Chapter 54: A Peek Into Floor 3

Gareth kept the new bronze shield strapped to his arm as they left the basilisk chamber.

For the first few minutes, no one said much.

The fight had taken more out of them than Zion realized at first. Elias leaned more heavily on his staff than usual, while June walked with one hand pressed against her side as though even breathing too deeply had become annoying. Mara seemed to be recovering faster than the others, but even she had slowed down.

Gareth noticed all of it.

"We’re done," he said.

Mara looked over immediately. "Done?"

"For today."

They had reached the passage leading deeper into the dungeon. Until now, the stone beyond it had remained sealed, but that was no longer the case. A wide staircase descended into darkness, disappearing beyond the reach of the yellow light from Floor 2.

Mara and Elias both stopped while June looked down the stairs. Gareth looked at all three of them and frowned.

"No."

Mara turned toward him. "I didn’t say anything."

"You were about to."

"I was only going to ask if we could look."

"We’re not going down another floor."

"We don’t have to actually do it," Elias said. He adjusted one hand around his staff and glanced toward the staircase again. "We could just see what it looks like."

June nodded. "Just the entrance. Maybe we can see how to better prepare for it."

Gareth stared at them in silence. No one moved.

Mara tilted her head slightly. June flashed a small smile. Even Elias managed to look hopeful despite how exhausted he was.

Gareth slowly exhaled through his nose.

Zion almost laughed. He knew that look. He had seen other parties in similar situations, though it was usually about who got the loot.

"We can look," Gareth said at last. "But that’s it."

Mara’s face immediately brightened.

"We go down, see what the floor looks like, and come straight back up."

"Of course."

Gareth pointed at her. "Mara."

"I said of course."

She was already moving.

The difference in atmosphere became obvious almost immediately. The sulfur smell weakened with every step, and by the time they reached the bottom of the staircase, the heavy yellow haze had disappeared completely.

Mara pulled the cloth away from her face and took a deep breath. "Oh, thank gods. I wasn’t sure how much more of that smell I was able to take."

June followed her example, loosening the fabric around her mouth before breathing in carefully. Even Elias looked relieved.

Zion still wasn’t able to smell anything, but watching all four of them react made him realize how unpleasant the place must have been.

Mara walked a few steps farther into the corridor.

Floor 3 stretched ahead of her in dark sandstone.

Torchlight flickered from shallow wall sconces, casting long shadows across the carved stone. Figures covered the walls in uneven rows. Some carried spears or curved swords, while others knelt beneath symbols Zion had never bothered trying to interpret.

The floor sloped gently downward ahead.

Mara slowed down. For once, she did not make a joke immediately. Her eyes moved over the carvings as she walked closer to one wall.

"Ah," she said after a moment. "This floor is so cool!"

Zion leaned forward on the throne and nodded. "Yes, it’s pretty cool indeed."

Gareth descended the final few stairs behind her. "Mara."

"I’m looking."

"You’re getting farther away."

"I can still see you."

"That is not the point."

Mara ignored him and moved toward one of the carvings. She lifted one hand and ran her fingers lightly over the edge of a worn stone figure.

Zion watched with growing satisfaction. She liked it.

Not the traps, obviously.

She had not found those yet. But the floor itself.

After the pasture and sulfur caves, Floor 3 finally looked like something he had imagined when he first thought of a dungeon, even with the lack of skeletons.

Mara stepped backward to get a better look at the carving.

Her heel came down, and before she had a moment to react...

Click.

Zion watched her closely. He knew exactly what was about to happen and was looking forward to how she would react.

Her eyes lowered. For a second, nobody moved. A square section of stone beneath her boot had sunk slightly into the floor.

"...Fuck."

A deep rumble rolled through the corridor. Gareth’s head snapped up. "Mara!"

She turned toward the sound just in time to see the boulder come around the bend. It filled nearly the entire passage.

For one brief moment, Mara simply stood frozen in place.

"Oh, shit."

She pushed herself off the wall to get as much momentum as she could to dash back toward the staircase.

The boulder thundered behind her, smashing against the walls as it followed the slope downward. While dust shook loose from the ceiling.

