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

could see them in action against a dungeon that was much more difficult than her previous section.  Not their Class skills, of course, because they were relatively basic – being low-Level Raiders without any Specialized Class – but the ones they had gained from her Bonding were proving themselves quite useful.

In her original section, activating a trap would be detrimental, but it wouldn’t necessarily kill someone – other than her Spiked Pit Traps, naturally.  In her new section, the traps were stronger and certainly could result in death, especially if they were on the side of a cliff face or stone bridge, where falling off and plummeting to their death – if they were, for example, extremely dizzy – was a distinct possibility.  Combined with the presence of her creatures, who would take advantage of those sorts of situations, the risks were certainly heightened.

Not that many who delved through now succumbed to her traps, as the majority of them “luckily” avoided the worst of the results, but a few certainly did.  Most of the time, though, even if they accidentally activated a detrimental trap, they miraculously fell down against a cliff face instead of off of it, or ran scared as a result of a Fear-inducing trap in the opposite direction where danger lurked, or even bent over from extreme nausea, right when an arrow would’ve skewered them in the throat.

Sterge, Gwenda, and their group didn’t have to worry about any of that, however.  The pulse from their Dungeon Sight ability allowed them to not only see the traps Tacca had placed around her dungeon, but the creatures as well.  Therefore, in the first room with the Cliff Lynxes hiding along the cliff face, they were able to start picking off her creatures from a long distance away, either from thrown knives sent out by their Scout Class or from some simple spells coming from Gwenda.  While they didn’t necessarily kill any of the Lynxes immediately with one shot, like the group of strong Thieves led by Marvus had accomplished a while ago, they were usually able to follow it up with a 2nd or 3rd knife or spell before they could even get close.  By that point, all they had to do was carefully navigate their way around her traps – and they were done.

The second room was nearly a repeat of the first, as knowing where all of the threats were located was proving to be most advantageous.  It required a bit more melee action against the Wolves and Cougars than the previous room, but the 3 other group members showed that they were a bit more powerful than they had been the last time they were inside of her dungeon.  Her Bonded, having spent most of the time Tacca had been “gone” in the nearby town, had stagnated in terms of their Levels, while their groupmates had obviously improved somewhat.

“I must say, having experienced going through a few dungeons without your…abilities…you two are more powerful than you realize,” the Elf, who Tacca remembered was named Evy, said after they had slaughtered their way through the maze in the third room.

Gwenda was the one to answer.  “How so?”

“Because,” Evy said with exasperation, “while there are Scout types that detect and disarm traps, it isn’t always foolproof.”

“Yes, and it takes a lot of practice and building up of the skill in order for them to be useful for anything but the weakest of traps,” Mordecai, the Gnome, added.

Tacca knew that for a fact, both from her schooling and from witnessing the 20-strong group of Thieving Raiders in action.  In fact, in her defensive room, only one of those that had come with them could accurately differentiate between all of her traps, let alone disarm them.

“And then there’s your ability to see where all of the monsters are located, which is something I’ve never heard of before for any Class.  There are some that can detect the general area of life forces, and others that can detect sounds and movement nearby, but there’s nothing like what you two can do.  When you add them together, it’s almost like…cheating, if I’m being honest.”

“Not that we’re complaining, of course, because it makes it much safer for us,” their healer, William, said hastily.  “But I couldn’t help but wonder if Ricardo and Evonne would’ve been alive if we’d had access to something like that.”  Tacca had no idea who Ricardo and Evonne were, but the three higher-Level group members looked quite melancholy at the mention of their names.

Gwenda said softly, “I’m sorry about them, and I too wish we could’ve been there with you, but…well…we had some responsibilities.”

“Oh, we know, and we don’t hold it against you.  Frankly, we’re just glad to be back.  To put it lightly, it was difficult out there to live and survive, never knowing if you’re going to be alive to stay at the inn where you just rented a room, or if you would be able to find more group members to visit a dungeon that is too strong for your current Level.  This, though…this feels like home, somehow, despite it being a dungeon.”

The others nodded their agreement – and Tacca was honestly confounded.  Home?  Here?  What even does that mean?

The Dungeon Core didn’t get any more answers to that as she watched them steadily progress through her dungeon, as they had all gone relatively silent throughout the rest of the rooms.  There were a few close calls where one or another became injured through the sheer numbers of creatures arrayed against them, such as an arrow through an arm or leg from a Kitsune Archer or scratches from a large Feline, but overall they performed remarkably well – as if they hadn’t been away for as long as they had been.

When they finally approached the Boss Room, Tacca became worried for them for the first time.  The Werewolf Warrior inside