Ch 97
As the group regrouped after successfully crossing the cavern, Matt frowned, contemplating the predicament they found themselves in. If it hadn't been for the fact that all the monsters were on the weaker side compared to what they had faced before, he was certain they would have been overwhelmed. Moreover, both times they were attacked, the monsters emerged directly from the ice that surrounded them. This made him ponder whether the ice itself might not be just one massive monster. Turning to Greg, he spoke with a hint of urgency.
"Is there any chance you can create enough magma to clear the ice out of this dungeon completely?" he asked, his voice echoing slightly in the chilly air.
"No, unfortunately," Greg replied thoughtfully. "If I tried, it might even trigger a defensive response from the dungeon. Still, you’re right to be wary of the ice, but I would say there's nothing we can safely do about it without risking more danger."
"We shouldn’t just give up on the idea," Apricity interjected, her tone firm yet hopeful. "Even if we can't clear a large area, we could still create smaller, safer spots for resting by heating the ground a bit. It would make a difference in keeping us more comfortable and less exposed."
"Perhaps, but I'm concerned about creating any noticeable patterns," stated Greg with a furrowed brow. "For all we know, this place is adapting to us just as we adapt to it."
"That sounds a bit paranoid to me," retorted Zara, rolling her eyes. "We've only had two fights here so far."
"It's a general feeling I've had for a while now," replied Greg, glancing around the dimly lit cave. "I mean, something must have eyes on us for the system to continually update our stats as we gain levels. Then there's the fact that we keep getting put into situations where we're forced to grow and progress. I'm not saying we're being paid more attention than anything else, but we are being watched."
"I try to think of it as having a personal AI that only handles our stats," commented Emily, shrugging. "Otherwise, I don't even think I could use the bathroom without major issues."
"I just ignore it," stated Matt, calmly. "It’s beyond our control. Besides, I figure everyone who believed in a god before all of this should be used to the idea of always being watched."
"Sometimes you say things that only make things worse," responded Eleanor, crossing her arms. "Now I know we could be being watched at any time."
"Let's just rest up and then get moving," replied Matt. "Greg, Emily, make sure to adjust our formation to account for surprise attacks from any angle."
Greg and Emily exchanged concerned looks before Emily responded to Matt, her voice steady but firm.
"We're better off sticking to our usual formation because we all know how to react in that setup. Changing things up could lead to more mistakes, and those mistakes are what could get one of us killed. This last fight really highlighted that risk."
"How so?" Matt inquired, frowning as he thought about it.
"We need to stay together," Greg interjected, his tone earnest. "Splitting up put us in danger, even though we had our reasons and a plan. If you hadn't acted when you did, Zara would have died. Our counters to the situation ended up being countered themselves. Looking back, it feels like we almost sacrificed Zara for nothing in that fight, especially considering how things could have played out differently."
"You didn’t," interrupted Zara with a hint of exasperation. "I knew Matt would rush in if things went wrong, and even if he had been too late, at least I knew he would try."
"You really are going to end up with a harem," remarked Greg, grinning mischievously.
"Can you please not," retorted Emily sharply. "It's hard enough not to sabotage each other without your constant teasing."
"Maybe if you all worked together, none of you would have to—"
"Greg, there's still a nice deep cavern just over there that we could toss you in," warned Matt, casting a playful yet serious glance in Greg’s direction. "Emily, Zara, and the rest of you, I appreciate that you’re all working together right now and acknowledge that it can’t always be easy. Still, even if any of you did succeed in seducing me at this moment, at most you would get a single night, as the guilt that would follow would sour anything that could be."
With that, the chatter died down, and the remainder of their recovery break concluded without anything else of significance occurring. Still, when they began to move again, they did so with an abundance of caution, their senses heightened. This caution proved futile as they encountered the next obstacle in the dungeon, where it was evident that the next confrontation would take place. This time, they faced a room filled with towering pillars and platforms, each stopping at various heights before leading to the chamber's exit. As with the rest of the dungeon, everything was encrusted in a thick layer of ice, but this time, Greg was hesitant to melt any of it. He worried about the loss in height it might cause, which could complicate their ability to jump high enough to reach the next platform. Moreover, he noticed that some of the pillars appeared cracked, and melting the ice could potentially lead to an entire pillar collapsing, making their path impossible.
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This left the issue of footing to address, so Greg and Emily instructed everyone to begin practicing their jumps on the shortest pillars. These pillars rose only about four feet from the ground, and this height seemed to be the standard increase to the next pillar throughout the entire course. Matt even considered it would be easy if not for the fact that the path wasn’t a straightforward ascent but rather one that zigzagged unpredictably. There were instances where they could jump nearly straight ahead for three pillars in a row, only to be forced to make a sharp 90-degree turn to reach the next set. These turning points were what concerned Greg the most, as their momentum would be working against them significantly in these situations.
