Chapter 36 – Dungeon Drei

---A word of warning, I may have gotten carried away with this upcoming dungeon. Seriously though, the next few chapters after this are long. You have been warned lol---

__________

"I still hate paying those prices"

"If you don't like the prices, don't pay for them Ikarus-sama"

"Lotte has a point"

We're walking through the city after I've just left the alchemist shop purchasing some potions from the pink haired lady, also can't forgot I've topped up on food and other things beforehand. There is only one last thing to do before we leave now, it's time to go find Petra at the bar.

"That's easier said than done, it never hurts to have something in storage in case of a bad situation"

"You do not need to worry when you have me and the Lord's protection"

Is she getting arrogant now? No, I think she's just more stupid and careless than I first realized, I'm missing travelling with some who isn't completely naïve or stupid now. I understand the irony of me saying it, I will get more intelligent one day, I hope. I'm not even two yet, that's the excuse I can use at the very least.

Honestly, I think I'm just in a bad mood after basically being robbed by the alchemist once again, still can't get over it.

Thankfully enough, we've arrived at the red-light district and are currently walking through it to get to the bar. I just hope we don't have wait days or weeks to meet up, it is thankfully already evening so we might get lucky and she could be there already, doubt it though.

Watching my party members, I see both priestess and the knight both stop and their faces start looking embarrassed, I don't even need to look ahead of us since it's probably being caused by the brothel.

I do turn back around though and it's for a different reason this time, two fully naked women are having a brawl in the street and a small crowd has gathered around them. I'm unsure if there stopping, watching or cheering them on though.

"Don't even think about it"

"Think about what?"

"We probably should break it up Ikarus-sama"

I just walk on towards the bar and keep talking, both party members reluctantly follow me, I know better right now.

"The guards will get involved, don't even bother looking"

Just before we enter the bar, I hear two screams coming from the fighting women.

"You fucking bitch!"

"Dirty slut!"

It's clear two 'workers' have had a falling out over something, this really isn't something I want to get involved in with my party. Knowing my luck, I'll get blamed like what happened with the woman who groped me back at the bathhouse, sometimes it's just better to not get involved.

I think some guards have appeared as well now so it's fine.

Now that we've entered the bar, I instantly recognize a familiar face sitting in a booth right near the entrance.

"Petra!"

__________

"We didn't make you wait too long, did we?"

"Not at all, was only waiting for a little bit"

I think she's just being polite, that would be a little too convenient both arriving the exact same time and day. Might have happened but I really doubt it.

I'm currently flying towards the next dungeon with all three-party members on my back, it should take a few days at my current speed. We're going to have to stop shortly anyway though, it is starting to get really dark now, could've stayed at the bar and enjoyed a drink but I'd rather start getting on the move right now, especially considering there is a combat dungeon ahead. I've got more than enough alcohol in storage to drink when needed anyway.

"How was your family, Petra?"

I'm getting a bit bored up here, need some small talk to distract my attention. Flying is alright but like with any means of travel, it can get a bit boring time to time.

"Family? Oh that, I really only checked in for less than an hour though, they really got on my nerves"

She left that quickly? They must not get on all that well then.

"Do you dislike your family Petra-sama?"

I was going to ask but priestess also was slightly curious on it.

"Nothing like that, just they can get a little bit much"

I completely get that as well; dragons can be a little much as well. I do love my family though.

(Ikarus) "Who did you meet up with anyways?"

This might start becoming an inquisition if we keep questioning her but I'm still bored, alright? She gets what I mean though.

"Just my two younger siblings really, I feel like their mother at times though"

I'm guessing her parents might be dead if she only met up with them, I'm not asking such a depressing question though.

(Charlotte) "Did you ever get married and have any children Petra-sama?"

We all know she's old but even I think that might be asking a little too much priestess, she still seems willing to answer though. Like the bitch mage, she is a hell of a lot older than she looks.

"No, nothing like that. That type of thing was never an option anyway"

(Charlotte) "What do you mean?"

(Nathan) "Yeah, I'm slightly confused as well"

I swear, these two might be stupider than me at times, it's clear she doesn't want to talk about it.

"You two, shut it back there! Read the room"

"Heh, it's fine Ikarus. It's just one of those things really, never had any intention and never had the choice either. That's all there is to say on it really"

I feel like she's being purposely vague but I'm not really all that interested, I'm infertile so I can get where she's coming from. Well, I can't since I never wanted kids but she might have at one point. Thinking about it, I don't even know if she's straight or not, I'm not prying into that as well, she's probably way too old to even care about stuff like that anyway, or is she?

Great, now I'm thinking back to the love potion incident again. I think I definitely was mistaken on that, let's move on.

"Anyway… let's find a place to land in a minute"

__________

"Are we sure this is the right location?"

(Nathan) "The map definitely shows we're here"

"We saw the monastery from the sky while we were landing, we're in the correct place Ikarus-sama"

(Petra) "…"

Nestled between some hills and at the foot of a mountain, we're all standing around a large sinkhole looking down into the dark abyss. I'm unsure if it's that deep or not but still, we can't see the bottom of it down to the darkness though.

