The dungeon brought Jay into another forest - though more like a jungle; humid and wet.
Similar to the land he was walking through in the blood-vine bear territory, the ground here was also covered by layers of roots.
Though these roots seemed much more competitive, as nearby plants were being strangled by them. The only thing spared from the rooms seemed to be the large moss-covered trees, and poisonous-looking mushrooms covering everything else.
Despite there being no smaller plants around, the trees had low branches and large hanging leaves, making it hard to see very far.
While it would be good to conceal Jay, it made it harder to spot any threats.
A number of notifications were ignored by Jay, as he first looked for danger and any threats.
Looking around, he quickly noticed a pair of eyes gazing at him in wonder.
“A… human?” Jay curiously gazed at her.
After analysing her, he was sure of it.
It was a little girl.
She was pale, skinny, and malnourished. She looked like she was starving.
“Ah, hello there.” Jay smiled, trying not to seem scary.
Despite suddenly appearing in the forest as if he were a forest deity or something more sinister, the girl wasn’t scared.
In fact, she smiled back at Jay.
“Hi. What are you doing out here?”
“Not much.” Jay replied, and stopped his skeletons from coming into the dungeon for a moment.
He didn’t want to scare her so he made them all wait outside for now.
“Say, do you know a safe place?” Jay asked.
The girl grinned, seeming to get excited, “I do. Come with me. It’s a very safe place. Not too far from here. You’ll love it.” she reached out to grab his hand.
“Relax, I’m convinced, I’m coming.” Jay chuckled.
Jay decided to treat her as if he were out in the wild and lost, hoping she would take him to a human settlement so he could gather information.
There were also a few tests he wanted to conduct, such as seeing if he could convince someone they were in a dungeon and what would happen.
As they turned to leave, Jay covertly had Red enter the dungeon, silently appearing behind him and the girl.
Red immediately dashed off into the forest and scouted for threats - though Jay commanded it to remain hidden from sight.
Next, the other skeletons entered the dungeon and followed silently too.
Blue, Lamp, Sweeper and Handy appeared, each also dashing off and hiding in the forest, stalking Jay and the girl.
They moved so silently and quickly that the girl didn’t even turn her head around.
As Jay walked, he noticed something unusual about the girl - or at least, noticed a lack of something.
There was no playfulness about her.
He was surprised as she was really friendly but incredibly quiet. She had no questions for Jay and didn’t make any conversation - she didn’t even hum or talk about her village as most little girls probably would have.
She simply guided him there, silently.
As Jay walked through the forest they ventured near a rocky root-covered area.
Jay took this as an opportunity.
“Uh, hang on a moment I need to pee.” he pointed to a boulder, “Don’t peek.”
The little girl frowned and nodded while Jay left to go behind a rock.
“The pee-excuse works every time.” Jay thought, shaking his head with a smile.
On the other side of the rock, he had all of his skeletons sneak back to him except for Red, whom he left patrolling the forest.
He removed his armour and weapons and stashed them in his inventory as he hid behind the rock.
The little girl’s clothes looked both poor and primitive, and having armour and weapons would make him stand out too much if he were to show up at their village.
So far, all five skeletons detected no threats in the forest so he wasn’t worried about removing them - plus he could equip them in an instant anyway.
Peeking over the rock, he made sure the girl was still there and not looking as the skeletons returned.
Next, Jay used [Living Blueprints] on his four skeletons, each of them folding up and disappearing into a cloud of green mana.
He was most likely being led to a village so he had to hide the skeletons somehow.
It was much faster for the skeletons to unpack from the living blueprints skill than to summon them, and Jay decided he would only bring them out in the event of an emergency.
After all, he didn’t want the villagers in this dungeon trying to hunt him down - if they could anyway.
It would be better to keep them on his side.
After storing his skeletons away he went back to following the little girl to safety again.
As Jay followed along, he began to read all the notifications he received when he first entered the dungeon.
