Chapter 64: Facts About The Darkness Dungeon

POV Eliza

If I had to make the comparison to my old world, it was early April when we headed northwest. Our goal was the darkness dungeon. Accompanying us were a few soldiers and many servants such as maids, a cook, animal servants, etc. There were also many pack horses with all sorts of equipment such as tents, camp beds, blankets, a small kitchen, and much more. I was amazed at the effort that went into this, but when I thought about it more closely, I was surprised that the effort wasn't much greater. They were the heroes and they were provided with everything they needed by the Empire. I was jealous of that, after all I was on my own. That's why it was important to take every opportunity to be part of it.

My personal equipment had also been upgraded. My leather armor as well as cloak, gloves and shoes received improved armor protection, and my weapons received an update in terms of hit chance and damage. Just in case, I got several healing potions, a mana potion and a poison healing potion. We reached our destination two days later and saw a small military camp in front of the entrance. I had already learned that it was a camp of the church, which kept constant guard at the entrance. This prevented unauthorized persons from entering the dungeon. The church had sole access rights.

One of our guards rode ahead and talked to one of the resident guards. He then waved us over and our companions began setting up our own camp. In the meantime, I looked around the area a bit. We were on the western side of the big river in the middle of a large plain with scattered hills. To the south and west of us we could see a large forest. I remembered that this must be the forest where my community friends as well as Mama wanted to take shelter. I hoped they were okay. The entrance to the dungeon was a cave on the side of one of the hills. As with the dungeon near Tyros, I couldn't look into the cave because an entrance portal blocked the view. I was curious to see what it looked like inside. Was it again several large levels or something else? I didn't get any further information about it. I'll find out soon.

Back at our camp I was given my own small tent in which I could set up. Inside there was a camp bed, a pillow, two blankets and a chest. Nothing more, but I wasn't expecting anything either. They wouldn't have needed to lug the chest all the way here, but I wasn't complaining. Eventually I received the order to come to the large tent that was set up for planning. I entered the large tent and saw a large folding table with several chairs inside. The others were already waiting for me, so I bowed and waited for further instructions.

“Sit down, Liss. We're planning our first visit to the dungeon, and we're still waiting for... ah, there he is.” <Cornelius>

Behind me, one of the guards entered the tent. Since I didn't know him, he could be someone from the camp who was responsible for guarding the entrance. After a wave of his hand from Cornelius, he came closer and began to speak.

“Noble heroes, I have been tasked with telling you the basics of this dungeon. First of all, the most important thing is that the dungeon is completely dark. There is not one source of light as far as we have come so far. However, lanterns or torches work. There are only a few exceptions in the dungeon with aren't dark. Some monsters glow dark. This particularly applies to ghosts. Some monsters also have glowing eyes. Pay attention and you will have a heads up. In addition, every boss room is lit as long as you are in it. This makes the fight a lot easier.

In general, all monsters are undead. First you will encounter skeletons, then zombies. The third class is ghosts and then wights. Next are mummies and last are lichs. As you may have noticed, these are only a few monster types, less than in the nature dungeon near Tyros. This is because you will encounter skeletons on floors 1 and 2 and zombies on floors 3 and 4. Then ghosts come alone, then wights and after that both mixed together. Accordingly, first mummies are alone, then lichs alone and finally both mixed. Do you all know about the properties of undead?” Guard

I was the only one shaking my head. The rest had probably already heard about it during their training.

“Well then, here’s a quick summary. Skeletons cannot be injured by stabbing weapons and arrows. Spears and daggers must cut or strike in order to cause damage. Blunt weapons such as axes or maces are particularly effective. At the beginning they don't wear any armor or weapons, but these are added later. Zombies are very slow, but they take are tough. At the beginning they don't wear any armor or weapons as well and get them at later floors. Ghosts are translucent and attack with spells that affect the mind. Most often they distribute status effects such as confusion or fear. They are immune to normal weapons and can only be fought with magic. Wightse wear weapons and armor and are later capable of simple spells. They are comparable to humans, except that they are undead. Mummies are not very fast, but they are very strong and tough. Any hit from them is violent and should be avoided. They are vulnerable to fire. Liches are undead mages and should be defeated in close combat. The lichs at the first upper floor can use basic elemental magic. Later the magic becomes stronger and more advanced. You probably already recognize the danger when mummies block for the Liches and then let them cast spells unhindered. Any questions?” <Guard>

I shook my head again. Sounded like undead were monsters that I wouldn't want to face alone, but were easy to defeat with a group.

“Thank you, you can leave us now.” <Cornelius>

"Yes, noble heroes." <Guard>

“Now that we've all learned the most important things about the dungeon, I'll present you the plan of how we're going to proceed. Eli will light our way with her light magic so we don't have to carry torches. In light magic there are also attack spells that are particularly effective against the undead. Furthermore Liss will carry a lantern though, so we have a second source of light. She can place it on the floor before fights. Since she can hardly do much damage with her weapons against many of the undead, she will limit herself to using spells. She also stands by to serve as a second healer. Therefore, divide your magic carefully and always keep something in reserve.” <Cornelius>

"Everything for you Corni." Eleonore

“Very well.” <Eliza>

“Ansgar is a force with his ax and is sure to make kindling of the undead, especially the skeletons. As always, he is the vanguard.” <Cornelius>

“Yes, I love it that way. Good plan.” <Ansgar>

“Javier stands with Eli and Liss and does magic whenever it’s needed.” <Cornelius>

“Hmm, clear case.” <Javier>

“I protect the three and intercept everything that gets past Ansgar. If there are too many undead at once, Liss can take care of the ones that pass me. But we should make sure we avoid that. Eli is our all-purpose weapon and can shine with her light magic. It must be protected at all costs.” <Cornelius>

Oh, those were really good suggestions. Had he learned anything during winter?

“I want to get to the first boss room as quickly as possible. I'm eager to test my new skills in a real fight. Only there is an opponent worthy of me.” <Cornelius>

Okay, maybe not. With that I was dismissed and was told to prepare for tomorrow. We will then enter the darkness dungeons for the first time.