I woke up to a sharp pain in my arm. I tried to get up, but the pain in my side made me grit my teeth. I pulled myself to a semi-sitting position, leaning against the cold stone wall. Our temporary camp was silent, broken only by a light snore. There were two men awake, Michael and Roland.
The Monsterologist was writing passionately in his tattered book, and Michael, leaning over his shoulder, was looking at the notes and occasionally making remarks. I cautiously crept over the bodies of my sleeping companions and approached them, trying not to wake the others.
- What are you guys doing here? - I asked, rubbing my shoulder.
- Roland is filling out the bestiary," Michael replied, not taking his eyes off the book.
I looked at the bestiary. Roland was sketching the monsters we'd encountered on the first floors of the dungeon, with detailed descriptions. I felt a little sorry that I couldn't read. I wish I could read.
With a heavy sigh, I crouched down beside them, closed my eyes, and began circulating mana, directing its flow to my injured arm and side. The pain gradually subsided, and soon I was able to move relatively freely. Returning to my sleeping bag, I rolled it up and stowed it in my backpack. The noise woke Zenaris, who immediately started waking the others for breakfast.
We ate what we had for dinner. It's hard to tell if it's morning or evening, though; it's easy to lose track of time in a dungeon. Our biorhythms have long been disrupted, and even talking about time seems superfluous.
After breakfast we packed up, checked our gear and prepared for further descent. The faces of some of our comrades were clearly regretting the fact that we had gotten involved in this adventure at all. We were already barely coping with the monsters on the first floors, and there were only two of us who were able to fight. How are we going to defeat the boss? This thought was like a cold lump in my chest. With a heavy heart, we unlocked the door leading to the next level of the dungeon.
The door to the next floor opened with a heavy creak, and we were faced with the descent. This time it looked oddly... too smooth. Smooth steps, neat stone railings, dimly lit lamps on the ceiling. It was different from the rough and sometimes crumbling descent on the previous level. The difference alerted me, boding ill.
We walked in silence. Each step echoed with a rumbling sound, increasing the tension. As we descended, we found ourselves in a huge hall. The columns, massive and exquisitely carved, went high up, disappearing into the darkness. Between them stood huge stone giants that seemed to be watching us with empty eye sockets.
When I activated my magic vision, I saw that the golems were literally burning with mana. We were in for a serious fight. I drew a parallel between the monsters of different levels. On the first floor, they were primitive, composed of rough stones, with ridiculous builds and flimsy joints. On the second floor, the monsters had more graceful features, the stones became smooth, and a glowing red eye appeared in the center of their faces. And these golems were true works of art made of perfectly fitted stone blocks connected by hinges. There were intricate engravings on the blocks, and a huge, still inactive eye flickered in the head of each golem. If these are the usual monsters of the third floor, then what awaits us in the boss room? A chill ran down my spine at that thought.
There was a low rumble, the golems shuddered, and their eyes flashed an ominous red light. There were six of them. Zenaris and Goliath rushed at the nearest golem without waiting for an attack. Goliath shattered part of the monster's leg with a mighty kanabo kick, but it continued to stand. Zenaris attacked the hinge, and the golem's massive arm collapsed to the floor with a clatter. He jumped up onto the golem's shoulder, preparing to chop off the other arm, but at that moment the golem began to spin frantically. Zenaris, clutching at the stone body with his sword, tried to hold on.
Another golem approached its spinning counterpart and delivered a crushing blow where Zenaris had just stood. The stone giant shattered into pieces, debris flying in all directions. We instinctively took cover behind the columns.
But Zenaris didn't die. At the last moment, he bounced against one of the columns, thrusting his sword into it to steady himself. Goliath emerged from the rubble, laughing. He gripped the hilt of his kanabo tighter, and, embraced by an aura of mana invisible to the ordinary eye but clearly visible to my magical vision, lunged at the next golem.
A powerful blow shattered the monster's leg, but at that moment three more golems pounced on Goliath. I stood there, paralyzed with fear, realizing I could do nothing to help. All I could do was watch. Zenaris, deftly jumping from pillar to pillar, attacked the golems, shattering their joints. The dumb giants, trying to reach him, slammed into each other, collapsing under their own blows. Soon only one golem remained.
Zenaris, climbing over the columns, approached the last golem, but it struck the column on which Zenaris stood. The column collapsed, taking part of the ceiling with it. The lamps went out, plunging the hall into darkness. Zenaris and Goliath could now navigate only by the golem's glowing eye.
I saw the furious golem, smashing everything in its path, start to destroy the remaining columns. The ceiling failed and began to collapse. Huge blocks of stone buried the golem underneath, and its eye went out. One of our companions lit a torch, and we rushed toward the door, barely recognizable in the darkness. The stones rained down on us in hail, threatening to bury us alive.
- Over here!" Zenaris shouted.
We ran at the sound, dodging falling debris. Finally, we reached the door, where Zenaris and Goliath were waiting for us. We piled inside, and the stone avalanche came crashing down behind us. A little more, and we would have been buried under the rubble.
