Abaddon fumed as she paced circles around the dungeon core "Why…How…" she kept repeating to herself, not only had her trap been destroyed before it was even sprung but they had stolen one of the souls used to create a monster short of elite. Glancing back over at the core she watched as adventurer party gather around in the tunnel sharing food and drinks as they took a break. "Insult to injury!" she declared angrily continuing her pacing.
The dungeon core pulsated as it spoke "Why worry, they only explorers. Minions are replaceable, sources of mana are welcome".
Sighing deeply she turned to stare at the core "Do not be foolish Under, these aren't just explorers. The Dwarves and Fae wouldn't simply allow strangers into their current predicament, these are soldiers sent here to destroy you." While it was true that the longer these adventurers spent inside the dungeon the stronger it became albeit mildly, they were a danger she could not let roam free. "Their deaths will be more than satisfactory for resources".
"Yes" The dungeon replied plainly, it's core pulsating with power as more skeletons rose inside the room. The dungeon could not summon minions close to another being that wasn't part of the dungeon, making the tunnel the party resided in unusable for now. As the inanimate skeletons awaited like statues black ethereal veins slowly shot out of the core and into them, their eyes shining a black light that gave them new unlife.
Abaddon went over her mental map of the dungeon, they may have gone through their most defended tunnel but it was just that, a single tunnel. After calming herself "Show me the new additions to our army" she asked the dungeon softly.
The vision inside the core changed and broke into three, each a different room or corridor with actual brick walls and stone pavement. "The Dwarves and their devices are set as support, the new creations are ready to stomp any" The dungeon explained.
Abaddon smiled wickedly "If only the Fae hadn't enchanted themselves against being corrupted, oh well these will do fine." She stared at the images within the core deep in thought.
"They are moving" the dungeon reported as the images changed to show the party getting up and moving further in.
She nodded as an idea suddenly came to her "Station two knights at the entrance, we'll lure them in" she watched as the dungeon core followed the adventurer's movements closely, the moment they turned the corner they stopped and studied the new tunnel.
"Done" the dungeon stated as two shield wielding skeletons walked out of the stone brick doorway making the fake entrance to the dungeon, the party took their formation and waited for them at the other end.
"Taunt them" Abaddon ordered with an amused tone.
Instead of rushing in like before the skeleton knights stood their ground and bashed their swords to their shields while chattering their bony jaws, suddenly a skeleton warrior wielding a longsword in one hand walked out to join them.
"Nice touch" Abaddon commented in approval as the new minion dragged out a fake armoured dwarf corpse Under had created in the previous room. The warrior dropped the corpse in front of the knights and all three began stomping on it while bashing their weapons together.
As she watched in amusement the Dwarven adventurer took a step forwards ready to rush in only to be held back by the gunner with strange weaponry, "Let's taunt him further, behead the corpse after gesturing at him".
The skeletons stopped their stomping as the warrior stepped around the bloodied corpse, it raised it's sword high up above the corpse's head and pointed at the Dwarven adventurer with its free hand then gripped it's sword tightly with both.
Abaddon smirked as she waited for the idiotic rush she expected from the adventurer, only to step back in shock as an explosion of steam filled the tunnel. The fiery red battle axe was the only thing visible as it was thrown spinning down the tunnel, the attack wreaked havoc as with each time it crashed with the ground a tremor went through the stone.
As the steam cleared up the fiery red armoured Dwarf stood unarmed in the middle of the tunnel, his laughter booming through the dungeon so much it reached the room they stood in. The skeletons had been reduced to a pile of bones as the battle axe lay within it with it's blade embedded into the ground.
Her expression twitched between a smile and a grimace "Trip the trap" she spoke with a choked tone.
The tunnel rumbled as the skeletons in the ceiling and floor unearthed themselves, the Dwarf was suddenly surrounded by five skeletons on each side and unarmed. "This will teach the rodent" she mused.
The Dwarf ducked to the ground as a barrage of projectiles fell upon the skeletons, holding onto his half-helm he laughed manically as skeletons fell behind him. Having been facing him half the undead had their backs to the rest of the party, the mistake quickly abused of.
"Do they not care for their own!?" She exclaimed horrified "Are they suicidal!?".