The solution that Greg eventually settled on, after everyone had demonstrated they could make a standing leap onto a pillar, was to purposely jump short so their legs would hit the sides of the pillars. This method allowed them to kill their momentum, climb up, and then make the next jump. The only problem with this approach was that the pause required for recovery made it harder to calculate the timing for everyone to follow since they wouldn't all have the same rhythm, and they would need a second to recover after hitting the pillar. It was Emily who came up with a clever idea: to have everyone help the person behind them before jumping. The pillars were large enough for two people to stand together, and with careful positioning, fitting three on them was possible.
With that plan in mind and a bit more practice to gauge the time it took each of them to climb after hitting the side of a pillar, it was time to start the ascent. Matt took the lead, while Elanor brought up the rear. This arrangement ensured that a frontline combatant was positioned at both the beginning and end of the formation, ready to respond in case of further monster attacks. Taking a deep breath, Matt allowed his natural instincts to partially take over, recalling what he needed to do as he began to move.
He navigated swiftly through the first 12 platforms, even assisting Rose as they approached the first right turn. However, on the 13th platform, he lost his footing and failed to grab hold of anything to prevent his fall. Matt plummeted from over 50 feet in the air, feeling the jarring impact as several of his bones broke, though they began to heal almost immediately.
As he lay on the ground, he noticed he wasn't alone in his misstep. Rose, Emily, and Greg all showed signs of having fallen before him, each nursing their own injuries. Emily, her voice laced with urgency, called Matt over to help with their healing. As soon as Matt felt his own bones knit back together, he rushed to assist them, his determination undeterred by the recent setback.
As Matt diligently repaired broken bones and other injuries, he frowned, contemplating the limitations they had discovered with both forms of healing. While Emily could instantly restore someone's HP, they still had to concentrate their own healing abilities to mend broken bones, a process that required hours of labor and left them utterly exhausted. On the other hand, Matt’s healing now effectively resolved most bodily issues but did nothing to restore HP. This discrepancy was yet another example of the nonsensical gaps in the system, although at least both forms of healing effectively stopped bleeding. Emily’s healing sometimes achieved this by temporarily blocking blood flow through the body until the major injuries could regenerate. From their observations, this method seemed to enhance the speed and ease of natural regeneration.
"I believe we're all lacking in dexterity," Greg remarked after Matt had assisted him back to his feet. "Matt, do you think you could stay here until everyone else has climbed all the way up?"
"I have another idea," Matt suggested thoughtfully. "You and Rose should give it another go, but Emily and I will wait until it's just the two of us."
Greg and Rose exchanged frowns but remained silent as they prepared for their second attempts. Emily broke the silence after a moment.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, curiosity piqued.
"I'm going to have you cling to my back and use two of my knives like ice picks to climb," Matt explained.
"That sounds reckless," Emily said skeptically. "It takes a lot of skill and the proper tools to climb ice like that."
"Back on Earth, it did," Matt replied with a determined look. "But I'm betting our minds are holding us back here, and I'm about to test that theory. If I'm wrong, we'll know within the first few feet and can try another method."
"Alright, I'll take advantage of the opportunity to hold onto you if you're offering," Emily agreed with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"Why did you have to phrase it like that?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's part of the agreement we ladies have about trying anything with you," Emily replied, grinning.
"You have to be completely blunt about it?"
"Yes, and we need to hear you agree to it first."
"As long as you're just holding onto me and not trying to cop a feel or anything," Matt warned, a hint of humor in his voice.
"You're no fun," Emily teased.
"Emily."
"Fine, I'll behave and just hold on like I'm a koala bear," Emily promised with a playful smile.
Matt nodded, and aside from needing to heal Rose after she fell a second time before succeeding on her third attempt, nothing went awry until it was time to try climbing. Matt discovered that he was actually making progress in the climb, but it triggered a swarm of icy versions of the spiked bats they had battled before to materialize. As they charged directly at Matt, he ignored them as a wave of fire engulfed half of the creatures and Emily’s grip tightened around him.
For some reason, the ice-spiked bats ignored Emily, targeting every part of Matt that she wasn’t protecting. They slammed into his arms, legs, and even his sides with varying levels of success, yet none managed to pierce deeply enough to disable his limbs. Furthermore, his regeneration was potent enough to expel them just a few seconds after they struck him. Coupled with Emily channeling her healing powers into him, Matt felt confident in reaching the summit. However, by the time he reached the top, with Elanor and Zara quickly assisting to pull him the final stretch, his armor on both his arms and legs was completely destroyed. As he sat there surveying the chamber they had just cleared, Greg spoke up.
"Monsters are attacking when we break the rules. That's what's happening with this dungeon."
"Great, so no more brute forcing it then," Matt remarked. "Anything else we should know?"
"Sometimes we are still going to brute force it," Greg stated. "This one was probably the wrong one to do it with, but since carrying Emily didn't seem to be breaking the rules, I want to test things on the next few obstacles."
