Pride (Dinosaur Dungeon Book 2), page 1
Pride
Dinosaur Dungeon Book 2
Alex Raizman
Copyright © 2021 Alex Raizman
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Getcovers
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41.
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
A Note on the Coreverse
Appendix
Acknowledgements
More by Alex Raizman
Prologue
There was no clear marking to the edge of Tira’s area of influence on the surface, no walls to keep trespassers out, no change in the way the waist-high grass grew, or the flowers blossomed. To anyone approaching, the step into the zone was exactly like the one before it and the one after it. A Gold or Platinum rank might notice the slight change in the quality of mana in the zone, but that change would be barely perceptible even to them.
Which meant Landon had no idea he’d just crossed into an area where dinosaurs still roamed the Woven World.
He held up his hand with a clenched fist, bringing the rest of his squad to a halt. A soldier of Amedian, Landon was in the Copper ranks and had the class of Primalist, with the specialization of Ranger - a Primalist specialization that mimicked some of the powers of an Archer, but had a host of nature based powers. One of those powers was the ability to take on the eyes of any animals Landon had encountered, and in the darkness of the night, he’d chosen the sight of the owl. He had plenty of light to work with for those eyes. In addition to the stars overhead, there were two major Spheres that were visible from where they were. These massive orbs were the size of the world Landon stood on, and were connected to this world by strands of silk kilometers thick and hundreds of kilometers long. Parts of them were still catching sunlight and provided additional light to the ground around Landon.
The leader of the squad, Geoff, approached and put a hand on Landon’s shoulder. The man was small and wiry, his bald head gleaming with reflected light. Landon raised an eyebrow, and Geoff gestured to his mouth. He wished to speak. Landon scanned the horizon one more time, looking for any threats, then gave Geoff a subtle nod. “We’re clear,” he added, to make sure there was no confusion.
Geoff breathed deeply and some of the tension went out of his shoulders. “How much further?” Geoff asked.
Landon bit back a sarcastic response. It was the most frustrating question to ask any guide, especially when the answer depended so heavily on how quickly they moved. But Geoff was his superior, and so had the right to ask the question. Besides, he could see the answer ahead, although Geoff could not. “We’re just about to the Inn. We should be within the Dungeon’s range soon.”
“Dungeon,” Craik said, spitting on the ground. “No dungeon has surface mobs until they’re Bronze, and this one wasn’t Bronze. Whatever this is, it’s not a dungeon.” The man was taller than Geoff and Landon both, and that impression was strengthened by the coat he wore, a long black one that dusted the ground. It wasn’t standard uniform for any class yet, but Craik was one of the new classes that had been unlocked. Gunslingers favored the coats, and they would likely be incorporated into the Amedian uniform as Landon’s green-and-brown patterned jerkin had been. Some classes favored certain gear types, and coats were quickly becoming a Gunslinger staple.
The weapon that was the Gunslinger’s signature was strapped to Craik’s back. The technical term for it was an arcwand, as it created an interior arc of Steel mana to magnetize and propel the metal slugs it had stored. Because of the class, however, more and more people were starting to just call them ‘guns,’ and Landon liked the name. Even though Rangers specialized in bow and arrow, Landon carried a smaller arcwand that could be fired with one hand. The metal slugs it propelled would respond to some of his spells, and the power behind the slugs could easily make up for the other spells Landon couldn’t use. He had his quiver of arrows and bow if the more specialized abilities were needed.
So far, Geoff had ignored Craik’s griping. Why would he bother? This argument was one they’d had several times since leaving for this mission, and it was one they would likely have again after they left. Instead, Geoff just checked behind them and motioned his hands, bringing forward the last two members of the group. The twin sisters, Nelda and Opeline, were easily distinguishable by their class gear. Nelda had the herocore of a Knight specialized into the Paladin fighting style and powers, and Opeline had on the signature robes of a Saint, one of the best healing classes there was. Neither of those outfits made them much good for stealth, so they had lagged behind the group during the approach.
“I want to go over this one more time,” Geoff said once the party was fully assembled. There were some groans, and Geoff raised his hand for quiet. “I know, I know, but indulge my paranoia born of past acts of recklessness.” Craik grimaced as everyone shot him a glare. “Yes, you all remember. So. We are to get within range to observe the Kholvenic forces gathered here. We are not to push into the Dungeon’s influence.” Craik opened his mouth, and Geoff shot him a look. Craik closed his mouth. “We are not to push into the core’s influence,” Geoff said, throwing Craik a bone as thanks for his silence on the matter. “If we can catch some Kholvenic heroes unaware, we’ll take them down, but we’re not going to try to fight whatever camp is around here.”
