Another day, another dive into the dungeon. The plan for today was simple, Ellena wished to see the rest of the Wolf infested area of the first floor. There couldn’t have been much more of their territory, or even much more of the first floor itself. She was still yet to find the route down, but it had to be within arms reach now.
Even having cleared out a good route to where she last left off, Ellena still managed to bag a level on her way. She didn’t want to clear out the first level entirely as that might damage the ecosystem. Or at least according to Ellephwen that was the case. So many mortal adventuring parties do just that. Eventually dungeons return to form, but it can take a long time to recover.
Ellena came upon a sight that gave her pause a few days ago. The large groups of Grey Wolves that had blocked her path before. She realised just a few days before that she could take them on with some effort, but seeing so many. Two, three four groups of five stood before her, and that was just what she could see.
She hopped on her stubby feet, trying to get some adrenaline pumping, then she took off, darting towards the first group. It was not effortless, but she took them out quick and clean, weaving, smashing and crushing her way through the group.
It went by with only a few scratches, but these were still ordinary Grey Wolves, there would no doubt be stronger specimens further in. Carefully, Ellena fought each group one by one, making sure not to draw the others in.
Eventually, the corridor had been freed, she had grown two levels and still had the energy to continue a little longer. She had two main routes now open to her, one a right turn halfway down the corridor she stood in, the other was a left turn at the end.
Ellena decided to go down the left way. It wasn’t too far from another tunnel if she was to believe the mental map she had been keeping, so it likely led to a dead end. Rule one of dungeon delving is to look for dead ends first. Though she had been told that by a certain old Dwarf many years ago.
When she turned the corner, it was hard to tell if her map was correct. There was a doorway at the end, somewhat artificial looking, but in front of it were two stronger looking Grey Wolves.
It was likely they were Elder Grey Wolves. Evolved Grey Wolves, the kind of evolution that they would naturally reach just from aging. They were larger and had longer matted fur. They also had a streak of black fur along their heads with varying shapes, mostly with the appearance of lightning.
As soon as the two noticed the Mushman at the other end of the corridor, they both growled, lowering their bodies, showing aggression. One moved closer to the center of the corridor, blocking the main door.
To Ellena, that was a pretty clear sign that they were guarding something important. A grin crept onto her face as she activated her Mushroom Shield ability. She sent it ahead of her as she charged.
The two Elders kicked up dust as they darted to meet her in the middle of the corridor. They were both definitely faster than her, but hopefully that was all they were.
She smacked the first to the side using the shield and jumped over the second, the Mushman then spun around as the two Wolves recovered for a second dash. Without giving them a chance, she threw the shield back into the first Wolf that she had already hit, smacking it against the cave wall, her greatest friend in recent days.
The free Wolf used her distraction to leap for her, but she managed to dodge despite the distraction. The Elder was somewhat smarter than the average Wolf though and managed to stretch its claw out to cut through a few layers of her skin. Compared to most wounds she had taken, it was not much.
Using the small amount of time this second Elder would take to turn back around, Ellena turned her attention to the first, still disoriented from the smack against the wall. She smacked the shield into their body once again, forcing a pained yelp out. Then, before it could even move, she charged headfirst into its head, cracking it against a particularly sharp outcrop.
A pained howl bounced off the walls behind her as her other foe gave itself just a moment to mourn. A situation that did fill Ellena with a little guilt, even so, that was the nature of the world of Monsters. Something that she was slowly getting used to.
She didn’t let this second Wolf get ahold of itself though, instead she brought her shield behind it and smacked it towards her. The Elder let out a surprised yelp as they flew straight for Ellena’s poised body.
The Mushman lowered her head and dug her pudgy feet into the ground as the Wolf helplessly smacked into her. She felt the impact, then heard it bounce into a wall, hitting both objects with pain inducing speed. She had taken some damage from the impact, but it was nothing compared to what could have been.
