"I hate trap layers too!" I shouted as the loud whooshing sound of the flames being funneled wouldn't allow for normal conversation.
"How much longer?" Louie asked, after Rory gave me an appreciative nod. "Is this a magical trap?"
"They all are. Normal ones are too unreliable and maintenance-heavy," the dwarf replied. "This one's been pumping fire for quite some time, eh?"
His last word sounded loud and clear as the fire stopped suddenly and our eyes struggled to get acclimated to the absence of light again.
"Let's move," Rory said, stepping into the room. "Avoid the line of fire."
I followed his footsteps while he continued to check for traps with his long weapon until we reached the portal again.
"Looks like I owe ye, dog," Rory said and bent down to pat his back.
"I know just what I'll get with your money," he replied, but barked when Rory moved to enter the portal. "Wait! Let's rebuff."
As Louie recast his buffs on each of us, I glanced at the thick grated metal tube that had been shooting fire just seconds before. The whole thing was attached to the ceiling, but its base looked like it could rotate. That's when I got an idea.
"Rory, can you travel back and forth through the portals?" I asked.
"Yeah. One-way portals are too complicated, and they'd need to build another way out for themselves," he replied.
I put Louie on the ground and, using both of my swords, I turned the fire burner until it was pointing at the portal.
"I like the way ye're thinking, half-Celt," Rory said. "If there are any enemies on the other side, I'll pull them closer and come back here."
With that, he retrieved a long piece of silvery thread from his inventory and replaced the one that had been cut when we opened the door.
"Don't jump the trigger until I come back," he said, and showed us exactly where we needed to pull.
"What if they get you and you can't come back?" Louie asked.
"Don't ye worry, boy. I'll round up whatever shit's waiting for us on the other side and bring it back here."
"The moment your HP drops, dwarf," I said, "I start counting. You'll have ten seconds before we come in."
"Okay. Going in," Rory said before jumping through the purple glow.
"Louie, stay to the side of the portal in case he needs healing when he comes in," I said, moving myself over to where the trigger was.
A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. Rory hadn't returned and his HP was still full in our party window. What's more, he had no debuffs and even his MP bar was still full. Then I saw his HP drop a bit and a debuff icon appeared next to his name.
Name: Stunned
Type: Debuff
Level: 1
Effect: Renders the target immobile for 5 seconds
Time Left: 5 seconds
Ten seconds.
"He's taking damage." Louie echoed my observations. "Should we go in?"
"We agreed to give him ten seconds."
"But what if they continue to stun him and more monsters come?"
Six seconds.
"It was probably just a lucky hit," I said. "The dungeon is too weak for him, and the level of that stun is only 1."
Three seconds.
"Okay, but get ready."
One second.
"Hit it, boy!" Rory roared as he jumped out of the portal, dragging some kind of gooey white substance behind him.
I pulled the string and the flame thrower unleashed hell into the portal just as the first enemies jumped through it.
Name: Fourteen-legged Behemoth Tarantula
Type: Beast
Level: 21
Disposition : Aggressive
HP : 365365
Physical Attack: 53
Magic Attack: 38
Speed: 140
Attack Range: Melee
XP : 1422
Description : This species of the common tarantula has been mutated twice. The original breed was genetically mutated to grow in size by up to 600%. This behemoth tarantula's DNA was further enhanced with compressed mana, resulting in a breed that has seven pairs of feet, providing it with remarkable agility. In many ecosystems, this particular beast has claimed a position as an apex predator.
"Kill them with fire, Alex!" Louie--perhaps the most passionate hater of spiders ever--shouted.
The beasts were almost twice the size of a large dog and their hairy bodies and limbs immediately caught on fire. The high-pitched screams they let out made me want to scratch at my ears while Louie howled at the top of his lungs.
No matter how disturbing the sounds they made were, the plan was very effective. Five of the huge beasts now lay on the floor still burning, their legs curled upward and giving off a horrible acrid smell.
"How many were there, Rory?" I asked as Louie healed him.
"Thanks, boy. I owe ye some bacon," he said, earning him an excited howl in response. "I wasn't sure I could have taken all of them by myself but either way, there's no reason to rob ye of such a spectacular kill, right? There must be a couple more left in there. Let me clean them up real quick."
"I guess we can all--"
He had already disappeared into the purple shimmering portal before I finished my sentence.
"Shall we just go in after him?" Louie asked.
"Yeah, let's go." I moved forward, following the dwarf's footprints carefully.
Just as Rory had said, there were two more tarantulas waiting for us in the next layer of the dungeon. That horrible stench clung to the air, and sure enough we found both of them burned to a crisp in the corridor, their bodies still smoking. Rory had already moved down the hall, heading toward the bedroom.
"All clear so far, half-Celt," he shouted as I heard him opening the bathroom door.
Then there was a screech followed by a loud thump and a squishing noise. When I reached him, I saw a thick patch of white web on his chest, splattered with some kind of green liquid.
"The little fucker tried to stun me with its web again," Rory said. "I stunned it back for good."
I offered him a smile in response and took up a position in front of the bedroom
