Side Story - Adam 4: Field Trip

AN: Next one will not be Adam cause we all deserve a break.

Adam hesitated for a moment before stepping past the gate and into the dungeon. The first thing he noticed inside was not the smell, or even the other adventurers that were merrily planning their trips, but the silver-framed notification that told him he had entered the Ebenlowe dungeon and that 'the weak will perish'.

"Ominous," he mumbled as he dismissed the notification and stepped up beside Qhinya. "Do all dungeons do that?"

"No," the Dragonkin replied. "This one is a little bit special in that regard. After our not-so-little and most-definitely Elven friend came through here and disposed of the actual dungeon core, she left two Dragonkin in charge of it. They have fun with the messages."

"The implication of death doesn't seem that fun to me," Adam replied as he looked around the hall once more. Nobody but him seemed to be bothered by the message they all had had to receive to get here. Perhaps death is a constant companion for all of them? He didn't doubt it. What he knew of Adventurers all pointed to them being perfectly fine with dying on the job. "Dying in general seems to be decidedly unfun."

"And yet, you approach it all with a sense of humour," Natio said as he stepped past Adam and continued to walk towards the stairs that led down into the dungeon proper. "Very fitting for an Adventurer. You'll blend right in."

Qhinya placed her hands between Adam's shoulders and pushed him forwards. "Time to kill some monsters, Adventurer."

The Human gave a weak chuckle in reply and fell into step behind his de facto guard. He still was of the opinion that he was not ready for any of this, but the option of choice had been taken from him a good while ago. Not that it was a bad thing — he would need to learn how to defend himself in this world at one point or another. Just thought it wouldn't be against monsters from the get go.

"What is on the first floor?" Adam asked as Qhinya guided him down the stairs and towards a gate with a large number one above it. "Slimes?"

He hoped that was the case; Slimes did not seem like they would be dangerous to fight. Just some blobs of goo that jumped around and not much else. A quick zap of his lightning should be enough to get rid of them. Hell, I could probably kill those with a sword.

Adam was not the most physically gifted person, had never been, but a few points in strength and a bit of training had given him some confidence. Enough to kill a slime, at least.

"We aren't going to the first floor," Qhinya said, the smile audible in her voice. "We are starting on the tenth. Ogres and some bigger Goblins."

"Why?"

"Because that's what you can fight," she replied. "Slimes are no challenge for you. Ogres won't be either, if I am honest, but you gotta start somewhere."

"I think Slimes are a good start," Adam mumbled to himself as he stepped through the gate and followed Natio around a corner and into what he could only describe as an elevator. His teacher held out his hand towards Qhinya who — only after letting out an overly dramatic sigh — gave him a metal card that shimmered in colours Adam's mind did not truly wish to comprehend.

He averted his eyes from the card and rubbed his temples. "What is that?" he asked. "It gives me a headache just looking at it."

"Just my identification from the guild," Qhinya replied. "Nothing special really." She stepped in front of Adam and lifted his face slightly, looking into his eyes. "It most definitely should not give you a headache."

"Well, it does," he replied. "It's like a goddamn rainbow of unpleasantness."

"Rainbow?" Natio asked as the elevator began to move downwards. "It's silver." Adam could hear his teacher turn the card in his hand, the quiet sound somehow clear to his ears. "Could it be that he sees the enchantment?"

"Maybe?" Qhinya said and moved herself even closer to Adam; close enough that he could feel her breath brush against his skin. One of her hands held his head still while she opened one of his eyes with the other. "Stay still, I need to check something."

"Okay," Adam said as he tried to do exactly that. He wanted to ask what she was trying to find, but the Dragonkin seemed to be concentrating too hard to actually listen to him.

"You might be right," Qhinya said eventually, pulling back and patting Adam on the shoulders. "We would have to ask someone who knows enchantments better than I do, but he is putting an awful lot of mana behind his eyes."

"Should I be worried?"

The Dragonkin waved him off. "Nah, you just have too much mana and no idea how to use it. I'll find someone who knows this stuff to teach you."

"Perhaps he could ask the All-Mother," Natio said, hopefully in jest. "I am sure she would know how to see — or in this case, not see — and could probably help."

Adam raised a brow at the words of his Teacher and looked at Qhinya for help. He did not know why Natio would suggest asking the literal creator of everything for help with this. If he had a choice, he would rather not met Aperio again. It was akin to meeting your boss, just that this boss could throw you into the sun or think you out of existence. And is technically everyone's boss. It might not be the right terminology, but for Adam, it made sense enough.

He placed his hand on his stomach as the elevator came to a stop, a sense of nausea overcoming him. "Are you guys really sure this is a good idea? I don't feel so good anymore."

