The constant flipping and moving of the water nozzle was indeed unpredictable. Unfortunately, for the most part, a large portion of the damage it was doing was also minor. The quick slashes just weren’t able to cut through the scales of the kobolds. Unless it got lucky and hit them in a soft, or already cracked area, then they were fine.

  It was something that the two kobolds realized after a few panicked seconds. By the time they made it out of the room, both had suffered a few minor injuries and were bleeding from dozens of shallow cuts. One was no longer able to use one of its arms and had narrowly avoided having its neck eviscerated.

  “It started out promising,” Lindsay muttered, disappointed with the performance of the trap she had designed.

  “It was perfect, I think,” Nate told her, bumping her shoulder with his.

  Aura nodded. “Agreed. They didn’t run away but instead kept going forward. That’s a perfect response, honestly. It’s not always about killing them in one go, but the damage that builds up over time. In this case, they now have to deal with Angie’s room while hurt. That means they won’t be moving as quickly or thinking as clearly, and if they decide to come back, then they’ll have to deal with your room again. It’s all about the long game.”

  “She’s right,” He agreed. “It’s not about just the one room, but about the damage two or three might incur to them. We’ll also have the dungeon start researching an improved model of the pump soon as well.”

  That was something they could look into later once they were out. For now, they could continue walking and watching these kobolds. The duo of injured lizards still needed to go through Angie’s room to make it through the exit.

  Angie was biting at her nails as they watched, desperately hoping that her traps would even work, let alone work well. It would be beyond embarrassing if they didn’t even work, or if some other ridiculous issue cropped up. At that moment, she didn’t even care if the two died. All she wanted was for the room not to be a failure.

  They had tested it, but there was a difference between testing and real-life conditions.

  The two kobolds entered the room somewhat wearily. There had been a room devoid of traps in between Lindsay’s room and the exit that Angie had worked on. The empty room had given them a rest and served to calm their nerves, at least somewhat.

  Angie had placed the triggers fully halfway inside the room, which was enough time for the simple-minded creatures to relax more.

  They had been paying no attention to all the lines in the walls, floor, and ceiling. It was a mistake they didn’t even realize they had made until it was too late.

  The emplacements on the walls silently moved into position first, followed by the two on the ceiling. The two set in the floor would be the last to move into position and activate.

  The kobolds finally began paying attention to the lines everywhere, some sixth sense telling them there was danger nearby. Unfortunately, it was too late for them, as the nozzles above their heads activated right then.

  One of the kobolds flung themselves to the side, the powerful stream of water cutting across the tip of its blade. The second kobold, the one with the damaged arm, reacted a second slower and took a drilling blow right into its shoulder, further disabling it. The stream of powerful water kept piercing through its shoulder damaging the being the longer it kept up the attack. The kobold stumbled under the pressure and pain, sending the stream across a series of weakened and fractured plates, damaging them further. Abruptly, it all ended when the jet stream cut across its head, killing it instantly.

  The nozzles on the wall entered the fray and began to attack as well. Immediately, a weakness became obvious as the streams of water started to lose power after only a dozen feet. The water still had plenty of pushing power, but it had lost all cohesion and cutting power.

  If it was modified in the right way, Nate could see them being incredibly useful. The second kobold was sent stumbling about the room from the blast of water pressure that hit it. A few moments later, a pressurized stream of cutting water burst from underneath it. The stream cut into the soft underside of its feet first, before moving on to other soft portions of its undercarriage as it hopped about in pain.

  It wasn’t quite how he had just imagined it happening, but it ended up working the same way in the end. This dungeon was for the girls to work with. What he had just been thinking of using the wall nozzles for was as positioners. It was what had still ended up happening anyway, just by accident.

  With both kobolds down and bleeding on the floor, all they had to do was wait for the thin streams to pierce through them and finish them off. It took a few minutes as their damage slowly built up. The scale plates cracked and split, gradually being cut apart only to reveal the soft skin beneath. It was only then that the water truly began to hurt them, and finally finished them off.

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  Angie let out a shuddering breath. “That was a little more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be. Designing these traps is harder as well. A lot more thought than I initially expected needs to be put into them. Everything from their placement to how they’re controlled, and their costs, needs to be considered.”

  With that reminder, Nate glanced at the energy resource counter and sighed. It wasn’t as bad as the lasers, but it would definitely need to be optimized.

  There was at least one thing that needed to be researched with the pump. However, there were several improvements to be made in that department alone. There was also the matter of new hose lines, jet nozzles, and really anything else that they could think of that might help in some way.

  A short time later, they finished walking out of the dungeon and into the orange light of dusk that filtered down through the trees.

