With no obvious path forward the friends were forced to randomly scour the cave. They didn't come far, though, when Silent Acacia suddenly had a strange intuition.
"Stop!"
"Hm? Acacia, did you find something?"
"Perhaps..."
Eyes trained on the water Silent Acacia carefully set one foot in front of the other, probing the ground. A low click sounded out. Silent Acacia instantly froze. He could feel the pressure plate below his foot. If he raised his foot now, a trap would definitely be triggered.
"You ok?"
"Don't come close, guys. Let me just… dismantle this."
Silent Acacia moved with utmost caution, squatting, trying his hardest not to shift his weight too much. His hands reached into the water, touching the trap. A progress bar appeared in front of him. Due to the circumstances the dismantling would take longer than usual.
Taking deep, measured breaths, Silent Acacia tensed his body to remain in this awkward position. He noticed Quickstep smirking at him from in front and showed her a strained smile.
Right at this moment, another monster came close to the group. The snake chose its prey and suddenly erupted with all its power. It shot directly at Silent Acacia.
"Damn, stop it!"
"Quick!"
"Protect Acacia!"
Instantly chaos broke out. The friends cried out loud, trying to come to help but taking their distance just now, they were too slow to make it in time. Cyclone produced a barrage of lightning, hoping to paralyze the enemy. Radiant Shield conjured his [Shield of Faith] to slam the snake away. Quickstep was about to unleash a hurricane, Silver Blade tried to throw her body in the way.
But everything came too late. The snake was just about to hit Silent Acacia when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Ouuuh!"
A cry of anger and pain rang out as the green snake collided with a massive white alligator. Zorn clawed the ground, preventing her heavy body from being pushed backwards.
Silent Acacia let out a sigh of relief as he was saved by his last-moment idea.
"Good job, Zorn! Thank you!"
Receiving her master's praise, Zorn let out a happy cry. Her head turned towards the snake now lying in front of her, remaining vigilant. However, her valiant entrance had already taken care of the immediate danger. At that moment the rest of the group quickly arrived. While still making sure not to disturb Silent Acacia they swiftly took care of the snake, as well as four others which attacked after being startled by the commotion.
"Finally, thanks guys!"
After the fight Silent Acacia soon managed to dismantle the trap. He stood up and shook his limbs which were tired after staying in this uncomfortable position.
"Well done, babe.", said Quickstep with a meaningful grin.
"These traps are insidious. We need to be careful!"
"Yes. Sorry, Acacia, but it looks like you need to go first. Take your time."
"No problem. That's my job."
Silent Acacia didn't shy from danger. If anything, he was glad to train his skills. He took the lead and slowly walked through the cave, methodically going from left to right and right to left. There were not a few traps and snakes laying in ambush. The friends dealt with them one by one. But after making it halfway through the cave they suddenly discovered something different.
"Careful! What is that red light?"
"Is it a trap as well?"
"Acacia, let us probe the danger together."
"Sure."
"No need. That's our way out of here."
Liam gestured his friends not to worry. Finally, they had found the teleportation platform which would allow them to advance. This platform could randomly spawn in the cave, lighting up once the players came close enough.
Trusting Liam everyone walked up boldly, investigating the situation. They saw the red light forming a large circle. On its edge there were multiple spots of red light. Due to the murky water the light was blurred, and it was difficult to make out any concrete shapes. There was some more light at the centre of the circle, but the friends couldn't make out anything.
"So what to do from here?", pondered Cyclone aloud. The others were similarly puzzled.
"We need to get rid of the water to get a better look."
"Let me!"
Quickstep was the first to respond to Liam's explanation. She took a step forward, drew her weapons and began to run in circles. The others felt it was somewhat strange watching Quickstep build up Storm without an enemy nearby. However, she might indeed be the most suitable for the job.
It took a while until the female warrior had gathered enough Storm to enter [Hurricane Mode]. With blazing eyes, she waved her swords and a frightening hurricane instantly erupted next to the portal. It spread a powerful suction force, attracting a large amount of water.
It still wasn't enough, though. Quickstep reset her cooldown with [Ferocious Hurricane] and produced another hurricane not far away. The two swirling storms cleared the water in a large area and revealed not only a group of snakes but also the eerie-red glowing platform. Although still a bit dirty the friends could make out most of it.
"What a strange magic circle. Is this still teleportation magic?"
"It should be, right? Otherwise, I really don't know how we could get out of here."
"Friends, direct your attention on these symbols at the centre."
"Hmm. Right, what's up with that? Three heads, all looking somewhat demonic. A monkey, snake, and a deer?"
"Perhaps we need to find something related to those here in the cave?"
While the friends were discussing a thundering roar suddenly echoed through the cave, sending waves across the water. More strange sounds quickly followed. Roars, cries, hisses, all accompanied by a strange pressure. A cacophony of voices echoed in the cave, making it difficult to clearly discern their origin. However, it was obvious that these noises came from the various dark cells to the side.
Liam and his friends looked at each other. Animal heads on the teleporter and animal sounds from the cell, certainly there was a connection. There was not much hesitation as the group approached the cell closest to them. After studying it for a bit Silver Blade reached out with her hand. A notification appeared in front of her.
[Do you want to enter the cell and face the one within? Note: Only one person allowed to enter at a time.]
As if hit by electricity Silver Blade instantly pulled her hand back. She was just a poor tank. She couldn't face some boss monster alone.
"So what's the plan now? Should we fight through all the cells or try to choose the correct ones?"
Cyclone voiced everyone's thoughts. Even Liam was not entirely certain. In the version of the dungeon he knew only one boss had to be defeated and they could move on. Now changes popped up one after another, who was to say that there was no advantage in killing all monsters? The friends discussed the matter for a few seconds before deciding to only kill the necessary monsters. Perhaps if they weren't challenged by others, they would take the time to go through all the cells. Alas…
"Well, let's get going then. This cell is definitely not correct. It sounds more like a lion or something.", said Balm. The others agreed and the party approached the next cell together. The animalistic roars fused into one when echoing from the cave walls but right in front of the cells one could discern them with some effort.
"This sounds like a hiss. Perhaps we have found the first target. Should we gamble or first inspect all the cells?"
"I say we give it a try!"
Cyclone responded confidently, trusting her gut feeling. Surely her luck wouldn't let her down this time. The others hesitated for a bit but eventually agreed. Now the question remained who would be sent to fight the monster. Liam was naturally a safe bet but there were a few others who were eager to show their skills. Silent Acacia, Bloody Edge, Quickstep, even Cyclone. So who should they send?
"Let's decide by rolling dice! If it's a one we send Acacia, for a two its Edge, a three is Quickstep, and I am four. Mirage goes if it lands on a five or six."
Cyclone grinned brightly, inwardly praising herself for the great idea. Everyone else had frozen expressions. Supposedly, throwing a die was the safest method. But this was only true if there wasn't a hidden attribute called 'luck'.
Eventually Silent Acacia sighed, saying:
"We can do it like that. However, everyone is only allowed to fight once. Afterwards you are thrown out of the pool."
Cyclone wanted to protest but looking at her friends she knew that this was already the best deal she could get. Thus, she agreed and asked C to throw a die. This was the most basic service in any MMORPG. A large, golden die appeared in the air, spinning in place. After a few seconds it fell to the ground, bounced a few times and came to a stop. Everyone stared at the side pointing upwards. It showed four bright, dazzling dots.