While in the first level there was an invisible field that prevented high-level monsters from getting close, in the second level the cave itself was the field, a physical barrier to prevent monsters from entering (with a slight mental suggestion for higher-level monsters not to enter).
On the second floor I created 4 areas: the cave, the cemetery, a small swamp (which challengers were forced to cross regardless of which side they tried to go to), and the semi-flooded and destroyed city. There they would have to find the boss in a mansion on top of a peak.
In addition to the usual monsters, mobs, elites, and animals that inhabited a darker, more oppressive, and humid environment, I also created a "secret character," which I'm sure would appear in many people's nightmares.
'Hahahaha I can't wait to see their reaction when they see him hahaha'
'[I'm starting to seriously worry about my host's mental state.]'
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3rd POV
The five of them stared at the new opening ahead of them, completely black, without a sliver of the little light that came from the entrance managing to penetrate it. They looked at each other, deciding whether it was worth risking venturing into the dark.
–Umm, Connor, you don't happen to have any experience with caves, do you? – Max asked, quite apprehensive about the dark and damp environment.
–No, my master was strictly against entering animal burrows or even hunting at night where the animals would have the advantage. – Connor replied, also cautiously (this made the young hunter think about what he would say to his master when he recovered and returned home).
Even though he had never entered a cave, usually the burrow of larger animals, with more meat, and far more dangerous, Connor knew that the dark environment of a cave was totally different from the dark environment of a forest, mainly because of his master's stories.
No matter how dense a forest was, there were still small openings through which a little light could enter (at least in the forests Connor had been to, which, considering the map as a whole, wasn't much). A cave, or at least this cave of the Trial, didn't have that; all the light came only from the small entrance they entered behind them, and a darkness darker than night lay ahead.
But it wasn't just the lack of light that worried Connor and the others; it was the fact that it was a confined space. Even if the rest of the cave was like the "room" they were in, able to accommodate 5 people without problems, the rest of the cave would hardly be the same.
Connor's hunting skills depended more on open terrain where he could move constantly; standing still was only necessary when waiting for prey, but combat was asking to be killed.
Anna's spear also needed space to be used minimally well; if Cali still had her staff, that would also be a problem, but she was still in a better position because she could use her fists. Max and Mav, now using short swords, could also fend for themselves, but their effectiveness was greatly reduced by their inability to see.
And finally, the problem that surpassed all others: they had no idea what kind of creature would appear in that place.
Logically, they should have sent a less heavily armed group to serve more as cannon fodder to assess the danger, and then their group should have been sent to properly explore. This was even discussed during the meeting with the other leaders.
So the question is: why did they still decide to go straight in without any verification?
Was it Cali's desire to secure the victory of her friends, and herself, in the eyes of the world? Was it Anna's desire to be the first to determine the valuable resources on that floor? Was it a desire to gain fame for being the first to go to a place no one had gone before, like the old explorers?
None of these were theories that Diem, Connor's master, had considered.
Connor had barely had any contact with Aether during his life, but from the first time he stepped into the Trial he managed to absorb it almost effortlessly, not counting himself. This was due to the Trial being rich in Aether and naturally easier to absorb here (after all, it was a dungeon full of monsters and mana-laden plants). But for Diem, something was still missing.
After 5 days since they entered, he noticed that the speed and amount of Aether he absorbed had decreased. Not a huge change, but he realized that the amount of Aether he could absorb when defeating a goblin rider was less than in previous days.
It was normal for it to become more difficult to absorb Aether the further one advanced in the circles, but the amount he absorbed over 5 days was always fixed in these first few days, regardless of the monster or animal he defeated, and the same happened with Connor. An abrupt decrease that even someone who had never properly absorbed Aether could perceive. This wasn't normal (even though "normal" wasn't the best word to describe what was happening back then, or even now).
Diem then formulated an idea: the two of them only absorbed that amount of Aether because they were the first to enter the Trial. After all, even the others who came after them, despite feeling the Aether after defeating the goblins and other creatures, didn't seem to notice any difference even after 5 days, besides the natural increase in Aether needed to advance (or the exp to level up).
This led him to ask another question: was it because they were the first to discover the structure, or simply because they were the first to enter that strange forest with its extremely complicated teleportation circle, to the point that even high-level mages wouldn't understand (at least that was Diem's opinion)?
When he discovered the possibility of a second floor, a discovery made by chance from a very poorly made map that a goblin was carrying (Kaio: Yes, I intentionally sent Grumpy to make a map to spread across other floors, after a month without progress I decided to speed things up a bit... And even so, look how long it took them to get in there 😑😞), that was the real intention of the first exploration.