"That's normal," Qhinya said as she stepped out of the elevator. She turned around and look at Adam. "The feeling queasy bit, that is."

The Human could only give an uneasy nod as he followed the Dragonkin and his teacher through yet another checkpoint into the dungeon. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand as a stench hit him, filling his senses in far greater and disturbing detail than it had any right to. Perhaps the levels he had gained did not only have upsides.

"Let's see if I can find some easy targets to start," Natio said, taking one of the torches out of its holder on the wall. "A few goblins would work nicely."

"Just take the next right," Qhinya said and gestured towards the the hallway in question. "We follow that until we hit the next junction and we should find two goblins."

Adam could only raise a brow at the Dragonkin as he tried to figure out how she would know any of that. All he could see was a long, featureless hallway made from grey bricks that was intermittently dotted with barely lit torches. A proper dungeon as far as Adam was concerned. It even reeked of rot and decay; the only thing missing was some weird leaks that made the stone wet as well. Good for my lightning, I guess.

Despite his magic not conjuring an actual lightning but some weird red thing made from mana, it still worked well on anything conductive. Especially on water, which shouldn't even be all that conductive to begin with.. He had always chalked it up to magic, but perhaps it deserved some deeper investigation. Mad scientist in a magical world!

"Something funny?" Qhinya asked as Adam smiled slightly. "I thought you did not like our little adventure."

"I just thought of something funny," he replied. Trying to distract myself.

If he was honest with himself, Adam did even know if could fight something that resembled a Human. On Earth, he had not fought, not really at least. He had gotten into the occasional scuffle, but nothing serious and most definitely not killing anyone or anything.

"You have nothing to worry about, Adam," Natio said. "Monsters in dungeons are essentially just animated bodies. If they were to leave, they would simply dissolve into dust. Your magic will do the same."

His teacher turned right, just like Qhinya had said and waited until Adam stood next to him. "Go ahead, we'll be right behind you."

Adam gave a shaky nod in reply and stepped past Natio, mana already flowing into his arms in preparation. Preforming a spell was something Natio had him do over and over again, saying that it was a vital skill to have. Even better if you could prepare the next spell while your first one was just about to be fully cast.

Time seemed to slow as they proceeded further down the hallway. The stench of rot, decay, and a few other things Adam could not quite place grew stronger with every step he took. It wasn't long before he could hear the sound of wood scraping against the stone and fragments of what he figured was Goblin speech.

The first Goblin rounding the corner paused as its small, beady eyes landed on Adam and his group. It scratched its cheek and adjusted its grip on its wooden club, causing it to scratch against the floor some more.

"Now you zap it," Qhinya said and pushed Adam a step forwards. "If you don't, it'll call for help."

Adam raised his arms, one extended and one slightly further back. He could feel his mana itching to be used, the spell he had formed wanting to be set free and used against his enemies; used against this Goblin.

He took a breath and pushed more mana into his arms as he moved his hands closer to one another and willed his magic to become an arc between them. His lightning lashed out at the walls as it grew between his hands. The Goblin stopped scratching his ear and shrieked loudly before — against all odds and sense — running towards the group.

Adam thrust his right arm forward, his magic leaping from his hand, connecting with the Goblin. The creature let out another shriek that was cut short by a crunch as it convulsed so hard that it broke its own bones. It did not end there, however, as Adam saw more Goblins round the corner and his magic leaped readily from the dead one to its living brethren.

He blinked and the shrieking stopped, the bodies of the Goblins turning into dust after a moment, leaving tiny crystals behind.

"See," Qhinya said. "Told you Goblins are too weak for you. One zap and you killed"— she eyes the pile of corpses and tilted her head slightly —"like ten of them. Level twenty to thirty."

Natio simply nodded as he stepped past Adam and Qhinya and inspected the small crystals that dropped. He picked one up and turned it every which way. "They look different."

"Because this dungeon is different," Qhinya said as a flick of her wrist caused one of the crystals to fly into her hand. "Well, they are made by a special dungeon. But I doubt our trusty janitor has been to a dungeon in a while."

"It's been a few years, yes," Natio agreed. "Still, these seem a little weird." He threw it into the air and caught it again. "Almost like they are fakes."

"They aren't," Qhinya said. "But they are different from the ones you know. That's what happens when a dungeon loses its core, and is replaced by two masters and whatever powered them before."

"You speak like dungeons are alive."

"They are, in a way," she replied as she tapped Adam's shoulder and gave him the crystal. "All of them are yours."

"And what do I do with them?" he asked, examining what Qhinya had handed him. "The last time I had one of these, it did not end well."

"Whatever you wish," she said. "Better get a bag, you’re gonna have a lot of them." The Dragonkin offered him a wide smile. "Come now, time for some Ogres!"