Mara sprinted forward, her eyes widening from panic.

Gareth had already started moving toward her.

"Move!"

June backed up immediately. Elias stumbled one step before catching himself against the wall. Mara was almost there.

The boulder hit the floor behind her hard enough to shake the corridor.

She extended her arm to grab hold of Gareth’s, but just as her fingers were about to make contact, her foot slipped on a few smaller rocks.

She went down.

The last thing Zion saw was Mara twisting onto one side and lifting both arms over her head. Then the boulder rolled over her.

A flash of pale light filled the corridor.

The boulder continued forward another few feet before crashing into the stopping groove Zion had built near the entrance.

Silence followed. June stared at the place where Mara had been. Her face went white.

"Mara?"

Gareth moved instantly. He stepped in front of both June and Elias and threw one arm across the passage.

"Get back!"

June looked at him.

"But—"

"Back. Now."

There was something in Gareth’s voice that stopped the argument before it started.

Elias turned first. June hesitated for only a second longer before following him. Gareth remained where he was just long enough to look once at the empty floor.

His jaw tightened. Then he turned and followed the others up the stairs.

Zion did not move for several seconds. The pressure plate slowly reset beneath the dust. The boulder sat harmlessly in its groove.

A small notification appeared.

[Adventurer defeated.]

[+25 Essence.]

Zion stared at it. "Well, the boulder worked."

In fact, it had worked extremely well. Someone being defeated within minutes of stepping into floor three was better than expected. The Shadow Panther didn’t even make an appearance.

He should have been thrilled. Instead, Zion shifted his awareness after Gareth’s party as they moved quickly back through Floor 2.

June barely spoke.

Elias looked at her. "She’ll be outside."

June looked back, her eyes watering. "You don’t know that."

"Most early floors are protected," Gareth said, increasing his pace.

Elias glanced toward him. "Yes." A few steps passed. "Usually..."

Gareth looked over his shoulder causing Elias to shut his mouth. June wrapped both arms around herself and kept walking.

Zion followed them. He knew the protection system should have worked. It had worked everywhere else, so he wasn’t worried.

Mara had been defeated, not killed. Even the notification had said exactly that.

Still, he wanted to see her.

The party crossed Floor 1 much faster than usual. None of them stopped for sheep or loot. Gareth took the shortest route through the pasture while June stayed close enough to nearly step on the back of his boots.

They reached the entrance within minutes.

Gareth exited first. June pushed past him almost immediately.

Zion followed as far as he could. His awareness stopped at the same invisible boundary that had always kept him inside, but he could see a short distance beyond the entrance.

Mara was sitting on the ground, alive.

Her hair was a mess, dust covered one side of her clothes, and her expression looked more annoyed than injured.

June made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob then threw herself onto her. Mara barely managed to lift her arms before June wrapped both of hers around her shoulders.

"June—"

"You got crushed!"

"I sure did," she said with a shaky laugh.

"Are you hurt?"

"I’m fine."

June pulled back just enough to look at her. "You disappeared."

"That part was actually pretty convenient."

Elias came out next. He stopped when he saw Mara, then bent forward with both hands on his knees.

"Oh, thank gods."

Mara looked at him and lifted her eyebrow. "You sound disappointed."

"I’m deciding whether I’m happy you’re alive or angry that you ran ahead."

Then Gareth finally stepped forward. He stopped and for a moment, said nothing.

Mara looked over June’s shoulder at him. Something changed in her expression. The usual grin faded into a smaller, almost embarrassed smile.

"Sorry."

Gareth’s brow tightened.

"For what?"

Mara lifted one hand and looked at it. Then she glanced back toward the dungeon. "I lost the dagger."

There was a brief silence. The dagger she had received only a short while ago was gone.

Gareth stared at her. Then his shoulders lowered. His expression softened so slightly that Zion almost missed it.

"We’ll get you another one."

Mara smiled. This time, it looked more like her usual one.

Zion watched them for another moment before pulling his awareness back into the dungeon. A notification was waiting for him.

[Unsecured item acquired.]

He opened the dungeon inventory. A familiar dagger rested inside.

"I guess I could reuse this, right?"