As the sand began to fly into his face, he pulled his mask over his mouth and he noticed sand begin to leak from the stone walls around them.Bryn seemed to take notice as well and began organizing his pack and standing up.


    I heard rumors from May about the reports from the purple and blue parties that went down today.There’s some sort of wind-based Djinn mini boss they’re having trouble with.”He said as Jordan dusted himself off and lugged his gear on his back.


    He could still feel where the Nature’s Credit Skill had guided him, and he led the way as Bryn continued to speak.


    It’s good work for us, but the dungeon is too dangerous for civilians.Even if they put plenty of guards around the entrance, people hate the idea of monsters being at their doorstep.Some hate it so much that they move out into the country, where no dungeons have ever appeared.Getting rid of the dungeon quickly is good for business, and giving adventurers good incentives makes them work efficiently, which in turn is good for everyone’s reputation.” Bryn said.Jordan hated the politics of the workplace, but Bryn loved the gossipy aspect of it, so Jordan smiled and nodded as he rambled.


    A couple of scorpions the size of small dogs and a floating eye were swiftly shot down by Jordan’s arrows as Bryn studied the Convergence Circle they would be using for this floor''s final boss.


    It was considerably stronger than the thorny dogs they had just killed, but it was still manageable at their rank.Based on the desert environment, Bryn had narrowed down the specific circles he would need and continued to study the pattern until Jordan spoke up.


    Bryn looked over and saw a passageway that appeared to lead into a room similar in size where they had fought the Cactus Dogs.“I have a hunch, let me lead,” Jordan said as he readied his bow.The path to the entrance was cramped, with the sand pouring from the stone walls making the tight space feel even more claustrophobic.The hot air was suffocating to Bryn, as he panted and poured water over his head.The tengrathi’s inability to sweat was something Bryn was quite ashamed of, as he found the panting he was forced to do was not exactly dignified.


    There were 2 main differences between this room and the others, however.


    The body of a hippo, the back of a crocodile, and the legs of a lion were the anatomy, and Jordan was not sure which feature was the most dominant.However, he was personally disturbed by the hippopotamus aspect the most.


    Dungeons were known for creating new monsters that didn''t exist in the world before.Many creatures that adventurers are contracted by Everwatch to dispose of were brought into the area by escaping from a dungeon.There were no concrete theories as to how the creatures were created in the dungeons or why, with this unique creature being another confusing example for future researchers.“I thought it was going to be a big snake, I was getting big snake vibes,” Jordan said, sadly slumping against the wall.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    “When you used Credit you said this one didn''t feel particularly strong right?” he asked as Jordan sat on the ground, sorting through the arrow additives he had left.


    Did you do any homework on what the weaknesses of a hippo atrocity are? That''s a work in progress on the name by the way”Jordan said.He had a paralyze and flash additive left, along with the big boy but that shouldn''t be necessary.


    He felt the den in his body uncomfortably travel through his body and into his nose.He took 3 deep inhales, aiming his Smell Weakness Skill at his target.The stink of this strange monster filled his nose, and he shuddered at the unpleasant aroma.As much as he hated the process, the glowing outline around the hippo atrocity made his objective clear.He readied his now and turned to Bryn.


    As it soared through the air, Jordan took a moment to take pride in how far his skill had come.His aim had always been exceptional compared to his peers even as a child, and his arrow struck its target yet again.It cried in pain, its scream that of a goat, which made the situation even more disturbing.Jordan''s moment of pride was ruined by the noise, and he continued slightly sadder than before.


    Jordan sprinted through the room to his grotesque target.Keeping count of the time the paralyze additive gave him, he pulled his sword out as he approached the creature''s neck.


    His sword cut through it like butter, the beast''s purple blood shooting out like a geyser above it.The scales on its back scraped on the stone floor, and its furry legs went limp.


    “No stains this time, when I cleaned up slick rats I was covered in viscera every night.How do you like viscera I''m thinking of adding it to my vocabulary” Jordan said.


    You work on commission and part of that commission is documenting new creatures, how many tongues does it have?” Bryn said, examining the corpse.


    I haven''t been to the casino in 5 weeks I''m itching for any form of gambling” Jordan said walking to the wooden box at the end of the room.


    The chests contained random contents but were profitable enough that the incentive of chests alone drew parties to dungeon quests.Bryn looked down briefly at the corpse before following Jordan to the chest.


    Jordan began to reach toward the latch with his left hand but paused before pulling it back.He spit into his right hand, reaching back to the box again.


    That''s the motto that I made up in the moment.I''m hoping there''s a god out there that likes improv.” Jordan said.Opening the box, the pair looked in and saw a hefty amount of gold inside.It was nothing record-breaking, but Bryn estimates there was at least 300 gold inside.


    We should wrap this up soon, I want to spend some of this money.” Bryn said, writing their acquisition in his report.Adventurers kept all of the treasure from the chests they found but were encouraged to report the results to the guild so they could gather accurate data.


    The pair covered their ears in pain, and as they lowered their hands, Bryn noticed a smoking hole in the chest.They looked toward the origin of the sound toward the passageway entrance and saw 2 figures.


    The man he was with looked much stranger though.He seemed mostly human, but his right arm appeared to be made of some sort of metal.He was tall and lean wearing a black vest with no shirt underneath.He wore brown leather pants with holsters on both legs, and the black boots on his feet crackled with den.