We hunt monsters 14, p.7
We Hunt Monsters 14, page 7
Seeing as several of those were Bonker’s own children, she didn’t object. Keith activated the Heart Between Worlds, and the scenery blurred, reforming a moment later into something similar, though still a little different.
It was colder than it had been a moment ago, which was unsurprising if one knew how the weather in Monstros functioned. According to Melkin, the temperature fluctuations came from the center of the continent and moved outward. So, while they were feeling the cold wave now, if they’d stayed in place, it would have hit them sooner rather than later.
“I hate this place,” Bob shivered, hiding beneath Keith’s flapping cloak.
“Are you sure about this?” Keith asked, turning to Melkin.
There was an invisible line in the ground, though one that did exist all the same. As soon as they stepped over it, they would be entering the next section of the continent – a far more dangerous section. One that Melkin had never explored due to the certain death it represented.
“Not even a little,” Melkin said as her shoulders hunched in on themselves. “But you did prepare for this. You have some M-tagged Legendary items, which is extremely impressive. If there’s anything that’s going to help equalize, it’ll be those.”
Keith nodded, then turned to address the group.
“Noncombatants, stay in the center of the formation. Lookouts, keep your eyes peeled. Bosses wander in packs and herds if my one experience is anything to go by, and I don’t want to be caught off guard. We’re going to look for a safe place to hide the bunker, then move on from there.”
Everyone moved into their previous formation, with the exceptions of his automatons, all of whom insisted on moving out in front of him. Naia and Selena walked ahead to the left and right, while Merry skipped along at his left side, her arm already in cannon form in case she needed to fire quickly. Melkin stood at his right, already sketching the new landscape as they stepped over the invisible line.
There was no palpable change, but despite that, Keith felt like there was. The air felt a bit heavier and more oppressive, despite the fact that it was probably around thirty degrees out. One noticeable change was the sulfurous smell. It was growing stronger, and the drifting ash floating through the air was a bit heavier than before. Keith could also see the volcanoes in the distance. They now appeared much closer than earlier, only blocked by small rises in the otherwise empty landscape.
He braced as a blast of wind slammed into the group, sending his cloak snapping in the wind. It was hot, like a dragon had breathed directly in his face. They had to stop as a second gust of wind hit them, this one even hotter than the first. Above, the sky was growing darker, with red lightning flickering through it, taking on a near-purple tinge every few seconds.
“Pretty sure there’s another storm moving in, bro,” Tac said as the air began to feel charged.
As though reading his mind, Melkin was already sending out her observation constructs, the small metallic spheres floating through the air and scouting out the area ahead and to their left and right.
“This is intense,” Melkin said, raising a hand to fend off the blowing ash that was kicked up in the next gust.
Unlike the last two, this one was sustained, lasting for a full ten seconds before dying off. Keith looked back over his shoulder, seeing that the others were holding up fine. The armor Selena had built them all had some form of storm resistance, which was good, seeing as it looked like the weather would only be growing more intense the farther in they went.
“This makes so much more sense now that I think about it,” Melkin said, writing in her notebook again. “If weather patterns are affected by the center of the continent, it must be the strongest there. As it travels further from the source, it weakens, which might be why only stronger monsters can make it inland. The only question is why they stay here. Does it have to do with a food source, a power source, or maybe something else?”
She tapped the pen against her teeth, seeming distracted as they walked, weaving their way between small chunks of stone and jagged cracks in the ground. Another blast of superheated wind hit them, and Bonker had to brace her children against this one, as the gust had to be close to a hundred miles per hour. When the gust died, it went straight back to being freezing cold. If anything, it felt even colder than it had been a few minutes ago.
“Looks like there’s a small rise up ahead,” Selena called back.
Keith turned, leading the group up the small hill, which was blocking their view of the landscape beyond. That was strange. He didn’t remember seeing anything like this before. Then again, everything was so monotone in color that it was entirely possible for the land to be hiding something, and as he crested the top of the hill, it was clear that that was indeed the case.
“Oh, wow,” Melkin gasped as they all stopped, the rest of the group catching up.
They stood on the lip of a sprawling basin, the ground falling away steeply just a few feet away. It dropped some five hundred feet, jagged chunks of stone poking up from the ground in random places across the entire length of the basin, which had to be close to a mile, judging by the distance. A single volcano sat at the basin’s center, the mouth not even rising above the lip, which was why it hadn’t been invisible until now. There was no smoke or ash either, but bubbling lava flowed in a steady stream from its gaping maw, small rivers and streams of lava tracing their way throughout the interior of the space.
Keith could see monsters from up here as well, but more interestingly, he could see caves. Dozens of them dotted the walls of the basin, between streams of lava and glassy obsidian frozen in pools several hundred feet across. With the lightning flashing overhead and the running, molten stone, the place really did look like a place straight from hell.
“We have to go down there,” Melkin said, sketching frantically as she spoke. “There’s no telling what we’ll find—” she cut off suddenly, her head snapping up as her gaze unfocused. “There’s a storm coming. A big one. A cloud of ash, wind, and lightning is moving in our direction. It’ll hit the lip of the basin in less than five minutes, judging by how fast it's moving.”