The prince did tell us this dungeon was deep in a large hole. Still, a large, deep sinkhole seems a little too literal. I guess that's why he didn't say that much on the description on this one.

"It's a good thing I can fly then, we're not climbing down that stupid thing"

There does appear to be a rope ladder hanging into the dark pit but that doesn't look safe in the slightest, someone must have tried going down there before. I doubt it would've been the people working for the prince searching for the dungeon originally, I'm guessing they use wyverns to get around so that ladder would've been pointless to them.

"Everyone get back on, we're descending into the darkness. Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times, or, outside, just don't fall off!"

"Heh"

She gets my stupid sense of humour so it's all good, lets continue.

It's time to try and be slightly serious now. We know this dungeon is combat focused, we're unsure on what we will be coming up against though. Apparently, most combat dungeons have a no exit until completion policy so no one has been sent into it yet, I guess it's kinda similar to the last one with the fountain as well since we couldn't leave till my madness figured out the solution.

All my party members climb back onto my back and I lift off flying slowly down into the pit. Once I've started descending into the dark pit, I quickly realize we've got a solution for the upcoming darkness.

"Priestess"

"Of course"

The priestess summons up a light flare that follows us into the darkness. Like last time in the snowy northern forest, this light is beyond brilliant and effective.

It takes a minute of slowly flying down before I touch the ground in this sinkhole, it would be really dark and gloomy down here if it wasn't for her.

Looking around, there is only one way to head forward, a small looking doorway that leads into a long dark hallway. There is a slight problem for me as well as a specific memory of the first dungeon comes up.

"Damn it! I can't fit through that doorway. Give me a second"

…

It takes a few minutes but I've now changed form and gotten clothes on, my party has gotten themselves ready for any upcoming fight as well now.

(Nathan) "All done now?"

"Ikarus-sama?"

"…"

"Yeah yeah, let's just move on already"

All four of us start walking down the hallway. After a little distance travelled, we come across a closed door and the knight stops to try and read it. The priestess's light flare is no longer needed down here as well since there is somehow unnatural lighting down here.

"Ikarus, there's a sign I can't read"

Moving ahead of my party to where the leading Nathan is, I look at the sign on the door in question and a small grin appears on my face.

(Beware, the hordes of the undead dwell within. Any who enters shall not return till they have been proven worthy)

"It's a freaking undead dungeon! I bet there's zombies n shit inside as well!"

(Charlotte) "What else does it say?"

"We cannot return till we have been proven worthy, that probably means we've got to kill as many as possible"

Then Petra responds to me with something that immediately ruins my happiness.

"Ikarus, you can't kill undead"

This also causes an unfortunate realization from what she said.

"Wait… does this mean EXP is impossible to gain down here?"

"Probably, they are called execution points after all. They should still be able to be destroyed though"

Damn it, it's always one step forward, two steps back. At least I've got a combat dungeon I guess, just levelling is once again only effective against humans. I really, really hope a good reward comes from this place as well.

As we open the door and enter into the room, I can't help but feel like I've been here before.

"Is this… it?"

The room has a similar layout to the pedestal rooms in the first dungeon we came across, basically just a medium sized square room but this one has lighter walls and a dirt floor. Can't also forget that there is a big red button on the pedestal as well.

"Patience Ikarus, I know the big red button looks very tempting but ignore it for a while"

Damn it Petra, she already knows what I'm thinking. If the only thing you put in a room is a big, red, dumb button, you're obviously going to want to press it, duh.

"There's writing on the pedestal Ikarus-sama, please don't press it just yet"

(Nathan) "Lets at least get more prepared before doing anything else"

There winding me up a little now, Petra was obviously joking, those two actually look stressed out about it.

"You two are idiots; I can ignore the big shiny, attractive button for a minute or two. Might became harder to resist after three of four though"

They let out a little chuckle while I go up to the very tempting button, I can easily hold myself back though. Scrawled up against the pedestal, I can just make out what it says.

(L-v-l 1/1-0)

"Okay… I think it says level one… I don't know if it is one out of ten or hundred though"

"It'll be hundred Ikarus"

I immediately get an answer from Petra, has she completed dungeons as well then? I might ask about that another time.

"Petra-sama is probably right; I have come across a hundred level style dungeon before"

Well that's great, one hundred levels and not a single drop of EXP. Ah, I'm done complaining about the dungeon, at least for now. I wanted a combat dungeon and now I've got one, dungeons do seem to be designed to be annoying though.

We've had the perversion and confusion dungeons already, it's time to start the undead, let's get on with it.

"One hundred small rooms like this… I guess the entrance will close and the next doorway won't open until we fight off this round, maybe?"

(Petra) "Most likely Ikarus"

"Then can I press the button already? You lot looked prepared enough and I have my sword ready as well"

Thinking about it, I should give a quick recap on our weapons. Petra has a samurai type blade, Charlotte uses that stupidly large two-handed summoned sword, I'm unsure what the name of it would be and me and Nathan have very similar one-handed broadswords.

