Pandora Unchained B1C37: The Three Types of Dungeons

Twenty minutes later, all the adventurers near the tomb were sitting near Stephan. His chair was quite conspicuous since none of the other party leaders had brought one. Moreover, he was in no hurry to speak and had evidently practiced for this sort of thing.

"Hello, everyone," said Stephan after the last of the adventurers not on guard duty were seated. "My name is Stephan. But many of you know me as Mr. York or Stephan York or many variations. The main thing is obviously my family name, which is quite famous in adventurer circles.

"I don't have much personal fame to draw on, or any personal experience to share. Instead, I have lessons that I've been imbibing from my family since I was a child from my mother, my father, my uncles, my cousins, and even my adopted family members.

"I would first and foremost like to say that I was against letting loose adventurers – or independent adventures as I like to call them – into the ruins first. The reason is quite simple: We don't know what kind of tomb this is. Or, to be more technical about it, we don't know what kind of dungeon this is. All tombs worth exploring are dungeons, in the end, and should be treated with reverence instead of disdain. When dealing with unknowns, it is best to be prudent."

"I'm sorry, but could you please stop here first, Stephan?" said a tall, silver-armored woman with golden hair. She had a dignified and professional look about her. It was clear that she was every bit as noble as Stephan was. "Common convention is to let loose adventurers in first. This is because the outskirts of a ruin typically have the least amount of danger. Loose adventurers don't have teams to rely on, and this is the only way they'll be able to gain anything from this expedition."

Stephan smiled. "I don't doubt your pure intentions, Barbara. Your reputation precedes you, and if my sources are correct, you also started off as an independent adventurer after refusing the arrangements of your family."

"That is correct," said Barbara. "So you'll have to forgive me for keeping their best interests in mind."

"What is there to forgive?" asked Stephan. "I am also a big supporter of independent adventurers. Which is why I didn't want those with ulterior motives sending them in like sheep for slaughter. It should be known that there is a significant risk in sending independent adventurers in first. It is only thanks to those risks being quantified ahead of time that the convention works. But what if these assumptions fall apart? Won't we just be throwing sheep out to the wolves for slaughter?"

"And how exactly do you mean to evaluate a ruin before setting for in the place?" asked a tall, slovenly man with thick sideburns. Judging by his red face and cheerful disposition, he was clearly drunk. "No one's ever been in there before. And if they had been, of what use is the convention?" He then looked around uncertainly. "If what I say doesn't make sense, please feel free to ignore this drunkard." Then, to Sorin's surprise, he took out a flagon of wine and took a heavy drink.

"That is an excellent question, Haster," said Stephan. "And fortunately, I am in a position to answer this. Because you see, the convention was actually implemented and supervised by my York Clan. It is a risk mitigation strategy designed to avoid a total wipeout when exploring quantified variable dungeons."

"Quantified variable dungeons?" asked another captain. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"He means one of the dungeons in the big cities," said a handsome man with sword-like eyebrows. He was the leader of the assembled captains and the ones who had been most against being cautious while entering. "You're talking about the repopulating dungeons whose layouts change every time they open, aren't you, Mr. York?"

Stephan nodded. "That is correct, Orpheus. The dungeons are always different, which means that they have a slight chance of spawning a catastrophically one-sided map. The chance is about one percent, but the consequences of such an occurrence are dire.

"After many complete team wipes, the Adventurers Guild and their concerned parties discussed the matter. It was the representative of independent adventurers who suggested allocating spots to independent adventurers in each raid to scout ahead.

"It was a win-win proposal. These people normally wouldn't be allowed to enter the dungeon, and there was a 99% chance of safely obtaining some of the dungeon's wealth. The major powers and teams that normally raided these dungeons would lose a bit of profit every time but would be able to avoid a total team wipe in the event of a one-sided spawn."

"Which is exactly what happened in this case," said Orpheus. "Just because the result wasn't good, it doesn't mean our approach was wrong." His words were quite callous and drew sharp looks from Barbara, Haster, and over half of the remaining captains."

"If that's the way you want to put it, I can't convince you," said Stephan. "But I'd like to point out that the convention was invented based on a 1% chance of a total team wipe in a repopulating dungeon. The risks were none. But what if these aren't the odds in this dungeon? What if the odds are closer to 35% for a small group of unorganized adventurers?"

"Pardon, Stephan, but I don't see why there would be such a huge difference," said Barbara.

"The difference largely stems from the different types of dungeons known to exist," said Stephan. "Dungeons are mainly classified as memorial dungeons, inheritance dungeons, and sealing dungeons.

"Memorial dungeons are the least threatening – they are usually tombs erected for rich cultivators that contain a portion of their wealth and teachings. They typically contain ample traps, and due to contamination from the Seven Evils, they also contain demonic life."

"Is this not a memorial dungeon?" asked Barbara. "The decorative columns and artwork all indicate that this is some sort of tomb." Other experts in the crowd voiced their agreement."

