Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Facility

1st Year of God, Friday, 1st Week, Month Of Abraham.

Following the discovery of the Dragonite crystals and the sudden appearance of a dungeon, the mining station underwent a frenzy of changes. Moreover, the military quickly dispatched a battalion of 600 soldiers to reinforce the mining station and provide security to the miners.

At the helm of this large force was Lieutenant Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono, a high-ranking officer of the military within Imperial Majahapit.

Riding in his armored vehicle, Cahyono felt the heavy rumble beneath him as it came to a stop in the parking lot. As he disembarked the vehicle, his boots slammed against the hard concrete. Immediately, he noticed several large, rocky figures pushing carts filled with soil along the tracks. The strong stench of waste assailed his nose as a breeze blew the smell over, making him wrinkle his nose.

"Hey," Cahyono called out, stopping one of the workers along the way and pointing to the strange rock figures laboring in the yard. "What are those?"

The worker looked up at him, revealing his dirt-covered face that cracked into a toothless grin. "New here? Those are Sir Odysseus’ Earth Golems!"

"Earth Golems?" Cahyono scratched his head in interest, "And who is this sir Odysseus? Is he the elf the government sent here?"

The worker nodded eagerly, “Indeed, and he is more than just that. He's even our mining community benefactor!" He pointed to the animated rock figure, "With his help, those walking stones can do the work of a dozen men, greatly helping us increase our output and easing our burden!" He said proudly.

"Hmmm," Cahyono rubbed his chin, watching the slow movements of the rock figures. He thanked the worker and walked up next to one of the working statues.

On closer view, the Earth Golem looked like a massive chunk of stone with very humanoid features chiseled out from its surface. A featureless lump served as its head, while its large broad chest and wide shoulders supported blocky arms dangled down to its stubby legs, ending at the knees area. Each hand ended in three digits that looked like a clamp.

One of the golems was unloading a cart of soil into a vat. Ignoring the stench, Cahyono stood nearby, observing as it towered over him, even taller than the four-meter-high vat, which had a platform and stairs constructed on its side for workers.

Cahyono rapped his knuckles against the golem’s stone legs. The Earth Golem paused its work, turning its featureless face toward him. For a moment, it seemed to study Cahyono before resuming its task, carefully emptying the cart of saltpeter-rich soil into the vat.

"Goddamn," Cahyono whispered in awe. These things seemed to be made of solid rock, yet they moved their arms and legs as if they weren’t bound by the limitations of solid matter. "What kind of magic is this?"

"Lieutenant Colonel?" a voice called from the processing plant. Cahyono turned to see Director Letif approaching and casually saluted him. "What brings you here, Sir?"

"Oh, I'm just here to take a look around," Cahyono replied and gestured to the stone figure working behind him. "New help?"

"Haha, you've met our automations?" Letif grinned as he led Cahyono toward the admin building. "The locals call them elementals or golems."

"Where did they come from?" Cahyono asked. "The dungeon?"

"No no, it's that elf whom the government sent over," Letif clarified. "Odysseus von Aston, he made them."

Cahyono stopped in his tracks and stared at Letif, "I heard he has Earth Magic, but does he really have the power to create something like this?"

"Not exactly," Letif explained. "He could originally make only a dozen or so smaller golems, but they’d only last about a few hours before he had to transfer more magic to keep them going. At the first start he wanted to use them to help out with the mining work, but it depleted his energy greatly."

"I see," Cahyono nodded, glancing back at the massive golem. "Then looking at this giant, I say there has been some kind of breakthrough?"

"Oh, absolutely," Letif grinned even wider. "You see, those Dragonite crystals we found? They’re packed with magic powers that will make most of our energy sources obsolete. Odysseus placed one of the crystals into one of the golems, and it ran like some energizer bunny, its operating time lasting a solid three days straight and still running strong."

"So, we decided to experiment with larger golems, and the results were incredible," Letif continued proudly. "We estimate that just 10 grams of Dragonite crystal alone is equal to roughly five days of battery life for these monsters."

Seeing the Lieutenant Colonel's dumbfounded expression, Letif gestured to the giant golem diligently unloading the contents of the mining carts. At that moment, a trio of mini golems, carrying a crate over their heads, ran past Cahyono and disappeared around a corner.

"They have very basic intelligence," Letif explained. "You need to be specific with their instructions. They respond well to commands that are almost like programming. I’ve had a couple of IT eggheads to see if we can apply programming languages onto their magic cores, hoping if they can write or develop some form of basic AI for them."