Keith pursed his lips as he squinted into the distance. He couldn’t see anything, but that meant nothing in a place like this. If the storm was moving as quickly as Melkin said, it was entirely possible, and there were members of their group who couldn’t survive in a storm like that.
“Fine,” he said, making a snap decision. “We’ll head down, but I’m scouting ahead first.”
His automatons grabbed onto him the instant before he saw a chunk of loose stone and used Lightswap, carrying them down into the basin. It was much hotter there than it had been above, and Keith took a moment to adjust as the heat wave washed over him.
“Wow, it’s hot down here,” Merry said, looking around. “Should I go look for something to kill?”
“No. Stay close to me and don’t go wandering off,” Keith said, already moving.
The ground crunched underfoot, the air shimmering and red-orange light suffusing the entire area. Ahead, a stream of lava nearly a foot wide split the ground, making it impossible to pass unless one could teleport, walk straight through molten stone without consequence, or fly. Keith could do all three, but luckily for him, he didn’t need to pass through the space because he spotted two caves just to his right. One was situated neatly inside the basin wall, and another faced the steep slope, carved out of the side of an obsidian boulder the size of a house.
From above, everything had looked small, but he now realized just how big everything was. Glancing to his left as he caught a flash of movement, Keith saw a scaly beast scampering into a dark opening. It seemed the monsters could sense the storm coming, which was good for them, as it meant they wouldn’t need to fight. It also meant there would be a whole bunch with them as soon as the storm ended.
Knowing they were short on time, Keith quickly headed to the more promising of the two caves and immediately found a problem. Lines of light traced forward, Discerning Eye tracking the movements of monsters who’d pushed further in. It meant that this cave wasn’t an option. He didn’t have the time to fight anything for this shelter, and even if he did, monsters would fight much harder to defend a place like this than they would otherwise.
Turning, he approached the obsidian stone, only for Selena to give him bad news.
“Looks like a dungeon entrance,” she said as he approached.
Sure enough, he saw the shimmering portal two feet inside the cave. He turned quickly, Tac highlighting the cave entrances, along with their likelihoods of containing monsters. According to Tac’s estimation, they all held monsters.
“It’s not safe down here, even if we do find a safe space,” Keith said, pursing his lips.
As much as he didn’t like it, he would have to put the bunker out in the open. It would attract more attention, but it did have its own defense system and was also underground. The basin here was simply too dangerous and gave them no alternatives.
A moment later, they were back on the lip of the basin. The storm was visible now, a wall of crackling lightning and choking ash blotting out the horizon as far as he could see in any direction, other than back.
“Okay, everyone back from the edge,” Keith said, having to raise his voice as the wind picked up.
The storm was loud, and the entire ground was shaking. The wind was steady down, blowing at over fifty miles per hour, and everyone gathered at the edge of the basin didn’t need to be told twice. Keith moved them about fifty yards back before activating the bunker and opening the hatch so everyone could climb back in.
“You’re not coming in with us?” Bonker yelled.
“There’s a dungeon down there I want to check out!” Keith yelled back as the wind picked up even further.
“Well, if there’s a dungeon, we’re coming along this time!” Bonker yelled back. “I came here to work, not sit around while you do everything for us!”
Ripper, who was still standing outside, grunted in agreement, slapping his chest loudly.
“I’m coming too!”
“Well, you’re bringing me along whether you want to or not,” Melkin shouted. “I’ve never gotten to study spaces like this up close, and this is all new to me!”
Selena moved to join them as well, but Keith waved her in.
“I need someone in there,” he said, his voice stern and unbending. “I don’t know what this dungeon is or where it’ll let out, and I’m not willing to take the risk of not having someone competent here.”
“What, you don’t trust the others?” Selena yelled as dust began blowing into their faces, the sky growing darker.
The entire world seemed to be rumbling as though the end had come, but Keith remained where he was, staring Selena down until she backed off with a growl and dove into the bunker. Keith took a moment to look back at the team he was bringing into the dungeon. It was comprised of Bonker, Ripper, Naia, and Merry. Melkin was also there but wouldn’t be fighting, so he wasn’t counting her. It was a bit of a larger team, but perhaps warranted given the danger they’d likely be facing.
“Alright then, everyone back to the edge of the basin,” he said, turning and sprinting for the edge.
The storm was moving in fast. Frighteningly so, and they all moved as quickly as they could to beat it there. Keith was the first one to reach the edge of the basin, seeing the storm closing in on the opposite side. This was intense, and while Electrus’s storm had been large, there was something almost menacing about this one.
Merry was by his side a moment later, glaring at the approaching wall.
“Should I kill it for you?”
“I doubt you could even if you wanted,” Keith said as Naia reached him alongside Melkin and Bonker, with Ripper bringing up the rear.
“Everyone, hang on,” Keith said as he locked onto a chunk of stone below.
