According to Lady Villance, Baphomet's Great Dungeon had three levels, each more dangerous than the one above. Even at the entrance to the second level, the players had already encountered powerful Goatman Nightmare Priests and Dreamstrider Thugs, along with dangerous Shadow Hounds summoned by the creatures from other planes.
The intensity of the battle had been considerable, to say the least.
Fortunately, the expeditionary force Adele had assembled was made up of elite players. Their combat abilities varied, but they were all quite impressive for Black Iron rank. They also had plenty of combat experience and the fearlessness to sacrifice themselves. So, after taking in the strange mummy girl, Nefertari, the players immediately began a "reverse charge" under Murphy's command.
It had taken them more than ten minutes to run down to the second level, but on the way back out, they'd taken less than ten. The efficiency of their retreat was astonishing.
Unfortunately, Baphomet's Great Dungeon was a godforsaken place, with a bewildering maze of passages and an astonishingly complex layout. Of the more than a hundred people who'd charged down with Murphy, fewer than half had made it back.
The rest hadn't died, either.
They'd simply failed to find the right way and gotten trapped in the damn dungeon.
Some kind of interference in the place prevented the orbs of computation from using their "auto-navigation." That meant anyone who went in had to rely on their own senses and knowledge of the dungeon if they wanted to get in and out quickly.
"Go. Bring my warriors out."
Under the night sky outside the dungeon, Murphy summoned George, his Astral Lone Wolf.
This was already the second time he'd summoned him that night. When George appeared, he still had a fresh rabbit dangling from his jaws.
At his master's