"That is outstanding," Cahyono praised, seriously impressed by the blend of magic and technology in this world. "But how do they move their arms and legs if they’re made of solid rock?"

"Honestly, I don't have an answer for that," Letif shrugged. "Even if you ask Odysseus, he’ll just say, ‘It’s magic.’"

"Hmm, interesting," Cahyono murmured as they entered the main admin building, where Letif began to strip off his work overalls and safety gear. "Keep me constantly updated on the golem AI development."

"Of course, Sir. Oddly enough, we can’t use concrete for the golems," Letif added as they walked toward the offices. “Odysseus mentioned something about 'living rock' and how concrete lacks life or something along those lines."

Letif opened the door to his main office, revealing a room lined with desks where two staff members were busy filling columns and ticking checklists in thick ledgers.

"Welcome to Mining Incorporated!" Letif said with a grin. "That’s my office, and this is where my staff handle the records of output, expenses, and accounts."

He pointed to another door on the right. "That’s Odysseus’ office, though it looks like he’s not in."

"Aetter?" Letif called out to a young woman who was busily punching numbers into a calculator amidst the messy pile of paperwork around her desk. "Where is Odysseus?"

"Sir Odysseus?" the woman paused her work with a slightly irritated glance. "He should be in his workshop." She then returned to her work, paying them no further attention.

"Sorry about that," Letif said, smiling apologetically at Cahyono. "They are very hardworking and focused."

Cahyono grinned, appreciating the professionalism, and followed Letif out of the admin building and back into the courtyard. Soon, they reached a large, two-story building with wide, red-painted swing doors standing open. It was one of four similar buildings, each marked with a large white number. This one bore the number '4,' and a pair of rail tracks led into its open doors.

As they entered the workshop, Cahyono noticed there were mini cranes and hoists crisscrossing the ceiling, their chains hanging overhead like metallic vines. At the center of the workshop, a large magic formation was intricately carved into the floor, surrounded by symbols, signs, and runes that seemed both ancient and mysterious, followed by cables snaking across the floor. If the lighting and atmosphere of the workshop weren't so bright and sunny, he would have thought he entered some sort of cultist den.

Work tables occupied both sides of the workshop, cluttered with monitors, laptops, and tools of all kinds and scrolls, candles and jars of unidentifiable substances laid haphazardly all over the tables while a radio was blasting some rock and roll. Stairs on the side led to a second-floor plankway, which stretched across the middle of the room, suspended above the workspace.

A massive boulder, over four meters tall and two meters wide with moss still present on its surfaces sat at the middle of the magic formation where the pair of tracks cut right through.

‘They must use the tracks to transport the rocks over here using the carts and the cranes to hoist it over the formation,’ thought Cahyono.

As they approached the boulder, Cahyono noticed a head of thick brown hair tied in a ponytail appear on the other side. A bearded elf, dressed in dirty work overalls, was carefully painting arcane symbols onto the rock surface with what looked like a brush dipped in liquid silver.

Letif cleared his throat and coughed, and the elf who was humming along to the tune jerked up and noticed the two of them standing at the entrance.

"Oh, director!" He cheerfully called out and placed his work tools down on the side.

He removed his gloves and paused, his eyes recognizing Cahyono. "Ah, you must be a military commander judging by your uniform."

"Yes," Cahyono replied, stepping forward. "I heard from the elves that you were once in the Tarxan army. Is this what you’re working on, an Earth Golem?"

"Indeed, sir. This is a golem," the elf confirmed, glancing at the boulder with a sense of pride. "I apologize for the mess. I have to use traditional methods to create elementals to ensure they’re perfect."

"Amazing," Cahyono murmured, walking around the boulder with his hands clasped behind his back, taking in the intricate symbols and runes drawn across its surface. "How does it work?"

"It’s quite simple, sir," Odysseus explained as simply as possible. "I cast a spell on the rock, imbuing it with life through my Earth magic. It then follows my commands or those of anyone who bears my magical mark. It will continue to move and perform simple tasks until its magical reserves are depleted or I withdraw my magic."

"Can anyone just remove its magic?" Cahyono asked as he stopped next to the elf.

"No, only by destroying its core can the magic be undone, and only I can stop it intentionally,” Odysseus replied. "Normally, my magic allows me to create much smaller versions of these elementals. They act as simple servants, carrying objects and such, but they only last an hour or two before I need to recharge them with my magic."

