Duelling Dungeons

When I finally pulled myself out of the projection chair several hours later, I was physically and mentally drained. Despite my best efforts, I’d struggled to stay focused and ultimately lost more matches than I won.

George wandered out of his little pen and strutted around the room, purring proudly.

“Yes, yes, you beat me. Take your victory lap,” I muttered, before ruffling my hair and pushing myself to my feet. “I’ll get you next time.”

I staggered over the door, planning to let the big spider out so he could show off to someone else, but before I could reach it, Kass pushed her way inside. My friend looked me up and down a couple of times before letting out a sigh.

“Alright, that’s it, let’s go see Sylvia,” she said.

“What? When? Now? Why?” I asked, more than a little confused.

“Because that brain of yours is going haywire. I can tell,” she said. “After you found out that the Anthophilans might evolve, and that Charlotte was coming back, your eyes glazed over and you completely zoned out for the rest of lunch.”

“I did not!”

“You absolutely did,” Kass chuckled. “The only thing you said for the rest of the meal was, ‘Uh-huh.”

“That wasn’t intentional,” I said, blushing slightly. “I was really trying to pay attention, I just couldn’t get my brain to shut up!”

“I know. If your conversation skills at lunch weren’t evidence enough, I watched you step into one of your own traps during practice,” Kass said, dragging me towards the atrium. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t stop the match and jot everything down on a tablet so you could concentrate.”

“I do have some self-control, you know,” I grumbled. “I promised that I wouldn’t do any planning until the rule changes came out, and I intend to stick to that promise!”

“You managed a week and a half, which is quite impressive, but that was before you knew what dungeon we might be facing,” Kass said. “But after the announcement, and finding out that our lineup might change, you can’t get your mind off it.”

“I can handle it, I just have to find ways to distract myself. I’m going to follow through on my promise,” I declared. I’d been so focused on the discussion that I hadn’t noticed how far Kass had dragged me. Somehow she’d managed to get me all the way upstairs and halfway to the staff exit while we’d been talking.

“And what are you planning on distracting yourself with? The job applications? Practice? You’ll just drive yourself crazy. I made that challenge so you’d take a break, and you did. I’m not going to let you torture yourself until I get back,” Kass explained.

“Oh… well… thanks?” I said, looking around. It took me a second to realize that we were halfway down the corridor that connected to the employee entrance. “Wait, you’re not serious about going to see Sylvia right now, are you?”

“Of course I am,” Kass replied, shooting me a smile. “I’m leaving to visit my family tomorrow, remember? This will be our last chance before my vacation starts.”

“Shouldn’t you contact her first? Make sure she’s available?” I asked.

“I did,” Kass laughed, pulling me forward and linking arms with me. “As soon as I saw you topple into that pit for the first time.”

“That was just a minor misstep,” I muttered, blushing even deeper than before. “I won’t let it happen again.”

“I know you won’t,” Kass agreed, cracking a smile as she pulled the door to the employee entrance open. “I’m sure once was embarrassing enough for you.”

Even though the weather was overcast, I still squinted when we stepped outside. Not only had I been holed up inside, doing research on the other dungeons competing in the confrontation league, and planning for the adventuring groups, but Arachne was an underdwellers, so the natural light was hard on my eyes.

Despite being at the heart of Adrence, the capital city of the Adir Empire, the manor occupied an absolutely colossal area. Between the perimeter wall and thick tree cover, it was nearly impossible to see the dungeon from the main roads. The staff entrance was around the side of the estate, and you still needed to travel almost a hundred meters down a winding cobble road to reach it from the road.

While I stood there, sheltering my eyes, something bumped against the back of my legs. I jumped, swiveling around, only to find George behind me. “What are you doing here?” I asked suspiciously.

Kass smirked. “He’s been following us since we left the projection room. You just didn’t notice.”

“Ahhhh…” I stared down at my fuzzy partner for a second before continuing. “Okay, I admit it, I may have been distracted.”

“It’s fine, everyone’s used to your little eccentricities by now,” Kass said.