“Assuming there is a camp,” Landon muttered, drawing Geoff’s attention. “I’m not seeing any sign of habitation. If there was any light in any of the buildings, you all could see it even with human eyes.” Landon paused and then shook his head. “Well. Not entirely. The grass is much shorter ahead. But that’s probably the dungeon’s influence.
Nelda cracked a grin and elbowed her sister in the side. “Maybe they got scared off by the evil tent.”
Craik’s face went red. “I’m telling you, I saw it. And it wasn’t a tent. It was a pavilion. Kohlvenic Guild markings, but the flap was full of teeth as big as a hand. It was running after a tree with legs.”
Opeline kept her face placid, but Landon could see the smirk that wanted to break free. “How much grey ale had you drank before you saw this?”
Craik’s scowl deepend, but before he could respond, Geoff held up a hand for silence. “Enough,” he said. “The summoning of hypermagic dragons releases a massive burst of unstable mana. Some of that could have animated a pavilion.”
The reminder of why they were here brought the conversation to a halt. Three weeks ago, this dungeon had been the site of three dragons being spawned. Other dungeons had only gotten two, but the prince had been here, so the largest of the hypermagic dragons had been summoned here to eliminate a royal target while the other two fought over the dungeon. Yet the dungeon had not fallen, and the prince still lived, which meant something had gone terribly wrong.
Geoff looked at Landon. “You’re sure there’s no one here?”
Landon considered for a moment before answering. “No way to be sure of that until we check the buildings, but I’m pretty certain.”
Geoff considered for a moment, then nodded. “Intelligence suggested they might pull everyone back expecting an immediate follow up attack after the dragons were summoned. Most likely abandoned this place.” Although the dungeon sat on a major road between Kholve
The dragons they’d made so far were just the beginning.
“Stop burning mana on the owl’s sight,” Geoff instructed Landon. “We’ll just walk the rest of the way.” He pointed to a pair of towers that were visible even to his unaugmented eyes. “Intelligence says those are the boundaries of the dungeon’s surface zone. Turn it back on before we cross that line.”
Landon did as instructed, glad to have a chance to let his mana recharge, and the group continued on. Now that they weren’t using stealth, Nelda took point, the edge of her short golden hair just poking out from under her helm. Opeline was in the rear, with the other three in the middle of the two - standard marching formation against dungeons. Keep your healer safe, one of the mantras every dungeon delver who lived more than a couple runs agreed on. The person who could knit together bone and sinew was essential for any fight, after all, and Opeline was a master of managing her mana.
Now that he was seeing like everyone else, Landon found his eyes kept drawn to the watchtower that marked the borders of what - in fairness to Amedia’s intelligence corps - had been the borders of Tira’s influence three weeks ago. They were adorned with some strange gargoyles unlike any Landon had seen before, even in silhouette. They stood partially on their wings, but not sprawled out like a wyvern’s, instead directly below their bodies. They had long, narrow beaks like a stork’s, and serpentine necks that also resembled that bird’s. However, the wings were membranous, not feathered, and their head stretched out far to the back, as if it needed something to counterbalance the beak in the front.
Then one of the gargoyles moved, raising its head back and opening its beak in a yawn, and Landon realized it wasn’t a gargoyle. It was one of the dungeon’s mobs. Landon activated one of his zero mana abilities, one that would let him see a mob’s name plate.
Storm Pteranodon - Copper Mob
The other mobs lit up with the same plate, six on top of the tower. A quirk of the ability was it required Landon to be able to identify that the mob was present, something that prevented it from being useful against stealth, but now that he knew they were there, it would show him at least that. The sight was, in a way, horrifying. Dungeon mob fliers at Copper Tier were never this size. They might have golden eagles or dire bats that equaled the eagle’s size, or winged cats, or a host of other creatures, but a Copper Tier flier should only be this large if it was a boss - and there were a half dozen casually resting on top of the tower, waiting to swoop down on any unwary-
A sudden sound behind him made Landon whirl, pulling out his arcwand to point into the darkness while he activated the owl’s sight again, making the world flare to life. Geoff did the same, although both Nelda and Craik kept their eyes trained forward for any other possible threats approaching from a different direction. The grass, still up to Landon’s waist, was perfectly still. He could have sworn he’d heard something though, a brief rustling of the plants, a gasp for air, a crunch of broken sticks, and then some sound that was both. But there was nothing there. Something about that tugged at Landon’s mind, like he was missing a critical-
“Where’s Opeline?” Geoff said.
