We went down to the twelfth floor. When it came to traps, there were considerably more than the previous floor. This time, there weren’t armored insects though, but sprite elementals. The main one was a water elemental, but they were backed up by a nature elemental. Both elementals are used in conjunction with the hopes of trying to trip you up or get you to fall in traps. Traps were so frequent you couldn’t go a few feet without running into one.
I had to remind myself that Raissa, a seasoned Dungeon Diver, had only just made it to the 15th floor barely alive. We were already on the 12th floor. This was challenging stuff here, where the slightest move could lead one to death. However, I wasn’t seeing where temptation was factoring in.
“Master, sprite elemental’s remains are a mana product used heavily in alchemy. It would be good for making potions, but it’s also possible that they will create a fusion skill like my spirit fire and Celeste’s fairy dust.” Miki spoke up.
There was the temptation. Like most of the monsters in this dungeon, the elementals dropped something very valuable to certain people. I also noticed that this is the 12th floor, 3 floors before you can get to safety on either the 15th floor or 9th floor. In other words, this is the floor farthest from being able to safely take a break. At first, I didn’t realize why this floor was dangerous, but then I noticed the girls were shaking slightly. I glanced over at them worriedly.
“It’s just cold, Master,” Lydia responded, rubbing her arms.
All of the girls were wet. If they weren’t wearing their armor, it’d be a sexy sight. However, I realized that this was the goal of this level. It was so damp that starting a fire was impossible. In fact, there was about half an inch of water covering the ground at all times. In was also extremely humid, yet, if I had to speak of the temperature, it was probably a few degrees colder than the floors above.
This floor made you want to stay to hunt the potentially valuable elementals, meanwhile threatening to kill you with hypothermia. That cold also dulled the mind and made it easier to fall into one of the many traps. There were floor pits, wall spikes, swinging blades, and wall arrows, to name a few. Even if you get past this floor quickly, you’re a long way from the next possible break, making it difficult to survive. This dungeon curse could be extremely insidious.
Worse, the drops weren’t that common. We had defeated almost 15 elementals when the first dropped. The small blue crystal that I picked up was called a water gem. I was already familiar with this product. Water gems were how running water was used in this world. As long as you could infuse them with mana, they would release water much like my Create Water. They weren’t exactly rare, per se, but they were expensive and had a constant need.
We had been venturing through this level for an hour when I finally came across a nature gem. This wasn’t a gem I was aware of, but I knew other gems were used for other purposes. The fire gem could be used to heat a house, for example. I wondered if the lightning gem could power electronics. Well, it wasn’t like the world used electricity, so it didn’t matter.
“If you grind this up, this will be very beneficial for the fairy spring, Master,” Celeste said.
So, the nature gem was more like a really good fertilizer or this world’s version of miracle grow. Now, I wanted a lot more of these gems. This really was a temptation.
We hunted for six hours, but it was starting to get near night time. We managed to reach the stairway to the 13th floor, but it seemed I had still overdone it. All of the girls were shaking now. I was cold too, but I dealt with it.
“M-m-m-m-master….” Miki shook, “I-i-i-it’s fine.”
She had the weakest constitution and looked the worst after playing around in the wet cold. Her tail was wet and her skin was red and bumpy. She really looked like a drowned rat.
When I didn’t turn towards the stairway, the girls glanced at me with surprise.
“Where are we going, Master?”
“We’re going back to Chalm.”