Dungeon Madness: The Divine Dungeon Book Two Read online

  “Yes, but I feel like you are about to make me mad again for some reason.” She muttered her dark premonition.

  I chuckled at her glowering.

  “Cal! We just got the Distortion Cat killed and you want to make more of them?! Aren’t you going to have bad memories, seeing them all the time?” Dani demanded, if she had feet she would be stomping around throwing a tantrum.

  I tried to sooth her,

  “Not the point!” She sighed loudly, “Fi-ii-ne. What else?”

  I smiled, knowing she was as interested in these changes as I was, even if she pretended otherwise.

  Dani snorted. “What? You? Distracted?”

  I was nearly shouting in excitement as I finished.

  “Hmm. I thought you liked giving personalized loot?” Dani reminded me of the fun I had messing with people.

  I promised her.

  Dani refused those options, “No, it needs to be something obvious. How about we make a treasure chest?”

 

  “It is essentially what you are describing; a really fancy box that swings open on hinges. We can put it at the exit to the room, so groups will have to survive and travel all the way across the room to collect their rewards.” Dani was getting excited that she could use her experience from before she bonded to Cal. “Kantor did something similar, but I never knew why — so I never brought it up. Now it makes perfect sense!”

  I was excited to start but there was more to discuss. I paused for dramatic effect, < I could arrange the Boss rooms so that after every Boss they could choose to leave! That way people will be more confident in fighting the Boss immediately.>

  “I don't understand what you mean. Do people feel unconfident when going into the Boss rooms?” Dani queried with a frown. “Why do they bother to come in here then?”

  I explained my reasoning as succinctly as possible.

  “Smart!” Dani exclaimed. “That’s a good plan, where should we start?”

  I chuckled at the thought that I would soon be able to fight again.

  ~Two~

  Dale woke up flailing, reaching for a weapon to throw off the shadowy figure stabbing his… he sat up, shaking off the nightmare. Grimacing, he attributed the night of tossing and turning to eating like a pig right before bed. Certainly it wasn’t being stabbed through the heart the week before. He almost started drooling at the memory of the huge steak and sides of vegetables that had barely satisfied him. With all his meridians opening at the same time, his body had used all available resources to purify himself and supply Essence to the tissue throughout. A week to heal and recuperate wasn’t enough, but it would have to do for now.

  Thinking back to how no one had an explanation for how it happened without his knowledge, he felt a little better. If no one else knew what had happened, maybe it actually was the dungeon who had fixed his body. Maybe he wasn’t going insane and hearing voices that weren’t there… he shook himself, refocusing on his body.

  His Essence was pouring along the open meridians, constantly infusing his flesh with health, strength, and resilience. His body looked ruined, emaciated to a skeletal frame. He looked down, his ribs were easily countable and his waist looked positively non-existent. Despite his outward appearance, he had never been stronger. His muscles were permanently infused with the Essence that now flowed through them, strengthening him beyond what his body had been capable of. Dale could arm-wrestle a small bear and easily win right now, and his new body was at its weakest point currently.

  While he was able to put flesh on again, he would never need to worry about gaining fat. His body processed food very quickly, burning through all the calories and protein he could take in. When he was again well fed, his muscles would be like steel and his skin like hardened leather! His stomach chose that moment to remind him to go eat, so he reached for his armor… only to find it missing.

  He looked around wildly, then shook his head as he remembered how Madame Chandra had told him that she would have it cleaned and he could pick it up today. This also reminded him that he could eat at the restaurant for free for the next week, since he had saved Rose. He perked up, the Pleasure House served breakfast! He got to his feet expecting stiffness or pain, but his body moved as smoothly as if he had just had a light workout. Must be a side benefit of all the Essence sloshing around in him.

  Before stepping out of his tent, Dale started cycling Essence to his eyes so he could see the flow of power in all things. With this enhanced vision, he could see blots of color moving around outside, denoting moving people. Seeing no one near his door, he cautiously stepped outside, feeling naked without his armor.

  “Boo!” A harsh voice shouted next to him.

  “AHH!” Dale whipped around, raising his fists, only to see his friend Hans laughing at his terror.

  “Ha-ha-ha!” Hans laughed, slapping his knees as he doubled over. “You sounded like a little girl! Oh, man! Whew! I needed that, thanks buddy!”

  Dale glowered at him, “Hans! You should be resting! Also, don’t you think that you should be a bit nicer to me? I died last week!”

  “What? Nah, that isn’t something to get worked up for. Happens to all of us. You are fine now, right?” Hans stopped laughing at the serious look on Dale's face.