I may still not be that good with hand-to-hand combat but undead are thick as shit when it comes to intelligence. It's a stereotype, sure but it should be pretty obvious that they are stupid. Unless we get the really fast and tough zombies that can use parkour that some video games have, we might be screwed in that situation.

"One second Ikarus, I'm just trying to figure out where they might come from. I sense no magic spawners or residue coming from anywhere"

"You are right Petra-sama, I can't figure it out either"

Me and Nathan obviously have no clue what those two are on about, we are both low levelled noobs after all. I also feel like I'm being a simpleton when it comes to this, shouldn't it be obvious where they come from?

"*Sigh*… am I the only one who actually has an idea on this? They're undead right? They'll obviously come up from the ground"

"That would make sense but feel the ground Ikarus, it's practically rock solid. It's a possibility but still want to check for anything else"

Petra does have a point; the dirt isn't soft in the slightest. Maybe I was wrong but still, it could be a possibility.

I give them a minute or so to have a quick look around but they can't find anything else, it's time to start this.

…

I've waited a minute, I'm bored now.

"We can spend more time speculating or we can just get on with it, everyone is prepared, right? It's only the first level as well, this should be the easiest"

I know I'm being impatient but it should be pretty freaking obvious that this should be easy and besides, everyone did get themselves ready before we entered, we're only delaying more time.

(Nathan) "I'm ready anyway"

"Okay Ikarus-sama"

(Petra) "Press the button then Ikarus"

As I press the button, the door we entered from slams shut and the ground ever so shakes slightly knocking all of us onto the ground. Once we've gotten ourselves back up, we all notice what's happening next.

"I did tell you that would happen"

"Lovely, we're now surrounded by heathens, me and the Lor-"

I couldn't help but snap and cut her off, I may have been happy about being right but priestess ruins it instantly.

"There not fucking heathens, priestess! How the hell can an undead be a heathen!? Use the word correctly!"

(Petra) "This isn't the time, Ikarus"

(Nathan) "Petra has a point"

We obviously expected enemies to appear, sure, maybe not all at once all climbing up from the dirt though. A few dozen zombie looking corpses all start rising around us in the room. All look rotten, smelly and disgusting.

"…"

Petra is the first to start the fight and starts swiping at some of the creatures that are climbing up, it does zero damage though.

"Summon… may your restless souls be put to rest by the Lord's power"

"Damn undead, take this!"

Both the other two-party members start attacking the heads of other undead but it still does nothing, it's as if the zombies have a spell blocking all damage. Even I try kicking one of them in the head and the only thing that happens is that I might have broken a toe.

"Fuck! That hurt! What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

(Petra) "Patience Ikarus, they'll become attackable once they've risen, didn't realize they follow that trend, apologies"

As we're waiting, I can't help but want to check something.

'Status'

[<Status does not work against creatures considered magically controlled undead>]

'If they weren't magically controlled, it would work then, right?'

[<Affirmative>]

I really shouldn't be discussing things with Aesa right now. Any second, these creatures are going to attack us, I've got to be ready, everyone else has their weapons out, I need to pull my sword out also.

Once all the corpses have risen up completely out of the ground and I've readied my blade, a faint light surrounding the bodies rapidly fades and then Petra quickly goes in for another attack on one of them slicing the head clean of the body.

(Petra) "Good, we can start now"

__________

"Wow, that was absolutely shit"

Okay, that was massively underwhelming. We cleared that in less than thirty seconds once the protection spell had gone. Those things might have been the weakest creatures I've fought so far, I don't think I'm even exaggerating.

Now that level has been completed, all of us have unsummoned or put away our weapons. We're just standing around right now.

"Seriously though, why the hell was that so easy? I feel like a little old lady would put up more fight than those corpses"

"Thank the Lord for such an easy fight but that is a horrible comparison Ikarus-sama"

It isn't though, it clearly was a joke. I think Petra might have given a little smile but I didn't see.

"You should be careful Ikarus, the knights do have an expression about complaining over an easier fight"

(Petra) "Ikarus, all you're doing is tempting fate speaking like that"

"Erm… you've probably got a point. I'll shut it for now"

I can't help but want to check something as I'm speaking heading over to the doorway we came in from. Once I get there, I try to open it but it won't budge.

"Yup, thought so, the door is sealed shut. We've got to continue ahead. Let's get going"

All four of us enter through the next doorway and find an identical room to the previous one.

"Can I again?"

"Sure Ikarus-sama"

"We should be ready for another fight"

"…"

I go up to the button again and press it getting enjoyment from such a stupid thing again. I hate myself at times.

This time however, we all stay standing from the slight shaking of the ground and get ready watching all the corpses rise up again. Once all of them have risen, I can't help but make another comment, I'm terrible with a sword but even this will still prove no issue once again.

"Every room better not be the same"