Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, one more chapter of my fanfic The One Who Came Back.
Finally the Blue Roses will know the famous Training Dungeon, how will it go?
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 50: The Dungeon
"Alright, we'll want 3 regular potions, one advanced, and one stamina potion, just to try," Lakius said.
"Very well, it's three regular potions for 3 gold each, one advanced for 5 gold, and one stamina potion for 5 gold, totaling 13 gold skulls or 52 Tokens."
"Here it is. And now, we need to wait to enter, right?"
"Usually, groups enter the Dungeon on their own. After all, the reward is the same regardless of the number of people or groups. However, if a group advances very quickly, they will eventually encounter slower ones. You can either help those groups or ignore them and continue."
"Alright, I'm sure this will also influence the ranking. I think we'll wait."
"Very well, I'll let you know when it's your turn."
After a few minutes, someone in the crowd approached the attendant and then left.
"It seems you're in luck. The group that was waiting gave up their turn so you can start."
"Really?! Why would they do that? Whom should we thank?" Gargaran asked.
"I believe for... everyone. Apparently, everyone gave up their turn. It's not common for an adamantite-ranked group to appear. They must be curious to see how far you can go."
"Hmm, then we're grateful," Lakius said, nodding. "Shall we go?"
"Please, follow to the door next to you."
The Blue Roses were already familiar with the Guild, but instead of the usual equipment room, they found a new, larger, and richly decorated door. Upon passing through it, they descended a staircase that led them to another door one floor below.
When they opened it, they found themselves inside a sewer.
"Well, this seems to be a real part of the city's sewer. Even the smell is terrible," the warrior complained.
"Alright, formation, and... those are giant cockroaches?!"
"Yes, boss, and there's something even bigger ahead, it looks like a giant rat," the twins said.
"I hate cockroaches," the leader grumbled.
It took only a few minutes to navigate the sewer, taking longer to find the exit than to deal with the enemies. They descended a few flights of stairs and emerged into an open space.
"Wow! How is this possible? Magic is really crazy!" Gargaran exclaimed.
It was indeed an open field, with a distant wheat field and the beginning of a forest to the right. Evileye flew to the ceiling.
"Yeah, we're underground, the ceiling has a low-level illusion, but it's enough to give the impression of an open area. It must be about nine meters high. I can see the edges, and we're about three hundred meters from the end of the room. The side walls are about 490 foot on each side. So, this underground room has 28.605 cubic foots. If all floors are similar and have the same height, the last floor will be over 650 foot deep. How did they manage to dig all this? And in the middle of the city? Not even with the help of the undead would it be possible!"
"Probably used magic. They say the Sorcerer King has a powerful black elf who masters druidic magic," Tia commented.
"Druids aren't that strong..."
"This one is. I heard he moved rivers to help with the construction of the new part of the city," Tina said.
"Got it," the vampire grumbled. "Let's continue. I saw goblins hiding in the wheat. Be careful with the flanks. I doubt those trees aren't hiding something."
Evileye's thought wasn't far off. The floors continued with the same height up to the ninth, while the next three had twice the height. Starting from the thirteenth floor, almost all of them were vertical, with over 196,85 foots in height, alternating between a floor where they needed to go up and the next where they needed to go down, forming a circular pattern around the initial rooms.
The second floor took much longer than a few minutes to complete. The enemies were still weak but came in considerable numbers and used rudimentary strategies.
On the third floor, it took them over an hour to complete it, and along the way, they decided to help a group of newcomers who were struggling with giant ants. After that, this group chose to end their exploration, while the Blue Roses continued to the next floors.
The cave and the maze were particularly time-consuming due to their multiple dead-end passages. After spending part of the morning, they took a break on the fifth floor to replenish their supplies. The shop on this floor seemed to be part of an inn in a common village. The attendant had a different appearance, but her clothes matched those of a village attendant.
"Hello, ladies. Do you need anything?"
"Just water and food," Gargaran grumbled.
"We have various options of rations and water available. However, you can also save by consuming what you find."
"Can we drink this water? And eat the plants?"
"Yes, of course. After all, the environment reproduces their original areas, so some things can be consumed or used as remedies, while others cannot, like animals that are summonings and disappear after being killed, or plants that can be poisonous. I also don't recommend drinking sewage water. Being able to distinguish affects your rankings."