  “I didn’t realize we had been in there for so long,” Angie said, her head tilted up at the cloud-filled sky above.

  “It’s easy to lose track of time inside the dungeons.” Aura agreed with a yawn. “What did you think of the overall experience, of creating your first trap?”

  “It was unexpected,” Lindsay admitted after sharing a look with her friend. “All of this was unexpected; I mean, it explains so much but creates so many more questions. Like, how did this all come about? Why you? Uh, no offense or anything.”

  Nate chuckled and shook his head. “I have no idea, I honestly don’t. This all started back when those kids interrupted me when I was attempting to create my core originally. I know we didn’t know each other yet, but it left me rather messed up, and the day after the attack when I woke up in bed, this had begun to appear on my wrist.”

  He tapped the computer strapped to his arm. “Unlike you two though, mine took a lot longer to fully form and become usable. Without a working core or meridians, I didn’t have enough qi to feed its creation. At least that’s my theory.”

  Before they could get too far into the topic, Angie asked a pertinent question. “Do we want to set up camp here for the night, or make our way back through the forest?”

  “Either one should be fine,” Nate said with a shrug. “I can pull out the Overlander anywhere there is enough room.”

  “Ah, that’s true,” Angie agreed. She stared up at the clouds, biting her lower lip, before turning first to Lindsay and then to Aura and Nate. “Let’s call it a night for now, then. We still have to decide where to go from here, along with figuring out how to enter the dungeons for practice.”

  He nodded. “Are you both alright with that?”

  Aura didn’t particularly care either way, while Lindsay thought it was a good idea.

  The group found a nearby clearing, and Nate placed the RV on the ground for them. Inside the vehicle, the group set about getting ready for the night. Each of them took turns in the small bathroom and watching the food while it cooked.

  A short time later, they were sitting at the table, or in Aura’s case, on the floor at their feet. Spread out in between their plates was an old map. It had black stars created from a marker; each one also accompanied by a small number. On the far side of the map where there was a strip of white, they had created a legend. Each number had a small city name listed beside it.

  These were the confirmed locations of cities in the different states they had gone through, along with others they for sure knew existed.

  “For now, I assume our destination is still New York City?” Nate asked, tapping the locating with his pinky.

  Their eyes all flashed at the reminder of who was waiting for them there.

  “Oh yeah, we’re still heading there,” Lindsay growled, her grip tightening to the point that her fork deformed.

  “Alright, are there any locations we want to go to on the way there?”

  They looked at the map, and the cities listed there. A few, they had confirmed, still existed, while some of the smaller ones had been crossed out. They hadn’t been destroyed so much as given up on. Small towns took time to grow into larger, protected towns and then cities. Most failed to make that step and were forced to retreat back into one of the more established towns or cities instead.

  One new town was generally created each year on average, per state. Sometimes less, sometimes more. It depended entirely on how the previous attempts had gone. Humanity was always trying to expand and reclaim the land they had lost. It was an effort that produced mixed results due to the cost, both in lives and in resources.

  “Is there any reason to stop at any of these cities?” Angie asked, handing Lindsay another fork.

  They were currently in South Virginia and there were several cities in between their current location and New York City.

  Nate took a sip of his gently steaming tea and leaned back. “They’re decent locations to get supplies, possibly better weapons, since we’re heading into stronger areas. We could also visit the old history sites if they still exist.”

  “Do they still need to get new weapons and armor?” Aura asked, looking up from her food.

  “Hmm, what does she mean?” Angie wondered.

  Nate glanced down at his beast companion curiously as he thought over the implications of what she had said. “You obviously saw the green orb that changed into an herb…”

  Both girls nodded.

  “Well, those aren’t the only colors of orb that the dungeon gives out. In actuality, at least as far as I have been able to tell, there are eight versions of the orbs. Though there may be more that I simply haven’t come across yet. Some of the colors are ridiculously rare and I have only seen them once or twice as it is.”

  The eight different colors of orbs were white, which gave clothes and armor. Blue, which was for all the different sorts of weapons. Accessories came from yellow orbs. Herbs and pills came from green orbs and were typically the most common. Purple was a random chance and could be anything. A striped white and yellow orb was healing. Colorless ones gave a small increase to a random attribute. The last orb was the rainbow qi orb.

  “So, the dungeon will provide us with upgrades?” Lindsay asked when he finished explaining the process.

  “It might take a few days, but more than likely, yeah. Again, this is all assuming that we figure out how to bring you both inside the dungeon later. Which comes with its own problems and dangers. Namely, it will be your own body, as I mentioned before. Even if you can heal in the same manner as Aura, what about the need for sleep?”

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