Chapter 139

The room she and Ana had fallen into matched the theme of the rest of the dungeon. Polished tiles for the floor, glass sculptures scattered around the edges, and a generally clean, elegant construction. Notably, there were no mirrors. Though the glass and tile were reflective enough they could serve as a makeshift one.

Peering into the crystalline bust of some chiseled man, Natalie inspected her new face, tracing her fingers across the contours of her nose, jawline, and lips. Ana’s body. She’d really traded with her. No matter how hard she tried, that wasn’t something she could simply move on about. She’d been through several weird situations in the dungeon by now, but this one took the cake.

To her side, Ana was inspecting her face, too. Though the dark-haired mage was stoic and able to take things in stride to a degree Natalie nearly didn’t understand, she was at least curious. So, not wholly unaffected. Just not affected like she should be.

“Only one exit,” Natalie said, tearing her eyes away from the reflection. “Suppose we should get going. See what’s in store.”

Ana nodded. “We don’t have a healer. Nor Jordan to check for traps. So be careful.”

“I know.” Natalie wasn’t happy about that. She’d grown to take Liz for granted—both her heals and the impressive strength boost. Jordan, too. At the same time, Natalie had trained to spot traps herself, as did any delver, for situations like this. Being split up wasn’t the most common event, but hardly something that never happened.

And that was assuming this challenge included traps and combat. Liz’s challenge hadn’t, though generalizing from a single event might not be smart.

Lugging along her hammer—which felt much larger than usual, since Ana’s body was noticeably shorter than her own—Natalie headed for the only door. She scanned for traps, but found nothing. She glanced at Ana, who had her crystal orb drawn and at the ready. Seeing her own face and red hair looking back made Natalie pause, then shake her head. She turned forward and opened the door.

It led into a hallway. At the end, another door stood: this one with pink trim. Natalie repressed a groan. The color pink couldn’t herald anything good—not considering Natalie’s class.

There was also a plaque of silver metal on the wall to the side of the door. Natalie couldn’t make out the writing on it, not from this distance. There was a bin made out of white marble to its left. Lastly, on the door’s right, a steel ladder led upward to a trap door on the ceiling. She eyed it warily. An exit?

Making sure to scan again for traps or threats, Natalie and Ana approached. Arriving, she peeked into the marble bin. It was empty, and large enough to fit both of them easily if they climbed inside. Natalie doubted it was some random piece of decoration, so she read the silver plaque, next. Ana stepped closer to also take a look.

It read:

‘Armor, clothing, and consumables not permitted past this point. Place into the container. Items will be returned after exiting the challenge.’

“At least it’s not being cryptic,” Natalie said dryly. Liz’s challenge room had also included instructions.

“The ladder’s an exit,” Ana commented. “There’s another plaque. Look.”

Natalie did. Indeed, in a smaller silver plate to the left of the ladder, a few words were inscribed.