  “Dale.” Hans sounded deadly serious now, almost angry. “You can’t let this affect you so much. Yeah, that sucked, but are you going to give up on cultivating? Are you going to stop fighting in the dungeon? Should I? I owe over six hundred gold to a flesh Mage for all the re-sculpting of my body, should I just tell him ‘too bad, I’m done fighting because it is dangerous’?”

  Dale looked like he had been slapped. “I… I don’t….” He stammered.

  “The correct answer is: Abyss no!” Hans shouted, getting angry now. “Dale! Look at you! Sure, you look like shit, and you smell, and it is likely you won’t get a woman until your eighties, but what else is new? How do you feel? Do you feel like a warrior, a champion that slew a monster way above his cultivation rank, or are you going to allow yourself to feel like giving up so you can keep acting like a victim?!”

  Dale flushed, “I’m not acting like-”

  “Oh really? Then why have you been all weepy and pouty this whole week and so far this morning? Yeah, I heard
how you were acting, and I’ve been watching you for almost a whole day to see if the information was accurate! I was embarrassed for you! You are acting like a spoiled little brat that has a bunch of people to run his life for him. Did you even realize that the entire council was there last night? Why do you think that was? You think just maybe they might be getting together to see if you are mentally fit to continue owning this land? You think they might be plotting to petition the king for a writ that will allow them to take the land from you if that is the case?”

  Dale's face paled; he hadn’t realized that was even a possibility.

  “You need to start going to council sessions, and stop letting people you barely know make all of your major life decisions for you! Now, tell me that you were acting stupid because you were tired, and you will be the strong, assertive Dale I know you to be!” Hans nearly shouted in his face.

  “I… I’m sorry Hans, I have been acting stupid because,” Dale swallowed, “because I was so tired out. I’m good now, I’m all ready to get back to the team.”

  Hans's demeanor changed like a whiplash, “Oh great! Good morning Dale, how are you today?” He went in for a hug, acting like he hadn’t been about to start slapping the man.

  “I’m… good?” Dale licked his lips nervously. Hans shoved him away, spitting.

  “Gah! I know I was standing close, but you didn’t need to lick my lips! What the heck?!” Hans spit to the side, “You need to brush your teeth.”

  “Well, your morning breath isn’t fresh and minty either!” Dale shouted back. They both stopped for a second and looked at the other. The tension lasted only a moment as they both started laughing hard enough that their sides started to hurt. “Ugh… C’mon, Chandra owes us breakfast. I’d rather not go back to the mess hall; I hear the head cook has been on a rampage because no one is bringing him herbs anymore.”

  “Free food at the Pleasure House? I’m so there!” They started walking toward the towering restaurant that had savory smells wafting from it, collecting their teammates Adam and Tom on their way. They exchanged pleasantries as they made a bee-line for the food; that is, they took many unnecessary turns and side routes in order to avoid the early morning traffic. By the time they reached the doors, Adam looked ready to faint from hunger and Tom was getting loud.

  Tom boomed at the now-nervous host, “Hello tiny person, we need a table as presently as can be arranged. As a boon from the owner, Madam, we have been offered a place to eat as often as we are able to find the room in our stomach. I have found the room, have you yet found a table that can seat us?”

  The stammering host tried to get in a few words, but as soon as Tom stopped speaking a side door slammed open, revealing Rose in a set of comfortable robes. “Tom! Keep it down, it is barely light out and if you keep the noise going you are going to wake up grandma! She will literally slice your face off!”

  “I highly doubt that she would…” Tom began loudly, just before Hans slapped him lightly across the face.

  Hans whispered, wide-eyed, “I’ve seen it happen. She is strong enough that she replaces it and heals you, but you really don’t want that to happen. It is rather unpleasant.”

  Tom flushed, then went pale. Mutely, he nodded as they were led to a table as far from the ground floor as possible, into a room where the highest quality food was served. Quickly, a server appeared with a selection of exotic fruits and fried meats for an appetizer. More courses were laid upon the table each time one was finished, so there was no point in time when they did not have food readily available. Finally, groaning, they had to beg the server not to feed them anything else. He smiled and bowed, vanishing into the kitchen as they prepared to leave.

  “Well what should we do today?” Adam polled the group with a loud burp. “Oh, more room!” He finished a small scrap of meat on his plate.

  Dale shrugged noncommittally, “No idea, the dungeon is going to be closed until they finish the walls and stuff around it. They don’t want to take any chances that the Mobs will escape and attack unprepared people again.”

  “I was finally able to start cultivating…” Rose sighed in frustration. As a chaos cultivator — a person who had dual affinities in celestial and infernal Essence — she had never been able to properly cultivate before going into the dungeon. Even after the trauma of the last few days, she was eager to get back into the dark depths.

