73: A Learning Experience

The dungeon entrance was an old, abandoned fort, but it did not match the stereotype that such a simple description would normally invoke. The fort straddled a pass between two large, rocky crags, both of which would've been considered mountains if it weren't for the titanic mountains that served as a backdrop for the region.

It was constructed out of chunky stone blocks near the base—probably quarried from the surrounding hills—but then the construction methods got… weird. The generic stone block construction very quickly began to buckle and twist. Towers looked almost like they'd been partially melted, then twisted and pulled in alarming ways, while the walls undulated like several waves were midway through travelling up their lengths.

The reason for all of this chaotic masonry was obvious— an uncountable number of vines had thrust up out of the ground to burrow into the fortification. Every imperfection in the stone had been exploited by a questing tendril, so that the bulk of the structural integrity appeared to be held by the vines, rather than the stone. Except, in their moment of victory over the carefully crafted stonework, the vines had all been petrified, cementing them in place like the same stone they'd been attempting to rip apart.

Now, chunks of the fort were failing, and severed lengths of vine with stone bricks embedded were laying about the place. Some of the damage was obviously due to time, but other sections bore the scars of a siege.

“Phew, that is difficult to look at,” Paisley commented as we stared up at the broken ruins. “My eyes can't even settle on anything.”

“That's probably the point,” I said, fighting the same problem. “Pretty sure this was an outpost for the old faerie empire.”

“Right, and fae love to bamboozle their enemies,” she nodded. Then she grinned and threw me a look. “You'll be right at home!”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't dispute it. Taking a step towards the dark, inky depths of the dungeon entrance, I said, “I'm going to head inside, thanks for the company. It was fun to chat.”

“Yeah…” she agreed, a small, infinitely sweet smile on her lips. “Have fun.”

She turned and began to walk away, and I couldn't help but watch her hips sway as she walked. She'd given her character a very nice curvy figure.

Then, with a sharp look over her shoulder, she caught me staring. My cheeks flamed up, and I quickly turned away and headed for the dungeon entrance. Her happy laughter followed me inside.

Inside the dungeon, night descended early, and it would never give way to the day ever again. The eternal night of this dungeon was something I remembered well from my time learning to solo it— mostly because of what the dungeon did with that darkness.

The entrance area was a flat space of packed dirt, littered with ancient battle debris. A few armoured skeletons were barely visible peeking up out of the long-dried mud, and in the centre was a large battle standard. It stood there, slightly askew, and glowing with a dim but comforting yellow light. It was also very obviously not fae, meaning that it had probably come from the ancient humans who’d fought the fae up here.

Huh, I wonder if that meant the enemy who attacked Ardgour in the lore was the Ascendant Empire? It’d make sense, given what I knew of them— oh, and the undead mushroom boss I fought in the old ruins, plus the one here and— Wow. I was not used to being intrigued by lore.

Based on my very limited understanding, it seemed like the humans originally built this fort, then the fae invaded, destroyed it, and used their magic to reinforce it for their own purposes.

Now, what happens first in this dungeon? The initial area was supposed to be a safe zone— Oh, right! The creepy stuff!

As if on cue, a little blue light began bobbing about, up ahead in the ravine-like valley. A strange, eerie singing began to call from the darkness alongside the light, luring me down the gravel path that curved to follow one side of the valley. When I didn't immediately start following, the light began to sing a high, beautiful song. I smiled, this was so spooky!

Moving slowly forward, hand on the tsuba of my katana. There you go dad, I remembered a word, are you proud of me?

One step after another, I left the comforting aura of the banner and entered the darkness. The light beckoned, enticing me forward and out of safety.

Goddess, I forgot what a vibe this dungeon was.

A gurgling growl snapped my attention sideways, where something was lifting itself out of the shrubs. Standing at around six feet, the figure moved with surprising fluidity, considering the fact that it was undead. The figure had once been a man— a human soldier wearing tough studded and reinforced leather armour. His metal helmet was conical, with a long nose bar and a long leather flap at the back to protect the back of the neck. In his right hand was a spear, while his left had a large round shield.

Another groan came from behind me, then a third from in front. With a steep stone slope on my right, I was surrounded— again. Unfortunately for these guys, I had no intention of sticking to two dimensions of movement.

My wings fluttered into existence on my back, and I shrank a second later, taking to the air. Immediately, I Scatter Dashed up out of reach of their spears, leaving an illusory version of myself behind. They lunged for it, spears extending, only for my apparition to vanish. All three stumbled, confused, and I darted in on the one who'd popped up behind me.

My sword came free from its scabbard, crackling with energy, and I slashed at— oh, fuck! The armour around the neck! I'd planned to go for the backs of their necks, having apparently forgotten all about the armour there.

I left a smoking line across the leather of the neck flap, until my blade hit one of the studs. I winced at the high, jarring ting sound that it made. My poor sword…

A shield came whooshing around, swatting me out of the air like I was the world's biggest mosquito, and my sword flew whirring off into the dark. My skull rang with disorienting reverberations, and an instant later, I hit the ground and bounced, spinning and twirling uncontrollably.

