“First runs of a dungeon always take longer than subsequent runs. Fighting a non-starter dungeon at the recommended level usually takes a full hour. That’s a real hour. In game it feels like 6 hours. Players avoid even level dungeons because of the risk of losing and pain threshold settings. Casual players prefer to vastly outlevel any dungeon and speed run through it. For that reason, the rewards from any dungeon near the upper levels of the population carry significant in game and real-world value.”

  From “Dungeons for Fun and Profit”

  Year 1, Month 1, Day 28, 20:00

  The curving hall that led away from the entrance of the dungeon stretched wide enough for two people to move comfortably together with room to use their weapons in combat. Dusty and Ed pushed forward along the corridor while the other members kept pace. The line of people stretched more than fifty feet with a loose formation. The corridor itself was made of stone blocks fitted together too precisely to be purely mundane construction. It sloped downward at a small angle, but every step took the team deeper underneath the mounds. The magical miasma that permeated the broken hills thickened with every step. The amulets that everyone wore for protection would wear down faster and need to be replaced more often the longer they traveled inside the dungeon.

  Kate’s eyes pinched together prompting Torgon to ask, “What’s wrong Kate? Unhappy with the formation?”

  She nodded, “Yes, I should be out front scouting. It’s what I do.”

  Ovarrix cocked his head to the side, “Normally that would be true. In dungeons, if you know there are traps, you absolutely want to have an experienced scout out in front looking for dangers. Here, I suspect there aren’t traps and the effect of the miasma encourages us to be faster. Another consideration is that Dusty and Ed are a lot stronger than what’s needed for this dungeon run. We can use them to spring any traps and if it’s a problem we can swap to a careful scouting formation with you and Pattie in the lead.”

  Kate considered this, “So, the right thing to do changes with the dungeon or the need? There’s no single answer?”

  Hyperia beamed, “Exactly Kate. Even in the same dungeon different circumstances can lead to different strategies. Pioneering a dungeon is normally more cautious than a speed run. The unknown always takes more time. Half of our team is level 10 already, and the rest are high 8s and 9s. The recommended level for the dungeon is 5 to 15 and this is just the normal difficulty. Everyone in our group is a permanent resident so we have twice the experience for our level. The tourist teams will need to be more careful. We’ll go fast until it gives us a reason to be more cautious.”

  They blitzed through the first room, killing the dozen skeletons quickly. They were only level five and any person in the group could have handled three at once with relative ease. Each large chamber past the first increased the number of skeletons by two. They cleared ten rooms this way with the final chamber having thirty skeletons in a formation with two casters and eight archers protected by a two ten skeleton lines of spearmen. The undead showed a surprising level of organization that promised a very interesting battle deeper within.

  The first boss was an oversized skeletal warrior wearing dusty bronze plate mail and wielding a massive khopesh style sword. The boss used the sickle shaped blade to great effect, fouling the shields of the tanks and striking at them with an offhand dagger. Ovarrix had everyone use measured attacks emphasizing precision rather than all out damage capability. They used the fight to improve the coordination and positioning of the team. It was the first time they had fought in such a large group in confined spaces and all the people needed to see how they fit into the flow of combat.

  Stana asked a question that had been nagging her for quite a while, “Why are all the bosses so much larger?”

  Ovarrix laughed brightly, “There are a lot of reasons. The one that comes to mind first is that bigger is more impressive. It makes a boss memorable to fight. The primary reason though is that a larger boss allows for more players to target it at once. A giant can have several melee players around it plus all the ranged have an easy way to shoot at it above the heads of the tanks and short range dps. Imagine how much of a nightmare it would be if this boss was only two feet tall and fast. Landing attacks on it would take forever. Unless the game is being a jerk, bosses will be large single foes or swarm type fights.”

  Allestor added between attacks on the skeletal warrior, “PVP combat is usually harder than a boss fight. I think Ovarrix and I could solo this boss and it’s just a matter of time with our group. Now, imagine trying to deal with us in close quarters. Not as many people can engage us, we’re more mobile and if you fire spells or arrows at us, you risk hitting any of your allies. If you’re careful, you can use close opponents to reduce incoming fire from long range opponents. Being aware of your surroundings is critical.”

  Dusty chimed in, “Simon, Lillian, note how Ed and I angle the boss so that its attacks are slanted away from the group, and you have clear lines of fire? Tanking is about more than keeping aggro and absorbing hits. You want to make the fight easier for the rest of the group. Fighting in a corner might make it easier for you at times, but it’s a nightmare for a healer who might lose line of sight and then you’re hung out to dry. See how we’re keeping the boss in the open, in the middle of the room? That’s by design and not happenstance.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The giant skeletal warrior soon died under the onslaught of the party and the newer players looked thoughtful. Ovarrix adjusted the formation, putting Simon and Lillian in the lead with Dusty and Ed following behind. They moved forward, continuing the downward spiral into the dungeon. The rooms ahead featured an identical pattern of skeleton defenders only this time they were all at level 6.

