7.18 – Ruins

7.18 – Ruins

Stepping into the inky black portal of the dungeon entrance, the team of five transitioned into that liminal space that allowed choosing which floor they wanted to descend into. The floor selection chamber wasn't always a plain stone room with doorways leading into different areas of the dungeon, and, like the dungeon itself, could manifest in all sorts of ways, but this time, it followed the typical trend: it was just that.

Natalie wasn't surprised Elida had already been to the third floor and thus unlocked the persistent portal there. She was, after all, the number-one pick at Tenet, and her teammates were no slackers either.

"You have no complaints heading to the third floor?" Elida asked. "Three of us are third level, and two, second."

"You're including me in the three?" Natalie asked.

"Of course." A perfectly trimmed eyebrow raised in silent questioning. "Unless you're claiming you aren't."

Natalie grunted. She supposed it was hardly a secret she'd hit level three, likely one of only a few in their year.

"Third floor is fine," she said.

A part of her was disappointed she would be exploring the next stage of the dungeon without her real teammates, but while a milestone, it was hardly a major one, and she wouldn't waste an entire weekend confining herself to the second floor out of sentimentality. Still, it did ruffle her feathers. She ought to be exploring a new floor for the first time with her friends, not Elida.

The five of them drew their weapons. Natalie also took the opportunity to remove her cover-up skirt.

"Its effects aren't as strong if I'm wearing stuff over top it," Natalie coughed in explanation, fighting down the blush that came at the raised eyebrows.

But this one seemed truly open, with no obvious path forward. Weird.

More importantly, Natalie's scanning revealed no immediate monsters. That was, without a doubt, a temporary arrangement, but they had at least not been split up and ambushed right after. Natalie had been worried that the dungeon would still be angry about Malice and try something. That hadn't been completely ruled out yet, she supposed, but nothing outrageously unfair had occurred.

Seeing they were safe, she faced Vanetta, setting her hammer face-first on the ground.

"Well," she said. "Where do you think the other three disappeared to?"

Vanetta's posture was tense, though her face was its usual calm, collected, and reserved self. "Does it matter? We have ourselves to worry about."

Fair enough. "A tank and a rogue," she said. "Not the worst combo. You have any healing potions on you?"

"Just one."

"I've got two as well, if we need them," she said. So lacking a healer wouldn't be devastating, unless they were separated for long enough that their potions ran out. "Dungeon'll probably scale down the encounters since we're missing half the party. Still," she said, eyes sweeping out across the overgrown ruins. "It's the third floor. Can't treat it lightly."

Vanetta didn't reply. Natalie had already gotten the impression she wasn't the most talkative person. She nodded, then lifted her hammer back up. They'd already held all their tactical discussions before entering the dungeon, so there wasn't much else to do but start working their way forward.

Funny enough, Natalie found her mood considerably improved. She'd been split up from the three members of her party she wasn't fond of, and while she would undoubtedly be rejoining them without too much delay, shaving off a few hours from dealing with that red-haired snake was a boon as far as she was concerned. Sure, she wanted to get some insight on Elida, but the biggest reason she had agreed to this delve was to get Elida off her back, and because she'd promised to 'have discussions' with her afterward on the topic of their classes. So the lost hours—or if she were extremely lucky, maybe even a day or more—was only a plus.

Sometimes, the dungeon was kind of nice to her.