It was not dead though, just broken and bleeding, so, Ellena finished the poor Elder off, it would have been cruel to leave the beast in that situation. Still, that was a victory against a foe that did surprising damage to her with just a scratch.
“Overall level has increased from [Level 41] to [Level 43]!”
“Unique skill [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 16}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 17}]!”
“Skill [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 3] has increased to [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 4]!”
Ellena had not had a good look at her stats for a while, so she decided to have a quick look. She was down in this dungeon nearly every day, so they had to be rising slowly. Especially given that she was now strong enough to fight the elders of a species, even if they were some of the weakest out there.
Name: Ellena
Age: 60 days
Species: Lesser Mushman Guardian, Mushman
Height: 3’4”
Sex: N/A
Level: 43 +16
Health: 64/82 +19
Mana: 06/21 +10
Stamina: 74/98 +21
Energy:76/98 +21
Attack: 74 +16
Defence: 167 +34
Magic Attack: 26 +8
Magic Defence: 48 +15
Titles: Kin of Ellephwen
Skills: [Pain Resistance lvl 7] +1 [Night vision lvl 6] +1 [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 17}] +4
[Tough Stomach lvl 4] +1 [Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 4] +4 [Swiftfoot lvl 7] +2 [Warriors Heart lvl 8] +1 [Warriors Will lvl 6] +2 [Lesser Regeneration lvl 6] +1 [Guardian lvl 6] +1
It looked as though her magic related stats had begun to grow a little faster, they were all lagging far behind before. Perhaps it was due to her using them more often thanks to her shield ability. Would she continue to use the Mushroom Shield when she grew arms and could carry a weapon? She had no idea.
Despite the power behind it, the mystique and convenience that came with it, Ellena was never that interested in magic. There were a few in the village that could use a few basic spells or abilities, but it wasn’t something she grew up around and even after witnessing Samora and Ellephwen use theirs, she still didn’t have that much desire for her own. Though she wouldn’t complain if she acquired more abilities like the shield.
After a brief respite to catch her breath, the Mushman carried on through the doorway the two Elders were protecting, eager to find out why. Somehow, that small rocky tunnel seemed to open up to a… Well it was a lake. She had already seen something unexpected in the Rat Lords den, but this was truly unexpected. It wasn’t just a lake, it was a small paradise.
The lake took up most of the room and it was quite a room. Large enough to house a small woods and many berry bushes. Dozens of Horned Rabbits being chased by young Grey Wolves with their parents watching from a distance. There was enough food and water here to keep the young Wolves growing strong and happy. It was no wonder the two Elders defended it to the death.
Unfortunately, there was no door on the other side of the room and she did not have enough mana to cast her shield again. Two Elder Wolves and two dozen normal Wolves were a different story. Ellena decided it would be best for both parties if she just turned around and let them get back to their lives, that is until they left the room to find the sentries dead. It would be something straight out of a ghost story frankly.
She still had a bit of time, so turned around as there were at least two other tunnels she knew of at this point. First, was the other way from where she fought the two Elder Grey Wolves.
It didn’t take long for her to figure out what that tunnel was used for, littered with long rotten mortal bodies and a few Monster bodies here and there. It must have been where they left their meals after eating for whatever reason. She had not seen any adventurers yet in this dungeon and there had been no recent bodies, so she assumed it was either forgotten about or was a bit too difficult to reach this deep in the forest.
At the end of the tunnel lay a dead end, with a great deep hole digging into the earth and likely to the second floor. As much as she wanted to find an entry to the next floor this isn’t quite what she had in mind, it might have been a little difficult to get back out of. There were many more bodies around here, and judging by the smell and blood stains, even more down the hole. This was certainly not an area worth returning to.
So, there was at least one other tunnel she remembered seeing in the Grey Wolves territory and she had time to at least have a look. So, the Mushman turned from the foul smelling refuse chamber and jogged to her destination.
