[A lizard? Nah, it's more like a Lovecraftian aberration!](2/?)

Conversations... conversations... conversations! I've noticed that writing a chapter without sleep while I'm full of drowsiness allows me to write livelier dialogues instead of those monotonous aberrations...

The dialogues improve but at what cost? (• ◡•)

Logic is overrated. つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

[Word Count: 2.900]

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[Unified Dynasty Era]

[The King's Tomb]

Vesper's view shifted into a kind of complete darkness as he crossed the entrance of the Dungeon, causing his eyes to widen slightly.

[Veserithorn entered the Dungeon 'The King's Tomb'.]

[The Rewards of this Dungeon will vary according to Veserithorn's Luck and Abilities.]

[Good Luck.]

"Nice~" Vesper thought as he scrolled through the three tabs that appeared in succession, he had already read a similar message a few minutes ago, but it was always good to be reminded of this kind of thing.

While he was lost reading the new System tabs, a new presence came to exist right behind Vesper. This presence was none other than Serie, who had entered moments after Vesper.

"This isn't a normal Dungeon." The Elf declared instantly after entering the Dungeon, she had already explored a huge amount of Dungeons and this one gave off a completely different vibe from the others.

"There's a Demon here, remember? Maybe it's because of him." Vesper responded to Serie's declaration while shrugging, raising his hand in front of his body as he generated a platinum magic circle.

[Spell: MAP]

A kind of hologram appeared just above the magic circle that Vesper had conjured, allowing him to see more precisely the structure around him, as well as to see if there was any hidden passage or even a lurking presence: which fortunately there wasn't.

"Let me see." Serie asked Vesper as he complied with the request, kneeling beside the rather small Elf allowing her to see the Map floating above Vesper's palm.

"The initial structure is also strange, it wasn't supposed to be this... stone corridor, Dungeons are usually more open." After a few moments of 'analysis', Serie was able to confirm her suspicions regarding how different this Dungeon seemed to be.

"Extra caution?" Vesper questioned curiously.

"Extra caution." Which Serie confirmed instantly with a nod.

"Great!" He declared as he stood up snapping his fingers, causing the Magic Circle that was in his previous hand to start floating in the air.

'Independent magic circle, I ended up discovering this when I reached Level 25 Mastery with magic circles... but something tells me I wasn't supposed to learn this, it seems too advanced for such a low level.' Vesper thought as he watched the floating magic circle he had created.

"Hey, let's go!" Serie's voice snapped Vesper out of his thoughts, making him look in the direction of her voice as he noticed the Elf a few meters away who had turned to call him.

"Let's go~!" Vesper declared a bit 'loudly' as he moved playfully in Serie's direction, who narrowed her eyes before starting to ignore him.

'He definitely thought of something silly.' It was the only thing going through the Elf's mind as they began to walk through the Dungeon, Vesper always acted this way when he thought of something involving her Height. Normally Serie wouldn't care about it, but since becoming friends with Vesper his minor provocations had started to annoy her considerably.

'...But I don't hate it.' She let out a small huff as she concluded this thought, discarding this line of thought completely and deciding to focus on what mattered for now.

...

...

BOOOOM

A noise of something exploding echoed through the ancient stone corridors, while this same explosion lightly illuminated the dark corridors.

BOOOOOM / BOOOOOM / BANG

A sequence of three different sounds followed by distinct illuminations lit up the stone corridors again, which connected directly to a more open room in the Dungeon.

'Daosdorg!' A medium-sized magic circle appeared in front of Serie's staff before the wind around her target burst into sudden combustion, forming a small tornado of flames.

''GRAAAAAAAAARK!'' A strange noise came from within the small fire tornado as a stone hand appeared to want to emerge from the center of this attack.

[Spell: Magic Barrier]

Something suddenly materialized in front of the monster's claws that were desperately trying to emerge from within the small fire tornado, a yellow barrier appeared and quickly covered the small fire tornado.

The magic circle in front of Serie's staff seemed to rotate slightly before the tornado now contained by the barrier expanded, taking the shape of a sphere thanks to the shape of the barrier that was containing the fire and the monster. The flames inside the barrier seemed to have started to spin at high speed after filling the entire barrier.

''GRAAAARK!'' Collision noises came from within the barrier, the creature seemed desperate to get out but to no avail, in a few moments the noises stopped.

[Gargoyle's death confirmed.]

[+20,000 EXP]

"He was weaker than I expected, his base danger level and potential were 'Moderate'..." Vesper thought a little disappointed as he watched the fire dissipate.

When the fire disappeared, the sight of the charred corpse greeted Serie and Vesper who simply ignored it, it was literally black stone.

'This Gargoyle was stronger than the others I've faced, this Dungeon may end up being truly dangerous...' And like everything else, there were two sides of the same coin.

While Vesper was disappointed with the Gargoyle's strength because he was unnecessarily used to the creatures of the [Small World], Serie was worried due to the level of strength of this Gargoyle which was twice as strong as normal Gargoyles.

"Hey Serie" / "Vesper" Both suddenly looked at each other as if they wanted to comment on something, but fell silent when they saw the way they tried to start this 'conversation'.

