Under Clink's scary glare, Pascal swallows the indignation of once again hearing the word Teen Angst and nods with great difficulty. What did Clink threaten her with to get her to cooperate? Navi, don't answer that!
<…>
"Continuing, this is Maribelle Stuart. Second gen member of my survival camp. She's an evasion tank, plain and simple."
Maribelle is the new arrival who rebuked Pascal. But why is she wearing a space suit?
As if she heard my question, the space suit's black glass suddenly turns clear and reveals itself to be an… aquarium? Her head is an aquarium? But why can't I see the water in it? And is that koi fish floating?
"For anyone who's confused about the suit, since my last evolution it's become hard for me to be transformed into a human shape. Thus, I've been put into this suit that I can somewhat control. It's a bit of a hindrance but I can make it work just fine."
She sounds very happy for someone apparently weighed down by a suit.
"And lastly, another second gen member of my survival camp, Peter Harmony. You better show up now or you'll be attending every future team building exercise there is!"
Clink seems to be talking to a wall but it all becomes quite clear when the wall suddenly answers.
"Okay, okay. No need to get all angry about it, boss. Hey there, I'm Peter and I like my antisocial behind to not be seen. I specialize in stealth and that's about it. Bye."
Peter's body flimmers and merges back into the wall.
"That little-!!! Sigh, Guy, please try to help Peter be useful. I'll take anything, just make him do something besides hiding."
"I'll try, miss Clink but I can't force someone to learn, can I?"
"I suppose you can't, but please try all the same."
With introductions over and Pascal still looking very tempted to try and punch me again, we head deeper into the dungeon while Clink explains today's team building exercise.
"This is what we call a rogue dungeon. That means it's a arrogant little idiot who thought that rejecting the great dungeon alliences proposal was a good idea. We are the great dungeon alliences answer to the not so politely worded rejection of this dungeon. In case you haven't taken the hint, we're here to destroy the dungeon core and make this dungeon go away.
"It's a fairly strong dungeon but to make things interesting, you're not allowed to use your usual Modus operandi. No dying and respawning for you. Fight as if you only had one life. That means you'll have to work together to make up for your individual weaknesses. Any questions?"
I immediately jump in because that summary of what we are about to face is poor at best.
"Uhm, what kind of dungeon is this and what kinds of monsters will we be facing?"
"It's a swarm type dungeon and the monsters are its own creations. They mainly seem to be a cross between a bird's head and a an insect's body with a few additional changes here and there. The species name is branti but that's just the dungeon's arbitrary naming."
So, swarm type dungeon with amalgamations between birds and insects for monsters. And she wants us to face that with a small number of people?
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Roy will only be allowed to join once you reach past floor 20. Also, Guy, I'd like for you to dismantle as many monsters as possible to make this dungeon dive look like a legit business venture and not a punitive expedition."
So besides fighting I also have to dismantle? Does she think I have six arms and two heads?
So she'll help us?
We reach the stairs leading down to the second floor and I can already hear the skittering noises from down there. Must be the hundreds of branti waiting for us to be dumb enough to come down.
"Why are there no monsters on the first floor?"
"Simple, Pascal dear. When I first entered, a few of them tried to eat me and I scared them so badly they immediately vacated the floor as a whole. They are all connected in a sort of hive mind so they all went into maximum panic mode.
"Now that we have reached the start of your campaign, I have a few gifts for you. First the green potion will allow you to turn into your monster form so you can fight most efficiently. The blue potion will massively increase your speed stat while stabilizing your constitution to withstand that speed.
"Lastly, I carry a plethora of useful things with me so feel free to ask me for anything that's commonly used during a dungeon dive."
That's the support we get? Speed potions?
Better than nothing indeed.
I chug both a green and a blue potion and feel my body melt and shrink into a green goblin menace. Thankfully my equipment can handle the change in form.
I move around a bit and immediately notice the difference the speed potion makes. I almost zoom around now when compared to my usual speed. The others react in a similar way as they too get used to the new speed their bodies are capable of.
Looking at their monster forms, Pascal will clearly be the main attacker. Her body is that of a humanoid cactus with six arms. She should be able to dish out a lot of punches and clear a space for us if we get swarmed.
Maribelle has ditched her suit and is happily swimming around in the air. She said she's an evasion tank which won't be ideal for swarm types.
Roy is a humanoid porcupine, he must be a kin evolution that humanizes an animal type monster. He's the strongest among the participants and once we get deep enough he should be able to take on most of the pressure from the swarm.