He then turned to a nearby table and picked up a blood-red crystal quartz. "But with Dragonite crystals, I can extend the lifespan and increase the strength of the golems, allowing me to make them larger and more powerful."

"And Director Letif has arranged for someone to help me program the golems, which lets us give them more complex instructions," Odysseus added, gesturing toward the computers on the tables.

"How do you program them?" Cahyono asked, curiously.

"For me, the spells I inscribe on the golems include basic commands like walking, running, lifting, and other simple movements," Odysseus explained. "That one human is helping me analyze my enchantments with those devices." He pointed to cameras mounted on the workshop pillars.

"Where is this human now?" Cahyono asked again. "I’d like to talk with him."

"I think he’s gone to lunch," Odysseus shrugged. "He should be back soon."

"Yoshiyuki Tomino," Letif interjected, "He’s our IT support here, originally responsible for the mining drones. But after seeing Odysseus’ work, he asked to get involved."

"Apparently, he believes he can decipher the drawings Odysseus is inscribing on the golems," Letif continued. "If he succeeds, he thinks he can treat it like programming code, potentially laser-printing more complex enchantments onto the golems, creating something, you know like some basic AI stuff."

"Damn," Cahyono said in excitement as he turned to Letif. "I need to report this to High Command. If he pulls this off, we could have fully operational combat walkers!"

"True, we’ve already started developing something similar, but it’s projected to take a decade," Letif noted, glancing at Odysseus. "With Oddy’s help, though, we might finish much sooner."

Cahyono laughed, "This has been fascinating, but I’ve got 600 men to check on. Most are patrolling both land and sea, while a few platoons will begin exploring the dungeon with Dr. Penelope." He then turned to Odysseus. "As for you, elf, you’re coming with them. Meet me at the Army building."

"Let me guess," Odysseus replied with a wry smile, "You want me to act as their guardian?"

Cahyono nodded, "Absolutely, just in case."

——————————————————

In the next few hours, Odysseus exited his workshop and look at his surroundings. Other than the lingering smell, the mining outpost appeared neat and orderly.

He made his way to a large sign with an arrow labeled "Army" and entered the designated building, where a human corporal with stripes on his uniform was sat on duty behind a desk in the lobby.

"Sir Odysseus, how can I help you," The corporal stood up in attention.

"I'm here for a meeting," Odysseus replied, handing over his orders printed in a sheet of paper over the corporal, who gave it a quick glance before directing him to the top floor.

The elf nodded and headed over to upstairs, but as he approached the stairs, he noticed the armory, where a couple of soldiers were dropping off their rifles, single-action revolvers, melee weapons, and ammunition before climbing the stairs up to the third floor. There, he entered a large room filled with chairs set out in rows enough for a hundred people.

Some of the seats were already occupied, but he found an empty one and sat on. He then noticed a woman with shortly cropped red hair seated next to him.

"Hello, are you Sir Odysseus? I've heard about you," the woman said, glancing up at him as he settled in. "I must admit, this is the first time I've seen an elf."

"I understand," Odysseus replied with a friendly smile. "And you are? Are you the researcher I've heard mentioned?"

"Yes, I’m Dr. Penelope," she smiled back. "I’m a researcher and a professor at Universitas Gadjah Mada most of the time."

"Oh, what subjects do you teach?" Odysseus asked.

"Mathematics and history," Penelope answered. "I also assist with archaeology."

Odysseus gave a low whistle. "Impressive. So, Professor Penelope, what brings you here?" he asked, gesturing around the meeting room.

"It’s related to the dungeon the media has been buzzing about all week," Penelope sighed, her tone shifting to one of sadness. "My job is to study the things within the dungeon, but... I’m not sure if I can face another cave again. The last time I was in one was during the New Year Tragedy, where my colleagues and I were trapped in a cave for days while a storm flooded it. I was the only survivor... and the nightmares haven’t stopped since."

Odysseus’ eyes widened, “And yet you accepted the offer?”

Penelope nodded with determination in her eyes. "I want to confront my trauma. The memories won’t stop haunting me, so I decided to face them head-on."

Odysseus was taken aback but impressed. “I understand what you’re going through. But don’t worry, human. This time, you’ll have nearly a hundred soldiers and me by your side! Plus, it’ll be like those Role Playing Games you humans enjoy! Going in, killing monsters, and finding treasure!"

