Floors two through four blurred together. Each was almost a mirror of the last, dispatches carried out without effort, loot gathered almost as an afterthought. By the time they crossed into the fifth, the monotony weighed heavier than Roy's initial nerves.
"It's been well over an hour of walking in god mode, this is just dull now," Roy muttered. His voice echoed more than he intended.
Eryndra leaned closer, eyes bright with an almost playful spark. "Then join them. Nothing here would dare lay a hand on you while I'm near."
Roy hesitated, then drew his sidearms. The next wave of goblins poured out, snarling. He cut them down in neat arcs of gunfire, the blasts ringing loud in the chamber. The fight lasted seconds. He lowered his weapons, already unimpressed. "Still boring."
"I could always carry you," Eryndra offered, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.
"I think I can manage," Roy grunted, his face a contorted mask of fake grit.
They pressed on. After several more sectors, they came across another group. Five adventurers, none older than ten, sat outside a barrier, blades across their laps. The sight pulled Roy up short. Stunned by their youth, he exhaled sharply. "Guess these floors are truly too easy."
The moment they spotted Roy, the kids hurried to their feet and swarmed closer, wide-eyed. Orden stepped forward like a wall, arms folded, forcing them to stop just short.
"Hey, hey, is it true?" one boy blurted. "You cleared the first dungeon in one shot?"
Another piped in, "You couldn't of, that's impossible, right?"
Roy looked past the small, eager bodies in front of him, his gaze unwavering and devoid of expression. Their scent, a mix of sweat, goblin blood and dust, was potent. He struggled, unsuccessfully, to hide his revulsion. "Get the hell away from me," he commanded as he released his held breath.
A collective gasp, then laughter and awe erupted from the kids. "Whoa! He's so cool!" one whispered. "He really said that!" another yelled, beaming.
The barrier shimmered as the party inside descended the stairwell in the boss chamber, the way sealing behind them.
"Mr. Thunder Rider, sir! We'll keep it quick, I swear!" one of the kids called, straightening his shoulders.
"Good luck!" Orin added brightly.
Their faces soured for a fleeting moment, eyes flicking towards Orin, before instantly brightening again as they turned back to wave at Roy. "Bye, Thunder Rider!"
Rava arched a brow. "Not even a thanks. What a polite bunch."
"That won't help your reputation, 'Abuser of Ten Thousand Young Slaves'," Lynder said, voice flat.
Breath hissed between Roy's teeth. "They stank so bad I nearly died! I wasn't capable of thinking clearly."
The moment the kids vanished inside, the barrier sealed with a low hum. A roar rolled from beyond, rattling the walls.
"Looks to be an adult Bluecap, of the lesser variety, but clearly full grown," Lynder explained.
"The boss room is a cool design, kinda like a video game I played once," Roy said as he flicked a hand at the arch. "Boss resets the instant the next team goes in."
"A...what?" Lynder asked.
Barely any time bled by until the roar of the boss faltered. The barrier melted away, leaving the path bare.
"Our turn," Orin said, shoulders rolling as he stepped ahead.
The chamber stirred. Out lumbered the Bluecap holding a thin, spiked club. It was broader than the rest, standing a head above Orin, but clearly not an imposing threat. Muscles bunched under waxy skin, its eyes lit with dull fire. It loosed a roar and thundered forward. Still without drawing his weapon, Orin slid under the club-swing, planted his heel, and drove a fist into its chest. The Bluecap's charge stopped dead. The crack of the impact tore through the hall like a detonation as it was lifted clean off its feet by the force of the blow. It sailed backward through the air, and hit the far wall of the chamber, where it shivered apart into a cloud of gold flecks.
Roy checked the Allphone, mouth twisting. "Yeah… I'm not letting that kid even touch me anymore. Two seconds from start to finish." His glance shifted toward the trio who were already pocketing the bosses dropped gold flecks as if they felt no stress at all. He shook his head. "This is a complete waste of time. New plan. Harmony, a map, please."