"Pfft" Vesper, being visibly more childish than Serie (mentally), found the situation slightly funny, letting out a small amused 'laugh'.

"..." Serie stared at Vesper's reaction exasperated before shaking her head, releasing a little air. "Let me continue, this Gargoyle was much stronger than those in other Dungeons I've faced. This could end up getting truly dangerous." The Elf quickly finished sharing her thoughts, feeling concerned about both of their safety in this Dungeon.

"Oh come on~! We're basically two Great Wizards, and you know well what I am! I guarantee you we'll get out of here safe~!" Vesper dismissed Serie's concerns outwardly, acting cheerfully as he tried to provide some assurance to Serie.

'It's not that I'm underestimating this Dungeon, but neither the Map nor my senses have detected anything dangerous so far. The most powerful Monster was this Gargoyle with {Moderate} Danger level, while I've fought some monsters of {Terrible} category and won...'

'It's even surprising how much the [Small World] wanted to see me beaten up. I like that.'

[...]

[Spiral: ...]

Vesper snapped out of his reverie when he felt Serie's gaze staring at him "eye to eye", from bottom to top due to her height.

"You know something to be so confident, don't you?" The Elf questioned as if she were 'accusing' Vesper, although both knew it was just a kind of joke.

"As much as you. You're just underestimating my strength a little too much, even though I don't blame you for it." Vesper clarified his thoughts, understanding why Serie didn't have much faith in him when it came to battles.

He was a bit below Serie's level in terms of Magic Proficiency, and as Serie herself had serious doubts if she could face the future enemies of this Dungeon, she obviously became extremely worried about Vesper's survival, who was a bit weaker. Vesper never showed his ridiculous physical strength or Spiral Energy to Serie because he was 500% focused on learning Magic, so he didn't blame Serie.

"I'll believe you more. Sorry about that," Serie responded a bit hesitantly as she muttered the last part, slightly embarrassed. She didn't like to seem like she doubted a Friend.

"No problem~! We both know you didn't mean anything by it." He gave a thumbs up as he looked around.

"The Map isn't detecting any monsters or passages in this area," Vesper declared, changing the subject and bringing Serie's attention back, causing her to return to her usual stoic elf self.

"Hm. Things are starting to get annoying, I hate mazes," the Elf declared, her voice containing her discontent.

"Well, luckily you have me!" Vesper found the perfect moment to boast, catching the Elf's attention.

"And what does that mean? Did you develop some new magic while I was getting ready?" Serie questioned, confused, not understanding the reason for Vesper's confidence. Being confident in fighting was one thing, now being confident in not getting lost in a maze for the first time in this maze and without using Magic: that was another.

"Definitely~ I call this Magic {Faith}, or if you prefer: {Luck}." Vesper declared as he watched Serie's stoic gaze slowly change to a slightly exasperated one.

"You-"

"'And how does it work, my amazing friend Vesper?' Well, I'll tell you, my dear friend Serie! I choose one of the dozens of entrances and walk to the end of it, believing that this was the right choice!" He did a slight (terrible) imitation of Serie before returning to his normal tone of voice, explaining 'proudly' his newest 'magic'.

"..."

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at Serie who was looking at him, tired.

"Just... let's get on with it." She shook her head knowing very well that it was impossible to change Vesper's mind when he decided on something, she learned a lot during these few years she spent with him.

"I like to see the amount of faith you have in me!" He waved as he walked 'pompously' towards an exit chosen randomly.

As much as it seemed that Vesper was just joking and fooling around, he actually had a very good plan. The amount of Luck he had was ridiculously high and with this added to his Race's side, the chance of him reaching the desired destination just by wanting it was almost 100%. It was as simple as that.

Serie shook her head as she watched Vesper walk away before starting to follow him.

...

...

"I refuse to believe this." Serie's voice echoed through the stone corridor as she stared at a door.

"I told you, didn't I?" Vesper teased Serie looking quite proud of his choices.

"You did but... I thought it would take at least a few tries..." The elf seemed reluctant to believe in Vesper's Luck.

It is worth remembering that the 'dozens' of doors were actually corridor entrances that branched out as one advanced, with new paths to follow that ended up interconnecting with each other from time to time, meaning that until they got here they went through hundreds of curves and 'path choices', which is why they lasted two hours of pure walking.

"Ye of little faith," He 'mocked' as he approached the door, pushing it with both arms to open it completely.

[Veserithorn exited the initial area.]

[Veserithorn entered the Mini-Boss room.]

A thick layer of Mana enveloped Vesper and Serie before they entered completely into the Room that Vesper opened, moments later a loud thud was heard by both causing them to turn towards the noise.

"..." / "..."

The door behind them had closed, and it was surrounded by chains that served as a kind of lock.

[Veserithorn's Luck acted.]

[The Situation Veserithorn was placed in is extremely beneficial.]

Two new notifications appeared for Vesper as he looked confused at the Tab, letting Serie explore the surroundings in the meantime.

