Chapter 183: Dungeon Break.

Chapter 183: Dungeon Break.

This should be a good place to rest for the night, right?

Trunk looks sturdy and there is only one way in. Ill lay some traps and get this place secure.

Got it, thanks. Haaaa, finally some rest after a good days work! Come on, Naden, help me out.

Ecosystems. A biological community of organisms interacting with each other and their environment, all linked together in a cycle of life where energy and nutrients are being transmitted around. Generally starting with the vegetation performing photosynthesis, this energy gained from the sun would then be shared among the fauna before decomposing back into the ground for detritivores and plants to reuse. However, inside a dungeon, ecosystems work a bit differently.

Lacking a sun to keep the organisms inside a dungeon alive, a dungeon instead uses mana to create energy, feeding its inhabitants what they need to survive. In a sense, the dungeon was the energy-recycling-and-creating-plant in this relationship.

So, why does a dungeon need to create habitats for its monsters? Why were certain floors so similar to ecosystems, then? Comfort, that was the reason. Monsters created by a dungeon were similar to natural monster spawnings, which made monsters feral and unintelligent for a certain amount of time after their birth, even if this effect would eventually subside as the monsters gained intelligence. A living organisms needs must be fulfilled.

Although a dungeon could imprint certain commands like Do not attack the dungeon master or Protect a certain floor into these monsters as instincts and priorities, the dungeon and its master still had to care for them as a tamer would. That meant stimulation outside of handing their food on a platter. Leveling up, procreation, hunting, fighting, entertainment, socializing, and other examples. The monsters were all independent-thinking beings, similar to Belzac, at the end of the day, and many would rebel if their needs werent fulfilled.

While the dungeon possesses an external source of mana in the form of a dungeon master or other visitors, it could create stronger defenses to protect its heart, the dungeon core, but the downside was that, with stronger monsters, a higher maintenance cost would be incurred.

Gathered some fruits and got some water from the nearby river. We turning the meat from that raptor into soup tonight?

Nice, good job! Ill get to that in a minute. Woo, good thing that wasnt another knopbrie raid, right Naden? Haha!

Shut it, you idiot! Just make the soup already not like itll taste anywhere near as good as a girlsL1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Naden, the young adventurer Hestia and Aurora met last week, was once again back inside the dungeon with his usual party, Questing and hunting to earn money and experience. Despite almost dying against the barkwraith protector, all he needed to do to regain his confidence and sense of adventure was a good night out with the boys and a tearful confession of love to his family, all fueled by one or two too many tankards of mead and ale.

Now back to work on floor six, Naden and his party were preparing for a good nights rest, only, something seemed to be unnerving the young man.

Oi, what are you shaking your leg for, Naden? Come help us cut down these branches for kindling, one of Nadens party members voiced out.

Ahh, leave the fool alone. Idiot thinks he has a chance with those girls from last time,

Hahaha! Oh, you mean the girl that came rushing in like a knight to save your ass? Oh shit, I thought the mead was just making you talk, but you actually are thinking about her? Shit, man.

Shut up... Naden replied to his laughing friends before his mind returned to the young blue-haired woman from a week ago. Equipped with a well-crafted sword, the woman appeared before him, as if she was transported there by the wind itself and slew the beast aiming for his life before confronting the viscous barkwraith and horde of mushroom knopbries with her party members, striking the monstrocity down.

Although Naden was just a commoner who could barely read anything more than a few keywords necessary to live inside a city and to pick out Quests, the concept of a knight in shining armor wasnt entirely foreign to him. Of course, he didnt have the financial freedom to buy a book, and even if he did, he lacked the education to read it. Like many other young aspiring adventurers and would-be heroes, tavern talk, adventurer stories, and bards were his main source of fantastical heroism.

