Somnium Online

Clearing the Dungeon

Clearing a dungeon without a party is normally an impossible task. Anyone can fight their way up to the boss room, but beating the boss inside is dozens of times harder if you go solo.

Which is exactly what Anne made him do.

Room after room, floor after floor, Eric systematically exterminated everyone and everything. The first boss was down in under 30 seconds.

He knocked it in it's back with wind magic and after hacking and stabbing the immobilized monster it crumbled into dust.

Next was a gigantic slime filled with bones of adventurers stupid enough to get swallowed.

Eric took out a few daggers and well... you've seen a food processor right? After slicing both bosses to ribbons Anne collected the drops and hid them.

"Hey, why can't I look?" Eric whined.

"Because it's a surprise," Anne said stuffing whatever she had gotten into her bag.

After a few short hours, they approached a colossal door. It was so large that they couldn't quite make out the top. The whole door was patterned with thousands of faces, their expressions eternally frozen screaming in agony.

"Well, that's cheerful," Eric remarked.

Anne shuddered. "This place gives me the creeps. Hurry it up and let's get out of here."

Eric raised his hand and blew the doors open. Behind them lay a large stone chamber. The floor was so high up, it disappeared into the darkness.

The room was illuminated by eerie blue flames sitting atop cracked and worn stone pillars that were scattered around the room. The floor was littered with skeletons. Bones piled up in great heaps, and a thin layer of white powder-coated every surface.

Then, the blue flames flared up temporarily, and concentric circles of blue flame appeared on the floor.

"I think he's coming," Eric whispered.

Anne rolled her eyes. "Just get ready will you?"

Then they heard it. Wingbeats.

"What the-" Eric had barely enough time to express his confusion before a column of blue flames engulfed him.

Anne rolled to the side just in time, and her eyes widened in shock. Eric had taken a direct hit.

She closed her eyes, then opened them, bracing to see his charred corpse.

Eric was... totally unharmed?

His hand was outstretched and the air around him shimmered.

"Good thing I put up a barrier the second be entered." Eric sounded relieved. They both turned their attention to the center of the room.

There, sat the biggest monster Eric had ever seen.

It was a massive skeletal fish, but like none that he had seen before. It was gigantic, and... flying? It seemed impossible but this was Somnium so he guessed it made sense.

It was so terrifying he couldn't even think straight. It looked sort of like those big fish he saw on discovery channel, what were they called? Whale sharks?

But this one was way bigger and looked more shark-like. Also, it was undead. Its eyes glowed with eerie blue flames.

It opened its mouth and shot blue flames at a pile of bones. The bones clattered and crunched, then, out of the chaotic mess, a swarm of smaller skeleton fish darted towards Eric.

They rushed him head-on. He served to avoid their charge, and as they flew past him he just had time to note to himself that they looked vaguely like piranhas. Except, you know, dead piranhas.