On the way to the nearest platypus cave, the trio ran into some gators and suckerfish, whom they easily scared away. It was an aspect of the dungeon that they were happy to have, even if it didn’t always work. Not that they could say anything, since even the fact that the dungeon had such an aspect of the real world was a nice boon. Especially since they understood that the dungeon creatures could have easily been made to be uncaring killing machines, hence why the party was grateful they weren’t.
In the real world, monsters had an innate instinct of survival that allowed them to know when a fight would not go their way. This instinct allowed other monsters and adventurers, or any ranker, to be able to avoid unnecessary fights by scaring away those weaker than themselves. Granted that, like with anything, the ability to scare away creatures with one's Presence wasn’t always perfect, as plenty of monsters didn’t care for anything but destruction and fighting. There was also the fact that, for the most part, creatures had personalities or different instincts that would have them fight regardless of their chance of winning.
So, considering that the dungeon created its own creatures, it could have made it so every single one of them fought to the bitter end. Thankfully, it hadn't, and much like in the real world, some creatures would run away while others stood and fought, often because they enjoyed the act. This wasn't always the case, as the trio knew the dungeon definitely influenced certain entities to behave in specific ways.
The reason they knew this was because most of the creatures they ended up fighting didn't stand a chance. However, even after flaring their Presences, these monsters, even if scared, still fought them anyway. Of course, it would also be ridiculous for the dungeon to stop its monsters from fighting them, even if the trio was already plenty strong.
Unknown to the party, Dan had thought about having his creations avoid them. It wasn’t hard to mark them with a do not fight message that his monsters would understand. However, he did not do so, mainly because it would put even more of a spotlight on the trio, and more importantly, he was glad they were seemingly annoyed at every encounter.
Making it to the first cave, the trio found a couple of platypuses. These were not normal platypuses, as the slight tinges of green fur indicated. Though realistically, the thing that put them apart from the normal platypuses that the party had seen around the lake was that these were D Rank.
“Either the boss isn’t here or it's inside the cave, so we either have to convince one of these guys to give us information, or you will have to check the inside,” Alexion said as he looked around, not spotting the rather prominent look they knew the platypus Beast Lord had.
“I don’t think they would be willing to talk to me, unless we rough them up a bit, and I am guessing you don’t want to fight them,” Arctur added, the last bit direct at Adriana.
“Yeah, hold on, I will scan the inside of the cave,” The mermaid told them as she released a pulse of energy.
“Well, did we get lucky?” Alex asked, hoping they didn’t have to waste more time searching.
“No, nothing in there is at the level of power of a Beast Lord,” Adriana told them, causing the two guys to sigh in annoyance before they all began moving towards the next cave.
The party’s luck did not improve, and they spent the entire day going from one cave to another without finding the Beast Lord. Finally, as the day was coming to an end, they decided to head back to the surface.
The trio didn't particularly care which point of the lake they came out of, as long as they finally got out of the water. Thankfully, it was at that point that their luck for the day took a turn for the better, at least somewhat, considering they had found a nice spot to camp, even if there was another party already there.
That said, there was still plenty of room for both parties to camp without issues, and so the trio headed towards the shore with Alexion in the lead.
“Hey there, quite a nice spot you found! Mind if we join you!?” The elf yelled, ensuring the man at the shore noticed them before they got too close. For his part, the man's head snapped up from where he had been staring down, and a smile spread across his face.
“Of course! There is plenty of room for all of us here!” The adventurer yelled, his hands spreading wide open to indicate all the available space.
At this point in time, the rest of the man's party had gathered behind him, more to show themselves as backup in case anything went wrong. However, the man's other four party members quickly got back to their camp once it was clear neither group meant any real harm, considering Alexion had announced himself with plenty of time to let them react. Not that it would have mattered if the trio were looking for trouble.
As the trio neared the shore, Adriana got her mental magic working, while also thanking the gods that everyone they had run into so far was on the weaker end of the D Rank scale. Not that it would be a problem if they ran into some stronger people, it was just easier to dampen the minds of those weaker than herself, taking much less mana as well.
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“Had a long day of adventuring?” The human man asked, extending his hand for Alexion to shake, his gaze noticing Adriana and her beauty as he inspected the trio, but still seemingly ignoring the fact that she was a mermaid.
“Oh yes, a long and unfruitful day,” Alexion told the man with a soft exhale.
“How come?”
“Well, we were trying to find the platypus Beast lord but have had absolutely no luck,” Alexion stated as he continued to explain their bad luck while he walked side by side with the man, Arctur, following right behind them.
“Ah yes, the platypus! He was also hard to find for us; we spent two days looking for the bastard!” The man told the party, chuckling as he remembered their first run of the lake.
“Really! How did you end up finding him!?” Alexion asked excitedly, not even considering the possibility that the man might not be willing to share or be unable to, which Arctur quickly corrected.