Similar to how fairy adventurers from before the War for the Fae would create incredible tales sprinkled with small exaggerations when they returned home, bards and drunk adventurers would do the same. Adventurers rescuing villagers from grimgarians, defending noblewomen from bandit raids, or even slaying a powerful B rank monster. These wild tales wouldnt even stop when it came to recalling famous adventurer parties and squadrons defeating earth-shattering A ranks.

Some were called out for their lies, easily distinguishable by veteran fighters or worldly travelers, but Naden had been born into a worker family and grew up in the middle district of Cedaraille. He was fascinated by stories of adventurers bringing home fortune from the nearby dungeon or from foriegn countries. With so many people visiting his home city, Naden developed a dream to become just like the tales hed grown up on, an amazing warrior strong enough to protect his home and maybe somebody he fancied.

But she was so much more amazing!

In his moment of need, when the barkwraith had severely injured him and the knopbries were about to devour him, it almost seemed that his prayers to Aurena had been answered when Ellaine swooped in to protect him. Like a dashing knight, she appeared with the wind flourishing her well-combed hair around. Armored in quality gambeson and pieces of metal armor, the young woman had enthralled Naden. At that moment, she was his savior, the person he wanted to become one day.

But there was an issue with his fantasies. Ah, cut it out already, Naden. Youve seen those girls. I bet all my savings that they were a nobles party. Not too sure about the priestess or elf woman, but the way the swordswoman carried herself and spoke was exactly how some of those stuck-up noble adventurers do.

Yeah, exactly. Besides, have you seen how you look? Shes out of your league, in both social rank and looks. Even if she were willing to speak with you, do you honestly think you can stay calm enough to speak a single word? Ha, as if! Friends were friends, even if they were trying to dissuade him from thinking about Ellaine in a rather rough way.

Damn, idiots Still, why havent they come back yet?

It has been over a week since he last saw Ellaine and the rest of Aurora. When he heard them mentioning that they were going deeper into the dungeon, he thought they would do some slime felgheist hunting for a Quest and then return to the surface. He understood they were strong, so he wasnt worried about them. Warning them about the dangers when they probably were experienced enough to know it themselves would be considered rude, something he learned during his first three months as an adventurer.

However, the problem was he hadnt seen them inside the adventurer guild or anywhere else in the city since. Nadens infatuation for Ellaine made him want to see her again, so he was constantly looking out for her this past week. When his party decided to venture back into the dungeon two days ago, Naden came along with worry in his heart.

The rachonoid cracked open the entrance, squeezing itself into the staircase before literally crushing through the adventurer guilds entryway. The dungeon walls might have been tough for the rachonoid queen, but the mountain the dungeon was situated under was like paper in comparison.

Adventures and guild staff alike had already evacuated, all running towards Cedaraille to warn the populace there. Small manatech birds were already sent to officials inside the city to call for backup, but would they be able to stop this creature?

Shriiieekkk! The rachonoid queen gazed into the sky. Her eight eyes caught the attention of the snow-white moon, a sign it was still WinterMoon. She had no way of knowing, but the following night, at midnight, the moon would turn completely green, signifying the coming of SpringSun.

However, that was irrelevant to the queen. The simple thoughts she held before, screaming to her to escape from her prison and reach the surface had finally calmed down. The fog holding her mind back was clearing up as she witnessed a sky she could have never seen from within her home. She did wonder why she would have ever dared to escape from her home, recalling how her goal in life had always been to protect the home she was born into. The spiderweb she created, the eggs she laid, the monsters she defeated. Those were memories now.

Shriek. Her gaze then wandered into the distance, to Cederaille. This new world was strange to her, but she knew if she wanted to fully escape the dungeon, she had to make a new home for herself and her children. Instincts drove her forwards; like a flaming Christmas tree, the rachonoid advanced. And with her, her children.

Food!

With their mother finally released from the effects of the rebellion orb amplifying her desire to escape, communication between the queen and her children was stabilized. Her only command was to move with her, leaving them enough freedom to act by themselves. Having moved tirelessly for two days without any rest or food, the Rank C and D rachonoids began to eye the local wildlife.

