-The Dungeon-
The entrance to the Dungeon was not a grand door. It was a massive, circular room built into the stone of the Babel Tower. The ceiling was painted bright blue, pretending to be the sky. Thick, simple columns lined the room. In the center was the drop, a wide ten-meter hole with gentle stairs that spiraled down into the cold, deep darkness.
Virgil did not look up at the painted sky. He looked at the floor, the columns, the way the stairs spiraled down. This is it. he thought.
They quickly began to descend. The first few floors, the Upper Floors, were for beginning adventurers. The tunnels were wide, and the light stones kept the path clear. Joris grunted impatiently, kicking a pebble.
They reached the Fourth Floor, where the tunnels began to narrow, and the cold air grew heavy.
"Hold the line," Chandra ordered, his voice suddenly sharp and low. He tightened his grip on his heavy mace, ready to meet whatever came.
The first monsters appeared, five Kobolds. They were small, moving with fast, primal instinct.
Joris and Boris roared and charged forward, their greatsword and axe raised high. They rushed past their positions, focused only on hitting things. Riya, annoyed by the sudden appearance of monsters, started shooting arrows too soon, missing the center target. The line instantly broke.
Chandra shouted, but the brothers were too deep in their rush, creating a wide, exposed gap.
A Kobold, small and quick, slipped past Joris's wild swing and raced toward Chandra's side.
Virgil's heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. His body screamed to run. He felt the pure, freezing fear, but the brutal four weeks of training took over. Don't panic. Relax.
He saw the opening. The flanking Kobold was running too hard. Virgil slid backward two small steps. He didn't stab. He used the butt of his metal-tipped spear, a quick, ugly shove against the Kobold's shoulder. It was just a trip. The monster spun, off balance, right into the path of Boris's heavy, swinging blade.
Slash.
Boris's axe connected, crushing the monster. It vanished instantly in a puff of black smoke, leaving behind a small, rough kobold nail and a purple magic stone on the floor.
Another Kobold immediately sprang from the ground, aiming its knife at Boris's exposed flank. Boris was mid-swing and couldn't recover.
Virgil did not hesitate. He thrust the shaft of his spear horizontally, meeting the Kobold's. He felt the flesh tear and the skull crack as the tip drove through the monster. The impact rattled his arms.
Stab.
The Kobold popped into black smoke, dropping a nail and a stone.
Meanwhile, Joris was overwhelmed. Two Kobolds had pinned him against the tunnel wall, clawing at his dented armor and distracting him completely. Riya, trying to adjust her position, had failed to check her back.
Virgil spotted the fifth Kobold scrambling up the tunnel wall behind Riya, preparing to lunge. He kept his spear firmly in both hands and shouted to the elf, "Look up!"
Riya reacted instantly to the sharp command. Her bow came up, and she fired.
The arrow found the throat of the climbing Kobold. It dropped heavily to the stone floor, then dissolved into black smoke, leaving its drops behind.
Chandra roared and smashed the two monsters pinning Joris with his mace. They vanished almost instantly in two quick bursts of smoke, leaving their drops and ending the chaos. Joris and Boris were panting heavily, sweat pouring off their fur, their armor scraped. Riya was rigid, her face pale.
The fighting had been sloppy and dangerous. Virgil was shaking, leaning heavily on his spear, but he was untouched. He was the only one whose breathing was shallow and controlled. Lili was already moving between them, scooping up the stones and nails into her large backpack.
So, this is what it feels like to be an adventurer. Virgil thought. He felt something spark in his chest. He knew he was built for this.
Chandra didn't say anything at first, but his eyes met Virgil's. The kid had made adjustments to the party's weakness in a moment's notice. He had saved the line twice.
Chandra gave a nod. He ignored the scowling veterans and looked only at Virgil. "You kept the line. That's enough. Keep watching, kid. We go deeper."