Four of the skeletons had been reduced to crawling messes as many others lost other limbs and or heads, the Dwarf quickly rushed through the surviving skeleton behind him knocking it to the ground on the way.
"This one shall deal with them" the dungeon stated plainly, the core pulsated rapidly as one of the many black veins turned red all the way into the darkness of the tunnel. Abaddon watched as the least damaged skeleton, a warrior who stood behind three knights and a barbarian, had their eyes turn blood red.
The red-eye skeleton raised it sword and the shield wielders formed a line in front of it as the barbarian stood by its side. The skeleton who had been knocked down tried to rise but was quickly taken out by the strange gunner with a single shot of his larger weapon arm.
The formation of skeletons slowly backed away as the adventurer's ranger and gunner tried to take shots only to be blocked by the shields, the front gunner took aim but did not fire. "I thought you were going to deal with them?" Abaddon asked the dungeon with a pointed look.
"Swords insufficient, brute force required" Under explained.
"You're going to send IT in?" She replied with a giggle "Fine, don't break my little toy though. I still have plans I wish to add to it."
Adventurer's POV
"Close in formation! Charge! Don't let them retreat!" Sly hastily barked out orders "Kyll, Silv, Skill barrage them as we approach! End fire once Karnage and Soren engage! Reyna speed buff!"
Silv and Skill dashed over to the front with Soren, Kyll and Karnage. The ranger and the two gunners barraged the skeleton's formation as Soren and Karnage ran slightly behind the three of them, Reyna and Sly followed close by.
"Divine wind grant us your swiftness! Blessing of wind!" Reyna cried out as she tried to keep with them while casting her buff, an ethereal blue gust of wind formed around her before flowing into the whole party as they charged forward. Their speed increased by leaps and bounds as suddenly Silv and Skill spread out and stopped letting Soren and Karnage charge by them.
Kyle kept running forward with his arms held up, his [Slime Scattershot] firing nonstop weakening the skeleton's shields and bodies before a well-placed shot from [Slime Cannon] terminated one of them. He noticed the red eyed one retreating into the darkness of the entrance as the two remaining knights and barbarian rushed towards him.
Surging forward he knocked back the two knights with his weapons as the barbarian leaped up intending to bash his head in with it's club. Crouching down Kyle smirked as something bumped into his back.
Karnage leaped up at the barbarian using Kyle as a springing board, slashing away its club with her left sword she pierced her right into its torso as they clashed mid-air. Her weight winning the over the skeleton's scrawny body they crashed back down with her on top, her sword piercing the skeleton's spine and shattering it.
The two knights quickly pulled themselves up and charged at Karnage the moment she landed, their swords ahead of them as they lunged at her vulnerable form. A grin formed on her face as she gripped her swords tightly "Black dance" she chanted her skill hastily and her swords shuddered as a pitch-black aura encased the blades. With impossible speed she charged forth and in-between the skeletal knights, her swords slicing the air behind her while leaving a dark after-image of themselves.
In rapid succession she slashed at their wide open sides leaving a black scar on their bones where she cut, quickly backing away she smiled widely as the scars exploded blasting all three of them back. "Damn…" groaning from the pain she reopened her eyes "Still too slow to use that…" she mused.
Kyle chuckled as he took aim from over her shoulder "Nothing's wasted".
Glancing back Karnage found herself resting onto his chest "S-Sorry" she whispered while blushing.
Not hearing her Kyle continued to fire his [Slime Scattershot] as the two skeletons turned tail and retreated through the doorway. "That it?" he snorted, walking around Karnage he stopped by Soren's battleaxe and gazed into the dark doorway "Looks like this is where it starts proper".
"Yeah and the two tunnels we just walked by weren't" Soren chuckled as he walked up and pulled out his axe from the ground.
As the whole party formed up by the doorway they gazed into the darkness, "Hm. So…anybody brought a light?" Sly asked as he glanced around at the others "Great…." He sighed before his gaze fell upon Soren. He tapped his shoulder "Yo Soren I got an idea, light up for a sec".
The dwarf glanced up at him "Dahell you think I am? A super sayan? I can't just flare up without enemies nearby" he dismissed him.
