ALL NOVEL B3 | Intermission 6
Dimension-Wide Dungeon
Astrid lets out a grunt as she slams her fist into the face of a large golem made out of a black metal. Crushing the golem’s face in the process as magma shoots out of her fist, covering the golem entirely.
Then she jumps back, just in case the golem survived. But after a few seconds, she finds that it didn’t survive.
She lets out a breath of relief before lowering her fists again, looking at the System Message that plays out in her vision. One telling her about the defeat of the hidden boss.
Good. It’s dead.
Astrid glances over at the loot box that appears within the large chamber. One shaped in a circle, with various runic patterns all across the ground and walls, and a single circle in the center from which the golem was previously standing when Astrid first arrived. But now the loot box is in that spot instead.
The shadowborne hydra stands several meters away from the loot box while looking at it with her eyes narrowed a little. She’s wearing a set of red and black armor with various black snake heads sticking out of her armor and moving around with curiosity in their gazes. Occasionally breathing out a shadowy flame in a small hiss.
Before she checks the loot box, she opens the leaderboards. Then she smiles at the sight of the top three.
[Dimensional Champion Leaderboard]
[#1 Isabella d'Aragon – Level 764]
[#2 Alexia Knight – Level 751]
[#3 Lucas Nightshade – Level 747]
[#4 Sartori Silva – Level 710]
[#5 Ignivara – Level 710]
[#6 Artorius del Argon – Level 700]
[#7 Ethan Silva – Level 696]
[#8 Alexander Frost – Level 679]
[#9 Vallius Karan de Volt Hellmouth – Level 678]
[#10 Voltari – Level 668]
It looks like she’s passed Lucas again in level. And she’s closing in on the Ancestral Dragon.
Astrid smiles at that before briefly remembering what her sister told her earlier through their communication ring. The only thing letting them communicate through dungeons.
An elemental pet egg…
She thinks on that for a little while. Then she shakes her head and raises a single fist in an act of determination, with a brisk nod of her head.
Right. She can’t be the only one giving a gift here.
Astrid walks up to the loot box before touching it, making an item appear above the box. One that surprises her for a moment.
Only for a bright smile to lit up her usually apathetic face as she realizes it will work splendidly as a gift.
I’ll give this to her when she gives me the egg.
Astrid feels happy now that she has a gift to give her in return. Because, just like her sister, Astrid hates getting any sort of gift without paying the giver back. Even if the giver is her own sister.
Which ends up making things awkward for them both. Since every time they give each other a gift, the other feels they need to return a gift back to them.
But they still give each other gifts despite that, simply because they want to.
And it always leads to the same course of events.
That thought makes Astrid let out a wry smile before she stretches and begins walking over towards the other side of the chamber, where a large door opened up.
Astrid was rather surprised when she found a hidden area in the dungeon. Because she’s normally not the lucky sort. Unlike her sister.
It was almost like her sister got all of the luck.
Astrid continues walking through the chamber until she reaches the door. At which point she stops for a moment to stretch a little. Then she steps out of it back into the main corridor of the pyramid she’s in. One of many within this dungeon.
She’s just glad it wasn’t a maze though. Because she doesn’t do well with mazes.
In fact, she hates them with a passion. It’s like the mazes were designed just for her to end up at dead ends every possible chance before she finds the correct paths.
Even if that’s technically what they’re designed for.
Astrid crosses her arms at the irritating thought as she walks down the tunnel.
She is very happy now that she’s a Class S species just like her sister though. And the gap in level between them is gradually closing too.
Or it was before they entered this dungeon. Since now it’s expanding again.
Very few people can compete in pure power with a quantum being after all.
But she’s no longer being left behind in the dust. And that’s what matters the most.
She’s also realized that the change in species has… affected her mentality a little bit. She no longer cares as much about those who aren’t Class S species, which makes her wonder if it’s some sort of biological aspect of Class S species doing that. Or possibly an aspect of hydras and dragons, since hydras are technically a distant cousin to dragons.
It would explain dragons’ apathy towards non-Class S species.
But she’s not fully apathetic towards them. Not that she particularly cared much about others outside of her family and friends before becoming a shadowborne hydra, that is.
Astrid looks up at the ceiling with a faint smile as she remembers seeing her mother for the first time in ages. Then she lowers it again while clearing away her smile.
She still isn’t sure how she should feel about Lucas, but she at least doesn’t dislike him after hearing his story. She doesn’t particularly care much about him either, but she doesn’t dislike him.
In fact, she may even think of him more positively than negatively. Probably about the same amount she cares about one of her and Lexi’s friends.
So it all makes her wonder…
When will we spend time together as a family? An entire family.
She’s been wondering about that for a while now, but has never voiced it. And she’s not even sure how the thought feels to her either.
Eventually she just puts it out of her mind again, like she always does.
Then she focuses on dodging a trap that sends a poisoned dart straight towards her head.
Either way, I need to level up as much as possible if I’m to protect what we have now.