Including the humans and beastmen.

Battles began around the dungeon entrance and the nearby woods. Hunters and mercenaries alike would fight against the incoming rachonoids, but no matter how skilled they were, they were unable to stand against the number of monsters. While Rank G, F, and E monsters were mostly within their capabilities to slay, lion-sized D ranks and elephant-sized C ranks quickly overwhelmed the numerous, weaker, adventurers around. Unable to hold them back, even the defenseless guild staff were mercilessly devoured by the horde.

Hope seemed lost for Cedaraille.

Naden, who had just barely made it to floor one with his party members, finally succumbed to exhaustion. Running from floor six to floor one as a normal human was even more tiring than running a marathon, especially with the fear of death looming over him. The adrenaline keeping him running wore off and he fell onto the ground, breathing heavily and ready to fall to sleep. Although his friends tried to pull him up, Nadens consciousness slowly drifted away. Darkness began to cloud his eyes but it was still clear enough to witness them.

In the burning landscape of floor one, spiders still crawled out of the hole their mother made for them. They were eagerly moving forward, desperately wanting to reunite with their mother. That was when it happened, a loud roar echoed through the hole they were moving through. It wasnt one made out of anger or rage, it sounded more like somebody panicking and shouting in desperation.

Just seconds after the spiders heard this cry, their consciousnesses vanished. It wasnt because they fell asleep or fainted; it was because they died. Not burned, sliced, or turned into a pincushion by arrows, no, it was something nobody could expect.

Kriiahahhahahahhaaaaaahahhhh!

None of them expected to be squashed by a dragons butt.

Hestia, fly fucking slower! Waaaaaaaaa! A white dragonewt on the back of a crimson dragon shouted, desperately clinging onto a blue mana thread to hold herself onto the latter.

But the dragon couldnt. Streams of fire exploded from the dragons wings, all coming from scale-dust hidden underneath the wings. A powerful [Tailwind] was assisting the dragon during her flight while two human wind mages, a young man with glasses and a young blue-haired girl, continuously used [Wind Blast] to redirect the dragons flight path. The cyan-haired wind elf woman casting [Tailwind] had to momentarily stop her spell to aid the former two, panicking from the dragons erratic flight.

While the dragon hadnt planned this, her inability to control her flying speed caused her to crash land onto the ground, pushing her body forward with her rocket-like wings. She was brute-forcing it. With cries of anxiousness, the dragon made it out of the hole, revealing herself to everybody on the first floor.

The adventurers naturally panicked. While the dragon wasnt as big as the rachonoid, she still was as large as a mammoth. As his friends dragged Naden away, his eyes were glued to the dragon. Suddenly, a blue magic circle appeared under the dragon before releasing rain upon the burning woods, quenching the fire caused by the spiders.

The moment Nadens eyes closed, the dragon once again smashed into the ceiling and then crash-landed, eventually making it to the entrance while destroying any spider in her path. Despite how absolutely lackluster this supposedly cinematic sight was, she somehow managed to do what she aimed for.

From the rubble, the surviving humans and beastmen on the surface witnessed the ascent of the dragon, blasting out from the dungeon before spreading her wings in the sky. As the crimson flame from her wings disappeared, white flames replaced them, healing the wounds the dragon had sustained. With a roar loud enough to quake the earth, everybodys attention was directed to her.

Not because they were scared. At this very moment, the dragons features were being hidden by the white flames in the sky, appearing like feathers in the distance. Deluded by the horrors they faced that night, they couldnt help but kneel and pray.

Please, Goddess Aurena, we beg you to save us!

As the white flame-covered dragon began to fall, a translucent dragon appeared next to it. With its wings spread for a second, it quickly descended downward.

Nordor Style: Silver Dragons Skyfall! With a voice almost as loud as the crimson dragon, the translucent dragon slammed against the rachonoid queen. The impact shattered the trees and ground around them.

Shrieeeeeeeeekkkk!

Their prayers were answered.