Gifts Before Death’s Cradle

As the sun rose, Takao equipped his new armor. Arm guards, leg guards, and a chest piece all made from sturdy hardened leather. Purchased after Sumire insisted he wear some kind of armor, because ‘humans are fragile’ as she put it.

Sumire, who claimed she didn’t need armor because her dragon skin was stronger than any armor, was dressed in her normal purple, black, and white attire. Her shorts and sleeves were loose as usual and left her legs and shoulders bare, and her wrap was tied in place around her waist. The only difference from her usual clothes was that her normal shoes had been replaced with sturdy boots.

Takao was doing some final checks and maintenance on his armor and spear when Sumire approached him.

“Takao, can I see your spear for a second?” Sumire asked casually.

Thinking nothing of it, Takao handed over his spear. Sumire examined it closely for a moment before suddenly hurling it into the air. Before Takao could even react, it had vanished into the blue sky. His jaw dropped in astonishment. He turned on Sumire, about to question her sanity, when she shoved a spear into his hands.

“Here. I made this a long time ago, and I never use it because I prefer a sword. Since your spear was old and beat up, I thought you could use it. You can think of it as an early congratulations gift, or something.” She said without looking at him, her cheeks turning bright pink.

Takao held the spear gingerly. The metal felt strong but light. It was beautifully balanced and felt so natural in his hand. The end was decorated with a dragon that closely resembled Sumire and was incorporated into the spearhead. The jagged lightning bolt horns matched Sumire’s perfectly and formed a long blade on one side. It was a masterpiece.

“You made this?” He asked in amazement.

“Yeah.” She said in a small voice.

“Wow! It’s beautiful! Thank you!” He said, feeling like words didn’t fully express his gratitude.

Takao couldn’t help but smile at Sumire. She smiled back, and his silver eyes met her bright purple eyes. He hadn’t even passed the test yet, but he felt like this was possibly the happiest he’d ever been in his life.

Takao suddenly felt energized. He was ready for anything. With Sumire at his side, he was sure this dungeon would be a piece of cake.

“Ahem!” Kenta coughed loudly.

Takao and Sumire both jumped, broke eye contact, and turned red.

“We’re ready to go if you are.” Kenta called.

Takao and Sumire joined Kenta and Mikami at the dungeon entrance.

“You know, I could’ve mounted my old spear on the wall at home, you didn’t have to throw it into the forest.” Takao whispered.

“I didn’t. I caught it in my magic storage.” Sumire whispered back.

“Really!?”

“No, it’s gone forever.” She smiled.

Takao thought he should be bothered by this, but he just wanted to laugh instead.

“After you.” Mikami said, sounding irritable.

Sumire cast a dark vision spell on Takao then the two entered the dungeon together with Mikami and Kenta following.

“Have fun!” Yumiko called from behind before the cave blocked out all sound from outside.

The inside of the cave was pitch black, but Takao could see just fine. He knew Sumire and the proctors would be able to see as well. Stretching out before their eyes was a massive, high ceiling chamber. The walls and floor were rugged and uneven, making footing tricky. After walking only a short distance, the cave pitched down suddenly, leading them deep into the bowels of the dungeon.

They followed the cavern down, Takao in the lead with his spear at the ready and Sumire close behind with her lightning bolt shaped sword in hand. They frequently passed small tunnels leading off from the main passage, and Takao always expected something to jump out at them, but nothing ever did. It wasn’t until they’d traveled deep into the earth that they encountered their first monster.

As Takao passed through a narrow opening, a fiend spider jumped at him, camouflaged with the rock, he hadn’t even seen it. Its eight legs spread wider than he was tall, ready to grab him and bite with kitchen knife sized fangs. It almost had him, but acting on instinct, his spear swept through the air and cleaved the spider in two. He surprised himself with how well he reacted.

As they continued forward, they started facing more spiders, but after seeing the first one, Takao could now discern them from the rock. Sumire, Kenta, and Mikami, as Takao expected, had no trouble dealing with the spiders, and spotted them easily too. This left Takao feeling slightly discouraged, as if he was holding the others back. During a short break, he decided to ask Sumire about it and was surprised by her answer.

“You’re not holding us back. You’ve killed more spiders than all of us, and with fewer close calls, too. If anything, it’s been inspiring to see how well you can maneuver your spear in these tight spaces.” She said encouragingly.

“Agreed.” Kenta called halfheartedly, lounging against the cave wall with his hat pulled over his eyes. “You taking notes, Mikami?” He joked, then laughed dryly at himself.

Feeling reassured, Takao continued to lead the way through Death’s Cradle. The adventurers continued cutting down swaths of spiders as they went, and made short work of the monsters until at last they found themselves outside the carcinus chamber.

Kenta warned Takao and Sumire that though the carcinus was hibernating, it could still wake up if they weren’t careful. The plan was to go in, locate the discarded shell, gather as much as possible, and get out as fast as possible. The carcinus would be huge and easy to spot, and they were not to approach it under any circumstances. They all agreed to the plan, and readied themselves to enter. On the count of three, they charged quickly and quietly into the chamber, searching for the discarded shells, but it quickly became apparent that something was wrong.

The chamber opened up in front of them, turning from a narrow tunnel into a huge cavern. A massive tunnel led in the direction parallel to their narrow tunnel, and another equally massive tunnel led deeper into the caves. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all covered in large, deep scrapes and gouges which testified to the goliath crab monster that lived there, but to Takao’s alarm, the carcinus was nowhere to be seen.

Sumire’s Exposé!
Dungeons are naturally occurring ecosystems where a large concentration of monsters live. The designation of dungeon is given to these areas to help keep common people away and safe. Not all dungeons have an alpha monster, but all do have a food chain, where some monsters are predators and some are prey.