Reborn as a Reluctant Demon Lord

Chapter 22 - Earth Dungeon

Why set up the earth dungeon at all? Why not just leave it empty so that the party could get in, fight the boss, and then get out?

I like to claim that it was a well-thought-out plan to show the party that there was no way that I could have cleared the dungeon alone.

I like to claim that, but it's patently false.

It was once again a case of me being blindsided by something, panicking, and not stopping to think it through. That habit of mine was getting to be a bit worrisome. Though, to be fair, it's not like that modus operandi had failed me yet...

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Getting into the dungeon was pretty easy, with the daves clearing out all of the monsters. However, the actual process ended up being a bit of a mess.

First, I had to "scout" and make sure to "find" it. To handle that, I just submerged into the lake and waited around for a bit. When I had determined I had spent long enough to "find the dungeon entrance," I resurfaced and told the party where it was.

Then we had to actually get inside. The rest of the party left their personal daves on shore (Megan never took one, and I had already sent mine into the water). Then we went single-file underwater to make sure that we didn't lose track of anyone. That resulted in a few issues where people accidentally hit the legs of the person in front of them.

Jake accidentally did that to me, and I hit him with an [Earth Strike] before I could stop myself. "Sorry, [Hero]!" I gurgled out. Too used to stranglevines grabbing me, I guess.

He grunted, and I assumed that meant, "It's okay." We kept going.

Then there was a bit of a mishap right at the entrance. I guess I didn't explain well enough that you had to go into the opening and then up. However, we got everyone in with minimal suffocation damage, so I still counted it as a win.

"Dang, it's really dark in here, isn't it?" Jake asked as he pulled a torch out of his inventory.

Oh yeah. I completely forgot about light. I thought back over the other dungeons we'd been in. But since most dungeons seem to be "bring your own light," I guess that isn't too big a deal.

We gathered up in the first room. It was a bit small, but I had established that room as kind of a safe zone, so it worked out okay.

Jake was the first one to speak. "So, the [Demon Lord] had to be down here, right? And since we don't see him here, that means he's probably further in."

I frowned. Not good. If we don't fight a [Demon Lord], they'll be suspicious. "Unless he managed to sneak past Megan and me. Or maybe literally [Sneak]. I also wouldn't rule out some type of invisibility or teleportation."

"Awfully convenient that you missed him, Titus," Tim said.

"Oh, shut up, Tim," Jake said. He looked surprised by his own words. He looked at the [Wizard]. "Sorry about that." He then shifted his gaze to me and said a single word. "Aura."

"Oh. My bad," I said as I pulled it back in. I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy about Jake snapping at Tim, though.

We prepared to head into the dungeon with Jake leading the way, but Sam of all people stopped us. "I know that you guys normally lead, and I don't want to throw my best friend to the monsters, but shouldn't Lindsey be at the front?" Sam asked. Jake, Garrett, and I looked back and forth at each other. "We brought it up back when she upgraded her class, remember? She's got the most HP now!" She looked a bit downcast. "I mean, I still want her to protect me and stuff, but isn't it the best for the party if she goes first?"