Chapter 18

Is this seriously only a few miles from town?” One adventurer spoke with a shiver.

“It looks like a graveyard.” Another added.

We had reached a point where all of the greenery and plants died or turned brown. The sky was dark and cloudy despite the fact that about a hundred meters back it was a light blue sky of a bright day. It looked like an ominous graveyard and was honestly really spooky.  I didn’t like the sight at all, but I could definitely believe that zombies came from here.

“The lore for this dungeon is thick.” The guild leader sighed. “The curse of this dungeon must have been made with much emotion. I would turn back now if we didn’t have someone who could remove curses. Let’s get going.”

The farther we went, the darker it became until torches needed to be lit just to see it. This was the environment that Lord entered with only two fighters and a servant? He was really bold. That’s all I could say.

“A zombie!” Someone called, and the direction he pointed showed one coming out the darkness.

Someone shot an arrow, and it struck the zombie in the head. He kept walking a few feet, but quickly stumbled to the ground and died. Did he die because it was a headshot that destroyed the brain, or because his HP had been exhausted? I still didn’t have an answer to how deadly attacks actually were. My only consolation was that I was now on the official payroll of the guild, so I could get some pay for this.

We ran into a few more zombies and a single skeleton along the way. No one was hurt, so I didn’t have to push my job forward at all. They promised to pay me if I healed anyone or not, considering I was putting my life at risk. However, I made more money if I healed people. Was it wrong hoping a few more people got injured?

As for my title, I still hadn’t tested titles for their strengths, but I kept the Hero equipped at the moment. If push came to shove, I felt like whatever status boosts I got from Hero were better than the White Mage. In fact, I already did feel like there was an improvement. My stamina was a little better. I wasn’t winded despite a nearly hour-long walk, whereas I would have been this way had I equipped my White Mage ability. Then again, I felt less of the oppressive feeling when I had White Mage equipped. Thus… I had to be choosy with my job titles.

We finally reached the dungeon entrance. It looked like the entrance to a tomb and supported the feel of this being a graveyard.

“Let’s get a fire going.” The guild leader ordered. “I want a camp set up, and a defensive perimeter. I don’t want to go into this dungeon only for a group of zombies to ambush us on the way out. Three men will stay as guards. The rest of us will enter and explore the first level and start mapping it out. Hopefully, that buffoon noble is still lost on the first floor, and we can offer some aid.”

I nodded along with everyone else until I realized I was one of the people who was going into the dungeon. With that, I sighed as I watched them start a fire, put up some warning bells around the perimeter, and even set a couple of traps. The adventurers were good at their jobs, so I just let them keep doing what they were doing.

“Remember folks,” The guild leader declared once the preparation was over. “Once we enter the dungeon, there is no resurrection. If we die, we become fuel for a curse. Don’t die.”

The men all nodded in agreement, and then one after another entered the tomb. Setting White Mage just so I could push off the oppressive feeling enough to move my legs, I started walking forward. I was in the very rear, which was both reassuring and a little worrying. At the moment, there was nothing that should be behind me, but what if that wasn’t always true?

As soon as I entered the dungeon, text appeared across my vision.

{You have entered Mina’s Dungeon. Destroy the lore to break the curse or complete the lore to become a true dungeon diver!}