Behind the door was a staircase leading to the next level. We took a breath and began to descend. Roland lost his balance and rolled down the stairs. When we caught up with him, he was covered in bruises and abrasions. It was comical, but we didn't want to laugh.
We found ourselves in an empty room. The transition floor. Knowing what kind of monsters lived on the previous level, I was terrified of what awaited us next. I was so afraid that I began to tremble. We would definitely die in the next room.
Zenaris called a halt. We scattered to the corners of the room, trying to cope with the growing terror. Only Goliath and Zenaris remained calm. They weren't going to give up and were willing to do anything to get out of this cursed place. Their determination gave me a faint hope, but the fear of the unknown was stronger.
And then I had a cowardly, selfish thought: if everyone died, I could get out of here with magic. I wondered if my power would be enough to defeat the boss. The thought was disgusting, but I couldn't get rid of it.
Zenaris looked down at his sword with a tired grin. The blade, covered with nicks and scratches, glimmered dimly in the light of the moss.
- It won't be long now," he said quietly, running his finger along the worn metal.
After a few hours of anxious rest, we decided to move on. We left our backpacks in the transition room - the extra weight could be a hindrance in case of retreat. Zenaris gently pushed open the heavy door, and a huge, grand hall opened before us.
It was a truly breathtaking sight. The walls, reaching high up, were covered with skillful carvings depicting scenes from history unknown to us. The ceiling was decorated with elegant moldings and small statues floating in the air. The hall looked more like a royal chamber than a gloomy dungeon. And in the center... in the center stood him, the boss.
All of the previous monsters seemed to be mere bugs compared to this giant. Thirty, maybe even forty meters high, it was a formidable stone giant, assembled from massive blocks connected by a complex system of hinges. The surface of the blocks was covered with intricate patterns and ancient runes, and in the center of the huge head flickered a still-sleeping eye. I looked back at my comrades. Their faces were a mixture of shock and horror. Roland, pale as a sheet, was trembling, his teeth clattering so loudly that the sound echoed through the hall. Suddenly he collapsed to the floor, muttering:
- We're all going to die, we're going to die.
Thoughts were rushing frantically through my head. How to fight such a monster? What to hit it with? How to get close to it? I remembered the description of the dungeon - "low to medium difficulty level". If that's the case, then what awaits adventurers in high-level dungeons? It wasn't so much a feeling of fear that seized me, but of complete, chilling bewilderment.
Suddenly, Goliath slammed his fist into his breastplate. The clang of metal broke the oppressive silence.
- Ha-ha! - He laughed out loud. - At last I have an opponent worthy of me!
With those words, he rushed forward to meet the giant. Zenaris, silently drawing his sword, followed him. I knew that Goliath was bluffing, trying to cheer himself and his comrades, to give them some hope in their hearts.
At that moment, there was a low, rumbling sound, unlike any sound I had ever heard before. It vibrated somewhere in the back of my mind, arousing a primal terror. The giant had awakened. The hall trembled with his movements. A huge eye flashed, illuminating everything around it with a bright, unbearable light.
The magic vision showed that Goliath and Zenaris were burning with mana, putting all their strength into the battle. They realized that they were now facing a life-and-death battle.
Goliath attacked the golem's leg as before, leaving only a small dent in it. The monster raised his foot and brought it down to the floor with crushing force. The stone split, forming a deep crater. Goliath bounced at the last moment.
Zenaris climbed up the golem's body and tried to chop its stone arm, but only left deep scratches on its surface. The giant, spinning around, tried to shake off the pesky foe.
Suddenly, the golem became enraged. It began to spin frantically, waving its arms and stomping its feet. The hall shook from its movements. Some of us, unable to stay on our feet, fell to the floor. Zenaris, clutching his sword to the golem's body, tried desperately to hold on, but he was soon thrown back by a powerful blow. He rolled across the floor, miraculously avoiding collision with the falling debris, and quickly rose to his feet. I was surprised to see that he didn't have a scratch on him.
The floor beneath the golem's feet continued to crumble, and Goliath, assessing the situation, decided to retreat.
- Let's go back! - Zenaris shouted.
Goliath did not hesitate to obey the order. They rushed to the door, taking the furious giant with them. We were just in time to slam the door in the monster's face. Through the thickness of the stone we could hear it frantically trying to break into the room. But soon the sounds died down.
Zenaris, breathing heavily, leaned against the wall.
- We'll continue tomorrow," he said. - We should discuss a plan of action.
It was a wise decision. It was pointless to launch a frontal attack on such an enemy. Michael, as the strategist of our group, was deep in thought, staring at one point. Helen was busy preparing supper, and Roland, still trembling with fear, was huddled in a corner. I sat there, not knowing what to do, feeling useless. I was tormented by my own helplessness. I was but a small pawn in this struggle of titans, doomed to watch the tragedy unfold.