Thread: The Dungeon Age (Wingshadow & I)

A long time ago in a world unlike the Earth, there was a great war. Races of all shapes and sizes waged a seemingly endless war against one another in an attempt to establish themselves as the dominant species. As they fought, the world around them was reduced to nothing more than a barren waste, nearly incapable of supporting life of any kind. And Just when it seemed like there was no hope left, when it appeared that the foolish pride of the beings of this world would destroy themselves, the ground shuddered beneath them. It was a quake that, quite literally, shook the world to its senses. For within the epicenter of this massive quake, something mysterious awakened. Upon investigation, it was revealed to be an immense labyrinth consisting of monsters, minerals and other various oddities never before seen in this realm. One by one, the races of the world congregated to explore this new, undiscovered land that laid under their noses. With their hearts still sullied by the sin of pride, they kept their distance from each other, hoarding their discoveries to themselves fearing that knowledge would give their enemies an advantage over them in the conflict above. But as the years passed, a strange thing began to happen. The deeper they went into The Dungeon, as they soon named it, the more they discovered how dangerous a place it truly was. Monsters of greater and greater strength began to appears that no individual race could take on alone. So daunting was they mystery of The Dungeon and the curiosity of those who braved it, that they had no choice but to agree to a truce in order to advance. And it was in this truce that the world began to experience a revival that no one had ever imagined to be possible. Out of the barrens, new life began to spring forth. Waters that were once dirtied with the blood of the slain started to become clear. Trees that had been stripped bare began to blossom. Minerals and tools excised from The Dungeon were used to rebuild the civilizations from the ground up, and what's more, after a set period of time, they would somehow regrow as if by magic. Unfortunately, this also extended to the monsters of The Dungeon, who not only gained new life, but seemed to learn from their earlier defeat. Soon, simply throwing massive numbers at these creatures proved to be futile. Millions lost their lives in the following years and it became apparent that only those who had the constitution and the will were allowed to enter the depths of The Dungeon. The races of the world held a grand conference to determine what their next move should be and agreed on two important things First, they agreed on the construction of a grand capital dedicated to the exploration and excavation of The Dungeon. In this capital, one would be allowed to take up various professions, whether it be an adventurer dedicated to slaying the monsters of the dungeon or a blacksmith, who's job it was to construct weaponry and other useful tools for either The Dungeon or the outside world. The other agreement would the the authorization of The Guilds. These Guilds served two purposes. One, the congregation of professions in order to make their jobs easier and two, to promote peaceful relations between the races of the world since despite this time of peace, there were still those who held a grudge against those not of their kind. This was the beginning of The Dungeon Age. Ever since then, the world has slowly been expanding its parameters. Gone were the years of war and strife and in its place, a new kind of battle was taking place. The battle with The Dungeon itself. Since its emergence, not one single person has ever found the bottom. To those who tried, only death or disappointment awaited them. While it was revered as a miracle that brought the world from the brink of annihilation, it was reviled as a place of death and destruction that tore brothers from sisters, mothers from sons, fathers from daughters and husbands from wives. Still, there were those who did not heed the warnings. It was not just from those who held stubborn pride in their hearts, but also the very small and innocent. The Dungeon has grown to have many entrances through the years, many of which are well guarded so that only those who are authorized to enter may do so at their leisure. But every once in awhile, a new entrance pops up. One that is unseen by the naked eye. It is by complete luck that one child was able to discover this new entrance. He had heard the stories from their parents and other adventurers who happened to pass their way and thought it would be fun to take on The Dungeon as if it were some kind of game. With naught but a wooden stick in his hand, he slowly descends the mysteriously crafted staircase into the first level of The Dungeon. For most, the first level looks like your typical cave carved of stone and glowing moss. Small patches of grass shake in the light breeze that comes up from the deeper parts of the level. There is an echo of dripping water in the distance signifying a nearby puddle or pond, the latter of which might occasionally hide some small, fresh water fish for those who want to fish at the beginners level. To the boy, it all seems surprisingly...boring. Where's the epic adventure? The thrills? The spills? For a moment, he contemplates leaving the dungeon until a nearby bush shakes with activity. As he turns to investigate, a small, green goo jumps out and lands with a slight jiggle. It is a simple slime, one of the most common monsters to inhabit The Dungeon. Curiosity suddenly filled the boy's mind. How could such a creature exist? It didn't have the look of any living thing he had ever seen. It didn't even appear to have a heart, yet it was lively as it rolled towards him, leaving a slimy trail behind it. The boy knelled down to get a better look at it and when he did, the slime gyrated back and forth as if it were dancing before suddenly shooting forward and hitting the boy in the forehead, knocking him back on his rear end. The boy was shocked, not at the fact that the slime attacked him, but just how much it stung. It felt like someone gave him a swift backhand to the face. Curiosity now turned to anger as the boy picked up his wooden sword and swung it wildly, hitting the slime and splattering it against the cave wall. It slid down and landed with a whimper before exploding into dust and leaving behind a shiny object. If he remembered correctly, this is what they called Fol. It was a kind of gem that all monsters dropped when they were killed and the bigger they were, the larger the stone would be. For some reason, people liked to collect this stuff and trade it in for currency , but why would such a generic looking stone like this be so valuable? Whatever the case was, maybe the boy could make some use of it and thus, he picked it up and pocketed it before continuing further into the dungeon. As he did, he began to encounter more slimes. They seemed to pop up out of nowhere and, just like the first one he encountered, attacked with the same charge which, by now, the boy was ready for. Soon, his wooden sword was made damp and green with the 'blood' of the slimes he had slain and his pockets were nearly filled to the brim with Fol. This was easy, he thought to himself as he tore through another of The Dungeon's denizens, a slightly large cockroach. What exactly was there to fear? These monsters were pushovers, even for a child. Surely, the rest of The Dungeon would be as easy, right? As soon as that thought crossed his mind, a strong gust of wind blew towards him from the north. He turned in that direction, frozen at the sudden change in atmosphere. Even though he was but a child, he knew something wasn't right here. The walls of the cave began to shake slightly, and then again in a pattern that grew louder and louder. It was as if something large were walking in his direction and when it entered his field of vision, a chill crept up the boy's spine. He was used to the sight of slimes by now, but this one was on an entirely different level. The thing must have been as tall as the ceiling and almost just as wide. Upon its head was a crown befitting a king and thus, the boy confirmed it to be a King Slime. What he didn't know, what all properly trained adventurers were supposed to know, was that within each level of The Dungeon was a creature much stronger than its smaller brethren. Since it normally guarded the path to the next level, it was given the title of Guardian Monster and these things were no joke. It would normally take a party of at least five adventurers to take down a Guardian and in some extreme cases, a party of over 100 different individuals, each with their own unique skills and talents would have to be made necessary. And regardless of whether the Guardian was facing a seasoned adventurer or a child, it would show no mercy towards its prey, a fact that the boy found out first hand as it shot a massive ball of slime at him which he frantically dodged before taking off and running as fast as he could to get away. But now that the King Slime had seen an intruder in its territory, it was set on eliminating its prey. It began its pursuit, rolling much faster than a normal slime should and it was soon apparent that the boy would not be able to outrun it. In fact, much to his horror, he found himself lost within the corridors of the cave, his fear clouding his judgement and sense of direction to the point that he ended up cornered in a section far from the exit to freedom that he desired. The King Slime began to close in, now joined by some of its slimy minions, their intent made clear by their aura of murderous intent. The boy cowered and closed his eyes, praying that someone would be fortunate enough to come to his rescue...