Back inside the dangerous depths of the Dungeon, Aeric and the team had just stepped into the third Quest Lobby.
This Lobby welcomed them with a rush of foreboding. The air was denser, thick with an almost electric tension that pricked at his skin. There was a dim light filtering from cracks in the stone walls that seemed a shade darker than before.
The room was vast and cavernous, stretching in all directions, shrouded in fog similar to the one of the previous Lobby that clung low to the ground, veiling their sight. Flickering remnants of Divinity illuminated stalactites hanging overhead like the jagged teeth of some ancient beast.
Aeric wanted to say something, but then his system chimed, cold and unfeeling:
[Quest Update: Third Lobby Challenge]
[Objective: Survive the assault and subdue the beast of this lobby.]
[Difficulty: 70%]
'Seventy percent?!' His eyes shot up. 'Why is the difficulty increasing so rapidly?!'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Eyes up," Alzera commanded, her tone razor-sharp, as the fog began to churn and swirl.
Aeric narrowed his eyes. 'What's happening now?'
Alzera stepped forward, looking around at the rocks and the fog. "Something is wrong with this Dungeon. It has to be an irregular one."
"An irregular one?" Aeric spoke up. "What does that mean?"
She was quiet for a while before continuing. "It means the Lobbies do not increase in difficulty at a regular scale. They spike up and down. If we survive this Lobby, the next could have a difficulty of 20% or even a 100%."
"That's... that's not good, Alzera," Kael pointed out. "That puts us at a major disadvantage when it comes to planning. How do we know what difficulty the next Lobby is going to be." Stay tuned for updates on empire
"Easy," her eyes narrowed. "Treat every Lobby like it has a higher difficulty than the one before. Better to be over prepared than under."
As soon as she finished the sentence, a rumble echoed inside the caves, small rocks began to fall, the earth below began to vibrate.
Kael took his place as the Vanguard, already advancing, hands raised high. His voice boomed as he got closer to the giant beast, no fear in his movements. "Entrap my target! Skill Activation: Burning Shield!"
Bel spun her staff and then struck it on the ground. "Strengthen my target! Skill Activation: Amplify!"
Ryn slowly put on his mask and sighed. "Well, I guess it's my turn now." He squatted on the ground. "Skill Activation: Clone!"
Instantly, multiple dark forms of himself appeared beside him. "Follow me," he whispered and briskly exploded into action, attacking the beast in unison to keep it occupied.
Alzera held her sword with both hands and bent her knees, already studying the beast's movements, her gaze cold and calculating, ready to make a jump and attack the beast.
Aeric halted her with a question. "Is there anything I can do?"
She looked back at him, "No, Dagwood, stay back. Do not engage and do not let it steal those soul cores. Like other bigger beasts, it feasts on other beasts' cores to get stronger. Hide and stay out of sight."
Aeric nodded, a slight tremor in his hands. He moved backwards slowly before finding a hiding place behind a sturdy outcrop.
But he couldn't tear his gaze from the writhing mass of tentacles in front of them, his stomach churning as he saw each one barbed with spines as long as his forearm.
'How are they going to defeat that thing?'
Seeing that Dagwood had found a safe place to hide, Alzera returned her focus to the giant Platinum Ranked Beast. "We meet again, you bastard."
With a war cry, she charged forward, sword raised to strike the beast's center as Ryn kept it busy with his relentless attacks.
A massive tentacle shot out, and Alzera met it with a deft block, using her shield infused with the earth element. The push of energy caused the MegaSquid to recoil, but another two tentacles swung down at once, forcing her to dig her heels into the ground to avoid being thrown back.
After dodging that attack, she lifted her head up to see Ryn moving as a blur, darting around the creature's side, slashing at the lower tentacles with precise, quick cuts.
With every cut he made, faint, glowing lines of energy appeared as Ryn focused on dismantling its defenses.
"Move!" Alzera ordered, her voice sharp. "I'm going to kill this damned beast today!"