After spending some time window shopping, the group took a taxicab towards Venice Park.
The portal has spawned in a location that civilians frequent, prompting a quick response from Awakeners.
Markus took the lead, entering the portal, scouting its vicinity, and clearing any potential threats.
Markus's feet sank slightly into the sandy ground; the dungeon, mired with sand, came into view.
Crystal clear pools of water could be seen reflecting light within the dungeon's environment.
The girls followed closely behind, awestruck by the gorgeous dungeon environment.
It is without a doubt the most beautiful dungeon that Markus has stepped into in the past weeks.
"Mika, you will take the lead this run. Your ice element is greatly enhanced in this humid environment, Donna and Jessica position yourselves right behind Mika, and Rosanne in the back," Markus commanded.
Markus took out a piece of black cloth and blindfolded himself.
Vision is limited by light and obstacles.
True Spatial Law treats the universe as a 3D coordinate system. By blinding himself, Markus is forcing his brain to "see" the ripples in the vacuum, the density of oxygen, and the vibrations of sound.
[Spatial Perception]
Markus felt the spatial elements in the surroundings, slowly regaining his view of the surroundings.
It felt like he was viewing the dungeon from outside a box, from a third person's perspective.
By removing the "noise" of light and shadow, Markus is treating the dungeon like a mathematical grid.
He isn't "seeing" the Nagas; he is feeling the displacement of air and the gravitational signature of their bodies.
This will likely evolve his Void Perception into a passive Radar that makes him impossible to ambush, even by high-tier assassins.
[Naga Scout] Level 23
[Naga Scout] Level 23
[Naga Scout] Level 22
A group of Naga scouts spotted Mika treading through the sand.
"HA WOOOOO", one of the scouts blew a horn, attached to its waist, alerting the Naga population deeper within of intruders.
Markus stayed silent, letting the girls make their own decisions while learning from any potential mistakes.
[Wind Barrier]
[Ice Shield]
Mika and Donna stacked their shields atop one another.
After the horn sounded, they had expected a battle that would come in waves.
[Lightning Wind Blade]
[Naga Scout] Level 23 Slain
[Naga Scout] Level 23 Slain
[Naga Scout] Level 22 Slain
[Level Up]
A large group of Nagas nearby approached.
[Naga Warrior] Level 23
[Naga Warrior] Level 23
[Naga Warrior] Level 23
[Naga Archer] Level 25
[Naga Archer] Level 25
"Rosanne! Use your new spell!" Mika hollered. The Naga Archers long range put them in a bind as the Naga Warriors approached in melee range.
[Blinding Light]
[Blind debuff applied: 60 seconds]
[Ice Lance] x 3
[Lightning Wind Blade] x 2
[Light Beam]
The quartet quickly dispatched the group of 5 Nagas, moving to a different part of the dungeon to take a breather.
[Level Up]
..
An oasis surrounded by palm trees, containing freshwater, appeared in the distance.
Surprisingly, drinking freshwater from the oasis granted them 100 mana regen per second for 30 seconds.
In no time, their mana reserves were replenished.
They spent another 10 minutes recovering from mental exhaustion.
Casting multiple skills consecutively took a mental drain on their minds and mana circuits.
**
Markus casually strolled behind, collecting samples in the dungeon whilst keeping an eye on the girls.
"Watch out for traps," Markus hinted, the girls going on high alert, looking around for hidden contraptions.
[Naga Trapper] Level 26
[Naga Trapper] Level 26
[Naga Mage] Level 27
(This is probably the midpoint of the dungeon; these beasts are stationed here to slow and cripple dungeon invaders.)
"Same tactics!!" Mika shouted, prompting Rosanne to charge up her blinding light ability.
[Blinding Light]
[Lightning Wind Blade]
[Ice Lance]
[Naga Trapper] Level 26 Slain
[Naga Trapper] Level 26 Slain
[Aqua Jet]
[Mika]
[Health: 2,300/9,000]
The Naga Mage blindly casted it's aqua jet ability, striking Mika through its blindness.
Donna stepped forwards replacing Mika as the tank, whilst Rosanne began healing her up.
[Wind Barrier]
[Healing Light]
[Mika]
[Health: 3,500/9,000]
The quartet began to learn that fighting dungeon beasts in their habitat is extremely disadvantageous.
[Spatial Bubble]
Markus enveloped Mika in a protective layer of space to prevent any accidents from happening.
[Lightning Wind Blade]
[Naga Mage] Level 27 Slain
[Level up]
----------------------------------------------------------
Name: Rosanne Vance
Age: 10
Class: Priestess of Light (Tier 1)
Affinities: Light (SS)
Level: 20
Health: 12,000/12,000
Mana: 27,100/31,000
Strength: 40
Agility: 90
Constitution: 90
Intelligence: 150
Available free attributes: 0
Active Skills:
Healing Light
Blinding Light
Healing Domain
Passive Skills:
Body refinement (Tier 3)
Equipment:
Vance Family Crest
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 2)
----------------------------------------------------------
"Alright, ladies, take a quick rest, drink your health and mana potions," Markus said, "I'll stand guard and dismantle the traps around us."