Penelope chuckled softly. "What's with you men always about killing and treasure?"

Before Odysseus could respond, the door opened, and several people entered the room. Among them were Director Letif and Lieutenant Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono.

"Attention!"

The dozing military personnel woke up almost immediately and shot up to their feet in unison and saluted as one.

The Lieutenant Colonel saluted back, "At ease, men."

As the director of the mining station remained standing by the door, the rest of the crowd found their seats, and the room settled into silence.

"Alright, I’ve called you here for an important mission," Cahyono began the brief. "By now, everyone has heard about the dungeon, correct?" Nods of acknowledgment were returned from the group. "We’re going to explore it."

"Right now, over 100 people will join this expedition, and they will be divided into two teams. The first team will be under the command of Sergeant Pice, with Professor Penelope providing support," Cahyono continued, beginning to assign team roles. "The second party will be led by Specialist Sergeant Eurylochus and supported by Sir Odysseus."

The seated soldiers nodded at the Lieutenant Colonel’s instructions while Penelope’s face fell.

"Now, this dungeon is something most of us are new to," Cahyono went on, “Sir Odysseus will give you a brief of roughly what you can expect to find inside. Sir Odysseus?" he invited the elf up.

"Thank you, Sir," Odysseus stood up and faced the group seated. "Well, I've entered two dungeons back in my days," He began with a wry smile, "What can we expect inside? For one, monsters, but what types or species? We won't know till we explore the place," he explained, "Next, traps. There might be some, or there might not be any, it all depends on the dungeon."

"For this dungeon, we estimated using ground-penetrating radar that it will be roughly thirteen levels deep according to the government’s intelligence," Cahyono added, "The levels vary in size, but they're approximately an acre each. The radar could only pick up rough patches of subsurface objects and changes in material properties, so we don’t have a clear layout of the tunnels and rooms."

"So, we will start by exploring and mapping out the first level and see what is inside first," Odysseus continued. "The monsters grow stronger as the level deepens, so it should be easy for us to clear the first level."

"Okay? Any questions?" Cahyono asked.

Penelope raised her hand, "Sir, why am I needed here again?"

"I want you on the team because of your archaeological experience, and because you've proven you can keep a cool head under fire," Cahyono responded with a smile. "Additionally, you’re authorized to use deadly force, though it’s up to the team leaders to decide when necessary. Collect any materials you find on the monsters for research purposes. You will be carrying your standard weapons, but team leaders will be issued armor-piercing rockets, just in case when facing a threat with higher resilience."

"Any other questions?" Cahyono asked, scanning the room. "No? Alright then, you'll set off tomorrow morning at 0900 hours. Gather in the Ops room by 0700 for a final briefing. Team leaders meet at 0600 hours. Clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The men chorused and broke up into their respective teams.

Sergeant Eurylochus, a Nigerian male, stood in one corner as his team gathered around him. He looked over at the three soldiers who greeted him.

"Sergeant Eurylochus, you were one of our instructors at Team 1," one soldier said with a grin.

"Great!" Eurylochus grinned back. "Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Sergeant 2nd Class Eurylochus Bone.”

“I’m Specialist Sergeant 3rd Class Tyler Sedoll."

"Corporal Dorry Nickel."

"Private Travis Kanwe."

"Professor Penelope Perry, from Universitas Gadjah Mada,” Penelope chimed in and introduced herself, “I specialize in studying ancient ruins, which is why I'm here."

All eyes then turned to the last member of the team, the elf.

The elf bowed with a warm smile. "Odysseus von Aston. Though, sorry to ask, but… why do you seem so dark?” he asked, pointing to Eurylochus.

“I'm sorry… what?” Eurylochus replied, caught off guard by the question

“I’ve encountered Dark Elves before, and most of the people in this nation I see are brown-skinned, white, or somewhere in between. You, however, are so dark you might blend in perfectly at night.”

Odysseus’ comment left Eurylochus and the others baffled. They exchanged glances, reflecting on the different kinds of discrimination between their world and this one. In their world, prejudice was often based on race within the same species, while here, it revolved around whether someone could wield mana or not.

For the people in this world, that type of discrimination of judging someone based on skin color is kinda dumb.

“Umm… it's because I’m of African descent, from a different continent where my ancestors lived,” Eurylochus explained, still a bit unsettled by the question.

“Hmmm… interesting. It seems your humans developed different skin colors and characteristics based on the continents you were born on. Very interesting indeed. Most humans here are more uniform, similar to those Europeans in your world?”