When she arrived though, she regretted the jog. Greeting her as soon as she entered this slightly wider tunnel, was five Elder Grey Wolves. She still did not have enough mana back and she definitely did not have it in her to fight that many without a terrible wound again. So, Ellena did the only logical thing she could. She ran.
The ex-Human darted through the tunnels with five large beasts in tow. She turned Guardian off as to not attract anymore attention and weaved her way through any other monster she found, hoping they might clash with the Wolves.
She had to fight them a little as she fought for the entrance as the more experienced Wolves were not only a little faster, but also decently cunning too. By the time she reached the forest outside, she had managed to one of the five, injure two others and escape the other two. Chances are she could have won, but it would have been quite painful. At least she managed to gain another level and a few stat boosts, including Swiftfoot, which was getting close to level ten.
Still, Ellena was covered in blood and had definitely suffered too many scratches and cuts to go back into the dungeon for now. Her health was about half, but it was not worth the risk. So she headed home. That Elder Wolf infested tunnel would hopefully be a lot more empty later on.
When she arrived home, there was a muffled voice coming from inside the house, one Ellena didn’t recognise. It was rising, tense and sharp, then it stopped and the door slammed open.
In the frame stood a Human sized treelike Monster, an Ent, Ellena guessed. He looked down towards the Mushman, scowled then clicked his tongue, marching past her.
Ellephwen stood behind him with a leaf-built bag hanging on her shoulder. Ellena looked up at her and tilted her head. What’s that all about? Never seen an Ent before.
She smiled briefly, but it was forced. “Gedil’s not an Ent Ellena, he’s a Treechild. I believe you mentioned that was one of your evolutionary choices, no?”
What’s the difference?
“Well, even the shortest Ent variant is twelve feet tall for one. Also when they’re asleep they’re almost impossible to tell apart from a normal tree, they don’t even technically have arms, each branch working as a fully controllable limb. They can also sleep for years at a time. By comparison, a Treechild is almost always Human sized with similar builds, including arms and legs”
Wait. Does that mean if I chose to evolve into a Treechild I’d have arms by now? God’s damn it!
“You made the right choice Ellena. Treechildren are generally slow and weak, their only strength being their incredible durability. A first evolution would leave you weaker than you are now. Gedil is rare, quite old and powerful even for his particular variant,” she explained shifting the bag on her shoulder.
An ancient and powerful Monster decided to scowl at what was practically a newborn? What a strange creature he is.
The Dryad sighed. “Ignore him, Ellena. He is just upset that you chose to evolve into a Mushman and not a Treechild.”
Why?
She looked hesitant to answer, looking away from Ellena. “He… Thought you would make a good wife with the stories I had told him about you.”
Ellena looked dumbfounded, not knowing how to take what she had just heard. Well… Quite the charmer, huh?
“I do not want to talk ill of him, but, let me just say stress can damage you in unpleasant ways, and no one in this forest is more stressed than Gedil…” she paused. “Though plenty of that is self-inflicted,” she added under her breath.
What?
Ellephwen smiled awkwardly, then knelt down. “Doesn’t matter. Just listen, I have a promise to fulfil, and Gedil has chosen now for me to try and fulfil it. I will be gone at least tonight, maybe longer. I’m sorry this is sudden, but I left a few days worth of meals in the kitchen, they should be easy enough for you to get to.”
Ellena nodded, though she didn’t really know how to take it. It was quite sudden and it was also the first time something like this had happened. Alright, just, be careful. This seems, weird…
The woman's smile shifted, warming a little as she kissed the Mushman’s head. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t wait up.”
She stood and walked away, catching up to the waiting Gedil who shot Ellena another poorly received look. Ellena watched as the two disappeared into the trees, lingering for just a little longer than necessary.
The Mushman then proceeded inside to carry on with her nightly rituals, food, relaxation and eventually bed, hoping as every minute passed the Dryad would return through the front door, but she never did. It was strange, they had not been living together long, but already the house felt so empty without her.