He used Lightswap, reappearing inside the basin, the temperature ratcheting up even higher than before as they landed. The storm hit the basin as they ran for the dungeon’s entrance, a notification flashing in Keith’s view for an instant before it vanished.
Skill: Lightswap had advanced to Grandmaster!
He was the first to reach the dungeon’s entrance and dive through, the others following in his wake as the storm closed in around them. Deathly silence greeted him as he splashed forward, finding himself walking through several inches of water on a tunnel floor. The others were right behind him, and as Ripper entered, his head scraping the tunnel ceiling, the entrance sealed itself shut behind him.
“Well,” Bob said, his voice echoing loudly in the dark and damp tunnel. “Looks like we managed to land ourselves in another open dungeon.”
9
Keith pulled up the blinking notification before he looked around, wanting to see how Lightswap had changed. He was sincerely hoping for a good upgrade, and he wasn’t disappointed as he read through the upgraded skill.
Lightswap
Level: Grandmaster - I
Jump around like a firefly. Where will you pop up next?
Cost: 5,000 STA
Effects: You can swap places with any item within sight, You may take others along with you, even if they are not making physical contact
Once per day, use Spatial Swap to plant an Anchor Item. You may swap places with your placed Anchor Item at any time, even if it is not in sight. You may place up to five Anchor Items, but only one may be placed per day.
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Congratulations! For reaching Grandmaster in the Lightswap skill, you have been awarded 10 stat points.
That was an amazing upgrade. He could only place a single anchor per day, but it gave him options. Plus, it didn’t say his teleports were limited, only the number of anchors he could place. He could set up five separate anchors and then move himself five times in the same day if needed. The ability to also pull people along with him when he teleported without them needing to make physical contact was useful. Lightswap just got a whole lot better for the same cost.
Closing the skill notification, he took a moment to look back. Merry was standing right behind him, while Naia was trying to edge her way around to get out in front. The problem was that the tunnel wasn’t very wide, and Merry wasn’t making it easy. Melkin stood behind the automatons, taking notes.
“Talk about gloomy,” Bonker said, peering past him and into the darkness beyond.
Ripper grunted, shifting a bit as his head bumped into the ceiling again.
“These places really weren’t made for half-giants, were they?” Keith said.
“Not really,” Ripper agreed.
“It should open up as we go along,” Bob said. “Everyone’s supposed to be able to challenge any dungeon regardless of race. If Ripper can’t stand, he won’t really be able to fight. Just wait and see.”
Keith turned back the other way as Naia tried to shove past Merry and let out an annoyed huff.
“I don’t want any squabbling, Naia,” Keith said distractedly as he peered down the tunnel.
The place looked like somewhere that might be completely filled with water at certain times of the day, despite that clearly being an impossibility, considering where it was located. Then again, given the nature of dungeons, anything was possible. The only thing against that theory was the moss on the wall. He recognized it, strangely enough, as a type of moss that wouldn’t do well in saltwater. That, and the fact that it smelled damp, rather than the ocean.
“This is an open dungeon,” Keith said, turning to address the others. “This means that you’ll need to keep an eye on your filters. The air here is still toxic. I’m hoping we’ll be able to make camp at some point and recharge, but it’s entirely possible that we won’t. For now, we should move single-file down the tunnel. Make sure to leave at least six feet between you and the person in front of you, and if anyone spots something, shout.”
“Tastes clean,” Melkin said as she crouched, dipping her fingers in the water and placing them to her lips. “Just let me collect a sample for Mygurd if you don’t mind.”
Keith wanted to get moving, but knowledge was power, and if this dungeon was a potential source of clean water, even if it would be risky to fetch it, it could be the key to moving people here.
Melkin collected several samples before she was happy, in which time Naia finally managed to convince Merry to let her go up front. The argument was that she would be the first to die if anything attacked them. Merry liked that idea and let her pass.
Once Melkin finished collecting her samples, they were finally able to start moving. Though there were no signs of the storm raging outside, Keith was hoping it would pass quickly and the others would be smart enough not to immediately leave the bunker to go exploring. That was a worry for later, as Naia led the way down the tunnel, the splashing of water echoing around them as they moved.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the end of the tunnel, exiting onto the shore of a lake. The cavern ceiling fell away to reveal an open sky colored a strange green with four moons hanging overhead, which was likely what was causing the odd coloration. Tall, willowy trees surrounded the lake on all sides, and the water appeared somewhat calm, a light breeze rippling across its surface.
There was grass, but it felt stiff and prickly against the bottoms of his boots, barely flexing as he walked over it. He could see the far side of the lake from where he stood, around two hundred feet by his best guess, with a path continuing on the other side.
“So, which way do we go?” Bonker asked as everyone spread out before the lake.
They technically had three options right now. They could go to the right or left, or they could just go straight, use Skyform to walk over the lake and head out the opposite side. It was the only clear path, seeing as the other two disappeared into the cover of the trees.
Keith used Discerning Eye, but he couldn’t pick anything up beneath the surface of the water, nor could he see anything inside the tree cover.
