The Dangerously Cute Dungeon [A Dungeon Core LitRPG]

1.51 New Equipment

Tobias Humbleweed looked warily at the dungeon entrance before them. This was the first time they'd enter after meeting the dungeon master. If they had upset her the last time they were here, things could be much more difficult for them this time.

He would have preferred to come back the very next day, but they had to arrange for long-term accommodations and a better tribute. The town leader had agreed to rent an abandoned home out to them for the month. Renting inn rooms every night was too expensive for as long as they needed to remain in Millstone. Even if they doubled up on the rooms, with Tobias and Mirabella sharing a room while Matthias and Thodin shared another, the cost still added up significantly.

A small town like this didn't have much competition to worry about either. So, the innkeepers wouldn't offer incentives for renting for longer periods. The food quality wasn't great either and it wasn't exactly included in the cost of renting the room. As such, even if the cost was only slightly less, renting a home was much more cost-effective. They could prepare their own meals and all have their own space to sleep without having to worry about anyone else disturbing their rest.

"I still don't see why you all are so determined to risk your lives like this. Look at you, you're not even wearing any armor today, that's practically suicide."

Mirabella rolled her eyes as she replied

"You don't have to join us! If you're too much of a scaredy cat to even enter, then you can just as easily remain at home. You know we're here to do the slime parkour and it isn't convenient to have to worry about our armor weighing us down."

Matthias said nothing. He hadn't been expecting such a response from his teammates. Mirabella was likely just in a bad mood today. While the reason for that was all too obvious, he wasn't exactly about to mention it. The last thing he wanted was to piss off the rest of the group. Even if some [Monsters] were drawn to the smell of blood, he'd just be inviting more ire than the comment was worth.

While the group was familiar enough with the dungeon now, they still entered each room cautiously. You could never quite know when a dungeon had changed something and the last thing they wanted was to get so comfortable that they lost their lives. While it was true that the dungeon had changed since they last entered, the changes were made further in than they needed to go today.

The group gathered at the entrance to the slime parkour room. All but Matthias would be taking on the challenge today. Each of them had gone out of their way to purchase straps and special hooks so they could carry their magic lamps close to their chests. The straps were similar to those a purse worn diagonally in modern-day might look like, but they attached to a belt worn around the middle. They were useful gear in this sort of situation, but they were quite costly to purchase and the group had been planning to hold off on such a purchase, initially. However, almost losing one magic lamp the last time they had attempted this challenge was more than enough to change their mind.

"Alright, I'm going to go first. You all should wait for me to get a bit of a ways away before the next person joins. From what I saw the last time, you have to use every platform jumping to the side platform before going forward each time. It shortens the distance you have to cover and makes the challenge easier.

However, you'll also have to be on guard for the slimes hiding in the water. Their coloring makes them blend in with both the water and the dark of the room quite well. They aren't particularly dangerous, but they can knock you off balance, which can cause us to fail the challenge, if nothing else."

Mirabella nodded at her brother's words. She was careful to stuff anything that would be damaged by the water into her magic bag. As a navigator, she had often run into the problem of having a map out only to stumble upon a river she had to cross. In such situations, it was too inconvenient to always worry about her gear being damaged. As such, a magic bag had been one of the first big investments she had made.