"I told you the mushrooms in the cave were edible," Tia said.
"The mean boss doesn't trust our assessment," Tina added.
"Alright, alright. I apologize. Now, let's get what we need. Torches or light rings?"
"Light rings," they all replied, remembering the smoke in the cave.
The next five floors were significantly more challenging. The "open areas" were more filled with obstacles. The sewers, the cave, and the labyrinth now had paths that went up and down, creating levels.
However, they managed to complete this stage at night.
The next morning, they returned to the Guild early. No group had entered yet, as everyone was eager to follow the progress of the adventurers, even though they couldn't see it, but with the consent of the Blue Roses, an observer transmitted what was happening to the hall. It was the equivalent of listening to a sports game on the radio.
To descend to the subsequent floors, they used a magical elevator. It was a platform operated by a young conjuror that took them directly to the desired floor.
"Good morning, ladies."
"Good morning," they all replied.
"How's life?" Gargaran asked.
"It has its ups and downs," the young conjuror replied, with a smile.
Only Gargaran laughed very loudly, while the others hung their heads in embarrassment.
That day, they bought supplies on the tenth floor's shop, which resembled an inn in a foreign city. Once again, they were greeted by a uniquely dressed attendant.
After getting their supplies and potions, they advanced through the door to the eleventh floor. It took them the entire day to advance five more floors and reach a shop with a completely exotic atmosphere.
The following day, they continued, spending the entire day exploring the next floors before finally admitting defeat.
On the way back while using the elevator, they talked.
"That bear that mimicked our voices was scarier," the twins commented.
"No matter, a dragon. THEY HAVE A DRAGON!" Gargaran exclaimed excitedly.
"It was a lesser dragon," Evileye corrected, "and not even an intelligent one."
"A lesser dragon, but still not that small. It depleted our reserves."
"I would have been able to defeat it, Lakius," Evileye grumbled.
"Probably, but it could have killed us in the process. And that was on the 19th floor. Imagine what's on the last two floors!" the leader said when they reached the hall.
There, they were greeted with cheers and shouts from a crowd that awaited them and offered them drinks.
"Congratulations, ladies," the attendant said. "You are the second team to reach this far in such a short time."
"The Darkness was the first, right? How long did they take?" Evileye asked.
"They? They took only two days."
"Two days to do what we did in three."
"No, no, actually, it took them two days to complete the entire Dungeon," the attendant said, smiling at Evileye.
"Well, then, how did we do?" Gargaran wanted to know.
"Your evaluations have already been published. You ladies maintained the Adamantite ranking. Congratulations to all."
"That's it! Come on, girls, let's celebrate!" Gargaran exclaimed, heading toward the crowd.
"Wait! At least let me clean them. Clean! Clean! Clean! Clean!..."
"Don't you dare clean me!" Gargaran interrupted. "This is the scent of a victorious adventurer, a trophy to be carried. Now, where's that little wizard..." she said, walking away.
"I'm tired. Let's meet at the tavern tonight to celebrate. For now, I want a real bath and some rest," Lakius said, waving to the crowd of adventurers.
The leader of the Blue Roses was more excited than she could remember being in the past few months. Exploring the Dungeon was truly invigorating.
They boarded an open carriage and drove down a street that passed in front of the Town Hall. There, they spotted the black carriage parked, pulled by a Soul Eater. A familiar figure was descending the stairs.
Jumping from the moving carriage, Lakius shouted, "RENNER!"
...
Author's note
The dungeon
This is my vision of the Training Dungeon. Everyone can imagine their own version and have fun inserting their favorite characters to explore it. Enjoy!
I intentionally reduced the presence of undead as enemies because I imagined that Ainz wouldn't want adventurers to learn to fight against his own army.
The Dungeon has 21 floors. Up to the 9th floor, the space is a square room, 985 foot on each side and 30 foot in height.
On floors 10, 11, and 12, the height is 60 foot. Surrounding them are the vertical floors. These vertical floors are 200 foots in height and are narrower, only 160 foot in length while maintaining a width of 985 foots. These floors alternate between ascending and descending every floor.
