Who Needs Magic in a Fantasy World Anyway?

Chapter 76: The Leaky Caverns (Part 1)

"Okay, I'm not excited about the dungeon anymore..." Koko explained as she lifted her hands above her head in an attempt to divert the water that was raining on top of her from the ceiling.

"At least now we know why they call it the Leaky Caverns." Richard laughed slightly, and Koko shot both of her companions a glare as they were keeping themselves dry with their barriers and leaving her to be soaked.

"At least we haven't seen any monsters or gotten lost yet." Christina attempted to sound hopeful.

"How is that a good thing?" Koko asked. "Sure I'm all about not getting lost, but the whole reason we came here is for the monsters and yet the only thing we've accomplished is getting soaked."

"Christina and I are perfectly dry." Richard teased from in front of her, though he went quiet as Koko gave him an evil eye while silently promising herself that she would have her revenge if he opened his mouth again.

"Sorry Koko." Christina gave her a regretful look. "If you want then I can-"

As Christina spoke, she was suddenly interrupted by her feet slipping out from underneath her as she fell to the ground. Though even then, her golden barrier prevented the water that was cascading down the slope behind them from reaching her. And as Koko watched her friend stand back up, she couldn't help but feel sorry for herself as she had nothing that would save her from getting wet.

"Stupid Conner... He should have let us know that it was like this so that we could bring umbrellas!" Koko complained, closing her eyes to protect them from a stream was was jetting out from the side of the cave before she ran face-first into a hanging wall of moss that grew from the ceiling. "He did this to me on purpose, I know that he did!"

"I have to admit that a little warning would have been nice." Christina agreed before she started walking beside Koko and enlarged her barrier so that it would accommodate the both of them. "Better?"

"Thanks Christina." Koko replied whole-heartily, though her moment of peace from the constantly spraying water around them was ruined by Richard as he gave her a disappointed look from in front of them. "What?"

"You're cloths." Richard closed his eyes and sighed. "You're lucky that they're a thick material or they would be see-through by now."

"It almost sounds like that's what you were hoping for..." Christina replied evenly.

"Of course I was. I am a guy, after all." Richard stated proudly, and Koko waited until they were walking through another stream of water that was coming from the ceiling before she stepped forward and Skill Cancelled his barrier, making the swordmage let out a slight shout before it was drowned out by a gurgling sound.

"Serves you right." Koko said as evilly as she could as soon as they were on the other side of the stream and she saw Richard gasping for air.

"Don't cancel my magic shields!" Richard snapped at her as soon as he was able to breathe again before he looked angrily back at the cave. "Seriously, how is this place not flooded when there's so many underground streams and rivers connecting to it anyway?!"

"It either drains somewhere up ahead or we can expect a really big lake at the end of this passage." Koko explained before starting to get excited again. "Or, maybe some giant monster is drinking it all!"

"Please don't joke like that." Richard complained from in front of her, though as he was about to continue, the group found that all of the water pouring down the passage actually did end in an underground lake as they found themselves in a large natural cavern that was almost completely filled with water save for a path that ran around the side of the wall. And as soon as they saw it, Koko was more than willing to rush towards it as she left the wet cave behind her and started reveling in the fact that she was no longer being drenched.

"Finally!" Koko called out happily, though she soon started being quiet again as she wrapped her arms around herself in order to keep warm. "Okay, what's up with the subzero temperature?"

"We're at least a hundred meters down from the surface, so of course it's cold... Though the fact that we're soaked doesn't help." Richard sighed before walking over to Koko and creating a bonfire in his hand. "Here. You'll catch a cold if you don't dry off."

"Ahhh, that's better." Koko replied with a tone full of bliss as she got as close to the fire as she could without burning herself.

"No monsters yet, it seems..." Christina said softly from beside them as she sent her glowing swords throughout the cavern. Though she was proven wrong as one of her swords hesitated momentary and what looked like a giant fish splashed out of the water and ate it, leaving all three of them speechless as the waves from the surface breaking lapped at the edges of the lake.

"Sooo... did anyone bring a fishing pole?" Koko asked, looking at the others curiously. "Even I'm not willing to fight underwater."

"Let's just keep going down the path for now." Richard replied as he withdrew his bonfire. "Preferably until we're not next to the water's edge anymore and don't have a chance of becoming fish food."

"Seconded." Both girls replied at the same time before the group started walking around the lake and towards another cave opening on the other side of the cavern, hugging the wall as they went as none of them wanted something from the water to jump out and them. And thankfully they survived until they reached the cave and Richard created his bonfire again so that they could dry off.

"So instead of wolves, we have giant sword-eating fish, caves that inspire to be water slides and now a chill that threatens to freeze us to death... Dungeons are a lot better when you're not the one that's actually inside of them..." Koko said out loud as she huddled next to the fire again.

"You think?" Richard replied sarcastically. "Anyone could have told you that."

"Well you didn't." Koko grumbled in reply, and Richard was just about to respond when all three of their heads turned as some kind of reptilian grunting sound echoed down the cave ahead of them, though seeing as nothing approached them in the five minutes of silence that they all spent looking in the direction of the noise, Richard finally broke the silence..

"Wolves, huh? That didn't sound like any wolf that I've ever heard." He stated as he withdrew the map with his free hand and started looking through the descriptions of the dungeon again. "The notes that Headmaster Conner left us don't say anything about there being water or giant fish either..."

"Maybe we're in the wrong dungeon?" Koko suggested, though Richard shook his head as she finished.

"No, we're in the right dungeon." Richard confirmed as he lifted the back of the map so that Koko could look at it. "See? The entrance matches this one's perfectly."

"So we're not in the wrong dungeon, but the information was wrong?" Koko asked.

"That might not be the case." Christina replied. "There's also he possibility that the dungeon has evolved."

"A dungeon can evolve?" Richard asked towards Koko, though she could only shrug at him as she wasn't sure what Christina had ment either.

"Dungeons are places with abundant magic, and while it doesn't happen often, it isn't unheard of for them to get stronger just as a monster would should that magic grow." Christina explained. "And considering the drastic changes to the dungeon, I believe that's exactly what happened here."

"So I'm guessing that, if the dungeon evolved, then the monsters are going to be stronger too. Right?" Richard asked, and Christina nodded in reply. "Then we should go back and inform the academy before they send any more adventurers here that won't be prepared for it."

"You're right." Christina agreed.

"I guess..." Koko sighed, knowing that it was for the best but hating the fact that her first time in a dungeon would be ending so uneventfully. And without a word of complaint, Koko walked back towards the exit with her friends, though all of them stopped as Richard hesitated in front of the lake before sticking his arms out so that they couldn't pass him.

"Richard?" Christina asked curiously.

"Hey... we used a path at the side of the cavern to get here, right?" Richard asked with a small nervous laugh.

"Yeah, why?" Koko asked curiously, though her curiosity soon turned to worry as she saw his frightened expression when he turned towards them.

"Where'd it go?"