About a month back, when the Knight had been disturbed by the level 140 that didn't even become a vessel, during the last wipeout of the monsters that the Knight could still handle, there was a strange air in the atmosphere of the abandoned village.
Usually, human settlements try as hard as possible to avoid being built around areas that were already dungeons or had the possibility of evolving into one. This village was not exactly abandoned but filled with those that have abandoned the safety of more fortified areas.
They were still a relatively peaceful village, and its defences were not too flimsy. There were multiple homes, mostly going slightly deeper underground. They were modern materials but with a mix in design. A thick wood, or even cement, with engravings on them, and with a neat paintwork. Some houses had electric lights, while others used steady flame. Well, it was not electricity as it usually was, it was supplemented by batteries, they seemed to be made from a substance that could be recharged easily using natural means, but it was hard to make, thus most of the village had a medieval look. As if humanity had evolved, by digressing slightly to use ancient technology to accommodate the form of existence it has now, the Knight would not recognise this place if it were here.
There is currently a small settlement, mostly bums of society and their families, by the looks of things. They all had content looks, close to the edge, but quite satisfied with the stagnation. They had chosen this area because it had a dungeon nearby, which was perplexing. The thing is that it was a sound strategy. Dungeons were avoided for a particular reason, they tend to produce this black like mist, that even torches could not perpetrate. The world mostly had balance, monsters would be drawn into deep areas and eventually this becomes a dungeon, that is why humans avoided going too deep, to avoid attracting monsters. There were theories that monsters do not like light, some even said there was comfort in the darkness found deep in the dungeons, some theorised that they just go in there to grow stronger and continuously create the perfect monster, albeit a mad one.
But if a settlement is just far enough from the dungeon, it can enjoy relative safety. The monsters nearby all headed for the dungeon, as if instinctual, and once they enter, they do not leave. So, outside a few skirmishes with the wondering monsters, a settlement would just need a few champions to survive. The reason they avoid dungeons was because a certain anomaly happens, the darkness, a much deeper one, comes out of the dungeon after an undocumented time has passed. Its scale is wholly dependent on the depth of the dungeon, and the power scale of the monsters inhabiting it. The impenetrable darkness is not the problem; it's the type of monsters that dwell in it.
For most beings, they have not been able to difference between the darkness in the dungeon, and the void that comes once it has been conquered. They have not been able to tell that the monsters that dwell in the void were not even monsters. So, they would say darkness came from the dungeon, but it's more like the darkness served as a gateway, allowing the void to cross over. This gateway possesses immense power and is located at the bottom of dungeons. For monsters living in close proximity to them, it allows them to get stronger faster, that is why it attracts them, it is like nourishment. This darkness is not the void, but a diluted smudge of it, with elements of this world interfering with it. It keeps those who enter from leaving, and those too strong from entering. It is not a conscious action, but its existence as just a smudge of inky darkness. Slowly absorbing bits of it allows monsters to get stronger.
The result of this is that when void beings conquer dungeons and use the energy to draw more of the void into existence, for it to be claimed by a void lord later. When the void comes, it surfaces and the void beings, through the power of the lord who claimed it, come to the living world through it, this permanent patch of the void that tolerates no light. Then they terrorise the world for human souls, which led to the assumption that they were 'destroyers' when in reality they were no monsters.
But so long as the deeper darkness does not reach out of the dungeon, they should be safe. Some dungeons were more stable than others lasting millennia without showing signs of reaching out. One of the most stable dungeons was the abysmal dungeons, only one out of the hundreds have been recorded, have been conquered. So, this village was built here a couple of years ago to harbour those who have given up on society. They and their families have survived in these parts for nearly a hundred years. This place had been classified as being mostly safe, and it has been for a long time. Outside the occasional monster hunts, the place was safe, it even had a small office to manage tasks, too small to be labelled as a guild. A month ago, it was strange when the wondering monsters stopped coming, as if the dungeon was not safe anymore, these were the signs that a dungeon was about to spread.
The next sign that a dungeon was about to spread was that monsters started to vanish from the inside. A small bit of info; humans possess special stones that allow them to escape dungeons. So, to check whether monster population was dwindling before it surges, a small scout team had to be assembled and sent inside and once they have travelled deep enough, they would use these stones to teleport out. These were rare so they had to be used sparingly. This was also an odd case, for one, this was an abysmal dungeon which rarely ever spreads out. Secondly the monsters were staying clear of the dungeon, which rarely ever happened. When a dungeon is about to expand out, there would be a warning through the monsters, they would stay clear of the dungeon, but not all of them. This time the village had gone for a while without seeing one, and those with the skill for location saw that there really were no monsters around. The village was not too affluent, so to relocate on a whim was not something they would do, so that is why they had to be sure.
