Fighting the supposedly weak golems was an exhausting task.
The first mannequin charged, its two arms swung overhead, prepared to unleash a devastating haymaker.
Instead of fleeing, I dove behind another of its compatriots, the level one mannequin, taking advantage of their lackluster speed and overbearing size. The mannequin I used as cover turned around, agonisingly slow, its arm swinging around its body in a wide arc. Simultaneously, mannequin number one attempted to hit me.
“Attempted” being the key word in this scenario.
The conjoined fist catapulted my “shield” into the ground, splintering the wood of the weaker golem.
Seeing the golem crumple injected me with a perverse sense of glee. However, I couldn't let it distract me. With a deep breath to refocus myself, I gripped my weapon, a stolen arm, and launched a brutal overhead swing, dislodging the head of the golem.
[You have defeated Weak Wood Golem - Level 1]
[Experience will be stored until class has been assigned]
That seemed remarkably easier than the last one.
Maybe it was because the golem was weaker or I simply became stronger after that ordeal.
I sincerely hoped it was the latter as I still have to kill two more of those pests.
A crisp ring of a violin joined the piano behind the curtain, playing tunes that laced colour and vibrancy into the music.
Backing away from the two encroaching golems, my mind ran through several ideas to deal with them. I heavily doubted the same trick would work twice since they distanced themselves from one another.
Disabling them via ripping them off their limbs then bludgeoning them to death wasn't the most sophisticated, but it sufficed in this situation.
One golem lifted its arms in unison with the other as they approached. Each lumbering step tilted their body forward as their sheer weight bolstered the force behind their blow. Instead of sprinting forward, I dove to the right, narrowly dodging the swing of the nearest golem.
I slipped behind the mannequin, using the momentum of its swing to knock it off balance, sending it to the floor. Pinning it to the floor, I unleashed a flurry of bashes, causing the golem to go limp. A subtle ping of a prompt told me it was dead but I dismissed it as the remaining mannequin came close. I wrenched my arms and flung the deceased golem at the mannequin, sending it crashing down and splintering wood.
The resonant drone of a cello joined the melody behind the curtain, accompanied by the soft plucking of a viola.
I stiffened as the music refused to stop, instead, reaching a crescendo that prickled my neck.
Did I not finish the dungeon? Or is the music used to signify my victory?
I suspected it was the former, this dungeon didn’t prove to be as simple as I thought so far. Moments later, my suspicions proved to be correct.
The curtain obscuring the stage parted, revealing four instruments: a cello, viola, violin and a piano.
But that wasn’t the most noticeable part.
All those instruments, the instruments of masterwork quality and rich wood were being played by mannequins.
In retrospect, I should have expected that considering the theme of this dungeon so far, yet confusion blurred my thoughts pulling them in different directions. A loud prompt broke me out of my stupor.
[Your disturbance of the audience has angered the Fallen Piano Quartet.]
Shoot, will I have to fight them? I wasn’t certain I could deal with four more mannequins which were doubtlessly stronger than the ones I fought before.
[Pianist of the Piano Quartet - Level 7]
[String Trio of the Piano Quartet - Level 5]
One thing that caught my eye was that the three mannequins playing string instruments were labeled as a single entity by the interface.
Whether it was relevant or not was questionable, but I filed the information away for later.
The four figures didn't cease their performance as the curtain parted. Instead, the jubilant melody shifted, exchanging its spirited tunes for a tense staccato that echoed off the walls, like a ticking clock.
I gripped the wooden arm firmly, my knuckles turning white as my arm trembled. Level five. All four of the mannequins were essentially 3 times stronger than the golems I had just barely scraped by against. If they rushed me all at once, I would be snuffed out immediately.
But the performers didn’t move.
The Pianist sat at the grand piano, its wooden fingers dancing on ivory keys at inhuman speeds. A few steps away, the String Trio drew their bows across their respective instruments with uncanny synchronicity.
Why aren’t they attacking?
Watching them closely, my eyes combing through their movements as I tried to decipher their behavior, I noticed thin lines of white energy stretching from the Pianist’s fingers, into the String Trio.
The interface labeled them because they weren’t separate beings, the String Trio were puppets, and the Pianist, the puppeteer.
As if confirming my theory, the Pianist slammed a harsh, discordant chord. The puppets stiffened, before beginning to play their own complementing melodies.
A faint silver barrier wrapped around the grand piano as the cellist ran their bow across the strings. Meanwhile, the violinist played a high-pitched vibrato, creating a pink film that wrapped around the violist, who was plucking at their viola even quicker now. With every pluck, smoldering orbs of red formed above the String Trio. Strangely, the presence of the String Trio’s magic seemed to ignite an intense warmth in my heart.
The spheres whirled in the air, before shooting straight at me.
My eyes widened as I dove behind a chair. A wave of air blasted from behind me before dissipating.
