A Walk in the Park

A group of eight adventurers was crossing through poisonous flower-covered hills while huddled in the safety of a transparent bubble. Victor had been maintaining the barrier spell for over an hour, a strenuous task for any magician of his rank, but he didn't seem bothered by the mana consumption.

Riva had inspected the flowers with her skill and found not just sleep-inducing ones like those found at the entrance. Each area appeared to be planted with flowers of a different effect.

There were poisons that led to skin inflammation and itching, irritating the eyes, coughing, and numbing, she even discovered some that would work as a laxative. Interestingly none were all that dangerous. They wouldn't kill or permanently harm those that were affected and only their sheer amount made them into this both beautiful and dangerous trap.

After they witnessed the power of the poison and discovered the fact that their predecessors had inexplicably vanished, the adventurers didn't dare let their guard down. They were tense and focused, like taught strings, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

They expected an enemy to appear at any second, possibly hiding beneath the dense carpet of flowers. A dungeon couldn't possibly be without its guards. Not encountering any up to now just increased their unease, the enemy could be lying in wait and ready to strike once any of them dared to show an opening.

Riva was far more relaxed. She had her mana sense in which she used to scan for hidden dangers. The many flowers made the environment abuzz with different mana, so did the dungeon's aura, which caused bad visibility in the distance.

She might not have sensed very far but it was more than enough to discern everything within attacking range and be certain that there was no danger besides the flowers. Nothing. They were given free passage.

When they started out, they had used Victors sensing ability and located the direction in which the mana grew denser, indicating that it was where they would find the dungeon's core. Riva had also offered her help, but they didn't want to make important decisions based on her say-so.

Three hours of walking later, everyone had grown incredibly restless. Since they started it had been a linear walk. The scenery remained unchanging and enchantingly beautiful. Nothing happened.

The fact that they were within a dungeon appeared like a lie, their wariness unnecessary and overly paranoid. Instead of strong enemies, the dungeon was challenging them on a psychological level. Remaining vigilant for this long was extremely stressful.

"Should we give up and turn around?" Someone couldn't help but ask.

"I say, get the hell out! There's nothing here. Who said that unexplored dungeons are filled with treasure? We've yet to find a single valuable." Another agreed.

"And there's no trace of either enemies or the other party. They're gone for good!"

The leader considered their options for a moment and asked Victor for his opinion.

"I say we keep going. We've almost made it to the core area. It'd be cowardly and a waste to give up now that we've come this far." He replied with an emotionless tone.

"You're right, nothing's done unless we've seen the core area." The leader nodded and addressed the party "You heard him you chickens, don't give up when we're nearly there. Do you want to give up without even fighting once?! Let's prove we're no cowards and go!"

Sometime later a new scene opened in front of the party's eyes. Up to here, the flowers had looked the same as those in the outside world. The specimens that came into view were the size of trees!

The group approached them and saw that they were arranged in a circle around a grass-covered clearing, in its midst laid the figures of the four missing adventurers.

"Ya think that's a trap?" Someone asked.

"I'm almost certain." The leader nodded and once again addressed Victor to ask for his advice. "You discover anything?"

"No, we'll have to get closer."

"Very well, on your guards, we're going in!" The leader commanded.

Riva spread her sense and focused it on the core area in front.

If I didn't know better I would have considered them my colleagues she thought to herself and a faint smile plaid along her lips. She would have her chance, soon.

The group cautiously made their way onto the clearing. They only now discovered the crystal clear pond at its center, because it was perfectly disguised by the reflection on its surface when seen from a distance.

The unconscious missing adventurers didn't have any visible wounds and didn't react to the group's arrival.

An adventurer had cautiously made his way over and knelt next to the unconscious figures to check their condition. After checking their vitals he turned to inform the others.

"They appear asleep."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the eyes of all four unconscious figures snapped open revealing their empty eye sockets.

"What the fuck?!"

"Look out!" The other adventurers screamed.

Their words were too late because the figure that the adventurer had been examining used the opportunity and thrust its hand straight through his back. He died on the spot.

The other adventurers proved their battle-hardened experience and they didn't let the death of their comrade stop them from immediately confronting the threat.

Riva observed the situation and had also drawn Slashy but there was no need for her intervention, in fact, she'd just get in the way. Their teamwork was amazing. The way the battle was going, they would easily win. It had taken just a moment and they had already defeated the first creature by chopping it to bits.

Riva took the opportunity to check on Victor. He had been maintaining the barrier all this time and didn't participate in the fight, despite that he didn't withdraw to the rear. He was intentionally putting himself in danger.

And indeed, he had been slowly approaching the corpse of the unlucky party member that had died when he examined the disguised monsters.

Just as expected the corpse of the fallen party member stood back up, empty eye sockets and all, and Victor looked as though he didn't notice.

"Look out!" someone had noticed the threat and shouted a warning.

Victor threw himself to the floor barely evading the monster's fist. The action must have broken his concentration because the barrier he had so dutifully maintained began to lose its shape and deflate.

A quick-witted adventurer had jumped over and engaged the newly risen enemy and former comrade but it was too late. The barrier was almost gone and they were exposed to the dungeon's air. Riva took a probing whiff. It was poisonous.

It didn't take a genius to know that the party had lost its advantage. They had already slain three enemies without encountering much trouble, that was up to here. Now the color was visibly draining from everyone's faces and their movements became sluggish. They needed to hurry and defeat the two remaining foes. It was only a matter of time before they succumbed to the poison and grew too weak to defend themselves.

"Hurry, cast the barrier!" The leader shouted.

Victor was already chanting. But completing the complex spell took its time. While he was concentrating, the others succeeded in putting down the two remaining enemies. They only sustained some injuries but no further casualties which again showed how accustomed they were to fighting alongside one another.

Victor soon completed his chant and cast the spell he'd been preparing.

Instead of a new barrier materializing, the expectant adventurers' faces grew even paler and one after another, as though puppets whose strings were cut, they fell to the ground.

Victor didn't even show a change in expression and mumbled "I hope they're right about the item."

He didn't even check the fallen party members, pulled a scroll from his Robe, and strode to the pond's edge at the center of the clearing.

He only came to a sudden stop when he saw the familiar silhouette in the water's reflection.

"What's the rush?" The cold female voice stung his ears.