"Yes, Captain," Harmony's voice crackled over the comm.
The path to the sixth floor bent away, but Roy ignored it. The map sent to his Allphone led him straight toward the floor's heart, where the dungeon's true spine lay exposed. There, the shaft dominated the floor, a wound cut straight down into the earth's heart. Its walls were a blackstone reinforced with new steel ribs that caught the nearby glow and turned it harsh.
The platform rising from its depths looked less like something built for people and more like machinery scaled for titans, steel floor thick enough to carry tanks, safety rails bolted on in slabs as wide as tree trunks. Every surface gleamed with recent work, weld seams still sharp, the paint unmarred. The steel smelled faintly of oil and heat, as if it had only just cooled.
Lynder recoiled, his composure fracturing. "What is this thing? Another one of your golems?" His voice, a thin thread, barely carried.
"Nope," Roy drawled, his gaze already drifting through his script notes on the Allphone. "And they're not 'golems.' The Presidroids are my friends."
On the platform, crisp salutes cracked as FDR, JFK, and Truman snapped to attention. "Permission to cry, Captain?"
"Shut up!" Roy snorted, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.
From the top of the shaft, a Presidroid bellowed, "Captain! Your sandwich!" The Presidroid then dropped a plastic-wrapped sandwich down the shaft, which Roy deftly snatched from the air.
After taking a few bites, Roy re-wrapped and pocketed the meal. "Alright, Takara, Eryndra, Presidroids, take your positions."
Takara leaned to Eryndra, whispering into her ear, "Ha, he said my name first."
As they stepped aboard, a small camera drone detached itself from the ceiling and hovered before Roy, its red recording light blinking to life. The feed was going live to the screens in Technomendia and across Otherrealm. The casual leader was gone, replaced by the confident, theatrical showman. His crew gathered behind him and took intimidating stances. Orden quickly sat across from them, ready to watch the performance.
Roy jabbed two fingers at his earpiece. "Serenity, broadcast. Every screen, every feed, every pair of eyes." The red light on the hovering drone flared. Roy's whole frame shifted, shoulders squared, coat snapping, caught by a phantom wind. "Seekers of fortune! Artisans of the abyss!" His voice thundered through the shaft, rattling the steel rails, and roared out across the world. He swept an arm toward the gathered adventurers, then to the platform beneath their feet.
"You have crawled through the dregs of this dungeon, sparring with its weakest spawn. You've proven your worth in scraps and whispers. But spectacle is not born in shadows, no! It is forged in descent!"
He flung both arms wide, turning a slow circle like a preacher working his flock. "Behold, behold, behold! A shortcut carved by iron hands and roaring engines. An express into oblivion! From this day forth, any floor you have conquered, you may return to in an instant. And those among you of sufficient guild rank, who dare to wager your names against the dark, are allowed to leap deeper still. Why crawl, when you can plummet? Follow me into the madness."
The platform lurched, then began its steady descent. Air whipped up from below, tugging at coats and hair. The walls slid past in wide, grated slits that revealed the dungeon's hidden floors. Monsters prowled in their floors of stone and light. A Redcap flung itself into the open shaft, jaws snapping, only to disintegrate the moment it breached the boundary. Ash swirled and vanished into the black.
"Aaand, cut!" Harmony chimed in.
Andri leaned against the railing, watching the floors slowly pass by. "Why are we skipping them? Isn't the point of this to demonstrate our skills and test how we work together?"
Roy rested an elbow on the rail beside her, gaze tracking another cluster of goblins running around on a floor. "We've spent hours trudging through mobs made of wet paper, and half of them you guys fought alone. I need you guys to face more challenges, less tedium. For my mental health, you know?" He bent forward. "Besides, the world may be watching. Boredom is a… sin, I guess."
The platform rumbled onward, deeper into the abyss.