Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majapahit, New Guinea, Irian Jaya, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Station, Dungeon Level 2
1st Year of God, Thursday, 2nd Week, 3rd Month Of Abraham.
The lizard bent its hind legs, tightening its muscles as it prepared to launch itself out of cover at the prey approaching it. Its skin tone mimicked the surrounding rock walls, blending it almost perfectly against the background. It dipped its head ever slowly, staring hungrily at the prey standing meters away.
But then, a sudden loud crack split the air, and the lizard stiffened as a part of its head blew cleanly away and toppled backward with hardly a sound on to its side as it died.
"Damn, those lizards are hard to spot," muttered a soldier from Section 2, Platoon 1, Alpha Company. He switched off the infrared sensor and used the still-warm muzzle of his rifle to nudge his all-purpose vision goggles up.
Approaching the twitching body, he confirmed the kill and waved an all-clear to the rest of his section, who were waiting behind cover.
"Scratch one lizard," he reported to his Section Leader.
"Any traps or hidden surprises?" the Section Leader asked, joining him beside the dead creature as the unit's appointed 'butcher' began the grisly work of extracting the mana stone.
"Just this one. Nothing else," the soldier replied.
So far, they had cleared two of the four doors, encountering mostly giant dino lizards and slimes.
They had also discovered a new creature, which was actually a massive grayish-white ball of fur with a rabbit-like face. It had long fur that grew in a spherical shape and seemed to feed mostly on small insects and moss. It was docile, allowing the men to pat and cuddle it like a plushie.
So, they had affectionately named it a "fluff ball" or "cotton ball."
There had been only one other casualty when an unlucky soldier was ambushed by a camouflaged lizard and got poisoned. Fortunately, his comrades saved him in time.
Dice had dubbed the creatures "dino lizards," as they looked similar to Terran dinosaurs but with the ability to change their color to blend with their surroundings.
Their tongues could stretch over three meters in length, and they had a corrosive spit attack, using acid stored in a chest sac. The soldiers had learned not to shoot in that area, as the acid would burst out and spray all over the area. The lizards were masters of their environment, hiding in every crevice and lying in wait until their prey came close enough from them to leap out to attack.
The terrain was much like the first level, mostly with rocky walls and open caverns, but instead of ants, it was dominated by the dino lizards.
Odysseus, overseeing the operation from the safety of the Ops room, commented on the lizards, saying that their species were similar to several others in the outside world, such as Land Dragons.
Scientists and researchers were interested in the lizard's ability to create a highly concentrated bio-acid and clamoring for the soldiers to bring them an intact specimen, if possible alive. However, the soldiers kinda ignored the requests from the nerds and sent back a dead specimen instead.
The platoon encountered a fire beetle nest behind the third door, where they discovered a Champion beetle. The Champion fire beetle was an imposing sight, with a shiny red-black armored carapace and a curved horn reminiscent of a Hercules beetle. It was enormous, nearly the size of a jeep.
As the soldiers entered the nest cavern, the smaller weaker fire beetles chittered angrily and set upon them with magic balls of fire.
The section entering the nest went for cover and immediately called for backup, to which the rest of the platoon quickly responded. They fire their guns in response from behind cover while the beetles stand exposed in open ground. Each lesser fire beetle was the size of a large dog, fat and roundish like a ladybird, but with a dark crimson shell instead of a bright cheerful red.
The lesser fire beetles were easily taken out by the combined fire of over 30 rifles and shotguns, falling in droves as they charged across the open. The Champion beetle, however, was initially ignored. Once the lesser beetles were cleared, Dice ordered the platoon to fall back out of the nest and used the narrow tunnel to funnel the Champion into their line of fire.
The Champion, taking the bait of the retreating soldiers, charged angrily after them, barreling into the tunnel where the rest of the platoon had formed up in firing lines.
"FIRE!" Dice yelled when the retreating men were undercover and cleared the firing line.
Trapped by the narrow tunnel, the Champion beetle had no choice but to continue forward, making it an easy target.
Five claymores, which were planted beforehand, detonated in unison as the Champion closed in, blasting it with a lethal spray of steel ball bearings directly into the charging Champion beetle. When the dust settled, the once-magnificent beetle was pitted with its glossy shell ruined and its horn broken off.
The combined firepower had halted the Champion in its tracks and it died without even casting a single spell or mounting an effective attack.
The Imperial soldiers proceeded to raid the nest, uncovering eggs and larvae of the fire beetles, along with a small mound of discarded beetle shells, which could be valuable for crafting armor or other products. They also stumbled upon a treasure chest, recovering several bottles of healing and magic potions. Scattered throughout the nest was a small pile of gold, silver, and mana stones, which led to some grumbling among the men as they painstakingly combed through the area to gather the scattered treasures.
Eurylochus grumbled as he bent down for what felt like the twentieth time, picked up a glittering piece of gold and dropped it into his upturned helmet, already half-full with other valuables.
"Heavens," he moaned, "I used to be poor and addicted to picking up coins on the streets, but now I never thought I would rue the day I complained about collecting gold from the floor..." He stretched his aching back.
