Dungeon of Niflheim

Lando closed his eyes as he withdrew the last vial from the chest, he prayed internally and hoped with all his heart that it'd be what they needed.

Lawrence was in dire straits, even with Royce's quick actions and basic triage he was losing blood, his organs rapidly shutting down from the extensive trauma. If they didn't get their hands on a mid-level health potion or higher he'd surely die.

Lando held the vial in a tightly clenched grip and opened his eyes slowly one after another, he was anxious, afraid even to know the answer, but it seems luck was on their side.

"I…It….IT'S A MID LEVEL HEATH POTION!!!!!" Lando bellowed with unrestrained joy as he took in the potion's markings. The red liquid inside was not pure in colour. Glistening streams of silver ran through the red indicating its status as a mid-level health potion and one of very high quality too. With this Lawrence could be saved.

"Then what are you waiting for bring over now!" Royce roared back quickly bringing an end to their celebration. They can rejoice after administering the potion.

"Ah! On my way Captain!" Lando held the vial close to his chest for protection before dashing over, being careful not to trip on anything.

"Here Captain." He passed the potion over to Royce with trembling hands. His grip loosened and became shaky the moment he caught sight of Lawrence's condition. There was so much blood.

"That's a mid-level health potion alright, now for the part he'll be haunted by for the rest of his life." Royce smiled nefariously causing his teammates to cock their heads to the side, completely lost.

A moment later Royce tore off the vial's cork and took a decent sized swig of the liquid before leaning over Lawrence's body and connected their lips.

"Ehhhhhhh!!!!!!" All four members of the Icy Talons who were watching with bated breaths balked at the sight of their Captain kissing Lawrence as he lay there unconscious, the term sexual assault came to mind.

Royce ignored their shock and continued his actions. He was not kissing Lawrence he was just forcing the mid-level health potion's contents down his throat and into his body. This was a true and tested method called mouth to mouth transference, a common practise in the military.

When soldiers were unbale to drink potions for reasons like Lawrence's a teammate would use mouth to mouth transference to force the potion's contents into their bodies. A potion was far more effective when deposited within the body than when splashed over the wounds. With a case as serious as Lawrence's he had no choice but to use mouth to mouth transference.

The Icy Talons watched on as Royce repeatedly took a swig of potion and forced it down Lawrence's throat with his mouth to mouth transference. Eventually after a few rotations the more knowledgeable members noticed the point of this method and understood Royce's methodology but even, so it was hard to stomach. Royce's words were certainly true, Lawrence would certainly be haunted by this event.

The poor earth mage who hadn't even had his first kiss lost it to their gruff looking Captain and Gods know they wouldn't be able to resist mocking him for it.

The potion' contents got to work straight away, rapidly healing the most dire wounds on Lawrence's body. He awoke roughly ten minutes after receiving treatment, though he was still in pain and felt as though he had the hangover of all hangovers he was alive and conscious.

"What's your name?" Royce began a list of medically relevant questions once he came to.

"L...Lawrence, Lawrence Mackenzie."

"Good, how many fingers am I holding up."

"Three."

"Two for two great, now who are we?"

"Captain Royce, Lando, Gabbie….shit for brains Rodger and the failure scout Krief."

"Oiii!"

"Seems we were mistaken, Lawrence died from his injuries." Rodger grunted in annoyance while Krief pulled out a dagger and waved in front of his face.

"Hahahahaha." The other two simply laughed, Lawrence was fine.

"You gave us quite a scare there Lawrence, if Lando didn't find a mid-level health potion we would have lost you." Royce spoke with a sombre tone, his hands shaking slightly as the tension finally dissipated.

"Sorry everyone." Lawrence apologised the moment he saw the redness in everyone's eyes and the trembling of hands.

"No need, you fought well and made no mistakes, our opponent was just that strong." Royce glanced at the deceased body of the Lagombi. A powerful foe for their party.

"We'll rest here until you're fit to move then we'll make our way for the exit. I think we've had enough adventure for our first delve wouldn't you say?" The Icy Talons nodded their heads in agreement.

The party stayed within the boss room for around two hours before making their way to the other side of the arena where a red square was now able to be pushed thanks to the defeat of the Lagombi.

Within those two hours the party rested -Lawrence especially-, ate a heart meal, scavenged the useful materials from the Lagombi and stored the plentiful rewards from the chest which after knowing Lawrence was ok could be fully enjoyed. Royce was particularly moved by the 3 star longsword, an immense improvement over his currently well-worn 2 star one.

The other items were divided up between the others based first on compatibility and then by random draw. Those who didn't get something would instead be compensated with some coin gained from the delve.

A lot of arguments can come about from the dispersal of dropped loot therefore several systems were put in place that adventuring parties could follow. Most and quite frankly the longer lasting parties usually relied on set dispersal rules that were written up as a contract between the party and the guild.

Those found breaking the contract would be investigated by the guild and could have their licenses revoked, a serious punishment for any adventurer. The Icy Talons were one of the smarter parties that relied on a contract with the guild therefore there was very little disagreement when it came to loot drops since the process was clearly detailed and something they all willingly agreed to.

If the part about Lawrence nearly dying was omitted this single delve was a complete windfall but Royce made damn sure that his team didn't forget how close they were to losing a party member. The last thing he wanted was for them to marginalise the danger they experienced today just because they made off with a decent haul. People normally weren't so lucky.

Thankfully the group didn't show any signs of disagreement, they took today's events as a lifelong lesson to never underestimate the dangers of their profession.

The Icy Talons successfully left the arena without issue and thanks to their previous investigation they successfully manoeuvred through the dungeon's second floor and back to the entrance where a sharp ray of sunshine pierced their eyes. They'd been gone for over 24 hours and were very grateful to see natural light.

Though Lawrence consumed a mid-level health potion he wasn't completely recovered thus the group had closely guard him the entire journey back, a nerve wracking and rather draining experience.

"Alright let's get some rest at the inn if we can, we deserve a proper rest." Royce decided to splurge a little given what transpired and what they managed to gain. His words brought smiles to his teammates lips as they hobbled towards one of the established inns.

Soon word spread thanks to the lubrication of alcohol that the Icy Talons made bank with their first delve, inspiring many parties to join in on the fun. If the Icy Talons could do it why couldn't they.

One such group that overestimated their capabilities was currently fighting for their very lives down on the fifth floor.

Boom!

The body of a large muscular human male was sent barrelling into a nearby wall thanks to a tail swipe.

"God dammit! Why! Why can't we beat these dumb monsters!" Another large human male roared out as he witnessed another party member getting killed.

This group was known as the muscular axemen, a party of 6 burly gentlemen who fought with axes and relied on their impressive physical strength to hunt monsters. All of the members were early stage D-rank with the exception of their party leader who was mid stage. A group far superior in terms of aggregate power when compared to the Icy Talons, more experienced too.

However, their lack of diversity and still majorly early stage D-rank strength meant wasn't enough to conquer the Dungeon's fifth floor. The party had gotten 'lucky' as they travelled through the floor's first two sections, rarely coming across anything too strong or with significant numbers. Unfortunately to reach the fabled sixth floor they couldn't avoid a confrontation with the floor's boss.

The muscle addled idiots were so sure of their own strength they didn't even properly prepare for the fight. They simply charged in recklessly with their axes overhead thinking that the boss like all their other opponents would be cleaved in two after a single or perhaps two swings. Oh how wrong they were.

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