Lewd Dungeon, Chapter 403

Chapter 403 – Stripped

Rhys Lunaleaf staggered slightly as he stepped through the portal. It was late on the third day of their delve into Lord Kuronoth’s dungeon, and the fourth day since they came to Earth, and he was already very glad that they had spent that extra day gathering information and preparing supplies. Without that knowledge, things would have been much more difficult.

It wasn’t that the dungeon creatures were terribly powerful. Part of the Dungeon Contract limited the strength of the monsters to a level and tier that would be an appropriate challenge for their group. They were all level 25 in Tier 2, and the monsters were all within ten levels above or below that, depending on whether they were single fighters or in groups. Difficult, but not unmanageable.

The traps and puzzles were not terribly difficult, either. Such things are often easier, once their locations and solutions are known, after all. But even knowing what was coming, and where, the fatigue grew. Not just physical fatigue, from fighting, but the mental fatigue from being on guard, and looking out for traps and enemy combatants.

Even on Bluemountain, the majority of adventurer deaths in dungeons came as a result of adventurers succumbing to fatigue or attrition, and not knowing when to retreat, or rest. That led to adventurers taking on monsters above their capability, or falling prey to traps they should have spotted, or making other mistakes like that. Fatigue was the greatest threat in a dungeon, because it made all the other threats more deadly.

Day one had seen them make it through the Ironwood Swamp floor, but they hadn’t made it through unscathed. The [Enflaming Barrier] spell that one of the Twin Mages cast during the boss fight of the first floor had incapacitated Emblema, putting her into a desperate heat by the time they broke through and killed the two mages. Danyll had been caught by a Seeder Bush on the second floor, and was temporarily cursed with the Breeder profession. The curse had been broken quickly enough, but the Shadowblade had fumbled in the challenge room before the boss, and was transformed into a woman by a curse too strong for Merewen to break. Even after beating the Slime Emperor, the third floor had not proven any easier, as the Darkwater Invoker boss had nearly drowned Elia.

The second day was no less eventful. Goblin Town alone was a nightmare, with its shifting map and deadly traps. The goblin chief with the class of Elemental Lord was a pain to deal with, since they would heal their minions, and the boss fight against the Monk and Paladin on the platform was definitely not something one could just laugh off.

The Lizardfolk Swamp floor was relaxing, in its own way. No less difficult, but it was far closer to the ‘normal’ type of floor one would expect in a dungeon. Hunt through the swamp for three pieces of a key, to unlock the door to the boss. Of course, the Lewd Creature template on the miniboss and bosses caused trouble. Not unmanageable trouble, since they had the filter masks the guild recommended, but the lizards were smart enough to try and go for an obvious weak point in their defenses like that, so the fights were far from easy.

The Water Temple of the sixth floor was terrible. Even if they managed to use the [Artificial Gill] system that was, apparently, a fully technology-based answer to the need to breathe underwater, fighting aquatic creatures in the water was never exactly easy, or fun. Still, they’d managed to get through the temple, and its defender, without issue.

An entire floor dedicated to rest was a rare boon in a dungeon. The High Priestess of Freya who oversaw the floor hid nothing about the floor’s special effects, of course. Not that he had a problem with it. After all, he had been considering breeding the lovely ladies in his party for a while, and the payment from this job would mean that they could easily take some time off from adventuring. Possibly even settle down somewhere in Anfelon, or even here on Earth. Danyll had objected slightly, but only slightly, before giving in, just like the others.

The catacombs and forest leading to the Ranger’s Mansion were just as nerve-wracking and challenging as they’d been warned. Getting through the mansion itself was an exercise in horror. Undead lent themselves to that atmosphere naturally, but even if he had not known that there was a will behind the Dungeon, the design of that floor would have made it certain. That floor had been specifically designed to bring up multiple types of horror to unsettle the mind.

And then, there had been the Black Temple. As the only remaining ‘key’, thanks to Danyll’s transformation, Rhys had been worked fairly hard as they moved through the floor, and it would have been worse if he hadn’t been able to pray at the gate to the challenge rooms, removing the need to complete the nine shrine trials. Even so, he had needed to rest before they took on the Succubus Twins and their Dire Hellhound.

All that fighting had not been without reward, of course. There was a wealth of materials and magic items that they’d looted from dungeon creatures or found in chests, naturally, but that was not the only reward. They’d all been level 17 in Tier 2 when they entered the dungeon, and that last fight had put them to Level 25. Truly, there was nothing like fighting your way through a dungeon to increase your level. However, so much fighting meant fatigue was a constant concern, which is why they had planned to find the safe room on this floor and rest before venturing forward.

Dungeon Law

Blessed Devotion

All those who enter the Ninth Floor shall be judged. Those who venerate Kuronoth, Lord of Pleasure, Domination, and Dungeons, will be unaffected by this law. So, too, will those who are permanently bound, through slavery or contractual servitude, to another. All others will be stripped of all weapons, clothing, armor, and gear. These items shall be safeguarded at hidden shrines throughout the floor for their owners to reclaim unless circumstances change.

Dungeon Law

Curse of Servility

All those who do not venerate the Lord of Pleasure, Domination, and Dungeons, Kuronoth, shall be cursed with submissiveness towards all other creatures while they are not fully dressed.

