Ch 36

  Matt gazed out at the seemingly bottomless drops flanking the path ahead, which undulated in a way unlike the previous two paths, and he pondered what challenges awaited them in crossing it. His thoughts, however, were swiftly interrupted as Greg eagerly began to share his thoughts on the situation.

  "Ghosts, nothing else makes sense, but how are we supposed to face incorporeal enemies at our level?" Greg speculated, his voice tinged with concern.

  "Stop jumping to conclusions," Matt retorted. "It's the elements. First, we encountered straight earth, then earth mixed with water. Now, I'm expecting either earth and wind, wind and water, or all three combined in whatever form brings the undead to us this time."

  "How do you figure that is the pattern?" Emily inquired, curiosity piqued.

  "The undead emerged from mounds of earth on the first floor, then they appeared after earth collapsed into the water above. So, if the pattern holds, we should anticipate wind and fire getting incorporated," Matt explained, his eyes scanning the terrain.

  "I see, but I fear you may be making connections where there are none. A red herring, if you will. Perhaps one deliberately placed to throw us off," Emily cautioned, her brow furrowed in thought.

  Matt reconsidered his assumption at Emily's words but ultimately shook his head. "Perhaps, but it doesn’t really matter either way. All we can do is stay on guard and move forward, so let’s get going."

  "Hold on, it does matter," Greg interjected. "As someone who hopes to become a great wind mage someday, I feel like we should be wary of gusts of wind while fighting on such a narrow pathway. Especially since skeletons will be less affected than we will be due to the gaps in their bodies."

  "That is a good point," Emily agreed. "Even if it is a red herring, we should be ready to deal with high winds and make sure to stay away from the edges."

  "Got it, everyone, make sure to stay on guard," Matt instructed firmly. "Now, let’s go."

  With that, they finally began to walk down the pathway as the stairs behind them sealed themselves once more with a soft thud. Matt felt like it was a repeat of the last floor as they walked, except that instead of silence, the eerie howl of the wind could be heard as it swirled around them, sending chills down their spines. This convinced him that his theory was correct, though it was more annoying than anything at first. What truly made the current floor bothersome was the fact that it wasn’t flat or straight like those before. There were even points where Matt felt they could leap from one section of the path to another. However, due to the numerous twists and turns they had already navigated, he was certain that doing so could cause them to lose their way.

  Finally, after around half an hour of walking, Eleanor broke the silence, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space.

  “How can such a place exist beneath the ground like this? Not to mention, I feel like the path itself is defying the laws of physics, being held up by nothing.”

  “Who says we’re still beneath the earth and not in a whole new dimension where only this dungeon exists?” posed Greg, his tone thoughtful. “I am willing to bet that the moment the doors closed in the tomb, we were transported to a pocket space specially made for this dungeon and—”

  “Does it really matter?” interrupted Matt. “We are here and—”

  “It matters quite a lot,” retorted Emily, her eyes narrowing in thought. “The rules here could mean that even if an hour has passed for us, mere seconds may have passed outside. Perhaps you could reach out to your patron and ask for us.”

  Matt sighed and silently implored Tempormr to share any details about the dungeon that might be relevant. No response came—this wasn’t the first time Matt had been ignored by Tempormr, but a peculiar sense of unease settled over him this time. Yet, he kept his doubts to himself as he addressed the others.

  "No answer. He must be busy with other matters right now," Matt remarked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  "What makes you even listen to him when he doesn't respond when you need information?" Yumiko snapped, her frustration evident. "I understand he's like a god compared to us, but it's always him who expects something from you, not the other way around."

  "I don't listen to him," Matt replied coolly. "I trade information for doing some as of yet untold tasks that will only become clear in the future"

  "Sounds rather shady to me," Greg commented wryly. "Just making sure you didn't end up making a deal with the devil or something."

  "No, I've ensured I have an escape route if what they ask of me is truly malevolent," Matt explained firmly. "Even if that means sacrificing myself."

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  "Why do you always have to shoulder everything on your own?" Greg asked, exasperation creeping into his tone. "Even now, you act like it's entirely on you to get us out of here alive."

  "It is," Matt retorted sharply. "None of you can heal as I do. Zara nearly died during the last fight, and I doubt she can handle another ordeal like that. Tell me—if she were to fall, do you think any of you would last much longer?"

  "I don't need you carrying the weight of our lives on your conscience," Zara shot back. "As long as you're doing everything you can, none of us should feel obligated to stake our fates solely on your shoulders. If we can’t stand on our own without you, then we're doomed to fall eventually—especially since you won't be around forever."

  "Exactly," Greg chimed in. "Matt, even though we’re grateful for your skills in helping us level up, we know that it comes with risks. Or am I the only one you warned about getting tossed to the wolves?"

  "I think you're alone in that one," Rose added, a teasing lilt in her voice. "Matt might not admit it, but he does have a traditional view of what a man should do when women are in trouble. He can’t help but feel compelled to protect and help us."