Fuck, that hurt!

Gravity wasn't done with me— and when I came down a second time, it was on my back. My wings were smashed into the gravel hard and I cried out in pain. Momentum rolled me over and I finished my chaotic landing face-down.

“Asshole!” I spat, pushing myself up on wobbling legs. “That was unaaaauh—”

My feet got caught between two pieces of gravel, which were more like sharp, head-sized rocks at my current size. I fell over again, but thankfully I got my hands under me this time.

Thunderous crunching stomps heralded the arrival of my foes, so in desperation, I Ribbon Rolled back up into the air. Mercifully, it took me out of range of their spears— which were wildly ineffective weapons against a small, zippy airborne creature like myself.

Not-so-mercifully, my wings were a bit munted, and they failed to hold me aloft. Fuck— fine, have it your way, game— I transformed back to regular size. My feet touched the ground with a feather-light touch by comparison to my previous landing.

Calling my sword to me with my mind, a thought occurred to me only after it was already back in my hand. I guess it did transform back to regular size along with me, even when I wasn't holding it.

My health was blinking a warning at me when I got my guard back up, which made my frantic deflection of an incoming spear all the more hair-raising. Holy hell, I was really off balance.

Rather than step in to exploit any potential opportunities after the deflection, I retreated, trying to get myself back on an even keel. The zombie soldier thrust forward again, shield held to cover its left, and again I brushed the spear aside. This time, I stepped forward and swept my blade up the haft of the spear.

My attack was rewarded with sparking damage numbers when the edge sliced through worn gloves and undead flesh. The spear fell to the floor, while the zombie moaned with… well, I'm not sure what kind of emotion the zombie was trying to give voice to. It wasn't a positive one, though, and it backed its ire up with a shove of its shield.

I was already stepping back, so the shove didn't connect with as much force as before, but it was still enough to send me stumbling back a step. God, damn, who taught these zombies to fight? It wasn't just their skills, either— they were pretty damned quick, and smart, too.

Thankfully, I'd ruined this one's ability to use a spear, so now there were only two pointy sticks to deal with. The other two were stepping up to flank their wounded comrade, shields raised to present a wall to me.

This was… a lot more difficult than I remembered. Not too difficult, though. You got this, Keiko. Just think, how did you solo this encounter last time?

Well, I shot them in the face— oh, and I was significantly faster than now. My Athleticism was pretty high for my level, but this place was above that level, so… yeah, it made sense that these smart, well trained zombies were able to also match my speed.

Metal shone on the ground, and for a split second I glanced down— oh, the dropped spear. Wait. The dropped spear!

Ducking an inquisitive jab from one of the zombies, I scooped the other weapon up and hopped backward. Using my mind, I sheathed my katana and spun the spear so I had it up and ready. Okay, okay… yeah— they were fast, and any attack I attempted would be met in kind, as their weapons had exactly the same reach as mine. However, I could even the odds a little.

I moved, activating Flutter Cascade, then summoned six new illusions of myself. Each one jumped for my foes from different angles, trying to get a hit in. The zombies were completely taken by surprise, and two of my ephemeral allies scored good hits, but it was my attack that did the most damage. With a free opportunity to strike at them, I made it count.

The tip of the spear slid past the nose bar of a helmet and with a wet, grinding sound, it pierced the skull of the right-most zombie. Like a robot losing power, it abruptly went limp.

Enemy Killed:

Cursed Serjant x1 (50 xp)

Before the last one with a spear could capitalise on my thrust, I pulled back. Just in the nick of time, too, because the de-fingered one lashed out with his shield again, attempting to knock the spear out of my hands.

Man, I'd really appreciate it if that asshole would stop being such a fucking hero. Deciding to voice that opinion, I gestured vaguely at him with the spear. “You, sir, are a dick.”

He growled something unintelligible in response, followed by a low, wheezing laugh.

The only thing that saved him from instant death right there, was the fact I'd blown all of my mana on six full-contact illusions. Although, I did have enough for a Steelfeather Guard— an ability that I wish I'd remembered to use in the heat of the moment earlier. Well, no time like the present!

I leapt forward and thrust outwards, aiming for the zombie hero's face. Predictably, the one with the spear lunged in, but a shimmering shield of translucent green and black feathers fluttered into existence. The attack skittered harmlessly off it, and I was free to thrust in at my target. He quickly raised his shield, blocking the point, but I was ready for it, and I stepped closer and kicked.

He stumbled, and his shield lowered, allowing me to thrust again, directly into his eye. Yeah, who's laughing now, huh?

Beside me, my wall of feathers lost cohesion and blew away as if by the wind. Oh.

The last zombie jabbed forward through my evaporating Steelfeather Guard, and I only had time to widen my eyes in alarm before I was sent off to respawn.