That got both Nelda and Craik to turn around, and the sound of their movement made Landon look at them. Which meant he was the only one looking as a large rock next to Craik stood up abruptly and opened jaws nearly as long as Craik’s torso.
Primordial Irritator - Rare Copper Mob
Landon opened his mouth to shout a warning, but the primordial irritator’s jaws clamped down on Craik’s waist before the Gunslinger was even aware of the danger. Landon heard the crunch again, and this time realized it was bone, not wood. Craik opened his mouth to scream, but the irritator vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Landon did shout a warning, although it was too late for Craik. Unfortunately, fear driven by the monster’s arrival rendered him unable to give words to the fear, just bellow and point to where Craik had been. The irritator had been as tall as Craik and nearly as long as five men laid head to foot, covered in gleaming scales that made its appearance almost draconic, but the Primordial descriptor was the real terror here. Primordials were the fusion of Celestial and Fiend, and such mobs were often vastly more powerful than either of their brethren.
By the time Landon finished his shout, the irritator had appeared again, now latching on with its jaws to Nelda’s arm. The irritator must have used up much of its mana on the jumps, because there was a delay before it vanished again. Enough time for Nelda’s eyes to go wide with pain and for her to reach out to Landon with one hand. “Please,” she said, her voice hoarse and rasping.
Then the irritator vanished again, taking her with it.
Now Geoff started running, and Landon found the will to make his own feet move, turning away from the watchtowers. The storm pteranodons on the watchtowers flared to life, leaping off the structures to glide towards Geoff and Landon. Geoff pulled out his arcwand and fired a few desperate slugs over his shoulder. Each one cracked with immense sound the scholars said was the result of them moving faster than sound. Landon didn’t much care what made them loud right now. He cared that they would hit. He reached for his bow instead, hoping to use some homing shots to strike where Geoff’s wild slugs couldn’t.
Then three things leapt out of the grass in front of Geoff. They were smaller than the irritator, closer to a hound, but built like birds with long tails. The thing Landon noticed most of all, however, were the sickle claws on their feet, each nearly the size of a human finger.
Elite Nych (Deinonychus) - Copper Mob
Geoff didn’t even see them coming. He was so focused on the creatures behind him that he only realized the danger when the first Nych landed on his chest, sinking its claws through Geoff’s armor. The other two grabbed on to each of his arms, and to Landon’s horror, they started to flap their small arms for balance as they tore into Geoff like a hawk shredding a rabbit.
Landon didn’t even try to save Geoff. By the time he’d nocked an arrow, the Nychs had carried Geoff beneath the tall grass, out of Landon’s sight, and the man’s screams were cut off. Landon could only try to save himself. So he ran with everything he had, pouring stamina into the motion, trying to get as far away from-
There was a rustling sound and suddenly the ground beneath Landon’s feet vanished, and he fell headlong through the trap door. He screamed as his feet touched the bottom of the chute and found himself tumbling end over end. The bow snapped at some point in his fall, and Landon tried to get his hands on his arcwand, hoping to keep the weapon from flying away.
Landon came to a stop. For a moment, he thought he was dead, because Nelda was here, her shield raised, blood running from her scalp and from the wounds in her side, pouring mana into a shimmering barrier of Air. A new type of monster was tugging on her shield with its jaws, long horns flashing through the air as it thrashed, but it wasn’t going to tear the shield away, it was just keeping her from defending against the other attacker - the most immense beast Landon had seen so far, a bipedal brute with long claws and a jaw it was raising back like an axe.
Carnotaurus - Copper Tier
Allosaurus - Copper Tier
Nelda screamed, but it was too late. The jaw came down and now Nelda was dead for certain, the serrated teeth digging into her skin. She fell to the ground next to the body of her sister and Craik. Landon was glad to see the three of them had taken another of the horned monsters down before they’d fallen.
Then he raised his arcwand and took aim, even as he realized he couldn’t survive these two monsters.
He didn’t see that the primordial irritator was coming up behind him until its jaws closed over his vision.
Chapter 1
Tira chuckled to Pierre as the Ranger fell to Chot’s bite, and she started to reabsorb the mobs here. This room was a new addition, and not really part of her overall dungeon layout. There were a few of these beneath the surface all across her Open Air Zone, places where she could manually summon mobs as needed and then drop unwanted trespassers into. Chot had been the one to come up with the idea of using his teleportation ability to drag more people in here if they managed to evade the pitfalls.