Oh lord, if I got hit by that, I would’ve been turned into paste.
Reverberant booms echoed behind me, but there was something familiar with them. They seemed to follow the tempo set by the Pianist, who was still playing, as well as pausing briefly every two measures. With a deep breath, I stood up and ran for the next row of seats, counting in my head as I did so.
One, two, three, now!
At the fourth beat, I plunged into the seats, narrowly avoiding the next orb. The violist would pause for this measure, so I took a risk.
Sprinting towards the orchestra pit, I grabbed a shard of broken debris from the auditorium floor and hurled it at the Pianist.
If I could get it to miss a beat, the violist’s onslaught would pause for a notable amount of time, giving me time to kill or at least relinquish the Pianist’s control over the String Trio.
A tendril of glasslike silver shot at the piece of stone, crushing it into powder I couldn’t even stop to stare in disbelief.
I threw another piece of stone, smaller this time.
The same thing happened.
That seemed absolutely ridiculous, though…
Is it just me or does the barrier seem to be dimming? The shard of stone I threw seemed to make the barrier less opaque, allowing me to see the Pianist more clearly. I ducked my head down as an orb shot over my head.
A wide smile spread on my face, grabbing at various objects, strewn in the pit.
Microphones, instrument cables, stand lights, whatever I could get my hands on, I threw.
Slowly but surely, the silver barrier dimmed. Against the salvo of debris and equipment, the barrier couldn’t keep up.
A split formed on the surface.
Even the Pianist was surprised. It briefly paused in its performance as it glimpsed the fine fissure.
Then, a deafening crack sounded in the auditorium as the silver barrier shattered into millions of pieces. The cellist splintered, the fine joints rotting and breaking down in front of me, before collapsing into a heap.
I grinned as the Pianist turned to the pit, a semblance of hatred permeating their wooden body. They turned to the piano, playing an enraged, jarring melody that grated my spine.
The remains of the String Trio began to play with ferocity, the tempo of the battle changing with the Pianist. The warmth in my heart increased, but I didn’t notice.
One, two, three.
I leapt onto the stage, charging at the violist, wooden arm in hand. I knew that the mannequin was simply a variation of the golem, meaning it would be difficult to damage the body.
But its instrument?
That was a different matter entirely. I tore the viola from its wooden hands and applied pressure on both ends, splintering the delicately carved wood.
A crushing pressure suddenly pinned me to the ground, I gasped for breath but the air seemed to move like molasses. The violinist mannequin fell limp as the strings of white retracted into the Pianist.
[You have defeated String Trio of the Piano Quartet - Level 5]
[Experience will be distributed and stored based on your contribution]
The mannequin strode to my immobile form, a conductor baton in hand.
Sweat trickled down my cheeks. Was this how it would end? After all that struggle?
I couldn’t let it. I couldn’t squander my only chance at a new start.
My heart was now scorching. As it thrummed in my chest, its heat flowed into my limbs.
It was intoxicating.
With a primal roar, I shoved myself off the ground and drove my fist into the wooden head with a sharp crack, a shockwave of air blasting me back. The mannequin’s head flew across the stage, rolling to a stop.
[You have defeated Pianist of the Piano Quartet - Level 7]
I laid on the ground. My eyes couldn’t believe what I did. Was that… power?
It was the only explanation, the attribute, which was my most powerful, was the only thing that could have given me such a boost.
But now, instead of a blazing heat in my heart, I felt cold. A deep, piercing cold that clutched my very soul.
A faint ping rang in my ear.
Blearily opening my eyes I stared at the prompt in front of me.
[Congratulations! You have cleared a dungeon.]
[As a first time clear, your rewards have been improved]
[For beating the dungeon solo, your rewards have been improved]
[For beating the dungeon without a catalyst, your rewards have been improved]
[Please select a reward from below:]
- 15 levels free attribute points
- A high compatibility catalyst
- An epic relic
I couldn’t help but grin maniacally.
Welp. High risk, high reward.
I chose the catalyst option. Something that was guaranteed to not warp my soul was an option I couldn’t pass up.
“I choose a high compatibility catalyst.” I replied to the interface.
A brilliant flash of light shone in front of me, I felt power twist in the air melding together in streams of light in a stunning display.
A few moments later, a finished catalyst was in front of me.
It was a piano.
[Object: The Fractured Key]
- A grand piano which survived the quartet’s downfall despite being discarded and abandoned. With no one to fill the hole left behind, it lies diminished. However quiet, the Fractured Key remains unyielding, yearning to be played once more.
- Compatibility: 99%
[Would you like to bind to “The Fractured Key”? Y/N]
I gently caressed the glossy base.
Yes.
Agony raced up my spine and into my heart.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6vBuIRFoj
I felt my mind slip into darkness7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynOPbRu2jN
and then Add to home screen.