  "Are you complaining about that?" Matt retorted, his tone laced with irritation.

  "Only insofar as it puts us at greater risk in the long run," Rose countered. "Each time we level up, you need to let us take on more risk and grow. Otherwise, as Greg says, you'll end up turning us into birds who never learn to fly while their mother keeps feeding them."

  "Alright then," Matt conceded after a moment's hesitation. "Why don't you swap positions with Zara? I want her to be alert to avoid any surprise attack in her current condition."

  At his words, Rose looked as though she might pout, but she held back as Zara responded instead.

  "No, I want to prove that I can be relied on," Zara declared resolutely. "Now, let's just get through this level and hope it’s the last one."

  Matt suppressed the thought that he was sure at least one more enemy still lurked as he pressed forward, and a heavy silence fell back over their group. This uneasy quiet lasted for roughly another fifteen minutes until a sudden, fierce gust of wind blocked their path. The dark brown hue of the swirling tempest hinted at a mix of dirt and water, and before Matt could dwell on its ominous appearance, the first of the skeletal foes emerged from the maelstrom as the wind completely encircled them. The only sliver of good news was that the path had conveniently widened to a full eight feet just before the wind’s arrival.

  Matt held back his satisfaction about being right regarding the elemental combination as he took in the form of their new opponents. Unlike the previous group that wielded heavy, cumbersome weapons and armor, these skeletons were armed exclusively with knives or rapiers. Each one glowed with a faint, light-green aura that Matt wagered was a defensive measure. With this observation in mind, he prepared to engage the threat head-on.

  At the same time, Zara, Rose, and Eleanor found themselves compelled to cover the positions corresponding to three, six, and nine on Matt’s proverbial clock. Though Greg, Yumiko, and Emily provided backup in their own ways, each of them worried that they wouldn’t be able to fend off even half of the potential attacks on their own. While they were eager to shoulder more responsibility, the harsh reality of the situation was that they were stretched thin.

  As Matt reached out to grab the arm of one of the skeletons, he was irritated to feel his hand snap back just before making contact. However, after quickly recovering and narrowly avoiding a swift riposte from the rapier-wielding skeleton, he noticed that the green glow had vanished from the area where his hand should have connected. Concluding that any attempted strike likely triggered the disappearance of that glow as a defensive reaction, Matt tried again. This time, his hand connected successfully, and he grinned as he pivoted to hurl the skeleton toward the one Eleanor was struggling to keep at bay with her axe. The impact disrupted both skeletons’ wind barriers—what Matt dubbed their “wind fences”—sending them careening off in opposite directions.

  Seeing the two skeletons collapsed on the ground before her, Eleanor swiftly dispatched them with precise strikes. Unfortunately, this minor victory was short-lived, as it led to the emergence of two more skeletons. A quick glance revealed that a total of seven were now attacking. It was a bittersweet situation: though they weren’t overwhelmed by sheer numbers, being surrounded meant that it was impossible to fully protect those less adept at close combat.

  As the fight progressed, Matt focused on disabling wind barriers while hurling the skeletons into one another. This tactic proved effective at evading the initial strike every time, yet he managed to dodge only about three-quarters of the subsequent blows as he struggled with the recoil. He had tried using his knife for the first strike, immediately following it up with a hand attack, but this left him wrestling to maintain hold of his blade and resulted in a slash across his gut. Thankfully, he braced himself, and the slash produced only a shallow cut that his regeneration closed within ten seconds—though the incident was still worrisome.

  Forced into an increasingly defensive stance, Matt devoted himself to keeping three of the seven relentless enemies locked on him at all times. He would have liked to draw a fourth adversary into his orbit, but that wasn’t feasible since Zara was preoccupied with keeping two engaged, leaving Yumiko and Emily to handle the majority of the takedowns. Yumiko expertly fired an arrow aimed at a skeleton’s head, and Emily would swiftly follow with a thrust from her staff to finish it off. Meanwhile, Greg focused on catching or collecting any stray arrows that landed within the inner circle of combat.

  In this orchestrated chaos, Yumiko managed to secure three out of every four arrows she launched, bolstering their steady advance. It was precisely this efficiency that lent Matt a shred of confidence that they might outlast the onslaught. Indeed, after an exhausting thirty minutes, the swirling wind that had enveloped them finally died down. However, as the wind subsided—rather than signaling the end of the battle—seven more skeletons emerged from the last wisps of the breeze, and Matt immediately sensed that these foes were very different.

  Each of the seven donned light leather armor, and the green glow surrounding them now appeared far more tangible than any had before. If that wasn’t intimidating enough, each enemy clutched a rapier in their right hand and a parrying dagger in their left, poised for a precise counter. Though Matt was convinced this was the final stage of the fight, he doubted their ability to survive; every member of the group, including himself, looked utterly exhausted as fatigue weighed on them with every labored breath.