The creatures described below are only those considered enemies. Common-sized animals for the environments like rats, spiders, mosquitoes, and bats are not listed, although they exist.
Large, huge, or giant animals can vary in size. For example, a giant cockroach can be the size of a dog or even that of a person, and a giant wolf would be the size of a horse. Similarly, animals considered "smaller" would be less than half the size of their natural counterpart.
Floor Descriptions:
1st Floor - Sewer: A basic service for adventurers involving sewer cleaning. Typical enemies in this environment include giant cockroaches and enormous rats.
2nd Floor - Open Field: A common grassy area on travels, with parts of a wheat field and a forest. Enemies like Goblins and Trolls can emerge from these areas.
3rd Floor - Rocky Desert: A hot and vegetation-free region. Enemies include giant ants, huge venomous lizards, and aggressive large vultures.
4th Floor - Cave: This floor has simple traps and passages where enemies emerge. Watch your back. Slimes, Goblins, and Trolls are the main enemies here.
5th Floor - Maze: This floor has traps and dead-end paths. From this point, enemies may drop items. Expect Mimics and Minotaurs.
6th Floor - Infested Sewer: This sewer has two levels and a small more open area with various platforms. Face giant rats, huge crocodiles, and a giant albino cockroach named Jhonson, wearing sneakers and occasionally saying "SHOCKING."
7th Floor - Forest: A wooded area with trees, a common place for herb collection. Encounter Trolls and carnivorous plants here.
8th Floor - Sandy Desert: A very hot and arid environment. Enemies include giant scorpions and sand worms.
9th Floor - Infested Cave: This floor has traps, passages, and ascending and descending paths with a large platform area. Take care of your women. Face giant Slimes, enormous bats, Goblins, and Hobgoblins.
Floors with Double Height:
10th Floor - Complex Maze: This floor offers more paths, levels, traps, and enemies. Expect to encounter Minotaurs, Nagas, and a Manticore.
11th Floor - Complex Sewer: This floor is full of paths, levels, traps, and enemies. Encounter giant rats, monstrous crocodiles, giant spiders, and a clown with a red balloon.
12th Floor - Forest: A tropical forest area. Battle Anacondas, giant mosquitoes, carnivorous plants, and Barghests.
Vertical Floors:
13th Floor - Mountain: Climb vertically through trails and terraces. Face Mountain Trolls and Harpies.
14th Floor - Aquatic Cave: This floor features a cave system that leads to a lake and a waterfall that flows backward. Dive to move to the next floor. Encounter Frogmen, smaller Sea Serpents, and a lesser Kraken.
15th Floor - Ruined Temple: This floor has various rooms, secret passages, and traps. Climb to reach the top. Encounter various minor Elementals, Liches disguised as worshippers, and a sorceress Mummy named Imotep.
16th Floor - Central Sewer: This floor is very complex and requires descent. At the bottom, there is a lake and a sinkhole. Battle Summoner Goblins, Water Elementals, and a Basilisk as the final boss.
17th Floor - Snowy Forest: A steep slope with a gentle but constantly battered by a snowstorm. Climb to the top to proceed. Battle Annihilation Bear, huge wolves, Ice Elementals, and a Snow Giant as the boss.
18th Floor - Rainy Mountain: A vertical wall with constant rain. Climbing is necessary to descend. Face Wind Elementals, Harpies, and a Wyvern as the boss.
19th Floor - Volcanic Cave: An extremely hot area. Climb through tunnels to a lava lake. Battle Fire Elementals, Salamanders, and a lesser Red Dragon as the boss.
20th Floor - Temple of Destiny: This labyrinthine floor has various traps and secret passages. Descend to a hall at the base. Battle Earth Elementals, worshippers, and a Beholder as the boss. Have a rose or flour in hand to face the Beholder.
21st Floor - Grand Hall of Evil: This vast hall has no common enemies or traps. The only objective is to defeat or escape from the final boss, the Demon Lord Wrath.
Soon, I will provide a brief background for the Demon Lord Wrath, explaining why he is there performing an extra service. As you can see, TW contributed suggestions to diversify the enemies in the Dungeon.
It seems like this description has turned into a chapter on its own, hahaha! I hope you enjoyed it, and remember that the enemies are optional.