We moved through the first tunnel slowly. Too slowly for my taste, but I had to remember these people weren't me. They didn't have overpowered skills. They didn't know what was coming.
David kept his shield raised, checking every corner like something was about to jump out. Sarah stayed in the middle of our formation, her staff glowing with a faint white light. Alex moved along the walls, trying to be stealthy even though there was nothing to hide from yet. Emma walked close to me, her bow drawn but her hands shaking slightly.
"How many of these things are in here?" David asked, his voice echoing off the cave walls.
"Depends on the route we take," I said. "If we go left at the next fork, maybe twenty golems total. Right path has fewer but they're higher level."
"Which way are we going?"
"Right. More experience per kill."
David nodded but I could see the tension in his shoulders. He was scared. They all were.
Can't blame them. A few hours ago this was just a game. Now every fight could mean actual death.
We reached the fork in the tunnel. The left path was wider, better lit by the blue moss. The right path was narrow and dark, barely wide enough for David's shoulders.
"Stay close," I said, taking the right path. "Single file. David in front, me behind him, then Emma, Sarah, and Alex in back."
We squeezed into the narrow tunnel. The walls were damp, water trickling down in thin streams. The air smelled like wet stone and something else. Something metallic.
"I don't like this," Sarah said quietly. "It feels wrong."
"It's a dungeon," Alex said. "It's supposed to feel wrong."
"No, I mean—"
The tunnel opened up suddenly into a small chamber. And standing in the center was a single Stone Golem, bigger than the ones outside.
[Stone Golem Elite - Level 14]
Its eyes glowed red in the darkness. It turned its head toward us slowly, stone grinding against stone.
"Elite mob," David said. "Shit. Should we go back?"
"No," I said, stepping forward. "I'll handle it."
The golem raised its massive arm and brought it down in a overhead smash. David raised his shield on instinct, but I was faster.
"Ice Spear."
A jagged spike of ice materialized in the air and shot forward, hitting the golem's arm mid-swing. The arm froze solid, then shattered into pieces.
CRITICAL HIT! 8,234 DAMAGE!
The golem staggered back, its health bar dropping to 60%.
"Holy shit," David said again. He kept saying that.
The golem roared and charged at me with its remaining arm. I didn't move. Just raised my other hand.
"Fireball."
The massive sphere of flame hit the golem center mass and exploded. Heat washed over us. Smoke filled the chamber.
When it cleared, the golem was gone. Just a pile of rocks and a loot notification.
[Stone Golem Elite] DEFEATED!
+623 EXP
LEVEL UP!
YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 13!
Emma stepped forward, staring at the rocks. "You... you killed it in two hits."
"Elite mobs have more health than regular ones," I said, looting the corpse. "But yeah. Two hits."
I pulled a item from the loot.
[Stone Gauntlets]
Rarity: Rare
Level Requirement: 10
+35 Defense
+20 Strength
Special Effect: 10% chance to stun on hit
"David, these are yours," I said, tossing him the gauntlets.
He caught them, looking surprised. "You sure? You could sell these for like 1,000 gold."
"You're our tank. You need the defense more than I need the gold." I turned back to the tunnel. "Let's keep moving."
We continued deeper. The path twisted and turned, sometimes opening into larger chambers, sometimes narrowing to the point where we had to walk sideways.
Two more golems appeared in the next room. Level 13 and 12. I killed them both with Meteor Strike before they even got close.
LEVEL UP!
EMMA HAS REACHED LEVEL 9!
DAVID HAS REACHED LEVEL 8!
My party was leveling just from being near me when I killed things. The experience share in EQO was generous if you were in the same zone as the kill.
"This is insane," Alex said, watching another golem crumble. "We've been in here for ten minutes and I've already gained a level. Do you know how long it took me to get from level 8 to 9? Four hours."
"That's because you were grinding wolves with everyone else," I said. "Hidden dungeons give better experience. Always have."
"How did you find this place?"
I almost said "in my previous timeline" but caught myself. "Got lucky. Explored off the main path."
We reached a larger chamber with three exits. Left, right, and center. I knew left led to a dead end with minor loot. Center was the long route with more golems. Right was the direct path to the boss.
"Which way?" Sarah asked.
"Right," I said.
"Shouldn't we explore all the paths?" Emma said. "There might be better loot in the other directions."
"There isn't. Trust me."
She frowned but didn't argue.
We took the right path. This tunnel was different. The blue moss grew thicker here, brighter, illuminating the path clearly. And carved into the walls were symbols. Ancient looking, definitely part of the dungeon's lore that nobody cared about.
"Those symbols," Sarah said, running her hand along one. "They're warnings."
"Warnings about what?" David asked.
"The boss, probably," I said. "We're getting close."
The tunnel opened into a massive chamber. Cathedral sized, just like I remembered. The ceiling disappeared into darkness above us. And in the center, standing completely still, was Stoneheart the Ancient.
[Stoneheart the Ancient - Level 15 - BOSS]
HP: 50,000/50,000
It was even bigger than I remembered. Four times the size of a regular golem, made of black marble with veins of red energy pulsing through cracks in its armor.
"Oh fuck," Alex whispered. "That thing is huge."
David took a step back. "We can't fight that. No way. We're not high enough level."
"I am," I said.
"You're level 13. That thing is level 15 with 50,000 health. Even with your damage, you can't solo a raid boss."
"Watch me."
I stepped forward into the chamber.
Stoneheart's eyes flared red. Its head turned toward me.
[STONEHEART THE ANCIENT] HAS ENTERED COMBAT!
WARNING: BOSS MONSTER DETECTED!
The chamber shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling.
And from the walls, four smaller golems started spawning.
[Stone Golem - Level 10]
[Stone Golem - Level 10]
[Stone Golem - Level 10]
[Stone Golem - Level 10]
"Adds!" Sarah yelled. "There's adds!"
"I know," I said calmly.
I raised my hand toward the adds.
"Meteor Strike."
The ceiling exploded with orange light.