Dungeon Delver POV:

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  Coryn turned around at the cries of his fellow dungeon delvers, watching as their bodies hit the ground and shadowy figures fled into the darkness. The closest delvers ran to their sides as quickly as they could, but it was already too late. The wounds were too deep, placed directly on top of vital areas to ensure a lethal strike. There was nothing more they could do for them as they watched the last vestiges of life leave their comrades. The illusions and lights were still circling around them, so they had to keep their guard up despite their loss.

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  “Leave them there. We’ll collect their belongings on the way back out.” Without hesitation, Coryn knew what needed to be done, even if it came off as callous. But these are experienced dungeon delvers, a profession where death lurks around every corner, so they understood his decision. “Mages, can you tell if one of these illusions hides a monster in it?”

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  One of the few mages remaining in the expedition responded to him. “No, the mana’s signature matches the latent mana of the dungeon. I wouldn’t be able to tell unless the hidden monster used their own mana to attack, but it’s not a reliable method against surprise attacks.”

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  “Damn, then the monster serving as the dungeon master is capable of casting magic and intelligent enough to use it.”

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  “Wait, how do you know it’s the dungeon master? They never reveal themselves to delvers.” Another dungeon delver asked, a more local adventurer to the region.

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  “Usually they don’t, but I’ve worked with some guys before from the East who’ve destroyed a few dungeons. They told me about one of those dungeons having a magic-wielding dungeon master that was firing off offensive magic at dungeon delvers, marking the dungeon for elimination. They said it was a real pain to deal with because the dungeon master’s mana is spread throughout a dungeon, masking the spells before they physically triggered.”

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  “How did they deal with it?”

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  “The dungeon was relatively new and shallow, so they ran as fast as they could to the end. Taking their time would’ve just let the dungeon pick them off, which is what will happen to us if we take this too slow. The only saving grace is that this monster doesn’t seem to have any offensive spells. So now, we gamble. Stick to the walls of tunnels and run as fast as you can. Most of the trap triggers have been in the center of the tunnels, so we need to gamble on that trend continuing. Go!”

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  So they stuck to the walls and ran. They all pinned their hopes on the design of the dungeon, hoping it would repeat its trap placement pattern up to the dungeon core. They still had to run through the remainder of the fourth floor, the fifth floor, and the sixth floor, but they still had hope they could make it. To make sure they wouldn’t all die from a single trap if their gamble failed, they ran far enough apart to hopefully be out of range of a triggered trap.

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  Willow POV:

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  Well, that’s not good. We’ve managed to whittle them down to nine dungeon delvers, but now they’re gambling their lives against Degon’s dungeon design philosophy. The worst part is that I already know they would win that gamble. The traps in the dungeon became increasingly complicated to disarm and deadlier as one progressed deeper into the dungeon, but they were all triggered by pressure plates or were pitfalls centered in the middle of a tunnel. The rooms aren’t filled with traps because it’s meant for monsters to roam, but there’s still a bit of time before they start respawning. There isn’t a single trap located along the wall, or has a trigger mechanism like a trip wire to cover the entire space. I can’t add any more traps as long as they’re on the floor, nor can I add any traps to the fifth floor currently occupied by a party. If both groups are able to meetup and work together, I could be in serious danger. I don’t think Vulcan is enough to take on that party, even with the newbies to help. To avoid this, I’ll need to stop them on the fourth floor. I can’t place any traps from the dungeon store, but I can still create traps by hand.

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  “Vulcan, change of plans. We're going to stop them in the final room on the fourth floor. You guys can’t catch them from behind if they’re running at full speed, so we’ll set up an ambush. Arachne, I’m going to teleport you to the final room so you can start laying as much web as possible around the floor and tunnel entrance. From there, we’ll set up an ambush to pick off as many as possible in the initial strike, then take down the rest. Vulcan, can you handle their leader?”

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  “...Yes.”

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  “Just what I wanted to hear. We don’t have much time, so let's begin.”

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  Dungeon Delver POV:

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  Coryn’s team continues to run through the dungeon, miraculously avoiding triggering any traps on their way. He had prepared himself to suffer some casualties from this gamble, but his worst fears never came to fruition as they passed each room and tunnel. Eventually, they managed to get near the final tunnel before the room connected to the fifth floor. The illusions and blinding orbs even went away after a time, but they still prepared themselves for either one to pop up at any time. At the pace they were going, they might even be able to reach the sixth floor before monsters began to respawn. With this hope in all of their hearts, they ran as hard as they could until they had to suddenly come to a stop. They were in the final tunnel, but before them was a thick wall of web spanning thirty feet until the end of the tunnel. Strands as thick as a finger spanned from wall to wall, most likely created by a spider-type monster, but this shouldn’t be possible. No monsters should have respawned yet, and there shouldn’t have been enough time since the last party to pass through the room to make this big a web structure.

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  “This isn’t real, just another illusion.” Coryn, confident in his deduction, swung his side sword through the web. On the off chance it was real, he didn’t want to trap his axe in the web. Fortunately, he was spot on, as he experienced zero resistance as the illusory web slightly shimmered as the sword passed through it. “It’s a stalling tactic. Let's go.”

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  “Wait, there could be monsters hiding in the illusion like earlier. Let us clear it first.”

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  The mages walked together to the start of the web and began firing earth and water spells down the tunnel, attempting to kill any monsters trying to hide. After a minute of continuous firing, they were satisfied enough to brave through the tunnel as time continued to tick by. Coryn led the way, followed by the rest of the expedition. The most fragile members were kept in the middle in case an attack came from behind. Despite the illusion, Coryn could still see the pale light of wisps creeping in from the next room. They were so close, and they were ready to get out of this claustrophobic illusion. Then, a pit formed in the center of Coryn’s stomach. His instincts told him something bad was about to happen. Before he could yell out his warning to run, figures began to emerge from inside the web. Their mana signatures were hidden by the illusion, so the dungeon delvers couldn’t be blamed for not noticing them. They even pelted the tunnel with enough magic to kill the average monster that’s appeared so far. So when a Bronze Golem, metal gouged out across his body from the barrage of magic attacks, fear filled the first dungeon delver to see Vulcan. He was currently at half health, but that was still enough to deal with the squishy mage in front of him. The mage tried to conjure an elemental shield, but a heavy bronze fist broke through and made contact. Two more shadows emerged from behind him, protected from the barrage by Vulcan’s body, slipped past and attacked their targets. Three dungeon delvers fell before Coryn could yell his next order.

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  “Run!”

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  The remaining seven ran as fast as they could to escape that illusory hell, but the rear guard was not so fortunate. He tried to run forward, but was quickly pounced on by Mars and Virtus, his vision too obscured to see three weapons slash and pierce his body. Five dungeon delvers were left as they emerged from the tunnel, but to their horror, what awaited them was just as bad. Webs littered the ground, sticky and strong as they were laid by Vesta. Coryn saw them and chose to jump over the webs. He soared over, barely managing to clear all of the web onto clear ground. Unfortunately, the rest of his team weren’t so lucky. The next two delvers to run out of the cave stepped squarely on the web, falling to the ground and getting even more tangled. The next two managed to stop in time, but now the illusory web behind them began to fade. At the same time, they could hear the pounding footsteps of metal on stone, picking up speed, until they saw Vulcan running down the tunnel. They moved as far to the side as they could get without stepping on the web, managing to avoid the charging golem. But instead of getting stuck on the web, he jumped over it all, landing on the cleared area by Coryn. The full extent of damage he endured in the tunnel was revealed, but each gash was being visibly regenerated. Coryn raised his axe, ready to fight a rare variant.