He nodded once as he saw the text of the two dungeon laws pop up in front of him. Just as he had expected. The Guild noted that the text of the laws had changed slightly since Lord Kuronoth took up Dungeons as part of his domain, but it was mostly the same. Which is why he was not surprised when he looked to find the rest of his party naked.

Dungeon Laws, by their nature, had to be specific. There was a definite difference between a Slave and a Thrall, after all. While it was rare for a Thrall to escape their Master without the Master being incompetent, a Dominator’s control was not that of a Slave Master’s. The fact that the Thrall was devoted to their master (mostly) of their own will meant that they were not permanently or contractually bound to their Master.

Looking out over the edge of the platform they were standing on, he could see five spires stretching up, above the trees. Five spires in the Old World style. He’d seen pictures, from the times before the Regression, back when Bluemountain still had contact with the Atlantean homeworld, and drawings from those who had visted Bluemountain City, and saw the old buildings there. Rhys didn’t know how his Lord had managed to get Atlantean buildings in this place, but such things were no longer a surprise to him. Dungeons were special places, after all, and did not always conform to the world around them.

Rhys turned his attention to the rest of the group. Danyll moaned softly as his hand cupped her ass, pulling the formerly male assassin close. “All right, everyone. Looks like things are basically like the Guild told us. Five spires means five shrines where the rest of your equipment will be. Guild map has the safe room right at the bottom of this ramp, so we can rest for the night, and set out after that.

“The majority of the dangers on this floor come from different types of traps, and from plant creatures like you’d see in the jungles of the Thardak Continent back home. I know they aren’t common in Anfelon, but you’ve all learned about them, so you know what to look for. Elia, your Master Survivalist profession will help, here, keeping an eye out for ‘natural hazards’ and plant creatures, but there’s reports of herbs and fruits in this jungle, which will be a nice addition to our rations.”

“Of course, Master. And I can always [Wild Shape] into a creature to help fight, if necessary. Losing my equipment only truly matters for my Atlantean form.”

Emblema nodded. “And my skills as a Mystic Spelldancer and Greater Courtesan mean I’m able to still perform my [Spelldance] while naked. The [Dance of Flame] and its various arts will be very helpful in keeping us out of trouble until we find all our equipment.”

Rhys nodded. The Druid and the Spelldancer were the two classes out of the group that relied the least on equipment. Sure, they enjoyed having the stat boosts that the equipment gave them, but they could still fight reasonably well without it. Elia could change into a creature to gain weapons, while Emblema’s class allowed her to freely use strikes with her hands and feet as well as spells. They’d both be weaker than normal, but still able to fight, which was more than could be said for Teffany, Danyll, and Merewen.

Perhaps sensing the course of his thoughts, Teffany smiled at him. “Don’t worry about us, Master. We knew this was coming. Also, we can look for fallen tree limbs, or you and Elia can break some for us. We know from the Guild reports that the Dungeon Law does not prohibit those under the Law’s effects from picking up ‘found items’ and using them to fight, if need be. Yes, a tree limb is not a proper sword or staff, but it is better than trying to fight off plant creatures with our bare hands.”

With that settled, the group headed down the ramp. Almost immediately after the ramp, there was a vine that, if stepped on, caused the vine to contract, whipping around the offending person and using spikes to cause bleeding wounds and inject a poison that caused the victim to feel pleasure even as the poison removed their ability to regenerate HP naturally, while also making the body more sensitive. Which is why the vine was known as Pleasuredeath. People would literally die, caught up and bleeding in the vine, without even attempting to remove it, because they were delirious with pleasure.

Of course, the vine was only truly dangerous to those who were traveling alone, lacking friends to help extricate them, and those who were too inobservant or clumsy to avoid the vine in the first place. Pleasuredeath could kill, sure, but only in certain scenarios. Usually, the worst case was that victims only got enough of the poison in their bloodstream where the next few hours were a mix of bliss and pain while their HP regeneration was negated, since the bleeding effect ended shortly after someone was pulled from the vines. No danger of death, but more than one person had learned new things about themselves from such an experience.

There was also a Geldaran Mancatcher, which was a carnivorous plant that used tentacle vines to catch unsuspecting creatures and pull them into its mouth, where it digested them alive. Fortunately, they were weak against fire, and easy to spot, so Emblema roasted it before anyone could get snared. According to the Guild, most of the floor was like this. Easy, if you were prepared, and knew what to look for.

Of course, the psychology of the floor meant that people rarely were thinking clearly when they made their way through the floor. They would have been tired after just escaping the Black Temple, and now they’re suddenly stripped of all their gear? It was a situation designed to force people into making foolish decisions. You had to fight the urge to panic, and instead focus on taking things slow, and ensuring that you didn’t wind up as plant food.

As the safe room came in sight, Rhys smiled. “We’ll rest for the night, and collect everyone’s gear tomorrow, when we’re fresh. The fight with the boss is not supposed to be terribly difficult, and then there’s the floor with all the slimes, and the arena. I wouldn’t count on those fights being easy, but the Guild had guides for them, so with any luck, we’ll make it to the desert floors before we need to rest again.”