Chapter 8: Challenge or retreat

[Ding! Skill unlocked due to the dungeon core's thought processes and current progress.]

[Skill: [Boons] has been unlocked!]

[Possible incompatible Skills removed from available [Skill] list!]

Looking at the new notification put Lethe into a daze. He had known that his actions could lead him to generate new Skills as it seemed obvious but so far he had received none other than the ones from quests. However, being able to receive a Skill from just his thought processes showed that there was more to this than he had initially realized. Bringing up the details for his new skill, Lethe was surprised by the versatility it already offered.

[Boons 1 | Rank 1/??? | Allows the dungeon core to apply specific buffs to selected [Party] in the dungeon. Can be used while dungeon is occupied.]

Lethe also understood now that he wasn't completely helpless while a group was in his dungeon as it seemed like interaction in a way would still be possible through the [Boons] skill, and perhaps even communication in the future. Reviewing the influx of information he had received upon the creation of the skill, he tried to decide the most appropriate one he could grant the party. He had a lot that he choose from and was able to quickly sort through his options, finding two that were what he thought would be most compatible.

He looked at the group below, [Jones and Folks], with a fondness. They were what he might have wanted if he had been part of a community, a group of individuals that cared and trusted each other. At the back of his mind, Lethe understood that the sentimentality was probably a side effect from his reincarnation and part of his personality before. Before he could go further down that train of thought though, he willed the [Boons] skill to show the two options he had been debating over to help his decision making.

[Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer's than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.] [Adventurer Boon - Cautious Journey | Your party is cautious, you check each corner, try to plan out your route, and stay mindful of your surroundings. Grants increased effectiveness in reacting to unexpected situations.]

He felt that both of these could and most likely would help the group in the next and final fight. However, [Cautious Journey] would probably result in the biggest benefits, which Lethe didn't want to do. The boon would mostly negate the surprise he had in store for the final room. On the other hand, the [Trusted Companions] buff would allow them to more effectively fight after the surprise but there would be a much higher risk of someone dying. The dungeon core liked this party, even though they were the first group he saw, but he felt that coddling them would stunt their growth. And so, he decided on the more appropriate boon, willing it to activate and notify the group.

"We were NOT ready for that. What was that?!" George exclaimed, cradling his most-likely broken arm and sitting down on the floor. He was the most injured and exhausted in the party, which was surprising as he was the most physically fit. But Jones agreed with him, they were not ready for what they had just faced.

"I agree George. We were not ready for that one. Think it was almost a rank 2 but hey, we were able to survive and win!" Jones declared, moving towards the wounded [Shieldbearer] and casting [Mend] on his arm. He sensed the fractured bones and dislocation the man had suffered from, working the spell through the affected parts and allowing the mana to restore him to his original Self.

"But," he muttered while healing, "we know what the risks of a dungeon are, even a newborn dungeon. And this one seems to be prepared to give us a challenge. Y'all don't remember, but the last few weeks I've been hanging mostly around the Adventurer's League to find a contract and heard some things. Ya see, dungeon cores could be quite malicious if they want to be, we coulda' been ambushed by every single monster it could make in the very first room of this dungeon and we couldn't have done shit all if it had wanted to kill us. So far though, I think we're lucky. The dungeon is tough but fair and I expect the same for the rest of us as well. We will give it a challenge but we'll face it fairly." he finished while looking into the eyes of each of his companions.

They had been through many things over the years as youths, things they now knew were meant to prepare them to be fighters. They still didn't understand the significance of it but he could clearly see from everyone's stances and gazes that they weren't afraid. Rather, everyone, including George, were all just reeling from the sudden encounter.

"Either way, after that last biggun', I'm pretty sure we'll get enough XP halfway to level 6, maybe even enough for the full level!" Jones commented, bringing full grins of excitement from everyone around them.

A peculiarity they had discovered early on as they entered the dungeon was that none of them could assign any XP while here. Jones didn't know if this was normal but he could see why it would be the case. Being able to increase in level, or even rank, while inside a dungeon would render a lot of the challenge moot. He had also heard that dungeons could scale the difficulty depending on the party when they initially entered but he wasn't sure of that. He also knew that they would have to be 'polite' when leaving, if they survived. However, just as the rest of the group were ready to form up once more, George having healed as much as possible and somewhat able to use his shield arm once more, a prompt appeared distracting everyone.

[Dungeon Boon Granted!]

[Your actions during your delve have pleased the dungeon core, granting you and your party a [Boon] for the duration of your stay in its territory.]

[Adventurer Boon - Trusted Companions | You and your party members have demonstrated a trust that is rare to find in this world, although much more expected in adventurer's than mercenaries. Grants increased effectiveness in working together with your party members.]

The party dazedly looked at the panel in surprise, reading through what they were given. They looked at each other and felt a slight nudge in their minds guiding them to stand in certain ways to let them know how to best work together with everyone else. Looking at the somewhat confused look on each of his party members, Jones cleared his throat and started to seemingly talk to the air.

"Umm..well me and my party express our thanks to the dungeon core and hope you will give us a fair challenge." he stated and gave a short bow towards one of the walls, indicating the others to do so as well. Quickly following in his actions, the rest gave their own short bows, and standing back up. Without further preamble, Jones motioned for the group to return to formation after which they headed to the wall with mossy ladders leading up to the sharply sloped tunnel at the other side of the room.