I just rubbed the back of my neck uncomfortably. I’d been working on being more focused on my friends and less obsessed with my research over the last few weeks. It seemed like I still had a ways to go.

Kass slid over to the carriage, then abruptly turned towards me instead of opening the door.

“Now, before we go, I need you to make two promises,” she declared, holding up a hand and extending two fingers.

“Okay…”

She lowered one finger. “First. You’re not allowed to spend the entire break doing strategy; you have to go through those applications and go out to sign autographs like you previously planned.”

“I can do that,” I promised. “I’ll add them to my schedule as soon as we get back.”

“Good. And two,” she lowered the other finger. “No skipping meals. I know how you can get when you’re distracted.”

“I haven’t done that in weeks,” I pouted.

“You stopped around the same time you stopped doing your planning sessions,” Kass replied, eyes narrowing slightly. “I’ve been keeping track. So?”

“Alright, I promise,” I finally agreed. “Hear that, George? You officially have my permission to bother me if I ever miss a meal.”

The big spider stepped up next to me and shoved his head into my hand, purring the entire time.

“Yeah, I thought you might,” I muttered before turning to Kass. “Happy?”

“Absolutely,” Kass declared. She used one set of arms to pull open the carriage door, while extending the other set to me. “Ladies first.”

Taking her hand, I tried to ignore Kass’s smirking face as I slowly climbed into the back. As soon as I sat down, the entire carriage rocked violently as George scurried up the side. He could have ridden on the inside; there was extra space with only Kass and me riding, but he just preferred to travel on top.

Once the rocking stopped, Kass slid to the door, then paused for a moment. Her tail slowly shrank and then split apart into a pair of shapely legs. At the same time, her upper set of arms also retracted into her shoulders. When the process was done, she reached down, straightened her skirt, then climbed in.

“Why change into your human form?” I asked suspiciously.

“Because, unfortunately, the regular carriages are not designed for non-humanoid forms,” Kass huffed. “I’d have to wrap my tail around the entire cabin to fit. It’s far easier just to transform.”

I glanced over at her and frowned. If it wasn't for her hair, which was a light purpley-blue, Kass could entirely pass for human.

“To Adventure Plaza, Samuel!” Kass shouted while knocking on the roof. After a second, the carriage rocked slightly as it jerked to life.

“Adventure plaza?” I asked. “What’s the Adventure Plaza?”

Kass looked at me strangely for a moment. “What? You mean to tell me I’ve never taken you to the adventure plaza when showing you around the city?”

“Nope. I don’t think you’ve even mentioned it before,” I replied.

“Strange…” she muttered, stroking her chin. “I probably avoided it early because it’s work adjacent, and then just forgot to mention it again later.”

“So,” I prompted. “What is it?”

“Well, as you know, the Wailing Manor is the premier dungeon in Adrence; it isn’t the only one. The city actually has four out of the six major tiers of dungeons in town. There’s a training dungeon, ‘The Abandoned Alley’s’, an Amateur dungeon, ‘The Infested Undercroft’, and an experienced dungeon, ‘The Shifting Streets’, here too. Lanivia and the Manor sponsor all three, and we use them as sort of training and feeder dungeons. If someone is doing extremely well in one of the dungeons, we’ll move them up to the next level for more training and experience.”

“What about Beginner and Advanced level dungeons?”

“Sadly, as powerful as the leyline going through the manor is, it’s not inexhaustible. Maintaining a single dungeon requires more magic than the rest of this city and the surrounding towns combined. Lanivia chose to set up a wide range of dungeons so wannabe adventurers would be forced to travel, and not sit around and try to farm their way up the rankings without ever leaving the city. Part of being an adventurer is going on adventures after all,” Kass explained.

“And, so… this adventure plaza is where all the other dungeons are located?”

“Bingo! It’s also where the city holds a lot of the festivals and celebrations. I think you’ll love it there,” Kass said, smiling.

I glanced out the window at the assortment of brightly painted, brick buildings with colorful roofs as the carriage sped towards our destination. Excitement bubbled up in my chest. “I can’t wait!”