[Locked dungeon - Time dilation of 10:1 until dungeon is completed.]
[Locked dungeon - You may not leave until dungeon is completed]
[Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]
[Quest Requirements: Level 15 or below]
[Innocent: Unsaved]
[Rewards: Level up]
[First clear reward: Passive skill]
[Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]
“Fuck. So that’s what it means by locked - I can’t leave. Dammit… sure wish someone taught me that.”
“Hmm, a quest… an item… a level up and a passive skill reward for first clear? Nice.” he nodded.
“A ten to one time dilation? So ten seconds here is one second outside? Well that helps. I won’t waste too much time here. Maybe it’s because the dungeon is locked.”
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Jay were not on the run from the mage hunters, but now he felt like he had to rush this whole dungeon, even with the help of the time dilation.
After all, he wasn’t allowed to leave until it was finished.
If it was anything like the mist keep dungeon, it would perhaps take weeks to clear.
Jay also pulled out the [Needle of the Starved]. It seemed to be like any other needle, and after analysing it, there was only one hint about what it did:
[Red, tainted. White, innocent.]
“Tainted and innocent…” he gazed at it, wondering, though stored it away before the little girl turned to look back.
Soon they came to a shallow dirt path.
“So, you’re taking me somewhere safe? Then what’s dangerous out here?”
The little girl slowed down for a moment.
“The knights.” she nodded.
“The knights?”
“They come from the stone castle and take people back with them. We never see them again.”
“I see.” Jay said.
“Seems like a simple enough quest - I just need to take down this castle. Probably kill a few knights. Save the innocent.”
Of course, it was easier said than done.
First he had to locate the castle, scout the surrounding lands, determine how big the enemy force was, and how strong each enemy was.
For all Jay knew, there could have been castle spies in the village.
“But then, what do I need the needle for?”
As they followed along the path, a man sprinted at them with a wooden spear in hand.
It was basically a sharp stick, though - no metal tip.
Not very threatening.
He pointed it at the girl Jay was following.
“There you are! How dare you run away!”
“Wait! I… brought someone back?” she pointed at Jay.
The man with the spear gazed at Jay. He was as skinny looking and as weak-looking as the girl.
He squinted suspiciously, “Hello. Would you like to come to our village?” he said, now pointing the spear at Jay.
His eyes traced over Jay, and he seemed to relax slightly as he saw that Jay didn’t have a weapon or any armour.
“Sure,” Jay shrugged, “maybe I can help you with your knight problem.”
“Follow me,” he replied.
The skinny man turned and glared at the girl.
“You’re safe for now.” he said slowly as if it were a threat, then turned to lead them all back.
Jay was glad he was not wearing any of his armour or had his sword equipped, as it seemed to lower suspicion.
The village they were being led to was a small one, consisting of wooden huts which looked like they would do nothing about the wind or rain.
It was truly a pathetic, tiny village with no walls or defences.
There were a few closer to the centre made of mud, and even one which was surrounded by stones; quite sturdy compared to the rest of them.
As they came closer to the village, there were other villagers outside, cutting away some of the roots around their pathetic dwellings.
More suspicious gazes lingered on them. Some even grabbed spears which were also just pointy sticks.
“By the looks of them, they would probably only do one damage.” Jay guessed, but kept his thoughts to himself.
At the side of the village, the skinny hunter that escorted Jay and the girl asked them to wait there for a moment.
It was an uncomfortable wait, as the number of glares he was receiving were much more than any usual village, and some of the spear-wielding villagers even seemed to close around behind them, blocking the way back to the forest, but these weren’t the only thing Jay had noticed.
The roots around the village had been hacked and chopped away, giving way to some black soil. Some pits of soil had been dug up for some unknown purpose - though he couldn’t be sure what for, but some carried baskets of it away periodically.
What was most unusual, though, was what Jay sensed under the soil.
His necrotic sense skill detected something.
Human bones.
Hundreds of them.