  Hans looked around, seemingly offended. “Ugh…? What do you all mean by ‘we’? I thought that we had decided that we were a temporary party?” When everyone looked at him in shock he chuckled, “I’m just playing! There are some things we should do today though. Tom, you need to come with me to the main Guild tent. I’ll sponsor your entrance to the Guild and make our team official.”

  Hans glanced at Adam. “Adam, you should get with Father Richard about the best way to strengthen yourself, and learn to use your staff to its best effect. Rose, you should get your bow checked out and get ready for this evening. Dale, you know what you need to do today. ” He gave him a significant look, which made Dale nod and look away in shame.

  Rose looked at Hans with a raised eyebrow, “What is happening this evening?”

  Hans grinned lecherously, “Our second date of course!” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “In your dreams, old man.” Rose crushed him without a second thought, walking away. “I have my own plans for the day. See you all later!”

  Adam hadn’t said anything, but his face was pale. Dale nudged him, “What? You okay there, buddy?”

  Adam nodded, “You want me to train with Father Richard? Is this Richard Demonbane? The man trained by Cardinal Kere Nolsen the Slayer of Shades?” His voice was frantic, and rising in pitch to an uncomfortable level.

  “I’ve never heard that title before, but I only know one Father Richard, so… most likely?” Dale smiled at his pale friend. “Don’t worry, he is really nice. He does sometimes take over conversations, but otherwise he’s a really good person to be around.”

  Hans joined in smoothly, “Well, I mean he would have to be, but meeting your childhood hero isn’t often an easy task.” He grinned slyly at the now blushing Adam, “Is it Adam? Eh? Is it?”

  “Leave the cleric be, my mentor! Allow us to tarry here no longer; my heart races at the thought of joining the Guild! A childhood dream is what thee wishes to acknowledge? The Guild and being one of its members has always been my dream. I have held this dream dearly for years and…” Tom’s voice faded in the distance as a sour-faced Hans was pulled along to the Guild tent.

  “Heh. C’mon Adam. I will introduce you to Father Richard. I have to meet with him anyway.” Dale started leading his friend away when the host for the restaurant yelled for him. He turned back, “Yes?”

  ~Three~

  “Dale?” The host made sure of his identity.

  “Yes…?” Dale leadingly prodded.

  The man nodded, I have some gear that was left for you by the Sword Polishers.”

  Dale did a double take at the name, “Uhhh. What? I’m not sure I should be associated with… oh! My gear! They are the professional cleaners, then?”

  “Yes, please gather this up. I can’t lift the Morningstar more than…” The host trailed off and blushed as he realized that he had said more than he intended.

  “No problem!” Dale stepped into a small side room and put on his armor, smiling at the familiar weight. For the first time since he had purchased it, the armor didn’t stink, have any blood on it, and was rust-free. It also didn’t fit quite right, but seeing as his body was several sizes smaller than it had been the last time he wore it, this made sense. Leaning over, he picked up his bound Morningstar. The massively oversized weapon weighed almost forty pounds. Without the Runes on it that allowed for it to be nearly weightless in his hands, he could have never used it in combat.

  When he supplied a bit of Essence and activated the Rune, he could swing it as easily as a thin stick — without losing any of the destructive force its weight afforded. Truly
, it was a potent weapon. He stopped admiring himself and looked around for the shield, not seeing it. He stepped outside and asked the host where it was. The man uncomfortably informed him that the shield had been destroyed in the dungeon, and the scraps that he had brought back were unable to be salvaged. Dale nodded, he had expected this, but had been hoping it was not damaged to that level. It was a rental after all…

  He met up with Adam outside and they moved toward the only other permanent building currently in the area, the church. Walking into the coliseum style area where Father Richard gave his sermons, they admired the solid quartz floor that normally allowed people to see into the dungeon’s Boss room. To their shock, instead of the Boss floor below them, all they could see at the bottom was a purplish rock that Dale recognized from previous encounters.

  “Cursed earth?” Dale gasped, dumbfounded at the sight.

  A morose voice sounded from across the open area. “It appears so… It seems the dungeon has blocked the view until we open the front door again. Why dungeon? Why do you do this to me?”

  Dale looked up and saw Father Richard standing from his morning prayers, “Oh, just who I was looking for! Father Richard, this is Adam. He is a cleric that joined my group recently, and we were hoping that he could come to you for training in the celestial arts.”

  Richard sighed, eyeing a blushing Adam. “Why not? It isn’t like anyone comes here for a sermon when they can't see the fighting going on below… I suppose I could use an acolyte or two. Come along, we will start immediately.” He turned away, Adam hastily following, but stopped when Dale cleared his throat. “Yes?”

  “I’m going to be calling a council meeting today, and I was wondering if you have a room that we could use to stay away from prying eyes and ears?” Dale delicately informed him, looking around at the empty building.