"This much is true," said Stephan. "Tombs are often memorials, but not always. This brings us to the second type of dungeon: the inheritance dungeon. These either contain recurring trials or one-off trials to pass on the inheritance of a sect, organization, or religion. Traditionally, they were erected prior to great wars between countries by the edict of the gods. They are tombs but for organizations instead of the deceased.

"Most of the inheritance dungeons in existence were erected at the direction of the gods prior to the great war that accompanied the Cataclysmic Emergence. Surviving historical records indicate that they anticipated their fall and had all major powers leave behind seeds for future generations of humanity."

"Well, this clearly isn't one of those," said Orpheus. "An inheritance dungeon would normally have a welcome room or an explanation beforehand, not a nameless seal."

"It seems to me like you're familiar with what I'm saying," said Stephan with a smile that was not a smile. "So you should also know that the reason I warned everyone wasn't because of these first two dungeons. Their potential threats are minimal, and even if individual adventurers suffered losses, they wouldn't be catastrophic. Instead, the reason I warned you all was because of the third type of dungeon: sealing dungeons."

"Sealing dungeons?" said Lawrence, who'd remained silent the entire time. "I've heard of those. My dad raided one once. Wiped out most of his party."

"Yes, you would know about sealing dungeons, wouldn't you?" said Stephan. "There was once a sealing dungeon near the Bloodwood Outpost. It was cleared 30 years ago, but the losses suffered by the outpost were extreme. It lost over 50% of its population in 2 weeks, and it wasn't until recently that these losses were made up. Any survivors of that raid were so traumatized and guild-ridden that they could only retire from adventuring."

"What is a sealing dungeon?" asked the red-faced Haster. "Please. We just want to know why so many of our fellow adventurers died. Otherwise, I won't be able to face their ghosts in the afterlife."

"Sealing dungeons are built to keep something suppressed, Haster," said Stephan. "Some evils are so potent that they can't be entirely eliminated. The seals are there to gradually wear them down. A prime example would be the recurring dungeons in each major city. A fragment of evil was sealed beneath each dungeon by the Temple of Hope, and every day, a certain amount of energy was extracted in the form of demons and a temporary dungeon.

"These dungeons are stable when cleared regularly, but when they aren't cleared for a while, their energy accumulates. Threats multiply until they become unmanageable except by large groups of organized adventurers.

"Judging by the casualties, this dungeon is a sort of sealing dungeon. Not the type you find in cities, but a historical type. Some evil entity from the time of the gods was sealed away, and mana contamination has likely animated any corpses or threats inside the dungeon."

"What about the original sealed entity?" asked Barbara. "Is it a threat to us?"

"It's difficult to say," answered Stephan. "It may or may not have returned. The Evils of Death, Savagery, and Insanity have complicated things. We might find a powerful boss-type demon inside, or we might only find a large number of aggressive demons. The only way to confirm this is via careful exploration."

Orpheus snorted loudly. "So you don't know anything. All you can do is speculate."

"That's right," confirmed Stephan. "I confirm that I have no idea what's going on. The Temple of Hope has assessed this as a one-star dungeon, so we should theoretically be able to clear it with the people assembled. But we must be prepared for everything. Rogues, Rune-Breakers, and Life Mages – each group needs at least one of these. Each team should also have at least two tanks per team, one primary and one secondary."

"You're making recommendations, but even your own team doesn't have all these roles filled," said Orpheus.

"Once again, you are correct," said Stephan. "Which is why we won't enter the dungeon until we join up with another party with a life mage and a tank. And if there is an extreme shortage, we will join with two teams. Otherwise, we won't be entering this dungeon." His words brought all condemnations to a halt. "That's where I end my talk. I've given you whatever information I can, and it's up to you all to make your decisions. I welcome any teams with a life mage to approach me and discuss a collaboration. My team is amiable, and we already have a rune-breaker, a rogue, and a tank in our party composition."

Stephan then stood up and folded up his chair before sitting down beside the rest of his team. "How was that, Lawrence? Learn anything?"

"I'm in awe," said Lawrence. "I had no idea you could be such a poser. Although, it doesn't seem like there are any teams interested in joining up with us." The team captains were currently discussing and mingling, but no one had come to approach Stephan.

"We won't get matched up right away," said Stephan, shaking his head. "The best teams will approach weaker teams, and stronger teams like ours, Haster's, Barbara's, and Orpheus's will get the dregs. I'd wager some weaker teams with life mages will seek us out after they get refused too many times. We'll offer them an even share, and they'll take it."

Things developed exactly as Stephan predicted. The more successful teams with life mages banded together with one or two lesser teams. As for the three leading captains and Stephan, they received multiple offers from some weaker teams. After a round of intense and secretive discussions, Stephan led five individuals back to their group.

"This is Team Oasis," said Stephan to the team. "Their party consists of a tank, a swordsman, a life mage, a rogue, and an archer. We'll be collaborating with them for this raid."

"We're happy to have the opportunity to work with you," said their leader, a swordsman in ragged chainmail and mismatched boots. "I'm Nale, a swordsman, and this is our life mage, Hellen."

The teams exchanged greetings and familiarized themselves with their respective abilities. They ignored the few teams rushing into the dungeon and practiced for two hours before heading in with the other three leading captains.