"Well" Sly smirked "I'm sure there's some inside" he pushed the Dwarf inside.
As Soren stopped himself from stumbling he glanced back "Oi you fuck!" his armour and weapon suddenly began to glow yellow from heat, bright enough to dimly light up the room.
A gurgling growl filled the room as the beast glared him down from the other side, with only a dozen meters between them the whole party rushed in and took formation before the monster. The light provided by Soren's gear was enough show some of the monsters features but not the whole thing, Kyle inspected it the second he took position.
{Elite} Necrotic Cave Troll (Bobby) [Level 121]
The beast was eight feet high of pure muscle except for its arms, two pitch black bony arms growing out of the fleshy stumps. Sickly grey skin and a white mane of long hair the troll stood half encased in shadow, it's almost humanoid form broken by its face. A short gorilla like snout on a mostly round face and head, the now undead monster looked fierce even without weapons or armour.
"So…who's our tank again?" Soren asked with a weak laugh as they all stared at the monstrosity ahead of them.
Author: And you thought those were fights :D
Battle music; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvNUiMjuhVE
Suddenly the Troll's eyes shone blood red along a second pair above it, the warrior skeleton from before revealed itself from the shadows as it climbed up to it's back now wielding two long swords.
"All saddled up aren't you?" Kyle exclaimed with a grimace, his weapons dissolving back to slime. "I see you, seems like soul detection has more than one use. Isn't that right, dungeon?" he asked while staring at the two monsters with wide eyes, a grin from ear to ear.
"The dungeon?" Sly began to ask when the Troll suddenly rushed at them "Disperse!" he ordered as he himself dashed out of the way of it's charge.
"Core Overload…" A cold chuckle went unheard by the rest as the Troll crashed into where they once stood, the light dimming from Soren moving around. The sound of stone cracking filled their ears as Soren raised his axe to light up the monster, gasps of surprise and cold laughter followed.
"Beasts's blood within me, boil up. Rage!" Kyle shouted out his chant as his form was given light, a hulking humanoid of red slime covered in abyssal black scales. From the neck down Kyle was inside the slime, his head poking out of where the body of slime's would have been. With a wicked smile across his face Kyle held the Troll at bay, hands grasped together they tried to wrestle each other away.
"Keep it down Kyll! Silv! Skill! Shoot down that skeleton!" Sly barked out orders as he studied the situation his widened as he gazed off into the shadows of the room "Karnage, Soren we have incoming!" pulling out two daggers he prepared himself for combat.
"Yo what you doing!?" Kyle asked seeing Sly wielding his daggers, momentarily later noticing the skeletons stepping towards them from the darkness.
"No point in me staying back if we can't even make it through! I'll try not to use any magic!" Sly shouted out in reply before charging into the fray with Soren and Karnage, all hacking away at the half a dozen skeletons that had appeared.
With a grimace Kyle switched his attention back at the snarling Troll that slowly began to push him back, the skeleton warrior on it's back waving its swords around as arrows and projectiles flew at it from the shadows where Silv and Skill resided. With an ear piercing roar the Troll suddenly let go and lowered it's stance, stepping forward it grabbed Kyle's armoured slime body by the waste and lifted the whole thing up.
"You're kidding me right?" Kyle bashed his slime arms down onto it's back forcing the skeleton to leap off, The Troll responded in kind by bashing him into the wall. Roaring once more the Troll then proceeded to pummelling Kyle into the wall with its fists as Kyle tried to protect himself with his slime arms. Scales cracked and shattered as the Troll's higher strength made quick work of the armoured slime, the arms reduced to a leaking mess of slime.
Kyle cursed as the Troll raised its arms up together above him, through sheer willpower he managed to roll out of the way as it's skeletal arms crashed down into the wall. As the Troll turned to face him once again it roared and bared its fangs angrily, it's blood red eyes beginning to glow brighter.
Kyle tried to stand up only to fall back down to the ground as the Troll grabbed hold of his slime leg, it pulled him away from the wall while snarling in mock. "Some help here!?" he shouted out at the others while being dragged across the floor.
"Busy!" Sly replied as he evaded and parried attacks from two skeletons.
"I c-can't!" Karnage shouted out as she danced around evading swords, clubs and shields alike, the skeletons attacking anything that got close even when fighting someone else.