Reaching the base of the part of the wall where they would have to climb up, the [Trapper] walked forward without instruction, joined by the [Skirmisher] as the two began to make their way up first to look out for any ambushes, the rest quickly following behind. Climbing to the ledge of the tunnel, Harry quietly spoke to the others, "This looks to be a difficult slope Jones. Footing is gonna be a problem and there is something blocking the light in the middle, looks ta be pretty big as well." He finished quickly, followed by James indicating the same from his own observations. Soon enough, the rest of the party made their way onto the sloped ledge, the less physically capable of the group, namely Jones and John, carefully grabbing the vines along the walls. Once they were in formation, Jones signaled their [Hedge Mage] and the light orb flew closer to the large object in the distance. As it revealed more of the obstacle, the mood grew grim for the group. They had all received the [Inspect] skills when they were given the Adventurer League classes, a freely given skill necessary to work in this field. The obstacle that blocked their way forward was large and inspected showed it to be another slime.

[Stone Slime | Rank: 3]

About 3 meters across, the rank 3 slime almost covered the whole span of the tunnel. A floating grey shield seemed to be slowly moving in front of it, its core still visible beneath the layers of stone. From what Jones could see, the Rank 3 mob could possibly wipe them all out without them even making a dent. He didn't think that they would be able to take it. They were just a Rank 1 party and not even at max level. Going by the standard of difficulty, they would all have to be either Rank 2 or at least at the peak of Rank 1, to even have a hope of defeating it. Looking back across the faces of his brother's Jones knew that he had just made a difficult decision.

"Folks, I know we've been doin good. But we gotta retreat for now. We still got a week of XP we can grind here and I say we leave, set up camp outside, spend our XP and try ta get to Level 10. With our levels maxed out, I think we can take it on. Before that, I wouldn't want any of y'all to die." he stated. Thinking about what he had said about the dungeon being fair and giving it a challenge, he felt a blush starting to form on his face. But for his brothers, he would take on the role that he needed to.

"Jones is right y'all. Don't think we should take that on for now. My hand still feels like dough and we gots time. Let's head back for now and we'll come back tomorrow and keep grinding the first few mobs, I reckon we'll get to level 10 pretty soon with the bonus." George finished, his hand shaking and struggling to keep hold of his shield due to his recent injury. The group collectively went silent. The [Boon] that they had received would most likely be gone if they left now and perhaps the dungeon itself would be harder but it would be better than dying. Gripping their weapons and steadying their gazes, the rest nodded their assent and the group began to return to the entrance they had entered the dungeon from.

The atmosphere was subdued. They had thought they would conquer the dungeon and return in glory. Instead, they were leaving with their tails between their legs, believing that they weren't ready for the next challenge, which Lethe had to agree, might have been a bit too much. The now regretful dungeon core looked on as the group came to the entrance to his lair once more before stopping.

"Well", he heard the [Acolyte] start speaking to his companions once more, "y'all know what to do. 10%, send it to the dungeon." he said, and an influx of white jagged particles left the man and he seemingly became lesser than what he once was in Lethe's vision. Seeing the same happen with the rest of the party, Lethe looked on curiously as each of them headed out of the dungeon, the multicolored jagged particles staying afloat.

[Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks]

[17 XP received!]

[Congratulations on receiving XP! Congratulations on receiving sub-trait: [Challenging]]

[Ding! Unlocked 1/3 requirements for Dungeon Trait!]

Lethe looked through the list of notifications he received as the group left and realized that the jagged particles were pieces of XP they donated. If he heard them correctly, each of them had given him 10% of what they earned while in the dungeon. Thinking about it further, he calculated that each of the four [Acid Slime]s must have given 20 XP, the [Stone Slime] in the tunnel netted them 25 XP, and the spontaneously merged [Stone Slime] they fought last had rewarded them with 65 XP, totalling 170 XP divided amongst five, concluding in 34 XP for each of them. Doing the math further, 10% from each of them, and he received 17 XP in total, which is essentially 10% of the total they received. He was happy that he did not specifically have to kill the groups that ventured into his caves to receive XP as he had initially thought. But the fact that the party must willingly donate the XP to him was an aspect he would have to get used to and not expect from every group he encountered.

Either way, Lethe was even more excited about the last part of the notifications. He didn't have any knowledge as to what "Dungeon Traits" were, but the sub-trait he had received, [Challenging], was something he agreed with. Inspecting the trait further gave him just a bit more information.

[Challenging | Your dungeon has been visited by adventurers who have deemed their experience as a challenge. This trait indicates that your dungeon is currently considered more difficult than most other dungeons of the same rank but is not fatal]

With the new trait, Lethe felt as if a part of him that he didn't know had just been revealed to him. The core had felt restless when the group had easily bypassed the first two obstacles he had placed but seeing them struggle and overcome the merged [Stone Slime] had also invigorated him. He was hopeful that [Jones and Folks] would be coming back tomorrow and looking forward to when they would be confident enough for the rest of his crafted dungeon.