“We are willing to pay for the information, by the way, well, if it's possible for us to know as things stand.”
“No worries, I am happy to share! After all, you never know when you will be the one in need. However, before I do so, will she be coming along?” The man said as he stopped to motion at Adriana, who was still at the shoreline.
“Hmm? Oh, no, she is fine, just a bit shy and honestly prefers the water,” Alexion told the man, who seemed to quickly accept the answer, likely due to Adrianas's magic blocking out the fact that she was a mermaid.
“Ah, I see. Oh, and I just realized we haven’t introduced ourselves properly. I am John,” The man said, then, considering they were much closer to their camp, he pointed at a female elf, “That’s Kisa, and the dwarf lass there is Becka,” Next, John pointed at a male bird beastkin and a goblin, introducing them as, “Our feathered friend is Lapiel, and the small green bugger is Oory.”
For their part, John’s party waved or nodded upon hearing their names, and considering Alexion had their attention, he decided to introduce themselves as well.
“I am Alexion, this big green lump here is Arctur, and our friend by the shore is Adriana.”
“Nice to meet you all,” John answered with a smile, his eyes never even flicking over to the mermaid.
“Pleasure to meet you all as well, now, if you don’t mind me being a bit rude, would you mind telling us about the Beast Lord?” Alexion said, hoping to get the information sooner rather than later.
“Ha! No worries. So, as I was saying, we spent two days looking for the lord and eventually found…”
John began to explain how the platypus Beast Lord traveled around the lake like some of the other Beast Lords. However, unlike many of them, the platypus followed a certain schedule. Apparently, the Beast Lord went from cave to cave, spending around 30 minutes in each one before traveling to the next. It did this continuously throughout the day, never really deviating unless it got into a fight. Of course, this was something that the trio had already assumed, but what they quickly came to learn was that the lord was present in certain caves at specific times. This meant that the party could easily head to a cave well in advance, knowing the platypus would be there since each cave’s time did not deviate.
Naturally, upon hearing this explanation, it was clear to Alexion why the dungeon hid certain information. After all, if this information about the Beast Lord spread too easily, there wouldn’t be much of a challenge to finding the lords. The question that was now on the party’s mind was what exactly had changed that allowed them access to this information. Their best guess was that they were attempting to search for the Beast Lord, which qualified them to learn information about the Beast Lord.
The real dilemma arose when they attempted to pinpoint the exact moment when things had changed. Had it been when they went to the first cave? Or after the fifth, or maybe once they had spent a certain amount of time searching.
In the end, the party gave up on thinking about such things since it was a mystery they couldn’t solve, and also because, after hearing John’s explanation, they had parted ways to set up camp, but not before inviting the other party for a small feast. So, since the other adventuring party was approaching their campsite, the trio decided to focus on them instead.
During their small get-together, the trio and their guests chatted about many things, some of which included the event here at the lake as well as their general opinion on the dungeon. It was through this chatter that the three friends came to legitimately like the other adventurers.
The trio learned that, like many others, the party of five was in the dungeon to advance both in rank and wealth. It was something common among adventurers, as they often came from poor families. Of course, that didn’t mean that all adventurers were good people, and through conversation, which consisted of constant thanks for the good food, since it stopped the other party from eating rations or allowed them to save their dungeon scavenged food, the trio found that these five individuals were decent enough adventurers.
Eventually, their small gathering came to an end, as both parties wanted to have an early start to continue with their separate missions, and their new acquaintances headed back to their camp. From there, the trio divvied up the watch as always, and it wasn’t long after that that they were all up once again.
The morning found the party eating a quick breakfast before packing up and heading out. They didn’t even say goodbye to their new friends, as the only one that was awake was the one taking their turn on watch, and the three friends felt it was best to leave them be.
Heading into the lake, it wasn’t long before the trio found themselves at one of the platypus caves. However, unlike the day before, they knew that the Beast Lord would soon appear there, and sure enough, only a few minutes later, they all noticed the unmistakable visage of the platypus Beast Lord. The lord was larger than the average D Rank platypus, but more importantly, it had fully teal fur and a yellow beak and tail.
The Beast Lord noticed the party just as soon as the party saw it, and it wasn’t long before it swam their way. As it approached, Adriana let out a soft squeak as she became entranced with its cuteness, though more importantly, the trio couldn’t help but think that the Beast Lord would look great if it wore some sort of brown hat.
“Adventurers, can I assist you with something?” The lord said, his voice relatively normal.
“Yes, though I think it's best if we introduce ourselves first. I am Alexion, this is Arctur, and she is Adriana,” Alexion said, trying to start things on the right foot, even if Adriana gave the beast lord a small, cute wave when he introduced her.
“Very well, I am Perry, Perry the Platypus.”
“Nice to meet you, Perry. Now back to the matter at hand, we were hoping to ask you if-”
“If I could give you a hug!?” Adriana blurted, cutting off Alex.