"Ditto!" Soren also replied as he bashed a skeleton into a nearby wall with a swing of his battleaxe, it's shield shattering under the force applied.
Kyle tried to grab onto the pavement to no avail as the Troll continued to drag him along "Skill!? Silv!?".
"Unless you want bloody eyed here on your ass!" Skill exclaimed as him and Silv ran circles around the red eyed skeleton while taking shots at it's legs and arms keeping it at bay, its bones more resistant than they should have been to the attacks.
"Fine! I'll kill the big ass Troll on my own damn lonesome then!" Kyle exclaimed with a grin, letting his slime body dissolve back into goo he pulled himself up and focused entirely on controlling the slime. The Troll felt the leg dissolve in its hand and turned around to glare down at him, after a short snarl it rushed forth with it's claw like hands open wide.
Kyle stood immobile shifting his focus away from his body and into the slime, his time running out as [Core Overload] ticked down. The Troll reached out with its bony claws to grab at him as it charged, a guttural roar leaving its mouth as it came within range. The slime beneath them exploded into motion as it rose up and changed, cold blue slime entangled around the Troll's legs making it trip.
Undeterred by the attack the Troll reached out at Kyle as it fell over him, it's claws opening wide to catch itself as it opened its fang lined jaws to bite down onto the morsel beneath it. Kyle quickly raised his arm towards the Troll as his hand clenched into a fist, the slime responding to his motion and entangling around the Troll's neck. It fell down catching itself with it's arms on the stone pavement a foot or two from Kyle and raised it's left hand to grab him as it growled.
Kyle stepped back as he gestured for more slime to rise, the whole pool of slime rose up in tentacles of blue and began entangling on every limb the Troll had. With it's legs bound to the ground and it's neck and arms held back by the tentacles it lay with it's belly to the pavement, it's face mere feet away from Kyle. With both his arms up Kyle stood facing the Troll, it's spit flying at him as it growled and roared. Kyle moved more and more slime from the ground and into the tentacles turning them into a thick shell of slime covering the Troll, it's hands, head and back the only parts still untouched by slime.
"Thicken into solid but remain fluid, Condensed Slime", chanting to empower the effects he began changing the slime "That the cold alone could slowly kill, Freeze". With every effect the Troll's movements slowed as the slime hardened "More than simple frost, harder than any ice, Packed Ice" his voice a cold monotone whisper as he watched the Troll's red emotionless stare, it's only purpose to kill the invaders for it's master.
Glancing around Kyle saw as Skill engaged the red eyed skeleton with his dagger, no arrows remained inside his quiver. Silv continued to take shots at the skeleton as it's bones crumbled, one of it's arms already fallen to the ground. Soren bashing in a skeleton knight's skull it with his axe as Karnage and Sly kept the other remaining four skeletons at bay.
"GO!" he shouted as he felt the end of [Core Overload] nearing, "Take cover!" he told them looking back at the Troll as what intelligence it held disappeared with the dimming of it's eyes.
"Watch out!" Skill shouted from the side as a piercing pain stuck Kyle's back.
Turning his head, he saw the red eyed skeleton staring at him with it's one sword digging into his side. Grabbing hold of the skeleton he hugged the undead close not letting it pull the sword out, "I said…GO!" he shouted once more between agonized breathing. He turned pulling the skeleton with him, slamming it's back to the frozen Troll.
Silv and Skill ran to help Karnage, Soren and Sly. All five quickly dealing with the remaining skeletons in one charge, they glanced back at the towering giant laying on the ground as the ice holding it began to crack.
Kyle laughed, a cold emotionless laugh as he pulled back and stared into the skeleton's eyes "Your monster is big, but my insanity is way more vast". Brighter than before he could feel the dungeon's presence within, the thin line of ethereal red that stuck to the skeleton like a string from it's puppeteer clearly visible to him.
The skeleton pulled and pushed trying to get out of his grip, the Troll behind them roaring and grunting trying to break out.
Kyle chanted "Cold pressure over a solid form, the release of raw power…Fracture!", the following explosion of released pressure bombarded the Troll's body reducing it to paste as everything else around it was sent flying like ragdolls.