'And how is this luck? I'm literally trapped in a completely white room.' He was quite skeptical.

[Luck comes in various forms, and usually the most beneficial form involves events that must be overcome before a strong benefit is found.]

[That's why many consider unnecessarily high Luck a Curse, as they are forced into dangerous situations with a high risk of life and often these people don't want their lives threatened.]

"Great~! So I have an Ability that will increase my already absurd Luck every time I use it, meaning more situations like this!" He commented somewhat sarcastically to the System, but both sides knew that Vesper wasn't annoyed by it. It was the total opposite, he was joyful. Happy.

[The Spiral says that your Husband is Masochistic.]

[The Spiral promises not to judge your Husband's tastes.]

[The Spiral says she will start studying how to please Veserithorn's Masochistic desires.]

"What is a 'Masochist'?" Vesper thought, confused, and his confusion only increased when neither side (System nor Spiral) responded to him; it seemed they were doing their own things.

"Well, if the Spiral is doing something positive involving this, then it must be a good thing," he shrugged as he concluded this line of thought.

Vesper looked around, feeling a bit nauseous; it was quite nauseating to be in a completely white room.

"Vesper!" Serie's voice amplified by Magic (because she's too lazy to shout) echoed through the White Room, catching Vesper's attention.

"No," he replied as he walked towards Serie, contradicting his own response.

As Vesper approached Serie, she pointed with her staff towards the floor a few meters ahead of them, seeming to be the center of the Room where Serie was pointing. In this same center of the Room, an unnecessarily complex magical circle lay on the floor, almost perfectly camouflaged with the environment.

"It looks like those magical circles that cavemen used," Vesper commented as he observed the Magic Circle.

"Cavemen? What the hell is that? But hey! This is probably the summoning circle of the Mini-boss, I've found myself in similar situations in some Dungeons I frequented not too long ago (60 years ago). The difference was that the 'Mini-Boss' didn't have a room just for him, usually, this is something of the Boss..." Serie commented with several changes of tone during this long sentence, before finishing uncertainly.

"So what are we waiting for?" Vesper's lack of fear alongside a certain recklessness acted ahead of his reason, causing him to send a large amount of Mana to the magic circle.

[The room recognizes that the challengers desire to face the maximum difficulty.]

The System Tab appeared in front of Vesper, making him frown.

"Hey, what do you mean by maximum difficulty?!" He hadn't selected any difficulty, but Vesper's eyes widened when he saw the circle starting to multiply many, many times as it spun through the dozens of layers that now filled the air.

"A composite magic circle!" Both Serie and Vesper thought, surprised, as they stared at this Magic Circle that was the embodiment of their Theory.

[The Summons was selected.]

[The Guardian of one of the entrances to {Blighttown} responds to the Dungeon's call.]

The dozens of magic circles began to release a huge amount of Mana, causing Serie and Vesper to step back, watching a figure begin to appear 'out of nowhere' slowly.

A small head of a black-colored crocodile appeared, making Vesper and Serie slightly tense.

"A lizard-type monster...! A distant relative of a Dragon, this will be interesting!" / "Why is a Monster with Draconic relations being summoned as a Mini-Boss?!"

The Duality showed itself again.

Two black claws extended and stopped on the ground, Vesper and Serie assumed these were the creature's front legs.

But soon their faces contorted in horror when, in fact, the true front part of the creature appeared.

Horrendous teeth and a body that seemed to come straight out of a horror tale slowly emerged as it drooled on the ground with ridiculous intensity, infesting the Room with a strong smell of pure sewage. It was nauseating to get close to this Monster, causing Vesper and Serie's faces to quickly wrinkle in disgust.

In a few moments, the Monster finished emerging completely before letting out a Loud roar that slightly oppressed Vesper and Serie, whose intimidation was amplified when they realized the size of the creature: 30 meters.

[MINI-BOSS: Gaping Dragon - Lv 380]

[Threat Level: Menacing(Current)/Terrible(Potential{?})]

(Appearance)

"Incredible!" / "Goddess of Creation, help me."

A marveling face and its horrified contrast stared at the Monster that appeared with completely distinct emotions.

[The Battle against the Mini-Boss has begun.]

END

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Yes, a Dark Souls Monster in a Frieren Dungeon! What else could go wrong?! Well, everything.

As some may have already noticed: I'm trying to give more life to the Characters, giving them more personalities and interesting characteristics. I found their dialogues extremely dull and simple in the previous chapters so I decided to try something different...!

What is this something different? Well, I said it at the beginning of the chapter. Writing a social interaction sleepy enough to make me yawn with every paragraph I write.

I would say it worked perfectly, what do you think of these interactions?

...

It's in the next chapter that the action will happen. One will hit and the other will take it, who will do what I no longer know~.

I love Dark Souls (all four) so expect many things coming from this universe. Just like some bosses from other games, I'll abuse as much as possible of this lore that I developed to add enemies from completely different worlds.

Hopefully, I'll have enough brain to write a satisfying battle to make up for the lack of action in these last chapters.

...

Have a good day/good afternoon/good night!

Suggestions? ( -_•)︻デ一