Haeros Dungeon - Chapter 6 preview (Patreon)

Three days later, the team was finally ready to delve the dungeon proper. At least, our first venture past the sixth level, which was where we had stopped the last time. We would soon want to get a pack mule of our own, someone to grab the corpses and goodies from the bodies that we left behind as we delved, but that was in a few more floors.

Right now, the goal was to reach the twelfth floor and become real delvers, and the plan was to do it in two runs. A little ambitious, but we figured we could do it, especially since Rayzan had already managed to do one run with his new team while we were waiting.

It was a point of contention with the team that he not only had a new team but also they seemed to comprise a number of more experienced delvers who were aiding him descend. Some of them grumbled about it, and, supposedly, the fact that he was using others outside of the academy had caused even more friction among the academy members.

At least, so said Sophia, who was taking the fifth position in our group, now that we no longer had our academy minder in Mira after graduation. Most adventuring teams went out in groups of five, and Sophia was a good addition. A fellow member of our graduating class, the blonde was a Centrist and had a magic skill, much like Kira.

Unlike us, she hadn’t managed to get a free item of magical equipment, but because of that she and her academy team had pushed harder after graduating, delving the main dungeon constantly to acquire more shards. Unfortunately, they’d not lasted long as other academy teams worked to fill out their roster like we did.

Heading down through the floors was annoying. We kept to the main routes, trundling along like good little peasants, all of us wishing we had the portal orb that let us journey to the last known location. Utilizing it, of course, was incredibly expensive since the linked orb was relatively rare.

In fact, there were entire parties that did nothing else but farm the eighteenth floor, just to get the orbs necessary to make the portals work. Eventually, there were more skills that could be used, more boss orbs that gave similar abilities. Rumors were, deep on the fiftieth floor, there was a gate that once you passed through it gave you a magical tattoo that transported you right back to the floor whenever you wanted. A get out of danger card, though with some minor drawbacks. I was jealous, I was not going to lie, but for now, it was a long way away. For now, we had a lot of land to cross, from fighting the landwumps to reaching the fifth floor and the spiders that made up the area.

We didn’t bother trying to acquire anything, instead pushing onwards to the sixth floor. The deepest that we had been on the dungeon proper. The sixth floor was a rather radical change from the previous floors, from the mercury-laden sea of the fifth floor to the cramped tunnels of the sixth where the spider-like creatures of this world lurked.

Here, we were still undoubtedly underground, with large caverns with soaring ceilings and stalagmites and stalactites everywhere, but each cavern was large enough to fit a house within. In some of the largest, a billionaire’s mansion with all the extra living rooms, bowling alleys, multiple swimming pools and kitchens that you would never need.

This made the minotaurs on this floor stand out even more. Unlike in the twisting corridors of the eighth floor of the Aeres fault, where their larger size, their ability to charge in straight lines and their unerring map sense gave them an advantage, the bigger caverns took away most of their options. It made them easier pickings, though they were still, individually, stronger than the spiders.

In fact, they lived here in groups, which was one of their biggest strengths. Staying to the smaller caverns, they constructed crude stone huts out of broken stone columns and used the gift of the occasional minotaur shaman to meld the stone into their habitats.

While I called them minotaurs, and the creatures in the floor below spiders, it’s worth noting that they only had a passing resemblance to the bull-headed creature of Earth mythology. These minotaurs were horned – but with a single horn in the center of their head, more often than not. Humanoid, but with spikes on their arms and a longer, elongated but human-like furry face. They were supremely strong, with a regeneration skill and the ability to cover ground quickly, with extra armored plates across their body and especially their shoulders, their stubby ears and upper chest; when they charged, they were protected.

Our first encounter with a minotaur group was rough, as we worked out new tactics in the new environment. But by this point, three hours into the sixth floor and well on the way to passing through it, we were quite accomplished in our tactics, even if we were often fighting more than one monster at a time.

The group that came at us was four adults strong, two juveniles. The adults were between seven and eight feet tall, putting them at a significant reach advantage. If you don’t know how much a difference that can be, you haven’t stood beside an NBA player in real life.

Or, you know, the Mountain.

The juveniles were more normal-sized, which was good, roughly around six feet tall, but still massively strong. We were stronger than normal humans too, but it still felt like getting hit by a gorilla if you tried to block a punch directly.

Upon sighting us in the beginning of the cavern, the first three dropped their heads and charged without hesitation. Pure aggression, these creatures, instinctively built to do damage rather than think. The final adult held back a moment, wise enough to hesitate and willing to wait just a little bit before it charged in.

One reason why its blonde fur was striped with white. Self-control was important.

The juveniles, perhaps because they were younger, perhaps driven by the same pack instincts that kept them moving together spread out, angling for the sides. Once they got far enough away and achieved a good enough angle, they’d put their heads down and charged – often targeting Kira, who was standing a little further behind, hopefully “safe” from the melee battle.

Their tactics were well known, and didn’t vary a lot, so ours didn’t have to be particularly sophisticated either.

Brand reacted with alacrity, having been caught out the first few times by how fast and aggressive the minotaurs were. He tossed down his spikes, pushing ahead a little so that he could wield his lightning field and not shock the rest of us. One thing that had changed was how he had a much greater degree of control of where his lightning moved, such that Yorrick no longer got jolted by the stray bolts even whilst standing behind Brand. He’d confirmed, unsurprisingly, that the change was due to an upgrade in his skill, giving him more control of energy output.

Energy dancing between each of the rods slipped between them and then the first minotaur to reach range. As the lightning struck, it locked up its muscles, caused fur to stand on end and flesh to sizzle. Forward momentum had the monster fall over, unable to control its muscles any further, but Brand’s energy was not done, arcing to the second minotaur and then a third. However, by the point it struck the third, it was barely offering anything more than a painful shock.

Yorrick, lingering backwards, shifted his position to the left of Brand, noting how the second and third minotaurs kept charging us. Which one was going to reach them first was the question, but Brand was moving as well, giving his friend space to work. As each staggered to a stop, or slowed, the minotaur in the lead and thus the target of the shocking attack shifted, causing them to stumble or fall.

One after another stumbled, and then Brand released the energies, backing off to allow Yorrick to take the much disrupted charge. The more filled-out street kid was still scrawny, so taking a charge directly would have seen him blown back, but with the minotaur’s initial momentum ruined, and his own counter charge in place, he managed to knock his target back. Long enough for him to start stabbing, at least, his large knife – almost a short sword really – going in and out like an ice pick, one after the other. He shifted angle slightly, just about enough to put new holes in the monster’s torso, punching it through open gaps in the armored plates of the monster and down into the minotaur’s thighs.

At the same time as he angled himself away a little, Brand charged back in to deal with the second monster in play, his own weapons licking out. Unlike his friend, who cared little about the hammering fists that struck his shoulders and back, and tore at muscles, Brand was much more cautious. Striking carefully, his attacks were meant to wound and bleed the other monster while never exposing himself to a return attack that he could not block or avoid.

It was a safe type of fighting, but was dangerous since the third minotaur had yet to be finished. Even so, none of us were surprised, even as Brand angled himself and his opponent further away from Yorrick to give them space before he triggered his skill again.

Kira – our most vulnerable member – was busy too, sending her wisps darting in to deal with the downed third monster. She kept one wisp next to her, buzzing in slow arcs as a safeguard while the other three zipped right in, two going for the head and eyes, the third striking the chest and pushing in. It was a nasty tactic, since the instinctive approach to defend one’s sensing organs meant that you left the burning coal in your chest alone. Either of the attacks would kill if left alone long enough.

Nasty method, but mostly, I was more interested in Sophia.