This reason was only known to Diem, the captain of the knights at that time, the mages (whom Kaio was still…. "re-educating" at that moment), Anna's father, and some members of the Baron's household.
Since the exploration spectacularly failed, Diem revealed the truth to Connor during his recovery. Anna's father revealed the truth to her along with the debt to Baron the day before the fight in the goblin village, and Andreas revealed the truth to everyone else during the meeting, also saying he had been sent by Diem himself to ensure his pupil's safety.
Having heard about the potential benefits, some of the leaders considered going with the young people to assess/take advantage of this possibility. After all, increasing their circle was never considered a bad thing: more strength, more resistance to disease and corrosion, even the possibility of living longer.
However, after weighing the risks and the waste of sending an intentionally weaker group just to investigate the initial danger, the current arrangement was established. Obviously, Anna and Connor told everything to their friends; it wouldn't make sense for her to hide this fact like her parents (or father figures) did.
Even if they wanted to or tried to hide their motivations from their parents, rumors about these benefits were inevitable once Andreas had told the leaders (some of whom had very loose tongues, with or without alcohol involved).
Having said all that, the hesitation of the five to enter unknown territory with no apparent light remained, and it was easy to understand that hesitation. Who in their right mind would throw themselves into a dark tunnel with possible creatures waiting to kill them?
Mav took a veeeeeeery deep breath and calmed his mind.
–Alright everyone, let's go. – He said simply, walking forward.
–Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, you earth head, where do you think you're going like that?! – Max asked, grabbing his brother's shoulder.
–Where else?. To the tunnel.
–Just like that????!!!! – Max almost yelled in frustration, how could his brother be so stupid sometimes (although for him it was actually a constant thing).
–Max's right, Mav, going into a dark and unknown place is never a good idea!! – Connor said, almost yelled at the other too.
–I know that very well, but staying here doing nothing doesn't help either. And I have a reason to believe that there won't be any dangerous creatures ahead, or at least not a deadly one.
–And what would that be? I want to see that! – Max said, letting go of his brother but ready to jump on him and pin him to the ground if necessary.
If Mav wore glasses, this would be the moment he would help him up his nose to emphasize what he was saying.
–When we appeared in the magic circle of the goblin forest, it was proven that the creatures we initially encountered weren't very strong overall. Just very bad luck. – Mav said, looking at his brother. –Or someone with a very large mouth, which made a more difficult enemy appear.
Max countered that he had bad luck, but about having a large mouth… he preferred to remain silent this time.
–I understand what you mean by that, but we don't know if this floor will only be caves or if it follows the same logic as the goblin forest, and the lack of light directly impacts our minds as well, not just the fight.
–So what do we do? Go back without even taking a step to explore? Wouldn't that be a waste of the return stones? – Mav asked.
–It might be a waste, but it's better to use them now and go back with better equipment to fight in a cave, like torches or lanterns, so we can reuse them and repair ourselves later. – Mav wanted to retort but recognized his friend's concern.
His initial decision to continue anyway was largely a gamble he had debated with himself about whether he should take it. He decided that if it were just him, he would have accepted, but with his brother (who had recovered from a near-death experience) and his friends together, he didn't have that courage.
It was ironic, even, a group where numbers and concern for others were what held them back from moving forward, while if they were alone they would throw themselves into danger without much hesitation.
–Aaaahhhhh~ if we'd known we'd have to go through a dark place, we would have at least left one of the torches to bring with us~. – Max said with a semi-genuine regret; if he were honest, he even liked the idea of not entering a dark and possibly cramped tunnel.
'Maybe I can convince everyone to let other people handle things on this floor, and after they've taken care of the bigger problems, we can stay on the previous floor, fighting goblins, fishing, gathering some fruits and plants... And only come back here when the path to the 3rd level is clearly established, if there's even a level of fear. If not... well, the goblin forest is actually a comfortable place once you get used to it, not to mention the cabin.'
While Max was formulating plans to avoid at all costs even setting foot in that dark cave, Mav and Connor were talking quietly about the pros and cons of leaving now.
As the three men were about to ask Cali to prepare the return crystal, a small orange light and the smell of burning cloth reached their noses. They all turned quickly towards the source only to see Cali with a piece of wood, which upon closer inspection was a root with a burning cloth on top.
–If we didn't bring a torch, then why not make one? – she said confidently, but slightly confused.
The three boys were stunned and thinking the same thing.
"'If you knew how to make a torch, why didn't you already?!"'