Markus perceived several traps before them and sent spatial blades, triggering the traps before them.
Quicksand Traps
Water Traps
Poison Traps
Elemental Glyphs
Beast Traps
All triggered at once, the beasts that emerged from hidden cages died from the collateral damage of the elemental glyphs triggering.
Flame Glyphs
Water Glyphs
Wind Glyphs
Earth Glyphs
It seemed like this dungeon's difficulty was not as simple as it looked.
A tier 2 team would be heavily injured if they fell victim to traps whilst in combat.
"Rosanne, note down these peculiarities within this dungeon, you will be doing the reporting to Elder Ke Xin for this mission," Markus commanded.
Rosanne, being the backline healer, is in the perfect position to lead the team.
This allows the damage dealers to focus on combat, while she can heal and look at the bigger picture.
Rosanne diligently recorded the various events that had happened so far, determined not to let brother Markus down.
Mika finally healed up and got ready to lead the team into the boss's domain.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Markus thought to himself.
A familiar set of double doors appeared at the end of the boss's room, as the Key to the Temple of Space reacted within his inventory.
A Naga High Priestess could be seen in the center of the boss room.
Starlight poured through the open ceiling, whilst it was prostrating itself towards the intricate midnight-black doors.
[Mutated Naga High Priestess]
[Level 33]
[Elemental Affinity: Space]
[Health: 67,000/67,000]
"Ladies, get back, I'll handle this one, it's too dangerous, a tier 3 beast at level 33," Markus whispered, moving forward.
[Spatial Bubble]
[Spatial Domain]
Markus layered his spatial domain upon his spatial bubble ability.
This battle would be one of law comprehension.
Nagini, feeling a change in the fluctuation of spatial elements, slithered onto Markus's neck.
[Laws of Space: 20% + 3%(Nagini)]
Nagini boosted Markus's spatial understanding by 3% temporarily.
A significant boost to his offensive and defensive abilities.
----------------------------------------------------------
Name: Markus Blackwell
Age: 10
Class: Void Apprentice
Affinities: Space (L), Time (L)(Sealed), Fate (EX)
Health: 15,000/15,000
Mana: 40,000/40,000
Level: 32
Strength: 100
Agility: 100
Constitution: 100
Intelligence: 200
Available free attributes: 20
Laws: Space (23.00%)
Active Skills:
Spatial Slash (2.3)
Void Severance (2.3x)
Spatial Bubble (2.3x)
Spatial Domain
Sword Skills:
Vorpal Strike
Meteor Strike
Spatial Ascension
Passive Skills:
Body refinement (Tier 3)
Void Perception
Dimensional Inventory (100 x 100 sqm)
Fate's Eye
Equipment:
Heavenly Scriptures of Space
Key to the Temple of Space
Valerian Academy Student Badge
Aurelian Royal Family Crest
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 3)
Dimensional Storage Ring (Tier 1)
Prayer Cushion
Black Steel Sword
----------------------------------------------------------
Markus leapt forward, materialising his black steel sword in his left hand.
[Vorpal Strike]
[Miss]
[Vorpal Strike]
[Miss]
The sword crescent infused with spatial laws missed its mark.
The domain surrounding the Mutated Naga High Priestess warped its trajectory.
[Starfall]
The Mutated Naga High Priestess prayed towards the skies as stars began to fall upon Markus.
Markus ran in a zig-zag pattern, engaging the Mutated Naga High Priestess in melee combat.
Their Spatial Domains clashed, as the conflicting spatial laws warped the surroundings.
These 2 opposing spatial domains turned into a quagmire, heavily restricting their ability to move.
Further restricting their perception of the spatial elements around them.
[Spatial Ascension]
[3,000] x 12
Markus stood his ground before the Mutated Naga High Priestess using his strongest sword combination.
Its lethality greatly reduced as the sword's speed and strength were greatly affected by the unstable space around them.
[Mutated Naga High Priestess]
[Health: 31,000/67,000]
[Bleeding: Lose 15% of Max health every minute]
[Health: 20,950/67,000]
[Tail Swipe]
[-7,000]
The Mutated Naga High Priestess swept Markus's feet, sending him tumbling across the ground.
[Markus Blackwell]
[Health: 8,000/15,000]
[Healing Light]
[Health: 10,000/15,000]
Rosanne cast healing light from the furthest she could, staying out of the boss's aggro range.
Markus concentrated dense spatial laws within his blade, as cracks began to appear on the tier 2 sword.
[Void Severance]
[-10,000]
[Bleeding]
[-10,050]
[Mutated Naga High Priestess]
[Health: 0/67,000]
[Level Up]
Markus slumped onto the ground, his legs hurting from the strike from earlier, and his mind drained from the battle of the spatial tug-of-war with the dungeon boss.
Nagini, sensing his exhaustion, tightened her coil around his neck, her tiny tongue flickering.
"Brother, drink these potions quickly," Rosanne uncorked several health and mana potions and poured them into Markus's mouth.
"Thanks, Rosey," Markus rested his head on her lap, whilst he closed his eyes and meditated.