Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds: A Dungeon Core Novel (Serious Probabilities Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (interesting books to read TXT) 📕

Jeska groaned with pain as she sat up; she found that she had been lying stiff as a board on the cold stone floor of the hallway, and it was rough on her body.  Thinking about the pain as it faded, she reached up suddenly and felt around her face, finding that it didn’t hurt anymore, there was no stickiness of blood, and her eye was…back.  Healed, as if nothing had happened.

It took a moment to recover from sitting up, as her mind was more than a little disoriented. When she could see again, she saw that her brother, Rosara, Pascale, and Kelty were all inside of the hallway as well, and they were all waking up with very similar groans as hers.  “Is everyone—?” she started to say, before she was interrupted.

Unfortunately, you did not succeed on this particular dungeon delve.  In other words…

YOU HAVE DIED

Fortunately, you had obtained the Health Band that drops from the first room in every dungeon.  This Band has now been consumed in your Resurrection; if you wish to challenge this dungeon again, only by exiting and entering again – as a group – will Health Bands drop from the first room.

In addition to the Health Band being consumed, you have permanently lost 1 random item you had equipped that was of Tier 1 quality and above, as well as any Drop Boxes left behind if you suffered a full-group wipe.

You have permanently lost from your inventory: N/A

Resurrection?  Does that mean what I think that means?  It was difficult for her to think clearly enough to dismiss the message from in front of her face, but when she did, she saw the others sitting up and looking around in wonder and confusion.

“Uh…I think we died, everyone,” her brother said unnecessarily.  Jeska was pretty sure that everyone else had gotten the same message.

Rosara managed to scoot her way over to Arcen, before draping herself over his lower body as her own shook with sobs.  “That was…so scary, Arcy!  I thought I’d never see you again.”

She would make this all about her, wouldn’t she?  She ignored the rest of the exchange between her brother and the Mayor’s daughter, and instead concentrated on getting to her feet.  She was a little dizzy and uncoordinated at first, but after 30 seconds, she felt a little better.  It felt like her mind was getting used to being in her “Resurrected” body again, and there was an adjustment period.

Flopping down next to Pascale and Kelty, she saw some haunted looks on their faces that she was sure was mirrored on her own.  “Are you two alright?”

Kelty sighed heavily.  “No…but I will be.  That was just a lot more intense than I could’ve imagined.  What does all of this mean?”

That isn’t an easy question to answer.  “It means that there is a lot more to being a Hero than I knew.  It also makes a lot more sense, too.”

Pascale spoke for the first time since their resurrection.  “What do you mean?”

She wasn’t sure where to start.  “Well, from the various Heroes I’ve spoken with over the years – not nearly as many as my father, of course – the stories they tell are of delving through extremely dangerous dungeons…and yet they never spoke about anyone dying on those ‘dangerous’ expeditions.  Not once did they go into detail about any of this,” she said as she spread her hands to encompass the entire dungeon.  “Whether it’s a secret we’re not supposed to share, I can’t answer, but all of them had been rather closed-mouthed about their normal everyday life as a Hero.  The only stories they really shied away from were the ones when they were fighting giant monsters across the mainland, only mentioning it in passing.  I think it had to do with the fact that some of them actually died during those battles.”

“But…what about these Health Bands?” Kelty asked, confused.  So was Jeska, in all honesty; she didn’t have an answer.

Luckily, their former pickpocket did.  He cleared his throat and said, “Well, when we first received the Bands, I was able to sneak a better look at it for a split-second before it was absorbed into my body. All I remember seeing of it was it saying something about it being deactivated as soon as it passes the threshold of the dungeon where it was obtained.”

“And if it’s deactivated,” Jeska said slowly, “then it obviously won’t work outside of a dungeon.  If there is a monster big enough to destroy a city, then it wouldn’t be in a dungeon; if it isn’t in a dungeon, Heroes can’t obtain one of those Bands—”

“—and hence they can die,” Kelty finished for her.  “So, what I think you’re saying is that this dungeon – and others like it – are designed to…what?  Train us to fight the big baddies without the fear of permanent death?”  Is that what this is all about?  Jeska saw movement out of the corner of her eye and stiffened for a moment, but it was only her brother shaking his head.

Arcen, having obviously eavesdropped on their conversation now that Rosara had composed herself, spoke up.  “No, I don’t think that’s it.  Or at least, not all of it,” he said with a serious tone to his voice.  “It isn’t to train us to not fear permanent death in a dungeon, but to make us immune to the fear of death at all.  What better way to fight these ‘World Threats’ than to have a group of people who are literally fearless, because they’ve died so many times that they’ve lost count?  Sure, if they die fighting one of these enormous monsters, it will be permanent; but they’ve lived more than a normal person could ever hope to live, no matter how hard they tried.”

That was