The Dungeon Fairy: Three Lives: A Dungeon Core Escapade (The Hapless Dungeon Fairy Book 3) by Jonathan Brooks (the false prince TXT) 📕

The ceiling of the room had some familiar blue-colored stone, which he had seen in the very first room of the dungeon, along with streaks of white, giving it the appearance of a sky.  The walls were another colored stone, this time dark green that lightened in hue the closer it got to the ceiling, ending with the same color blue, making it appear as if the boundaries of the space went off into the distance. It was remarkably done, in fact, and it was seamless in its construction – something that he hadn’t expected to see in a dungeon.

Better still, his Valuation Sense was tingling when he looked at some of the lighter green stone; it wasn’t a sought-after gemstone, but he thought it could be a semi-precious stone worth something to someone.  All he knew was that this wasn’t what he was searching for, because it didn’t scream out to him like whatever it was down below, but it could be a potential source of income.  I’ll come back after I find the rest.

He was so distracted by looking at the walls that he hadn’t even looked over the dangers of the room yet.  When he finally focused on them, he also realized why the Cohort hadn’t moved from their position near the tunnel entrance.

Marvus Detected no traps, which was unusual because there had been traps in all of the other rooms so far, but the obstacle in front of them was a bit more significant.  Up on the ramparts of the “castle” wall, 8 Kitsune were poised with bows, and something told him that they were stronger than the ones they had faced before.  Reaching them would be a bit of a problem, because the wall was fairly smooth and couldn’t be climbed easily, as well as being 20 feet high.  That wasn’t to be said that it couldn’t be done, but it would take a bit longer to figure out a way up there without being shot off of the climb.

Down below, 6 Gnolls equipped with iron-like armor were arrayed across from the exit to the next room, wielding sturdy wooden shields and basic iron swords.  Melee Classes; one of the few things we’re not really suited to fighting against.  The variety of different monster types – not just Class-wise, but different species – was what made this dungeon so strange.  Normally, dungeons that he frequented and were suitable for his Raider Level had at most 2 different types of monsters, with perhaps a few varieties; this one, however, he had lost count of how many different types of opponents they had gone up against.  Now they were up against a melee-Class, of all things.

It was time for him to earn his keep, he supposed.  As the only Class in this Cohort that was suited to more of a melee role, it was going to be his job to keep the Gnolls busy, while the others took out the threats.  Marvus looked around at Gerthin and the rest of the Cohort, silently encouraging them; they had been around long enough to know what was needed even without words.

“On my go.  1…2…3…GO!”

Marvus sprinted forward, using his Rush ability to slide up next to the lead Gnoll of the pack, sliding his long steel dagger into a gap along the side of its breastplate.  He felt it pierce the tough skin of the monster, penetrating all the way to the hilt, before pulling it back out.  All of that occurred in less than a second, and the Gnoll dropped to the ground, dead before it even knew what had hit it.

A sudden instinctual flip backwards saved him from being decapitated by the Gnoll next in line, and by the time he straightened back up, Marvus was forced to fend for his life.  He wasn’t an expert fighter – he had other skills – but he could sure annoy the Gnolls enough to keep their attention on him; weaving back and forth, he either avoided most attacks against him or blocked them with his long dagger, which he typically used when faced against harder opponents.  It was going well until an arrow shot by one of the Kitsune up on the wall slammed into his left shoulder, penetrating deep enough that he quickly lost most sensation in his left arm.

“HURRY UP!” Marvus shouted, barely deflecting another slice at his head, nimbly dancing out of the way.  He pulled the arrow out of his shoulder and flung it away, before grabbing another Potion out of his bag while he rolled forward, avoiding 4 more strikes that whooshed through the air right where he had been.  Swallowing the life-saving liquid, he felt his shoulder knit itself together again, giving him feeling back in his limb.

Springing up, he managed to slice his dagger along the back of the knee of the nearest Gnoll, cutting through its tendons.  It collapsed to a knee, unable to bear any weight on its leg, and Marvus went to finish it off – but was forced to retreat as its buddies interrupted him.  C’mon, where’s my backup?  Another pair of arrows shot through where he had just been, narrowly missing him, and he began to suspect that he had been abandoned.

Fortunately for him, the Cohort was only getting into position.  As soon as he had Rushed the first Gnoll, the rest of the Cohort had disappeared, using their Stealth to camouflage themselves.  This, of course, brought the entire room’s attention on Marvus – which was a bit disconcerting – but it was necessary for them to be able to move freely and get into position.

The first of them reappeared behind the kneeling Gnoll, slicing deeply into the back of his neck with a knife; the attack didn’t kill the monster, unfortunately, but the appearance of another Cohort member next to the first followed up with another attack in