That is also why a small team of adventures, one being the village leader's grandchild, Nick, were going to scout. The leader was also an adventurer, the strongest one in the village, so he could not leave the village unguarded, so he decided to send his up-and-coming grandchild, who was a talented adventurer, already at level 28 at his young age. Him and his party were born into the village of social outcasts, so they were bringing with desire to leave home, but they could not leave their families behind, since the village has a low number of protectors. The leader was feeling guilty for having to keep them here, so when their party volunteered, he agreed. It was going to be dangerous, but they were a strong party, strong enough to at least survive a scouting mission and with the only teleportation stones the village possessed they would be even safer.
The village had bought some a while back for use when the day came, which was way too soon, by the accounts of the information from the closest capital from here, this dungeon had been predicted to stay dormant for way longer.
The day came to set out into the dungeon.
Arduo was waking up from the sleep of a lifetime, she was having a bad feeling about this dungeon activity. This village has been relatively safe, but at the end of the day it was just a village, not enough to withstand a surge of monsters that come from the deeper darkness, because these ones, they actively hunt for humans. Normal monsters did rip humans apart when given the chance, but for the most part they wanted to be in dungeons.
"Arduo! Wake up, or else we won't be able to get in the dungeon today."
With a low voice; "… I would not mind that actually."
The voice calling her from the outside was her boyfriend, Nick. He was always in search of adventure, so this was more of a dream for Nick, but for her this was a death sentence, she had a feeling about this kind of stuff.
Nick responded, "What!"
"I said I'm coming give me some time to get ready."
She loved the guy, but his energy today was getting her into a sullen mood.
She got dressed and got her stuff. Her parents were dead, otherwise, she would have given them a goodbye worthy of the heavens, because she is convinced, they are not going to make it back from the dungeon, even with the stones.
Her parents were why she had a bad feeling about today. They were the heroes of the village, that's why she hanged out with the leader's grandson. She had grown to hate those who seek adventure, but she had already fallen in love with this idiot by then. He always dragged her into these dangerous situations like he was again today. She trained with him so that's why she was strong enough to accompany him.
When they were younger, they formed a crew with the other three, Max and Folisha, another couple. The third was Ansi, she was much like Arduo, actually she liked Auro romantically even and has been with the party waiting for her and Nick to break up. The whole dynamic made all of them to push each other and became such a strong party at such an age.
They were all gathered in a hall, the leader gave them a few words of encouragement and bid them a farewell.
A tense silence surrounded them the whole way to the entrance of the dungeon. They were expecting to run into at least one monster for a warm-up, but it was true, the monsters in the area had left. Nick spoke, anxious as he was.
"Guys! Let's come back alive."
He had not been aware that without the Knight they would have been butchered upon entry by the Retcher.
Max spoke, "You are overthinking this, as soon as there's sign of danger, we use the stones."
Folisha was too terrified to speak, but Ansi was not shy to voice her thoughts, "You should remember if you do die, I'll be here for Arduo."
Arduo chose to ignore their bickering, she was pondering about how her cabin would be used once she was gone. She actually had it better than most because her parents had left her just enough to get a space all to herself, not connected to other rooms, which is why Nick had to fetch her.
"You guys, can we get this over with already."
They each possessed skills for combat and survival, but just like every human, each possessed a special skill, and were supposed to be a secret, but for such a small village, and a party of close friends, they knew each other's special skills.
Nick could tell what will happen in the next 5 seconds, which was an amazing skill for a skilled fighter. Max can read the stats of other being, which usually needs an appraisal tool. Folisha… she actually came to the village about five years ago, she was from the immensely safe capital, thus her shy behaviour, she had not been raised in the village like they had. Her skill was about communication, allowing her to translate anything, even if it was her first time encountering them, even code written on paper, as long as it has a meaning, she could even look at baby scribbles and translate what they intended to communicate.
Ansi can tell what is surrounding her to a large degree, even sensing the invisible, the village even used her to confirm the absence of monsters. Arduo can get her soul out of her body. She had done so a couple of times, but the real use of the skill was not to wonder, it was to take another soulless body like corpses, should her body be destroyed, but this had not happened so she mostly used it to scout with her soul, since only beings like Ansi could see her and even less could touch her.
They walked in and were shocked to see no monsters, but this was a short-lived celebration, because they all fell gravely shaken, as they knew what this meant. They had all been secretly hoping that it was all just a false alarm, that the monsters were just exploring better options, since abysmal dungeons were not to be trifled with. Actually, this is why Arduo thought they would die, because she thought they would be killed on entry. Everyone was now weary of things, they were hoping the village would not move, they knew that it was too run-down to handle it. They started to take their mission more seriously. After heading deeper, they set up camp for the night. They were thinking that it's just that the monsters do not wonder too high.
'All of it is just wishful thinking.'