I’M FREE!

I’ve been in this new world for over a century and decade. Of that time, I spent just about 10 minutes outside of the dungeon. 

Grrr. That stupid goldfish. He’s definitely not a snack that smiles back. I’ve been bamboozled.

But now, as I inch towards the exit at the end of the tunnel, It dawned on me, I finally made it. I’m out of the Great Tiamatian Dungeon.

It felt like a dream up to this point.

Looking back, I went through quite a lot in there, huh?

Starting off, we have the historic, “Fall of Unnamed Slug Monster. ”Ha! Just kidding, people have to know about it for it to be historic. 

Anyways, thanks to that fish cracker, I flung myself into a chasm, falling several miles to the entrance of the dungeon. Now that I’m thinking about it…. I’m underwater. How the snail did I fall so fast? Shouldn’t gravity be significantly weaker underwater? Eh. There’s no way an idiot like me is going to figure this out. I’ll just chalk it up to magic and keep moving.

After that, I spent some time trying to escape by crawling the walls like an idiot. Eventually, I figured out that I couldn’t get out and entered the dungeon.

The first zone was probably the easiest, yet the most difficult. There were no gimmicks or tricks, I was just super weak. I would have still died to that acid from that super eel boss. if not for my unique skill. Thots for the win, I guess?

Next was the casino floors. I’ve had enough of poems and card games forever. Note to self, if this new world has any libraries or casinos, burn them all down. I’m honestly surprised I survived that one, I literally have the worst luck ever, if it wasn’t already obvious. 

Following that, was the brain teasers. Don’t tell anyone, but I honestly kind of like those. I totally crushed that. Then they gave me that ‘gift’ for completing one of the puzzle in a new way? What the snail was that about?  And that lazy crab let me off without a fight. l’d rate it a ten out of ten on a dungeon zone scale. Even though all dungeon zones get a mandatory zero just because they suck. 

And there were those rooms. I dubbed them, “The Cringe Rooms”. Nice name, huh? No? Geez, everyone’s a critic. Well, regardless of any of that, the name fits. Being forced to relive my most embarrassing moments has got to be in my top five worst tortures ever. And this is coming from a former member of a military special ops spy program. That movie director angelfish was super weird too.

After that, was the final zone. A total breeze through the first nineteen leves. Not that I felt it, I was too busy being alert.  Then, I almost got annihilated for cheating. And finally I got an auntie? Whoa, that's super weird to think about. 

Anyways, it looks like I made it to the end of the tunnel while I was reminiscing. Now all is left is to open the magic door.

*POP* *CLANK*

I’d never thought that would sound so satisfying.

After over a century I’m….eh?

Eh?

EH?

EHH?!

Where the snail am I?!

Before I fell into that casym I remember being by a coral reef of some sort.

Now, there’s no reefs in sight.

As a matter of fact, I don’t even see the big gouge in the ground.

How did this happen? I figured the dungeon’s exit would be right next to the hole in the ground.

I guess maybe I was wrong...or it’s magic again. Yep, I’m going with magic for 500.

Instead of the coral reef, there were a couple of noteworthy replacements.

The first seems to be a sunken pirate ship. Huh, that's interesting. From what I can see, it looks like it was taken down by an enemy, rather than a collision. So it seems there’s civilization above the sea. The possibility of one being under was confirmed by Auntie Tia. She said she was a noble of sorts. Anyways, I wonder if there’s any treasure on the ship.

Across from that, was what looked like a kelp forest. The giant seaweed literally blocked a big chunk of the landscape. Just a dense wad of green slapped in my face.

And finally there was a ruin of some sort of building. It looked old and mysterious. It was obvious whoever built it put time and effort into it, just by the intricacy of the design. A design that featured...gold. And a lot of it, at that.

I guess I should probably choose which one I’m going to....

Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

Ennie, meenie, minie, mo.

Alright, let’s be serious.

What’s the benefit of travelling to each one?

Let's start with the forest.

Hmm, I can’t really think of anything… I honestly can’t see that much of it. Just looks like a chunk of green junk. Kinda looks like Maua’s hair if it got tangled. Can that even happen? I’m getting off topic. Hmm...maybe the fact that everything is pretty much unknown is a plus?

Okay. 

Next is the temple. Obviously the gold seems enticing...at least at first. But I’m in a new world. I have no clue if gold is even valuable. On top of that I don’t really have anywhere to put it anyways. Also, I’m aware of the existence of gods in this place. What if it’s someone’s temple? The last thing I would want to do is piss one of them off and get smitten. I’ve come too far to end like that.

The pirate ship? Hmm. It could give me clues to life on the topside. But that’s assuming anything in there is intact. Now that I think about it, it’s not like I could read anything anyways. That was another option for the temple, but the same issue. Honestly, the ship gives me the heebie jeebies. 

So I guess kelp forest it is?

Let’s get going….

*°*

Hah. That took way longer than I was expecting.

But man does it feel good to see actual sunlight again. I feel invigorated.

Now let's enter this forest.

*°*

 So far so good.

I haven’t encountered anything so far. Pretty boring.

But boring is good, right?

Suddenly, the seaweed behind me rustled stronger than the usual sway of the ocean.

Alerted by the sound, I turn around and was greeted by a wide open maw full of teeth.

Aw, shucks. I just had to say something. 

Lulla

Hey, long time no see. I know, I know, its been a while. Laptop crashing, anxiety from school, work from school. The works, I'm sure you all understand. I splurged on a new laptop so hopefully that's solved...But as penance, I'll be dropping artwork into the next couple of chapters. Starting with Tiamat in this one! I've also been working on my art style so tell me how you like that. And I know this chapter doesn't do much plot-wise, but well be going somewhere good pretty soon. I think that's all for now