The dungeon brought Jay into another forest - though more like a jungle; humid and wet.
Similar to the land he was walking through in the blood-vine bear territory, the ground here was also covered by layers of roots.
Though these roots seemed much more competitive, as nearby plants were being strangled by them. The only thing spared from the rooms seemed to be the large moss-covered trees, and poisonous-looking mushrooms covering everything else.
Despite there being no smaller plants around, the trees had low branches and large hanging leaves, making it hard to see very far.
While it would be good to conceal Jay, it made it harder to spot any threats.
A number of notifications were ignored by Jay, as he first looked for danger and any threats.
Looking around, he quickly noticed a pair of eyes gazing at him in wonder.
“A… human?” Jay curiously gazed at her.
After analysing her, he was sure of it.
It was a little girl.
She was pale, skinny, and malnourished. She looked like she was starving.
“Ah, hello there.” Jay smiled, trying not to seem scary.
Despite suddenly appearing in the forest as if he were a forest deity or something more sinister, the girl wasn’t scared.
In fact, she smiled back at Jay.
“Hi. What are you doing out here?”
“Not much.” Jay replied, and stopped his skeletons from coming into the dungeon for a moment.
He didn’t want to scare her so he made them all wait outside for now.
“Say, do you know a safe place?” Jay asked.
The girl grinned, seeming to get excited, “I do. Come with me. It’s a very safe place. Not too far from here. You’ll love it.” she reached out to grab his hand.
“Relax, I’m convinced, I’m coming.” Jay chuckled.
Jay decided to treat her as if he were out in the wild and lost, hoping she would take him to a human settlement so he could gather information.
There were also a few tests he wanted to conduct, such as seeing if he could convince someone they were in a dungeon and what would happen.
As they turned to leave, Jay covertly had Red enter the dungeon, silently appearing behind him and the girl.
Red immediately dashed off into the forest and scouted for threats - though Jay commanded it to remain hidden from sight.
Next, the other skeletons entered the dungeon and followed silently too.
Blue, Lamp, Sweeper and Handy appeared, each also dashing off and hiding in the forest, stalking Jay and the girl.
They moved so silently and quickly that the girl didn’t even turn her head around.
As Jay walked, he noticed something unusual about the girl - or at least, noticed a lack of something.
There was no playfulness about her.
He was surprised as she was really friendly but incredibly quiet. She had no questions for Jay and didn’t make any conversation - she didn’t even hum or talk about her village as most little girls probably would have.
She simply guided him there, silently.
As Jay walked through the forest they ventured near a rocky root-covered area.
Jay took this as an opportunity.
“Uh, hang on a moment I need to pee.” he pointed to a boulder, “Don’t peek.”
The little girl frowned and nodded while Jay left to go behind a rock.
“The pee-excuse works every time.” Jay thought, shaking his head with a smile.
On the other side of the rock, he had all of his skeletons sneak back to him except for Red, whom he left patrolling the forest.
He removed his armour and weapons and stashed them in his inventory as he hid behind the rock.
The little girl’s clothes looked both poor and primitive, and having armour and weapons would make him stand out too much if he were to show up at their village.
So far, all five skeletons detected no threats in the forest so he wasn’t worried about removing them - plus he could equip them in an instant anyway.
Peeking over the rock, he made sure the girl was still there and not looking as the skeletons returned.
Next, Jay used [Living Blueprints] on his four skeletons, each of them folding up and disappearing into a cloud of green mana.
He was most likely being led to a village so he had to hide the skeletons somehow.
It was much faster for the skeletons to unpack from the living blueprints skill than to summon them, and Jay decided he would only bring them out in the event of an emergency.
After all, he didn’t want the villagers in this dungeon trying to hunt him down - if they could anyway.
It would be better to keep them on his side.
After storing his skeletons away he went back to following the little girl to safety again.
As Jay followed along, he began to read all the notifications he received when he first entered the dungeon.