"Alllllright… yeah. Let’s move on from this conversation,” Eurylochus said, eager to shift gears. “How about we take a break before meeting up again later to discuss the dungeon after lunch? How does that sound?"

Everyone agreed and nodded. "So where should we meet up? The cafeteria?" one soldier suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Another soldier replied. They were all new to the area and didn’t know where else to go.

But Odysseus stopped them. "Why not come to my workshop? It’s quieter there and easier to talk."

"Wait, you have a workshop here?" Eurylochus raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, I work here."

"Great! Then let’s go there instead!" Eurylochus declared, getting Odysseus to give the location. "Workshop No. 4? Alright, let’s meet there later!"

Two hours later, the whole group gathered outside a large building with a huge number 4 painted on the side with Odysseus standing at the entrance, waving them over with a welcoming smile.

As they entered, Eurylochus looked around until his eyes caught on two towering rock sculptures in the middle of the room, surrounded by intricate markings on the floor.

"Why do they call you 'Sir'?" he asked.

Odysseus glanced at the sculptures before answering, "Erm, I think they started calling me that as a form of respect after I helped some of the miners during a cave-in. I told them not to, but they insisted."

"I see," Eurylochus nodded, while the others curiously explored the brightly lit workshop. At one side of the room, a human sat behind a bank of computers, typing away at his keypad with some music playing softly from a nearby radio.

"Is sculpting your hobby?" Penelope asked, examining the featureless faces of the rock statues. "Is this workshop where you make sculptures?"

The soldiers chuckled at her question.

"Ma'am, I possess Earth Magic," Odysseus explained with a smile. "These sculptures are actually golems, think of them as puppets. We’ll be bringing these two upgraded golems with us tomorrow to act as our support."

“Wait, what?" Eurylochus cried out, staring at the statues in disbelief. "You mean these rock sculptures can move?"

"Of course, Sergeant!" a voice suddenly cut into their conversation, and an Asian man with glasses stepped forward. He was the human that had been working at the computers at the corner earlier now joined them with a wide grin on his face. "This is the apex of magic and human ingenuity!"

He continued with enthusiasm, "Using modern robotics science and mixing with Sir Odysseus’ control of Earth Magic, we are able to created pseudo-robots with basic AI without the need of complex machinery or wires!"

The Asian male appeared to be raving at this point as he launched into an explanation which most of them couldn't understand.

Penelope leaned closer to Odysseus and whispered, "Is he alright?"

Odysseus sighed, "He’s fine, just… overly passionate. That’s Yoshiyuki Tomino, the ‘sis-term’ support for the mining operation. Everyone here calls him an 'Oh-ta-Ku' or something like that."

He continued, half speaking over Yoshiyuki enthusiastic rambling, which everyone was ignoring now, "He did, however, been teaching me and showed me some images and videos about the human anatomy, particularly how joints like arms and legs move. This has allowed me to visualize a better way for the golems to move, thus increasing their agility and speed of movements. I’m building the golems' skeletons first, and then we’ll add armor to the body, which Yoshiyuki is helping with on his ‘corn-pu-er’."

The soldiers, especially Eurylochus, looked completely baffled.

"Holy shit," Eurylochus muttered, eyes wide with amazement. "Are we seriously getting armored support?!"

——————————————————

Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Facility, Dungeon's Entrance

1st Year of God, Monday, 2nd Week, Month Of Abraham.

As dawn slowly breaks, members of the dungeon exploration team gather once more in the meeting room on the top floor of the admin building. Everyone involved was already waiting anxiously, though none more so than Odysseus and Penelope, who had barely slept the night before.

Sitting next to Penelope, Odysseus stifled a yawn and glanced at her, though she was doing her best to ignore him.

"It was nice last night," he whispered in her ear, making her cheeks blush slightly, and she responded with a hard pinch to his arm.

“Yeah, you were so rough last night you almost broke the bed,” she retorted, keeping her voice just as quiet.

“Don't blame me, I tried to be gentle.”

“You have magic that enhances your strength. You shouldn’t have used it..... while redesigning the bed I told you in the first place.”

“Alright, alright," he conceded, rubbing his arm in amusement. "I’m still baffled why you like such complex bed designs.”

With that, Odysseus leaned back in his chair, amusement lingering in his eyes as he refocused on the topic at hand, which Sergeant Pice was detailing out the final instructions for both teams. Finally, when the final briefing was over, the whole room emptied out and everyone gathered in front of the admin building, where a couple of large dark green tents had been set up.

