody did for a long time now...](?)

[Huh? Intruder!](?)

With his curiosity piqued, Michael wanted to continue eavesdropping, but it seemed that he was caught. Pushing open the doors separating him and the voices, he entered without hesitation.

Activating his Raise Skeletons skill, the seven minions joined the fray and blocked in front of their master.

"If you don't mind, can we talk first?"

Michael started a conversation to get more intel from the three women. Unfortunately for him, the Sanctuary identified them as hostile and showed their information as 'Marauders' of level 33.

Watching his minions take them out, he frowned while pondering their conversation. 

'Helen told me in the past to ignore what I hear in the Dungeon, as they are tricks of it. Then, going by the previous logic of 'saved games,' could it be that these Marauders were here at the moment when the Burning Hells stole the Light's Watch?' 

It wasn't much of a leap in judgment. After taking the Quest from Zalan Coste, the boy told him the Knights Penitent abandoned this outpost.

If even a child heard of that, the bandits could've heard also. Then, deciding to take over the outpost and make it their base, they stormed in and made themselves at home.

"...until it became a Dungeon, and they all became trapped. Collateral damage, huh? What a foolish way to die..."

He didn't feel sorry for the dead Marauders for multiple reasons. First off, this was only his speculation. He would have to run it past the girls at home before confirming or denying such a theory. 

Second of all, they were bandits. Yes, life is tough in the Sanctuary, but preying on the weak and helpless is a road that only the wicked take. No doubt they have committed plenty of crimes when they were alive.

"*Sigh* I wonder if this is justification on my part, so I don't feel too burdened about killing former alive people. With how they are 'maintained' by the Dungeon, there's no difference between them and the bandits I fought for in the previous Bonds of Blood Quest."

Fortunately for his mental health, as he advanced into the next room, he was greeted by a combination of Bandits and Worgen. Seeing the monsters avoid attacking each other and cooperating in dealing with his minions, Michael's previous conjecture about the Dungeon and the bandits taking over this place became more and more possible.

Wanting to make the most of his consumed Elixir, Michael advanced fast through the halls as he dealt with the monsters popping up here and there. 

"And, as expected, this is why the Dungeon Quest is to kill the two Watchmen first, huh? A locked door, and probably one of them has the key? No, that doesn't make sense. If I get lucky and kill the one that does, I don't need to deal with the second one. So that means either a third appears after I kill both, or there's a chest that the system will point out when the deed is done."

After looking at a huge locked door, Michel analyzed the MAP of the Dungeon. He was currently in a place called Light's Eye, and unlike the previous rooms, the roof over this chamber was missing entirely.

Again, there were two paths he could take, one heading north and one heading south, while the western path was blocked because of the locked door.

Scratching his head and deciding on the north path, Michael opened the two Caches he got as a reward from his previous Quest.

The Gem Cache rewarded him with 12 Amethyst Fragments, 22 Skull Fragments, and 1 Rare Broadsword. At the same time, the Herb Cache gave him 1 Lifesbane, 1 Howler Moss, 1 Biteberry, 2 Reddamine, 6 Gallowvine, 1 Blightshade, and 1 Rare Fur-Lined Hood.

"It seems like my Materials Inventory is growing quite nicely. Compared to foraging for these plants in the wilderness, it's much easier to do Quests and get them..."

More Brigands, Bandits, Slingers, Slicers, and plenty of Worgen monsters assaulted him on his way through the halls until a Quest marker appeared on the mini-MAP.

Walking closer to it as the minions took care of the remaining monsters nearby, Michael took advantage of the system to identify it.

[ Archivist's Lectern ]

Slightly perplexed, Michael took the book in his hands and was surprised he could read it. However, after flipping through the pages, he realized that it was only one single paragraph he could read, while the others looked like German to him.

The book in question was identified as Archivist's Journal I and was the first piece of the three needed for Zalan Coste's Quest.

Curious about why he could read the paragraph, Michael looked around and saw the dead monsters. Thinking that he had a bit of leeway, he had his minions stand guard as he looked through the entire book, page by page.

Unfortunately, it seems that only that one paragraph was 'translated' by the Sanctuary for him.

[Our new recruits are proving themselves strong. I have Grown fond of one, Knight Soliana Coste. Her devotion to the faith could cast even the darkest shadow of doubt from anyone's mind.]

"Hmm... Soliana Coste, huh? That should be that kid's mother. So, the reason I can read this passage is because it is related to the Quest. Oh! There's more here!"

[It's easy to talk to her about those I left for the calling of the Light. She had to leave her family too, a son...]

Thinking for a while, Michael noticed a skull appear on the mini-MAP, so he put the journal in his Quest Inventory as he prepared himself to face the first Watcher.

The Brigand Elite stood three meters tall and had a ferocious appearance. Furthermore, he was a Unique Elite, judging by the system showing his name, rather than 'Wretched Brigand' or other names created because of the modifier they had.

[ Grek Grauk Watchman (Elite) - Level 33

*Shock Lance: Creates a ball of lighting that attacks everything in a two-meter radius.

*Chilling Wind: Summons a wall of wind to block all ranged attacks. ]

Furthermore, the Brigand wielded a scary-looking blade, almost as big as his body. Getting chopped by it would undoubtedly result in a one-way ticket to Hell.

Using his minions, Michael assaulted Grek Grauk while participating in the 'fiesta' as well. The main reason was that he didn't have any good ranged attacks at the moment, so it was simpler to behave as if his minions were assistants.

"Tsk! The Wind Wall is here, and my poor Cold Mages turned useless. Fortunately, there are plenty of Corpses on the ground to deal with him. Good job guys! I'll take it from here!"

Following the usual combo, Michael cast Decrepify and Corpse Tendrils. The latter didn't stun the Elite, but it was enough to add the Vulnerable status to it, which amplified the damage Michael could deal.

Furthermore, because of the damage being Shadow damage, the passive skills he had activated multiple times, both stunning and dealing more damage to it.

"A 536 damage tick after stacking over seven Corpses, huh? Also, the Reapers and Cold Mages deal about 60-70 with each attack, so that's between 350-420 each time they hit the target. Damn, with these boys of mine, my damage almost doubled!"

Happily collecting the loot, Michael analyzed the situation and was pleased by his improvement. He felt he cheated by simultaneously using his overpowered skills and the minions.

Still, his life was at stake here, so he would take everything he was given and use everything he had to protect it.

Some minutes later, he was done with the northern wing of the Dungeon and returned to the Light's Eye room.

"It took me about 10 minutes to get from the Dungeon's entrance to this point, and from the looks of it, the Elixir's time of action is about a third consumed. That means I have 20 minutes left. I should hurry a bit."