The light of the Falcon Alley courtyard disappeared the moment Ethan stepped through the crumbling archway of the Marsh Crossing LVL 1-5 Dungeon. The air changed instantly heavy and cold smelling of ancient stone and stagnant water.
Ethan's Perception felt the change immediately where others would see pitch darkness his vision automatically compensated. The tunnel was a winding passage slick with the black moss and glistening moisture.
Ethan took a deep shuddering breath the debt was still $1.5 million. He moved towards the shadows near the crumbling stone wall not out of skills but with instinct. He used his professional Photography movement technique low center of gravity, slow weight shifts and keen eye for cover.
As he successfully melted into the darkness, notification flashed:
[LOW LEVEL STEALTH INITIATED]
[SKILL ACQUIRED: SNEAK]
His body instantly felt the difference the shadows seemed to adhere to him better, because of his technique along with perception the system gave him a free utility skill.
He reached the mouth of the Marsh Crossing dungeon, a holographic blue screen appeared in his field of vision
[NEW QUEST ALERT!!]
[QUEST: FIRST LENS: THE CRYSTAL BLOOM SLIME]
[Description: The Marsh Crossing is rumored to contain a mutation unique to this specific zone the Crystal Bloom Slime. its crystalline core is incredibly beautiful and its existence is doubted by top lore forums. The first verifiable, High quality documentation will instantly become viral]
[Objective: Capture a high quality photo of the crystal bloom slime and successfully upload the content to the Aethelguard Content Hub( ACH)]
Ethan slipped inside the dungeon the cold heavy air and low light were instantly compensated by Zenith clarity. The winding stone tunnel was mapped out for him slick floor patches, low level traps and the slow rhythmic patrol paths of the mobs.
He moved in a deep crouch using his sneak skill into maximum effect. He was a professional ghost.
Up ahead the familiar rat looking like creature who made the Skritch-Skritch sounds was marked his first obstacle. The Giant Marsh Rat LVL 1 was large but its mind was simple. Ethan analyzed its five second five second patrol loop, waiting until its bulky head blocked its peripheral vision. He pressed himself against the rock.
The rats nose twitched pointed right at the shadow where Ethan stood and paused. Time seemed to stretch, three seconds, for three seconds the rat was stationed but later it gave up, the rat deemed the shadow empty and returned. Ethan glided past without making a sound.
Further in, the tunnel split into two paths. One was wet and clearly marked with torch scraped, indicating heavy player traffic. The other was narrow dry crawl space pitch black.
His Perception immediately highlighted the crawl space:
[ACCESS TUNNEL: LOW FOOT TRAFFIC, HIGH COLLAPSE RISK]
Ethan didn't hesitate he was not here to follow the crowd he needed silence and speed. He dropped to his belly, pushing the obsidian camera ahead of him and began to crawl. The stone above him was rough and cold grinding against his meager armour.
The crawling section lasted for what felt like two minutes o pure agonizing silence, his vitality was already protesting and his low stats making the simple act of crawling a chore, but it shaved several minutes off the main route.
He emerged into a large damp chamber, to his left he could hear the distinct infuriating shouting of the beginner players who had taken the main route, they were still fighting the second room of mobs.
Ethan used the massive granite pillar in the center of the chamber for cover, his vision revealed the entire room, the enemy positions, the players terrible coordination and most importantly the hidden path leading to the boss area.
The pillar he was hiding behind was the key. Etched into its base, invisible to normal sight, were faint glowing [ANCIENT MOON RUNES]
[ANALYSIS: RUNES INDICATE THE BOSS ENTRANCE IS CAMOUFLAGED, LOOK FOR A TRAP/ILLUSION TRIGGER]
He ignored the fighting behind him, his focus absolute. He moved around the pillar searching the perimeter until his eyes focused on a spot of stone that looked too smooth, it was a seamless door disguised by a low level illusion.
But before he could touch it the environmental shifted the floor directly in front of the door glowed a violent urgent red.
[WARNING: TRAP ZONE DETECTED]
The entire fifty foot radius of the cavern floor suddenly lit up with the harsh flashing red grid dozens of pressure plates beneath the mud. He realized the entire room was a single lethal puzzle protecting the boss.
Then came the new sound: a low grinding rumble from the ceiling.
[TRAP: CEILING COLLAPSE - INITIATED]
A massive slab of wet, heavy stone creaked ominously above the entrance to the illusion door. It was a timid environment hazard, designed to crush anyone who stopped to inspect the runes.
Three seconds, his mind screamed, I need three seconds to get out of the kill zone and land on a safe plate.
Ethan used his skill Temporal Shutter - " Show me the future"
[SKILL: TEMPORAL SHUTTER ACTIVATED]
The world violently fragmented and his perception accelerated, the stones crash stretched into a slow motion his mid calculated the single impossible path and he jumped a precise landing on a silver coloured stone between two pressure plates and then a lunge toward the smooth door. The landing was precise and his skill effect ended.
The ceiling slab tore loose with a deafening roar, slamming down where he'd just been, the impact sent lots of muddy water and rocks shards exploding outward, right against the illusion door.
Ethan stood safe the door hit by the debris shimmered violently and momentarily revealing its outline. He had cheated death and confirmed the escape path.
He didn't wait. He found the smoothest point of the illusion and pushed, throwing his body through the opening.
The air grew slightly warmer and the tunnel widened into a hidden chamber. He stopped dead wiping sweat and the mud from his eyes.
The air in here felt electric, almost sweet. He was in a large subterranean area. In the center there was a shadow pool of glowing chemical runoff.
He raised his camera the crystal bloom slime wasn't immediately visible it wasn't supposed to be easy.
Zenith clarity immediately began its scan he disregarded the beautiful pool and focused on the atmospheric data. His eyes highlighted faint microscopic traces in the runoff a tiny blue crystalline residue and an abnormally high mana density for a level 1 zone.
[CLUE DETECTED: HIGH DENSITY CRYSTALLINE TRAIL]
[ANALYSIS: TARGET IS IMMINENTLY NEARBY, CAMOUFLAGED OR IN A DORMANT STATE]
The slime was hidden. Ethan adjusted his grip on the camera, focusing on the faintest distortion in the air above the glowing pool where the mana residue was more. He held his breath.
He knew exactly where it was and this way why the EX-Tier was worth the debt. He didn't need to fight. He needed to frame.
He raised his Camera ready to force the beauty out of hiding with the a single perfectly timed click. He needed the shot that would save his life.