"Alright," Pice announced, pointing to the tents behind him, "Enter the tents one by one. Inside, you'll draw your equipment and supplies for the mission. Make sure you have enough food and water for two days, spare ammunition for your weapons, and rock climbing gear."

Penelope looked nervous as she stepped into the first tent. Inside, she saw two tables, each manned by soldiers dressed in battle uniforms. They gestured her over and handed her an armored tactical harness and helmet, fitted to her size, carefully instructing her on how to wear it properly. Next, she was given a single-action revolver, which she had trained with and qualified for at the gun range weeks ago.

In a world teeming with ferocious monsters and unknown magical dangers, the government had mandated that all civilians across Austronesia undergo firearms training and own a gun. Even in cities and regions that had long upheld strict gun-control laws, these regulations were now abolished, allowing everyone to afford and carry a firearm, with a few precautions in place, of course.

When she left both the tents, she carried only the revolver with spare ammunition, and a katana-like blade in a scabbard, strapped to her left leg. As she was supposed to be rear support, she didn't carry any other weapons, but she was equipped with a tablet and a Motion and Heartbeat Tracker. She was also given a day pack which carried a multi-tool, spare batteries, 10 chemical light sticks, a first aid kit, 2 days’ worth of rations and water, and a 15-meter dynamic rope strapped to the side.

"We don’t expect you to take more than five hours exploring the first level," Pice informed the 100 soldiers gathered before him. "Each of you will be carrying a tracking device, along with extra food and water, just in case. This device…" He held up an oblong, matte black object. "…may or may not work inside. To be truthful, we don't know what might interfere with the signals it gives off, so… all the best!"

Odysseus then approached Pice and Eurylochus, handing each a flat piece of rock with arcane runes carved into it. "This will give you control over Number 1," he said, pointing to the two 2.5-meter-tall golems positioned at the rear.

Eurylochus whistled with his eyes widened as everyone turned to admire the support golems. "Damn, this looks so dope!" he exclaimed.

The new golems looked more futuristic than his earlier works, with clean lines and sloped armor. They were built with a lower center of gravity, giving them a hunched appearance. Their long arms nearly touched the ground, which enabled them to walk on all fours and climb stairs if needed. The drawings of the arcane symbols that powered the golems were hidden under a layer of rock armor, protecting them from damage, and each golem was marked with numerical symbols on the right chest plate and left shoulder pauldron to indicate which unit it belonged to.

A large mechanical autocannon, almost as tall as Penelope, was mounted on the left arm of each golem. The cannon could fire rocket-propelled grenades every three seconds from a box magazine containing dozens of them.

As the team walked up towards the entrance of the mines, the workers and miners lined up along the sides and cheered them on.

"Damn, I always wanted to be an adventurer when I played Dungeon Quest," one soldier commented as he waved at the cheering crowd, "I used to play that game all day and night, didn't even care what my parents said, and just kept playing until 4 AM."

"Well, look at you now," his buddy teased. "A budding adventurer!"

They followed the brightly lit interior of the mines and passed through the widened entrance to the Dragonite cave, where several scaffoldings and lamps had been set up, the lights turning the Dragonite cave like some kind of psychedelic display of shifting colors and shadows. Further down the cave, the Army section could be seen manning a checkpoint a short distance away from the dungeon door with dozens of technicians and workers bustling around and performing various tasks.

Odysseus stood before the dungeon door and placed a hand on it, giving it a gentle push. To everyone's surprise, it swung inwards with barely a creak.

"What's the holdup?" he asked, grinning at their stunned expressions. "You thought it would be hard to get in?" He barked out a laugh and stepped into the darkness, invoking a light spell that hovered above his head, casting a soft glow around him.

"Alright, everyone, put on your war face," Pice ordered and waved everyone forward. "Private, I want your war face, not your fuck face!"

"Captain, this is my war face!" The private quickly wiped the smile off his face, steeling his expression as he readied his weapon and followed the soldiers into the dungeon. "Damn, does he have some magical eyesight or something?"

"Eyes front! Less talk!" Pice barked as entered next, following the team in.

The dungeon corridor stretched further than their light beams could reach, while Odysseus' light spell floated above his head, illuminating the arched passageway. Penelope, intrigued, immediately went and examined the walls, noting the architecture of the tunnel, which seemed to be constructed out of layers and layers of bricks, with some intricate carvings on the upper arches of the tunnel.