  The next boss they encountered wore the tattered robes of a long dead mage. It carried a staff topped with glittering ruby and fiery spells tore across the space. When the boss hit 80% health it twirled the staff and a ring of fire burst forth. Hyperia swapped to casting ice spells purely to reduce the uncomfortable temperature of the room. Simon and Lillian worked to keep the mage turned away from the party, minimizing the damage from directed area of effect attacks. When the boss hit 60%, everyone but Simon backed away, avoiding the ring of flames.

  Simon spoke, “Ok, I know my middle name is Phoenix but that doesn’t mean I like the fire. It’s hot and it hurts like hell.”

  Torgon shrugged while casting a ranged heal, “The pain sucks, but it’s the best teacher. Think of how hard it is for the players that don’t use high pain settings when they’re tossed into a situation like a dungeon with a minimum pain threshold. The duel that Hyperia fought was even worse. It added the pain thresholds of both players, and we found out that you can go above 100% in some circumstances.”

  Dusty shuddered, “You know that there are going to be dungeons or raids that push it above 100%.” Everyone groaned, thinking about the extra pain. Dusty brightened, “Although, if the pain setting is like that the rewards should be great.”

  The boss dropped an excellent staff that Torgon tossed over to Larry. They swapped the lead tank pairing again, putting Lillian and Ed up front and they continued deeper. The miasma was already burning the durability of their amulets at double the rate of the outside world. The magical energy made their skin crawl and unsettled their stomachs.

  Reports from the other groups rolled in. They discovered that the respawn time for the regular monster rooms was thirty minutes. None of the bosses had respawned yet for any group so either they didn’t respawn or the timer was much longer. Enchanted weapons or magic were required to damage anything inside the dungeon and the amulets were necessary to survive the miasma. Those two factors increased the difficulty for everyone attempting the dungeon, but the players from Risk of Injury were unbothered.

  The difficulty of the dungeon continued its gradual escalation. The level 7 skeletons took longer to clear with better defense and their increasing health pools. The boss, while not a danger, required energy and attention to detail to overcome. Over two hours into the dungeon run they had cleared less than half of the bosses. Torgon called a halt and they sat down to eat and rest in the freshly cleared room. The miasma dissipated in the boss chambers after they were defeated, granting an impromptu safe room for rest and recovery.

  Delicious food pulled from their inventories pushed back the oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon. Diving deep inside a tomb and fighting constantly ground away at the resolve of even the strongest mind. Hot soup and warm bread nourished the body and the soul, allowing for true relaxation. Quiet conversations and gentle laughter spread around the group.

  The leadership team huddled together, checking all the scouting reports that filtered in. The Young Master’s Alliance was organizing inside their cities. Each starting town fielded a force between 3,000 and 5,000 players. Their total numbers were over 25,000 and it appeared that they would be moving towards the Barrow of the Wight Lord from multiple directions.

  Kate wandered over and asked, “How bad is it?”

  Hyperia spoke, “It’s in line with expectations or even a bit better. Everybody, gather around because I bet you all want to hear this and I don’t want to keep repeating it. Overall, we’ll be fighting a force that outnumbers us 5 or 6 to 1. That’s the bad news. The good news is that their average level is closer to 5. They have some elite groups that are level 7 or 8, but nobody in their force is higher than 9. Their gear is hit or miss. They all have gear but they’re short on enchanted gear. In a straight fight, out in the open I’d give us even odds of coming out on top.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes, “That sounds like a fair fight, and you always tell us that a fair fight is poor planning.”

  Steve roared with laughter and clapped Kate on the back. “You’re one of us girl. You make me proud.” He wiped an imaginary tear away from his eye while Hyperia glared at him.

  “If we fought them without any advantages and when they just arrived, were fresh and alert, it would be a fair fight.” Ovarrix waved his hands to indicate everyone in the room. “We’re going to choose when to come out. We’re going to be rested and ready. The scouts we have outside, while not quite as good as you Kate, will do a fine job keeping us informed. Our enemy lacks discipline. They will get bored; they will stop paying close attention and they will have people logging off or diving into the dungeon. They might even decide that we aren’t here at all and just put up a perimeter to keep others out while they try to get a first clear.”

  Mark’s charming British voice cut in, “We have more surprises. There are 40 regular mana cannons and 10 of the improved level 10 mana cannons spread through the force. They have purchased ballistae from us, but none of the mana cannons have left our control.”

  “Gear matters. Why do you think I’m primarily a crafter?” Torgon asked. “We make our stocks of consumables like the AoE arrows and grenades and potions to be used. We aren’t hoarding them forever just in case a random level 200 boss might make us use a level 5 healing potion. Consumables are force multipliers. Gear is a force multiplier. War Weapons are force multipliers. Leadership, strategy and tactics are force multipliers. Everything we do is so that we can punch above our weight and discourage people from harassing us. We’re here to protect everyone in the guild and give you all the tools to do the same. Ideally, I want to extend that protection to everybody we can. I have always hated how our lives are dictated to us by those who only seek to exploit us for their own benefit. Things aren’t equal here but they’re a damn sight closer to being equal than out there.”

  Kate looked at Steve, Mark and the others, their backs straight and pride in their eyes. She asked, “Steve, is this what you believe in too? I’ve always thought you just wanted to kill people.”

  Steve scratched his head and shrugged, “I want to kill the right people. The bigger the asshole the better the scalp. Besides, Torg always gets us into the best fights.”