The nearby soldiers laughed, as they paused to stretch as well, their own backs sore from half an hour of gathering valuables piece by piece. Pice, watching his men who had faced death just moments before, now laughing and joking as they went about their duties, smiled proudly. He knew these men would stand laughing in the face of death itself.
Collecting the Champion beetle carcass turned out to be the most unpleasant task yet, as a foul-smelling liquid was discharged from its body, and due to its immense weight, the soldiers had to use two Support Earth Golems to lift it out of the dungeon.
Despite the stench and effort, the carcass yielded a humongous fire mana stone, which made Odysseus, monitoring the mission from the Ops room through the soldiers' cameras, whoop with joy.
Once the cleanup was done, the platoon returned to the staging point to resupply and rest, while Platoon 3 conducted a second sweep through the cleared areas, transporting all the dead creatures for processing and research.
Dice rolled a clear crystal vial containing a dark red liquid in his gloved hands, watching it slosh inside before holding it up against the spotlights to observe it more closely.
"Strange, how something like this can heal and regenerate body cells," he mused.
Eurylochus, having just finished a piece of dried jerky and swallowed a mouthful of cool spring water from his canteen, replied, "Aren't our nanomachines the same?"
Dice raised an eyebrow at Eurylochus, who was still chewing on the jerky in his mouth. "Seriously? This here is made using magic, while nanomachines are products of science and technology. And let's not forget, our tech isn't even that advanced yet, not comparing the qualities to theirs."
Eurylochus shrugged as he swallowed the last of his jerky. "Well, I reckon the elves just went down a different path. We humans chose science, they chose magic. Who knows? Maybe in a thousand years, we'll have tech that reaches the power to kill Gods, while the elves might only have some magical constructs allowing them to travel through space."
"True," Dice nodded before placing the healing potion back into a matte black, foam-lined, shock-resistant case with the rest of the potions, then closing and locking it securely.
"Still, it's amazing they can do stuff we've only seen or read about in movies and books," Eurylochus added with a grin. "Man, I always wanted to see a dragon. Hell, if we had a powerful dragon of our own, we could've probably taken on the whole world early on."
"Well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride," Dice replied with a smile, giving Eurylochus a hearty slap on the back. He checked his watch and turned to the Nigerian, who nodded and began strapping on his armor with Dice's help. "I had Platoon 3 double-check all the doors to make sure everything's been cleared, leaving just the last room with the Boss and the entrance to the next level untouched for your Platoon."
The rest of Platoon 2 were also gearing up, with soldiers helping each other secure their equipment. Eurylochus nodded as he double-checked his own gear, while listening to Pice continue his briefing.
"We tried to scan the interior of the Boss room, but there is some magical interference making the scans unreliable," he explained. "We did pick up some conflicting life signs inside, but the system can't nail it down. All we can say is it's a huge room, almost twice the size of this one, with something, possibly multiple contacts, inside."
"Ahh, fuck," Eurylochus cursed under his breath. The hall they were in, where Platoons 2 and 3 had set up, was about 28 meters long and 11 meters wide.
"As for what's behind those doors," Dice shrugged, "We can only guess what it could be."
"More dino lizards?" Eurylochus guessed. "Or a super dino lizard? Maybe a giant fluff ball?" He gestured toward a few cages holding the Fluff balls, waiting to be transported to the labs for research.
"Maybe," Dice replied, taking the suggestion seriously. "We found no other entrances into that room, unlike the first level where the Ant's nest was open. Seriously, we have no idea what's in there, so be careful."
Eurylochus gave Dice a reassuring smile. "Got it! Well, if it's some super lizard or a heavily armored beetle, we've got a new trick up our sleeves."
Dice glanced over at some of the Platoon 2 men lugging a large tube on their backs. "Let's hope this 'thing' works. This is the first weapon we've carried that contains something extraterrestrial in nature."
"It was made by the same people who created the Angels of Austronesia! Relax, my friend," Eurylochus gestured around them. "It would be a waste not to use it in the end. Disappointing, in fact. Is that why you didn't use it in the tunnel for that?" He pointed at the dead Champion beetle, now secured on a pallet.
"Too crowded. And despite being very lightweight thanks to one of this certain metal's special properties, the recoil could kill or wound, you know?"
"Ah, I see," Eurylochus nodded as he worked the bolt on his rifle, making sure it was clear before slapping in a fresh magazine and chambering a round. He set the safety and added with a grin, "Well, at least I got to see what the claymores can do to armor in an enclosed area."
"You can still joke around at a time like this? Have you thought about what if the claymores couldn't stop it?" Dice frowned. "Hey, don't forget you've got a daughter waiting for you. You need to make it home in one piece, alright?"
"Got it," Eurylochus grinned. "But I did have a fallback plan for that."
"Sergeant Eurylochus, be more serious," Dice lectured. "We don't know what's behind those doors. You have to take all precautions, understand?"
"Yeah, I got it. Bosses to kill, and dungeons to clear."