40 Glittering White Sand

I held up the bag towards the sand, but it seemed that only the molten glass and the crab went into the bag. Did that mean that only drops were considered able to go in the bag?

Then why could I put food and herbs in there. I stared at the bag in confusion, but decided to not think about it too much. It was an infinite storage space apparently, so there really was no point thinking about it too much. It would probably defy whatever I came up with anyways.

I cleaned up the rest of the molten glass and looked around for the doors that would lead me out or to the next level. Directly behind where the crab had died a door was shining. This was the door that led out of the dungeon.

I looked around the beach some more and I noticed a blue shining door had popped up just over the water where I had initially come into the dungeon. I had a feeling this would happen.

As Mat and I had covered most of the dungeons on the map I had noticed that the dungeons were changing. Dungeons were adding floors and evolving after certain conditions were met. It seemed I had unlocked the condition for this dungeon as well.

I slung my pack over my shoulder once more and moved to the blue door. Amo told me I needed to complete two floors in order to receive a special gift. Of course Amo forgot to mention what kind of gift they were going to give, but seeing as he had enough power to mess with time itself I decided not to cross him for now.

Before entering the door I tried to brush off as much sand as possible. The wind had dried me off somewhat, but nothing but a hot bath would make me feel better at this point.

The blue light enveloped me and the first thing I noticed was that the sand that had been underfoot was replaced by a rocky surface. As the light from the door faded I was met with darkness with only the light from a full moon to illuminate my surroundings.

My eyes gradually adjusted to the low lighting and I looked around me cautiously. The first floor of this tower was brutal the first time I entered, but it seemed that this time around was a lot calmer.

I wonder if the evolution of the tower had caused some adjustments to the monsters within. It wouldn't be the first time that I had experienced such an abrupt change to a dungeon. The first time being right after Kei was killed.

I swallowed back that bitter pill and surveyed the area around me. I seemed to be up on some kind of cliff. A shoreline surrounded by a glittering white sand was below me and cliffs outlined the shore.

I wonder if this floor was also a boss floor? It wasn't uncommon for some floors to just be one monster, like the crab in the floor I just left. It was strange for that floor to be the first floor. That is why this dungeon was so dangerous in the beginning.

It was possible that this entire tower was made up of just boss floors of increasing difficulty. Towers usually had floors themed around how they were named. I should have paid more attention to the name of this one.

The scenery seemed as calm as the previous floor. Almost picturesque. It was almost as if they were designed to be good date spots. I shook my head to clear out the unnecessary thoughts.

After searching for a few minutes I found a slightly steep trail down to the beach. The water lapped at the edge of the sand unlike the beach before. The sand here was the most strange as it glittered under the moonlight. It was unlike anything I had come across on earth.

This was probably the most unreal of moments I had ever felt in a dungeon. Aside from the monsters, dungeons typically looked like scenes I could have come across, but this sand was different.

Since I sensed no hostility nearby I pulled out an empty glass bottle and scooped up some sand to take back with me. There was probably something special about this sand if it stood out this much.

After filling a few bottles with sand and storing them away, I decided to follow the shoreline as there was no other real way to go. As I walked, it felt eerily quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the light swishing of the water as it hit the sand.

There were no insect noises or birds calling. Not even the sound of bats flapping their wings. It felt like I was the only one in this landscape. It reinforced the idea that there was only one other thing on this floor. A boss monster.

I squatted down and used the water to wash off some of the sand from the beach. This water felt cleaner and I raised it up to my face. The smell of sea was absent from this water so I sipped it.

Cool, refreshing water that reminded me of spring water went down my throat. So this is a freshwater source. Does that mean this is just a giant lake?

A splash of water faintly echoed over the sand. Hmmm? Have I finally found the boss of this floor? I was beginning to wonder when this nice break would end. It was beautiful here, but I just felt on edge as I waited for an attack this whole time.

It definitely was too much to hope for a peaceful dungeon where you could build a resort or something, then go find the mysteries as you explored the area around. No, all dungeons just had to be vicious places where one was constantly fighting for their life.

A furry face peaked out from the water several yards out.

"I am not going to come to you. So if we are going to play, come to land."

The creature began to slowly approach me and I felt the need to retract my previous statement. Brown fur began flooding my vision as a very, giant beaver crawled out of the water.

"Why can't the monsters I come across be a normal size for once?"

Beavers were herbivores, r-right? A gleam seemed to fill the creature's eyes as it stared at me from the water's edge. It didn't seem as aggressive as the crab was earlier. Did that mean I could find the exit without attacking it?

My hopes were immediately dashed as a giant wave of water, directed by a flat, scaled tail, attacked me. The water picked my body up and swept me towards the cliffs. I kicked with my feet desperately trying to keep my head above water.

Was this why I entered the floor on top of the cliff? Why did I get so caught up in the sand?

My body was thrown against the hard rock of the cliff, knocking the air from my lungs. I lay in a heap atop the sand and coughed up the water that had entered my lungs from the impact.

My head was ringing as a sharp pain in the back of my head alerted me to an injury. I raised my hand and poked at the tenderness of a newly forming lump. I really hoped I didn't have a concussion.

A wave of nausea caused me to empty my stomach. I must have looked truly pathetic to Amo.

I checked my weapons to make sure they didn't get washed away in the attack. They didn't get swept away. Thank goodness. My shoulders drooped in relief.

More importantly, what would I do about that? The beaver was fully out of the water now and I secretly thanked the system that it had willingly left it. I did not think I could handle any more water attacks.

It stood on its hind legs with its front legs pulled close to its face. In another situation I would probably say it looked cute, but the water barrage from earlier ruined the image for me.

It tilted its head diagonally as it observed me. I did not like how inquisitive its eyes looked. I got up slowly and inched along the cliff wall. The beaver's eyes followed me. We continued this stand off until I found a narrow pathway to the cliffs above.

You could call me a coward, but it felt more dangerous on that beach. Its eyes followed me until I reached the top of the cliff, before it turned and re-entered the water.

So it was protective of the water. I filed that information away for later as I desperately tried to take oxygen into my battered lungs. I think I broke a few ribs. I pulled out some bandages from my bag and wrapped them tight.

The tight binding helped me think, but the aching in my ribs was not far from my mind.

The beaver had all but disappeared. With its large body being completely enveloped by the water, it must be a very deep depth. That means that fighting the thing in the water would be impossible without some kind of swimming skill.

Fighting on the beach also felt like an impossible battle. If it could attack so ferociously with its tail, I could only imagine how powerful a close range attack would be. I was so weak that it ignored me, that was the impression I got from it.

I bit my lip as I contemplated how to escape this hell. The picturesque scene no longer entranced me and the sheer terror of being swept into the depths of the water was a good enough medicine to clear my mind.