[Locked dungeon - Time dilation of 10:1 until dungeon is completed.]
[Locked dungeon - You may not leave until dungeon is completed]
[Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]
[Quest Requirements: Level 15 or below]
[Innocent: Unsaved]
[Rewards: Level up]
[First clear reward: Passive skill]
[Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]
“Fuck. So that’s what it means by locked - I can’t leave. Dammit… sure wish someone taught me that.”
“Hmm, a quest… an item… a level up and a passive skill reward for first clear? Nice.” he nodded.
“A ten to one time dilation? So ten seconds here is one second outside? Well that helps. I won’t waste too much time here. Maybe it’s because the dungeon is locked.”
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Jay were not on the run from the mage hunters, but now he felt like he had to rush this whole dungeon, even with the help of the time dilation.
After all, he wasn’t allowed to leave until it was finished.
If it was anything like the mist keep dungeon, it would perhaps take weeks to clear.
Jay also pulled out the [Needle of the Starved]. It seemed to be like any other needle, and after analysing it, there was only one hint about what it did:
[Red, tainted. White, innocent.]
“Tainted and innocent…” he gazed at it, wondering, though stored it away before the little girl turned to look back.
Soon they came to a shallow dirt path.
“So, you’re taking me somewhere safe? Then what’s dangerous out here?”
The little girl slowed down for a moment.
“The knights.” she nodded.
“The knights?”
“They come from the stone castle and take people back with them. We never see them again.”
“I see.” Jay said.
“Seems like a simple enough quest - I just need to take down this castle. Probably kill a few knights. Save the innocent.”
Of course, it was easier said than done.
First he had to locate the castle, scout the surrounding lands, determine how big the enemy force was, and how strong each enemy was.
For all Jay knew, there could have been castle spies in the village.
“But then, what do I need the needle for?”
As they followed along the path, a man sprinted at them with a wooden spear in hand.
It was basically a sharp stick, though - no metal tip.
Not very threatening.
He pointed it at the girl Jay was following.
“There you are! How dare you run away!”
“Wait! I… brought someone back?” she pointed at Jay.
The man with the spear gazed at Jay. He was as skinny looking and as weak-looking as the girl.
He squinted suspiciously, “Hello. Would you like to come to our village?” he said, now pointing the spear at Jay.
His eyes traced over Jay, and he seemed to relax slightly as he saw that Jay didn’t have a weapon or any armour.
“Sure,” Jay shrugged, “maybe I can help you with your knight problem.”
“Follow me,” he replied.
The skinny man turned and glared at the girl.
“You’re safe for now.” he said slowly as if it were a threat, then turned to lead them all back.
Jay was glad he was not wearing any of his armour or had his sword equipped, as it seemed to lower suspicion.
The village they were being led to was a small one, consisting of wooden huts which looked like they would do nothing about the wind or rain.
It was truly a pathetic, tiny village with no walls or defences.
There were a few closer to the centre made of mud, and even one which was surrounded by stones; quite sturdy compared to the rest of them.
As they came closer to the village, there were other villagers outside, cutting away some of the roots around their pathetic dwellings.
More suspicious gazes lingered on them. Some even grabbed spears which were also just pointy sticks.
“By the looks of them, they would probably only do one damage.” Jay guessed, but kept his thoughts to himself.
At the side of the village, the skinny hunter that escorted Jay and the girl asked them to wait there for a moment.
It was an uncomfortable wait, as the number of glares he was receiving were much more than any usual village, and some of the spear-wielding villagers even seemed to close around behind them, blocking the way back to the forest, but these weren’t the only thing Jay had noticed.
The roots around the village had been hacked and chopped away, giving way to some black soil. Some pits of soil had been dug up for some unknown purpose - though he couldn’t be sure what for, but some carried baskets of it away periodically.
What was most unusual, though, was what Jay sensed under the soil.
His necrotic sense skill detected something.
Human bones.
Hundreds of them.