"Interesting," she muttered to herself.

As they continued down the corridor, Penelope waved a sensor wand around, catching Odysseus' interest. The two began chatting quietly as they walked in the middle of the group. The heavy footsteps of the two support golems followed docility behind echoed through the spacious corridor, the constructs moving on all fours as they navigated the path.

"Anything on the sensors?" Pice asked after they had walked for nearly five minutes.

"Nothing, Captain," a soldier responded as he swept his motion tracker left and right. The brick corridor was eerily clean, not even a trace of dust at all.

Penelope used her helmet cam to record all the drawings and carvings on the walls. After a while, she noted, "The drawings and carvings repeat themselves after a while, almost like some kind of hieroglyphics. Sir Odysseus, do you know anything about them?"

Odysseus examined the hieroglyphics and shook his head. "No, my apologies. I do not have knowledge of ancient symbols or scripts." Suddenly, he pointed ahead. "I see another door."

"Hold up!" a soldier in front hissed. "I’m picking up some movement behind that door! The signal is too weak to detect much, but I think something is blocking the scanning signals, but so far comms with Ops are still clear."

Pice looked at the soldiers and jerked his head once. The two of them nodded and ran forward, each taking up a position on either side of the door while the rest of the team formed up, their guns at the ready.

"Ready!"

"Lights off. Go!" Pice ordered in a low growl.

With his command, Eurylochus’ team held their position at the rear while the lead soldiers moved into action.

One soldier swung the door open and moved right, while the second moved left, and the rest followed in behind them, each sweeping their designated sector. They entered a dimly lit large room with five openings, where what appeared to be dozens of ants the size of large dogs attacking several amber-colored slimes.

"Fucking bugs!" Pice cursed as he mentally rolled his eyes at the sight of the giant ants.

"What do we do now?" one soldier whispered.

The room was surprisingly illuminated by several large clumps of glowing moss that gave off enough ambient light to see. The ants so far have not noticed them as they were busy harvesting the slimes, by cutting gelatinous creatures up with their mandibles and secreting some sort of substance that they use to collect the slime fluids.

Odysseus stuck his head into the room and exclaimed "Oh my, those are Spider Ants… and Honey Slimes."

"Danger level?" Pice asked as he kept a wary eye on the ants who busied themselves with the slimes.

"Hmmm, I would say Spider Ants are a Level 3 creatures," Odysseus replied thoughtfully, "Those slimes are Level 0, they are not hostile, great for making desserts but beware of the ants, they are quite troublesome if they swarm you."

Pice did a quick calculation. The average knights, soldiers, and mages in Tarxan were around Level 4 to Level 5 while most of the First Wave Demons that attacked during the first day of the New Year Tragedy are classed by the elves as Level 5 to Level 6, while the Demonic Knights peaked at Level 9.

"What are the characteristics of spider ants?" Pice asked.

"They have the strength of about ten men, move incredibly fast, and have the ability to climb walls. Their carapace is harder than iron and communicates telepathically. They're hive creatures, and have a queen in control of all," Odysseus explained, tricking his fingers as he recounted the traits of a spider ant. "Their joints are their weak points, and they’re vulnerable to fire, but resistant to earth magic and piercing attacks."

"Top!" one soldier whispered urgently, "I think they've noticed us!"

The ants squeaked and chirped as they turned to face the new threat with menacing intent, while several of them hurriedly bundled up the collected honey from the slimes and ran off into one of the tunnels.

"They don't look so happy to see us," another soldier added, his rifle’s buttstock snuggled tightly against his shoulder, as he looked down his sights at the angry ants.

"Well, if they rile up, they turn hostile to whatever that disturbed them," Odysseus added helpfully from the rear. "And yup, they look angry."

Pice closed his eyes, took a deep calming breath, and then opened them as he centered himself with steely resolve before giving the order.

"Fuck this, kill them all!"

Just as the ants rushed up to them and waved their mandibles threateningly, the soldiers in the front opened fire.

Dozens of 6.5 mm solid lead bullets punched a hole into the head of the lead ant. The hard-steel exoskeleton cracked with hemolymph fluid exploding out from the exit wounds, and the dead creature’s body curled up on itself as its body systems no longer pumped hemolymph to its body parts.

“Fuck these bugs!” Pice growled, as more soldiers fired and attempted to wipe out every last one.