[I was expecting us to rack up a few credit scores yesterday,]Lucius said,[I guess we will try again today.]
"Aren't you a little bit ashamed?" Ajax asked, "How can a mere human's eyes be sharper than yours, Mr. God?"
[Ugh…]
There was a sudden knock; it was Storm.
"Skylar suggested we explore a dungeon. She's heading there with Lisa as I speak," Storm said, "Are you interested?"
"Huh?" Ajax replied, a bit skeptical, "Sure!"
Ajax got dressed, and they headed to the dungeon. Skylar and Lisa waited for them at the entrance of the dungeon.
The dungeon was calm and quiet, with no signs of monsters, not even slime.
"This sure looks beautiful for a dungeon," Storm said, his eyes wandering around.
"Yeah, it's not called Gleam Catacomb for nothing," Skylar replied with a smirk, her arms crossed over her chest.
They walked calmly and were mindful of their steps and surroundings.
"Don't you think this place has already been explored?" Ajax asked, "I mean, I can't sense any monsters."
The dungeon was filled with gleaming crystals and beautiful flowers. In most cases, this would have been the perfect place for white slimes, but none was found.
Skylar replied, "I doubt that could be it." She continued, "This wasn't suggested by the authorities."
They all turned at her in horror and shouted. "Huh?"
The entrance suddenly shut itself, their faces covered in horror.
Gleam Catacomb wasn't an ordinary dungeon. It was called Gleam Catacomb because it killed explorers, buried them, and crystals would grow out of their corpses. The dungeon had no monsters within it because it creates its monsters, and this dungeon hated noise. If explorers explore it quietly and mindfully, they will leave unscathed.
"I think something is coming," Storm said as he took a good grip of his sword.
The dungeon began shaking intensively; they grabbed onto the crystals, but the crystals began melting.
Lisa tried to pierce her sword into the ground, but her sword broke.
Fear grew on them. Ajax was left at a standstill, not knowing what to do.
The dungeon started shaking faster and heavier; all the crystals were melted with nothing left for them to grab onto.
This wasn't expected, so they had nothing planned. All they could do was allow what was approaching them to close in.
Due to the constant movement, Ajax was hurled into a wall. He started bleeding from his forehead as Ajax touched his head in agony.
Skylar hurried over to check on him.
Before Ajax could get on his feet, Skylar was hurled into him, hitting him in the head.
Skylar, scared to death, wrapped Ajax in her arms. There were no safe grounds, but Ajax was out cold.
Endless tears flowed down her cheeks. "This is all my fault," she said with a trembling voice. "I'm sorry, please, wake up."
Lisa and Storm were trying to walk towards Skylar and Ajax, but they couldn't hold a single step; the ground was too shaky and slippery.
"Is he okay?" Storm yelled as he struggled to get close.
Ajax adjusted his head for a comforting position in her arms. Her eyes lit up. "Are you okay, Ajax?" She asked.
Ajax was asleep; after getting the concussion, he slept.
Skylar shook Ajax. His eyes slightly opened. "Hey, are we still in the dungeon?" He asked as his eyes dozed.
Her expression was etched with worries. "Yes, are you okay?" Skylar replied.
"Good grief," Ajax murmured as he tried to sleep again.
A heavy footstep echoed as it closed in on them. Ajax immediately got up, and they all took their stance.
Once it neared, the shaking stopped. It was a huge monster made of similar crystals that got melted.
Storm charged at the monster, but it had skin as tough as steel. Storm couldn't leave a scratch.
He attempted to strike it with lightning. He dashed towards it, hit a wall with his leg, and jumped towards it. Aiming for its head, but with a swing of its arm, sent Storm flying. He was teleported before he could hit the ground.
It swung its arm at Ajax, but Skylar jumped in and shielded him with her body. She used her ice magic as a barrier, but it wasn't enough. She was immediately teleported.
"Lisa, let's think of a strategy," Ajax suggested as he tried to keep his distance.
Before he could utter another word, Lisa raced in. She evaded two attacks from the monster and blew its head off with water magic. She was able to throw the monster off balance.
"Let's target its head," she ordered.
Ajax nodded.
Lisa hurried in, and Ajax followed; they evaded its attacks, and they both blew its head with water magic.
"If she uses water and I use lightning, our attacks would be more effective," Ajax thought.
"Again!" Ajax yelled.
They evaded the monster's attacks, jumped, and hit its head with water and lightning simultaneously.
The giant monster collapsed on the floor.
Just as it seemed victory was within their reach, another monster punched Lisa from behind, and she got teleported.
"Where did it come from?" Ajax asked, confused.
Before he realized it, he was surrounded by dozens of giant monsters.
Ajax tried to hold his ground; he evaded most of their attacks and gave them a few punches, but their numbers overwhelmed him.
"Lucius?" Ajax thought.
[…]
"You little…" he said.
Ajax got smashed into the ground and was teleported.
They had been teleported to the entrance of the dungeon.
Immediately after Ajax got there, he realized they were all waiting for his arrival.
Skylar rushed in and hugged him. "I'm sorry, are you okay?" She asked, worried.
Ajax smiled awkwardly, scratching his head. "Don't worry, I'm okay," he said.
He couldn't bring himself to tell her he slept off.
They all decided to head to the infirmary to check on any internal damages.
"By the way, we are in the negatives now," Storm said and sighed.
Ajax hurried to check his scores on the gear, and to his horror, it was in the negative.
"What?" He asked.
He fought because he thought he would get scores for each hit, but unfortunately, the monster he and Lisa defeated wasn't enough to protect them from the negatives.
They strode to the infirmary, and Ajax got his head checked on.
Skylar was still blaming herself for what happened to Ajax, so she took the liberty of guiding him to his room; she took care of him for the rest of the day.
Despite the royal treatment, Ajax had a little concern as he lay in his bed.
"Lucius?" He called.
[…]
"Lucius?!"
[…]